Y2Jimmy0

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/...-a-total-fiasco That is Keith Law's take and it's an Insider article. Keith basically talks about how there are no winners in the situation. He advocates for a July draft so they can have a combine of some sorts to check all players medically but references how it would mess with schedules for short season ball and colleges. Law said that the Astros didn't feel comfortable with the "abnormality" and he went into it. He also said that the Marlins, Cubs, and White Sox would have gladly taken Aiken anyway though. He talked about the deal with Nix but basically said that they couldn't give him the $1.5 million because he's good but nobody is good enough to forfeit next year's 1st and 2nd rounder for. Law has been against the current draft structure and I agree. The new rules have obviously helped the White Sox and I'm selfishly grateful for that. However, I hate the slotting. I preferred when teams could pay whatever they wanted. But obviously that's just me.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 04:57 PM) Top 11 will indeed be protected because of this. Not so sure about that. The year after the Pirates missed out on Appel they were given the 9th overall pick. The Mets were picking 11th and should have been picking 10th. They wanted to sign Michael Bourne but would have had to forfeit pick #11 even though they finished with the #10 pick record wise. Also, with how the Astros did business here, I think Aiken would have turned down a last ditch effort of $6.5 million. Would you really want that organization in charge of your development? Aiken will pitch in Indy ball or JUCO and be a top 5 pick again next year.

Rodon will supposedly be at The Cell tonight. Has anyone heard anything about a Press Conference, Conference call or anything scheduled for today?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 02:54 PM) Just saw a tweet that cavs willing to include Wiggins. So long "wide open east", you were a fun 1 week. Deal should be done already if so. If I am Minnesota I would take Wiggins, Waiters, Bennett, Miami's #1 next year and another 1st rounder for Love in a heartbeat.

Nathaniel Stoltz ‏@stoltz_baseball 11m Impressive show from Hawkins in BP. Swing looks best I've seen. Jason Coats and Nick Basto also made some hard contact.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 09:35 AM) Any other Sox on there? No I would have posted it. From the way Law has talked this year, I think Anderson and Micah would also be in the Top 100. It just wasn't posted. I'll ask Keith on twitter and see if he answers.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 09:29 AM) Top 10: Bryant, Buxton, Correa, Russell, Seager, Lindor, Gray, Baez, Bradley, Rodon I just posted all this in Pale Hose talk. Can we merge please?

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/...0-mlb-prospects Keith Law's Top 50 is Insider protected. Here are the top 10: 1. Kris Bryant 3B Cubs 2. Byron Buxton OF Twins 3. Carlos Corea SS Astros 4. Addison Russell SS Cubs 5. Corey Seager 3B Dodgers 6. Francisco Lindor SS Indians 7. Jonathan Gray RHP Rockies 8. Javier Baez SS Cubs 9. Archie Bradley RHP Arizona 10. Carlos Rodon LHP White Sox Age: 21 | Current Level: Just drafted Preseason Ranking: N/A Rodon was the second-best prospect in this year's draft class, the best college player available, and one of the only players in the class with the ability to play in the majors this season. Rodon's slider is filthy, a grade-80 pitch in his best outings but more consistently a grade-70 pitch. It's a wipeout offering with late bite that I've seen hit 92 mph, even though his fastball is usually just 90-94. I can't imagine minor league hitters will be able to touch him. Rodon's stuff is so nasty he may not have to work much on fastball command or on developing a better changeup until he reaches the big leagues. DM me if you want the rest of the list.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) That's a really solid deal for both - Lance sets himself up for a nice little payday if he continues to develop. Charlotte's on the right track. I mean, they won't ever win anything and are smack dab in the middle of NBA hell, but at least they aren't going to lose 50 games. Charlotte is much better than say the Knicks. I think Charlotte finishes with the 6-8 seed.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:13 AM) Stevenson screwed that up royally. He left a lot of money on the table by rejecting the Pacers last offer. It's the same $$ though. Indy offered him 5 years $44 million. He took 3 years $27 million. He's only 23. If he is good in Charlotte, he'll get another pay day before his 27th birthday.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) I believe if he goes the Independent League route or the JC/CC route, it's only a 1 year wait. This is true. If he feels healthy and doctors have told him he is, I'd choose this route. I'd play Indy ball and become a top 5 pick next year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 04:49 PM) I believe he has to wait three years to be draft eligible again, as long as the original drafting team followed all of the rules for attempting to sign a pick. If they can't reach and agreement he has two choices. Go to UCLA is one. The other choice would be to play for an Independent League Team and he will be draft eligible again next season.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 03:05 PM) I honestly think McDermott will give the team just as much, if not more, as Dunleavy. It's just a matter of whether Thibs is willing to give him starters minutes early on. Not sure about trading him for Nate, but I'd be all about trading Dunleavy for a guard and I don't think it'd create much of a hole. I agree with this. Dunleavy is pretty good but having him and McDermott is counterproductive. I am also of the mindset that Mirotic needs to be playing. I would be very interested in trading Taj and Dunleavy to upgrade the wing and SG positions. Taj is a nice player. He is a good rotation big that plays really good defense. However, Taj makes $8 million, is going to be 30 years old, and the team just signed Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:26 AM) Given that they were willing to pay him $6.5 million originally, I doubt they are just trying to save a few million here. It follows that they honestly believe he may be damaged goods and are just trying to make the best of the situation they find themselves in at this point. It seems like quite a risk to take just to save a few million bucks. Or they are trying to use remaining $$ on 21st rd pick Mac Marshall who was a top 75 guy with a strong commitment to LSU. If Aiken takes the $3 million, they could then offer Marshall close to $3 million to forego his LSU commitment. So yes I am skeptical.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 11:15 AM) Can't he just get a second opinion from a different Doc? Will Carroll ‏@injuryexpert 1m Casey Close, Aiken's agent, has sent him to three different top docs who have all cleared his arm to pitch immediately.

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 10:50 AM) But if he goes the IL route, ends up having TJ during the IL season, his value drops much more. It's risky on both sides, Astros are covering their ass by offering him the mandatory 40%. Would Aiken be allowed to sit out next season and then become a free agent?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 10:39 AM) so wait, large high school pitching workloads are bad? His workload actually wasn't that high and he was supposedly taken care of and not really handled poorly.

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/07/15/i...ck-brady-aiken/ This is obviously from a Cubs perspective. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/casey-c...dy-aiken-071414 This one is from Ken Rosenthal. This story is fascinating. Houston is offering just enough to ensure that they will receive the #2 pick next year regardless. The problem is that it screws up their entire draft. If he doesn't sign, I believe that Aiken should go the Independent League route. He could re-enter the draft next year and get his career started.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) Highly unlikely he becomes a FA. If he did though... What would be the process of becoming a free agent though?

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 15, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) I have no problem with Pam Oliver but the vast majority of people who watch those games are going to want to see EA over her. I hope not. One of them is a blithering idiot and the other is Pam Oliver.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/brad...unted-deal.html I don't really understand what the Astros are doing here. If they can't sign Aiken then they don't have enough $$ to sign their 2nd round pick because of losing the slot amount for the #1 pick. What happens if Aiken doesn't sign? Can he become a free agent right away? If so, I bet Aiken would receive $20+ million on the open market and I would hope that the White Sox would be involved.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 14, 2014 -> 03:44 PM) Salary relief maybe? Yeah it's just for the cap space. They needed Randolph's salary to sign Gasol/Mirotic. Wouldn't have enough with just the Boozer amnesty.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Jul 13, 2014 -> 09:39 PM) is it safe to assume alexei would net a player similar to what jeff samardzija got the cubs? i think the time to deal alexei is NOW. They won't get anyone of that caliber. Maybe a top 100 guy. You can't really trade Ramirez unless you get a really good deal though. Maybe like a top 100-150 type, someone from a system's 6-10 range, and a couple of flyers.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 13, 2014 -> 09:27 PM) If Rose is healthy, Kirk is a better fit for the Bulls. The problem is Kirk needs to be playing 12-15 minutes a night, tops. They need another G. I've seen rumors of guys like Aaron Brooks or Ramon Sessions possibly for the vet minimum.

Hinrich over Augustin is a good move. If Rose is healthy, they need Hinrich much more. He can guard 1s and 2s. DJ is tiny and can't really be on the floor with Rose. He's an awful defensive player too. I like DJ but I get it. Bulls will be much much better offensively. Could legitimately win the East.