Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 26, 2012 -> 12:29 PM) The downgrade from ADA to JorDanks is much greater than replacing someone like Floyd with Greinke. Let's be honest, if we were to trade away De Aza, then we'd have to acquire a replacement. There is no way KW would go with Jordan as his CF.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 26, 2012 -> 11:05 AM) I could see it being one of Johnson, Soptic, or Hernandez, none of which are guys that are going to kill you. Walters and Heidenreich would most likely not be in the top30 for most organizations, and that's pretty much saying they are borderline prospects and don't have much value at all. Johnson has a nice arm and could make it as a starter. He would be a tough loss IMO, but not the end of the end of world. The other guys I don't care much about. As long as the PTBN isn't Walker, it will turn out to be a pretty good deal.

One thing to consider about De Aza is that he's arb eligible next year. So unless you think he's still going to improve a lot, this is probably his peak value.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 26, 2012 -> 12:05 PM) That is an awful lot to give up for a guy that is going to walk. I'd give that up for Josh Johnson. I'm not doing it for Greinke. That really hinders the club in the off-season. I don't think they have enough internal arms to replace Peavy and Floyd in next years rotation (albeit, they obviously could make another move). I still think Peavy will be back. I've said it numerous times, but if I'm going to overpay for something on a one year deal it's a legit #1 starter. He and Sale have been critical to our success this year and I'd prefer not losing that combo next year because Peavy will overpaid by a couple of million dollars. If we do bring Peavy back, then I think you plan on replacing Floyd with Castro next year.

All things considered it was an ok movie, but it was by far the worse in the trilogy and probably my least favorite Nolan movie. Suggesting it's the "best move ever" is just insulting to those who make and appreciate good movies.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 12:50 PM) There are a couple position players at GF that are a little interesting to me: Justin Jirschele and Micah Johnson. But that's about it, and Jirschele is an NDFA and probably won't keep it up in A ball. Micah Johnson should be the starting 2B for Kannapolis next year. I really think Hawkins will be in CF and Barnum will be at 1B. Other than that, nothing would surprise me. I could even see them push Ayala, since they drafted two high school catchers this year.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 11:51 AM) That's my thought as well. His defense is reported to be solid, and he's hitting A- pitching fairly well, but he's old for level. If he can hit in AA, he may jump up the prospect charts. I'm less concerned with age for catches, but I think it was time to move him up. BTW, that Kannapolis roster is starting to get ugly. I think we'll see several guys from Bristol, at least Hawkins and Barnum, make the jump straight to full season ball next year. Not much position playing talent on Great Falls' roster.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 12:20 PM) I think it's safe to say that Cameron Bayne has absolutely NO CONTROL. Wow. I think it's safe to say Bayne is only in the rotation to eat innings. He is pure garbage.

Two of our top 10 prospects are middle infielders and both are currently at AA. Saladino and Sanchez each probably need another full season in the minors before they're ready though. I really think one of these guys will end up being our starting 2B in 2014. The real question is what do we do for 2013? If we can keep the rest our offense in tact, I'm cool with giving Beckham one last shot. If we lose Youkilis or AJ, then it might be hard to risk his bat in the lineup.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 08:18 AM) Quintana for Buehrle. Do it. Wow, that would a terrible deal when you consider the money. No thanks.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 07:16 AM) While they all have solid walk rates, they equally have horrible contact rates. If you can't make consistent contact in the minors, you will have no shot in the majors. I think they are all graded accurately. All could be solid MLBers, but all have serious flaws that could easily make it that they never make the majors or have bench careers. For comparison sake with Thompson, Chris Young was 21 years old in AA (a bad hitter's park, too) and hit: .277 AVG, .377 OBP for a .922 OPS. He added 26 HRs, 70 BBs and 129 Ks. Young had more power, a better contact rate, a better walk rate and more speed. He also was a GG-caliber defensive player. And he never really took off in the majors like people thought because of his contact (or lack thereof) skills. He had a couple good years initially, but then never could improve as pitcher's learned how to handle him. I fear Thompson is a poor man's Young. The tools wow you, but he just hit the ball consistently. No doubt all three guys are high risk, high reward prospects. I just like that all three are demonstrating a strong ability to get on base and along with some signs of plus power and/or speed. These guys are still extremely raw, so rapid improvement could happen at any time as they continue making adjustments. They still have time to cut down their strikeout rates. All three could easily flop, but I've liked what I've seen from them this year.

QUOTE (Wedge @ Jul 25, 2012 -> 07:51 AM) I'd personally rather spend Floyd's $9 million on Youkilis's option, but that's just me. Losing Peavy sucks, but we'd be getting back Danks. I don't see why we couldn't bring back bother if we bump up the payroll a little and replace Floyd with a cheap, internal option like Castro. I'd be happy with a rotation of Sale, Peavy, Danks, Quintana, and Castro next year. From a payroll perspective, it can't be that much more than what we're paying our staff now, even with Danks' raise. Obviously the tricky part would then be fitting Youkilis in the budget, especially with AJ an unknown. If I had to, I'd trade Thornton to a team like the Yankees to clear his salary. I think it can be done with some maneuvering, but we'd definitely need to increase payroll by $10 million or so.

Here's why I think our trio of OF prospects are underrated: Mitchell - 62 BBs (3rd in Southern) Thompson - 41 BBs (9th in Carolina) Walker - 54 BBs (top 10 in SAL before promotion) Also, Thompson is currently 2nd in the Carolina League in HRs & TBs. So while he has a low BA, he's getting a ton of XBHs. Plus his BA has actually been .283 since the all-star break, which is a great sign for someone young for the league. He's a very slept on prospect.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2012 -> 05:49 PM) If we're more worried about Jake Peavy's feelings than the welfare of the ballclub, someone's got to man up. I really don't think this is the case at all...and Jake has to realize it would be insane for us to pick up that option. He's getting paid like an ace, and he's been close to an ace this year, but gambling on it happening two years in a row, with how he's been a lot more hittable in the 2nd half, it's just not a logical move. I would rather have Youkilis, Floyd, AJ and Simon Castro rather than one Jake Peavy (maybe you can erase one of those names of Floyd/Youk/AJ), but the point still remains, if the only other option is Morel, Flowers and Peavy or Castro, Youk and AJ, no way do I think about retaining Jakemeister. What's more insane, taking on the $18 million (the marginal cost) for an ace or trying to replace said ace for less in free agency or via trade?

11 of our remaining 66 games are against the Twins.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 23, 2012 -> 09:12 PM) Morel's hitless so far, and you'd be losing a ton of range at 2nd. If the choice is Beckham or Morel at 2nd, give me Beckham. Totally agree.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Jul 23, 2012 -> 08:20 PM) Josh Johnson likely gonna cost Viciedo+Jones+quality prospect right now. No thanks.

Morel should spend the rest of July and all of August in AAA. We should call him up for September, but he should not replace Hudson or Escobar on the 25 man roster now or for the playoffs. He is simply not a bench player. As for next year, I think Youk is the guy right now. If we can remain competitive until the end, I would expect the payroll to go up next year. I think KW will find a way to fit him in the budget for next season (assuming he stays healthy).

QUOTE (Baron @ Jul 23, 2012 -> 04:57 PM) Lol I love the white flags from some of you guys. Seriously the season is no where close to being over and were 1.5 games out of first. Give the doomed crap a rest. Agree completely, I've never seen a fan base so eager to quit and start selling. We were in first place as recently as two days ago. We are currently 1 1/2 games out of the division lead and 1 game out of a wild card spot. There is still a ton of baseball left and we're right there. The non-stop panic on this site really needs to stop. Also, Sanchez and Infante are not impact players. They will help the Tigers some, but let's not pretend they're world beaters.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 22, 2012 -> 01:43 PM) I do not care about a person's personal or religious beliefs. I don't care if you're an adulterer or a racist or whatever. I do care about a 6'4, 240 pound man striking his wife in the face multiple times. I will not cheer this scum at all. So you won't cheer for a guy that hit his wife on one drunkn occasion six years ago, but you'll openly support a man who enabled and protected a serial child rapist for years? Anyways, despite Myers being a total douche, I think this is a smart baseball move. He is a very good reliever and people saying otherwise are letting his personal issues affect their judgement. He will help stabilize the bullpen and didn't cost much in grand scheme of things. Good move IMO.

We're going to see what Peavy is made of today. This is a big, big game and a win can totally change the tone of the series. Let's hope Peavy ain't a coward like Thornton and doesn't fold under the immense pressure.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 07:40 PM) HA! I get the sarcasm, but it's funny how fast the tide can turn with a player. Also, Walker is in LF leading off for the Dash. Trayce remains the CFer. Makes sense when you think about it. We already know that Walker can play CF, so we might as well keep Trayce out there and hope he can stick. If he can, his value increases significantly as a prospect.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 05:16 PM) The way Jones has pitched for the last month or so you have to wonder why he wasn't sent down instead of Martinez. I think it's because he's one of the guys they're looking to deal. I like Jones but if a team overvalues him, I'm cool with using him to upgrade another area, most likely the rotation. I could see some teams viewing him as a future closer.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 12:33 AM) Um, yes. The Sox have won 6 more games than the marlins. There's no team as good as the nationals in our division. Robin Ventura is not the f***ing angel from angels in the outfield. I think he's done a good job. But that's it. Everybody is lining up to take shots on ozzie now. where were you guys before he left? Are you serious? Plenty of people wanted Ozzie gone prior to the 2011 season, myself included. Even more saw the light last year. You were actually one of the group who wanted Ozzie gone. I guess I don't know what your angle is here.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 08:37 PM) What's wrong with getting a cheap insurance policy like Pierre? I'll wager his OBP will be higher than Viciedo's against righties in August and September. And no one would bet against you, but I'd wager that Viciedo's OPS against RHP will be higher than Pierre's in August and September. Is there a reason you continue focusing on OBP and completely ignore slugging?