Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Aug 21, 2013 -> 11:38 PM) I'll take a good staff over good hitting prospects and its not even close. And let's clarify, we have a good, young, major league staff. These guys are actually producing at the major league level right now. That can't be understated. The Cubs' offensive prospects are very talented, but until they prove something at the major league level they remain what they are, prospects with a high percentage of busting.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 05:18 PM) LOL seriously? He's been the most consistent hitter all year on this team. And he has a .690 OPS to show for it. Again, not saying Alexei is the problem, but he's part of it and moving him gives us more financial flexibility to fix the other parts as well.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 04:52 PM) He had another strong game against the Twinkies today. A lot of people on this board don't like him, want him gone, and I don't get it. I think he is still a heckava shortstop. What is the problem with him? Is it the lack of homers (four)? Geez, he is hitting close to .290. Would an extra 3-4 HR's make a big difference? Is it his 20 errors. The guy has missed something like 3-4 innings this year. Does that not count? I hope we keep him for at least a couple more seasons. Just wondered if I can get a concise evaluation of his play from those who don't like him. It's the 16 BBs that's the issue for me. On a team with a strong lineup 1-7, then Ramirez's skillset works well batting 9th. The problem is we have too many low OBP hitters as it is. At some point, we have to remove some of these guys from the equation and Alexei is one of the more expensive variables. I still like Alexei, I think he has value, but his bat doesn't work well on our team IMO.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 01:29 PM) If it's a serious conversation why would you say clone Dunn? How would you improve he team's OBP? Trade Ramirez and start Semien at SS would be a good first step.

One thing to remind everyone about Santiago is he only had 27 minor league starts. The kid's control could easily improve with more experience as a starter, which is scary given how good his stuff is and how well he's pitched at the major league level so far despite being pretty wild. Give him some more time with Cooper and we may have something special. I would want a king's ransom for him and that's not Logan Morrison.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 11:38 AM) Axelrod to the rescue. I don't remember who's sig says "half our roster is designed to kill the other half's rallies," but it was so perfectly true. I agree completely. A guy like Axelrod can do us a lot of good just by being his sucky self.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 18, 2013 -> 11:14 AM) C Phegley 1B Abreau 2B Beckham SS Semien 3B Keppinger/Gillaspie LF Logan Morrison CF De Aza RF Garcia SP Sale SP Quintana SP Santiago or Johnson SP Danks SP Rienzo Deal Santiago or Johnson for Morrison, when Dunn goes after 2014 shift Abreau or Morrison to DH. De Aza Beckham Morrison Abreau Dunn Garcia Keppinger/Gillaspie Semien Phegley Santiago or Johnson for Morrison would be an absolutley horrific move. We're talking about a guy who is arb-eligible next year and has basically shown as much as Viciedo at the major league level. On top of that, he's an infamous "LF" which you've personally claimed you don't waste time developing, since they are so easy to come by. Trading our best pitching prospect or a major league starter with top of the rotation potential to get said player makes this the strangest and most contradictory suggestion you have ever made on this board.

We should all definitely want the Sox to lose, but not at the expense of development. This season is a sunk cost in terms of winning, but some good can still come of it if the young guys can continue to learn and start connecting the dots. I'd love to get the #2 pick, but if a guy like Garcia or Viciedo goes on a tear and prevents that from happening I'll be even happier. Hopefully the bullpen and poor fundamentals will lose us a lot of games going forward though.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 16, 2013 -> 05:48 AM) What I find puzzling is why whatever issue this is would bother him in the field but not on the bases or at the plate. I thought the same thing, but clearly there is more time to zone out in the field than at the plate.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 09:34 PM) Keith Law said today that Abreu is worth no where near what Cepedes and Puig were because he is not an athlete like they are. What's funny is I actually used the athletic & positional differences to argue why I didn't think Abreu would get that much more than Cespedes & Puig. I do think he'll get more total money, but I honestly don't think it will that much more the Cespedes on annual basis. Probably 5 to 6 years at $10M to $11M per. Regardless, he doesn't need to be a great athlete to be a good hitter, which is really all we need from him. If the scouts really like him, I think we have to be aggressive with him and maybe go a little above what we're truly comfortable with. I just think if we're going to wait 3 to 5 years for our system to develop some middle of the lineup bats, then we might as well blow this thing up.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 08:31 PM) with sandoval's weight/health concerns? no way At some point you have to take some risks. We're not going to fill all of our needs from within and free agency isn't what it once was.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 12:42 PM) I didn't really think there was much to read into any of this, and I don't really see why people are having such a hard time seeing the obvious. Maybe it's too obvious? Or maybe I'm crazy? It doesn't seem like any sort of mystery. Walter White will be found out as the drug lord Heisenberg (well, actually, he already was). As it unfolds and super-angry Hank does what a super-angry DEA agent does and moves forward with the "bust", it will be a big f***ing story as "former science teacher and current car wash owner runs drug empire from suburban home". At some point during this Hank will either give Walter a headstart or Walter'll just straight-up flee. House is seized and emptied and then left to be vandalized. Walt returns 6-9 months later for the ricin, presumably he's been on the lamb and POSSIBLY thought to be dead. Carol is really f***ing surprised to see him. Or maybe SS2k5 is right and Hank just randomly decides to torture Walt. What a great guess! I'm more curious if Skyler will be implicated. Thank you, spot-on summary of how things likely have gone down. The only question IMO is who wrote "Heisenberg" on the wall. Probably just some kids vandalizing, but perhaps there is some fallout from a past meth connection. We have already seen that chick from last season ask Walt at the car wash for his help. I could see some people she's associated with not being happy he turned them down. Maybe there will be a dual manhunt with both the Feds & drug cartels hunting Walt down.

As long as our scouts are 100% sold on Abreu, I think we have to go all out for him. The 2015 free agent list is horrific on the offensive side, with 3B being the exception. We desperately need to add a couple of young middle of the order bats to build around. I think Garcia can eventually be one of those guys, but outside of possibly Viciedo I don't see anything in the system helping us anytime soon. Signing Abreu for 1B this offseason and one of Headley, Sandoval, & Ramirez for 3B the following offseason would go a long ways toward fixing this offense.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 06:44 AM) He is an exciting prospect. He's just 21 and he improves every year. Big jump to AA next year. I agree, the ability to hit for contact and draw a lot of walks is rare. Plus he's shown excellent gap power this year. If some of those doubles start turning into HRs, we might something special here. Obviously that remains to be seen, but the rest of his game is further along than most prospects his age.

I can't believe a guy with an OPS below .700 is batting third for us.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 08:23 PM) It is very possible Hawkins, Mitchell and Walker all wind up below .200 this season. Which just goes to show how horrible our player development has been. On the plus side, Rangel Ravelo is in the top 5 in the Carolina League is AVG, OBP, SLG, & OPS.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 06:12 PM) JEFF BERRY!!!! You're thinking of Jon Berry, easy to get the two confused.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 05:58 PM) If someone claimed Konerko, would they have to pick up the $1 million a year for the next 6-7 years on his contract? No ome will claim him probably either way, but if he wants to go somewhere, this will free the Sox to make a deal. I doubt he wants to go anywhere, but if there's an injury, and Paulie is feeling OK,you never know. Didn't we have to pay the deferred portion of Manny's contract? Regardless, I'd like to see him clear waivers and see Hahn trade him to a contender for a Jeff Barry caliber prospect. He definitely deserves one last chance at a ring as sickening as it would be see him another uniform.

I was all for dumping Dunn for salary relief earlier this season, but at this point I'd hold on to him through next year. But I want nothing to do with him after the 2014 season. He will be a 35 year old DH at that point. No thanks to that.

There is no way this guy is getting 6/90. Cespedes just got 4/36 two years ago and was basically the same age but is a 5 tool outfielder. Abreu may be a more accomplished hitter in Cuba, but he's also a 1B and an average athlete at best. A lot of teams are going to he turned off by his lack of athletism and others simply won't have a need for a 1B/DH type. The market for him will much smaller than those for Cespedes & Puig. I think he ultimately gets more than Puig since he is major league ready, but 6/60 is the max I see him getting unless the Marlins do something stupid to try and win fans back.

If our scouts believe this guy is for real, I don't see any reason why Hahn wouldn't go all out for him. We need impact bats, we have a giant hole at 1B, and you're not going to find 26-27 year old free agents anytime soon. Plus we have Viciedo and possibly Ramirez that can sell him on playing for the White Sox. Honestly, unless the price is ridiculous, I hope we make a strong play for this guy.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 11, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) I don't understand what the point of taking other bad contracts is when we just dumped our own relatively decent contracts. He's 100% against signing free agents for more than 2 years, but is all for taking on half of Ethier's deal which has 4 years remaining. I wouldn't waste too much time trying to understand his plan.

This "blow it all up talk" is beyond ridiculous. We have a young, cheap, championship-caliber rotation in place and for a long time. Big market teams don't go full-rebuild when they already have the hardest part of a team built. That's just f***ing stupid. Obviously building an offense can't be done overnight, but it can be done over the course of 2 offseasons IMO. The key is developing Garcia, Semien, Viciedo, & Phegley next year. That should be the priority. Also, use 2014 to see if Beckham & De Aza can be part of the future core and either lock them up long-terk deals or move them at the deadline. And don't be afraid to make smart free agent signings, especially at positions of need in the organization. I really think Morales could solve our 1B problems on a 3 year deal until Barnum or another candidate is ready. If 2014 goes well with the young guys, then you look to use our financial flexibility to add another key piece or two. There are actually some good 3B that will be free agents prior to the 2015 season. On top of that, guys like Thompson, Jacobs, & Sanchez may be ready to contribute. Point is we don't need to blow it up to rebuild our offense. We just need to be patient with the young hitters we already have, find creative ways to add talent (young non-tender guys with upside, prospects coming off bad years, etc), and be savy buyers in free agency. It won't be easy but it's definitely doable.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 9, 2013 -> 05:49 AM) Disregard the 9 runs and 11 hits he gave up in 3 innings. The golden domer has a great xFIP. If a team would give Theo a package as if this guy was an ace, Theo should jump on it. I've never seen someone quote a stat like xFIP to justify a single bad start being better than what it appeared.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 10:27 PM) 3B, SS or 2B, lol. Anywhere and everywhere. If he hits like he has been in the minors the last two months at the next level, they'll find him playing time SOMEWHERE. 3B might be the most open position at the moment, until/unless Ramirez is traded. However, let's keep in mind how good Flowers and Phegley looked at different times...and where they both stand now. Still, nice to have SOMETHING to be excited about...even lukewarm excitement. Where does Phegley stand after 77 plate appearances?