Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 10:27 AM) New Smash Brothers looks incredible. Megaman announced for it so third parties are in again. About the only thing cool in Nintendo's press conference. The Wii U is totally f***ed. Horrible E3 for Nintendo IMO.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 02:44 PM) Nintendo is dead as a console company, like SEGA but at a slower pace. The Wii U is/was an utter failure. I still can't believe they decided to launch a console with a gimmick instead of games. 3DS looked the same way in it's first year and now it's an absolute monster in terms of sales. The Wii U still has a chance, but Nintendo needs some huge games this holiday season to make up lost ground. Don't underestimate how many parents will end up choosing the $300 console vs the two $500 alternatives. Now, if PS4 costs $350 (which I don't buy for a sec), then we can take the Wii U out back and put it out of its misery right now.

Nintendo needs to come hard tomorrow with the game announcements. We already know 3D Mario, Mario Kart, & Smash Brothers will be revealed, but they really need another big surprise or two to regain some momentum. I'm hoping Retro Studios has something cool in the works that will be shown tomorrow and ready for release by the end of 2013.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 9, 2013 -> 09:17 AM) To be fair, Paulo Orlando did turn out to be an incredible baseball player. Don't forgot Salvador Sanchez, who he referred to as a young Juan Gonzalez.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 09:03 PM) Reinsdorf had a big beef with Guillen. A huge beef, as loyal as Reinsdorf is, disloyalty is something he does not understand. Not only was Ozzie disloyal not telling Oney to shut up, the way he left and refusing to manage while under contract gives him no shot of ever managing the White Sox again unless they are sold. Thank you. Ozzie & his family embarrassed the entire franchise with their bulls***. Reinsdorf is not going to tolerate that circus again.

Hawkins now 3/4 and a triple away from a cycle. Not sure if he'll get another AB or not.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 07:50 PM) Doug Collins was signed, sealed and delivered as Bulls coach before Tibs, then he backed out. Reinsdorf still had concerns with the potential hire. Ultimately Collins is one who backed out, but let's not pretend Reinsdorf had nothing to do with the final decision. Regardless, do you really think Reinsdorf would want to deal with Ozzie and his clan again?

And Jake, that post wasn't directed at you, just why Rick Hahn ever hiring Ozzie Guillen to manage the Sox makes no sense.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 01:21 PM) As far as what Marty is saying, I don't see any reason that Hahn and Ozzie would have beef. It wouldn't surprise me either way, but I'm guessing they weren't really bumping into each other that often on a day to day basis anyway. I think Hahn is a smart guy though and would know that we are not close to the moment where it would be appropriate to have Ozzie Guillen coach the White Sox again. There could be a time when the fanbase could accept Ozzie as a manager again, but we are not very close to that time. First off, KW has been Hahn's boss for over a decade. Hahn isn't going to slight KW by hiring his nemesis, even if KW leaves the organization. On top of that, I'm sure Reinsdorf wasn't pleased with Ozzie's exit and while he may not dislike him, he'd probably like to avoid Ozzie as manager again a la Doug Collins. Second, Oney Guillen ripped multiple members of the front office and referred to select group of them as "nerds". I don't know if Hahn was in this group or not, but I'm sure he doesn't some punk kid ripping his guys on Twitter. And Ozzie never did anything to make things right. I'm sure loves Ozzie for that. Third, Ozzie is a selfish f*** who has a history of clasheing with his higher ups and Hahn isn't going to going to risk his career on a guy like that. Fourth and most importantly, Ozzie sucks as a manager.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 12:45 PM) Who knows, but you would imagine so. The thing is how many MLB GMs take a vacation during the season, especially if they are GMing a first place team? KW probably checked out last year. But if Hahn was running the ship and JR approved, it really doesn't matter. I think you've got it pegged here. KW probably checked out once he knew Hahn was taking over. It happens in all types of professions. I just find it hard to believe that KW was lazy his entire time as GM and it's only coming out just now.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 12:37 PM) No. He's engaged to Zoraida Sambolin. She is recovering from a double mastectomy. Oh ok, he went there with her though right?

Wasn't his trip to Egypt his honeymoon? If so, I'm sure Hahn had already agreed to take over the GM job in principle by that point. I think there is some behind the scenes beef between them, because Phil Rogers is constantly bashing KW on the radio.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 11:31 AM) I could see them giving Mitchell one final effort to prove he shouldn't be released/traded after the year and call him up to the majors. While I think Mitchell is and will be a bust, I don't think you need release him just yet, especially if you're doing a semi-rebuilding. His tools are still there and he doesn't turn 25 until October I believe. Look at the garbage we have getting everyday at-bats throughout our system. I'll take the 5% chance something suddenly clicks next year and he becomes a useful role player than give those at-bats to another Seth Loman type. Plus he has two option years left, so unless we're hurting for 40 man roster spots, we don't have to rush to a decision on him.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 11:30 AM) If the Sox trade Peavy, then Santiago would get his spot in the rotation and E. Johnson would likely be next in line If the Sox trade De Aza, then Danks probably gets the majority of the playing time the rest of the year in CF to see what he can do If the Sox trade Rios, then maybe they put De Aza in LF and Viciedo in RF? If they trade Crain, then Jones and Lindstrom are the set-up men If they start trading these core players, then you can't really worry about the quality of the replacement for this year. Once you give up on a season and unload these key contributors, winning doesn't become important at all. Obviously, if they go into next year with Danks in CF or something along those lines, then it's clearly a rebuilding year. This is pretty much spot on. To add, I think Simon Castro, Andre Rienzo & Santos Rodriguez have a good chance to get called up for bullpen roles once we trade some pitching. And I personally think they move Lindstrom in addition to Crain & Thornton. What would be interesting to see is how they'd replace Alexei at SS.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 11:20 AM) I'll say again...I'd hate to move Thompson up this year. We need to be patient with this kid, he's developing exactly as he should be, took a month to get the hang of AA and started putting up good numbers, gradually cutting down on the strikeouts, becoming more consistent, but he's young and belongs in AA this year and AAA next year. Calling him up this year is just asking for him to bust. He might figure it out, but you're asking for him to strike out 40 times in a month and wind up changing his approach if you call him up now. Exactly. Thompson & Walker aren't going to replace Rios or De Aza if they get traded. You don't rush top prospects just because you have an opening on the 25 man roster. They'd give Jordan Danks the at-bats and use it as a chance to see what they have in him. And let's hope to god they wouldn't call up Jared Mitchell to fill an opening. When you can't hit AA pitching you'll have no chance with major league pitching.

People worried that we won't get a lot for our guys at the deadline should look at last year's deals. Hunter Pence had a .794 OPS with the Phillies when he was dealt and had one year remaining on his deal. Alex Rios has an .841 OPS and has one year left on his deal plus an option year, both at affordable rates. The Phillies were able to land the Giant's #2 prospect coming into the 2012 season. If Rios is the best bat available at the deadline, he should net something similar IMO. Peavy has been incredible this season up until his last two starts. Given that he's had success in both leagues, his market should be huge if healthy. I dont think he'll net a Zach Greinke package, but look at what the Tigers gave up in the Anibal Sanchez deal. Both of those guys were heading into free agency, while Peavy has another year on his deal plus an option, both at affordable rates. High-end pitching is always expensive at the deadline, but teams should be willing to pay a premium for a guy like Peavy if the alternative is a rental player. It's all going to come down to his health though. Crain should be one of the top relievers on the market if not the #1. He is rental but almost every contender should be looking for relief pitching. He should command a very good prospect if Hahn plays his hand right.

Alright, I thought we could get some actual discussion going here by looking at the big deadlines deals from last year: Giants acquire RF Hunter Pence from the Phillies for C Tommy Joseph (BA #2), RF Nate Schierholtz, & RHP Seth Rosen. Dodgers acquire CF Shane Victorino from the Phillies for RHP Josh Lindblom (BA #8) & RHP Ethan Martin. Angels acquire SP Zach Greinke from Brewers for SS Jean Segura (BA #2), RHP Johnny Hellweg (BA #4), & RHP Ariel Pena (BA #9). Rangers acquire SP Ryan Dempster from the Cubs for IF Carlos Villanueva (BA #9) & RHP Kyle Hendricks. Tigers acquire SP Anibal Sanchez, IF Omar Infante & 39th pick in 2013 MLB draft for RHP Jacob Turner (BA #1), C Rob Brantly (BA #7), LHP Brian Flynn, & 73rd pick in 2013 MLB draft. Braves acquire SP Paul Maholm & LF Reed Johnson from for RHP Arodys Vizcaino (BA # 2) & RHP Jaye Chapman. Pirates acquire SP Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros for CF Robbie Grossman (BA #8), LHP Colton Cain, & LHP Rudy Owens. Blue Jays acquire SP J.A. Happ, RHP Brandon Lyon, & RHP David Carpenter from the Astros for RHP Francisco Cordero, OF Ben Francisco, RHP Asher Wojciechowski (BA #10), C Carlos Perez, LHP David Rollins, RHP Joseph Musgrove, & RHP Kevin Comer. Reds acquire CL Jonathon Broxton from Royals for RHP J.C. Sulbaran (BA #9) & LHP Donnie Joseph. Cardinals acquire RHP Edward Mujica from Marlins for 3B Zachary Cox (BA #4). Dodgers acquire RHP Brandon League from Mariners for RHP Logan Bawcom & CF Leon Landry. Dodgers acquire SS Hanley Ramirez & LHP Randy Choate from Marlins for RHP Nathan Eovaldi (BA #3) & RHP Scott McGough.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 10:26 PM) Walker has a slight chance, but yeah, Mitchell probably should just be traded in a bust prospect for bust prospect deal. Thompson's showing some great progress this year with his BB/K ratio. Walker is starting to come around. He probably should have begun the year in A+, so a slow start should have been somewhat expected. He's only 22 years old, so he's still got some time to improve. Mitchell however is a straight up bust. I doubt you'd get much of anything for him, so I'd probably just hold on to him and hope for a miracle rather than take some other team's garbage.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 01:23 AM) I don't and won't watch GoT, but I just watched that Red Wedding scene that nerds are freaking out about. I don't know who any of those people are, but that was pretty incredible if they were all main characters. Why the f*** would you not want to watch Game of Thrones? The show and books are incredible! Don't you watch that garbage show Davinci's Demons? But you refuse to watch a great HBO show? I just don't get hating on Game of Thrones for no particular reason. It's not like we're talking about some overhyped show like Downton Abbey.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 01:04 PM) Not to be flippant, but the Sox just don't understand the draft process. I would have said yes a couple years ago, but last year seemed like a big improvement. Took a ton of high upside guys and even went overslot on some non top 10 picks. That's why I believe May is likely an underslot guy.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 12:54 PM) I suppose it is meant to balance out the low risk picks in the first two rounds. We might also just see something different than other evaluators. Definitely seems like money is playing a role here, but like everyone else, not sure what we're saving up for. I'm cool if they're saving for a big overslot guy, but otherwise you shouldn't waste early picks on guys with limited upside. Your 3rd round pick should be your 3rd best chance to get an impact player.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 12:49 PM) Jacob May does not have strikeout issues. He struck out 23 times in 230 PA. Sounds like a breath of fresh air to me. He's a polished, low upside bat - not a surprising choice given the risk on our other two picks. Gotta wonder if we're trying to save money for something, but for what? Why go for a polished, low upside bat in the 3rd round?

Obviously I'm not a talent evaluator nor have I scouted any of these players, but I do get a little worried with a pick like May that the Sox are overvaluing him because of his speed. KW has always had a thing for leadoff hitters and given his involvement in the draft this year I could see this being a pick he heavily influenced. Speed is obviously a great tool to have, but not when it comes at the expense of all power and I'm still not sure KW realizes this.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ Jun 7, 2013 -> 12:39 PM) I would think May is another underslot guy? That's kind of what I was thinking.

Baseball America had Jacob May ranked 200th overall.