Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:02 AM) OK, so if I understand this, I need to pick a 7-man bullpen out of our minors, based on high-side potential, right? I'd go with... Daniel Webb (Closer) Andre Rienzo David Purcey (L) Salvador Sanchez Kevin Vance Cody Winiarski Braulio Ortiz Thoughts on others... --Guys who just missed, for me: Brandon Hardin, Taylor Thompson --Kussmaul and Remenowsky are both tempting, and effectively can be among the "next guys" in Charlotte --I don't think Castro makes sense as a reliever, same with Cose --Santos Rodriguez just doesn't inspire any confidence in me at all. --Petricka just isn't likely to put it together at this point as a pitcher --A bunch of guys now starting in the lower levels, i.e. Hansen and Brennan, could become relievers, but its too early to say This exercise also dismisses the young arms with the MLB club, like Reed, Jones, Omo, etc. Why don't you think Castro will make it as a reliever?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:02 AM) And JR carries some serious weight, both with Bud and with the rest of MLB owners. Very true, didn't Reinsdorf already block Cuban from trying to buy the Cubs? If so, Cuban won't be buying a MLB team until Jerry steps down or sells the Sox.

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ May 21, 2013 -> 07:15 AM) Eh, I wouldn't be surprised. If Loria can somehow own the Marlins, Cuban can own whatever team he wants. Not the White Sox. Reinsdorf & Cuban got some serious beef.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 21, 2013 -> 06:24 AM) Goldschmidt: 1.030 OPS, 25 years old, due only $30 million over next 5 seasons Konerko: .612 OPS, 37 years old, FA after this season But Paulie is from Arizona! He'll give em a hometown discount to reup!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 20, 2013 -> 10:52 PM) The problem is that even at his highest upside, he's more of an Iguchi/complementary player and not an All-Star or electric game changer in the Reyes mold. Think Chris Getz with less speed/burst but a better fielder, more walks/patience, mix in 10-15 steals per year, bunting/sacrificing/hitting to the right side and a good all-around game...but it's dangerous to have too many hitters like that at USCF, especially when the major issue for the franchise right now (and in the future) would appear to be generating offense. We basically have no hitters like that right now. I agree you wouldn't want a lineup full of them, but having one guy like that isn't going to be a problem. He obviously needs to get that AVG & OBP back up though before we consider for any role, starting or backup.

I think Castro & Rienzo will ultimately be relievers for us. Based on Balta's write-up, Webb sounds like he has a chance to help sooner rather than later. We really don't have much in terms of left-handed relievers in the minors though. Santos Rodriguez has the stuff to be a dominant setup man, but he simply walks too many people. That typically doesn't translate well to the pros.

God damn it Stone don't you dare mention Keppijger's name in the 9th!!

A strikeout works too! 1 down, 2 to go!

Let's double this b**** up right here.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 20, 2013 -> 09:49 PM) Wow. Thought Viciedo must have gone yard, lol. It's just the logical thing for any pitcher to do, which is walking him while he's hitting in front of Keppinger. It wasn't an intentional walk. Viciedo was able to lay off some pitches that he used to chase.

I'm sorry, but Tank is the s*** right now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 20, 2013 -> 08:28 PM) He's also still the youngest player in AAA in baseball right? Probably, he doesn't turn 21 until the end of June. Also, the kid has actually improved his BB % this year while cutting his K % slightly. The power is down so maybe he's not hitting the ball as hard as he did last year, but take a look at his BABIP and that will show you he's been the victim of some bad luck this year. Way too early to worry to worry about him IMO. I agree that AAA was likely too aggressive of an assignment, but he's so young that he could spend another two seasons at AAA and still be young for the league. Give him some more time and hopefully he'll get back on track soon enough.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 20, 2013 -> 08:47 PM) Keppinger has been hitting a little better lately. I wonder if there is anything with Beckham playing SS tonight other than to get hi some ABs. Could be a factor in the decision to keep Greene or Sanchez as the backup infielder.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 20, 2013 -> 04:30 PM) I'm okay with it. He has seen lots of lefties, he can take a day off against the best one. Agree. Perfect day to give him a rest.

Getting out of that inning with only 2 runs is a small victory.

I didn't get to watch the inning obviously, but I'm glad to hear D.J. call out the team for sloppy play just now. The number of unearned runs don't even begin to tell the full story of how poor our defense has been this year.

Glad to see all that hard work in AAA paid off.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 14, 2013 -> 09:05 PM) The anti-rebuilding crowd like to throw out scare tactics like "Astros" and "irrelevancy" while ignoring the fact that the Sox have 1 postseason win since 2006. Because we never went over slot in the draft and had no presence in Latin America. The new CBA has changed everything and the organization is actually embracing these changes. People need to give it some time though. The Latin American players we signed last year were only 16 years old. It's going to be a year or two before we even see them over here. It will be four or five years until the Latin American pipeline is running full circle. Same goes for the draft. The 2011 & 2012 drafts were big improvements IMO, but it's going to take more than two good drafts to get the system where it needs to be on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, patience is not a virtue on this board. Also, if you think signing a couple of stopgaps is riskier than rebuilding than I'm at a loss of words. Look where our system is at right now. Give it some time to self correct. Meanwhile, make a few calculated free agent signings to plug big holes and/or fix the offense. They may not work out, but at least you buy some time until your system is finally up and running.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 14, 2013 -> 06:15 PM) And you can't rebuild the offense through free agency. I get that Chase Utley is old, but he's been fantastic so far this year. Would he not be a significant upgrade over Ramirez/Beckham next year? Brian McCann is 29 years old and has been one of the best offensive catchers in baseball outside of last year. Would he not be a huge upgrade over Flowers? Kendry Morales is also 29 years old and is a very solid 1B. Would he not be a big upgrade over Konerko/Dunn? All these guys can help improve our offense. Add two of them, trade a starting pitcher for a young bat, and the offense will be much improved.

QUOTE (gatnom @ May 14, 2013 -> 04:23 PM) The reality is that whatever the White Sox decide to do during/after this season, if we don't want to sink to the depths of the Pirates and such, they need to not f*** it up. The reason the future seems bleak right now is that nearly everything KW has done since 2008 has backfired to some degree or another. It doesn't matter if they rebuild or compete or whatever you want to call it. If the moves turn out like Dunn, Peavy, Rios, Molina, Danks, Thornton, etc. we will suck regardless of the strategy used, and the hemorrhaging of fans will continue. That is the bottom line. I happen to think that selling off in July if we are still in last place is the best move in the long term for the team. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't see us competing next year if we can't this year. And why can't we improve the offense in the offseason? If you head into next offseason with Sale, Peavy, Danks, Quintana, & Santiago under contract, not only do you have a starting pitcher available to trade for a bat, but you also have $35+ million coming off the books to work with. So unlike this past year, Hahn will actually have the resources necessary to improve the offense. Why don't we see what Hahn is actually capable of in his 2nd year as GM before writing off the team.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 14, 2013 -> 11:35 AM) Yeah, nothing to do with the fact that he's a career backup who is 33 years old coming off a career year. Wow, I love your spot-on analysis. A guy with a career .716 OPS is currently putting up a .378 OPS. I didn't realize he was a career backup (he has over 400 PAs in 4 of the last 5 seasons), nor did I realize 33 was the age when guys normally fall off the cliff physically. Luckily you've explained conclusively why he went from a solid/average player to the worst player in baseball. Thank you for clarifying.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 13, 2013 -> 05:51 PM) I'll be honest, I don't even know what the argument is anymore. No one truly thinks the Sox are going to be trading Sale or Santiago. Outside of that, everyone will be on the market I'd assume and no one seems too against that. That doesn't mean all 23 players on the active roster will get traded. As long as you have the likes of Sale/Santiago in your rotation, it's hard to picture a situation where a full rebuild in the mode of the Marlins takes place. That doesn't mean that you spend a fortune this offseason to try to path every hole the big league roster has. I'm fine with taking offers for Peavy & Rios if we're out of the race come the trade deadline, but IMO you have to be blown away to move either of them. I'm talking about receiving at least one high-end, close-to-ready minor leaguer for either of them. Both guys are under contract for another season at cheap salaries plus they each have an option year. Short of injury, they'll still be extremely valuable next trade deadline. You don't move guys like them simply to move them. You only move them if you feel like the deal(s) has a very good chance of making you better in the near future. If all you can get is a couple of low A prospects, then you should hold on to them.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 13, 2013 -> 02:08 PM) I don't understand this. No one is suggesting Chris Sale isn't a valuable commodity. There is a deal that would benefit the Sox involving Sale, it's just extremely unlikely. Listen Marty, I respect your baseball knowledge, but I've got to completely disagree here. Sale is a legit #1 starter with Cy Young caliber stuff. If your goal is to win a World Series at any point in the future, you build around an ace. There is no other position on a 25 man roster harder to fill and it's by far the most valuable position in the postseason. I get the "no player is untradable" perspective, but unless someone is going to give you a pitching prospect with a 75% chance or better of becoming an ace, then you really can't afford to move Sale. And if some team was willing to make such a move, a red flag would immedietely go off in my mind that I'm getting damaged goods. Teams just don't trade pitching prospects with #1 stuff anymore.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 13, 2013 -> 03:05 AM) I'm pretty sure it was a joke... Unfortunately, some other people have seriously suggested this idea.

I'll go out on a limb and say Keppinger's s***ty play is somehow the result of his broken leg this past offseason. Maybe he was unable to get into baseball shape or simply lost a lot of strength while recovering from the injury, but it seems like he only makes weak contact a the plate now. He's also looked a little sluggish or lazy in the field. There has to be something wrong with him physically. He's literally the worst player in the game right now and when Beckham comes back, he better get sent to the bench ASAP, because I don't expect to see the real Jeff Keppinger until next season.