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QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 02:10 PM) Manto has presided over Adam's K rate declining in consecutive seasons. Well, in 2011, it declined from a career worst 35% to a second career worst 34%, and 2012's 29% is still higher than every year before his disastrous 2010. Also, while his K rate has technically declined, Manto has also presided over Adam's OBP and overall offensive production declining.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:55 PM) It's difficult to be this bad. With Sale sucking today you have to wonder what is going on. You guys are ridiculous with this draft talk. It's embarrassing IMO. I was telling a group of sports fans about this board and how Sox fans are all excited about getting the No. 1 pick and they laughed their asses off. Who cares about the baseball draft when our team is shockingly terrible? I'm sure Cleveland fans feel the joke is on them after sweeping us again and being a game out. I love you Jose, but that's grade school. I think everyone is half-joking. Those that aren't are just looking for a silver lining. Is there anything wrong with that? You should stop accusing people of wanting the team to be bad, because it isn't true. Everyone here wishes we were contending.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:54 PM) While I do think it would be hilarious if people cheered at the park for the Astros, it would also be disgraceful Would it be more disgraceful than the team's performance though? I'm not sure. The franchise may be maxed out on disgrace by then.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) Joke is on you Cleveland you will win nothing this year whereas we are headed for that Big Draft Pick in the Sky Dreaming of that BDPitS

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 12:04 PM) As bad as our offense has been, I have a hard time truly feeling like he should go. Before he came, players like Dunn and Rios were among the least valuable assets in MLB. Beckham had had his third straight declining season. Now those guys have become legitimate pieces again. The jury is out on a guy like Dayan, where the way he finishes this season could have a profound effect on the way we view his development. Our most significant decline this season is PK, and I'd like to find the person that believes that is the fault of the hitting coach and not father time. If the White Sox continue to prioritize tools over skills at all costs, though, we're going to need someone that will teach the kids to stop swinging at bad pitches. And considering he was able to convince Adam Dunn, reigning emperor of TTO, to start swinging at anything that appeared to be middle in, regardless of count or pitch type, I do NOT think Manto is the guy to teach that plate discipline.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:32 PM) Thank you. I saw it go out over Twitter and some responses I saw made me think at least some people thought it was real. And I figured there was a chance that Hawk was hamming it up for them. But still seemed unlikely. How sad is it that I thought there was a small chance he actually said those things? Not sure if that is bad for me, or bad for Hawk. I think it's bad for Hawk, lol. I mean this seems believable to you because he has said nearly all of these things, verbatim, except about sabermetrics.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:19 PM) You are just being ridiculous. What proof do you have that he is as talented and sought-after as you think and the only reason he isn't running a team is because he wants to spend time with his family? You didn't answer that when I asked. You like Keith Law, I do not. Let's just leave it at that. Every claim you can make that I have no idea what I'm saying, I can throw right back at you. So this is all pointless. No, because as I said a couple posts ago, I'm NOT making a claim that he could run a baseball team. You and wite were arguing over whether he was good or sucked, and you backed your argument that he's bad up by saying, "if he was as good as you say, he would be working for a baseball team." All I'm saying is that that argument makes no sense at all. That would be like me saying "If you had the ability to accurately assess Keith Law's ability, you would be his manager!" I have no idea if Keith Law is good enough to contribute to a Major League team, or if he's better or worse than current ML scouts. If you think you do, you need to make a better argument than, "he wouldn't be working at ESPN." I'm just asking you to back your opinion of him up -- because so far, the only thing that seems to be floating out there about his ability is "he was wrong about Chris Sale" which isn't even true.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 12:21 PM) Yep; that's the way they used to do it. Hawk must have slept through the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s.... That was when he was GM right? So yeah, he definitely was sleeping then

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 12:19 PM) I know Hawk is old-timey and all, but... can that be for real? I mean, did he really, actually say those things, or is this some sort of comedy? This is NOT real. I edited the post to be more clear.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 12:01 PM) Better sources than the sources that told you Alex Rios was worth something in trade. You did not answer the question.

Lot of soft stuff up in the zone. It worked because he changed speeds, but I don't think it's sustainable. Hopefully he gets that stuff down.

Fire Manto!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 11:27 AM) Rest assured, if Keith Law knew all the answers , he would be an employee of a MLB team whether you choose to believe so or not. How do you know this? What information do you have that no one else does?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 11:23 AM) Hah, I posted this yesterday in the HH documentary thread but it went unnoticed because of the deadline...pretty funny comparison. Oh, sorry!

http://www.fangraphs.com/not/ken-harrelson...nking-industry/ ***Just to be clear -- this is NOT real, it is a satirical article. Hawk did not really say these things.***

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:36 AM) All I said is if he was as great as he thinks, he would be working for a MLB team. You said the 80 hour a week thing made him walk away. If that is true, the guys working the 80 hour weeks should have a more informed opinion, correct? The 80 hour week thing was just an example of the type of thing that might prevent someone from accepting a job. I'm just trying to illustrate that it's erroneous to assume that he is incapable of taking a job solely because he doesn't currently hold that job. There are lots of reasons that people choose their jobs, they don't simply accept anything offered to them.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:30 AM) If you think writing a blog and doing a chat on ESPN.com shows he has the talent to work for a MLB team, you're wrong. I wouldn't dare make that claim, I'm not qualified to judge either way. You're the only one that's trying to tell us how Keith Law compares to ML scouts. I haven't interviewed him for a job -- have you?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) If that job requires 80 hours a week, how could his opinion be informed when he's not working anywhere near that? Are there specifics examples over the years of Law's opinion being superior ? And if his opinions were superior working whatever he was working, I'm sure a team would offer him a job paying him more money, working the same amount of hours he's working now, for exclusive rights to those opinions. If you're asking me if he's the best talent evaluator in America, I would say that no one thinks that. But if you're implying that the fact he does not work for an MLB team is sufficient proof that he doesn't have the talent to work for an MLB team, you are wrong.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 08:38 AM) If he really was the player evaluating genius he thinks he is, he would be putting an MLB organization together, not doing chats for espn.com. This is absolutely not a valid argument. Working for a team and working in the media are drastically different lifestyles and it it not at all unreasonable to want to be ESPN's Keith Law rather than an anonymous member of the Astros working 80 hours a week.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 08:27 AM) It's ridiculous to want to have the worst record in baseball for several years or one of the worst because it usually won't work out in the end. People become so dissinterested in your team, if the players you draft turn out to be any good, you wind up unable to pay them. The last time the Sox went into a full rebuild, they struck it rich in the first round 4 years in a row. McDowell was the 5th pick in 1987. Griffey Jr. was #1, so it obviously paid off to be the worst team that year. The other 3 before McDowell weren't special, in fact, had the Sox had the 4th or 3rd pick, they really wanted Mike Harkey. In 1988, the Sox drafted Robin Ventura with the 10th pick. Look at the picks before him, and tell me how it paid off not to lose even more games. Frank Thomas was #7 in 1989. There were some decent players before him, Ben McDonald went #1, but if the Sox drafted higher, they really wanted Jeff Jackson, a guy who never played in the major leagues, and Frank obviously was ultimately the best player of that draft. They did get Alex Fernandez with the 4th pick in 1990 and there is where it may have paid off to draft that high, however, Mike Mussina was selected with the 20th pick. There are really good players in every draft outside of the top 5 picks. It took teams like Tampa and Pittsburgh many years before their draft positions really paid off, and even they have made mistakes. If losing 100 games nets you Tim Beckham, it makes zero sense to try embrace being bad. The Sox are going to draft high the next draft, but I think we all should hope its the last time they draft in the top 5 or 10 for quite some time. I don't think any of this changes the point I'm making, which is that each class is different. My point also doesn't argue against you saying that a team shouldn't tank every year. I'm not saying they should.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 08:36 AM) I highly doubt he will play CF at the Major League level. He is already huge and at 22 his body may not be done filling out yet. He is clearly destined for a corner. Lots of SS are destined for 3B too, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't play SS while they can. There's no harm in letting him fill a position he can handle now if the team needs it and its a way to get him in the lineup.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 03:50 AM) This thread is ridiculous. With our market/payroll, you play to win every year. I can't believe I'm reading people say, "I want to lose next year." I refer you all to the Pirates/Royals/Padres of the late 90s/00's. Handfuls of early 1st round picks, nothing to show for it. Look at 1st rounds in the last ten years. Your first five picks will produce 2-3 MLB starters and then the last 25 picks of the round will give you 4-5 major league starters. You play to win the game. Picking #7 as opposed to #17 rarely makes a difference. This isn't the NBA/NFL. No one WANTS to lose, that's why we want to get rid of our s***ty group of players and start building a better team so that we can win as soon as possible. It's more ridiculous to assume that rolling out the same set of bums again will yield different results.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 06:29 AM) I mentioned in another thread the year the Sox drafted Aaron Poreda, 4 of the top 8 picks have lower career WARS than him, and He wasn't exactly stellar. So hoping a team is miserable all summer just for a high pick usually doesn't work out as well as it does in other sports. I would argue that there is a different draft class every year and that it isn't useful to choose one random year to make a prediction about the future. You could also look at the 2010 draft and argue that it's crucial to get into the top 3 because you can get a generational talent there but there's a huge dropoff in talent at number 4 (Chris Sale notwithstanding), and it would be equally useless.

Rios/Ramirez, perhaps.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 04:41 PM) Not sure if this has been posted, but this is a great swing by Garcia. From what I've seen, a lot of his homers in the minors this year were to the opposite field http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=29090845 Unrelated to Garcia: Wow, what a meat ball haha