thxfrthmmrs

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Jul 9, 2017 -> 05:20 PM) Now if Engel had bunted, we could have the start of another 9th inning rally Quit trolling.

QUOTE (Quin @ Jul 8, 2017 -> 05:17 PM) He needs to get out that GAP equivalent before the DR bandits get him. It was taken in his apartment, which looks nicer than mine. And here I thought they all play in sand lots and live in raggedy shacks down in DR.

GUYS HE'S OK. His instagram story an hour ago shows him trying on some tight ripped jeans.

Yikes.. someone with a medical background, what could a "minor injury to meniscus" entail?

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jul 7, 2017 -> 09:54 AM) Sort of shocked to see no Robert on either of this last 2 lists, especially the top 100. I think people just don't know here to put him. I think the new ranking of 45 for Robert is about right. Traditionally guys aren't ranked in the upper echelon without showing success in pro ball. Robert may skyrocket through the list once we get a better look at him in A ball next year.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 7, 2017 -> 11:43 AM) It's like they could've had Cleveland by the balls, especially with their 13245 picks, and yet they completely f***ed it up. They could have easily beaten the package for Butler or George. Danny Ainge got a little too cute with hoarding up draft picks. Now they're still one star short of hanging with Cleveland.

Burger, Dunning, Hansen, and Robert all has a chance to crack the top 100 by year end.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jul 6, 2017 -> 12:24 PM) The White Sox have trouble developing that type of player, anyway. Why?

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 6, 2017 -> 05:08 PM) The best relievers - the tippy top -are, what 3 WAR players? Ceiling 3 WAR is not a judicious use of a first round pick. Burdi was the reputed "fastest to the majors" guy in the draft. And the Sox needed bullpen help and were taking their last "we're still in it" gasps at the time. They wouldn't have drafted him in a rebuild. But he looks like a good pitcher, so it's fine. While reliever prospects don't generate huge value in WAR, they also are more likely to reach their ceiling than other prospects, and have a higher floor as well. Burdi has had a rough couple of weeks after a strong start, and has settled down nicely the past few outings since the rough patch. At present, he's still a usable bullpen arm if promoted today, and could soon enough develop into an elite reliever with a bit more seasoning. Obviously you'd pick a quality positional prospect if one was available, but instead you got prospect who is much more likely to reach their ceiling than your true first round pick Zach Collins. I am not complaining about that at all.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jul 5, 2017 -> 10:43 AM) Based on our minor league position player talent being a couple years away I would strongly consider resigning both Only reason you would want to bring them back is if you think they will be around for the next playoff team. We're still in a rebuild, no reason to bring them back.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Jul 4, 2017 -> 06:03 PM) You're discounting teams with young stars getting better. That's a bad assumption. Name those teams here and come back in 10 months and we will see if they were any threat to the Cavs.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 4, 2017 -> 04:00 AM) No, I don't think it will be any easier than it's been the last few years. Just have to hope that certain teams improve, I guess. People keep talking about how stacked the west is. Guess what? Nobody is beating Golden State, either. Cleveland/GS part 4 is pretty much a lock. It's not easier than any of the past few years because it was a cakewalk in years past as well. There is no denying that the East has been incredibly weak the past 6-7 years outside of Lebron's team, and it certainly has not gotten better this offseason. '14 Pacers got by with a historically good defense, but they only had one star. You can't win in the playoffs without another guy who could get his own shot. There are now 11 legit playoff caliber teams in the West versus maybe 5 in the East. If you were to make an all star team in the West, guys like Whiteside, Porzingis, and Jabari Parker will get in for the East, while guys like Butler or George might not even make the team in the West, Millsap would not even make the snub section. That's how much more talented the West is compared to East.

They haven't really had a save opportunity in a while. As long as they keep winning, they will hold off on getting help until more teams become sellers.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 08:12 PM) Slightly. Not a lot easier. It's possible a couple of teams in the East are going to be a lot better this year (Philadelphia and Milwaukee come to mind). Slightly? Stevens is a great coach. A lineup of Horford/Crowder/George/Hayward/Thomas with Smart dogging off the bench (and if they trade two future firsts and Brown for George they'd have Tatum too) is the biggest competition Lebron had since the 2010 Celtics. I actually like that team to beat the Cavs.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 07:15 PM) West >> East No argument there. I just keep hearing that all these east guys going to the west makes it even easier for LeBron. The Pacers/Bulls/Hawks even with George, Teague, Butler and Milsap had no chance of beating Cleveland. We'll see what happens with Hayward. Word is he could make his decision later tonight. Instead of Celtics signing Hayward and trading for Butler or George, those two went West instead. You're telling me that didn't just make Lebron's path to the Finals easier?

QUOTE (turnin' two @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 03:58 PM) Yeah, well, he is hitting 100 points below that level. Walks are great and all, but if a guy doesn't show the ability to hit, pitchers are just going to attack him, and the walks will decline then disappear. He needs to hit. By no means am I calling him a bust or anything like that, it is his first full season of pro ball and he has time. But he has to hit. For a guy that was billed as an advanced college bat, it is a bit concerning to see him struggle to hit in his second go round in A-ball. If he were doing what he did last year (.258/.418/.467), most people would be happy with him even though it isn't progress. To this point, this season has been a step backwards (offensively) , and in terms of player development, that is a failure. Yes, he has gotten better defensively, but defensive catchers are a dime a dozen, it is that bat that could make him special. The bat needs to start showing some progress, it is scary that he has shown that he may be better suited for Kanny than Birmingham. As I mentioned before, I think his hit tool was overhyped. He was "only" a .300 hitter his first two years in Miami then exploded to .360 hitter in his draft year. His K% was relatively high in college. The hitch in his swing is a concern. All in all, there are more red flags in his hit tool then some let themselves to believe. Let's not pretend that he could just flip the switch and become an all star level hitting catcher we thought he could. Not saying he's a bust or he can't improve, but there is a lot of work he need to do to even become an average hitting catcher in the majors.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 04:38 PM) He's going to hit though. Even if he's a high OBP with power, if he stays at catcher, it's a win. If he's like a .265/.365/.450 guy with a bunch of homers and walks, he's likely an All-Star behind the plate. That's a BIG if. Nothing he has done in the first full year of pro ball suggests he could do that. It's pretty evident now that the hitch in his swing is causing issues in making solid contact.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 04:26 PM) Cavs, Celtics, Raptors, Wizards, Bucks, and Heat are all likely playoff teams. I think Charlotte and Philadelphia are too. That leaves the rest. NY, Orlando, and Detroit are all better than the Bulls. Bulls will be battling Brooklyn, Indiana, and Atlanta for the basement. Most of those teams aren't much better than the Bulls, so they could luck into a win on any given night. If they're in the West, Bulls would be a lock for the last place.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 3, 2017 -> 03:35 PM) To be fair, the top 4 east teams from last year are still the top 4 east teams going into next year. The Hawks, Bulls and Pacers were middling playoff teams even before they lost their guys. If the Bucks and especially the Sixers show improvement the conference won't be any worse than last year. There's a significant drop in talent after the Cavs, Celtics, Raptors, Wizards, and maybe the Bucks. We will see who suits up for the Sixers first. Outside of Celtics, literally no one is trying to get better in the East. And even though they tried, Celtics still have a long way to go from really challenging the Cavs. So you can mark down Lebron in the Finals again in 2018. And the talent disparity for the two conferences is insane. If you list the top 10 players in the league, you have Lebron and maybe Giannis from the East, then who else?

With Millsap and Teague moving West, that makes it 4 current/former all stars moving West, and 0 coming back East. The East is seriously terrible. The Bulls will have a tough time competing with the tankers next year.

Free Carlos Perez. Give the kid more PT.

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Jul 1, 2017 -> 01:59 PM) And yet the Pelicans, with a full year of Anthony Freakin' Davis and Demarcus Cousins, still will not make the playoffs. Crazy. They would be a top 4 team in the East.

So Jrue freaking Holliday gets a 5/126 deal, could possibly going up to $150 with incentives. That only makes Butler's contract for the next two years look like a f***ing bargain. Still couldn't figure out how we didn't get a better deal than we got. I'm wondering if we could have gotten a better deal had we waited till free agency start, after the outrageous contracts are being hand out.

When Lebron's career is all said and done, he will probably break every NBA playoffs and Finals records. How did he get there? His team is a lock to make the Finals every year, there hasn't been a legit contender in the East since 2010. The East is seriously weak, two of their top 5 players just got traded to the West. The Celtics are a joke, all the assets in the world and couldn't pull the trigger.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 30, 2017 -> 03:42 PM) Should the Bulls play in this free agent market? Yes, we just flipped Butler...but should the Bulls make a run at any of the free agents on this market? Essentially, move Butler to get more assets (with upside) while then using his contract today to get a player of similar (albeit slightly lesser value) such as Gordon Hayward or do you get Blake Griffin? I know everyone on this site is pro tank and therefor we should wait two years to sign someone...but next year there are some quality free agents and another year from now more....I guess the question is what is the pacing / approach to do it. If Rondo opted out and with Butler gone...I think we could give Gordon or Blake max (separate question is whether they are worth it) and surround them with the other players...waiting a year for Wade to come off the books before flipping him for another free agent. I'm not suggesting it...but just throwing it out there given speculation that there is a 4th team interested in Hayward. I'm also not saying any of those players would even want to come here either. That was what I suggested on draft night. Going after a near max level FA this year could possibly put us in better position for the 2018 free agency, where if we deal Lopez, we could possibly afford two more near max players (depending how Lavine's extension is structured). Say if we sign Blake, Lavine returns to form, and one of Markkanen, Dunn, or Portis turns into a solid starter, this team suddenly looks like a much better landing spot in 2018.