TheFutureIsNear

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 1, 2016 -> 01:54 PM) Your team for next season would be the worst in baseball. Horrible horrible bullpen and terrible middle relief. And a sub par rotation. We would be the worst team in the AL for sure. Lol what are you talking about? How would adding Shaw and Saunders to the offense possibly make the team worse than it is now? Which isn't close to the worst team. Losing Q hurts a little but additions of Rodriguez and Hellickson to Sale, Rodin and Gonzalez make it a more well rounded rotation than we had for most of this year. And question for everyone else...what do you guys really think we would get for Frazier and Melky? Because I hate to break it you, but it won't be much. We would get nothing significant for both...combined. If you want to start a rebuild by trading mediocre to slightly above average vets on 1 year deals go right ahead. But it's going to be a LONG rebuild that way. Plus there is always the deadline to trade those guys if things aren't going well. Trading those guys and tanking out this year does nothing unless you also trade Sale, Q, Abreu, and Eaton.

Dump Shields however possible (which means just paying him to go away) Retain M. Gonzalez Trade Q and Robertson to Boston for Travis Shaw, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rafael Devers, Luis Alexander Basabe, Michael Kopech, and Blake Swihart I think a trade like this works out great in our favor. There's no question in my mind that we need to trade at least 1 of Sale or Q to rebuild an organization that obviously doesn't have enough talent. A trade like this would add 3 very young and talented prospects into the system to develop while also adding Shaw and Rodriguez to the majors roster as young pieces to build on. Swihart being the wildcard to take a shot on as I'm sure Boston wants him gone. This also adds some payroll flexibility by forcing Boston to take on Robertson's contract as well. I'm sure there will be some outcry because I'm not getting 1 of Boston's big name prospects but I don't think we can sacrifice quantity for 1 big name like Bennitendi or Moncada that will hurt the overall package we can get back. Free Agent Signings Nick Hundley Michael Saunders Jeremy Hellickson -Hundley is another shot at adding a vet to stabilize the C position for now, could be 1 of several names on the FA list if you don't like Hundley -Saunders is talented and relatively young still. Can play good OF D and adds pop as well. He won't be cheap but also won't break the bank. -Hellickson is a solid vet who can be a stable presence to the rotation. Will come back down to earth a little back in the AL but he should be above average and consistent. Again, shouldn't break the bank either. C- Hundley/Narvaez 1B- Shaw/Abreu 2B- Sally/Lawrie SS- Anderson 3B- Frazier LF- Saunders CF- Eaton RF- Melky/Tilson/Swihart DH- Abreu/Melky Eaton Melky Abreu Frazier Shaw Saunders Anderson Hundley Sally/Lawrie Tilson/Swihart battle it out for last roster spot on offense. Most likely Tilson because of D. SP- Sale SP- Rodon SP- Hellickson SP- Rodriguez SP- Gonzalez Middle Relief- Putnam Petricka Purke/whoever steps up as the 2nd lefty Kahnle/Ynoa Late Inning relief- Jennings Jones Fulmer Burdi Just put Fulmer in the pen and let him throw gas. He's not built to be a starter and his mechanics and stuff aren't built for it either. Fulmer/Jones/Burdi could make a dominant force in the pen to shorten games ala the Royals. Go ahead and tear it apart....

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Sep 1, 2016 -> 09:17 PM) hopefully we can stop talking about Cy Young awards now? Hopefully you can stop posting?

Actually attempted to watch this game but the commentating was so bad I couldn't take it

James Shields to Matt Albers...it's really just a slap in the face at this point. Last time I pay my $ for MLB.tv to watch this team for at least a few years. They need to earn my trust that they are capable of putting together a winning team before I pay another penny going to the organization. Because I honestly don't believe anybody at the top of this organization is capable of doing so at this point.

The entire scouting department needs to fired. It's painfully obvious that Shields has absolutely nothing left. I'm sure the Padres front office was stunned when the Sox called asking about him explaining why they traded him so early. They would have taken literally anything to get out of any portion of Shield's horrific contract. Just fire everybody actually, anybody who even knew that trade could possibly happen and didn't speak up against it.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 7, 2016 -> 10:39 AM) The Sox should have a lot of hope for him. I don't know how you fix the plate discipline issues though...no real reason to throw him a strike. Maybe he can hit bad pitches like Alexei and be like Alexei, although that would be disappointing. Now see THIS would be a post to jump down someone's throat for, not mine. If Timmy has Alexei's career, but a few years longer of prime because of age, I would consider Anderson wildly successful. He actually has a lot of developing to do before I would feel comfortable projecting him as good as Alexei was....both offensively and defensively. Alexei was no worse than a top 6/7 SS in all of baseball from '08-'14. We should all be crossing our fingers Anderson turns into Ramirez actually.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 4, 2016 -> 03:02 PM) Since 1980 Name BB% WAR Garret Anderson 4.70% 24 Mark Grudzielan 4.80% 23.2 Frank White 4.90% 23.1 A.J. Pierzynski 3.90% 23.1 Erick Aybar 4.80% 18.8 Alexei Ramirez 4.80% 16.8 Carlos Baerga 4.90% 15.7 Rey Sanchez 4.40% 14.6 Sand Alomar Jr. 4.40% 13.2 Ozzie Guillen 3.40% 13.1 Starlin Castro 4.90% 11.3 Corey Patterson 4.60% 10.8 Alcides Escobar 4.10% 10.1 Interesting..thank you. Some better names than I would have thought, but still doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture. If Anderson goes onto have the career of Erick Aybar there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. He should be proud of that kind of career and no one would have the right to complain...BUT when that's your organizations best hitting prospect its a huge problem. *And not saying that Aybar is Anderson's ceiling either before anyone gets their panties further in a bunch. Just saying that its a likely career path IF major changes aren't made to his hitting approach.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 4, 2016 -> 01:50 PM) He was moved aggressively in the minors so what he is referring to is month by month improvements before starting over at each level. He should not have been moved up to the majors, but just as Xander Bogaerts struggled in his first 1.5 years, so may Anderson. Again, not the same. If Anderson showed the ability to walk at a 10% rate in the high minors like Bogearts did then this would indeed be a stupid overreaction thread. But as it stands Bogearts' worst walk% as a pro was still better than Anderson's best. So for those in the no worry crowd...can someone show me some players who maintained long careers with a walk % below 6 and didn't rely on power? Maybe it's more than I think, that's an honest question.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Aug 4, 2016 -> 12:45 PM) If we are being honest then maybe we should give him more than 2 months to be realistic about the situation. The league will adjust, and hopefully he will adjust like he did in the minors But he didn't adjust in the minors...at all. His horrible 4% walk rate went down when he got promoted to AAA and his K% went up. And now both are even worse in the majors. There's 0 progression being made. And it's not like we are talking about a guy not being able to hit a good slider...we are talking about a huge fundamental flaw and there seems to be no signs of improvement. If his walk rates were acceptable in the minors I wouldn't be making a peep out of this small sample size. But when there are obvious signs of failure in his future all the way back to A ball and nothing has changed since l it should be a huge red flag for everyone. Whether it's Anderson himself or the coaching, I have no clue, but it's a problem that doesn't seem to be limited to him either. The # of players in this organization capable of going up to the plate and having a respectable major league AB is pathetic. But hey, why point out flaws for this great franchise since all they do is make smart decisions and win...oh wait.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 4, 2016 -> 12:11 PM) He's probably a 7-9 hitter on a really good team. Posts similar to this one and others about Rodon and Fulmer though continue to tell me that this fan base isn't ready for a rebuild. People think that everyone is Chris Sale. This place will be rough during a rebuild How did my post indicate anything negative towards a rebuild? Because I'm honest and realistic about the situation? Not like I bashed Anderson, just asking for honest opinions. If anything making a post about how our 1 and only hitting prospect is flawed should scream "We need to rebuild!" Of course every prospect isn't going to be perfect, or even work out, I'm well aware.

The team's #1 hitting prospect and got off to a hot start to cause excitement...but now the warts are really starting to show. I'm sure I'll get some backlash from posters about how young he is and its too early, but there is obviously a really serious issue in his batting approach that isn't just going to go away. I mean, we are talking about a guy who had a sub 5% walk rate in nearly 700 AB's across AA and AAA. So this isn't him adjusting to major league pitching, this is how he plays the game of baseball. Now, thankfully he's a SS who possess an elite speed tool so he doesn't have to be a .300 hitter to be useful, but I'm curious to see where expectations are at this point after getting a look at him. Personally I see him as our everyday SS down the line, but not a reliable top of the order bat like Robin is trying to make him into now. I'll say something like .250/.290/.400 with 30 steals and an above average defender at short....good player to have on the team, but as literally our only hitting prospect (before the '16 draft) worth anything I think it's a key reminder of how sad of shape we really are in

Amazing that Frazier is a major league hitter honestly. No matter what he tries to hook the ball. How on earth does it seem like a good idea in his brain? It's mind boggling to me.

I think he just hurt his entire leg...ankle rolled, knee hyper extended, and hammy went on him. Sounds about right for our season

Wonder if a Robertson/Puig swap would make sense for both teams? Makes taking the risk with Puig's contract easier, and the Dodgers could use Robertson. No idea if either would clear waivers though.

MLB.tv wasn't cheap...that's pretty much the 1 and only reason.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 04:21 PM) One of the things that annoys me about waiting, when you've already diagnosed that your team has an intractable issue with its talent is you are delaying the change in purpose for 6 more months. You are delayed in working with new players with a new system, you are delayed in changing the directives of our scouts and farm. There's also no better time to fleece a GM then when he's under pressure to make the playoffs. As others have said, Sale and Q staying put is extremely understandable, but not taking advantage of the market on ANY of our pitching besides Duke? Stupid. Also more than likely Melky will never have the value he does right now. He gets off to a slow start next year and Melky gets his full contract from JR and we will have never sniffed the playoffs with him. Amazing how many people seem to be in denial of the how bad this team actually is

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 04:06 PM) I don't understand the bafflement. I get that you guys think they should blow it up, but why are you shocked that they aren't? They're a .500 team with all of their core players controlled next year. They just decided to keep trying to build and win. I'm not saying it's the RIGHT decision, but it's not a confusing one either. Uhh because it's painfully obvious that the "core" isn't good enough? How many years does a FO need to see their offense at the bottom of the league to say, "wait, maybe this isn't working"? I could see your point if they made the playoffs in the past year and this year was just a down year. No, this is a decade long stretch of crap. You can't make "1 last push" when there was never a start to your run. That's why everyone is baffled

Well we also aren't, nor are we going to, win with the the team as currently constructed so what's the end game? You'd rather stick with what you know, even if it isn't good enough, than try something new and hope for the best? Of course no one knows if prospects are going to work out or not, but what we DO know is that the White Sox as a whole don't have enough talent. The nearly decade straight of losing should be evidence enough of this. But hey, let's just keep the same guys and make another run at it...surely we are only 1 or 2 pieces away

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 31, 2016 -> 06:13 PM) I will say this, if Hahn doesn't move Melky between now and tomorrow, it strongly supports the idea they'll be going for it in 2017. Melky, Robertson, and at least 1 of Shields/Gonzalez...no logical reason not to trade all of them to be honest.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jul 31, 2016 -> 05:57 PM) It's going to be glorious. Standing pat. Robin Ventura getting an extension. Various IF and OF pieces traded for. Talk about high expectations with playoffs in mind and missing them. Then 1 year less on Sale and Q's contracts. What really needs to happen is Hahn needs to be fired and a new GM needs to be brought in to rebuild. KW's fingerprints need to be scrubbed clean of the front office too if we are going to make all of those moves. He's been the 1 consistent in this nearly decade of losing. Of course it probably won't happen tho.

Almost leads me to believe Melky isn't on the block or Hahn is expecting a #1 prospect in return. He's done nothing but make good solid contact since June of last year. Obviously not good in the field, but I wouldn't call him a burden either. He'd fit great into the top 6 of the lineup for any playoff team.

16) Charlie Tilson, OF, Grade C+: Age 23, hit .295/.351/.388 with 20 doubles, four homers, 46 steals, 46 walks, 72 strikeouts in 539 at-bats, excellent athlete with fine defensive ability, a threat on the bases though he can still be somewhat raw there, will need to develop more power to be a regular but could have long career as fourth outfielder. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/3/3/11...spects-for-2016 Speed is indeed Tilson's best tool and it can serve him well both on the basepaths and in center field. He improved in terms of his basestealing skills in 2015, but the Cardinals would love to see him become even more aggressive, which they think will help him cut down on his caught stealing rate. Tilson has a good idea of what he's doing at the plate, albeit without power. He draws walks, drops down bunts and uses the whole field. With more experience, he has the chance to be a tick above-average in center field defensively, though right now he still outruns mistakes he makes with his jumps and routes. He has a below-average throwing arm. Tilson may profile best as a valuable fourth outfielder, though there's still a chance he can be a top-of-the-order catalyst and everyday center fielder. http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=stl I’ll admit to being a little torn on Tilson. Watching him hit is not an impressive sight, with his choppy, pushy swing built for ground balls and no power. He’s not an elite defender, but should do well enough in center field, and he has plus to plus-plus speed that he is learning to use on the bases. Speedsters with ground-ball swings tend to do much better in the minors than in the big leagues, but Tilson has a bit more upside with his hitting because of his contact and occasional solid-looking swing path. We’ll just have to see where it shakes out over the next year or two. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/evaluating-...ouis-cardinals/

Not a bad deal at all...likely a Peter Bourjous type but could also excel into someone like Denard Span and be our regular CF for 5-6 years. I would have rather seen a Shields/Gonzalez package with Duke to maxamize the return, but nothing to complain about getting Tilson. Sadly, he shifts right into our top 3 or 4 hitting prospects

At this stage in his career Mauer is not a guy to walk...and they should be scared to death of Dozier so going after both guys in front of him would have been the smart move.