BigFinn

CBS Sportsline has an article on the passing of Billy Pierce. Included in the article is a clip of Billy eulogizing Minnie Minoso. The same kind words that Billy spoke about Minnie on that occasion apply to Billy as well: carrying a team first mentality, giving time to greet the fans, being a solid citizen both on and off the field. To Gloria, Billy's wife of 65 years, and to Billy's family, baseball fans around the country offer their deepest condolences.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jul 29, 2015 -> 11:55 PM) Do we all really have to strap it on. There must be another way fellas! I'm assuming "it" is a feed bag.

Mea culpa. I obviously know absolutely nothing about baseball. After losing 3 out of 4 to the Royals, I thought the Sox should be sellers. I wanted to wave the white flag from the highest yardarm. They were a listless team that couldn't play offense and couldn't play defense. I thought, I, I, . . . well what do I know. OK. I'll bite. Go Sox. Go, go Sox. Let's Go Sox. I am now officially emotionally invested. Dadgummit. Now I have to sit down, strap it on, and hunker down. This team is better than the roller coasters at Great America.

I can't assume that the Sox lost out on Hoffman because of chaos in the front office. The Sox might have been saying all along that any deal for Samardzija must include Hoffman in the return package. At the same time the Rockies could have been telling the Jays that any deal for Tulo would require the inclusion of Hoffman. The Phillies might have told Toronto the same about a package for Hamels. Toronto picked the trade for Tulowitzki because they could find another, cheaper starter to tide them over until Marcus Stroman returns from rehab for his knee. Someone like Mat Latos or Dan Haren from the Marlins or Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy, or James Shields from the Padres. If the White Sox infield defense over the past month or so is for real, I would like me some of that Tyson Ross. With his GB/FB ration is 1.77 this year and a strikeout rate of 9.7 per 9 IP, he could pitch in Harry Caray's telephone booth.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 28, 2015 -> 12:25 AM) Too old school? Has there been another major leaguer with that first name since Wilbur Wood? You ask; the internet answers (from Baseball-reference): Wilbur Gary Bell, played as Gary Bell for Cleveland 1958-1967, the Red Sox 1967-68, and the White Sox on that awful 1969 team. Hawk probably has a story about him. Bob Wilbur Barton, backup catcher with the Giants, Padres, and Reds 1965-74 (went by Bob Barton). Wilbur Howard, played with Milwaukee and the Astros 1973-78. Wilbur Donald "Don" Wakamatsu, played with the beloved in 1991. Two interesting Wilburs from the past: Joseph Wilbur "Joe" Adcock, longtime masher for the Braves, among other teams - 1950-1966. Granville Wilbur Hamner, former whiz kid on that storied 1950 Phillies team, played with Philly from 1944-1958, Cleveland in '59, and the Kansas City A's in '62. According to Jon Morosi, RHP Miguel Castro is one of the prospects going to the Rockies.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Jul 28, 2015 -> 12:10 AM) I don't think T-Flow21 is taken. How about Wilbur28? Something historical.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jul 27, 2015 -> 04:19 PM) Here is an off the wall and totally unrealistic idea: Avi, Micah and Danks to SD (maybe throw in another low-level lottery ticket) Shields and Justin Upton to the Sox Sox then flip Shark to Toronto for Pentecost and Hoffman Good idea. Shields and Shark are similar pitchers, Shields is a little older. They are both flyball pitchers. Shields is owed $63 million over the next three years with a $2 million buy out in 2019 or a $16 million option. Shark might cost closer to $120 million by the time all is said and done (If Samardzija is traded now, he can't be given a qualifying offer, which makes him more like Jon Lester, and Lester got a 7 year/$170 million deal from the Cub—or slightly more than $24 million/year). Shields could look like a bargain over the balance of his contract, in spite of the backloading.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 27, 2015 -> 08:40 AM) Anyone thinking the Sox best plan of action this week could be to buy AND sell? Samardzija has pitched really well over his last 8 to 9 starts, but his K/9 is currently sitting 6.93 (by far the worst of his career). While trading Samardzija now and replacing him with EJ might hurt the team in the immediate future, maybe the Sox could take a seriously look at adding value elsewhere to offset the lose and build more for the "3 year window". I know everyone is hesitant to add NL players, but I would absolutely love to see the Sox add Carlos Gomez. Add his bat along with his defense to this team and all of the sudden, this team looks a lot more dangerous. This isn't a move I expect this front office to explore, but it's one I would seriously consider. If you could put together a package that didnt include Anderson, I say you do it. We all keep hearing about this 3-year window. I have a feeling that Kenny and Rick have given themselves a 3 year goal to fill the minor leagues with players that they can groom into the next generation of Whiite Sox regulars. We are starting to see that with the battles at second base: Carlos Sanchez with the big club, Micah Johnson at AAA Charlotte, Joey Dimichele at AA Birmingham, Jake Peter at High-A Winston-Salem, etc. I think they want to build a system in which every slot is filled by a prospect that will eventually feed the White Sox big league club. Outside of Tim Anderson, the system is weak on shortstop (although I like what I see from Tyler Saladino). 3B is improving: AAA Davidson, AA Nick Delmonico, A Trey Michalczewski. Catching is still abysmal. The outfield is spotty, and so is 1B. But it looks like they have a plan in place for really developing a pipeline for prospects to contribute to the major league roster. A shrewd Samardzija trade could help both for the big league club of the here and now and for the feeder system of the future.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 10:17 PM) Serious question about Samardzija's impending free agency. I was just looking at James Shields' contract which pays him 21M per season covering the 2016/17/18 seasons and a 19 team option of 16M. Shields numbers have gone down despite switching to the NL in a pitchers park , pitching in a division with pitchers parks. Samardzija is about three years younger so just how much is he going to ask for? At $7 million per WAR, and a three year history of 2.9, 2.9, and 4.2 WAR prior to this year's current 2.5, you could figure 3.5 x $7.0 million or $24.5 million per year asking price. Asking for $24-25 million per year and getting it are two different things. But he doesn't have the mileage on his pitching arm that Shields or Price or other front-of-the-rotation starters have.

Jacob May seems like a candidate for the Arizona Fall League, due to missing some time due to his concussion.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 09:15 PM) I can actually see the Tigers caught in that weird limbo of aging veterans and lack luster prospects like the Sox had from 2009-2012. Hahn has been trying to build the farm back up since 2013, while also attempting to compete at the same time. Apart of me wonders how badly Hahn truly wanted to do a proper rebuild starting in 2013? This "retooling on the fly" crap has not worked at all! They are similar to the recent Phillies squads. Outsiders can see that they need to sell, but ownership is locked into one more push for the series. At least the Phillies won once.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 08:21 PM) Well, the offense really seems to be coming around now. I do think we need another bat if we want to contend, but it would be a LaRoche replacement, as I am content with everyone else's hitting right now. Assuming we could find a taker for Adam LaRoche, would Micah Johnson as DH be enough of a bat—good on-base skills and speed on the base but not so much power—to help the club for a "playoff push?"

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jul 26, 2015 -> 07:56 PM) I hate to say it but this f***ing team has pulled me back in. Like Dan Hayes just RT'd, this team has been down & out 3-4 times now & yet, going into Monday, this is the closest they have been to a WC spot in a while & are playing their best ball of the year. If the Sox front office thinks that they are in it to win it, do you see the Sox keeping Shark and buying a bat? Is there one bat that could seriously upgrade this offense enough so that the Sox could become competitive? (short of Mike Trout from the Angels for the proverbial bag of balls!)

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 25, 2015 -> 12:57 PM) It sure does seem that way. Ranger Rongey interviewed Dan Hayes from CSN on the Score, and Hayes confirmed that the Sox want to synchronize Erik Johnson's starts with Samardzija's just in case the Sox pull off THE TRADE.

In Statcorner, Tyler Flowers is now the #5 catcher with respect to pitch framing; Gio Soto is #20 (out of about 80). For those interested, the top 10 are: Francisco Cervelli PIT Chris Iannetta LAA Yasmani Grandel LAD Buster Posey SFG Tyler Flowers SOX Jason Castro HOU Yadier Molina STL Mike Zunino SEA Kevin Plawecki NYM David Ross CHC Flowers has turned himself into a decent defensive backstop. If the Sox had better offense from the rest of the lineup, they could stand Flowers as catcher. That said, if the Sox could find themselves a solid 2-way catching prospect that they could groom for starting in 2017, I wouldn't complain.

QUOTE (staxx @ Jul 23, 2015 -> 01:03 PM) Only problem is that our fantastic manager doesn't know how to platoon vs LHP/RHP I'm not sure who Robin would pencil in at DH if he didn't have LaRoche playing, more or less, full-time. The guys on the bench are guy you pinch hit for, not guys who can step in as DH. The players Oakland received for Scott Kazmir are RHP Daniel Mengden (#19 on the Astros top prospect list, now #13 on Oakland's list) and catcher Jacob Nottingham (#22 on the Astros top prospect list, not mentioned on the A's list yet)/ MLB trade rumors mentions that Mengden throws 4 pitches, and he could develop into a starter, although some scouts think of him as a reliever. Nottingham has a decent bat, but he may not stay at catcher.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 23, 2015 -> 09:28 AM) 1. Dodgers -- he suggests Alex Guerrero, which suggests he doesn't know about Guerrero's opt out that essentially makes him a rental for us and therefore a bad option. More evidence that Rogers knows less about baseball players than our message board posters do. Schebler or Barnes make a ton of sense, though. Especially Barnes. 2. Giants -- Christian Arroyo is probably a really realistic return, actually. 2013 first rounder who usually appears toward the back of the top ten Giants prospects but has had some helium this year. Might be a SS, might be a 2B 3. Blue Jays -- While I agree that the Sox should prefer positional prospects to pitching prospects at this point, I think it's a little ridiculous to suggest that there won't be a fit simply because that Sox won't want any pitching prospects. If the Jay offer the highest grade talent, they should get something done. 4. Yankees -- I didn't get to see Jagielo myself (he was here the year before I started working for Staten Island), but while he seems like the perfect fit for us on paper, the up and down nature of his value has me worried that he's another guy who is notable mostly jsut because he's a Yankees prospect. I've read a lot of mixed stuff on him. 5. Astros -- Tony Kemp would be a great get in terms of value. I actually think it's probably a little rich. Stassi would be good for us too, but I'm pretty sure the Astros see him as their catcher going forward. Colin Moran is extremely polarizing, with enough people thinking he's absolute garbage that I'd be wary of him as a centerpiece. Domingo Santana is a good prospect and probably a realistic centerpiece even if I hope we can do just a touch better. Arroyo is really lighting up the California (High-A) League. His slash line at San Jose from MLB Pipeline (#4): .333/.385/.495 with 19 2B, 2 3B, and 4 HR in 216 AB. The website suggests that the Giants think of him as a shortstop, but scouts project his as a third baseman. Arroyo and Aramis Garcia for Samardzija and a reliever would be a nice swap of the Giants future for the White Sox present.

Trying to find catching prospects, here's an article on Aramis Garcia, who may be 3 years away, but sounds promising. He's blocked behind Buster Posey and Andrew Susac. Garcia is listed #6 on Baseball America's 7/17 issue of Prospect Hot Sheet. I don't know if Rick Hahn and KW are looking for ballplayers for the 2016 White Sox 25-man roster or if they want to add depth to the organization.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 21, 2015 -> 07:34 PM) One catcher I'd call about is Kevin Plawecki. Given the Mets already have d'Arnaud, I could see them willing to part with him in the right deal. Not sure what they need other than offense, which obviously isn't our strong suit. Having said that, I'd at least float the idea of Avi as an inexpensive OF upgrade. And assuming they pass on that, I'd offer a decent prospect or two that can help them get the bat they desperately need or at least replace the prospects they give up in said deal. Good call on Plawecki. The Mets have been looking for a shortstop for a while. And if they are going to make a playoff push, Alexei and a reliever like Petricka could yield us Plawecki and a lottery pick from their system. We might have to include cash . . . $#@#$#&&^*$#!!!*@@)($ing Bernie Madoff.

A lot of teams preferred to wait until Cueto was going to be made available by Cincinnati (after the all-star break) before they were going to buy into Samardzija.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 09:19 AM) Lind makes a ton of sense for both Houston and Pitt. Initially I didn't think Alexei could be moved and then yesterday someone ( ss2k5?) pointed out that the Sox were able to get something for DeAza and Beckham so I have some hope. Clubs taking Alexei will be getting a full-time shortstop for $4 million or so for the balance of this year and a $1 million buyout. That is a very reasonable contract.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 20, 2015 -> 07:44 AM) To be fair the sox also give up Putnam who has been pretty dominant in the pen. I think the Sox could sweeten the pot by adding Adam LaRoche and cash. Right now, Toronto's 1B is Justin Smoak. If the Sox pick up some of the tab on the Adam LaRoche contract, I think the Blue Jays might bite, thinking that LaRoche is due to "play to the back of his baseball card."

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Jul 19, 2015 -> 09:54 AM) Q is absolutely an elite type pitcher. Put him back on the Yankees and he's well known and talked about. Put Q on the Yankees and he's the second coming of Whitey Ford. Minus the heavy drinking. I think the Dodgers are looking for a right-hander because of the possibility of Greinke opting for free-agency after this season. Both Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are good fits with the Dodgers because they have the financial where-with-all to sign Cueto or Samardzija after the season, i.e. not just a rental. Houston has been kicking the tires on the same pitchers, but I wonder if Mike Leake isn't a better fit. Leake is more of a groundball pitcher, Cueto and Samardzija are flyball pitchers. Check baseball-reference.com for the GO/AO stats (under More Stats for each pitcher).

Thanks for the report, Kim. Thank you, as well, Carson Fulmer. And anytime anybody wants to bring some of those 16 runs up north, be my guest. We sure could use some offense!

Time to sell. The Sox needed to sweep the Royals. Now, the best they can do is 2–2. At best they'll be 11 back in the AL Central race. The Sox are 6 1/2 back in the wild card race.