BigFinn

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 17, 2015 -> 06:57 PM) Is the urine smell included or extra? Has Ricketts replaced the troughs? Trade proposal: Samardzija and Robertson to the Yankees for RHP Luis Severino, C Gary Sanchez, and 3B Eric Jagielo. It's not going to happen, but a fan can dream.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 17, 2015 -> 05:27 PM) Trust me. I know the mindset of the Royals and their fans right now. Getting Shark would thrill them. They would think he's the missing piece. Thus their fans (and front office) would be willing to part with name players, but not their super prospects. Mondesi will be off limits to us. They can't trade any more top prospects. However, they have no room for Colon. We CAN get him. It's a no brainer trade. Even if Colon sucks with the Sox, we have no use for Shark. He's gone after this year and we're going nowhere this year. It's a no risk deal. Colon and Lamb for Shark is a STEAL for the Sox. If Lamb is John Lamb, 25 year old LHP, here are his particulars: 2015: 0.71 GO/FO ratio, 7 HR in 84 IP, 86 K, 27 BB, 1.15 WHIP Career: 0.86 GO/FO ratio, 58 HR in 595.1 IP, 569 K, 203 BB, 1.28 WHIP Lamb just doesn't look like a prospect. If Colon is Christian Colon, 26 year old 2B, here are his particulars: 2015 Minors: .342/.359/.421 2015 Majors: .244/.306/.295 Career minors: .282/.344/.386 Career majors: .271/.331/.366 Beckham is only two years older and we don't have to send Shark to Kansas City to get him. If we deal with Kansas City, and if Mondesi is off the table, the next few prospects come with some baggage, according to MLB Pipeline: #2 Sean Manaea, 23 year old LHP, is a one-pitch LHP #3 Kyle Zimmer, 23 year old RHP, just had arthroscopic surgery to clean out his shoulder #4 Miguel Almonte, 22 year old RHP, has two pitches, an inconsistent fastball and a change that "he fall in love with" #5 Hunter Dozier, 23 year old error-prone 3B, 'nuff said. #9 Chase Vallot, 18 year old C, is rated as the 10th best catching prospect in baseball, but he''s playing in the low-A SALLY league, and he may be 4 years away. He's not someone to target if you want to maximize your chances for winning with the White Sox in a "Win Now" mode.

I've been listening to the Pensacola feed for the Birmingham–Pensacola game tonight, and the announcer for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos mentioned that Courtney Hawkins was walking around in a boot yesterday because he is suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. Evidently, Hawkins was taking batting practice and hitting some bombs. Still, there was speculation that Hawkins may go on the DL.

119.33 IP / 157 K = X IP / 300 K X = 119.33 x 300 / 157 = 228 IP If Chris Sale is able to pitch 109 healthy innings at his current rate of striking out batters, he should strike out 300 batters. That would be the equivalent of 15 starts between now and the end of the season (figuring 7 innings per start). The Sox have 77 games left, which means Sale has a chance to start 15 games (maybe a 16th depending on the schedule). The numbers say Chris Sale is right on target for 300 strikeouts.

Just playing with the numbers in the Bill James favorite toy app: If Sale strikes out 100 more batters this year, his chance to strike out 3000 batters jumps to 44%. Sale doesn't have a track record to strike out 4000 batters . . . yet. If he does strike out 100 more batters this year, he will have a 13% chance to strike out 4000 batters. Just for giggles: King Felix has a 34% chance at striking out 4000 and a 6% chance at striking out 5000! Regarding the single-season strikeout rate record, Chris Sale's current season strikeout rate, 11.84 K/9 IP ranks #10 all-time behind 1999 Pedro Martinez, 1998 Kerry Wood, 2013 Yu Darvish, and six seasons worth of Randy Johnson. The 2015 version of Clayton Kershaw ranks 12th all-time—he's at 11.70 K/9 IP. Chris Archer, this year, at 10.87, ranks #26 all-time. A trio of Cleveland's finest, Danny Salazar (10.58—34th all-time), Corey Kluber (10.39—47th all-time), and Carlos Carrasco (10.14—64th all-time) are also having all-time great seasons. There are a few others: Max Scherzer (10.23—59th), James Shields (10.11—68th), and Francisco Liriano (9.81—90th). Randy Johnson's best is from 2001, 13.41 K /9 IP. Chris Sale isn't unique; baseball seems to be experiencing a significant uptick in strikeouts these days. He's just the best. And he pitches for the White Sox. How cool is that.

Do you think that the Sox could get some younger prospects for Samardzija and flip them to Milwaukee for Jonathan Lucroy?

According to the Bill James "Favorite Toy" app at ESPN.com: 35%. The app figures Sale for 2690 K's based on 2012-2013-2014 stats. The percentage will go up at the end of the year.

The Max Pentecost discussion arises from the fact that the Sox have no catching depth in their system. There are only a handful of real catching prospects available now, and Pentecost is highly rated and possibly available in trade. Texas has MLB pipeline's #1 catching prospect, Jorge Alfaro. But after Texas' recent skid, I don't think they are going to go off the deep end for the Shark. The Cub has Schwarber (MLB Pipeline #2), and he's not going anywhere. Tampa Bay has Justin O'Conner (#3), and Tampa Bay isn't going to sell their future for a 3-month rental. Same for Pittsburgh and Reese McGuire (#4). Hence Toronto and Max Pentecost. The Yankees have Gary Sanchez (#6), but MLB Pipeline suggests that he may need an attitude adjustment. Colorado isn't buying; they're selling, so Tom Murphy (#7) won't be available. Washington doesn't need pitching, so #8 catching prospect Jackson Reetz will continue to hone his skills in short-season Auburn. #9 Austin Barnes in the Dodgers organization is intriguing, and he may be available in a trade. #10 Chase Vallot plays in the Kansas City system, and I don't think Samardzija is going there in a trade. There are other catchers out there, Andrew Susac from the Giants could be a possibility. He's temporarily blocked by Buster Posey. But the Giants have been giving Posey playing time at 1B, and giving Susac playing time with the big league club. So a trade with San Francisco might not be possible. That leaves trades with Toronto for Hoffman and Pentecost, the Yankees for Sanchez and Jagilelo, or the Dodgers for Barnes and fill-in-the-blank if the White Sox want to get a catching prospect included in a return package for Samardzija.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jul 15, 2015 -> 07:58 AM) Sounds like Toronto could be out of the mix if what's said is true. "The Blue Jays are “regularly being asked for Marcus Stroman” as a return in trades for pitching, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Despite the fact that Stroman won’t contribute to the team in 2015 after tearing his ACL this spring, the Blue Jays won’t be trading him, Davidi writes. Looking at the trade history of GM Alex Anthopoulos, Davidi notes that it’s probably more likely to see the Blue Jays acquire someone with some team control remaining. " Per mlbtr. Fine with me as I'm not impressed with anything Toronto has outside of Stroman and Norris. Hoffman could become an ace as soon as post 2016 all-star break. Max Pentecost has the bat to start in 2017, despite the surgery. But he may not have the arm to stick at catcher if the surgeries aren't as successful as hoped.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 14, 2015 -> 08:39 PM) http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521642...culation/page/3 Bleacher Report keeps predicting a Toronto deal that would bring over C Max Pentecost and 3B Andy Burns Stats for Andy Burns: 2015: .277/.338/.360 Career Minors: .268/.344/.432 Burns is thought of as a utility infielder. Pentecost hasn't returned since shoulder surgery this February.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 14, 2015 -> 08:49 AM) Correct, he told us (Future Sox) he's not signing. Just found out last night. DJ King is still in theory a possible sign, but I know nothing about the guy. That's a shame, the Sox haven't developed a full-time catcher since Ron Karkovice—and a good offensive catcher since Brian Downing.

Any word on Hickman or the other late round draft choices?

Adam LaRoche's batting splits for 2014 from Baseball Reference: 1st Half:.279/.383/.457 (BA/OBP/SLG) 2nd Half: .236/.336/.453 Fangraphs suggests that Jose Abreu as a better fielder at first base than Adam LaRoche. LaRoche is here to paper over the fact that the Sox organization does't have any LH power in the pipeline. Here is a summary of our offensive woes using OPS+ (thru Saturday's game): OPS+ Player Starters 136 Jose Abreu 103 Adam LaRoche 101 Avisail Garcia 99 Adam Eaton 90 Tyler Flowers 86 Melky Cabrera 82 Conor Gillaspie 64 Gordon Beckham 56 Alexei Ramirez 31 Carlos Sanchez Bench 97 Geovanny Soto 94 JB Son Beckham 83 Micah Johnson 55 Tyler Saladino 1 Emilio Bonifacio Looking at the raw data, I could see the Sox playing Soto more frequently than Flowers over the next 2-3 weeks. Although Alexei Ramirez is showing some signs of life over the last 2 weeks (.306/.342/.361) and I like what I've seen from Tyler Saladino during the Cubs series, the White Sox need to find some help for catcher and the left side of the infield.

Did anybody else notice that Bonifacio scored the winning run. Just when I thought it was time to ship him out when we need his slot for the extra pitching after the all-star break. I am so confused! Saladino looked good at 3B, even though he drew an 0-fer.

Before everybody jumps in on the "I hate Rick Hahn because he signed Emilio Bonifacio" bandwagon, I would like to point out that many people on this board were asking for Bonifacio BEFORE he was signed this past off-season. Myself, included.

I wonder if the colder than normal spring/summer in Chicago has anything to do with it. Coors field park effects changed when the Rockies started storing their baseballs in the humidor.

I've been flipping through the mlb pipeline website for prospects among the contending teams in the #3 to #5 range, and boy is it slim pickings. The Yankees top 5 prospects: #1 Luis Severino, an undersized 2-pitch pitcher #2 Aaron Judge, a 6'7" RF who has a lot of power with a lot of swing and miss #3 Jorge Mateo, a 20 year old shortstop in the Sally League who may have to move off short because of a weak arm #4 Greg Bird, a defensively challenged first baseman #5 Robert Refsnyder, a defensively challenged second baseman How about Houston: #1 Carlos Correa, SS, he's not going anywhere #2 Mark Appel, RHP, he's not going anywhere #3 Domingo Santana, he's a .300 hitting outfielder with some swing and miss problems #4 Vincent Velazquez, RHP, he's not going anywhere #5 Michael Feliz, RHP, I doubt that he's going anywhere The Dodgers (say it like Vin Scully): #1 Corey Seager, SS, will not be traded in a Samardzija deal #2 Julio Urias, LHP, probably will not be traded in a Samardzija deal #3 Grant Holmes, RHP, pitching in the Midwest League #4 Jose DeLeon, RHP, pitching at AA Tulsa, intriguing, fastball-slider-change. He's been a wee bit tateriffic since his promotion #5 Alex Verdugo, OF, playing in the Midwest League Three contenders, one intriguing prospect. That's not to say that Corey Seager isn't intriguing, but he won't be coming over in a trade for Samardzija. Toronto is looking like a good trading partner for the Shark.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 05:24 PM) Last year Boston got Baltimore's #3 prospect for Andrew Miller who was also a 2 month rental but a top lefthanded relief pitcher. The year before the White Sox got Avi and 3 B or less prospects for Peavy who had a year and 2 months. So I would say Shark would bring some team's 3-5th rated prospect + another 15-20th prospect. That's a good value for Samardzija. CBS Sports baseball guru Jon Heyman has suggested Jeff Hoffman or Max Pentecost (#3 and #4, respectively, on the MLB.com Blue Jays top prospect list) as the centerpiece for a Chicago-Toronto trade. Hoffman has 9 starts at high-A Dunedin this season since coming off Tommy John surgery. Here's his stat line. Pentecost had his shoulder cleaned out last fall by Dr. James Andrews (his second shoulder surgery). He hasn't played since. His bat showed promise in his first season of pro ball: the stat line for Pentecost.

Baseball is such a frustrating game, but I love it. Last Sunday, with the Shark rolling along into the 8th inning, Robin lets him pitch out of the first spate of trouble he's faced all day. In less than five minutes he gives up four runs and hits the showers with a 4-4 game instead of a 4-0 lead. Yesterday, same pitcher rolling along into the 8th inning, Robin pulls him because he gave up a base knock after he had a spate of trouble in the 7th. In comes Putnam, out goes the lead: 2-0 becomes 2-2. We're all happy that everything worked out yesterday: Beckham got on base, Alexei got the bunt down to move Beckham over, Shuck strokes a double down the line, Avi makes a spectacular catch to save the game, and Robertson gets a punch out on the inside corner to close the game. But look at it from Robin's perspective: If doesn't seem to matter if he keeps Shark in or pulls him, the late lead will be toast. How many times has Beckham failed to get on base this year? For his whole White Sox career? How many times has Alexei failed to get a bunt down? If Beckham isn't in scoring position, Shuck might not be pinch hitting with the game in balance. It's the players that make the manager, or as Nuke Laloosh would learn to say, "You win as a team; you lose as a team." This is the one season that if the players don't get the job done, then the GM (hopefully Rick Hahn) could move the players and not necessarily the manager.

The reason I brought up the Dodgers is that's where the prospects are right now. I just don't trust the Red Sox organization. According to John Sickels at minorleagueball.com Boston has the 2nd best minor league system in MLB. Cubs are #1; Twins, #3; Dodgers, #4; and Rangers, #5. The White Sox are stuck at #23. With the exception of the Red Sox, I'm OK with that thumb-nail sketch. I could see the Sox working a deal with the Cubs centered around Schwarber plus other prospects for Quintana. I could see the Sox hooking up with the Texas Rangers with a deal for catching prospect Jorge Alfaro. I've already mentioned my wish list from the Dodgers. Quintana, according to Fangraphs, was the tenth best pitcher in all of baseball last year. Right now he's tied for #30 with half a season to go. Quintana is a solid #2 to a close to #1 starting pitcher as a 26 year old with a cost-controlled contract through his age 31 season. On the Cubs, he would be their ace. Same for the Rangers. He'd be the #3 on the Dodgers, but the Dodgers may lose Greinke next year, so he would help provide depth for their rotation. If any of those teams, or any other contenders, want Quintana, they should have to pay dearly to get him. And apologies, it's Joc Pederson, not Peterson.

My dance partner for a trade for Quintana is the Dodgers. LHP Julio Urias, C/2B Austin Barnes, and either Joc Peterson or Corey Seager.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Apr 18, 2015 -> 03:00 PM) I can't even unpack what this means. The real problem, of course, is that the fans who remember seeing those guys play are dead. Dick Allen is the owner of perhaps the greatest offensive season in Sox history, and I know he is sometimes credited with saving the franchise, but his stay was much too brief to warrant inclusion on a Mount Rushmore. Crede and Rowand aren't even close. If it wasn't for Dick Allen, the White Sox would be playing in Denver right now. He's George Washington (mounted on one of his own horses) as far as I'm concerned. George Davis, shortstop from the 1906 team, deserves some love, too. Allen, Davis, Big Frank, and Mark Buehrle.

If the Sox think that Nate Jones is going to be able to pitch this year, they won't put him on the sixty man DL. Otherwise, when Jones is ready to pitch (even on a rehab assignment), they would have to pull someone else off the 40-man roster. If the Sox put Jones on the 60-day DL, that's pretty strong evidence that the club doesn't think he'll be ready until 2016.

Here's an article by Sport's Illustrated's Tom Verducci on Brian Anderson. Spring is the time when "hope springs eternal." Best wishes to Brian and everybody chasing the dream.

I voted for Rob Brantly because I don't want anybody to get a zero, but I like Brantly's bat better than his glove: Rob Brantly's stats StatCorner.com listed Brantly near the bottom on it's 2013 pitch-framing web page (he didn't play at the MLB level in 2014.) He has thrown out 18 would-be base stealers in 72 attempts – 25%. That said, the back-up will either be Kottaras for his LH bat or Soto for his defense.