he gone.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Aug 8, 2016 -> 11:09 AM) How many times did Jose Abreu see his son during the 2015 season? How many times did Jose Abreu see his son during the 2014 season? Was his performance affected by not seeing his son during the 2014 or 2015 season? He didn't love his son as much in 2014. Publicly said so.

This may not be exactly 100% on topic of the thread, but I keep reading about rebuilds across this board. Just one thing to point out - not all rebuilds go as planned. Not every rebuild turns into the Cubs. Look at the Pirates - they were rebuilding for over a decade and always in the cellar. Prospects don't all turn into something like Schwarber and Rizzo and Bryant, etc. Also not all GM's and Teams have the ability to spend money on add'l pieces like a Lester or Heyward when their young talent is hitting the majors. In fact, not many teams have the allure of playing at Wrigley. Just saying. We are in like year 8 of a playoff drought. Even with a tear down, IF all things went 100% great we wouldn't be back in the playoff picture for probably 3-5 years....

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 5, 2016 -> 12:56 PM) I think it's one of those where you have to buy tickets on line and they give you a code you print up. They keep it to a few hundred people. Correct. First 1,000 fans get the scarf and then to watch early BP. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/ticket...?loc=blackhawks Small picture there. Looked better on the Sox Twitter page.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Aug 5, 2016 -> 08:27 AM) Avi has to be one of the most frustrating players in recent Sox memory. You can clearly see that there is talent there. When he gets hot he looks like a potential superstar but when he's cold he does absolutely nothing. He has two months this year with OPSs in the .500's. If he could even manage a .650 OPS during his down stretches he would be a useful player. Hopefully he continues his hot stretch and something clicks for him. Still just barely 25 years old. Since the all star break - .290/.378/.742 The one good thing he has really done is improve his walk rate. It was an anemic 3.9% throughout his minor league career and has improved to a respectable 8.3% this year. Call me crazy but I still have at least some faith left that Avi can become a useful everyday player. While his defense will probably never be good, it has improved each year if defensive stats are to be believed. Avi tme is maddening for a whole ton of reasons - one of which happens to be is built like a star. But beyond that I have a funny feeling he'll return to the Tigers in the coming years and possibly turn into JD Martinez 2.0 A guy who takes time to get it together but may have a late career breakout under the tutelage of Miggy.

Hey! let's talk something positive about this team --- is it just me or are the giveaways really great this year? Feels like they've stepped up their game from the t-shirt/bobblehead days and are really giving away some cool, practical items. The pullover this weekend? Then the nice looking water bottle Sunday. They are doing a coffee mug a few weeks from now. The White Sox - Socks. White Sox Zubaz. Saw a SICK Blackhawks/Sox scarf that makes me even consider going to the Phillies game on a Tuesday night. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/schedule/p...ns.jsp?c_id=cws I'll honestly say that I am almost ready to go to some games just for the giveaways - which is the point of the promotion. Maybe bad that they are turning into a minor league team where giveaways and shticks are what are driving my interest, but hey, so be it. Maybe to make this more into a thread -- what has been your favorite thus far this year? Or which are you looking forward to the most? Myself personally? That scarf looks awesome. I want the Sox socks. The Hawaiian shirt was great. Also, maybe I never paid attention in the past, but they've done a great job of having multiple sizes available so you aren't just walking away with an XXL. I'm getting mediums of everything.

If we can pick up this win and this offense can keep this up. A hot streak from Abreu, a hot streak from Garcia? Take 2 of 3 from Baltimore, then we have a nicer stretch of easier games where we could really get back into this thing ... hahahaha just kiddingggggg. This team is the worst. Interest is at an all time low. I don't even care if we acquired Reddick for the OF, somehow traded for a stud catcher and signed Edwin Encarcion to DH I wouldn't buy a single game ticket to this team after getting burned on season tix this year.

Speaking just for myself? This is the lowest I've been. I refuse to make time in my schedule to watch games. If Sale is pitching or it's 3-2 in the 8th maybe I'll turn the TV on. Other than that? Done. BUT all of that won't happen until the Sox demote Avi to AAA. I've made a pact with myself to watch no more Sox game until he gets what he deserves.

QUOTE (soxfan18 @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 11:33 PM) Blows my mind that this is cheaper than the friggen NIU game. I know it's 2 different groups running these events, but feel like they could've gotten more for this than they did. Festival goers have no issue dropping a lot more than $50 after fees even for bad views. It's because Chance wanted to keep the seats cheap for the fans. As usual it backfires as a lot of people turn around and try to make a boatload on the secondary market with them.

I agree, on what evidence? This whole thread is about how prospects are fools gold. Are nothing until they are something. As far as I can tell, until the people they draft turn into something... and not just the top round guys-- through and through, then I'll believe.

QUOTE (BamaDoc @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 03:57 PM) When you go to the link click on top twenty by team and take a look…………..explains why we are mediocre! Just did that. WOOF! I'm sorry this team cant draft or develop talent. I don't think we can evaluate talent in trades for only prospects either then IMO.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 02:56 PM) 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 I mean that's kind of a loaded response. We aren't losing BECAUSE of Sale or Quintana. We'd just lose a lot more without them. We're losing despite SAle and Q and a bunch of other really, really coveted core players. It's the rest of the organization that is hot garbage and why we lose. It's that our team is full of players who strikeout too much, pop out too much, can't move runners over when necessary, etc. You can turn your head to a few of these guys, but when 6-7 of your guys in the lineup are consistently unreliable with RISP you are going to lose.

My first post aside ... not trading Robertson and a few of the smaller pieces is asinine though. Waiting until you have the best informed, well made decision on Sale and Quintana (since they are not FA for a while) makes sense. Not trading some of the other pieces? Dumb. Robertson may not be at peak value right now, but I believe he'll net more this year than he will next year ...

I know everybody is probably stuck over in Trade Winds but thought I'd bring this up here. I, as much as anybody kind of want to see a trade for a sake of a trade. Not that it makes sense. I am just so frustrated as a fan. My levels have reached heights they've never been before. For the first time since 2004 I am no longer watching games daily. I mean, through it all, I've watched 120-130 games a year. Basically if it could be worked into my schedule I'd watch. I've bought season tix (partial) almost every year.. but now? Done. I've started watching Astros and Cubs baseball, or just any random game of solid teams because I enjoy watching fun, fundamental baseball. Robin, the FO, the players all have not done this. Now besides my rambling anger I just brought up the 2012 prospect list. Now, it has always been my belief that if you trade a Sale or Q you'll never win the trade. It's just not possible. And I think this list confirms it... http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/ Who cares what their rankings are? Dylan Bundy? psh. he's a nobody. Not even a top 10 prospect is a guarantee. So to me, how am I going to trust our FO and scouts to correctly identify the good ones in a trade? Our whole existence is being bad at identifying and developing talent. Just saying maybe keeping Sale and Q isn't the worst. Mediocrity or not.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Aug 1, 2016 -> 01:40 PM) What percentage of top MLB prospects become the stars, that they are projected to be? What are the odds concerning how many of Boston's top 5 prospects will become really good Major League players? Unless the odds are really good that at least 2 or 3 of them become stars, even getting all 5 of them is not a good gamble, when contemplating giving up Sale and his contract. You guys tell me what those odds are, and then we can all intelligently discuss the merit of any proposed deals for Sale. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/ Here's a list for 2012. Maybe compare the Red Sox prospects and where they are listed and say that's what we get back for Sale. In the end, whoever gets Sale will win. We will win "hope" that we won't be mired in mediocrity.

I was dead wrong on Sanchez. I really thought he'd be a solid player on this team. I kept on falling back to the idea that he was always young at every stop and readjusted each year after a slow start at a new level. I didn't think it would be crazy for him to hit .280 with a great glove at 2b and run the bases fine... Fast forward to now? I mean I Kknow he's been in a tough spot, but even when he goes back down to AAA he hasn't really produced as well. I agree, I think his time a Sox is done. Or at least being considered as a starter for sure. Saladino has proven he can take the utility role and hold it for the next few years.

He should demand the most. He is the top trade chip on the market in ALL of MLB. Probably the top trade chip available in the past half decade. A Cy Young candidate year in and year out who is under a friendly contract for years to come. That doesn't come along. It's also what makes me sick to my stomach. If this team can't win with 2 pitchers that are top 8 in WAR since 2013 under team friendly contracts........ then when are they going to be competent enough to win? This team should have Cespedes on it. should have never had Rollins on it. Just think about this team and its offense if Jerry spent in the offseason. But he half asses it. Give the guy $32mm and MAKE him choose us. Who cares. You'd have a totally different team right now. You trade for a guy like Lucroy. You go all in on your "three year plan" But no, they half ass. Imagine where we'd be with those two guys..... Eaton, Cespedes, Melky in the OF Frazier, Anderson, Lawrie, Abreu, Lucroy And whoever at DH paired with our pitching staff? Tell me that isn't a first place team right now and we're not talking WS and packing in 25,000 a night easily. We were literally 2 bats away from being a front-runner. But we half assed to the point where trading a top 5 pitcher in the game seems like the best route... Oh to be a Sox fan.

Just to play devil's advocate for a little bit. If you take a step back and then fast forward to 2018 and look at the state of this division what will it look like? Twins: Some of their for sure talent hasn't really done it's job thus far. They have some larger contracts that should be falling off soon. But attendance continues to drop as the allure of a new stadium wears off. Not entirely up to date on their farm system, but they could have a few rough years ahead. Tigers: Miggy, Victor Martinez, Kinsler, Verlander, etc, are all getting up there in age. As is Illitch. They may continue to spend spend spend, however I think we'd agree that door is closing. I wouldn't suspect them being better than they are right now. Royals: A ton of their contracts end after 2017. They are going to be in full rebuild mode because they cant sign their own guys. Best case scenario for them sadly is selling off a lot of those guys next year mid season if they aren't winning. Worst case is they make a run at the playoffs and they cant sell those pieces. Their farm took a big hit when they went after Cueto, etc. 2018 for them could be pretty ugly Indians: Nothing bad to say. Only thing I can say is they have the second worst attendance this year and are probably almost guaranteed to make the playoffs. They are a small market team that may be unable to retain some of their talent. That said, this team looks to be set up decent for the future. So that bring us to the Sox. I wouldn't be surprised if we are basement dwellers. However, if you, gasp, re-tool. You can really compete in a terrible division. I mean, this might be an 84-85 win division in a few years. Now how do you do that if you choose that route? My idea, and I'm not even saying I agree with my idea. But let's use the Cubs as an example since I would assume Hahn would never trade to the Northside (I'm against this idea, I'd trade with whoever makes our team better. I don't care if Sale is a Cub and wins them 3 world series) But lets say you trade him to the Cubs and get Baez, Schwarber, Almora and Edwards Jr. You re-sign Frazier to a 4yr deal. You trade Robertson for a decent prospect or two. Trade Lawrie for bullpen fringy type arms. Trade Melky for whatever. etc. Your team next year already is: RF - Eaton CF - Almora DH - Schwarber 1B - Abreu 3B - Frazier 2B - Baez SS - Anderson LF - ?? C - ?? Staff: Quintana Rodon Shields Fulmer Gonzalez Burdi, etc fill in at closer. You get a few of the guys back. Sign a guy or two for the bullpen. You got a pretty damn competitive and controllable team. Power, speed, defense. I mean between Schwarbs, Abreu, Frazier, Baez you could have 4 30HR guys. you have the defense up the middle with Anderson and Baez. You have Almora and Eaton roaming the OF. To me, that would be a hell of a lot more fun to watch than a total tear down. Now 2018 comes ... you have the same team, maybe add in Collins at Catcher. Really not too shabby. And you remain in a weak division. Just taking the other side here...

I was totally on board and gung-ho on the Raunado bandwagon going into tonight (relatively speaking for a midseason pickup in AAA). I thought his main problem was walks and that if he had figured it out in AAA that he could actually be a similar piece to Erik Johnson - meaning, all goes well maybe a #5 candidate next year. But the HR line scares me. Take it FWIW that Charlotte's stadium is tiny, but still, that is not very good. Means although not walking people he probably still is missing his spot. Something you can maybe pitch around a bit at AAA, but not in the majors. This could be bad, especially against the Cubs. Give me 6 innings of 4 run ball. A couple mistakes for HR's and I am fine tonight. After that, I'd say bounce Turner, keep Raunado and put him in the long relief role. (once Rodon comes back)

QUOTE (TheTruth05 @ Jul 27, 2016 -> 10:19 AM) Honestly seems like a total hipster hat. (no offense to potential hipsters on here) That's my only problem with it. It's totally a hat a college bro would wear. I actually like it, but would never buy it because its too "I go to festivals and take molly" look.

Sox pre-sale is sold out already.

I'll take the other side. I like it. But I also was one who showed up early to make sure I secured my Sox Hawaiian Shirt back in June. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I will say I was wrong on Saladino coming into the year. Makes me hate Jimmy Rollins even more though. I was bigger on Sanchez than Tyler, and now I've switched. I love him in the roll he has. Super Utility around the IF, start maybe 2-3 games a week, come in for defense maybe 2 games a week. Would love to keep him as a piece of the team moving forward in the UTIL role for the next 2-3 years at least. Super defense and plays well in most aspects of the game. He's a keeper.

0-31 with RISP over the past few games.. things will even out. But as I said when he was struggling - (and when the Sox started off hot then got cold) everything regresses to the mean. He's not as bad as he was then, and not as good as his ERA is suggesting now. Just like the Sox, not as good as they were in April and May and not as bad as they were in June. Shields will give you a 4-4.20ERA and 190-210IP for $9mm a year. Not bad. Sox are an 83-85 win team as currently constructed. Untouched for the rest of the year? They will probably end in that range. Mired in Mediocrity.

If I am being completely honest, I'd like to trade Sale over Q mainly for the reason that if you look at their WAR since 2013 they are right in line. Also, not that it has or will happen but people have always made a deal about his mechanics. And finally, and the most important reason, the perception. When people put together supposed dream deals for Sale they are including 3-5 top prospects. When they do the same deal with Q, they include 2 prospects, and then some low level guys. If not doing a total rebuild I think there is a lot to be said about trading Sale. Let's just use for example the Sale to Boston example. Let's say it includes Moncada, Benintendi, Henry Owens, +?? Now trade Robertson, maybe Lawrie and a few other pieces and I think this team isn't much worse day 1 of the trade with the ability to get better. You'd have Moncada and Anderson up the middle. Re-sign Frazier. Abreu at 1B. OF would be Melky, Benintendi, Eaton. It really doesn't sound terrible. Some mix of power and speed. More versatile. Your rotation still has Q, Rodon, Fulmer which isn't ideal but not awful. You have Collins coming up as DH or C by 2018. I mean, not awful at all. That also being said, I wouldn't mind the total tear down either. I am just going through this scenario because I think trading just 2-3 pieces could really make this team a ton better offensively.

They take from both ends. Not a big fan. However nobody uses the ticket exchange here ever! Like I said I have all Saturday and Sunday games here out. I'd rather sell to the board than using stubhub, just nobody checks ticket exchange here