Ducksnort

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 06:07 PM) Wasn’t he also dealing with personal issues involving his family? Didn’t his season take off after seeing his son? Yes. This is true. These players are also human, though I think many people fail to realize this.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2017 -> 11:21 PM) So, the Yankees are out and they have one of the top international signing pools remaining right? Those Braves kids, some of them are going to NY. Don't get me wrong, this rebuild is the most exciting thing to happen to this franchise since 2005, but the Sox definitely have a lot of big obstacles to jump over if they are going to a world series sometime in the beginning of next decade. Those Astros are only going to get better, the Red Sox are young...but I think the Yankees are going to be the team to beat for years to come with that team they are building over there. They are going to be very hard to beat in the future when their kids develop.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 1, 2017 -> 09:55 AM) And some thought the Sox would not be active in the free agent market. Ha ha! Yeah, I don't care what kind of team you have, every team could use bullpen pieces.

Anyone else feel like this Jose Abreu trade talk is way at overrated? Maybe because of the extremely slow off-season and this was the only remotely interesting thing that anyone could latch on to?

If Hahn has shown us anything in the last 12 months, it's that he won't budge on a move if he thinks he is not getting what his player is worth. Abreu is undervalued and is worth way more than what someone not in the Sox organization might think he is worth. He probably has 3 more seasons of .300 average, 30 homers and around 100 RBIs. The only way I see him going is if Hahn can get a deal done similar to Eaton and Sale.

I can understand all the hype around Avi being traded. IF the Sox do intend on trading him, then I think they should wait until near the deadline to do that (or even afterwards, see 2017 examples like Verlander) so they can get real value back for him. But then yet again, what would you rather gamble on. An unproven prospect(s), or a seemingly resurrected professional player that is finally starting to live up to expectations (and is just entering his prime, and still fits our window to compete). Personally, unless Avi somehow becomes a clubhouse poison, I say keep the guy. Then there is Abreu. As good as Abreu is on the field, I genuinely believe his influence inside that clubhouse has more value than anything right now, especially among the Latin players. Abreu morphed into a leader this year (I give a lot of credit to our new spanish-speaking manager for that). He is here to help Moncada and potentially Robert make their transitions to Chicago more smooth. We already saw his impact with a slumping Moncada this year. To me, Abreu is a no-brainer. His value goes way beyond what his numbers on the field show. These ballplayers are not just stats on a spreadsheet...there is a mental and emotional aspect to be considered as well, and Abreu is a key component to balancing that with his fellow countrymen. Not to mention, he could very well still be producing at high levels from 2020-2021. Extend him, Rick and co.

Sweet, will have to check those out. Thanks guys!!

I currently listen to the south side Sox podcast, and also the white Sox talk podcast from NBC sports chicago.com...any other good White Sox podcasts that anyone knows about? I'll even take good general baseball ones!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2017 -> 05:28 PM) Unless you are King Soloman, that is quite impossible. Haha I get it.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Nov 18, 2017 -> 04:06 PM) Great job/analysis. I will tell you though, this is 2017 and by 2019 Machado I think he will be in the $400 Mil group. The $300 group of David Price types is not his group. He will be w Stanton, Trout, Kershaw etc especially because of age. I wonder if Orioles will pass on him and trade him for a semi-bundle next summer if they are out of it. Yeah, I personally think that Machado is going to the Yankees. They need a third baseman. Wasn't Frazier the one who filled that roll last year after the trade? Or did he play a different position for them?

Eloy won player of the week

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Oct 19, 2017 -> 10:46 AM) I like the idea of expansion and realignment, and the referenced proposal is pretty good. I'm on the fence about the DH. I see the reasoning for the DH, but at the same time I think having the pitchers bat adds a managerial aspect which I think enhances the game. If push came to shove, though, I would probably agree to leave it the way it is with the DH in the AL only. One thing that I've not seen thrown out there is the idea of an EH vs. the DH. Have the pitchers hit (or attempt to...at least get in the box with a bat) and have a "DH" as well. So you'd have 10 hitters. I'm not sure that would work, but it would keep the DH and keep the spot in the lineup where the manager would have to be creative at times. Well here's an idea that I haven't seen tossed around yet. I am not advocating for or against this, just an idea... What if we got rid of the DH, but also didn't have the pitcher hit. 8 man lineup. For the whole league. Now, many different dynamics play into this, obviously. Those "pure hitter" players would not really have a spot on the roster anymore, like, a David Ortiz or Edwin Encarnacion type, but how many of those players are there really anyway? And how many contribute to the success of the team ( this is a legitimate question,as I am being purely speculative). Strategies of lineups would also change. Everyone would get more opportunities to hit throughout the game. Again, not advocating for or against it, just an idea.

QUOTE (fathom @ Oct 15, 2017 -> 05:49 PM) http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/2017/10/15/forme...tter_WPSDSports Damn man. Some s*** like this happens every year. Sucks.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Oct 12, 2017 -> 09:04 AM) 2-3 with a walk for seby. My guy! I'm excited about a future Zack Collins/Seby Zavala platoon at C. Not completely sold that Collins will be able to hit lefties. His stats against them are quite ugly. Sent Zavala has bern very impressive offensively. He might be the dark horse or at least one of them in this rebuild.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Oct 9, 2017 -> 05:25 PM) It isn't an important stat at all. It doesn't tell you anything. That's an extreme example, but a player like Q is the poster child of why wins are a bad stat. They don't tell you anything. Q just got pulled out of the game after Kyle Schwarber played soccer in left field. The announcer said "Quintana deserved better." How many times have we heard that? Story of his life. Man.

It is just out of the bullpen, but Sale is currently dominating Houston.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Oct 9, 2017 -> 02:50 PM) Berman sounded disappointed when Damon struck out. Yeah, he was such a homer. WHen the White Sox won the ALDS, he said "Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox" and then proceeded to say "Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox as well." Like what are you congratulating them for? They just got swept. Go home. Regardless, glad he doesn't call baseball games anymore (at least I think). He can stick to football.

The Red Sox just blew a bases loaded no out opportunity against the Astros in the 2nd inning of today's game (with some help from the homeplate umpire...if I were a Red Sox fan I'd be pissed, but as a non-biased fan, those calls were all borderline and ya gotta swing at those close pitches with 2 strikes, but I digress...) So in honor of the Red Sox suck, I thought I would post a video for your viewing pleasure reminding us of the last time they did this against our Sox in the ALDS. Here is El Duque's greatest moment in a White Sox uniform:

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 5, 2017 -> 04:32 PM) He could easily turn this into a good performance still. I think he is exactly what we thought he would be. 5 ip, 7 runs all earned, 3 homeruns, only 6 strikeouts. Kind of bummed for him, but he just has never been a good late season pitcher or big game pitcher.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 5, 2017 -> 04:32 PM) He could easily turn this into a good performance still. Oh no doubt.

Starting to look like a pretty good trade right about now. We all wondered how he would perform in a playoff game because of his tendency to faulter in high-stakes games. Just gave up back to back homers in the first against Astros.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Oct 3, 2017 -> 02:23 PM) Joe McEwing to be interviewed by Tigers That sucks. I hope he stays with us. I know he wants to be a manager, and he definitely could (I loved the flare he brought on the field last year as a 3rd base coach), but I'd rather him stay here. This team needs good coaches so badly, and McEwing is a good one.

QUOTE (35thstreetswarm @ Oct 2, 2017 -> 11:10 AM) Player- and team-specific baseball matters aside, I learned that a full-fledged rebuild is not nearly as painful as I expected. I can't believe "the bad season" is already over, and it wasn't even bad. Sick as it sounds, I may have enjoyed this season more than any since 08 because of the constant action on the prospect front, and the abundance of hope for the future. Yeah, this has been said by many over the season, but this was the most fun 60 win team many people have ever seen. Credit that to Renteria.

QUOTE (35thstreetswarm @ Oct 2, 2017 -> 11:10 AM) Player- and team-specific baseball matters aside, I learned that a full-fledged rebuild is not nearly as painful as I expected. I can't believe "the bad season" is already over, and it wasn't even bad. Sick as it sounds, I may have enjoyed this season more than any since 08 because of the constant action on the prospect front, and the abundance of hope for the future. I hope I'm wrong, but I think next season has the potential to be more difficult than this one, at least in the first half before Eloy and Kopech come up. Sophomore slumps will happen, Avi is gonna regress (hopefully not much), and you'll probably see sophomotr slumps from Moncada and (for what it's worth) Delmonico. The main thing for me next year will be the starting pitching, specifically with Giolito and Lopez. The pitching is the most important part of this rebuild, and we definitely have the man for the job in Coop.