Keith Law's top ten

[Rowand44]

Sure are a lot of people ignoring the fact that KLaw loved Beckham, and still does for that matter. He also liked Hudson and liked the Dunn signed. And I'm sure everybody in this thread just missed his quote in his latest column regarding Sale and the White Sox:

 

 

 

If you all want someplace that will feed you the kool-aid go there. Don't be mad when a writer tells you his actually opinion instead of pandering to the stupid.

This is freakin Soxtalk, it's more a negative place than a positive one, I can tell you that. Nobody wants to be fed kool-aid around here but people are going to tell you when they feel there is a bias against the team and it's obvious to most that Law has something against the Sox.

[He_Gawn]

Law's a joke. He scoffed at us for taking Sale and said it was the worst early pick in the draft. Thought I read where he was laughing at us for taking a guy who could only get it to 93-94 on a good day. Then Sale delivered it at nearly 100mph every pitch. Suck a shlong Keith Law.

[Paint it Black]

In order to make a fair comparison, you would have to compare his right/wrong rates for the Sox versus all other major league teams because all teams' prospects fail at an incredibly large rate.

Well to be really fair, the white sox would have to develop somebody worthwhile more than once a decade

 

I for one am still impressed at his ability to continue ripping on Alexei's OBP while ignoring everything else he's doing.

Except he said he was the best SS in the AL many times in 2010 but ok.......Plus isn't it a valid criticism? Alexei's OBP the past three years: .317, .333, .313. Yuck.

 

This is freakin Soxtalk, it's more a negative place than a positive one, I can tell you that. Nobody wants to be fed kool-aid around here but people are going to tell you when they feel there is a bias against the team and it's obvious to most that Law has something against the Sox.

 

It's funny nobody can prove that, nor can they give a reason as to why he has a bias, besides of course the "HE WAS THERE FOR THE DAVID WELLS TRADE!!!!1" which isn't true.

Edited February 2, 2011 by Paint it Black

[witesoxfan]

Well to be really fair, the white sox would have to develop somebody worthwhile more than once a decade

 

 

Except he said he was the best SS in the AL many times in 2010 but ok.......Plus isn't it a valid criticism? Alexei's OBP the past three years: .317, .333, .313. Yuck.

 

 

 

It's funny nobody can prove that, nor can they give a reason as to why he has a bias, besides of course the "HE WAS THERE FOR THE DAVID WELLS TRADE!!!!1" which isn't true.

 

It's a small point, but there really is nothing wrong with a .333 OBP. I mean, he's not the leadoff hitter.

 

It would be amazing if Alexei Ramirez could combine the power he had in '08, the plate discipline he had in '09, and the defense he had in '10 He would be a 5+ WAR player.

 

It would also be awesome if I stumbled into a lucrative inheritance as well.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Well to be really fair, the white sox would have to develop somebody worthwhile more than once a decade

 

 

Except he said he was the best SS in the AL many times in 2010 but ok.......Plus isn't it a valid criticism? Alexei's OBP the past three years: .317, .333, .313. Yuck.

 

 

 

It's funny nobody can prove that, nor can they give a reason as to why he has a bias, besides of course the "HE WAS THERE FOR THE DAVID WELLS TRADE!!!!1" which isn't true.

 

It's actually been gone over ad nauseum over the past couple of seasons.

[danman31]

Except he said he was the best SS in the AL many times in 2010 but ok.......Plus isn't it a valid criticism? Alexei's OBP the past three years: .317, .333, .313. Yuck.

So Alexei's OBP is a valid criticism yet Eduardo Escobar is a good prospect? Consistency is fun.

[Paint it Black]

It's a small point, but there really is nothing wrong with a .333 OBP. I mean, he's not the leadoff hitter.

 

It would be amazing if Alexei Ramirez could combine the power he had in '08, the plate discipline he had in '09, and the defense he had in '10 He would be a 5+ WAR player.

 

It would also be awesome if I stumbled into a lucrative inheritance as well.

I mean I agree. I'm not knocking Ramirez. Hell I really like the extension. I just hate when people act as if pointing out a players flaws makes them biased towards an organization. And Alexei's defense has come a long way.

 

So Alexei's OBP is a valid criticism yet Eduardo Escobar is a good prospect? Consistency is fun.

 

See above. I must have missed the post where I said Escobar was an OBP player. In the Free Agent market it's harder to find a short stop who has a glove. Not so much with slow corner defenders with a stick. Hell just look at this past off season. Dunn, Pena, Manny, Victor Martinez (I know he's a catcher but sorry, no way he plays that deal out at catcher), Konerko, Huff, Thome and Vlad off the top of my head.

 

And again, Tank has power potential to dream on. If you prefer him over Escobar that's fine. But dead fastball power hitters who never walk either don't last or rarely hit their peak.

 

Christ, this is like the Brandon Allen argument all over again.

[danman31]

Ok that's mostly fair, but then you need to take the OBP of Ramirez in context. You can't say yuck about his OBP when he is a slick fielding SS and there aren't many of them. He doesn't get compared to Konerko offensively. He gets compared to other SS, most of which can't hit to save their lives.

 

I'm just sick and tired of hearing about defense. Plenty of guys have no bat and can play defense. There are almost as many of them as there are power hitting corners. It's silly really.

[witesoxfan]

See above. I must have missed the post where I said Escobar was an OBP player. In the Free Agent market it's harder to find a short stop who has a glove. Not so much with slow corner defenders with a stick. Hell just look at this past off season. Dunn, Pena, Manny, Victor Martinez (I know he's a catcher but sorry, no way he plays that deal out at catcher), Konerko, Huff, Thome and Vlad off the top of my head.

 

I actually think it's the other way around in that it's hard to find a SS that can hit pretty well. Of the 22 SS's who qualified for the batting title last year and will almost certainly be playing SS this year, only 3 of them had an OPS over .800 and 8 above .725. They have to be able to field relatively well if they're going to play SS. If not, they will be moved to 2B or 3B.

 

And again, Tank has power potential to dream on. If you prefer him over Escobar that's fine. But dead fastball power hitters who never walk either don't last or rarely hit their peak.

 

Small sample size, but here are Viciedo's pitch values from last year.

 

Fastball: -3.4

Slider: 5

Cutter: 1.4

Curveball: -1.1

Changeup: 0.4

 

Those numbers would suggest anything but Viciedo being a dead fastball power hitter.

[Balta1701]

Small sample size, but here are Viciedo's pitch values from last year.

 

Fastball: -3.4

Slider: 5

Cutter: 1.4

Curveball: -1.1

Changeup: 0.4

 

Those numbers would suggest anything but Viciedo being a dead fastball power hitter.

Actually that really makes sense; the pitch that was beating him CONSTANTLY before he got sent back down was the high fastball up and in that he couldn't lay off of.

[danman31]

I actually think it's the other way around in that it's hard to find a SS that can hit pretty well. Of the 22 SS's who qualified for the batting title last year and will almost certainly be playing SS this year, only 3 of them had an OPS over .800 and 8 above .725. They have to be able to field relatively well if they're going to play SS. If not, they will be moved to 2B or 3B.

Ahhh thank you for clearly saying what I wanted to.