Carlos Quentin traded to Padres

[103 mph screwball]

It's uncanny.

The "media" need to pick up on this. Like you said, it's him 20 years younger.

Bronze Titan II!! I'm liking this trade more and more. Does that Comcast news guy still do the Luke-a-likes segment on sportsnet? If he comes up and changes arm angle and strikes out his first hitter with an unhittable splitter, I may cry tears of joy.

Edited January 2, 2012 by 103 mph screwball

[mcgrad70]

Brent Lillibridge/Alex Rios.

 

I have no issues with this roster now. We actually need a backup IF more than anything, that might be Escobar.

 

Wow, you have no issues with a roster that's probably closer to last place in their division than first.

It's this acceptance of mediocrity and blind loyalty to this ownership that will keep this Sox mired in the dumps for decades.

Reinsdorf's act would have played out a long time ago anywhere else except Chicago.

Michael Jordan not Frank Thomas is the reason why Reinsdorf has remained viable this long.

Sox fans would have a cardiac if someone like Arte Moreno took over.

Imagine having an owner committed to winning rather than one who constantly whines about the cost of winning.

 

All we do is talk about accounting issues.

It's Reinsdorf's responsibility to put people in the seats - not ours.

Let him find something else to do if he can't deal with the economic realities of what it takes to be an elite organization.

120 million dollars - that's chump change - he needs to spend at least half that much on improving the sorry state of his minor league organization.

 

 

And mark my words, you will never see him pay a luxury tax to get the Bulls and their long-suffering and loyal fans a championship.

 

Chicago needs sportsmen to run their franchises - instead of these ma and pa run organizations that eat off the team's profits to survive.

This town deserves way better than what we have.

 

I'll now await the expected barrage of criticism from the Reinsdorf lemmings.

 

[Balta1701]

The Bulls fans are long-suffering?

 

Seriously?

[Reddy]

Wow, you have no issues with a roster that's probably closer to last place in their division than first.

It's this acceptance of mediocrity and blind loyalty to this ownership that will keep this Sox mired in the dumps for decades.

Reinsdorf's act would have played out a long time ago anywhere else except Chicago.

Michael Jordan not Frank Thomas is the reason why Reinsdorf has remained viable this long.

Sox fans would have a cardiac if someone like Arte Moreno took over.

Imagine having an owner committed to winning rather than one who constantly whines about the cost of winning.

 

All we do is talk about accounting issues.

It's Reinsdorf's responsibility to put people in the seats - not ours.

Let him find something else to do if he can't deal with the economic realities of what it takes to be an elite organization.

120 million dollars - that's chump change - he needs to spend at least half that much on improving the sorry state of his minor league organization.

 

 

And mark my words, you will never see him pay a luxury tax to get the Bulls and their long-suffering and loyal fans a championship.

 

Chicago needs sportsmen to run their franchises - instead of these ma and pa run organizations that eat off the team's profits to survive.

This town deserves way better than what we have.

 

I'll now await the expected barrage of criticism from the Reinsdorf lemmings.

 

he put up $130 Million and we still sucked. what the hell do you EXPECT him to do?

 

and for the record - the Cardinals, Tigers, Rangers, Brewers, Dbacks and Rays all made the playoffs with a lower payroll than ours. Our payroll was more than the Rays and Dbacks COMBINED.

 

$$ =/= Winning

 

[Jordan4life_2007]

lol@$120 million being chump change

 

I thought Mcgrad was greg for a second. I thought only he posted in poem form?

Edited January 2, 2012 by Jordan4life

[caulfield12]

The Angels won their World Championship the year before Moreno took over.

 

I think he would trade the last decade of White Sox baseball for his own period of ownership in LA because of that...one elusive trophy he's missing, despite all his business and marketing success.

 

The McCourt Fiasco has been a gift for his franchise, any owner of another franchise in the same market would look like Mother Teresa or Lady Diana compared to that kooky duo. And the fallout over MannyLand collapsing in a heap of rubbish, along with Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre, didn't help matters any.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2012 by caulfield12

[SI1020]

It will be hopefully helpful if he doesn't spend this season dealing with soreness from a broken hand the whole time.

I keep reading that but I notice in his last 10 games with Charlotte he went 12 for 35 with 4 HR and 10 RBI. So I'm just going to repeat that his latest September call up was a disappointment.

 

[wallyburger]

Wow, you have no issues with a roster that's probably closer to last place in their division than first.

It's this acceptance of mediocrity and blind loyalty to this ownership that will keep this Sox mired in the dumps for decades.

Reinsdorf's act would have played out a long time ago anywhere else except Chicago.

Michael Jordan not Frank Thomas is the reason why Reinsdorf has remained viable this long.

Sox fans would have a cardiac if someone like Arte Moreno took over.

Imagine having an owner committed to winning rather than one who constantly whines about the cost of winning.

 

All we do is talk about accounting issues.

It's Reinsdorf's responsibility to put people in the seats - not ours.

Let him find something else to do if he can't deal with the economic realities of what it takes to be an elite organization.

120 million dollars - that's chump change - he needs to spend at least half that much on improving the sorry state of his minor league organization.

 

 

And mark my words, you will never see him pay a luxury tax to get the Bulls and their long-suffering and loyal fans a championship.

 

Chicago needs sportsmen to run their franchises - instead of these ma and pa run organizations that eat off the team's profits to survive.

This town deserves way better than what we have.

 

I'll now await the expected barrage of criticism from the Reinsdorf lemmings.

 

+1

[southsider2k5]

There is a video at the link of Castro.

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/whitesox-ta...rce=twitterfeed

 

A scouting report on Simon Castro

January 11, 2012, 10:10 pm

 

JJ STANKEVITZ

csnchicago.png

 

The report on Simon Castro: He has a good fastball/slider combination but still needs work on his changeup. That's what David Reiffer of Baseball-Instinct says in his analysis of the new White Sox prospect, who ranked No. 3 in Baseball America's top 10 Sox prospects list.

 

Castro's changeup still needs work, though, drawing this analysis:

 

"The change needs work and, according to reports, needs refining due to a hesitation in his delivery that may tip-off more advanced hitting."

 

So there's point No. 1 Don Cooper will likely address with Castro this spring, and what Kirk Champion and Richard Dotson will work on with him in Charlotte come the regular season. If he can iron out his changeup and fix some control issues -- easier said than done -- Reiffer sees Castro as a guy who could crack the Sox rotation by the middle of 2012.

 

But if Castro doesn't, he's a guy who projects as a reliever -- that power fastball/slider combo is textbook for a seventh, eighth or ninth-inning guy.

 

For moving images of Castro, check this video from Project Prospect:

[southsider2k5]

 

 

http://baseballinstinct.com/2012/01/11/pro...cago-white-sox/

 

Simon Castro, RHP, Chicago White Sox

 

DOB: 1/09/1988

 

Height: 6″5″ Weight: 210

 

After 5 years of professional baseball, Simon Castro will leave the San Diego Padres organization that originally signed him in 2007 out of San Jose de los Llanos, Dominican Republic and join the Chicago White Sox along with LHP Pedro Hernandez, both pitchers swapped for OF Carlos Quentin a couple weeks ago. Castro joins a club that may need his services in 2012.

 

The big right-hander is set to work with pitching coach Don Cooper on some command issues, but Castro, a 2010 Futures Game pitcher, is close to being a finished product, even though he developmentally lost his way in 2011, scoring a 4.33 ERA on 95 hits and 43 earned runs in 89.1 innings pitched in Double A San Antonio and fared worse in his second promotion to Triple A Portland. He was clearly the prize of this trade and, not to mention, he’s also a nice bookend to the busy Chicago White Sox’s other farm acquisition of Nestor Molina from Toronto this off season.

 

The first three years of his career he took the minors by storm, striking out over 22% of hitters and walking 12% in this first season but cutting that rate down to 6.4% in Low A Fort Wayne while keeping a eye-popping 27.4% K/PA in 2009 as a 21-year-old. The 2010 season saw the organization skip him past High A level and land him in Double A San Antonio where he duplicated his walk percentage but let the K rate slip to a still nice 20.2%. That performance earned him a brief trip to Triple A Portland where he was hit hard.

 

Here’s what we said about him in our Texas League Touch’em All in October:

 

Simon Castro, RHP Padres 4/9/1988 – Before getting promoted to the PCL where the wheels fell of the cart, Castro had a quiet but successful 16 starts. He went 5-6 with a 4.33 ERA which was a touch above his 3.80 FIP. He struck out 19.5% of batters with an elite 4.3% walk rate. I still think he’s better suited for the bullpen and if the Padres decide the same we’ll see him in San Diego in 2012.

 

The Stuff

 

Four-Seam Fastball – Castro fires a low-to-mid-90s four-seamer from a low 3/4 arm slot. The offering features good movement away from left-handed hitters and is a plus pitch.

 

Slider – The slider is above average at times with sharp late downward movement. Castro lives on the heater/slider combo.

 

Change-up – The change needs work and, according to reports, needs refining due to a hesitation in his delivery that may tip-off more advanced hitting.

 

Two-Seam Fastball – Scouts report that this pitch has some movement too but not as much as the four-seamer and with less downward movement. Tops out in the low-90s.

 

The Mechanics

 

As stated before, Castro brings it with a low 3/4 arm slot. So he doesn’t use his height to produce a downward plane, but his loose and long arm action produces enough natural downward bite on his pitches to move the hitter’s eye level to a different plane in the strike zone, when he is right. The big right-hander will be at his best when he doesn’t get too much plate. With that motion, he inevitably throws across his body and falls toward first base after releasing the ball, which adds to the deception and helps him get the excellent movement on his pitches. That, combined with the nice velocity on his fastball, makes it difficult for hitters to square him up. That said, maintaining his arm slot is key.

 

Our Instinct

 

Pitching coach Don Cooper has straightened out pitchers before. Most notably Jose Contreras, during his stint with the Sox. If the command issues straighten out, Castro could be ready by mid-season for a rotation spot in the event of an injury in Chi-town. Otherwise, Castro can make his living setting up for Addison Reed in the late innings of games. Castro will, first, need to be successful in Triple A as he hasn’t pitched much above Double-A yet at all. With the natural movement the gets on his pitches, the lack of development of the change-up shouldn’t hinder him that much. He’ll need to show a change-of-pace pitch from time to time, but the plus fastball/slider combo thrown for strikes can confound hitters alone. Obviously, from the bullpen, the lack of change won’t be a problem.

 

Check back soon for more Prospect coverage. While you’re here check out our Baseball Instinct 360° – It’s our top 360 prospects for 2012. Check out a friend of ours for all of your fantasy sports needs. Fantasy Rundown is updated religiously and is truly an awesome resource. Thanks for checking Baseball Instinct. We’re working hard to bring you the best of the minor leagues and make the site the best experience it can be. So don’t hesitate to tell us what you would like to read about. Email us now at [email protected].

[Eminor3rd]

Sounds like Edwin Jackson

[witesoxfan]

+1

 

+1'ing him is like giving Bernie Madoff a recommendation. Actually, no, that's giving McGrad too much credit.

 

I read about 3 lines of his post. All he does, and all he's ever done, is rip Reinsdorf. Jerry Reinsdorf could find a way to both spend more AND less money on the White Sox, win a World Series, find a cure for pancreatic cancer, and McGrad would still find something wrong with him.

 

The fact that I am criticizing him right now, "behind" his "bac,k" is something he would blame on Jerry Reinsdorf.

 

Don't +1 him again. Please.

[caulfield12]

+1'ing him is like giving Bernie Madoff a recommendation. Actually, no, that's giving McGrad too much credit.

 

I read about 3 lines of his post. All he does, and all he's ever done, is rip Reinsdorf. Jerry Reinsdorf could find a way to both spend more AND less money on the White Sox, win a World Series, find a cure for pancreatic cancer, and McGrad would still find something wrong with him.

 

The fact that I am criticizing him right now, "behind" his "bac,k" is something he would blame on Jerry Reinsdorf.

 

Don't +1 him again. Please.

 

+1, or should it be -2?

[Quin]

+1, or should it be -2?

 

or +brokenassangryrecord or +politicalpunditstylehate

[Milkman delivers]

+1'ing him is like giving Bernie Madoff a recommendation. Actually, no, that's giving McGrad too much credit.

 

I read about 3 lines of his post. All he does, and all he's ever done, is rip Reinsdorf. Jerry Reinsdorf could find a way to both spend more AND less money on the White Sox, win a World Series, find a cure for pancreatic cancer, and McGrad would still find something wrong with him.

 

The fact that I am criticizing him right now, "behind" his "bac,k" is something he would blame on Jerry Reinsdorf.

 

Don't +1 him again. Please.

 

The best part is that I can almost hear him trying to hold himself back from saying "cheap Jew" or something along those lines.

[caulfield12]

Cue Borat segment...the one with the cockroaches or "running of the Jew."

 

[Quin]

The best part is that I can almost hear him trying to hold himself back from saying "cheap Jew" or something along those lines.

 

[macsandz]

http://baseballinstinct.com/2012/01/11/pro...cago-white-sox/

 

Castro's ceiling is a long reliever, IMO.

[Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm]

The Angels won their World Championship the year before Moreno took over.

 

I think he would trade the last decade of White Sox baseball for his own period of ownership in LA because of that...one elusive trophy he's missing, despite all his business and marketing success.

 

The McCourt Fiasco has been a gift for his franchise, any owner of another franchise in the same market would look like Mother Teresa or Lady Diana compared to that kooky duo. And the fallout over MannyLand collapsing in a heap of rubbish, along with Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre, didn't help matters any.

 

Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre combined aren't half as embarassing as the Jason Schmidt signing.

 

Jason Schmidt will almost certainly go down in Dodger history as one of the worst free agent signings of all time, and that list includes lots of stinkers, let me tell you! After the end of the 2006 season, this hard-throwing, right handed, starting pitcher signed a three-year, $47 million-dollar contract. During the 2007 season, Schmidt's record was 1 and 4 with a 6.31 ERA in only six starts. A dismal return on the Dodgers' investment, right? Schmidt almost certainly would have done better if his shoulder hadn’t given him trouble. In fact, during the 2008 season, Schmidt didn’t pitch at all! Two operations later and numerous rehabs in the minors and Jason Schmidt finally made it back to the majors in 2009. He compiled a 2 and 2 record with an ERA of 5.60. As slow as Jason's fastball was - 85 to 87 mph - he might as well have been throwing with Martha Stewart's arm! Think about this: Three wins in three years at $47 million dollars! So far, I haven’t found a nickname that equates with the Dodgers' profound disappointment in this player.

 

http://kosmo.hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Worst-Dodger-Bums

 

The Dodgers have produced a number of quality players out of the draft, but seemingly always swing-and-miss when it comes to big ticket free agents. How much $$ did they throw at Juan Uribe and Jon Garland last season? This season its the same story. Bad players, garanteed MLB contracts.

 

They also, similar to KennyGM, have a hankering for high salary deals with well-past-their-prime veterans like Garret Anderson, Luis Gonzalez, Elmer Dessens, etc.

 

A Dodgers web site similar to this one once completed a 25-man roster of "mistake" FA signings of the past 10 years. There were no stretches or "well, maybe..." players on the list either. For s***s and giggles, I am gonna have to go dig that up. Always good for a laugh or two and puts our GM's "misses" into perspective.

[Milkman delivers]

Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre combined aren't half as embarassing as the Jason Schmidt signing.

 

 

 

http://kosmo.hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Worst-Dodger-Bums

 

The Dodgers have produced a number of quality players out of the draft, but seemingly always swing-and-miss when it comes to big ticket free agents. How much $$ did they throw at Juan Uribe and Jon Garland last season? This season its the same story. Bad players, garanteed MLB contracts.

 

They also, similar to KennyGM, have a hankering for high salary deals with well-past-their-prime veterans like Garret Anderson, Luis Gonzalez, Elmer Dessens, etc.

 

A Dodgers web site similar to this one once completed a 25-man roster of "mistake" FA signings of the past 10 years. There were no stretches or "well, maybe..." players on the list either. For s***s and giggles, I am gonna have to go dig that up. Always good for a laugh or two and puts our GM's "misses" into perspective.

 

It's not surprising. Almost anyone could have told you that each name you mentioned would turn out to be a bad contract even before the signings.

[Jordan4life_2007]

It's not surprising. Almost anyone could have told you that each name you mentioned would turn out to be a bad contract even before the signings.

 

Not the I-hate-prospects because most of them bust guys.

[southsider2k5]

Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre combined aren't half as embarassing as the Jason Schmidt signing.

 

 

 

http://kosmo.hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Worst-Dodger-Bums

 

The Dodgers have produced a number of quality players out of the draft, but seemingly always swing-and-miss when it comes to big ticket free agents. How much $$ did they throw at Juan Uribe and Jon Garland last season? This season its the same story. Bad players, garanteed MLB contracts.

 

They also, similar to KennyGM, have a hankering for high salary deals with well-past-their-prime veterans like Garret Anderson, Luis Gonzalez, Elmer Dessens, etc.

 

A Dodgers web site similar to this one once completed a 25-man roster of "mistake" FA signings of the past 10 years. There were no stretches or "well, maybe..." players on the list either. For s***s and giggles, I am gonna have to go dig that up. Always good for a laugh or two and puts our GM's "misses" into perspective.

 

Depending on how the Dunn signing turns out, the worst deal the Sox have ever given out still belongs to Jaime Navarro.

 

[LittleHurt05]

Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre combined aren't half as embarassing as the Jason Schmidt signing.

 

Were there signs that Schmidt was gonna suddenly get injured? He was 34 and decreased a bit from his peak, but he was still an All-Star in 2006. When the signing happened, I don't think they could have predicted he would only pitch 42 innings at a 6 ERA clip in 3 years.

[Kyyle23]

Were there signs that Schmidt was gonna suddenly get injured? He was 34 and decreased a bit from his peak, but he was still an All-Star in 2006. When the signing happened, I don't think they could have predicted he would only pitch 42 innings at a 6 ERA clip in 3 years.

 

Schmidt was a max effort guy, and he threw upper 90s at his peak. Once that upper 90s cheese disappeared, he was just a guy, and those fastballs that ate up the inside of the plate because meatballs that left the yard

[LittleHurt05]

Keith Law's take on the Schmidt signing:

It's tough to call any deal that calls for a player to earn a salary of over $15 million a year a bargain, but the Dodgers' three-year, $47 million deal with Jason Schmidt is one of the better deals of this offseason.