greg775

I don't know why the Sox would go this far with Avi and not give him one more chance to blossom. His knee allegedly will not prevent offseason workouts for him. He turns 28 in June. Still young enough and has some life in his bat. I've read he's good in the clubhouse and he's fun to watch play. He fits the criteria of a guy to keep around at 8-10 million a year. Eloy, Avi and whoemever in cf is a decent outfield. Now if we get Harper, fine, dump Avi.

Why was it a bad atmosphere? Were our fans bad? Where was the game?

Hopefully he wants to move to the AL and play for a Chicago team.

You are probably right. I hope if we dump him we acquire somebody with some pop in his bat. I personally wouldn't mind seeing Avi in the same lineup with Eloy and Abreu and Moncada and Anderson and Harper a full season if we get him.

I should just send you a PM, hope the mods don't mind the discussion here. I was curious ... Rice has about half the kids attending as when I went there I think somebody said recently. Does this have everything to do with tuition (man, if you have one kid by the time he gets out it's $40,000 clams, wow!) — or are the family dynamics changing to where there are fewer kids in the neighborhoods? Are parents having fewer kids? Also ... when I went to Rice you basically had to go to Rice. A lot of my buddies who were non Catholics went there in fact. There were no acceptable public school options. Evergreen Park HS was a non entity, nobody went there (I don't even know if you were allowed to go there if you lived in Chicago proper) and Morgan Park and Fenger were a non option. Parents were scared to send their kids there at the time. Nobody in Mt. Greenwood went to St. Laurence or Rita or MC over Rice. Yes some went to Marist but none in the Q of M grade school boundary.

You really think so? I dunno about that. His production has been pretty good the last 2 seasons when healthy. And he's still fairly young. What's he supposed to get in arbitration this season anyway? Is it 10 mill? Sorry that I don't know this. I tried to look it up. (Didn't he just have a scope? Not all that serious).

Great point Dick. I usually really enjoy your posts. Greg is not a fan of tanking and the lottery makes sense.

It's interesting to me that many fans now think Tommy John surgery is no big deal in terms of returning from, and Avi's leg problems pretty much render him worthless (a nontender certainty to many). I realize a ton of pitchers have come back from TJ, but it's still a matter of who you like and who you don't. Cain has had a ton of leg injuries too and come back each time. Personally I've enjoyed watching Avi play when healthy. I kind of enjoy the guy's game.

Great post. I will say I started out despising Shields, but by the end of his Sox tenure I liked him for a.) his effort. b.) his performance; wasn't gawd awful anymore and c.) his tutoring of the younguns on the pitching staff. Hail to you Mr. Shields. You earned your Sox paycheck. Thank u.

Great great post. I mean fan is short for fanatic. Message boards generally show you how important winning is to a pro sports fan. Or a college sports fan. My take is if there are zillions of dollars involved, I want my team to win and win now. I'm a fan that gets upset at the price of games and food/drink/parking at games so yes I DEMAND my teams win or try to win. Now we go down to the high school level? I am a Brother Rice football fan. If Rice loses in the semis to Marist will I be the least bit mad? Hell no. They are high school kids trying their best and playing football, a game that is fun to watch when executed properly. Would I ever be mad at a Brother Rice player or coach for screwing up? Hell no. I appreciate them. Even in a dismal season. But the Sox?? Give me victories as our fans give you owners millions of dollars. Just.Win.Baby. (Or try hard at least and contend).

Why? Here's what I found: "Martes, 22, underwent surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a surgery that typically has a 12- to 16-month recovery. Martes threw 54 1/3 innings for the Astros last year, going 5-2 with a 5.80 ERA in 32 games (four starts).Martes threw 19 2/3 innings this year, mostly in four starts at Triple-A Fresno. He walked 17 batters in 18 2/3 innings for the Grizzlies, including eight in 4 1/3 innings in his last start for them on April 29. He threw one inning in a rehab assignment on Aug. 2 in the Gulf Coast League." What makes Martes even a solid prospect. I get it; Avi is considered no good. So why did the Astros want him if he has little to no value? Just an old school non advanced stat person shaking his head at what constitutes a decent player nowadays.

Harry, is this true? Rice has won a state title before (81). That was a huge game. Rice also was runnerup one year (85). Big big games. Now Marist reached a state final and got killed by Loyola and lost a lot of games that year (2015). That was a big game. Why is this biggest game in Rice history? It's not quite for all the marbles. Will Rice win? Does anybody have a strong feeling? Harry, are u attending the game?

If you are objective, that was a great article and I fully agree. It's not even close to who the Sox should sign IMO if they need to pick one of the two.

So Brother Rice and Marist both won. This begs the question of "where is the semifinal game going to be played?" Are you in favor of it being at a bigger venue than one of the schools? I am not. I think it's special to have high school games played at high school fields. This has to be one of the top ten games in Brother Rice football history. Rice has won one state title (81) and was runnerup (85) and reached the semis in 03. It has to be a Top 10 game in Marist history. Marist finished second in the state in 2015 and reached the semis in 2013. I read Marist has been runnerup 3 times. I don't think they've won a state football title. Who will win?

Thanks for your service Two Gun Pete. How are you doing since leaving active duty? Do you have a good job, etc? Thanx again Pete! Soxtalk respects your service!

I agree. I won't get excited about anything regarding acquiring guys outside the organization til they actually start spending. In the meantime I can be excited about the usual hot prospects: Robert, Kopech, Cease, Eloy, Timmy, Moncada, Madrigal (I guess), Burger (I guess), Collins, some of the other pitchers I've forgotten. But I don't see Jerry agreeing to pay today's exorbitant superstar prices. Hope I'm wrong.

Hot Fire, I love you in a message board kinda way, but what about Abreu's stats the last four years (last season was his outlier) upset you? He's a stud IMO. By anybody's standards he should be considered a B or B-plus on an ABCDF scale.

This sure has been a dream season. Would be nice to win this week and keep the Ws coming.

If we all had guns, I guess we could pick off somebody like the Colorado movie theatre killer. Somebody might get a good shot in on him. On the other hand, innocents surely would be killed as well in the crossfire. I have no solution, just sadness and horror.

Kinda early IMO, just as I don't want Christmas songs on the radio til the day after Thanksgiving. ... On a different topic, I kinda like those peeps who get fired up about certain holidays. I know a grown adult woman who always has favored Halloween. Just loves it. And I know some folks who just worship Christmas no pun intended. It's kind of cool in this day and age (so much vitriol and hatred) when some peeps can get so enthused about certain holidays. It hearkens to a more innocent time.

My gosh he blasted a lot of homers last season for a 37 year old. This six time all star would look good in the Cell if Father Time treats him well.

I wouldn't hate this signing after looking at his stats the last two years. However, I see one site has projected Corbin to be 10-9 next year (yawn, most of Soxtalk doesn't even look at W/L) with a 3.76 ERA and 187 Ks in 177 innings. I guess he's our new Shields. He gets the Shields-like contract? This is where I'd personally defer to our scouts. Get a good projection on what our baseball people think of this guy's stuff and peripherals and make a decision. Is Corbin going to be effective or not the next 5 seasons??

I love Jose Abreu. Cheers to you, Jose. If Greg had his way, you'd be a White Sox til you are 37, keeping you around as long as Paulie.

Ditto greg. I said zero to 10 percent. I'd love us getting them though I'm not a fan of Machado's red flags.

Brantley has had some decent RBI seasons to cite an old school stat. He doesn't bang a lot of home runs. My eye test surrounding him has always been positive. The fact he draws a lot of walks makes me think he's a pretty good baseball player. He's a three-time all star. Not a bad addition in greg's eyes.