LDF

the response in general is going to be interesting tomorrow.

3-18 cincy - lost - Ian Happ - cf. batting #3 - 2 ab, 1 run, 1 hit, 2 rbi, 2 bb, 0 k's --- 1 hr

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 01:53 AM) Absolutely love that Hawkins is still getting PT. Got to be a big time confidence booster for the kid. I hope when is does get assigned down, he mashes in AA. and considering how last yr, many fans were questioning if he was not going to make it. i like it, seeing Hawkins still in camp.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 11:40 PM) STOP THE PRESSES. After Beckham's performance today, he gets 2B and Micah to AAA......................................

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 02:25 AM) Josie's on a vacation far away!!!! ok, thanks i just google it. ok, yeah, it is an oldie, i think, i just don't know about it. for baseball or any sports event. i just don't know.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 10:41 PM) Beckham 2 doubles and a homer. Josie's on a vacation far away... he must have been reading the thread on him on soxtalk. got him pissed.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 07:06 PM) That song is the best thing about his signing and makes me reconsider my opinion on it. It's a classic. what is the song???

QUOTE (ptatc @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:17 PM) Not if it is in "B" games or minor league games. Those aren't "official" games, I believe. hey ptatc, even thou he is recovering, isn't there a concern about weight and able to handle the weight distribution during a pitching motion??

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 06:12 PM) I think that we may have all collectively made him up. I'm not entirely sure he isn't just a subconscious/groupthink-related psychological coping mechanism that arose from the complete lack of pitching talent we had in the minors. Now that Rodon is around, we're not "seeing things" anymore. oh man that is funny .... way to be very creative.

i just got the chance to read it, a great article. going into spring training, i just naturally assume, that CS will be the 2b. but this spring and how MJ responded, it does not make it a bad choice. more of a pleasant choice to make either CS or MJ.. many thanks

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:13 PM) Definitely, especially if he's really "touching 94." I imagine a relief roles in the MLB would be preferable to a starting role in the minors for him at this stage in his career. especially like the strength of this team. oh yeah, being part of a playoff team.

any word on erik johnson.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 04:54 PM) Mine too, he swings just like Ted Williams it's uncanny. I think that he is the best prep outfielder and you're right about his contact skills being phenomenal, some reports I read love his athleticism and think that he could hold his own in center. I would love it if the Sox drafted him. where at #1.... can you imagine how he will turn out when he gains 30 lbs of muscle on that skinny frame of his. take a look at the link, he is straight up and down a poll. http://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerp....aspx?ID=297413 i really wish the sox has a comp pick ref to the draft, the prospects are starting to separate them selvs, plus 2 extra pitchers are making a name for themselves. i am going to bet they will make a push for the top 10 or at least top 15.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 06:33 PM) That's a good point that I hadn't considered. If nothing else, Beckham won't cause any problems in the clubhouse and may actually be an asset in that regard. Still, given we're in win-now mode, I say to hell with Sanchez and/or Saladino's long-term development and go with one of them over Beckham if they're indeed better (which I believe they are). Their ceilings appear to be nothing more than backup utility infielders anyway. Sanchez could possibly be an average or so starter at 2B if everything goes right. bingo, my thought as a last resort.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 04:44 PM) If you had seen Penny during the last 3-4 years, I don't know if he was sitting in the low 90's. I'd be impressed if he was sitting in the low 90's (would mean he's healthier and stronger), let alone if he's hitting 94. I presume he won't be able to sustain that over a long season but the goal of the 5th spot is probably a stop gap until Rodon is ready so I could see where Sox could say, Brad, let her fly and than we'll move you into the pen when its done (obviously he'll say, I'll fight and fight to keep the spot and Noesi will battle it out as well). Of course, a lot of this is a moot point anyway as Penny really is pitching in the "6th" spot as we really are talking about 1 to 2 starts until Sale steps back in the rotation. However, if Noesi falters, I suppose it is nice to know their is a veteran there that maybe you can get a few games out of. Expecting anything more than that would be crazy, imo. IF and that is a big if he can continue in spring training on doing well, then helping in the beginning of the season while Sale fully recuperates, i have no problem. also using sparingly during the season, to spot start or to rest the starting pitchers. i have no prob. this is the little steps for the big pict, the playoff.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 04:51 PM) Thompson only mild surprise, and Nieto I thought was AA-bound. Yeah, that's all a little weird, I thought Nieto would be starting in AA, Smith in AAA, one of Brantly/Kottaras backing up in Charlotte and the other gone. i was hoping for Thompson to pull it out and go north. i thought he did ok in spring training.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:50 PM) Do you think he ends up a better defender right now though? I'm only able to rely on what you and others say from scouting his defense and if his glove is indeed major league ready then he deserves it. 30 AB's in March also don't change my mind about his need to show something at the plate in Charlotte. But it's helping. the best scenario is he keep producing the rest of spring training, going north and continue to produce.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:52 PM) Instead of having offshoots of Beckham and Penny talk in the Sale thread, let's just talk about the 25-man right now. Here's what I got... Lineup: Eaton CF, Cabrera LF, Abreu 1B, LaRoche DH, Garcia RF, Ramirez SS, Gillaspie RF, Flowers C, Johnson 2B Bench: Bonifacio UTL, Beckham IF, Shuck OF, Soto C Rotation: Samardzija, Quintana, Noesi, Danks, Penny Bullpen: Albers, Webb, Jennings, Petricka, Putnam, Duke, Robertson DL: Sale, Crain, Jones (60-day) On the fence about Webb. He'll have a short leash if he sucks in April, and Crain is ready. The three guys to move off the 40-man: Leury gets traded Guerra and Brantly get moved off the roster too. nice work, on paper this team even looks better than i thought. all i will say for now, and i hate to even think i am wrong, but i am a Webb fan. so i am bias right now.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:51 PM) This is it exactly. The reality is the Sox don't care if Gordon stinks as 25th man. This allows Saladino and Sanchez to play every day as starters in Charlotte and work on their games. They don't want them rotting on the bench for 150 ABs over the course of a season. The other reality is that if a player is good, he wouldn't be a 25th man. No matter who you bring in to do that job, they are going to have some major holes in their game. I am guessing with Gordon, the Sox went back to him because they know him, they know he won't cause problems in the clubhouse, they know his teammates like him, etc. Looking at another similar player in Jeff Keppinger, there were a few hints that he didn't meet a few of those things. The Sox like their stability, so why bring someone in from the outside who might upset the applecart? there is that and what a very good post.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 02:46 PM) The link is from another story, but this was worth posting separately. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/new-yor...res-vibe-031715 many thanks for this. i really thought he was better than 94 mph fastball.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:40 PM) I like reading this... This is fixable. dang and i thought i was OCD. i like it. i am becoming more of a fan of his.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:24 PM) 2009 Beckham was great. 2010 he hit well the second half. 2011 he was bad, but he has had his moments. He was on fire last year before he totally fell apart, then regained a bit of performance with the Angels. He has hit for power . Wasn't that awful in 2013 returning from a broken wrist which zapped his power. There is upside. He can hit for power, he is good defensively, and has hit well for decent stretches in the past. To me, that is upside. there is degrees of being awful?? this should answer itself, when one tries to find, a fine thread of hope to magnify, for all to see.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:11 PM) At this point, I agree with you. There is still a couple of weeks to go, but you have to figure it's his job to lose. It seemed he was the guy the Sox wanted there from day 1, and he hasn't done anything to say he doesn't deserve it. The question is, if he is your Opening Day 2B, how long a rope you give him when he struggles during the regular season? That is probably determined by when those struggles occur. yeah when he will hit the proverbial wall. i want him to succeed, but will it be better to allow him to grow for 1 more yr in the minors?? i think the real idea was to allow Sanchez play 2b, with Gordo as his backup, and let MJ spend 1 more season in the minors. i guess, his progress threw a monkey wrench into that idea. i just hope he can over come when he will hit the 0 fer part, the part that all players goes through and it will not deter him or his confidence. edit ... i could not read the article which i will when i am at work. my security is too tight to allow popups.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:05 PM) Paulino had upside, but Beckham has none. That just isn't accurate. The fact is the White Sox have brought loads of bench players from other teams in the past 10 years and they have been awful, even if Soxtalk favorites. Cintron and Mackowiak right away. I know, they sucked, but the argument will be they had upside. Who cares about upside if it isn't coming out. Gordon Beckham has as much upside as any of these dopes brought in over the past years: Cintron Mackowiak Erstad Richar Toby Hall Kotsay Nix Lillibridge Castro Teahen Milledge O-Dog Hudson Fukudome Olmed Tyler Greene Casper Wells Tekotte Of all the guys they brought in, the one guy that worked out OK was Omar Vizquel. Yet none of them get the mention Beckham does if he goes 0-2 in a game the first couple weeks of spring training. this is going to a realm of some of my rants against the owners. i will keep it simple, for those you mention, it is all about the money. plus some lousy scouting rpts.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 02:56 PM) I love that the initial thread went 36 pages and turned into an argument about projections and now this one's on 12. That has to make Beckham the most debated 24th man in Sox history. That lends credence to the claim that if he had spent his career with, say, the Braves and the Sox had signed him, the reaction would be far more muted. But I think the particular context around Beckham is also important because it lends symbolism. LittleHurt said it well: After such a dynamic offseason, Beckham's signing just seemed lazy and lacking in creativity. Perhaps he's here because it is better to let in-house guys like Sanchez and Saladino get minor league seasoning, but I have a hard time believing either one for league minimum plus a Paulino-type sixth starter wouldn't serve the 2015 White Sox better. There's an alternate universe where Paulino was useful last year - he had upside and that's why I liked the signing at the time. The same could be said for a 2015 proxy like Brandon Beachy (another loaded name around here, and yes I know the money is not quite the same). Beckham really doesn't have that potential. i won't say this is everyone opinion, but i would say this is mine. my problem again is we as fans had to live with the hype of potential that was never fulfilled. now, with how the team turn itself around, they bring back Beckham, it is like a vestige of the old way of doing things, that i thought has change. it bring frustration, and anger to the die hard fans, or may just me.