LDF

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) I don't think it's sad at all, actually, it just takes a long time for Latin American signings to take root and really have an impact. They sign these kids at 16 years old. again you are right, but I am really guilty of having the result of the hard labor now as it will come. very unrealistic yes. the other part of it, it is sad b/c they could have been doing a better job all this time.

with the good news, Jose A winning ROY, comes some uncertain news. in an article Abreu's performance could earn another big payday in 2017 mention that Jose A has an out clause. http://www.prosportsdaily.com/mlb/mlb-rumors.html I thought that to be the case. if I was with the sox management, buy out that clause.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 01:42 PM) Frankly, the only recent international signing of any interest is Adolfo. Anyone else is someone we just don't know enough about at this point. I say that because it's been only about 2-3 years since the Sox actually started spending significant money in that area again. sad and very spot on.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 01:14 PM) Just out of curiosity, for this group of players packaged any way you would like to package, what do you think possible return(s) would be: Conor Gillaspie Dayan Viciedo >>>> comp draft pick Carlos Sanchez >>>>> No Micah Johnson >>> No Chris Bassitt >>>> NO / pkg with Tyler Danish >>>> No / pkg with Chris Beck >>>>>> Pkg with Francellis Montas >>> Never interesting, but I will do this for fun and have no real intentions on some of the players you mention. with my "pkg with" is I will add to a pkg of prospect to help get a bigger rtn or a final piece that the club need.

everything in life is a gamble. in some areas, there is no safety net or a do over. now back to baseball. look at every yrs drafted prospected. how many in each draft class makes it? go even further, how many of the 1rn'er makes it? how many prospects dreams have been crushes when some realize they are not good enuf to take it to the next level.

after these top 10 are talked about and dissected. I can't wait to start identifying the 11-25 range of prospects. esp some of the int'l signing.

I have always thought of AFL as the final season or league before the prospect make the final jump.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Rarely do players drafted that year play any sort of winter ball. They've all had their first pro ball, they need rest more than anything. And certainly they won't send a high school pitcher off to the Caribbean or anything. Winter ball is usually used for one (or more) of the following circumstances: --Missed time during the season, generally due to injury --Players who are borderline in some way - i.e. borderline for a job of any kind the next year, or borderline for a 40 man slot --Players working on something new --Players are native to that country and spending the offseason there anyway, so they'll play occasionally to stay sharp There are exceptions. Ravelo was going to be AFL but chose winter ball for, apparently, financial reasons (players get paid by the winter league teams to play for them). The guys going to Australia are kind of a microcosm of that. Blount missed time due to a PED suspension, so he needs innings. Marin performed well in A+/AA last year but they aren't sure if he's worth a rotation slot in AA, so he's trying out. Engel is raw and needs to work on bat-to-ball skills, and he did miss a little time during the season due to injury. Beatty is an org guy looking to prove he deserves a job somewhere in 2015. a great write up. many thanks. fwiw, your description of the rules would be a nice recurring post in the future for the offseason games.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 12:33 PM) Baseball America's recent issue has them rated... Rogers Aiken Matuella Finkhouser Buehler Swanson Hooper Kirby Vanderbilt has 3 of the top 13. Same issue evaluated the 2014 draft, naming Peters the Sox best hitter; they said Cleveland had the best draft, Cubs the best hitter. from top to bottom in the projected 1rn seems to have solid players. but I know I am looking at mostly high school players. the 2014 seemed to have had many finished college arms that probably won't need much time in the minors. either way a nice deep draft for 2015.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 03:41 PM) CJ Beatty added to Brisbane Bandits in ABL. That makes four Sox players (Engel, Blount, Marin, Beatty) and a manager (Thompson) down under this year. beside Engel, how are the other players mention? any word on where, if any on S. Adams playing? is there any internal decision not to play any of the 2014 drafted players?

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 12:32 PM) Just a thought but if the Giants win, Peavy will have won 2 World Series titles in 2 years. But he has school age kids and the downside is he went from Chicago to Boston to SF in 2 straight seasons. I wonder if Peavy will want some family stability rather than money for the next contract??? yeah I agree with you, and like Greg said, if the price is right, sign him. but as in Brandon the underlining concern at least for me, is can he stay healthy. in addition, I think that his presence / leadership in the clubhouse will be a welcome addition to the pitching staff.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 06:27 AM) This offseason is protected for lack of a better word, but I was talking more about July 2nd, 2016. If the Sox do pull off a Yankeee' like spending spree and spend $8M to $10M on INTL amateurs, whats the worst that can happen, they loose some INTL draft picks? Disagree or agree with what they did on July 2nd, but the Yankees brought in a major wave of talent. Im sure that some teams are having this discussion. Thoughts? I am in total agreement with you. I didn't quite write what I meant in the other post. I edited now. my question, it seems to me as the time to over spend may be now. depending if some of the other prospect get posted. but if I remember right, they will be counted as normal free agents I think. but if the sox see young talent or talent that does count against the int'l cap, then go for it. help build up the farm.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 02:11 AM) For me its: Aiken, Rodgers (I would place him at 2B), Mautella, Tucker, and Cameron. Not too many of the college guys impress me. my top 4 still haven't chg I think. Mautella tie with Rodgers then Ian Happ and lastly DJ Stewart. I am starting to like a lot is Kriby-pitcher-college, Clark-of-hs.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 02:31 AM) Question of the day? With the current CBA set to expire on 12/1/2016, and with things pointing towards an international draft, should the Sox go all out on INTL FA's like the Yankees did this past July 2nd? Question, does the 2015 draft is affect or is it after 2015 draft? the reason is, if this offseason is not going to be affected, then why the hell not sign int'l free agents that can help? I will admit I an really lost with the cba and its rules and timeline.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 01:36 AM) Gran Torino movie images come to mind... that is funny.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 12:59 AM) That's Marvel/Disney, not Warner Bros yeah, I look it up after you post this. the problem is my strike 3 notice were for supposedly downloading the 2-Thor, Avengers and Spiderman movies. are warner bros in some sort of movie release thru Marvel Franchise? I have not watched tv for over a yr.

QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 23, 2014 -> 12:21 AM) LDF is too busy at yelling at youngsters on his lawn to care. FURY was good. A couple of scenes that were slow and long but nothing that hindered it. those dang freaking kids..... no respect for old men. yeah, down here they go after the people who download movies. warner bros are leading the charge.

here is a nice link from Ben Badler of BA about int'l free agents http://www.baseballamerica.com/author/benbadler/

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 11:42 PM) So here's a trailer for some movie that comes out next year, I feel like I've seen most of the cast before but I'm not 100% sure on that, I thought they were in movies with different names. Anyway, it looks pretty good. There's a talking robot. It's called something like the Age of Owltron? The Age of Eeltron? Am I spelling that right? Yeah, so you should go watch this now because pretty sure this file won't be up long. I stop watching Warner Bros movies. but this look really good.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 10:43 PM) Except Taveras isn't like Quentin, he hasn't proven to be that productive at the major league level when healthy...at least not yet. I have SOME faith in Steverson now, but our track record with non-veteran hitters has been pretty abysmal recently, other than Abreu and Alexei, who weren't developed internally. Sure, Taveras supposedly has even more TALENT than Avisail, but who's to say Anderson isn't going to be the much better player when all is said and done? It's always going to be easier to find outfielders than middle infielders (especially SS), and there are a lot of flaws from what we saw out of this kid when he was with the Cardinals. It's not a mistake that he was stuck behind Grichuk down the stretch. OSCAR TAVERAS: He did fine with his increased playing time after the Craig trade, building a seven-game hitting streak in early August and enjoying a 12-for-31 surge later in the month. He has hit .273 since the All-Star break, .324 since Aug. 15 and .400 thus far in September to quell fears about his swing length and bat speed. Taveras turned 22 this summer, so he is just hinting at his long-term potential. Physical maturity, improved offseason training and regular at bats in 2015 should help him blossom as a run producer. stltoday.com/sports (Gordon) In the end, the Cards are going to end up playing Holliday, Taveras and Grichuk, with Jay (despite his hot post-season) and Bourjos jettisoned. Or they might keep Jay, but all indications are that Taveras is still in their long-term plans, and big-time. I can't believe it ..... you actually wrote something that I like. I have been thinking, the thing I saw in Anderson is a young Ernie Banks. SS. I know this may be a pipedream but what the hell. it is my opinion.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 11:05 PM) Canada is an ally of the US and sent special troops to help fight ISIS. Canada has been a huge ally and partner for most all US conflicts. Also guantanimo bay isn't closed. Also part of closing it wasn't just moving the prisoners to roam free like buffalo on the plains. my bad. and good point on the rest. btw the big oil pipeline that is being talked about I really hope there is good security planed.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:54 PM) I was responding to NSS post and Balta's repost and it isn't about religion but about a sick person. Both are causes here. I hate to say this, but they are all sick who will use what excuse is in the public the time. this has nothing to do with Islam. so I agree with your opinion.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:50 PM) Just like the guy mentioned earlier, this shooter was deemed a high risk traveler and had his passport seized. They wouldn't let him fight his jihad elsewhere so he let loose on Canadian soil. and the USA had to shut down Guantánamo Bay.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 22, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) That's such a cop-out though. If you're a violent person with violent tendencies who needs an outlet there are other ways. Why is Islam such an attractive option? It shouldn't be, but it is and has been for quite a while. your first response ????? but I agree with your second. there are many millions of intelligent people who can see the difference, believe me. this is soooo wasted..... shoot yourself and leave others alone.

I can see what you are trying to say or convey, but yes it can not be denied that Islam religion will take the brunt of this. but are they really innocent? now for those hard working Islam people who works to make a better life. they are guilty in religion only.