LDF

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 01:16 AM) Only if they are close to playing in the big leagues. I believe the minor league instruction sucks until proven otherwise. the way the sox been acquiring prospect thru the draft, I am confident that for their 1 rounder they will go the college route. even if it mean a great hs'er. some of the players that were mention by other posters who are pitchers a expected to be, high first rounders. but still they may drop come next summer draft.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 04:58 AM) Otani can enter the draft, I think you guys prob know a lot more than I, so I will always give way to your knowledge. however for this 2 kids, I always thought they have to wait. what intrigue me was that their rep in newspaper articles back in june was mentioning that they will try going the US route. again, I don't know, when I read about them trying the US route this winter, I save their names.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Aug 24, 2014 -> 02:44 AM) One name guys, Shoei Otani ahhh now for the Asian market he is another name I been looking at Shintaro Fujinami, a 19 yr pitcher.

QUOTE (beautox @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 10:40 PM) #roadtocameron do you think Cameron kid will there for the sox between 10-13 based in this dates standings??? the one I am intrigue with are outfielders, DJ Stewart and J McCarthy. where the sox are drafting I am not getting a good feel for pitchers yet.. question on Cameron, is he a HS senior or will be a senior?

QUOTE (Cubano @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 05:06 PM) I forgot to mention that Castillo won't walk too much. Listen, politics is BS. thank Cubano for all the info you provided. this is what I know. some time ago someone in Washington said they will not open talks of some sorts until the Castro brothers reign ends. Cubano do you know if this is indeed the reason from Cuba point of view?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 05:17 AM) http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...-baseball-star/ Story hyping Yoan/Johan Moncada as the best prospect left in Cuba...although nobody seems to know exactly where he is, faster than Castillo even, whose best tool is supposedly his speed at this point story on Castillo as well....still underwhelmed http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/rusney-castillo-signs/ Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo agreed to sign with the Red Sox last night. According to a source, the deal is for six years, $72.5 million, making it the highest first-year contract ever for a Cuban player. Prior to the last year of his contract, Castillo will be able to opt into arbitration, which could take the total value of the deal even higher. Castillo, 27, has gained 20 pounds since leaving Cuba and is now 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, with his best tool his plus-plus speed. The extra size and strength has translated into an increase in power, with some scouts now putting a 60 on his raw power after pegging him with below-average to average raw power while he was in Cuba. In games, at least while he was in Cuba, he’s more of a line-drive hitter with an aggressive hitting approach. He won a Gold Glove in Cuba in 2011-12, with the speed and reactions off the bat to profile in center field in the major leagues, even though his arm strength appears to have backed up since he left Cuba. Castillo’s numbers were down from his usual pace in his final Cuban season in 2012-13, when he hit .274/.377/.399 in 68 games. The previous season in 2011-12, Castillo had hit .332/.395/.545 in 420 plate appearances with 16 home runs, 22 stolen bases (third in the league) in 29 tries and a league-leading 28-doubles. In 2010-11, Castillo hit .324/.373/.555 with 18 home runs in 400 trips to the plate and led Serie Nacional with 29 stolen bases in 35 attempts. Castillo had played on the Cuban national team, though he didn’t participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Since he’s 27 and has played five seasons in Cuba, Castillo’s bonus isn’t subject to the international bonus pools. Castillo is represented by Roc Nation Sports. I am no expert nor am I privy to any inside info. with that, here is 1 Cuban I am waiting for Yasmani Tomas, OF. I really hope the sox outbid all for him. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...as-leaves-cuba/

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 23, 2014 -> 12:50 AM) I wouldn't buy high on any of them, honestly. Not even Cespedes, because it would be dumb to control him for a year or less than a year. When/if he reaches FA, that's a different story. Otoh, Victorino is the type of veteran player we need to help lead the youngsters, IF he can stay healthy, which is a huge if. Finally, I'd try to steal Bradley but wouldn't be willing to give up Anderson/Hawkins/Montas for him. Just not a huge believer in Eaton being able to play a whole season without going on the DL for significant periods of time after what we've seen this year so far. At 5 feet 9 inches and 205 pounds, Castillo is a righthanded hitter more reliant on speed than power, but he does have extra-base pop in his bat according to scouts who watched his showcase workout July 26 at the University of Miami. He also is solid defensively. “Above-average speed. Can play center field or right field. What kind of power? What kind of average? Obviously our scouts liked him enough. That’s a significant investment,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell. “It’s an exciting athletic player by all accounts.” The Red Sox held a private workout for Castillo in Florida on Aug. 1 attended by general manager Ben Cherington. The team was impressed and started working diligently to sign him. Castillo’s contract, with an average annual value of $10.35 million, was heavily back-loaded. That helps the Red Sox for luxury tax purposes. At the same time, Castillo received a larger overall deal than the $68 million Abreu received from the Chicago White Sox last winter. That was considered important to his representatives at Roc Nation Sports, the agency owned by music mogul Jay-Z. Bidding by the Tigers, Phillies, Giants and Mariners helped drive the price up. Castillo played five seasons for Ciego de Avila in Cuba’s top league and was impressive playing for Cuba’s team in the 2011 World Cup tournament in Panama. He was excluded from the 2013 World Baseball Classic because of a suspension likely related to his trying to defect. Castillo is described as a high-energy player comparable to Shane Victorino in his prime or Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner. The success other Cubans have had in the majors helped convince the Red Sox to make the move. “That’s the one thing that stands out more than anything. When you look at Yoenis’s performance right away in Oakland, Abreu in Chicago. Hopefully the same holds true for every other player that comes over,” Farrell said. “When you look at how many games they play on the international stage and the talent in which they play against, just by nature they’re seemingly a very strong group physically and they’re able to transition and handle the wear and tear of a long season.” Because of his base-stealing ability and what was a high on-base percentage during his time in Cuba, Castillo could become a leadoff hitter. bostonglobe.com/sports thanks ...... that anw a lot of my questions.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 09:47 PM) Scot Gregor ‏@scotgregor 2m White Sox GM Rick Hahn: AAA Charlotte 2B Micah Johnson ( hamstring) done for season I wanted to ask, is this kid a little injury prone??? wasn't he shut down as well last yr, during his time in AZL? I mean this kid according to the scouting rpt has some crazy speed and I can't wait for him to perform in mlb.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 04:48 PM) First and foremost, you have to find some bullpen arms and the bright side is, if you are willing to try youngsters, you can probably poach some guys from other teams systems. Often times, those reliever prospects just aren't that tough to pull, if you want to find them. I don't expect them to spend a ton of money, however, I think we'll see a pretty busy off-season with one or two major trades (and by major, I don't mean getting superstar, but with club acquiring young cost controlled talent...possibly at the expense of other talent). Maybe we'll see a big FA signing but I would be surprised, presume we will wait and go bargain shopping in FA market. I am in total agreement. however I feel as there are some enticing pieces in the fa market. however those question mark where the option is the subject or should be, those options need to come to a end. the sox can make the pieces fit when some decision are made. then there are some other options with the int'l free agents. I say its the fa market b/c we don't have a deep system to trade from.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 04:05 PM) Nava has been great over the years for the Red Sox. He was never supposed to be anything. Sizemore was a break or bust and he busted to no one's (except Lillian) surprise. BoSox seem to be going the Oakland path. They'll have Craig/Cespedes/JBJ/Castillo/Nava and (I assume) Ortiz for 3 OF spots and DH. Plus Betts with nowhere to play. I am sure it'll be another active offseason for them. when bos is ready, they will have a surplus and the price for one of them will be a steep price to pay.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Aug 22, 2014 -> 03:42 PM) The Red Sox will be spinning quite a few of those pieces for pitching in the off-season. I imagine Craig, Bradley, Betts, Middlebrooks Cecchini, and Swihart will be made available to upgrade their pitching staff. Their OF will likely be Cespedes, Castillo, and Victorino. I think they will be in on Hamels and could make a run at someone like Cashner from the Friars to go along with Kelly and some of the young arms they have in their system. bos is doing what the sox will need to do either in the offseason or next yr. acquiring players (pieces) to make the team ready to compete. Bos has the bank to spend where as JR will be more frugal. I just don't know if the talent is there for the white sox in order to be in the bidding war. however there are other players coming even in the Asian market.

am i missing something on this player. for what is being rumored on his signing money, is really all that great? can someone pls explain why so much money???? is he going to be the next Jose A??

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 07:59 PM) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=152679...e=2&theater it sure seems as he is enjoying himself in America.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 05:49 AM) Just doing a quick rundown of the expected 2014 lineup with no changes Star: Abreu Eaton (assume for argument sake he plays 140 games next year) Garcia (assume he takes next step forward. He looks good. Projection systems and scouts really love him, I think there is a reason why. He can makes the game look easy at times, eg that sliding play tonight and hr) Solid Starter: Conor (needs a platoon partner but mashes 2/3 of the starters in MLB, aka righties) Ramirez (aging, but still solid, obviously is trade bait) Adequate starter: Flowers (hey, the bar at catcher is low, the defensive metrics like him and so do Cooper and Hahn, that's enough for me) De Aza (is going to finish around 1 fWAR although is trending downhill, again, trade bait) Gaping Holes: Beckham (his wRC+ is currently 62. He'd have to be Ozzie Smith to carry that bat, and he ain't even half that. There are other players (Marcus Semian hello) cheaper and probably better on the 40 man) Viciedo (his time in Chicago is numbered, clearly out of favor against RHP when team is healthy the only way he comes back is as a part time platoon DH/OF and even then he's a marginal roster spot at median case) Dunn/DH (should be easy to fill but DH has dogged the Sox for awhile now.) I trust the Sox to find better pitching assuming they spend some money. As for the position players they are going to need some luck and some positive influxes from home grown youth in order to fill out the every day lineup. The good news is that a lot of surplus value stars like Jose, Q, Sale and Eaton are already on the team. They have the stars. Now they need some scrubs, and better ones than Beckham and Carroll and pretty much anyone everyone in the pen. man, I am at a lost to figure flowers. you stat guys prob have a better read on him. for me, I like him. a while back there was a story of him and how,to me, he is a student of the game. to practice the fundamental. I think he might even be a coach in the making. but can the sox still keep him for next yr without finding a replacement?

QUOTE (scs787 @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 08:35 PM) Point is we don't know if he's going to defect or not. Like he said, and I researched to be true, because he was banned from the Mexican league doesn't mean he can't play in the bigs. From MLBtraderumors To my earlier point about his numbers being comparable to Abreus, a website broke down a 3 year period of stats between the 2.. Abreu- 1015 ABs .356/.478/.681 180 OPS+ 224 ISO+ Despaigne- 1183 ABs .353/.456/.670 183 OPS+ 252 ISO+ and I never said he was or was not going to defect. he was banned. banned from baseball in mexico b/c mlb advised it. june of 2014. I can not find the mag quote to prove it. mlb will honor the ban them came back and did some backtracking by adding if he defect and so on and so on. Mexico trust him for several reason, in all of 2013 he could have defected and didn't and them waiting for the update of the Mexican baseball he rtn to cuba. that is all I said, someone wanted to know an update on him. not to cause a debate. here is some of the snippets of what I found. I wish I know where the rest is. now show me where I said that mlb is not interested nor will never sign him. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...mexican-league/ http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...gne-play-japan/ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2125637...isk-high-reward

QUOTE (beautox @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 07:57 PM) thats not true at all, MLB has gone on record saying they wouldn't enforce the ban of the mexican league on mlb. if Despaigne wants to play in the bigs he has to defect from cuba and establish residency somewhere else, simple as that. first, it was the mlb powers to be that force mexico to banned him for the fake passport. what is your point is he not playing in Japan? doesn't he need to defect in order to play in mlb? does he not have family high in the cuban gov?? and lastly isn't he not going to defect???? where are you coming from to try to argue this point.

QUOTE (Tex @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 02:07 AM) Say what you will about Carter, no hostages died while he was in charge. and fyi, he was also kidnap in Libya during their civil war as well. held for 6 weeks. I am really not going to debate the merits of his death and agony to his love ones. make what you will of what i wrote now and before. i will not reply. peace.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 12:29 AM) He is a war journalist, that is literally his business. he was a free lance journalist and he volunteer to go there.

I will prob get flamed for this, but who cares. He had no freaking business being in that area, esp with a civil war that was raging at the rime of his rpt missing, a reagion that hates the US and all people that are US. next his bosses are to blame for sending him there. for what, to get first hand news from that area. f*** it. didn't anyone learned their lesson from the bosnian conflict or how bout viet nam where there was a bounty of journalist heads.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Aug 21, 2014 -> 12:11 AM) I'll chime in here... Average. At present he's replaceable - no flipping doubt a conte ring team could do better. That said I do feel he has room to improve. How's that for non-committal drivel? with you, should I expect anything less.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 11:44 PM) Scott Merkin ‏@scottmerkin 11m Hahn on Flowers: "I would certainly say that he can be an everyday catcher on a winning team" Scott Merkin ‏@scottmerkin 10m Hahn praised Flowers defense and handling of the pitching staff above all I agree with this. If he can manage to hit 240-250 with 10+ HRs with what Hahn said, I don't mind. This will let Hahn address the bullpen, another starter and a lefty bat instead of wasting assets on a catcher. besides his batting avg, how will you rate flowers defense and handling of the pitching staff. just curious. no offense.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 11:30 PM) Just from a macro perspective, if this team is really improving and can seriously contend, I certainly would expect to see some sparks - some good play late in the season. I certainly don't want to see the patented Ventura September swoon. I realize that Sale and Quintana are losing their edge - kind of hard to to pitch 100% focused with this team of mostly stiffs behind you - and they are pitching against 100% focused teams like the Orioles. Still, I would expect to see lot more out of this club if they really are close to contending. I agree with you. I was planning to writing this over the weekend, but what the hoot. here goes. this team coming to a close on the 2014 mlb campaign shows a great potential that the sox fans sees and I am sure the sox brass does as well. my take is the window of opportunity is NOW!!!. the sox have a great group to build around and have the salary spread out where the sox can continue to add thru attrition. c- flowers 1b. - Jose 2b. - Gordo / traded ??? ss. - Alexei 3b, - conor lf. - DV cf. - Eaton rf. - Avisial dh. - ???? sp - Sale - JQ - Danks - Noesi - Carroll pen I am not good here. here is the one weak point. if we wait for the young but some talented prospects to develop and be ready for the majors. the sox may miss the train. I would like JR to invest in the fa's and get the final pieces needed and sign them according. something like 3-5 yrs and still keep the contract stagger so when their contract is up, hopefully the some prospects will be ready to step in. I am not talking about prospects that may step in, in the beginning of the 2015 season, I mean to undoubtablly step in. the sox need help in cat sp - #1 or 2 the sox need a very good pitcher to help in case of injury or trade. I really would hate the sox to be unprepared as they were this yr. pen / this you guys can anw dh - here is the tricky part. with what is avail thru fa. do the sox go for a dh or of and move DV to dh. my other scenario needs to play out so I will not say nothing now. Oh btw the 1 part I forgot, the fa's should not cost the team a comp pick. forget that s***. I really think that this club can contend, crap they almost contended this yr and this was to be a rebuilding yr.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 10:03 PM) Has anyone heard anything about Despaigne coming over next year? Not left handed, but that's not THAT big a deal (Abreu hits lefties and righties about the same). I'd "blow a load" if he does and the Sox were able to grab him. Eaton-Avi-Gillaspie-Abreu-Despaigne-Dunn-Ramirez-Johnson-Catcher I have been watching several Cuban players and Asian players for the past several months. with re to Alfredo Despaigne, he was playing in mexico with a fake passport, waiting to get some time in so he can petition mlb. however, mlb powers investigated and forced mexico to banned him for life. he then went back home to cuba. here it is discovered that he does not want to give up his citizenship to cuba b/c of some family ties to the gov or something. long story, he is now in japan playing, he is 1 or 3 or 4 players I would love to the sox to get. oh well.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 03:06 AM) I agree slightly above average defense, terrible offense, which makes him below average. I just can't understand why such a limited upside player is getting playing time, when this org should be working on the future. It's like the Sox want another Dewayne Wise on this team. I hope the clowning stops soon. in yesterday game with Balt, yeah we lost but how many of the sox players went hitless. the sox is needing to generate offense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 20, 2014 -> 01:59 AM) Seeing the progression of how Rodon is being handled, I am going to say there is a near zero chance that the White Sox spend 9 figures, or probably even 8, on a starting pitcher contract this winter. and I am in agreement with what you are saying.