maggsmaggs

Lastings Milledge is so much better than Lillibridge. But that might not necessary dictate the winner. Milledge is better in four out of the five areas (except speed). He also is a much more natural CF and outfielder in general than Lilly. Granted Lilly can play the INF, but with Teahen/Vizquel he will never see time there. To me it comes down to whether you really need that extra "speed" on the bench. Milledge is slower, but not a slouch and IMO, can easily be that late-inning speed substitute. Add in he is just better in practically all facets of the game, this should be a no-brainer.

So does Illinois get in or not guys? Lunardi is the best in the business and he says yes right now, so I will say yes until he says otherwise. They will probably benefit from a horrible bunch of bubble teams this year.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 12, 2011 -> 01:41 PM) I guess that's the thing. The owners opted out of the current agreement, not the players. They're crying poor, but they've been shown to be nothing but dishonest. I don't see why the players really have any reason to compromise, especially after the recent TV contract ruling. When the average lifespan of an NFL player is about 55 years and the post-football life is filled with horrific pain each and every day, I don't blame the players at all for not wanting to take less money, play an 18-game season, etc. For every Peyton Manning who makes bank and will live a post-football life of glory, there are nine other players whose post-football lives suck.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 10:42 PM) Let's do a bar thing for the west coast trip in May (6th-15th). Have a gathering and watch a game at the same time. Yeah I agree with that. Since the game is later, people stay later to watch. I like that idea.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) That draft was solid, the draft that sets the bar for failure was the 2000 NBA draft. Marcus Fizer memories...

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:28 PM) Sullinger does seem to have gotten heavier as the season's gone on. He looked slow today. And don't you dare rip my man Michael Sweetney. He was fantastic at Georgetown! But is eating bon-bons "playing" basketball overseas.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:22 PM) Illinois is a much better job and Grant would be walking into a really good situation talent wise with the 2011 class and the current freshmen and sophomores. I am a die-hard Illinois fan, and I have a hard time buying Illinois is "a much better job." Illinois is an average Big Ten basketball school right now and has been since 2006. Grant has spent his entire career in/near the south coaching, I don't know if he really would be willing to come to cornfield, Illinois.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:20 PM) Come on, Sullinger is better now than Sweetney was after 3 years in school. You just can't do what he does in college and be successful in the NBA. Sweetney was a bad comp, I recalled him being better. But I just think he'll be a productive bench player rather than starter. He will be just so unathletic compared to NBA bigs that I think it will be difficult for to have starting success.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:10 PM) No thanks on Collins. Duke assistants have pretty much sucked at other programs and I would rather go after a guy who has done a good job as a head coach elsewhere. Think big and offer Anthony Grant a monster contract to try to pry him from Alabama. I don't even know if he would leave for Illinois. It's not what it once was. Illinois' best bet is a mid-major coach with success.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) I got crushed for this last time and he had a fantastic game so I'll probably get crushed again, but which of Sullinger's skills translate to the pros? I see most of his college dominance coming from a size advantage. What does he do that will still work against NBA bigs? QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 04:10 PM) It's not his height, it's the size of his ass. He also has a good midrange game he hasn't shown in college. He's also a very good rebounder. He'll be a good PF in the NBA but not a star. Could be a 20-10 type of guy at his peak Elton Brand-esque. Consequently Brands draft was about as weak as this one will be. I honestly think he'll be a reincarnated version of Mike Sweetney. Can be solid in spurts, but not a real good player overall. I think he will stick in the league longer, but I just don't foresee a great career. Who knows maybe he'll be DeJuan Blair?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 03:26 PM) Hmm, didn't know that Erik Spoelstra coached the Illinois offense too. Bruce Weber is a pretty mediocre coach after all. Illinois is definitely on the bubble now. Just fire Weber and bring in Chris Collins from Duke. I am sick of Weber's offenses scoring five points in the last 10 minutes of games. He will now blame the team for a lack of heart, grit, etc. in the media interviews. Instead, he should blame himself for being a s***ty coach who can't close.

Close game with Illinois in it. I have seen this movie before. Illinois gonna lose. I can only watch on gamecast, but is Illinois doing their usual not-run-anything offense under five minutes?

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 02:51 PM) Sounds like Jimmy Kimmel is in Hawaii and nobody can get in touch with him. He's safe. http://twitter.com/#!/jimmykimmel

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 02:33 PM) I am not sure exactly what that is telling me, but that is freaky.

This is why I would never live in San Fran.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 10:12 AM) Why not? You can't tell if someone has changed their trigger mechanism, stance, finish etc in weeks worth of time? Sure you can see that, but I when I say "change," I am referring to his offensive game in general, which I believe can't be truly discerned from his small sample size. He just is not very good, IMO. Slow, bad defense at catcher, not enough power for the a DH, horrible contact skills, etc. And the only thing that will change my opinion of him will be seeing him produce in AAA in more than 11 at-bats.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 05:56 AM) Wow, we trust an injury over team management in deciding what is best for a player. Sadly, I do. I mean there is no need in the world to let Dayan sit on the bench in Chicago, it's not in the best interest of the Sox and him. For him to develop appropriately, he needs to be in AAA playing everyday in the outfield. QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 09:14 AM) It's spring training His career numbers as a professional hitter are above .300 He's probably only had like - what - 30 ABs... MAYBE??? He can't. Exactly. He has had 21 at-bats, that's about six games. He will be fine. Morel is what you call a professional hitter and will get everything on track in due time. He plays top-of-the-line defense always and his hitting will come around. It's all about sample size, you can't read too much into these first at-bats.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 07:59 AM) If he has made adjustments, those mechanical things will be obvious very quickly. Some things you don't need a lot of ABs to see. Come on, his spring is akin to a solid three-game span, no adjustments in the world can ostensibly visible in three games and some cage work. If he were to get everyday at-bats, he probably would suck.

From Jon Heyman's Twitter: Dude has had 11 at-bats in Spring Training after an abysmal full season at AAA. I think a little too soon to anoint Flowers "too good" for AAA. And he is not good defensively.

Actually might be a blessing in disguise. This way, he can't start the year in the Majors and will go down to AAA and play everyday like he should.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 10, 2011 -> 02:11 PM) Or maybe you can just have Beckham lead off. Ultimately, I wouldn't mind seeing Beckham-Morel as your 1-2 punch. They won't be your typical speed duo, but I think that is overrated. Gimme OBP at the top over speed. By ultimately I mean in 2012.

At least he was walking off the court albeit gingerly. I think we may have escaped major injury there. Hopefully just a game or two thing.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Mar 9, 2011 -> 09:06 AM) That is way most of us here are advocating Viciedo take the supersub (Teahen's) role LF/RF/3B can also play 1B and DH. Of course Teahen is still here there is no subject.. I just feel that is counterproductive to his future. Teahen is gonna hit for a solid average, power and OBP and can plays solidly D all around except third. But that is where Vizquel comes in. I just feel like Dayan needs to play everyday in the OF and get everyday at-bats to work on his patience.

You need your backup outfielder to have the capacity to play CF, and Viciedo clearly doesn't have the range for that. That's why it's Lillibridge versus De Aza versus Milledge for the last OF spot. I know I never wanna see Juan Pierre throw a ball from CF.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 8, 2011 -> 04:34 PM) Viciedo GUNS the runner out trying to go home! Just a GREAT throw on a 1-hop to the catch, perfectly on line and strong. Good god, this kid has to make the team at this point. What makes more sense for him though? Consistent playing time in AAA in the OF, or one start per week in Chicago's outfield. Makes more sense for him to go back to AAA to play everyday, IMO. QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Mar 8, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) I think he'd be one of the top 10 or 15 prospects overall if he had a set position. I don't understand the rankings hate on the guy. He is going to be 22 years old on Thursday. And as a 21-year-old, he had an .840 OPS in the Majors. That's incredible, especially for a guy with such s***ty plate discipline. Once he improves that, he will be a monster, and I have faith he will be at least ok in plate discipline with time. Has a gun of an arm, but just been shifted around the field by the Sox. Guy still has INCREDIBLE potential.