maggsmaggs

QUOTE (TRU @ May 6, 2016 -> 09:26 AM) Schwarber went 4th overall behind Brady Aiken (Who turned into Alex Bregman), Tyler Kolek, and Carlos Rodon.. I don't think anyone is kicking themselves for not drafting Schwarber.. Big brain fart by me. But he was rated by a lot of the major publications in the 20s IIRC for top draft prospects, mainly because he was all bat with questionable defensive abilities and no clear position.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2016 -> 02:09 PM) Sure it would be nice to see them break the bank for the top guys, but if you look at how many Latin kids are in the bottom of our system who no one had any idea who they were when they signed, it is pretty impressive. Quantity does not equal quality. Nothing I have read leads me to believe any of these lower level guys are legit prospects yet.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 4, 2016 -> 08:11 AM) He's hitting .425/.587/.726 and has walked 48 times. He's a LHH with plus power potential and great on-base skills. He's also improved enough defensively that scouts think he can stay behind the plate. He'd be a great pick at #10 because he offers the kind of on-base skills that the White Sox simply don't have anywhere in their system. He might be the best pure hitter in the Draft. I would love him, Senzel or Lewis. Teams are kicking themselves for not drafting Schwarber, Collins is in that same vein.

And Slauson looks like he has been released, as well. That one is tough to understand. Was not making a ton of money and still a valuable player. I know we drafted Whitehair and signed Larsen/Ramirez, but none of them are as good as Slauson. Makes the Slauson cut more understandable.

I love what Ryan Pace has done with this team in a short amount of time. I think 8-8 next year is a very reasonable goal, and I would not be surprised to see more if everything clicks. I am still concerned about the secondary. We have a nice infusion of young players, but we still do not have impact players there. I hope they sign Whitner. He could be a nice stop-gap player to bridge 1-2 years before these rookies are ready for full-time roles.

As a guy making $4 million per year who is on his way to a 4.0 WAR season (if he keeps this pace up), I don't think anyone can complain about anything concerning him. I don't think he'll ever be the All-Star people thought he was going to be as a prospect or after his initial call-up with Toronto, but he should be a borderline top-10 2B going forward for the next few years.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 30, 2016 -> 09:25 AM) 7 picks today should be fun. So pumped for Bullard. Anxious to see what RZbs are there Howard and Dixon could be terrific 4th round picks. Both look like future starters.

QUOTE (staxx @ Apr 23, 2016 -> 08:10 AM) Baseball is a long long season. While it is, we already had a lack of talented hitters in the system. And the ones who seemingly had the most talent have so far done nothing to assuage concerns about their weakness. Tim Anderson has 15 Ks to 0 BBs on the season, Engel is still striking out more than once a game and making little contact, Zangari is striking out nearly twice per game and May is striking out a lot and not walking. Thus far, no one is taking a step forward offensively. That is immensely concerning for system that barely had any hitting prospects to begin with. Add these struggles with the lack of top pitchers dominating thus far, and I think Fathom's concern is well founded. Of course it's early, but our prospects do not seem to be improving upon the areas that have caused the most concern.

As I see it, Hayes clearly will admit to killing Smith, but will argue a multitude of different mitigating or absolving theories, such as self-defense (absolving), unreasonable belief of self-defense (mitigating), provocation (mitigating) and probably reckless homicide (mitigating). A lot will depend on the testimony of a Smith's wife but regardless, I highly doubt Hayes will come across as credible to successfully argue any of these defenses.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 9, 2016 -> 02:16 PM) Avila's bat speed is terrible nowadays. So his usual ground ball to the right side would be great here. That also works.

Avila's bat speed is terrible nowadays. So his usual ground ball to the right side would be great here.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 07:22 PM) Not all acids are the same hoss. I'm with you. I never drink pop anymore. My liquid vices are orange juice and Izzy's occasionally. When I need some carbonation though, I always go for a Lime La Croix.

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 4, 2016 -> 09:18 AM) and here is where i am at a dilemma, i see his stats and the hype, but on the other hand, the level of comp is not what is considered top notch. i just don't know. That's the rub, but he did well in the Cape Cod League against top competition.

Kyle Lewis is becoming my top choice at No. 10, but who knows if he will be available then. Beyond the insane power numbers (12 HRs in 108 ABs) and great average (.426), he has walked 33 times compared to 17 strikeouts. Love that type of plate control and discipline.

Bears also added G/C Ted Larsen. Six-year veteran and 57 starts over those years. Solid depth signing.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Mar 27, 2016 -> 09:48 AM) The thing about Benetti is, IMO, you can still hear some nervousness on his voice, which is understandable. The other day, I forget which ST game, he asked Stone a very odd question. I believe it was about a guy's name or how many times he's seen something in his life. Stone responded with "I didn't think about that coming into the booth today, but off of my head, none." It was very awkward. Other than that, I think he sounds very good in terms of voice and tone. Stone is great and I love listening to him. Benetti at least lets Stone have his time to shine, which Hawk does not. I think that is just Stone's personality in general, not anything specific to Benetti. Stone is just very sarcastic. I really like Benetti, he is light years better than Hawk.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 22, 2016 -> 07:00 AM) Does anybody think that the more recent attacks in Europe are because better security has made attacks in the US more difficult, or is ISIS just targeting Europe for other reasons? Europe is just an easier target. Closer to ISIS strongholds and people can easily move around countries in Europe.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 18, 2016 -> 03:41 PM) Honestly, I don't understand how it can be LaRoche. Its been widely reported he was given permission to bring his son to the clubhouse, potentially as part of the pitch to come here. He than made the decision that being with his son was more important than playing. Yes, he was directly involved in this whole piece, but nowhere did he do anything wrong. You can whine about him potentially leaking or telling people a story, but Sale / Eaton speaking there piece has nothing to do with LaRoche and it seems everything to do with how Kenny directed this. I might not agree with LaRoche's beliefs on how to raise a kid, but his wanting to be with his kid is certainly better than the alternative (being a dead beat dad) and it was entirely his right to make the decision he did. On the flipside, if KW unilaterally did this, while he's the president, I don't really think it is within his right. But what was the agreement? Did the Sox think he would bring his kid to the clubhouse all day and every day? Or did they think he would bring his kid along every so often? That's the key to me. What was agreed to? Or was this some ambiguous agreement where neither parties had a meeting of the mind as to how often the kid would be in the clubhouse.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Mar 5, 2016 -> 10:45 AM) Whitman confirms that Groce will be back next year. He better get a commitment from Tilmon. This is probably about not looking like a control freak for Whitman, immediately, because Groce simply does not deserve to stay. Illinois has gotten worse every single year with him: 2012–13 Illinois 23–13 8–10 2013–14 Illinois 20–15 7–11 2014–15 Illinois 19–14 9–9 2015–16 Illinois 13–17 5–12

IMO, this is about as good as Illinois could do, so they should be applauded for the move. I have no idea how Lovie will recruit, what kind of assistants (other than his sons) he will be bringing, but Lovie does know defense and is one of the most respected defensive coaches in football. My main concern is what is the goal with Lovie? Is he going to build the program and stay 10 years? Or is this a 2-3 year move with the goal that Lovie improves Illinois recruiting with his name, brings energy back to the program and then hire a young coach who can lead the program for 20+ years? The bottom line is Illinois was getting nowhere with the Cubits and Beckman's of the world, so this move cannot be worse.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 14, 2016 -> 01:00 PM) It's gonna be a trump/kasich ticket and that'll give the Republicans a good shot. I cannot imagine that Kasich would ever join on as Trump's VP, especially after all the things he has said about Trump's lack of qualifications, demeanor and ability to be president.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 08:37 AM) The biggest problem is that from the sounds of it, most of the top talent is already locked up. It is too late. Here is the major problem. In theory, yes, they absolutely should. But don't just spend over the cap on players that are not worth it. SSK is most likely right, the Sox are late to the game and will not get the so-called "elites." QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 08:41 AM) The other thing worth pointing out is that the extra cost comes from somewhere. If we push $26 million out the door, are you willing to give up $26 million worth of talent at the major league level to invest in something that won't be here until well after 2020? We spent $3 millionish down there last year. This is how the franchise got bad in the first place, though. Forever, we used resources on the major league roster rather than in the draft/international signing, and look how that has worked out the majority of the time. Sometimes, all the eggs align like 2005, but usually they don't as evidenced by every other season since then.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 29, 2016 -> 08:16 AM) Hahn better be wearing a bulletproof vest at SoxFest. I think that it is going to be REALLY tense there. Even with Frazier and Lawrie, most Sox fans want more, including myself. I think the general anger is about the team's lack of success over the last few years, more so than simply missing out out on Upton/Gordon/Cespedes. That's what I am pissed about at least, and the lack of a fruitful farm system. That being said, if you could sign Buehrle to a one-year deal as a longman/spot starter, I would feel a lot better about our rotation depth, which is a huge worry. One injur to Sale/Q/Rodon or lackluster performance by EJ/Danks, we have a huge hole in the rotation without an obvious candidate to step in.

As social services in the state of Illinois are slashed, the White Sox get a new taxpayer-funded scoreboard. The Sox deal with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is the gift that keeps on giving.

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=ss For comparison sake, Cubs prospect Gleyber Torres is at 9. This one really surprises me.