thomsonmi

ESPN 1000 just reported that the White Sox have made an offer to Peavy re-working the $22 million final year of his contract and are waiting for a response from Peavy.

I don't start many topics here at Soxtalk but I am up late tonight thinking about how excited I am for the coming season. I love the critical analysis here at Soxtalk. Part of what makes being a White Sox fan so damn cool is how we fight with ourselves so passionately regarding the team and its future, its general manager, and its coach. I truly believe that it is a special thing to be a White Sox fan. For so many reasons, I truly believe our White Sox are the greatest organization in all of sports: (1) Barack Obama; (2) Kenny Williams; (3) Ozzie Guillen; and (4) Jerry Reinsdorf being at the top of the list. But, read this article by Jerry Crasnick at ESPN and smile... http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2009/c...&id=3948072 We have the making of a ridiculously good team coming together. The competition between young and old. The naive of young players like Quentin, Ramirez, Danks, and Gavin combined with veterans like Thome, Konerko, Dye, Pyerzinski, Buerhle, and Jenks. Throw in the competition at 2B, 3B, and CF and this team is literally exactly where I'd want my favorite team to be. To make it even better, the young talent in this organization is phenomenal with Gordon Beckham and Dayan Vinciedo soon to claim their spots as perennial all stars. I am so proud of this organization. Ten years ago we literally had no personality, hardly even a proud history, Now, with some of our favorite former players leading and coaching the team we have personality, we have history, we are cool like no other sports franchise in the world. And, the President of the World is one of our biggest fans. Seriously. Can it get any better? Bring on the 2009 baseball season. I am ready. I love this game! I love the Chicago White Sox!!! :

Posting this from my cell phone while driving from Chicago to Denver down highway 80 so I apologize if this has been mentioned but Bruce Lhevine says his White Sox sources say this rumor is a bunch of crap. Lhevine closed his show at 11am saying this with utter certainty. I know Lhevine is not always right on trade stuff but he sounded like a person who had talked to a very well placed source.

It is all about the South Side now, isn't it? Obama! White Sox! :gosox3: :gosoxretro: :gosox3: :gosoxretro: :gosox3:

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Nov 13, 2008 -> 11:29 PM) I'm a huge Kenny Williams fan but it's worth noting that none of those players were drafted by the White Sox. A whole bunch of them were acquired with players whom KW did draft.

I should add that anyone who thinks Kenny Williams is building for the future really doesn't pay attention. During KW's entire tenure as GM, can anyone identify a single season in which he built the team around the primary idea that he was building for the future? It's simply not in KW's genetic code to care about the future. The man is trying to build the best team he can year in and year out. When guessing his move I would suggest folks consider his past history. The White Sox are not building for 2010. They are in it to win now.

I know that the whole idea of sites like this is essentially to second guess everything our GM does, but what the hell does Kenny Williams need to do to gain the respect of the folks who post on this cite. As best as I can tell, the tone towards the moves he makes is continuously critical. The vast majority of posters here think Kenny always overpays in the trades he makes. And, the vast majority think he sucks at drafting talent. I am left to wonder by what stroke of incredible luck does he manage to come up with players like Carlos Quentin, Alexi Ramirez, John Danks, Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks, Tadahito Iguchi, AJ, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, etc... It's not that I don't think its acceptable to question Kenny's decisions. It's simply that there is a stupid level of criticism towards him in which it is continuously suggested that somehow he has a history of bad decisions when frankly the opposite is true.

It's a lot to give up but Miggy is a legitimate superstar and he is only 24.

QUOTE(fathom @ Nov 22, 2007 -> 12:41 AM) We have nothing to offer the Marlins. They're going to want better players than Fields, DLS, and Gio. We suck. You're right. I forget these things.

If we do sign Rowand, I think we will also go big time after Miguel Cabrera. KW will not be satisfied with just bringing Rowand back.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Nov 22, 2007 -> 12:06 AM) I love Rowand but he really is not the guy I want the organization to invest the big bucks in. Right now I think id rather have us pursue andruw jones than Rowand. Plus look more into this fukodome or whatever it is guy. There is absolutely no reason you should waste your time hoping the White Sox will sign somebody who uses Scott Boras as his agent. Just let it go. The White Sox are not going to sign Andruw Jones.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Nov 7, 2007 -> 10:51 AM) Where did you see the $4.5M number? It wasn't in the Rosenthal article. The $4.5 million number is being reported by the Score. The Rosenthal story does say, "Williams said the team re-signed Uribe for a lower salary." The White Sox Press Release also refers to $4.5 million as the amount.

The Score and Fox Sports also confirming. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7418304 $4.5 million for one year. We did actually decline and renegotiate, saving $500,000.

I'm not totally opposed to picking a high upside high schooler. I just have no way of judging who is better. The college players have stats. I have idenitified players who have been successful at the college level. I have looked for high strike out per inning totals, low ERA numbers, and low batting average against. I like those kind of young pitchers personally. They tend to be the guys with the highest upside and liveliest arms. It does have to be recognized that high upside high school ballplayers also present greater risks.

Chris Salberg, Senior at Florida Atlantic This year Salberg has 124 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched. Batters hit .225 against him. As a Junior (2006): Started the season in the rotation before being moved to the bullpen on Apr. 29 against Jacksonville...longest outing of the season was 7 1/3 on Feb. 25 against Connecticut....had a season-high 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings against North Florida on Mar. 25...second on the team with 82 strikeouts and 73 2/3 innings...ranked seventh in the A-Sun in strikeouts...drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 22nd round.

With this topic, I am focusing on some college pitching prospects who you won't see in the first round projections of most mock drafts. Mitch Harris, Junior at Navy Mitch would be a better prospect if he wasn't at the Naval Academy where he has an commitment beyond just four years of college. I doubt he can even make himself available for the draft this year. His numbers over the last couple years are fantastic. Harris' Career Honors 2007 Second-Team All-Patriot League Starting Pitcher and Designated Hitter 2007 Roger Clemens Award Watch List 2007 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List 2007 College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll (Feb. 27, April 3) 2007 ECAC Pitcher of the Week (May 8) 2007 ECAC Player of the Week (April 4) 2007 Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 20, Feb. 27, May 7) 2007 Patriot League Player of the Week (April 3) 2007 InsidePitching.com Northeast Regional Performance of the Week (Feb. 19) 2007 All-Service Academy Spring Classic Team 2007 CSTV.com Preseason National Player of the Year List (ranked 15th) 2007 PingBaseball.com Preseason Second-Team All-American 2007 NCBWA Preseason Third-Team All-American 2006 ABCA/Rawlings Third-Team All-American 2006 ABCA/Rawlings First-Team All-Northeast Region 2006 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year 2006 First-Team All-Patriot League 2006 Baseball America Second-Best Prospect in Cal Ripken Sr. League 2006 Roger Clemens Award Watch List 2006 College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll (May 11) 2006 Patriot League Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 28, March 13, April 11) Harris' Career Statistics Year ERA W-L App GS CG SHO/CBO SV IP H R ER BB SO 2005.... 6.46 0-3 9 2 0 0/0 2 15.1 20 20 11 11 22 2006.... 1.74 10-3 13 13 6 2/1 0 82.2 57 22 16 20 113 2007.... 2.14 8-5 14 14 4 1/0 0 88.1 58 34 21 36 119 TOTAL... 2.32 18-11 36 29 10 3/1 2 186.1 135 76 48 67 254 Harris in the Record Books: Owns school record with his 12.30 strikeouts per nine innings in 2006 His 10 victories as a sophomore are the second most in program history and tied for the most in Patriot League history Holds the league record and ranks second on the single-season strikeout list with 113 in 2006 His 13 starts and two shutouts are tied for sixth best all-time in both categories Harris' 1.74 ERA in 2006 places him second in the all-time Patriot League annals One of five pitchers in school history to throw a complete-game no-hitter Adam Mills, Senior at North Carolina-Charlotte This year he is 13-2 with a 1.06 ERA. He struck out 136 batters in 135.2 innings and only walked 26 batters. At Charlotte - 2006: Finished the season sixth all-time in program history for career strikeouts and seventh in wins and innings pitched... Honorable Mention A-10 All-Conference, one of a record nine Niners named All-Conference... Led team in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts, tied for team lead with five complete games and opponents' batting average among starters (.256)... A-10 final rankings - 1st in strikeouts, 2nd in innings pitched and starts, tied for 4th in wins, 11th in ERA, tied for 13th in opponent batting average... Most wins and lowest ERA among returning starters... 111 strikeouts was career-high mark and fourth-best in school history... Had career-best 12-strikeout effort in 11-1 victory at Saint Joseph's on April 16... Started and threw three shutout innings at home vs. No. 1 North Carolina on April 12, striking out four... Finished the season 114th-best in NCAA for individual ERA... Had lowest walks per inning average of career... Also had best stikeout to walk ratio in career... Won five of eight games in conference play and recorded a decision in eight of nine A-10 starts... Posted 6-2 home record, striking out 77 batters... Only surrendered one home run on the road in four starts, recording a 2-2 record... Margin of team victory in his eight wins was 6.75 runs... Got no-decision on March 11 vs. Siena, despite leaving with a 7-4 lead after six innings... Got no-decision despite leaving after 8.2 scoreless innings pitched on March 24 vs. George Washington... Pitched seven or more innings in eight of 17 starts... Mills describes his repetoire as follows... I throw a two-seamer, a four-seamer. Any time I go away I usually go straight four-seamer. And I have a slider and a knuckle curve and a changeup--pretty much I'm a four-pitch guy. Usually, I'm just using my fastball and pitching off that. But my out pitch is my slider, and I usually don't show that too much unless I'm ahead in the count, 0-2, 1-2, sometimes I use it 2-2. Usually I use what I've got to get ahead and put them away with that. But if you get to the point late in the game where they're sitting hard early and sitting soft late, you kind of change it up on them and go hard late. My last two complete games I've had, that's what I did in the eighth and ninth innings--instead of putting them away with the slider, I just went off the plate a little bit with the fastball and they were late on it. Josh Collmenter, rhp, Central Michigan Hitters hit only .201 against Josh this year. He has a 1.93 ERA for the season. Hard-throwing right-hander capable of overpowering hitters ... No. 1 starter in weekend rotation ... 96 strikeouts in 2007 are seventh-most in a season at CMU, 94 strikeouts in 2006 are tied for ninth-most in a season at CMU ... ranks third all-time at CMU with 267 career strikeouts... tied for fifth in school history with 23 career wins. 2007 (as of 5/1/07): [had] tossed five complete games, including three complete-game shutouts ... struck out 96 batters in 92-2/3 innings ... 7-0 with a 0.60 ERA in six Mid-American Conference starts ... leads the MAC in innings pitched, wins, total strikeouts, shutouts, complete games and opponent batting average (.188) ... has worked at least seven innings in nine of 12 starts ... struck out at least 10 hitters in four starts ... three-time MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week honoree ... recognized by InsidePitching.com as the Great Lakes Region Performance of the Week three times ... matched a career high with 14 strikeouts in a four-hit, complete-game shutout at Eastern Michigan (5/5) ... struck out 13 batters while allowing one run on three hits in complete-game win at Toledo (4/27) ... fanned 12 in a complete-game, three-hit shutout at Bowling Green (4/6) ... struck out nine in a complete-game, three-hit shutout against Buffalo (3/23) ... struck out 10 in six innings in a no-decision at UAB on opening day (2/16). According to Baseball America Collenter has been hot of late...Collmenter, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound junior, has thrown two complete-game shutouts in his last three starts. He allowed just three singles while striking out a season-high 12 without issuing a walk last Friday against Bowling Green State, just two weeks after holding Buffalo to three hits while striking out nine in the Chippewas' Mid-American Conference opener. In between, Collmenter threw seven strong innings in a 2-1 win against Kent State. He's now won all three conference starts for the Chippewas, who sit atop the MAC's Western Division at 8-1, their best conference start since 1990. Central Michigan is 19-12 overall, and Collmenter is 4-2, 2.03 with 57 strikeouts and 15 walks in 58 innings. Let me add one more... Zack Pitts, Junior rhp at Louisville Zack had a 1.78 ERA this year. Batters hit only .204 against him. He was the Big East Pitcher of the Year. According to Baseball America... He commands his 88-92 mph fastball to both sides and does a good job keeping the ball down. Pitts flashes a good slider at times, though he doesn't repeat his delivery when throwing the pitch, and his changeup has been solid. "Zack can pitch -- there are some similarities between him and Phelpsy," Clinkscales said. "They're both right-handed pitchers, they both pitch with fastballs aggressively, they can locate, both can get breaking balls and changeups over, and they're both efficient. I think it will be a good matchup."

I do also hope we nab this Michael Richard from Prairie View. Here's some info on him from this website... Richard, who ranks ninth in the country with 0.73 stolen bases per game. Richard, a senior middle infielder, stole 41 bases in 53 attempts last year and has 32 steals in 38 attempts this season. More importantly, he's been an on-base machine thanks to an improved approach at the plate; he has increased his batting average from .333 last year to .447 this season in 150 at-bats. "He's a consistent contact hitter, one of those guys who's got to get the short game going to be effective and play at the next level," Panthers coach Michael Robertson said. "We concentrate with him on trying to stay back as long as he can and dump some hits over second base. But he's got the ability to get on base and steal 40 or 50 bases. Every once in a while he'll try to muscle up when the wind's blowing and try to hit the ball out of the park, we tell him that's the worst thing to do is hit the ball in the air. He's very smart and he makes adjustments throughout his game on defense and offense. He's a very intelligent kid, just a pleasure to coach."

According to this website... This is what BA has to say about Tony: "Scouting Report: Few players experienced such a drastic turnaround in such a short span as Thomas. He batted .240 and struck out 75 times in 2005, the second-most strikeouts in Division I, and piled 66 more as a sophomore. This year, Thomas led the nation in hits (97) and doubles (28), ranked second in on-base percentage (.542) and third in average (.449). He had as many walks as strikeouts (36), and had gone from a non-prospect to a potential top 100 talent. He opened his stance, which has allowed him to see pitches a split-second earlier and says that has been the key to his improvement. His swing plane is flat and his up-the-middle approach isn't conducive to power, but he has bat speed and good barrel awareness. Thomas is a below-average defender with a below-average arm, though he's an average runner. Given his improvement at the plate, it's conceivable he plays his way into an adequate second baseman, which would enhance his value." At #114, Thomas should go somewhere before the 5th round.

QUOTE(chimpy2121 @ May 29, 2007 -> 11:22 PM) Tony is not a freshman, he is a junior and he will probably be gone after this year. His problem in the past has always been K's, but he has seemed to got them down this year. Also, if a person told you at the start of the season that Tony Thomas was goin to be hitting in the upper .400s for most of the season and would be the ACC player of the year, they would be lying. With that being said, it was a great pleasure watching him play this year. He still has a shot at breaking the FSU doubles record in one season. That would explain the 2003/2004 high school numbers. I am more than a little intrigued by this guy. He's obviously had a real breakout season. It's hard to believe I haven't seen his name in any mock drafts.

QUOTE(dasox24 @ May 29, 2007 -> 09:26 PM) Underclassmen can't be drafted if they attend a DI, DII, or DIII school. JUCO, NAIA, etc. can be drafted, I believe. So Tony Thomas will be at FSU for at least 2 more years. Thanks for posting this. Any info about players is appreciated since there's so little coverage on the draft. I thought that was the case. Too bad as his numbers are eye-popping.

I have not seen any of these guys play but they each seem to be athletic and very succesful offensive players at the collegiate level. I don't know if the underclassman plan on making themselves available for the draft. The focus here is on speed and middle infielders. Tony Thomas, Junior Second Baseman at Florida State Batting .442 with 11 home runs and 42 runs batted in .537 OBP. 30 steals in 35 attempts Selected 1 st Team All State (6A), 1 st Team All Conference - National Division and 1 st Team All County in 2004...Outstand-ing Offensive Award 2004 after batting .411 with 20 RBIs, 11 doubles, two home runs, 43 runs scored, 11-12 SB and 39 total hits...posted a .982 fielding percentage, turned 11 double plays, had 45 put outs, 67 assists and only two errors...2004 Saladino All-Tournament Team...in 2003 he hit .415 with 17 RBIs, nine doubles, four home runs, 35 runs scored, 11-11 in steals and 39 total hits...had a .988 fielding percentage, turned 15 double plays, had 44 assists and one error...named 3 rd Team All State (6A), 1 st Team All County, 1 st Team All Western Conference and Beef O'Brady Player of the Month that season...ended his junior year rated #21 at the Perfect Game World Underclassmen...Team One National Finalists from South Showcase...rated #195 in the country by Team One Baseball... ranked #22 in the country for middle infielders by Team One Baseball 2003...two-time Bloomingdale Male Athlete of the Year...member of the 2002 USA Youth National Olympic Team. Michael Richard, Senior Shortstop at Prairie View Michael Richard, a five-foot-eleven senior shortstop from Lake Charles, La. is ranked in five NCAA Division I statistical categories. He’s eight in stolen bases with 0.74 per game, 33rd in batting with a .407 average, 44th in runs per game with 1.13, 37th in walks per game with 0.77 and 99th with 0.36 doubles per game. Richard leads the SWAC in batting, is first in at bats (182), hits (74), walks (41), stolen bases (39), total plate appearances (230), on base percentage (.520) and second in assists (134). He was honored twice during the season as SWAC player of the week. During the week of Mar. 20-26, he compiled a .500 batting average, had seven hits, three doubles, five RBIs, scored four runs and hit one home run. His second POW selection came from his performances between Apr. 10-15 when he had a .522 batting average, 12 hits, two doubles, one RBI, seven stolen bases, eight runs scored and a .609 slugging percentage. Marcus Davis, Senior Outfielder at Alcorn St. 6’4 205 pound Batting .402 with 14 homeruns and 59 runs batted in 29 stolen bases in 33 attempts Kraig Binick, Senior Outfielder at NYIT Kraig Binick (Hicksville, N.Y.) was named the 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Independent Player of the Year. Binick lead NYIT in every single offensive category this season, recording a .406 batting average with 84 hits, 58 runs scored, 18 doubles, five triples, 34 RBI and 32 stolen bases in 36 attempts. During the season Binick ranked 13th nationally in batting average, 16th in stolen bases, 20th in runs scored, 25th in slugging percentage, 37th in triples per game, and 61st in doubles. Russ Oeder, Senior SS/2B at Wright St. Batting .408 with 8 homeruns 36 runs batted in .496 OBP with 25 stolen bases in 33 attempts As a freshman, Oeder hit .279. He raised that average to .320 as a sophomore and .369 as a junior. "He can play second base, shortstop or center field," his college manager said. "He's a big-time team leader. He is a baseball player, a baseball guy. He's one guy I'm really going to miss when he leaves." Brandon Hicks, Junior Shortstop at Texas A&M Batting .349 with 10 homeruns and 58 runs batted in .423 OBP with 28 stolen bases in 32 attempts Lettered two years for head coach Tom Arrington at San Jacinto Junior College in the Houston area … known for his ability to make spectacular defensive plays at the shortstop position … hit .321 with five home runs during his sophomore season … led his team to the JUCO World Series where the Gators finished third In 2006 … participated in the 2005 JUCO All-Star game … played summer ball for the Beatrice Bruins in the M.I.N.K. League … hit .243 with an on-base percentage of .472 … stole seven bases in seven attempts. Go here for more on Texas A&M shortstop Brandon Hicks.

Let me take this opportunity to pat myself on the back. In December 2004, I adopted Adam Russell on this cite because I saw him as darkhorse candidate to make the roster in the future. Here's my Adam Russell adopt-a-prospect notes.

Coming in from Boulder, Colorado for the third consecutive year. I'm looking forward to a great weekend.

Adam is pitching in relief this Fall. The White Sox have apparently told him that his future with the team is in long relief. I still think this guy is a nice sleeper to eventually make the big league club, though recent acquisitions make it less likely. At one point he was rated by Baseball America as our #7 best prospect with the best fastball in our system. His stats from last year and the current fall league season are here. There's a good story on Adam from August 2006 here.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 10:36 AM) could have been an upgrade in LF over Pods You couldn't just be happy, huh? The idea that Gload would be better than Pods as our LF is funny. Especially, considering the gaping hole we'd have in line up in the lead off spot.