Chisoxfn

QUOTE (scs787 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 07:26 PM) Thing is, while I agree that talent from the 1st to the 2nd isn't that large, by taking a QB first round you're not just pushing back needs from round 1 to round 2, you're also pushing everything else back a round as well. I'm all aboard drafting a QB in the first 4 rounds, but would prefer it to be in said 4th round. I think QB is the most valuable position in football and I think as an organization, you should leverage it and use the pick. I don't see any pick filling some major glaring need that gets us to a superbowl, but I do see a QB who is worthy of being a first round pick and who can be a difference maker (note I'm not saying he will be, but he can be) on the board at 11...I'm going with it. As an org, if I ran it, I'd probably end up drafting more QB's than other teams because it is such a key position and can be such a valuable asset. We need depth anyway behind Jay and know he's going to be gone sometime in the next 2-4 years. We are picking early and there aren't a ton of impact direct fits on our roster and we are getting essentially a 2nd first round pick thanks to White's return (plus had tons of money to leverage in FA, etc)....now is the absolute perfect time to draft a QB. I don't want to have Jay out and than be sitting there going, we absolutely need to take a QB when the right fit isn't there. Lets take one now and our whole franchise isn't mortgaged to Lynch. He could bust like everyone else, but if he busted and we saw crap out of him the first year or two while he sat behind Jay, we'd know it and wouldn't necessarily have set ourselves back by multiple years of sucking with a horrible starter, we'd have lost a 1st round pick sure, but we could still recoup and be patient and find someone else without putting all your trust immediately in a young QB. If the Pats or Packers could take a QB pretty early despite having an all time great around, I don't see why we couldn't. Some people are comparing this guy to a more athlete Phillip Rivers. Sign me up. If you don't have good QB play in this league, you are going to have a hard time consistently winning. Sure you could build an all time great defense, but that takes tons of parts and is pretty hard to do (I'd argue harder to do than good QB play).

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 09:46 AM) He actually was doing the right thing. The thing is, he felt he never had to make his intentions transparent to the fan base or the league. He drafted BPA every year in the draft. Waited for Embiid to come back, and is looking to consolidate to get some wings there. Once you've done that, you can now start trying to make the playoffs and attract FAs. I think Colangelo was absolutely the wrong person to hire. The guy simply wanted to be a GM and used this opportunity to push Hinkie out and insert himself in. He went from consultant to biggest voice in the room within months. I'll say this much, I'd have been thrilled if the Bulls brought in Jerry. He's got a good track record for running strong organizations. I've actually sat next to him at a restaurant before, seemed like a super nice guy based upon me and my dad eavesdropping on his whole conversation (he was telling stories about managers he had fired with the Dbacks, different moves with the Suns). Super interesting stuff, hence why we couldn't not listen. He even apologized to us for being so loud and we said, no please take louder, this is great, haha.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 07:38 AM) I've always liked Southside by Moby as the soundtrack for my White Sox. I remember ESPN playing it during the World Series run. I played Thunderstruck and Lets go go go go white sox prior to every single playoff game during that run. Me, superstitious, nah. I'm still waiting for my freaking world series ring...we all know none of that happens without me creating the Rally Crede!!!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 11:53 PM) Bill Clinton was awesome today handling these rude protestors. http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/07/politics/bil...ters/index.html I don't know how I can like Bill so much and totally despise his wife so much, but that's where I stand. You tell em Mr. Clinton!!! I actually agree with you. I really enjoyed his sound clip. Made me forget how if he were running I'd be voting for him right now.

QUOTE (kevo880 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 10:34 AM) Man, sounds great. How much does the hybrid cost? A little less than 25K after the various discounts (MSRP was ~31K), etc (if you look earlier in this thread I have a detailed post about it). Difference between it and the hybrid (both after discounts) was pretty minimal (just over 1K). Mine is a limited version but doesn't have all the bells and whistles like Navi. One thing to warn you all, based upon what I read researching the vehicle prior to purchasing, hybrids tend to perform better in mild to warm temperatures and aren't quite as fuel efficient in lower temperatures (say chicago winters). I think Matt has/had a hybrid Escape (not sure if he still does) so he might be able to comment whether he saw better mileage in winter vs. summer (and for all I know maybe gas engines have this same issue). Not an issue where I live (in fact I get pretty ideal conditions, hence why my mileage, which is mainly stop & go / city type driving, is a bit above what the average on the sticker would indicate).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 07:44 PM) I have driven my FIL's F150 and I absolutely hated it. It is like driving a tank. It loud and bulky, and not user friendly. [green]Just like Tex [/green]

I'm going to throw it out here now. Bears will draft Paxton Lynch @ 11 and will let him develop. Coincidence or not, Big Ben was the 3rd QB taken in the draft and was selected 11th overall by the Steelers. Outside of QB, RB, and potentially CB, I don't really see a huge talent gap between who we'd get at 11 and who we'd get in the 2nd. Most of the dlinemen have potential issues and there isn't a standout pass rusher available either. I think Elliot, as much as I don't value taking backs early, would be a good pick and think highly of Hargraves, who might actually be there. That said, I think we go QB and Lynch is the perfect guy to groom for two years.

Great opening series...about as good as I can remember. Love it. Don't stop now boys!!!

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 03:37 PM) I think the 9th showed some pretty clutch hits. BUt yes. This is why I wanted to prioritize power over OBP. We weren't going to be great at OBP anyway, may as well make it easier to score through more doubles/HRs. Because we had like 8 hits in the ninth to score 4 runs. Well I think you need a bit of both. A team full of Adam Dunn's is going to be pretty s***ty (and that team would have power and OBP). Bottom line, when power isn't there, you still have to be able to score and execute but you can't have 126 home run power either (unless you are elite everywhere else). It isn't as if the Royals / Giants in recent years were power laden teams so it isn't a pre-requisite. I have always said when it comes to offensive stats, I prefer average and OBP to almost everything else (to the dismay of staty's) but hits generate runs more than anything. It is nice to have the fall back option of big homers but you need well rounded teams that can do both. Last years team had no power, no obp, and no average. It was the pits. Oh and s***ty defense to boot. This years isn't extremely better but it is improved in all categories (with potential exception to pitching...we'll see longer term there, but as long as pitching is close to last years, if we get improvements elsewhere, it could be enough and put us in position where a nice June / July move can help put this team over the top a bit). Just keep winning and playing well!!!

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 03:36 PM) agree, even when they aren't getting hits they are at least putting together good at bats. Last year, I felt like there were so many wasted / half-assed at bats. It seems cliche, but you look at the better hitters in the league and it is amazing what they can grind out of an at bat and I feel to some extent that is contagious. You see other people keep that edge and fight and you want to do it too. Especially in this modern era where you in general have more people willing to k and give up at bats / not adjust approach to try and battle out (thus lower potential percentages of effectiveness, imo).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 03:28 PM) Bob Melvin is just letting Hendricks die We haven't gotten the clutch hits yet, but this team seems to be doing a much better job at working counts and getting into teams bullpens. Still, extremely small sample size. Having power helps too as one swing of the bat can make the difference any given day.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 02:22 PM) Wow impressive start by Latos.. I thought for sure this would be a giveaway game Still might be. Lots of baseball left, but Latos definitely did his job. Now lets get a few more runs and hold this lead!!!

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 29, 2016 -> 09:56 PM) I've never really understood the Hawk hate. I absolutely prefer a guy who is a "Homer" and is cheering along with me. I'Il get yelled at for this, but give me Hawk all day over Vin Scully who everyone loves. Maybe I just don't hear Scully enough, but whenever I do get the chance, it's always so bland and zzzzzzz. Also, Mike, are you the dude on Pride and Passion who always "Feels drunk?" I Like Hawk (in doses, especially when this club is bad) but he is no Vin Scully. Scully is amazing to listen to.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Mar 29, 2016 -> 11:39 AM) Exactly. He's an embarrassment and is actively hurting the marketing and branding of White Sox baseball. In his prime he was an asset to the org as a distinct voice but now he's just an old, easily confused, often wrong voice. And a loud one at that. The only person hurting the marketing and branding of White Sox baseball is the 25 man roster with its poor play over the past few years (and those involved with putting it together). The marketing and branding of the club (outside of criminal type acts) is pretty much entirely driven by the won / loss of the organization and to a lesser extent the fact that the ownership and players don't do absurd things / get into serious legal trouble, make John Rocker type comments, etc. Hawk isn't actively hurting the brand of White Sox baseball.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 01:48 PM) I figure 5 to 7 years is plenty for the tech to mature quite a bit. But even before then, ComEd allows Net Billing. So you can push surplus during the day and get a rate back (which is a little below the pull rate) on what you push, and then pull as needed at night. That will all be part of my math, when I get to it. I don't know that net metering (billing) will exist 7 years from now. Nevada got rid of it recently and California is tetering on removing it as well (it looked like it was going to go and than got a slight extension with some revisions and as they look to accomplish a more long-term answer (right now the benefit is heavily weighted to the solar consumer and hurts the non-solar consumer and power companies (who push it back to the non-solar consumer). Edit: Or what Strange said above.

QUOTE (Tony @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 12:37 PM) David Kaplan told a story today on the air that the Sox were set to trade Jessie Crain to the O's for Arrieta but Crain failed his medicals. I looked and it was reported on in 2013, but I don't remember it at all. That was such a brutal year with Floyd (who we were going to move) and Crain going down with injuries. Crain was dominating at that point in time. Crazy to think about and who knows whether he becomes that same pitcher with us or not.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 11:35 AM) At the very least, the reason I highlighted it is that "The Bulls have consistently lost the most time to injury since Thibs took over and their numbers right now are higher than any numbers for the previous decade" is a trend clear enough that there must be a cause. Maybe it's "adding extra injuries on top of normal injuries" that is making that trend happen, maybe it's something else in the conditioning, maybe it's systematically choosing players likely to break down, but this is a major, franchise damaging trend at this poitn. I mean the whole Butler hurts knee than plays asbsurd amount of minutes and than hurts knee again and now continues to play absurd amount of minutes is just one of the long list of examples. It was a great piece and I scratch my head for how poorly it is run. I personally don't think it was necessarily Thibs issue and I don't know if it is 100% the trainers issues or what, but they certainly don't seem to be a progressive team leading innovation from a training perspective, that is for sure. It could be a combination of poor training and drafting / going with more injury prone guys as well. Past injuries tend to be a predictor / indicator of future injuries. Please, have some turnover in the front office.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 11:27 AM) So you're saying it's generally a bad idea to trade for people who are pitching in Oakland? (calmly walks away) Yes, because he hadn't put up a 2.83 ERA in 17 starts that same season pitching for the Cubs. Reality is he was never as good as that split season with the A's / Cubs, nor was he as bad as he was for the Sox last year (I don't think). He's more likely going to be a ~4ERA 200+ inning guy and I think given that production, he's relatively fairly paid.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 10:16 AM) I agree. His lower half is very, very strong. If everything clicks, I think he has a higher ceiling than Sale. Yeah, I don't think that is the case. I can't ever give a guy a higher ceiling than Sale until they actually end up being that way. Sale is arguably the 2nd best pitcher in baseball.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 10:29 AM) This is also how I remember it. I am just pointing out that we thought highly of Aiken. We might not have gotten him but no one knew for sure. Houston for a long time leading up was considered a Kolek lean. No one knows exactly what is going to happen until it happens. All I'm saying is Aiken was supposedly higher on there list than Nola (so we too could have had a tommy john person if it was Aiken who was on the board instead).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 09:47 AM) I seem to remember that no one thought Aiken would be there. No one knew for sure (it became a bit clearer but Houston hasn't always done what people think they will). But I think it was Cooper who publicly had some nice comments about Aiken.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 10:28 AM) I'm excited how quickly the cost of solar tech for homes, and the cost of commercial production of wind and solar energy, are going down. Becomes more practical every day. In about 5 to 7 years, which is when I'll need to start thinking about replacing roof shingles on the house, I'll be sitting down to do the math on Solar Shingles and see what the differential cost, energy production, savings and payback period look like. It will be really nice when the actual storage mechanisms get cheaper. Tesla / Solar City's current product, why better than what existed previously, is still not that good, but once you get to the point you can store the power, you can technically be off the grid and energy sufficient (by and large) and that is a pretty nice concept.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 6, 2016 -> 08:10 PM) The rumor was always Aaron Nola if Carlos Rodon was gone. Sox were high on Aiken as well (not near as high on Kolek though). Agree they were also interested in Nola but I think they liked Aiken more and presumed the top 2 were going to go Aiken / Rodon and than they'd have grabbed Nolan (based upon reports, who knows what is true though).

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 08:02 AM) I'd like to see Melky get a stab at some bad pitching to get him rolling. He's had some hard hit balls as well (not just all weak grounders), just has little to show of it. That at bat and single in the ninth were good. I'd let him play. He's gonna have himself a game today Plus, sample size people...sample size.

I always forget how strong Rodon's lower body is. He really started cruising as the game went on.