Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 02:12 PM) Is this gap insurance through the dealer or something? It has to be the gap insurance coverage.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 06:27 PM) Who is going to make a difference at $14 million a year for one person, or two for a combined $14 million a year? $14m per year should get you a pretty darn good offensive player.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 12:49 PM) Andy Wilkins is not a part of any rebuilding plan unless you are planning on being the Astros and intentionally tanking a period of years for draft picks and low payrolls. Wilkins was a 5th round pick. In no way am I saying we should be slobbering over him, but lets not act like he was some undrafted free agent that emerged out of nowhere. He's consistently produced at every level. I don't think he's going to stick but he's got the numbers and at least enough tools to warrant an initial look.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 11:38 AM) You don't block guys that you want to contribute with career 4A type of players. When was he ever blocked? I don't recall him being blocked by any of those bums.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 10:27 AM) Paulie has been hitting with a little more authority since he's been back from the DL. I would imagine this is it for him, but he does have a back issue, and if that could somehow get cleared up, it wouldn't surprise me if he was pretty productive again. I think the odds are he is either done or plays for peanuts somewhere close to home. It all depends on what the issue is with his back. I agree. I think Paulie goes into the off-season, gets medical advice, and then thinks about what impacted his swing. He won't make an excuse but if he thinks it was his back and it has cleared up, then I Think he still plays. Whether with the Sox or not, I don't know. I think he could be interested in playing and mentoring a younger team, but that is assuming the Sox add a vet or two to fill some holes they can't fill internally so they can at least give it the ole college try. And with this rotation, I don't know why the White Sox wouldn't at least try that. Wilkins will get his shot and I wouldn't look at the retreads they have signed down in AAA to be an indication they hate Wilkins. Wilkins was down in AA and part of the objective is to field some competitive minor league teams. Those are organizational moves.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 07:51 AM) My only point was simply that Balta's stance that anyone who thinks a White Sox prospect sucks while evaluating all data on hand is a silly position to take. It's not like we're cutting down grade-A prospect talent, here. Whats sad is often times these grade C prospects end up getting a lot of time because the Sox have nothing else in the way of position talent.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 08:02 PM) What does that do for us though? Dunn is our best hitter by far and at the very least will get us a decent piece at next year's deadline if he keeps hitting like he is. Everyone these days can always use power. They won't risk claiming Dunn and Rios at the same time, but we aren't going to salary dump either anyways. Sox can always threaten it and if I were a team worried, I don't know that I'd be able to be certain that the White Sox wouldn't just let the guys go. I Think Dunn should probably be kept if you don't get anything valuable for him (and not because I think he's good)...however, I do see his value (especially in this steroid free era) and you will at least get a good prospect for him (if he's producing) next July and that is worth at least something. Plus, the Sox have plenty of money. However, I wouldn't blame the Sox to just let him walk. I can't stand Dunn though, however, if you could tell me he'd produce like he has the past 2 months, I'd sign him for more Dunn. If he produced like he did most of the tenure with the White Sox..f*** it...not enough hr's in the world were with how incapable he was with the bat as a whole.

Awesome.

The important thing down the stretch is the production of our future pieces. If we lose, I want to lose with our talented young players doing well (and our pitchers kicking ass)...basically exactly like we have during the losing streak. And if we win...I don't mind when it is against teams like the Yanks! Hard to have a good approach...when you haven't walked yet.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 07:31 PM) Just got home...Hawk with some negative remarks about Phegley's approach His approach has been real terrible. The thing is, his swing looks playable....but man is his approach but. I wonder how much is nerves and just getting more comfortable vs. how much is what it is.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 06:46 PM) Well it depends what the exact order ends up being when he's placed on waivers. Could be Cleveland, Baltimore, or especially Kansas City. I could definitely see Baltimore putting in a claim for Dunn.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) KC will block us on everything. Then saddle up their payroll or at least consider it. They could end up with Dunn and Rios. I'm fine giving them all of that salary and seeing how they deal with it. Or at least making that threat and then sending some cash instead and working out a deal. I always remember when someone did that with Randy Myers and ended up stuck with him. I think someone probably does claim all three of these guys but I wouldn't be surprised if they slid through purely because teams will be very cautious knowing the Sox are in rebuilding mode and they have to be damn sure they can afford them in their entirety (if they did in fact make a claim).

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 04:36 PM) Any actual Bears fan doesn't need to go look at the listed "games played" to know whether Bennett's been anywhere close to reliable the past 4 seasons. He's had his injuries but most NFL guys do and miss some time. He's been our most reliable wide-out (other then Bmarsh last year) and actually runs good routes and catches the ball. I'm not going to get worked up over a training camp injury, especially something like a concussion and when you look at his injuries, in most instances, they were on pretty brutal hits.

Out of curiosity, who do you think would block Texas?

f***ing awesome Steve. Tremendous accomplishment!!!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 4, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) And yet you're tossing him aside based on a similar number of games. There is a difference in how you treat guys with tools and those without a lot of tools. Clearly Viciedo is going to get more time then a guy like Axelrod. You see if a guy like Axelrod works (despite not having big league stuff), however, its pretty clear when watching him that he doesn't have a major league career. Don't waste developmental time on guys like that...find new guys. I can't write off all kinds of players based upon my eyes just like scouts can.

What is sad is how great this pitching staff has been for this team to have lost 9 in a row. That said, if we are going to lose, I want them to be in low scoring games. It is paramount that these young arms develop into really good pitchers and continue to improve. That will be the key to this club getting competitive (and back into the playoffs) sooner rather then later (as it will allow Hahn to focus his attention on the lineup).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 3, 2013 -> 02:38 PM) It will take much more than a few good months to convince me that either of them is more than flash in the pan. It seems like every year we have a couple of position players that play way over their heads that everyone gets excited about. Neither Sanchez or Semien have been flashes in the pan. Both have had productive minor league careers. Semien was really good last year too...he's just been downright stellar this year (especially the past month or two).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 3, 2013 -> 01:35 PM) Always feels odd to be on two sides of the same argument. I've ranked Semien higher than others the past few lists, but now, I have to defend that I think he's only just past Sanchez at this point. A year younger and a level higher is very significant. Defense is significant too. I don't think you can say - yet - that Semien is a "way better" prospect that Sanchez. Might be true a year from now (or heck, one of them may be MLB'ers by then, or even both), but right now, I think Semien's ascent in the past month or so has just put him over the top. Barely. Just my opinion of course. Semien has better tools across the board. I think people are too far down on Sanchez right now (unjustly, imo) which is part of the argument but Semien has really showed off his tools and the production can't be questioned. Long term, both seem like safe bets to play in the majors, Semien has better offensive tools to stick as a starter.

I got 7 out of 10. I always thought if you got hit by the ball on a base, you would be safe. I also didn't know if you got hit by a ball after it passed an infielder that you were not out.

I really like Jake and will continue to root for him! Thanks for busting your ass in Chicago.

As an FYI, we are working on resolving the server issues. Our server company is having some issues with the platform of servers which host Soxtalk. They are working on resolving the issue but it is what has caused the intermittent outages throughout the day. Problem should be solved by the end of the day.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 2, 2013 -> 10:55 AM) Can you give some examples of what he specifically did wrong last September? My impression was that it wasn't Ventura making mistakes as much as it was the team being exhausted. Quintana, Sale, and Peavy were all about the limit of innings they could humanly be expected to throw, and guys like Youkilis and Konerko were being run into the ground because they had no backups (to be fair of course, the backups for a lot of positions were traded away to get guys like Youk, so at least last year there was a good reason why the regulars were worn out). I fully agree.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 2, 2013 -> 11:12 AM) A .750 OPS would be nearly in the top 10 3b in the league. Just because the 3rd basemen in the majors suck horrifically doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and stick with someone like Gillespie. The Sox need to find a legitimate 3rd baseman (or at least a guy with the potential to potentially be that guy). Gillespie does not project to be an every day 3rd baseman. And as he has gotten more at bats, he's actually been worse. After posting a > .800 OPS in April, he has hit .177 and .239 in June/July with his June being a sup .600 OPS. That said his July despite the low average, was his 2nd best OPS (~.750). If he can hit homers like he did in July great, but he doesn't exactly project as a big power hitter (however, 20 hr's from 3rd base is fine and I wouldn't put that past him). I will say this...I'm all in favor of giving the entire year so that we have a better idea of who / what Gillespie is.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 2, 2013 -> 11:12 AM) I don't feel like he's made the "Major strides" I wanted to see this year, although the last couple weeks have been very promising. In April and June he looked way too much like the old Viciedo, and he's taken a serious step backwards into comedic performance levels on defense when last year he was closing in on adequate. If he can keep up the growth he's shown the last couple weeks then I'll change my tune, but I wanted to see a lot more of the May version of him this year and we haven't gotten much of that. His splits against righties have improved significantly. He's been more patient of late and his overall tools are just very impressive. I should point out when I was commenting on "strides" I am solely focusing on the offense. Viciedo's career will be directly tied to how good he can hit. If he can't hit, no one is going to keep him around for just his defense. Albeit, he has all the tools to be an above average left fielder (especially considering the hose he has).