Chisoxfn

If the Sox want to spend the money on him in the 2nd round he'd be a great pick and I'd also have no problem with him with our compensatory pick but my guess is there is a decent shot he's there with our pick in the 2nd round. Sox will have to be willing to spend though and maybe give him late 1st round money. Pre-injury he was regarded as potentially the top prep catcher in what is considered a strong catching class.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 19, 2009 -> 12:43 PM) I really wish they'd keep Getz leading off. He's likely to go back up, where as Pods is likely to head back down, in terms of performance. This should take a lot of pressure of Getz though and allow him to actually develop. In fact, I love this move and I think the Sox should hold him down there two or three weeks, no matter how bad Pods is doing.

Lets snap the losing streak, start a winning streak, and make my blow this s*** up thread something we can all laugh about a few months from now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 19, 2009 -> 10:48 AM) I don't see any team in the Central being so awesome the next few years that the White Sox need to go into full rebuilding. I wouldn't trade guys you wouldn't mind having around in 2010. There's no need to trade Thornton. I would probaby trade Linebrink or Jenks but not both. Dotel should be shopped because he won't be here next year. Konerko is limited because of his contract and his no trade. If you were to deal him, you wouldn't get much back. Same with Thome and Dye. You can't trade AJ until Flowers can show he can catch 130 games defensively and not kill you. Fields will get you nothing. What about trading Ramirez? He's signed cheaply, has shown a big bat in the past and you have Beckham waiting in the wings. As far as all the guys on the Barons. It would be great if they all panned out, but chances are one or two or maybe 3 actually will. I wouldn't want to base the entire future of the franchise on them just yet. Awesome post Dick and I completely agree with you that there is no reason you can't trade some vets and still compete next year just because of the state of the AL Central.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ May 19, 2009 -> 10:42 AM) Betemit's history is comparable to Weeks before this yr I guess without saying it I was meaning for a strong team in need of 2b EDIT: actually no Betemit minus one year has always been totally allergic to walks as opposed to partially allergic. Rickie Weeks was a top draft pick and widely regarded as a top prospect. Betemeit was also widely regarded as a top prospect, however, Weeks still is seen as much more of an everyday player and he finally looked like he was going to play towards his ceiling but than he got hurt. Oh and if the Brewers traded Weeks they would have wanted a lot for him. So no, they don't have the same trade value. Nix you'll get an A baller or something, Betemeit you might not get anything (he's got a decent size contract), and Getz has some value but he's much more valuable to the Sox.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ May 19, 2009 -> 09:31 AM) you don't think they're underachieving? i'm not saying they're going to turn it around and end up above .500 at the end of the year, i'm merely pointing out what would happen if they completely blew it all up and went with all league-minimum players it would be unbearable even compared to what we're currently watching I'll just say that in two of the last three years I've seen a lifeless team. Last year we didn't see that because there were some more vocal guys and those guys were shipped out. Of course they are better than they've been the last 10 days and I've said in my big blow-up post that June 1st was the date to make the decision because you can't ignore injuries and the fact that this is a very winnable division but what makes me concerned is the way they are losing. I still buy Getz/Ramirez/Quentin as good to above average major leaguers.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ May 19, 2009 -> 09:44 AM) Despite their struggles this season, Danks/Floyd both can be front of the rotation guys. Plus Poreda/Harrel/Hudson/Carter/Infante/Upchurch are all legit prospects, that being said I dont care what position he plays, I draft best player available. Oh I agree about the rotation, I still think the Sox have three solid guys, two of which are young already in there rotation. The problem is of that group you listed, Infante/Upchurch are very raw, Hudson looks good and is the most advanced in terms of a starter, Harrel probably doesn't have big league starters stuff, and Carter is a bit behind Hudson, but again looks promising. Poreda has a big arm, but probably a reliever. I don't know if any project as potential front of the rotation guys and you need to really make sure you always have an influx since pitching prospects flame out at a pretty high rate.

This is awesome.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2009 -> 01:43 PM) The dominance that Nolan had on the game for a significant period of time is lost in all of the walk/strike out/IP/hits arguments. Watching the guy pitch, and the task that a hitter had trying to get to the guy, is what I look at. I'd put the guy above Pedro and Johnson, but below Maddux personally. Pedro could rate higher, but his durability sets him back from the other three. Pedro is the greatest pitcher of the past twenty years and he did most of his best work on some horrible teams. Maddux is second. If Ryan had the command of either of them, he hands down would have been the greatest to every pitch the game and he had some of the best pure stuff and obviously one of the rubberest arms ever.

QUOTE (Cali @ May 18, 2009 -> 09:25 PM) But unlike Josh, Danks is hitting .315 and getting on base at a .394 clip... And hasn't even played one full professional season.

QUOTE (OilCan @ May 18, 2009 -> 09:36 PM) Guys and gals...is it just me, or do the Sox REALLY need on getting an OF with their first round selection??? Let's just say that in the next three to five years, our lineup could be something like... C Flowers 1b Allen 2b Beckham SS Ramirez 3B Viciendo LF Quentin CF Danks RF ?????? Gartrell? Retherford?!?!?!? Shelby? DH Fields(???) Unless I'm missing someone or something, the Sox do need to add some more quality bats, otherwise they will have to trade just to fill an OF hole and potentially the DH/3B and/or even 1B depending on if the Sox DH' either Tank or Bo II. Thoughts or am I drinking too much Shiner Bock again??? You are seriously ignoring the rotation, where the Sox still lack potential front of the rotation starters.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ May 18, 2009 -> 09:25 PM) Let's turn this already unwatchable team into something even more unwatchable. I'm not arguing that we shouldn't unload some guys, but some of these threads are hilarious. Let's dump every guy with a salary above league-minimum, and create something even more hideous. You want the Chicago Nationals? Well, at least they have Adam Dunn. Dumping Konerko, Thome, Dye, Thornton, Dotel, Jenks, Linebrink, AJ, leaves us with holes to fill (with most likely unready players) at: 1B DH RF C We're already sitting at question marks at 3B, SS, 2B, CF That leaves us with a question mark at every starting position. It also completely annihilates our bullpen, which stands behind an already horses*** starting rotation (I'm looking at you Clayton "1:1 strikes-to-balls" Richard and Gavin "I left my balls in Maryland" Floyd) At least we have a corner outfielder who, hopefully, might be good and would ..maybe, resign with the blown-up firesale Chicago Whitesox, who won't be competitive for what could be a decade, easily I wouldn't spend a dime on tickets to watch a terrible prospect-laden baseball team fight it out for 4th place for the next 5-6 years, and that's a generous time estimate Just to point out, the current lineup has lost quite a few games in a row.

Konerko is probably the list guy shipped out and right now I can't imagine they'd deal him unless they got something decent. He's the captain. Than again, you deal him and you send a signal that you are dealing the rest of the vets as well, which I'm not opposed to. Still its ridiculous to think the Mets are going to make much of an offer for him since they will get Delgado back and than are stuck with two quality players at one spot and neither can play anywhere else on the field.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 18, 2009 -> 10:27 PM) The reason I asked is because Thornton himself volunteered to go back to starting when we acquired him for Borchard. I know there was one other time when the question was raised. If Thornton failed as a closer, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to give it one last shot to make him a starter. Of course, he's already 31 or 32 and the likelihood of picking up 2nd and 3rd pitches that are consistent and effective at this point are not great. Thornton's fastball is too flat and his slider isn't reliable...but I think the odds of getting something out of Thornton as a starter are still higher than McCulloch or Broadway ever being consistent winners in the rotation. We have Poreda, Richard, Thornton and Santos Rodriguez that are all lefties who can throw 92-98 with marginal offspeed stuff. If just one of those guys could break through and be successful (#3 starter or above), that would be a great help to the rotation. Richard and Colon have both had successful starts this year throwing 85% fastballs. It's just very difficult to do on a consistent basis against good hitting teams, but Clayton has been effective against TB, NY and TOR in his short career, so the ability is there. It's just repeating and building upon that success that is the biggest question mark. But Thornton is much more valuable in the bullpen, you turn him into a closer and if you need to you can spin him for prospects in the future as well because you've just maximized his value. I'm not saying Broadway or McCulloch are long term fixes in the rotation, but someone is going to have to get a shot and this team is bad as is, so its not a big deal if you give one of those guys or someone just a shot in the rotation. Maybe Omogrosso is the guy and if he fails there you slide him to the pen, I don't know. I'm also not stating that we'd be able to get a front line starting pitching prospect, unless of course Jenks is dealt in which case I would expect us getting a high impact arm. Thorton and Poreda are very similar, but Poreda does have very good sink to his fastball which is the only way he'd potentially be able to get away as a good major league starter (since he doesn't have a great repetoire of secondary pitches). Santos Rodriguez is a good arm but still 2-3 years away if he even pans out and Richard is worth a look cause he seems like a potentially valuable piece (4th or 5th starter or a solid reliever in the pen).

QUOTE (OilCan @ May 18, 2009 -> 09:42 PM) It pisses me off that we couldn't get this guy, instead we had to draft Lance Broadway... Matt Garza is the guy that would look really good right now, but your right, Ellsbury would have filled a major need as well. And for those that don't say the Twins make mistake, look at how awful that Delmon Young/Garza swap is looking right now.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ May 18, 2009 -> 09:39 PM) I really want a legit leadoff as well, but really? Who are you suggesting?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:39 PM) You want to make Thornton the closer or make him a starter? Don't know if I had a typo, but the closer.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:14 PM) I wonder with Delgado having hip surgery would the Mets be interested in Kong.... Carlos Delgado To Have Hip Surgery By Tim Dierkes [May 18 at 5:16pm CST] An update from the Mets on Carlos Delgado: he'll have hip surgery tomorrow, and will probably be out until the All-Star break. We discussed possible replacements a few times here at MLBTR, but the Mets might be able to make it a few months with in-house candidates. I wondered the exact same thing when I saw that scroll across the ticker. However, what do the Mets do when they have Konerko and Delgado. I realize Delgado's career is near an end but he's still good enough to play and in this economy that would be a lot of money for one of those two to sit on the bench. Unless he's out for the season or the Mets just collapse in the standings and need to make a move to stay in the race, I don't know if Paulie makes sense.

I'll get Schuster added in the morning. Forgot about him.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:10 PM) So you draft him, and if he doesn't sign you get the #1 pick again next year, plus another top 3 pick or so from how bad Washington is going to suck. No, they wouldn't get the #1 pick next year if he doesn't sign. They would get another first rounder, but not the #1 pick. They would lose a pick and go down to at least the #2 spot. Not a big drop, but still a drop none the less. Drafting him and not signing him would be a bad move for the franchise though and they really do have to take him. Even if it took 20 million it would behoove the Nationals to do it cause a year from now they could probably deal him with ease and get a ton of cash savings or whatever if they are in a horrid financial position.

f***ing stellar Hudson...stellar. I keep waiting for his name to make the hot list.

Nix is far more valuable to the Sox since you aren't going to get any sort of haul by trading him.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ May 18, 2009 -> 04:16 PM) Say Figgins walks as a FA, Sox get very good draft pick compensation for Figgins, salary savings (Konerko next season) and thus it is a very valuable trade. If they sign him, at least they have a leadoff hitter. We can argue and discuss how over-rated Figgins is, but he adds value. Bottom line, I don't mind that deal at all. If the Angels would rather have Linebrink I'd do it too to be honest, because I value the 2 picks we'd get for Figgins and to me two high draft picks and financial savings is worth moving a relatively high priced and aging (yet productive) reliever and an aging slugger. I don't know if the Angels do it, but it might not be a bad move for them. Maybe they prefer Dye and in that case I'd ask for a bit more, but again, getting Figgins is pretty valuable because he's the type of guy the Sox could afford offering arbitration too and would probably get top flight compensation for if he walked. If Dye was involved though, I'd probably ask for something in addition to Figgins as he is a bit more valuable. Say you move Konerko in a seperate deal, than it might not be that bad to ask for Morales, whose been playing pretty darn well in Anaheim. I would do Dye/Dotel/Linebrink (in fact, I'd move all three) in a large deal with the Angels for Figgins and Morales. Morales slides into the offense and gives you a younger bat thats MLB ready. Figgins gives you a leadoff hitter or compensation depending on the route you take. Angels get much needed power and more importantly a major boost to there bullpen. Again, I'd prefer to keep one of the relievers and package him elsewhere but it wouldn't be the worse deal in the world. Plus I think the Sox have a few nice looking relief arms that would be best suited getting there feet wet this year, ie, Poreda, Link, Omogrosso (maybe he starts?).

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 18, 2009 -> 02:51 PM) I need to wait at least two more weeks before throwing in the towel, but I'm close, especially because there are so many shortcomings on this team - even playing fundamental baseball seems out of reach. If this division wasn't so weak it would be much easier to concede now, as most seem to be doing. I'm not blaming you, but it just seems too early. And if Danks and Floyd can stop getting behind in the count, they will be much improved. Add Colon and Richard...things could get interesting. We still have a pretty solid pen. Notice I prefixed my entire post with the exact same thing and added the June 1 was my time table and I wasn't going to throw anything way for at least another 10 days regardless. But if this team is still mired in a slump 10 days from now, I am 100% on board. Good post though!