GreenSox

Why does Moncada need Abreu around? Real Housewives of Atlanta They are young guys with massive talent; they'll pull it together soon enough or at least they should.

Lord help us. As for Moncada and Kopech, they both had off the field/personality issues that were focus related. And we've seen it. It's a little odd though considering that the Sox tend to over-emphasize "good in the clubhouse" and "grit" in general. But focus issues increase the risk, so it's easier to see why the Redsox wanted to protect what they saw as surer bets to be productive major leaguers, albeit with lower ceilings.

Most of what Hahn says publicly strikes me as hyperbole/spin/CYA; my view is still affected by his sorry excuses for the Shields trade, which were never challenged by Chicago media or bloggers. That said, on paper at least, that deal was so strong, it's hard to image another teaming coming close. The Sale trade was probably light on paper, and in comparison to the Q deal it was definitely light. And except for Moncada, we're still "on paper" on these trades.

McKinney is a substantially better minor league hitter than Tilson ever was. So is/was Cordell but Cordell's been hurt. If his D was good, I'd be thrilled with him for Soria. But as one who thinks they need to start building this team up, but not by trading for older veterans, I'm good with a player who can possibly start for Soria.

Should have called up Gomez earlier - his only value is as a flipper as well. Rondon hasn't really pitched any worse than a lot of these guys; but once he can't be flipped, no reason to keep him around I guess.

Those are usually player opt outs; it doesn't help mitigate the risk for the team.

LaMarre to the 25? Why? Play Leury; call up an infielder.

The Sox need another year of development and assessments before they can make the major moves. I look at this team and it looks .500ish to me. Not enough pitching depth, sluggish OF defense; very ?able pen behind Kimbrall.

No

Yes, but my plan was to also send down Engel and/or Tilson, in which case Charlotte wouldn't need another OF anyway. I guess it also means that Delmonico isn't particularly close. Maybe bring up Alvarez instead of Rodon - just to see if we can get some Dodger-type luck.

if Avi's out, just another reason to play Leury everyday in the OF, preferably CF. Call up Rodon; send down Tilson or Engel.

There was luck (and the Rizzo deal was highly questionable). The Brewers struck gold on several deals. Look at the Dodgers - turning AAAA players into among the best in baseball. But if you make enough smart deals, you will make your own luck. If you know how to evaluate talent, you create your own luck - do they? If you are willing to make a move and strike at the right time, you can create your own luck.

The Cubs were losing so they brought in new front office: a front office with world series cred. They told the fans it would take a few years. They went through 3 managers in 3 years. What stars did they trade? Samardzija? 34 year old Dempster? They didn’t really tank, they just built. Very little comparison to how things work on the southside. And it doesn't take much imagination how the casual fan would be more excited about the Cubs approach to building a team.

Shields' velocity was also down. How many scouts, if any, did the Sox have in Safeco for his last start? They should have known that from their readings. Regardless of how well he was pitching, this should have been nothing more than a salary dump. There is no way you give up a legit prospect in this situation. Not to mention your top international signee.

Isn't this the first time that the Sox have been swept by an AL team in a seasonal series?

Why about Moncada - can he play 3rd? I seem to recall CF suggestions a while back.

Nice. Where did Quinteiro come from? Was he on the DSL last year?

Barreto was a top prospect. Lawrie was a former top prospect who was a disappointment with several mediocre major league seasons prior to the trade; he was the same player with the Jays, As and Sox. The Sox, however, sent 3 major league ready young players, which is what Oakland likes. Maybe throw in Montas.

Do you remember several years ago when KW would speak of this "3 year window" - it was never exactly a fixed time, it would seem to roll as was convenient, but ended up being something like 2014-2016. That never made any sense to me because the core was signed basically through 2019 or later. But he swore by it, and, in the end, honored it. Yes, my Donaldson suggestion is more of a re-tool than rebuild; but it's also realistic as those 2 trades happened at around the same time and the package were very similar. As for trading for Samardzija so that they could extend him; that may be true, but what winning org. does that type of thing?

That's a good question. It's the White Sox who thought that could happen; otherwise, why trade a package for 1 year of Samardzija. Now I think that team could have been rebuilt such that it would be playoff team now or maybe 2017. It's opportunity cost - they used a package of players that had market value for players that brought marginal value back to the Sox because their window was too small and because the Sox overrated their abilities. I'll give you one obvious move: take the package you dealt for 1 year of Samardzija and do it for 4 years of Donaldson instead. Maybe you have to throw in another player - but Oakland wants ML ready young players and that's what they got from the Sox (3 are still playing and on Oakland's 25). The packages were similar.

I see the DSL team is 6-26. Is that normal?

Wise move taking time off, because I said it, repeatedly, and as you said, no one wanted to hear it. That December 2013 rebuild got off to such a good start....Eaton was a major player day 1. Might have had a quicker turnaround like the Brewers, had they stuck with it. But after 73 wins in 2014, the FO seemed to encounter a spell of delusion and decided they could compete in 2015, so they rented Samardzija, refused the opportunity to cover the losses in July ("10 game winning streak right around the corner") and they only dug the hole deeper over the next year.

Covey for me. Fondness is really belief that he can be a fifth starter in this league.

I'll credit him for Swarzak and Kahnle. Clippard had virtual identical WHIP and K totals with the Yankees as he did with the Sox. The Sox are paying Soria $9 million; he didn't need fixing. Shields hasn't been fixed. I don't blame Cooper for not fixing him; but I do blame him and the GM for apparently not bothering to find out that his velocity and stuff were way off. I haven't given up on Covey - A few sharply hit balls found holes the other night, but he wasn't mauled. If Covey works out, credit Cooper. Giolito, Fulmer, and Lopez....they obviously haven't been fixed. And dumping Junior Guerra is major misfeasance. They wouldn't have had to bother trading for Shields because he is what the Sox wanted in Shields.

I think the FO over-prioritizing culture and "happy clubhouse" has contributed to this blight. Better players will quickly take care of any "culture" issues.