Marty34

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 3, 2012 -> 06:32 PM) tal·ent/ˈtalənt/ Noun: 1.Natural aptitude or skill. 2.A person or people possessing such aptitude or skill: Very broad definition.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 3, 2012 -> 06:29 PM) I knew you would appreciate it. Got to get rid of anyone with talent. The only problem with getting rid of players with talent, if you get players with equal talent, you'll have to move them along too. Trading guys at their "peak value" means you are never really playing to win. Its a great philosophy. What is your definition of talent?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 3, 2012 -> 06:09 PM) Viciedo had 45 BBs to 83 Ks last season as a 22 year old Cuban in AAA. I think that's fantastic for such a young player, especially one who came to the U.S. with essentially no discipline. The years prior to that were not good though. Was last year an outlier, too soon to tell.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 3, 2012 -> 06:17 PM) I agree with Marty, if you're 23 and haven't established yourself as a perrenial all star and future HOFer, its time to move on to something else. What are the White Sox thinking? Solid post as usual, Dick.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ May 3, 2012 -> 05:48 PM) If I find an example of a top minor leaguer than had a slow first 300 abs before crushing at the ML level, would it change your prejudice? That's a rhetorical question. Need to know his minor league numbers. Viciedo did not tear through the minors and had a disconcerting K:BB ratio.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 3, 2012 -> 05:24 PM) I only mention Retherford because he was the only player in the league who had more hits than Viciedo. And Marty, sorry for the insult, that was uncalled for, I apologize. No problem, apology accepted. Not too many people would have apologized, you have to be at least a pretty good guy based on that.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ May 3, 2012 -> 01:07 PM) Marty, I'm sure it was mentioned earlier in the thread, but what is your solution to the issue? Is there some other young OF you want up here playing every day? If you think we're a win-now team, then yes I could see more Fukudome at-bats..sure. But if we're intent on building something this year, there's no question we need a bigger major league sample size on Viciedo, and this is the perfect year to see what we have there. This year represents the best chance for postseason baseball for the Sox for the next 3-5 years in my opinion. LF'ers are not developed, they are found.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2012 -> 04:02 PM) Or, for another example, David Ortiz with the Twins...Luis Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, etc. I'm not saying he will necessarily put up their numbers over a career, but he has the "ability/potential" to do so. The ball just jumps off his bat, that's the one thing we always heard and saw in the scouting videos. We can ALSO pretty confidently say we don't have any hitters at the minor league level who have that type of an impact bat other than perhaps Jared Mitchell if he continues his current track. (And perhaps Trayce Thompson behind him). Other than that, we can dissect Viciedo's stroke, show all the videos of his homers and XB hits, Marty still will never be convinced. However, if Ozzie's sons were White Sox scouts and were the ones responsible for signing a kid like Viciedo as a FA, you would think he was the second coming of Carlos Lee, Beltre, Bobby Bonilla and Vladimir Guerrero all wrapped up into one neat little package and tied neatly with a bow. The three players you named C might have had a little help putting up those numbers.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ May 3, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) I can't believe people are really willing to conclude, well, anything about this guy less than 300 ML ABs into his career. For context, Paul Konerko was barely hitting over .200 at the age of 22, about 400 ABs into his career. I think I'll wait until he's about 1000 ABs into his career until I start to draw any conclusions. What were Konerko's Minor League numbers compared to Viciedo?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ May 3, 2012 -> 12:49 PM) his minor league numbers were good overall for such a young player. I wouldn't call 140 hits and 70 plus RBI's in 2009 bad in any way whatsover. Only C.J. Retherford had more hits...in the entire Southern League. How many outs did he make in 2009? Besides, it doesn't matter that his numbers were "good" or "not bad", they were not what you'd expect from an elite hitting prospect. Also, I do not give one damn about CJ Retherford as a comparison to any top hitting prospect.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 3, 2012 -> 12:05 AM) Marty, you are either seeing something I'm not with Viciedo or you are watching a different Viciedo. He has great plate coverage, incredible bat speed, and incredible power. Production in minors has been less than what you'd expect from an elite hitting prospect. And if he isn't an elite hitting prospect, how long do you wait for him to produce given that he only plays LF.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 30, 2012 -> 05:54 PM) How Joe Cowley had a 22-year-old Sun-Times staffer fired for making fun of him on Twitter The guy got himself fired for stupidly trashing a columnist at the newspaper he works for.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2012 -> 05:28 PM) At the very least, he cannot take steps that cost his employer substantially more money than he makes for his employer. If he's put the Sun Times at a lawsuit risk here by bringing "locker room" statements out into the open, then the ST has to replace him. If he's solely there to get the ST press coverage, positive or negative, then I'd say that it's a great reason not to buy the Sun Times and to start emailing people who advertise in the Sun Times sports section asking them if they want their company to be associated with this kind of personality. Just like the ST has the right to decide whether or not to keep him, I also have that right to express my opinion to them and to their advertisers. In fact, I think State Farm is about to get that email. Why would you want to bring heat on a guy with his employer? Bad Karma. Look at what happened to the Dixie Chicks with all those protestors. Was a shame.

It's too bad that you can get fired for writing what Cowley wrote. He didn't do anything illegal and people with his views have the right to a job they are qualified for.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 06:54 PM) What has the Sun Times broken in the last few years from those better sources? Cowley documented the level of dislike between Guillen and Williams. Cowley wasn't the sideshow he's become with his twitter persona when he began reporting on the rift between Guillen and Williams. If he was he'd probably would have sided with Williams because he would get much more attention (local and national) if he was known as the guy who always yanked Guillen's chain.

Cowley outworked the other reporters on the Sox beat (not like that is a difficult task sadly), had better sources, better stories. He knows the newspaper business is dying ans seems to me to be positioning himself as a personality, trying to land a gig in sports radio.

It was something to see how far away from the ball Kemp was when it hit the wall. You just don't see that kind of seperation on balls hit to center.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 06:18 PM) There is a reason why I call him Joe Mariotti. Mariotti started believing his act when he went national with ESPN. Cowley isn't at that point - yet.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 06:07 PM) So...misogyny is one of those things we just look past because sports makes it ok. I do not give one damn. I read Cowley because he is rock solid with what's going on with the Sox.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 05:31 PM) He was rock solid or at least solid with most things White Sox, but that stopped when he he became Ozzie's PR director. No doubt he sided with Guillen, but he has plenty of other higher-level sources. There are people working in the front office today that are not happy with the direction of the organization.

When it comes to writing about the Sox, Cowley is rock solid. All the other stuff, I do not give one damn about.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 05:18 PM) Well, the "act" might have just cost him his career. If it is an act, Joe may have realized it too late, "bra". I didn't say it was a good act.

Less groupthink.

I can't believe so many people don't recognize that it's an act.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 11:29 AM) A little over 20k on a Saturday night vs Boston is shocking to me. That had to be lower than even the most pessimistic projections could have predicted Attendance and the state of the farm system are going to become stories that KW will have to answer to if the Sox fall out of contention. Tony La Russa is still available for hire.