fathom

I know the Sox have said for a few years now that they want to rebuild while also trying to contend. That seemed possible coming into this year, but seems like more of a longshot going forward the next few years due to a variety of things (Danks' shoulder, Dunn's regression and the lack of development of young hitters). It's going to be awfully hard to build up the talent fast enough over the next year or so in order to compete with the Tigers and the rest of the AL best. The Sox aren't going to be able to pull a Boston and be able to bring in a ton of high-priced free agents.

If the Sox get rid of Rios and Peavy, then it is a rebuild for next year. It wouldn't be the worst thing for this franchise, as they'd need a replica of 2005 where every FA they brought in excelled in order to compete next season. I don't see that happening, especially with the health issues of the top free agents like Morales, Utley, Granderson and McCann.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 06:50 PM) I would take my chances with BJ Upton over Ethier in that same scenario. With the $30-40 million coming the White Sox way, of course (which is probably unlikely to happen with the Braves, quite possible for the Dodgers). Ethier and Viciedo would make a great platoon

Looks like we got the best hitter on San Diego's team!

Nice value getting Engel there

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 06:32 PM) Michael Carballo, CF, Tennesee Wesleyan, R/R, JR, 5'11" 188lbs DOB: 10/21/91 No Twitter found. Yikes http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team...&plr=101268

I like the Joey Wagman pick. He had a complete game, 12 K performance vs ND this year and he went 8 innings allowing 1 run vs San Diego (and Babe Bryant) last week.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) We should have taken Verlander's little brother just to f*** with Detroit. Watch him be a steal while Jordan Danks has been a disappointment

I'm sure I'll get myself blasted for this, but it's been a very underwhelming group of picks today for the Sox. A bunch of mediocre college players it seems.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 05:57 PM) I'll give you the bullpen I'd go into 2014 with... Reed traded (ONE cheap FA signing OR salary dump like Heath Bell OR Nate Jones, possibly Webb as closer when his secondary stuff is better) Crain/Lindstrom/Thornton traded Santos Rodriguez or Charlie Leesman Henry Rodriguez Simon Castro or Andre Rienzo (or both) Definitely, at least one power arm we're getting back from all the trades that won't fit into the rotation picture Dylan Axelrod or Erik Johnson There's NOBODY on that list that we already know is going to fail eventually or is fatally flawed....like Heath, Marinez, Omogrosso, Troncoso, Veal. It's not likely to be a very good bullpen, but that's not important at all if you trade Rios, Ramirez, Peavy, etc. If they're legitimately trying to keep the team together and give it a shot at competing with Peavy and the entire offense overhauled (and not sure how you do that without making a huge number of trades this season, spending $30-50 million on free agents or dealing Erik Johnson)...that changes the storyline. This whole idea of a cheap/homegrown pen is 100% based on the tear down of everything but the core of our future starting rotation. In that scenario, 2015 and certainly 2016 would be the years where you'd have to start worrying about save success ratios and veterans compiling holds. That might be the worst bullpen ever assembled on paper.

Who cares about the Egypt trip last year, as KW did a great job of acquiring Liriano and Youkilis for nothing during the year. Now, if he was on vacation when he thought he was getting Yadier Molina for Santos and not Nestor Molina, then I'd be a lot more upset.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 05:50 PM) Detroit just drafted Verlander's little brother, a RF. Orioles selected Yaz's grandson, Mike, a RF as well. If Hawk was still the GM, Yaz's grandson would have been our first pick

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 06:34 PM) Danny Hayes, 1B, Oregon St. U, L/R, SR, 6'05" 210lbs DOB: 09/21/90 @Danny_Hayes9 Oregon St. is still alive in NCAA Tournament so those that want to watch him will be able to.

As a team, CSU-B hit 6 homers

Is the consensus that Mitchell will be a power reliever? In all, I'm content with the draft so far.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 04:31 PM) Looking to trade first? Dunn. Able to trade first? Rios. Not going to be able to move? Dunn, Paulie, injured Peavy I think a team like the Orioles would be willing to take Konerko for not much in return and some salary relief.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 05:30 PM) Exactly. Thompson & Walker aren't going to replace Rios or De Aza if they get traded. You don't rush top prospects just because you have an opening on the 25 man roster. They'd give Jordan Danks the at-bats and use it as a chance to see what they have in him. And let's hope to god they wouldn't call up Jared Mitchell to fill an opening. When you can't hit AA pitching you'll have no chance with major league pitching. I could see them giving Mitchell one final effort to prove he shouldn't be released/traded after the year and call him up to the majors.

If the Sox trade Peavy, then Santiago would get his spot in the rotation and E. Johnson would likely be next in line If the Sox trade De Aza, then Danks probably gets the majority of the playing time the rest of the year in CF to see what he can do If the Sox trade Rios, then maybe they put De Aza in LF and Viciedo in RF? If they trade Crain, then Jones and Lindstrom are the set-up men If they start trading these core players, then you can't really worry about the quality of the replacement for this year. Once you give up on a season and unload these key contributors, winning doesn't become important at all. Obviously, if they go into next year with Danks in CF or something along those lines, then it's clearly a rebuilding year.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 04:44 AM) We are not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination. I also happen to think we are not a 95-100 loss team, either, as this site's most infamous provacteur suggested earlier this evening. I still think there is sufficient talent on this ballclub that will surface and even out the results on the season. Will that be enough to prohibit us from being sellers in the next six, seven weeks or so? Probably not. But I don't think we are in the dire straits that some would lead us to believe. The opening day roster isn't a 100 loss team, but given what's happened so far, the injuries and the possibility of who might get traded, I do think it's possible this team struggles to get to 70 wins. For example, if they trade Crain, Rios and Peavy, good luck trying to win more than a few games against the Tigers the last few months of the season.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 03:22 AM) Thompson is our most ready OF prospect -- and I don't expect to see him until June/July 2014 at the earliest. Unlike a few others, Sox have not rushed him. He seems to have developed the ability to overcome adversity, critical to success in the big leagues. He's got a chance, which is something I can't say about Mitchell or Walker. Walker has a slight chance, but yeah, Mitchell probably should just be traded in a bust prospect for bust prospect deal. Thompson's showing some great progress this year with his BB/K ratio.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 04:17 AM) Says who? Hawk can keep saying this, but at some point, your team is what it is, not what you think it could be. Problem is the Sox lineup is it what it is. Dunn and Konerko look to both be washed up. Flowers, Viciedo and Keppinger should only be starting against LHP, and Gillaspie only against RHP. Alexei has turned into a singles hitter going over 200 ABs without a homer. The ceiling for this offense is incredibly low.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 03:13 AM) Can you imagine Robin Ventura's mood after his daughter graduates and he has to fly back and resume managing this team? It has to be putting him in a deep depression thinking about returning to this hodgepodge of horrible baseball talent. Think of it this way, it's been almost 2 full weeks since he got to shake his players' hands and tell them "nice win".

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 04:08 AM) Points well taken, Fathom, as always. I'm just not willing to rush to any conclusions yet on a team that's going through a bad streak. I know the team has it's shortcomings, but I'd rather evaluate them in a more normalized stretch of the season. Fair enough, I don't think any trades will happen for a few weeks at the earliest. I know we're all frustrated, as this is one of the worst stretches of games most of us have seen for the Sox. At this point, I'm just rooting for everyone to stay healthy and for guys like Beckham/Flowers/Viciedo/Santiago/Quintana to show continued development and for our veterans to maintain their trade value. If Dunn and Konerko want to pull a Kerry Wood and retire mid-season, then I hope they feel free to do so.

The Pirates are a team the Sox should be targeting. Someone like Josh Bell is a good person to target, as obviously Taillon and Cole aren't going anywhere. Pirates could possibly use someone like Alexei and Crain.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jun 8, 2013 -> 03:02 AM) Easy to say in the throws of a losing streak, which every team faces eventually. Were you calling for 95 losses before this streak? I don't recall as much. The 1983 team was heading for a similar fate right around this time, and how did that eventually turn out? The point is, the range of the "realm of possibility" remains quite large at this point in the season. This team has shown no signs of breaking out of their season long hitting slump. The starting pitching started off great, but even that has fallen off (and you have Peavy being out as well). It's very difficult to imagine this team ending the season within 10 games of the Tigers. There's just way too big of a talent difference between the two teams.