CaliSoxFanViaSWside

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Sep 1, 2017 -> 05:08 PM) I was actually watching every game for a while. But once those two & Lopez went down it's been a tough watch. Looks like it will be at least another 4 days till we see either of them again. Hahn said even after the DL stint probably won't play them right away according to what they see so far from the medical reports ( or in the W/L column ) I added that last part.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Sep 1, 2017 -> 07:41 PM) Impressed with Lopez tonight. Bounced back very well and maintained his composure. I wonder if he was tipping his change early on because it sure looked like hitters were looking for it. He was throwing it too often . He got some swings and misses on it.Went more to the fastball later it appears to my eye. I was thinking he should've stuck with the fastball more in the early innings. Seemed TB wasn't getting around on it too well . Perhaps game plan called for more changes early but still have to go by how hitters are reacting so to me the change up was called too often. A well located FB is still the best pitch ever. I don't think you should ever throw too many change ups early. Only after you see how they look on the FB . All in all a very nice outing.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 1, 2017 -> 03:19 PM) I am really jonesing for some Delmonico and Moncada.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 1, 2017 -> 10:31 AM) I disagree with your expert opinion. Fulmer has a great upside to him. Two years removed from college ball is not a good evaluation timeline to be making decisions on his chances of success. I am interested in wether they keep him in a starting role or transition him to a bullpen role Well he is certainly not alone in his opinion, Fulmer hasn't show very much to date so if your choice is bust or not the odds favor him being right and that is all some people want to be . Like you I always hope for the best and never like to say someone is a bust after a short period of time to develop especially being yo-yo ed up and down without any reason to do that to him.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 31, 2017 -> 04:43 PM) Not sure how Otani fits in with the Dodgers desire to get under the cap but with their history of Japanese players and willingness to spend money it's hard to see a team being more attractive than the Dodgers. Being the best team in baseball doesn't hurt either. If I am not mistaken , if he is posted he cannot get big money right away. Many see the Yankees as front runners for Otani but the Yankees as of now can only offer around 4.65M in a signing bonus . plus the $20M posting fee to Otani's team . I know the White Sox have traded away some of their bonus pool. No one is sure how much. Realistically then Otani can sign with any team all within a few million of each other according to how much bonus pool money they have. My point being that even the Sox despite not looking at him should be in the hunt for him and the only way to possibly get him is to offer him the chance to be a starting pitcher and starting hitter which many clubs may not be willing to do. With the Sox basically having no payroll now it might be a mistake not to pursue him . It will boil down to his personal preference more than the money. Sure the Dodgers and Yankees may have the advantage being spotlight cities of MLB but I wouldn't rule out the opportunity to be what he wants to be as a motivating factor.

Berrios was nasty. Sure do miss the LH presence of Delmonico and Moncada against a guy like that, He was death to righties,

I have to admit, pretty gutsy to start a thread like this. I am sure it has little if any impact on player personell decisions. I mean can you imagine making a choice between 2 draftees coming down to who is hotter ? Hahn: Oh he is just dreamy Williams : I like the one with the big butt.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 29, 2017 -> 07:40 PM) OK, I'm clueless. What is #thebesss? Meaning Eloy Jimenez is the best .

It's way passed the time when Mr, Polanco needs to be knocked on his rear. Not hit him per se but intensely brushed back,

Anyone else get the impression the Sox might want to not tank next year ? I read a lot of Sox stuff and that's the impression I am getting.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 29, 2017 -> 07:44 AM) Get to know Danny Mendick, infielder and recent pop-up prospect who has worked his way onto the radar (and will be going to the AFL). Includes quotes from Danny, his hitting coach, and others. Any other news about anyone else going to the AFL besides Mendick ?

On another Renteria note, speaking of development, I did have issues with the lack of steal attempts by our faster players which I expressed a few weeks ago. Hope it's not my imagination but it seems as though the steal attempts have increased since I first expressed concerns about it. I am pleased to see that.

QUOTE (Tony @ Aug 29, 2017 -> 06:55 AM) I'd argue the exact opposite. I've seen multiple people say "Well he is just getting them ready for the future, so when this team is good, they will be ready to bunt and prepared." Who's to say the players on this team have lost faith in Renteria for making poor in-game decisions? I know if I have a boss that continues to make poor decisions in their job, decisions that directly affect me, I start to loose faith in that boss. I think it's pretty apparent the players like Renteria. He manages the players much better than he manages the game . You are not a kid still learning a game or new position so I doubt your boss sits you down after a mistake and explains why what you did was incorrect in a gentle fatherly type way, We often complain the Sox are bad at developing players. I happen to think developing players is Renteria's strong suit. Even in the majors development happens since so many players are not finished products once they come up. That development is way more important than a few bunts we think come at a stupid time, When I watch the games , at the moment, I hate the bunts But later understanding or rationalizing how clubhouses work I'm inclined to think it's not an issue at this point in time. Good debating the subject with you Tony.

QUOTE (Tony @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 08:29 PM) I actually agree with most of this, or at least I know where you are coming from. What I can't get on board with is then taking the next step to the sacrifice bunts. There are ways to have "team building" take place without making poor managerial decisions, I guess that's my point. Well we have seen it many many times. When a player advances a runner either by bunting or hitting a ball to the right side you get congrats from your team mates. They realize you gave up yourself to help the team . That means something. It always has in baseball until only recently when the sacrifice bunt has come under attack and it's fairly easy to understand why .They know it's the managers job to manage . Renteria probably knows all the arguments against sacrifice bunting ( at least I hope he does) but still uses it in situations we don't like. If you congratulate a team mate weather its for hitting a HR , or driving in runs or pitching well or sacrificing it builds camaraderie. Any poor managerial decisions Renteria makes probably haven't hurt the team at all so I'm inclined to look at other things . I wasn't as forgiving with Ventura because we were supposed to be winning. You do make a good point. It's just right now it just doesn't matter (Meatballs the movie reference).

QUOTE (Tony @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 06:01 PM) Sorry, but this just isn't right. I have my meatball tendencies, I'm in the camp of keeping Abreu around not only because he has been a very productive player for this team, but for what he seems to do with the younger players. I really do think that makes a difference, and can appreciate it. When it comes to the sacrifice bunt, in most cases you are hurting the team. That doesn't help the team concept. The manager is going out of his way to take the bat out of a players hand to "hopefully" execute a sacrifice bunt. Players are smart. Much smarter than a bunch of us on a message board. They understand how inconsistent this bullpen has been. They understand how they are in last place. Do you think RR calling for a sacrifice bunt in the 5th inning, playing for 1 run is really building a team concept? You want to bunt in the 9th to help seal up a victory? You want to bunt in an NL park with the pitcher on the mound? OK. I can wrap my head around that. Aside from that? Not for me. I'm sure you have been part of a team. Many of us have, a lot of teams over the years. We understand who the weak links are even if we didn't play professionally and have the talent traded away. When a team sucks it's a lot easier to have a mini goals that will serve them well in the future. That's why he stresses hustle. It's why he corrects mistakes. He shows he cares about the players individual careers. He wants them to be good team mates. Wins and losses are not the focus of this team so why get angry at your team mates when they make mistakes or just don't have the talent. I don't think it's a stretch at all to understand the players know Renteria cares about them. The main goal from all the mini goals is to not place blame , do your part and embrace the team concept as a way to show Renteria the loyalty he has shown you. Do you think a clubhouse as loose as the Sox have comes from out of no where? Players who hate losing and place blame do not a happy clubhouse make. If you aren't as talented players can accept that if you embrace a team concept. Is bunting a part of that team concept ? I think so but it's also not mathematically sound as I said (aka bad managing). I said I didn't want to get to crazy with the psychology but apparently you think I did. I am just of the opinion that in a season where wins and losses don't really matter the players are playjng for their manager and each other . If you don't want to think the sacrifice bunting is part of that , no problem. It drives me crazy also but I like to look outside the box at times.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 02:39 PM) Quote of the week. How much credit goes to Renteria? That's the scary part. I guess it depends on who is still there next season but anything can happen in baseball. The team could dabble in being a division contender in 2018 if some teams regress. It could be just like most Sox seasons, you get fooled a month or two then reality sets in. The difference is no veterans contribute to that disappointment. As much as we hate the bunting it's really hard to pin anything else wrong with Renteria. He was a cog in the wheel of signing Robert right ? The clubhouse seems loose . The guy's hustle. Mistakes are usually the over exuberance of youth type and he corrects them right after they happen in the dugout. Without getting too crazy with the psychology, maybe there's a method to the bunting madness. After all the term is sacrifice bunt. Why ? Because you are sacrificing your AB for the good of the team. Sacrificing the chance for glory to drive in that guy , letting the guys behind you do it, hypothetically. We mostly hate it because it's old school baseball that mathematically isn't very sound. It does promote the team concept however . all for one and one for all. If I am Sox management I'm happy with Renteria. Despite the loses piling up the key players, the youth of tomorrow, are thriving. What more could they ask for ?

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 04:51 AM) Usually, you want a #2 batter to be able to handle the bat well and not SO a lot. Moncada so far does not fit the bill. Hopefully in a couple of years he is the #3 hitter which I think will be perfect when his power numbers start showing. I want him at the top of the lineup to get as many AB's as possible mostly, plus the speed and the walks. K's not bothersome because at least its not a DP if the leadoff guy gets on. Mostly rooting for Abreu to get his 100 RBI again so I want the guys at the top who walk a lot. Also 3 run bombs provide instant big inning which is what Davidson is for.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Aug 27, 2017 -> 10:12 AM) I was just thinking how lucky the Sox are to have one of the all time great pitching coaches. Sometimes I take it for granted that we've got him. He is one of the best, and he seems to love the south side and the organization. He will no doubt have a job with the team until he decides he wants to hang it up. How do you rate Coop currently and in terms of the all time greats? I'm really not sure the best way to rank pitching coaches. People always say hitting coaches don't have a huge impact, but I think most can agree that pitching coaches are a bit more impactful on the game. Cheers to Coop. He's the man. I'm sure Coop would be the first to admit that it's a group effort from him down to the pitching coaches in the minors since we are well aware that the Sox are pretty adept at developing pitching talent.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 27, 2017 -> 08:23 PM) I'm with ya! Almost TOO many interesting guys. It's a weird kind of depth we have right now. Not star depth, not even good depth, but not bad depth either. It's just solid to maybe good depth and it competes in an exciting way. Not sure what the hell I'm talking about. Go Sox I know what you mean. Take Engel for example. He plays a very good and fundamentally sound CF . Leury Garcia probably should be getting most of the starts there because he he also a good fielder out there but nowhere near as fundamentally sound as Engel. While many here think there's very few on the roster now who can contribute to a winning team, the Sox are trying to learn as much as they can about them all and ,as you say , it's an interesting group of kids. It'll be fun seeing Delmonico and Davidson in the same lineup. We haven't seen much if any of that yet. Moncada , Delmonico would be a great 2 and 3 in the lineup since they both draw walks with a 4 -5-6 of Abreu, Davidson, Avi or Abreu , Avi, Davidson .

Over the last 20 games the Sox have gone 11-9. They just concluded an 8 home stand going 5-3 . The recent run is because of solid pitching mostly from Rodon, Gonzalez and Shields and a surprising decent run from the bullpen. It has also coincided with a hot streak from Nicky Delmonico to offset games missed from Matt Davidson who proves his worth with a 3 run bomb in today's win. Tim Anderson and Yolmer Sanchez have contributed walk off hits in this stretch . Matt Davidson had 2 walk off hits in a row right before this 20 game stretch so the Sox have been playing some exciting baseball. Reynaldo Lopez had a solid debut in a game the Sox eventually won. Lucas Giolito has had a solid and very good start going 1-1 in his 2 starts. They won the series against the Tigers without help from Delmonico and Moncada who both were placed on the DL prior to the series . Moncada also had been playing some exciting ball recently showing off the wheels and contributing to late inning wins. It's probably no coincidence that the Sox bullpen has improved with the good starting pitching easing the bullpen load. Over his last 58 AB's Avi Garcia has 25 hits for a .431 batting average .493 OBP . 500 SLG and ,993 OPS . Avi has been reduced to a singles hitter during this span with only 4 doubles in those 25 hits . This is probably due to recent hand/wrist injuries . Give him credit though . Right when he was slumping and average creeping back toward .300 he has upped it back to .322 . In the last 30 games who is leading the Sox in RBI ? In the unlikely event you guessed Yolmer Sanchez you would be right. Yolmer went 3/4 driving in a run in the Sox 7-1 victory against the Tigers today. His last 7 games he has 3 HR and 9 RBI and also has raised his OPS on the season to over .700 . Jose Abreu has been the rock of the lineup hitting HR's and fielding much better the 2nd half of the season. I know it sucks for draft pick position but when the young guys contribute to victories I can't be unhappy about it. I've spent my whole life cheering for Sox wins and it's just counter-intuitive to do otherwise. Besides I know I am not alone here in wanting these youngsters to experience the thrills of victories and growing together.

Lineup: Hanson LF. Saladino 3B, Abreu. Avi, Davidson DH, Sanchez 2B, Narvaez, Engel

Carlos "Los" Rodon, another hot White Sox pitcher, takes the mound as our White Sox look to win another game in dramatic fashion.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 26, 2017 -> 11:17 AM) DL. Rob Brantly now a White Sox. Will be traded to the Yankees since they are getting 2 catchers suspended and their AAA catcher is injured

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Aug 25, 2017 -> 04:52 PM) So Kevan's new nickname is Ripper, obviously Ripper " I swear it has nothing to do with Jack the Ripper " Szmydth .

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 25, 2017 -> 07:58 PM) Tim Anderson with a double and Yolmer plates him with a hit to right. Sox win! I love walk offs .