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QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Apr 21, 2017 -> 09:20 AM) No,that isn't central to my view on this. My view is that this organization hates to sign prospects because (in Jerry's words, not mine) "Prospects are just prospects." Moreover, recent history indicates that this organization will inevitably fail to get the 20 year old youngster in international FA, but when it comes to landing the 30+ year old veteran who's in decline, "Kenny always gets his man." The point you are missing is that he is correct. Most will fail. The odds of this player being a star in the MLB are slim. The key is not to spend wildly on all the FA prospects. The key is to evaluate them properly and determine the risk. Then you assign a price tag that you feel is acceptable for the risk. They did this with Viciedo and outbid other teams and it didn't workout. They do need to take the risk at some point but they can't just go crazy on all of them.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 21, 2017 -> 08:18 AM) The Sox are one of only three teams to never hand out a contract greater than $70 million. That's not necessarily a bad thing when you see how many of them turn out in the end. The key is to have the proper people to evaluate and pick the right ones. They signed Joey Belle to the highest FA contract at the time. I still like that one although he was a nutcase.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 03:09 PM) I'm torn between logically agreeing with you but also being equally as nervous as shipps about actually trying to develop a hitter like Adell. I totally agree. It's a really tough call. They need to be sure it's the right guy AND they can develop him. I don't think the MiLB instructors have changed enough to give me that confidence but in theory they need to do it.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 09:33 PM) Do the Cardinals have a history of spending big? Stop that. Only the White Sox have a history of not spending big money. Every other team has a payroll at least twice that of the Sox.

QUOTE (shipps @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 02:27 PM) This is a team that needs to rebuild from the draft just as badly as it needs to make trades that land top prospects back. I am not saying to use this strategy of drafting forever but at least to make sure you stock pile the guys that are safer bets at this point in your rebuild. Hoping on a whim and a prayer with these athletically gifted raw talent guys have not worked for the Sox, like at all. True. But eventually the Sox will need this type of player. Since they take longer to develop, if they have a shot at one they really like they should do it. They can't go so conservative that they miss out on a really good player just because they've picked the wrong ones in the past. This is why they get paid the big bucks.

QUOTE (shipps @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 02:06 PM) I would like for them to continue to draft "Collins like" hitters if possible. High OBP guys that have natural offensive ability as opposed to raw talent banking on their high upside as the payoff. The issue with this is that you may wind up with bunch of the same type of hitters and have issues like the A's of the early Beane era. You'll have a bunch of guys on base but not much power and no speed so it takes 2 hits and a walk to score. Also no one is stellar on defense anywhere. This plays well throughout the 162 but gets stopped in the playoffs when better pitching doesn't give up that many hits and walks. Teams need the high strikeout/high power guys to score on a single mistake.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 11:08 AM) Tough break for the Sox that he got cleared early But I will say it's about time we opened up the checkbook to get some talent in our system You mean like winning the Abreu derby.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 20, 2017 -> 09:29 AM) Agree with this. Just glad we've moved out of the "Robertson for Severino" territory here. People undervalue relievers until their team needs one.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Apr 19, 2017 -> 02:02 PM) You can make an argument for Chris Young. But either way, its really depressing. Very poor. How about Ryan Sweeney would he count?

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Apr 19, 2017 -> 11:27 AM) As far as I can recall, the White Sox have not drafted and gotten a starting caliber high school position player to the majors in recent memory joe Crede is last one I can think of.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 10:43 PM) What do you recommend: The Jeff Keppinger deal, the Adam Dunn deal or the John Danks deal? The Danks contract shouldn't be included here as it was due to injury. The others well they just played poorly.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 02:14 PM) Give him Lawrie's.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 01:58 PM) Get this man to Chicago ASAP With better shoes.

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 02:00 PM) Jeff Passan‏Verified account @JeffPassan 7m7 minutes ago More Starling Marte hit with an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Nandrolone. That's an old-school steroid. No designer drug there. Yeah, there's no excuses for that one.

QUOTE (shipps @ Apr 17, 2017 -> 02:05 PM) I do get uncomfortable when older people use an inappropriate amount of ht's for everything. Or when my dad uses one within a text that he sends me. Its like, Dad, this isnt quite the place for a ht. And the worst part is that I am pretty old myself at 35 and I even know when and where to use them. Yeah, that's pretty old

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 05:07 PM) Sadly, sometimes you do have to play baseball with a primary purpose of trading your good players, when your plans for trying to win with those players have failed so miserably. Wouldn't it have been nice if the owner and his current management team could have figured out a way in the past several years to make the kinds of decisions that would have resulted in success on the field which would have avoided the need to discuss having to trade these players now? Based on your consistent commentary on the matter, you are obviously content with any form of baseball, winning or losing, as long as it has the White Sox stamp on it. That's fine for those who set the bar as low as you seemingly do, but for those who would like to return to the ranks of the winning, you should probably pull back on the criticism of those who don't share your willingness to tolerate the lack of winning of this franchise. Or maybe some people enjoy the game of baseball and not just winning. There are some people who don't care about the White Sox and baseball only winning teams. I guess you set winning above all else and can't enjoy the game.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 05:30 PM) Prayers going out to Todd Heap and his family. Can't even imagine.. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washington...r-old-daughter/ As a father I can't imagine what he and the family is going through.

QUOTE (credezcrew24 @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 07:20 PM) Do all minor league levels only play 7 innings per game on the day of a double header? Yes.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 05:08 PM) He's not. He's had 2 bad games, it happens. People are going to speculate any time something doesn't go completely right with him this year. This guy has proven time and time again that he can handle adversity, he'll be fine. If he is pitching poorly due to the trade rumors in the off season, I think that qualifies as having issues mentally. The was the to the statement that he may be pitching poorly due to the off season rumors. I never said that this was the case. I was just responding to the poster who said it could be.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 04:24 PM) I suspect the trade talk has started to make an impact. The guy is human...how could it not? Plus as per usual, they can't score runs for him. That may finally be bothering him more than the trade talk. Mark If he is truly that weak mentally, he is not a #1 pitcher.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 13, 2017 -> 11:36 PM) If the White Sox were in the World Series for 2 of the last 3 years, you don't think you'd be hearing about it constantly? Especially when it took them 29 years just to get back to the playoffs. Agreed. I like homers for game calls. It's annoying from the outside listening in but for fans of the team, that's what they should do.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 09:18 AM) This is interesting stuff on Giolito: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/comm...AB8sTHxRs1K5.97 Thanks for posting that. Interesting that they added a slider. I would guess that they are purposely decreasing the velocity to try to improve command. The slider would then give a different look than the fastball/curve combo.

Thanks. FWIW, I really like it. One thing that may be helpful for later on (it's not applicable now) is to add stats line for separate levels as they get promoted. That way people can compare their progress.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 12:49 AM) Yes I was. Swarzak had just completed a great inning looking very strong and sharp And it wasn't his last outing as you say but the inning before. Strong because he didn't pitch much if at all in the 1st 4 games. Jones had pitched the day before. One guy fresh and strong hitting his spots Made the Indians look bad thats how good he was. I know the whole schpiel on Jones is the 8th inning guy with a proven track record as such. During the off season I was in the minority wanting to keep Jones as the setup man instead of moving him to closer after Robertson is traded. I think he is great in that role and didn't want to move him from his comfort zones since he already has established plenty of value. So big Jones fan here. It's not some off the cuff remark. I gave it plenty of thought. The opinion is just based on how damn good Swarzak looked in the 7th and Jones pitching last night. And I didn't second guess the move because Jones came on and almost coughed up the lead. I just thought he deserves to at least come out for the 8th and if the 1st guy gets on take him out. He deserved to be out there again .I think managing is as much intuition and common sense as doing things by the book and sometimes, if you're feeling it, when to throw the book out the window Plus I recall Jones was on the WBC team and had a late spring with the Sox . There's plenty of 8th inning chances for Jones the rest of the year. I have watched many years of baseball and know my baseball. I just would 've done it differently. Play the hot hand . There are two reasons to take Swarzak out. 1. They don't want to use him for multiple innings so that he couldn't be used the next day. 2. Jones is the #2 guy in the pen. They need to get him in and get his issues worked out during a game and that's his role.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2017 -> 04:39 PM) Those are two separate ownership groups with very different make ups. The JR group owns almost all of the Bulls, while they own somewhere around a quarter of the White Sox. They aren't even the largest single share holder of the White Sox if nothing has changed recently. And the absolute last person on the planet that JR would sell any team to would be Cuban. He HATES the guy, and has tried to block him at every single turn, including being the only vote against him buying the Mavs. The one thing JR really hates is the "he who spends the most money wins." He has fought for years to make baseball a more level playing field. He would never condone Cuban getting a team.