Balta1701

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 08:36 PM) Welllll not necessarily when you're talking about things like plate discipline, as far as I can make out that's something that usually is what it is, for the most part. My counterpoint to that remains Jose Reyes, who started off swinging as freely as Garcia or even worse and turned himself into a solidly patient hitter.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 04:35 PM) @Variety BREAKING: David Letterman retiring http://on.variety.com/1j68pel @SeanMMcNally Relevant to Letterman's retirement: Jon Stewart's contract expires mid-2015. Colbert's the end of 2014. http://nyti.ms/1hFNNtC I think Stephen Colbert is in the right role for himself for life. I could totally see Jon Stewart taking this and have thought so for a while.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 03:30 PM) Cubs Prospects that i think will do good: Javier Baez (high errors, tho), possible all-star Arismendy Alcantara (leage-average) Kris Bryant (over-rated, but possibly above-average) CJ Edwards (sleeper) Not sure about: Mike Olt Cubs prospects i think will suck: Brett Jackson (bust) Albert Almora (don't see anything in him) What really amazes me about this team is I've seen 5+ games of their AA teams over the last 2 years and only seen 2 of those guys.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 07:19 PM) So, pitching (outside of Sale) is going to be a problem for your team this year? We don't know. Quintana still looks to me like a solid #2 starter, a #3 at worst. Danks is a question mark - can he be back to his old self 2 years after shoulder surgery? If he can be, he was a #1/#2 starter for several years. Erik Johnson is a rookie. He absolutely has the potential of a #2 starter, but he's a rookie, so expect struggles. Paulino has been really good when he's pitched but he's been constantly injured and hasn't pitched in the bigs since like 2012. Lots of potential and under Sox control through 2015, but again risky. Beyond that, Rienzo showed promise last year but needs more seasoning with control and a couple other guys (Bassitt, Snodgress) look to me like guys who are better than any of the 6th starters we threw out last year, but also need more seasoning. If guys are healthy and strong that 12345 could already be one of the best in the bigs but that requires everything to go right. You wouldn't run this rotation out there if you were detroit, you'd spend the money and fill probably 2 of those slots with veterans, but this is a "rebuilding" staff for this year.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 07:53 PM) Thanks, this is more what I was looking for. Is there a history of guys who graded awfully on defence to start off with but turned into average or plus defenders with more coaching and reps? Do guys playing MLB way ahead of schedule tend to grade a lot poorer on defence than they will go onto do, simply because of lack of experience? Instinct would tell me that defensive performance would tend to be more stable regardless of age for the level than offensive (not to say it can't improve). I feel like that is entirely what you should expect, that guys who have skills will become gradually better defenders with time (and then after they hit 30 and their speed starts deteriorating their defense starts worsening). Someone else can tell me if I'm wrong. My worry is that until proven otherwise, based on 2013 and how everyone got worse, I still have no confidence in the ability of this coaching staff to help people with defense.

Like I said in the other thread, this is the bullpen you expect for a rebuilding team. Rookies and retreads with weaknesses. Some of them will step up and some won't.

Yes, there is a chance his flaws severely limit what the White Sox can get out of him. However, he's a 22 year old playing big league ball. There are 22 year olds in A-ball right now who will be successful MLB players. He's raw in every facet of his game. His potential is virtually unlimited. He has ridiculous power potential plus speed. He simply is extremely raw. There is a reason why I keep calling this a rebuilding year. Avisail Garcia should be expected to struggle. That was suggested by his performance last year as you say - even his high batting average was due to all the bloop singles he collected. He's exactly the kind of guy the White Sox should be giving playing time to in 2014. He will hurt this team this year. In 2015, if the Sox can develop him, he has a phenomenal level of ability. A team contending this year should not be giving time to players like him. A team rebuilding this year should be doing exactly that. His defense is like his offense. It should be expected to be extremely raw. If he is coached well, he has the toolset to turn "oops" into "wow'. He could turn what is today poor defense into solid or even really good defense with playing time and coaching. With guys like him, the goal is not what they give us tomorrow, it's what they give us in 2015. It's all about development with him and several other guys in this org, including Eaton, Viciedo, Johnson, and probably Semien and others later in the year when they come up. That's why this is a rebuilding year.

Apparently there were 6 blown saves league-wide on Wednesday.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 03:13 PM) Garcia's horrendous defence really hurts his overall value. Combine that with his tendency to hit the ball on the ground and he has a long way to go. Remember though, he's only 22. Of course he has a long way to go. There are 22 year olds in A-ball who will be successful big leaugers.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) Next practice: 3 hours of rundowns. They practiced that before 2012, they ought to remember how to do it.

QUOTE (BFirebird @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 02:13 PM) I think that having either Semien or Gordo in the 2 hole is fine. The bigger problem is a left-handed (or switch-hitting) 3 hitter. Obviously one does not exist on this team, but if they had that it would just set the lineup so nicely. And no Conor Gillaspie is NOT the answer to this problem. Sorry to hijack the thread but with this one piece I think it really makes the lineup so much more formidable. I know this isn't a novel idea, but man would it be nice. Eaton Gordo/Semien **Lefty/Switch Hitter** Abreu A Garcia De Aza/Viciedo Alexei/Semien Davidson/Gillaspie Catcher abyss Are there any Brandon Moss/Dan Vogelbach type guys that we can pick from someone's minor leagues for a package with Alexei or something and put Semien at SS? Not looking for a superstar...just maybe a guy that can hit lefty or switch-hit and play some DH/1B. Or are there some FA's to be next year who fit that bill? Or even RF/LF/DH rotation of 3 players. De Aza/Garcia/(another lefty or switch hitter) I think Ricky probably knows this is a problem and will be keeping an eye out for a fit. The fact that the Sox have an open DH slot next year could help with this problem; Andy Wilkins or possibly Dan Black could get a look later in the season if Dunn is moved out of the way and either of them performs at AAA well enough to merit a callup. If not, Victor Martinez and Kendrys Morales are guys who could potentially fill that role short-term next year

Wall Street Journal needs piece of clip art to go along with op-ed by Charles Koch expressing why he's a patriot for spending so much on elections. Wall Street Journal picks piece of clip art used for years as the logo for Daily Kos.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 09:15 PM) Not me. I'd rather not spend $8+ million on one pick of the total $9.5 million allotment. Especially when the assigned pick value for the 3rd pick is $5.7 million. But then again, I'm not entirely sold on Rodon. I know people have said he's probably a Boras guy, but man, spending an extra year in college because you needed $8 million instead of $5.7 million, when you're a pitcher, just sounds absolutley nuts.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 09:28 AM) I do think that the voting system needs to be nationalized, at least for Presidential election years. Require every state to issue ID cards/driver's licenses that store voter registration information in the magnetic strip. When you register to vote in a new state, the system automatically deletes your previous state's registration. When you die, your ID is swiped and the system automatically deletes your voter registration. When you show up to vote, your ID is swiped and the system will know whether or not you've already voted in another location. Either the Federal or state governments pay the cost for those who choose to get just an ID card and not a driver's license. Note: This system would only track whether or not you've voted. There would be no connection to your actual ballot. The biggest problem with that concept...aside from the fact that it costs money, is that there is huge resistance in some very loud, angry circles to the idea of a national ID system.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 12:32 AM) So the people that shelled out $32,500 to be at a fundraiser for Obama tonight, that is a bad thing? Or the $10,000 each 55 people paid to meet with him at a wealthy donor's house afterwards? just want to make sure. Abso-****ing-lutely. It's genuinely a pathetic statement on our democracy and we should be humiliated by the fact that it happens.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 01:08 PM) Either way they obviously figured out how to not only survive, but thrive with proverbial low attendance. Do keep in mind that the 2013 payroll on opening day was lower than the 2008 payroll and this year we should be at the lowest amount since 2005.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Apr 3, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) Attendance doesn't matter anymore, this isnt 1990. Have you seen the AAV of the TV contracts that a good 1/3 of MLB has received in the last 5 years. Have you not noticed the influx of revenue all teams receive from MLB advanced media. Have you not noticed how the White Sox in the bottom 1/3 in attendance almost every year are constantly in the top 1/3 in major league payroll. Teams, especially the White Sox have introduced so many non ticket sale produced revenue streams into the equation in the last ten years it just doesn't matter. I wouldn't be surprised if half of MLB get more money from media rights than ticket sales every season. This old default view that attendance and team payroll are proportional needs to go away, things have changed considerably since 2004. Some portion of that was likely due to the White Sox having one of the highest average ticket prices in MLB over previous years.

The attendance for game 2 last year was 14,213. It was under 11,000 today IIRC from the game thread. Both days IIRC were miserable. 43° F for last year's at game time according to the box score. I think that does suggest a very substantial erosion of season ticket sales.

Ugh. @AP 8m BREAKING: Fort Hood confirms shooting on Texas Army base, reports injuries.

The only thing you should take today as is an estimate of the total number of season tickets sold. That's all it's telling you, I wouldn't walk up to this game if you gave me tickets for free.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 03:53 PM) Or to push their personal social ideology With the amount of money he has...Sheldon Adelson would likely still have turned a huge profit on the 2012 election if Mitt Rmoney had been elected despite spending nearly $100 million that we know about.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 04:51 PM) Its unfortunate we have that piece of trash automatic out of a catcher starting today...watching him strike out for a full season again is going to wear on me I don't think he'll be there for the full season. I think Phegley isn't done yet, but he needs time at Charlotte to get his head back together.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 04:34 PM) Balta, how about this defense? My computer is too slow to run either the audio or video packages without completely freezing, I'm watching ESPN's gameday on my phone. But from the sounds of it...pretty much what I expected this season.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 03:49 PM) Surprised to see Paulino back out there starting the inning with 98 pitches when his control hasn't been sharp all game. I actually have no problem with this. With his "missing lots of time" last year...if we can get him stretched out early in the season, by finding his pitch limit and slowly pushing it upwards, we might be able to build his arm more.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 2, 2014 -> 02:28 PM) Yeah, this is a huge problem. You have 50,000 (give or take a few) ultra-rich people on each side of the spectrum pushing each party farther and farther away from the center. Since it's not constitutional to eliminate the influence of the money, the only other solution is to find people with money willing to spend it on moderate candidates in both parties. But remember, the people that have the money to spend are doing so for one reason; to make more money.