NorthSideSox72

Still going the way I thought it would, except... slower in the trend. Trump's 25-40% (give or take depending on state) is more or less going to always be that. Around 30%, maybe 35%. So as long as Rubio and Cruz (and to a lesser extent, Kasich and Carson) stick it out, the closer we get to a place where Trump could maybe, actually win the nomination. Assuming Kasich is sticking around for Super Tuesday (and lol, not winning Ohio), he'll be done right after. In a way, that helps Rubio in the long run because that's who'd he'd not only endorse, but give his delegates to, I'd guess. Cruz is what throws it off. If Cruz sticks around for a long time, you go to the convention in that 3-way split. Who decides to "give"?

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) Yeah Coop is great but he is not speaking to many of the low level guys like this. He likes the kid for whatever reason and probably because he is another New York guy. It's also a matter of math. There are about a hundred pitching prospects in the system at any given point. He's not talking with a hundred of them every week, there's just no chance of that.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 07:32 AM) https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/...ittyelgato12_i/ Talked about on the Score this morning. This gives the impression that Cooper is locked in with basically every pitcher in the organization, if he's willing to give time to a 27th rounder. I mean Katz is probably like 75th on the organizational depth chart. Pretty cool, and perhaps an insight to Coops power and insight here. He's not quite as low on the chart as you're making him out to be, despite being a 27th rounder. But certainly he's not a top pitching prospect. The pitching guidance in the system is impressive. The minor league PC's are really, really good. And their philosophy is very in line with Cooper's. That all said, I've spoken with plenty of pitching prospects who said they have only spoken with Cooper on rare occasion. So I really don't think this is happening across the board. Just for context.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 22, 2016 -> 11:38 PM) No way he lasts until ten unfortunately Way too early to say that. We'll know more in like April or May.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 22, 2016 -> 03:56 PM) http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/02/pred...-surgeries.html For the record, Scott Carroll and Jake Pertricka lead the White Sox, followed by Carlos Rodon. Chris Sale actually comes in with a below average risk factor, and David Robertson comes in with the teams lowest score. Carroll has already had TJS as well.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Feb 22, 2016 -> 10:44 AM) Command is the caveat of course. If Kahnle had good command to go along with his velocity there is no way we would of gotten him for a low level prospect. The White Sox must of saw something in his mechanics that they felt OK about potentially fixing. Off the top of my head, we have four pitchers in the entire organization that can consistently sit upper 90's. Kahnle, Cleto, Nate Jones, and I saw Brad Goldberg hitting 98 and 99 when I scouted him in August. That was new for Goldberg and a pretty exciting development for his status as a prospect. Robin Leyer is 95-97, T98 with the fastball. Tanner Mendonca hits upper 90's but I think they slowed him down when they re-tooled him. Daniel Webb was there, but again was a slow-down project of sorts. New signee Josh Wall has hit 100 and was often upper 90's, but that was earlier in his career and I have no idea if he's there now. Then there are a bunch of guys more mid-90's.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Feb 22, 2016 -> 07:46 AM) We're also looking at just doing a couple of days to get away for a "mini-moon" this summer. We were thinking of Galena, or Lake Geneva...something not too far away from Northern IL. Any other suggestions there? Kohler, Wisconsin. Stay at the American Club. Super-nice resort, world class spa (not really my thing but some people are into that), you can tour the Kohler flagship showroom (which sounds boring but was actually kinda fun), hike in the woods nearby, golf if you like that, some shopping to do - all in walking distance. Restaurants are world class, make sure you go to the one in the woods (I forget the name). Peace and quiet. Perfect weekend getaway from Northern Illinois. Door County can also work well for that, it's a little further away though.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 07:26 PM) I think Bush drops out after this, and his votes will almost all go to Rubio. Carson just keeps limping along, and there's no telling what he'll do - unpredictable as his campaign has been. Kasich already all but said he's giving up SC to hit Super Tuesday, but I don't think he'll do much there. I think Super Tuesday ends up being a giant 3-way mess at the top with no clear stand-out. Just my guess. Then Kasich drops out, he's another almost-all-to-Rubio guy. Carson is more Cruz-aligned. Again, sets up a 3-way mess the whole way. I think there is a decent chance they go to convention with no one holding a majority of delegates. LOL, literally about 10 minutes after I posted this I saw that Bush is dropping out.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 06:51 PM) Donald Trump projected with a strong win in the South Carolina primary, currently taking a 35% share of the tallied votes - similar to his NH total and lead. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio currently are in a tight contest for 2nd and 3rd place, both around 20%. Nevada follows on Tuesday prior to 13 states on March 1. I think Bush drops out after this, and his votes will almost all go to Rubio. Carson just keeps limping along, and there's no telling what he'll do - unpredictable as his campaign has been. Kasich already all but said he's giving up SC to hit Super Tuesday, but I don't think he'll do much there. I think Super Tuesday ends up being a giant 3-way mess at the top with no clear stand-out. Just my guess. Then Kasich drops out, he's another almost-all-to-Rubio guy. Carson is more Cruz-aligned. Again, sets up a 3-way mess the whole way. I think there is a decent chance they go to convention with no one holding a majority of delegates.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 10:50 AM) Sox lost some depth in the offseason. They cleared out a 2 pitchers for Lawrie; then they traded Myles Jahe and Almonte for 2 relief pitchers; not sure what the idea behind the Jahe and Almonte trades were, unless they just needed room for fresher prospects. Neither bullpen acquisition figures to make the 25. Lamb is higher floor than Jaye, closer to the majors, and is really good against lefties. The Sox have struggled to find reliable left relief help the last few years. As for Kahnle for Almonte, I got the impression the Sox "saw something" with Kahnle that they think they can fix and have a solid major league reliever. Almonte is a few years from the majors, and carries some risk too. In both cases, you traded away potential but unproven 2017-2019 guys for more 2016-2017, more likely to succeed help. Not saying I agree with either choice, just that's what I think they were going for.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 05:24 PM) Who took Rongey's place? Crap, I meant Rongey not Garfein. Sorry.

Connor McKnight, who took Rongey's place as the pre- and post-game guy for the Sox, was on Sox radio today around noon and had Anderson on. McKnight tweeted about this article before the show, said they'd be discussing it. Did anyone happen to listen in?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 19, 2016 -> 10:55 AM) I don't think his physical shape matters. It's his mental shape that does. Until he learns not to swing at balls and takes better routes in the OF, he won't be able to utilize all of his talent. I agree, it's mostly between the ears with him (though getting in better shape certainly shouldn't hurt). He just seems unable to grasp or stick with the adjustments I know the club is asking him to make at the plate. And I think he's got generally poor baseball instincts. Those are hard things to fix.

Every blog and beat writer is cranking out some kind of Spring Training preview article. We even linked to one in our piece, that we recommend. But we wanted to add something different, so I wrote an ST preview focused on the guys in camp who are prospects, minor leaguers or new additions that aren't guaranteed spots. Here it is. Enjoy the featured photo. Who are you keeping an eye on?

For an article we are looking to publish tomorrow, I am looking for anyone with photoshop skills to provide an image: Christopher Columbus, shopped into/at Camelback Ranch, preferably in White Sox gear. If we use your image, we will credit you in the post. You can put the image in this thread, or email it to us: futuresox -at- gmail. Go!

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 09:07 AM) John McCain cost the GOP the 2012 election when he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. That was clearly his biggest mistake, though I am not sure he would have beaten Obama even with a competent VP on his ticket. Would certainly have been closer at least.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 11:56 PM) Probably should start looking for honeymoon spots (little over a year away), any recommendations? We want to be on a beach, somewhere safe. Might want an all inclusive but it isn't a must. Hawaii would be fun but have no idea what the best places to go would be. We loved our time in St Lucia. Stayed at one of the three Sandals places on the island - you can then visit all three as you wish, there are shuttles. Mostly was fantastic, all-inclusive, but the food was kinda meh and you felt very disconnected from the local scene (which can be good and bad). Did some day trips to go sailing, took a boat to Martinique, went snorkeling, jeep tour, etc. A place we almost stayed was called Anse Chastenet, and that's where we'd stay if we went again. Sort of the opposite of a Sandals resort - smaller and secluded, more luxurious but also open rooms that blend into the scenery instead of boxy buildings, more local flavor.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 03:22 PM) I'm going to get myself in trouble for this I'm sure, but what starting pitching depth? Outside of the top guys, it's pretty weak in terms of pitching. Most of the pitchers in the top 30 project as relievers IMO. No trouble. It's a valid point. Between Fulmer, Adams and Guerrero among the top 6 or 8 prospects in the system, that's a good base. But it does get weaker from there. Most of the rest of the list is a combination of low-upside but higher floor starters (Beck, Clark, Stephens), higher upside but unrefined and open questions starters (Solorzano, Lowry, Hickman, Comito), and relievers of various grades (Tago, Wheeler, Cooper, Leyer, Goldberg, Dopico). The relief side actually looks pretty good, but for guys who likely are starters, it has thinned considerably since the summer with graduations (Rodon for example), and trades. And Danish is a big wildcard right now.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 09:20 AM) So a guy who all 30 teams passed on is our #8 prospect? Well, a guy who has talent but clearly would be eaten alive in the majors today, is the #8 prospect according to one particular guy who knows baseball but not necessarily the Sox system very well. No one took Keon Barnum either. Wait, maybe that's a bad example.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 11:45 AM) I doubt there's a great ROI on 4-6 years of Latin or French or German. Latin is very helpful when it comes to SAT or ACT time, and with communication generally. You are essentially learning the roots of English. If you see a term you aren't familiar with, but you know something similar in Latin, you're probably on the right track. But yeah, not exactly using it much in the real world. Unless you go into the Priesthood.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 06:22 PM) Didn't the Sox leave Leyer unprotected in Rule 5? 10 seems a real stretch. I have always liked him a bit, though. Yes, and no nibbles, which was expected. He's an arm to keep an eye on, sure, but I agree Top 10 is a big stretch.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 02:18 PM) 18-22 year olds - even smart ones - are as a general rule, profoundly dumb. We don't require kids learn basic financial skills to graduate from high school or college. Yet there's this expectation that an 18 year old is going to look at the long term impact of massive student loans when making that decision. Some do and that's great. But most don't. I've been harping on this forever. It amazes me, of all the requirements we have (federal, state, local, district, school) for what classes are required to complete high school, how is basic financial education NOT a universal part of it? It's just so basic to me.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 11:00 AM) What was Mitchell's injury last year? I was high on him out of the pen coming out. It's odd, he disappeared and didn't pitch at all in 2015. I sent a note to someone in the Sox front office, they said they'd check on it, but I never heard back. Wasn't important enough that I wanted to push it with them. So I really don't know.

Leyer at 8th is ridiculous in my view. He's got a very nice fastball, runs mid to upper 90's with some movement and he can locate it. But this supposedly good change-up, according to every report I've seen might maybe flash average or a little better, but is inconsistent at best. His slider is mushy, and the change is just not there. Despite all his innings. I think 20's is even a stretch. Fun fact also - he loves the radar gun. One of the affiliate contacts I work with said he was worried Robin would strain his neck because he always whipped around to see his speed so fast after delivering a pitch. That said, Law seems to always throw in some weird flier on this list. Andrew Mitchell was his guy last year, and he's disappeared entirely.

Easily the highest rated prospect we've had in our Prospect Perspective series thus far, Tim Anderson reached out to us to write an article. We happily obliged. Here is Tim Anderson's post on his history, the opportunity he was given, and his approach to taking advantage of it. It's not often we get to hear from someone of his caliber in their own words at length like this. I'd call it a must-read.