NorthSideSox72

I'll throw in a name: Julio Vinas --Current AA Birmingham Barons manager (3 years) --Was up with the MLB club in September last year for a bit --Vibe around him in the org has always been positive --He is US-born, but of Latin descent - I believe he speaks Spanish, though I don't see any documentation of that anywhere --Former White Sox prospect from long ago I'd be he's on the short list.

Interesting side note: His son, Nick, was a catcher in the Sox minors and was released just recently. 2013 36th round pick had a PED suspension in his draft year and into 2014 (didn't even play that year), and never got out of rookie league.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 2, 2015 -> 08:33 AM) nice and great reading. what came to mind was the prospect, and i can't remember his name. he came to camp and they left for a year or two. then he came back this yr. do any remember this story .... who he is?? Not sure, though we did write an article about three players who were away from baseball for a few years then came back in 2015. Only one of the three is a legitimate prospect though, and the pitcher was released a few months into the season.

ha, forgot to add link. It is in there now.

We covered hitting a few days ago. Now we are onto starting pitchers, looking at which ones led in some key statistical categories. Repeating the caveat: stats are not the same as prospect value, present or future. They can be indicators of some things in some cases though, and they are one set of tools in evaluation. Any surprises on this one? I'll say it made me start digging a bit more on a pitcher I hadn't given any thought to, after I made these lists.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 05:29 PM) First they were satellite offices, not DMVs. WHen money was flush they opened them to help people. Money isn't, so they stop operating them. And if voting is so sacrosanct, why do you NOT want to protect it? You need an ID for almost everything you do. Saying someone can't vote because they don't have an ID is stupid. The same people need that ID they don't have to drive, cash a check, get any kind of governmental assistance and so on. So they have it. And if they don't, they purposely don't. And for the FREE ID, They are giving them for free, and will come to you. How much more easier does it need to be? Now if the bolded are BOTH true - it can be provided for free AND they are going out to communities often and widely enough that it covers all areas reasonably well - then I am totally OK with it. That was not the way it appears to be, based on news reports - but I'm very happy if it turns out a free ID really is that easy to get. There might be a different argument here about Driver's Licenses, but not about voting, if those are true.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 04:24 PM) Then just put a damn location in everyone's garage so they won't be inconvenienced. because if even one person has to make an actual effort, DISENFRANCHISEMENT! I don't have time to loo, but I bet there are ways to get a FREE picture ID. From first google hit They got the free part right. Also your hilarious slippery cliff argument is meaningless. Is it as easy as voting? Are there locations in every town where you can vote? No? Then ID not OK. That's it. Nothing more or less. This isn't hard or expensive to do by the way. You don't need a DMV office in every town. Just have them reasonably available - not four in the entire state, which is ridiculous and is what they said will happen in the end. The state says this. Use mobile trucks to visit towns periodically to do it. Or rent shuttles on occasion. Lots of ways for it to work, if they actually wanted everyone to be able to vote. Which they do not.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 04:14 PM) They offer online renewals As well as other services at other locations. So if they HAVE one, not a problem, have a variety of option to renew. Considering that those locations handled 5% of the TOTAL transactions in the state, I am fairly confident that less than half were for NEW licenses. In your other link the writer b****ed about having to drive 10 miles to a facility since he lives in a rural area. I had to go at least that far, and I was just in the south suburbs of Illinois. Oh boy. This makes me sad. How can you really not see the problem here? How can you be OK with disenfranchisement by the state? Online renewals is helpful. It is only addressing part of the need though, and just as Illinois has this too, it isn't valid in all cases. This is just so simple. Voting is a right that cannot be charged for. This is charging people, AND making it far more difficult to do. It is therefore not OK.

Dan and I did a podcast episode. Smaller group this time with just the two of us. Hope you enjoy it!

Why does that matter? Again, this is not about one thing OR the other. It is that both being true is unequivocally disenfranchising certain segments of the population. Want ID's? Fine, then make them as easy to get as voting. Want no impediments to voting? Fine, don't require an ID. Otherwise, it is a poll tax.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 01:42 PM) While rookie ball numbers look good, I don't know how variable and predictive they are. Only like 150 ABs, what are playing conditions, pitchers like? how do other orgs compare? I'm not complaining about rookie ball numbers, I just don't know how excited I can get about such things. Oh these are indeed just stats. And rookie ball stats in particular shouldn't be heavily leaned on. As stated in the article, the stats are just one way to look at it. So just as you shouldn't get overly excited, you should also not get overly pessimistic about a lack of them in some cases.

Hm, people seem to be reacting to someone giving up on Micah. Not sure I see anyone other than Greg doing that. QUOTE (staxx @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 08:01 AM) Not really a major procedure at all. No reason to knock him down on his potential because of it. Procedure isn't a big issue. But as I said earlier, and I stand by it, is that he's got a long injury history now. Enough so that it should be a concern. Not to give up on the guy - but part of the landscape.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Oct 1, 2015 -> 09:34 AM) should be self evident. how many guys are you excited about from high-A on up? Anderson, Michalczewski, Alvarez, Coats, May are all guys A+ and up that I think can be contributors of one kind or another offensively. Then there are some lottery ticket guys with big tools that, if they can put it together, could be impact players - Hawkins, Engel come to mind (though they are longer shots). The system isn't in a great place, but it isn't as desolate as I think you are making it out to be. I did think the lack of power was a little disturbing system-wide. Take away the guy who hit .200 in his 3rd go-around in AAA (Davidson), just one player had more than 13 homers on the year (Coats had 17).

So, the state of Alabama passed a law last year requiring voters to present photo ID. Less than a year later, they have now closed DMV offices in all counties with more than 75% minority populations. They then plan to close even more, leaving only four offices state-wise. Let's call this what it is - a poll tax. It is disgusting and makes me angry. The fact that people want it both ways tells me there is still plenty of institutional racism at play there. And even if one wants to assign some other motive, the effect is the same - minority voters, and soon also poor rural voters in general, will be kept from the polls due to costs they cannot bear. Poll tax. Say it with me. Poll tax. Even if you think voter ID is a good thing for reasons not rooted in bigotry - which I think is a fool's errand anyway because you aren't really addressing any real problem - then you HAVE to make acquiring photo ID's as easy as voting. Period. Can't have it both ways. I am frustrated with my state government in Illinois, for driving us into a fiscal abyss. But I would be much angrier to live in a place where the legislature and executive thought this was acceptable. I sincerely hope the feds step in and slap these idiots into the 21st century.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 30, 2015 -> 11:14 PM) If you're trading Q then trade Abreu, Robertson, Sale, Danks, Flowers, Lexi, Duke and that guy who supposedly is the DH. Start over with a BOATLOAD of young talent + Rodon and Fulmer as your key pitching pieces. And hire a manager who can work with young talent, who knows how to teach the game. Q, Sale and Abreu would bring you riches. Or do very little, hope for the best and be prepared for another season of below average and very frustrating baseball. The most likely course is in between.

No word on nature of injury yet. Injuries are becoming a theme with him, sadly - multiple elbow surgeries, multiple hamstring strains/pulls, jammed shoulder, now left knee have all caused him to miss time. Hopefully he comes back healthy, but this now has to be a consideration when looking at future role and dependence on him in a lineup.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 04:15 PM) I'm not a Trump fanatic but I can say he and the Surgeon are the only 2 who excite me at all. That is your response to his tax plan? "Don't care, he excites me."??? Please tell me you don't vote.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 05:08 PM) This will be an interesting one.....If it gets to court it should take about 6 seconds to dismiss...But we are talking about the leftist paradise of Cally. http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/calif-kin...SAu3?li=AAa0dzB Legally they probably have no case. Morally, I find it disgusting the school did this, especially after the kid had already started the school year. Ar they kicking out students if their parents divorce, or there is an affair? I mean really. Get over your bigoted selves.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Sep 30, 2015 -> 08:58 AM) Surprises, no. Disappointing, yes. Worth noting: The White Sox 2015 draft class of hitters finished with the 3rd highest batting average of any class, at .287. And in a basic tie for 2nd at that number.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Sep 30, 2015 -> 12:01 PM) So Carson Fulmer didnt make the SAL list? Lol, ok. QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Sep 30, 2015 -> 01:12 PM) He skipped SAL. That said he is clearly better than our prospect who made the Carolina league list so I dont know what's going on there. Guessing he just didn't qualify or whatever. I think that is the deal - he didn't qualify.

A look at the top 10 in key offensive categories among all White Sox prospects in 2015. Some expected, some surprises, and a strong overall showing from the rookie leagues highlight this one. Another theme - power was down compared to last year, but speed numbers were up. We look at AVG, OBP, SLG, XBH totals, contact rates and stolen bases. We will cover starting pitchers, then relievers, in later articles. Any surprises here for people?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 03:25 PM) I get your line of thinking and I don't have much more than I've already said, but I think you know there was no way Phegley was going to be one of the two catchers come April '15. The Sox didn't like his personality or his skill set. Semien not being the starting 2B was the big impact. Bassitt has been hurt much of this year, though he may be blooming into something good - so some loss there too. The other two, no real loss. Ravelo likely never makes it (and missed most of this year anyway), and Phegley has had a mediocre bat to go with horrible D and a personality the pitchers didn't want to work with. So the focus should be, they wanted to get a year of Shark, a sandwich pick or trade bait, and easier negotiating access... in exchange for a potentially league average (and cheap, and could get better) 2B and half a year of a decent (and cheap) starter who may or may not keep doing that. If Shark had pitched to his averages, the Sox do pretty well in the trade. He didn't.

Looks like this guy is a part time writer, backup guy for CSN. I sent a note to Dan Hayes to at least run it through the editing wash one more time - something I have never done before. But this is pretty bad.

Read that this morning. It was... awful. That whole article was bad - never seen CSN publish something that bad. Grammatical mistakes all over, complete misses on how some prospects were doing... just a really lackluster effort. I'd put any of the FS writers' version of this over what CSN published.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 29, 2015 -> 08:28 AM) Without that last line, it'd be impossible to tell if you were talking about Trump's plan or Jeb!'s plan. Except Jeb hasn't been out there touting, loudly, how those "evil" hedge fund managers were going to hate the plan.