[Sports Media discussion]

This is also posted in PHT, so if you clicked through there, no need here. But just in case you didn't and because it's related...

FutureSox changing EIC's, among other changes coming.

 

[Big Changes at FutureSox - Part One of Three]

As we've been hinting for the last few weeks, we have some pretty big changes about to roll out at FutureSox between now at when pitchers and catchers report.

The first one is now official and you can read about it here. I would say it's the smallest of the three in terms of impact on our readers, but it is part of the broader plan.

 

[FS: Guest Post by Micker Adolfo - Ups and Downs, and what is next]

5 minutes ago, Wanne said:

How much "hitting development" can you have if you worried/nursing an elbow injury?  Even tho it might not effect your swing...it's still in your head and may be a mental roadblock you're swing would have to overcome.  I'd rather have had him back full strength this spring.  I doubt those 3 months really did a whole lot for him.  That's just my 2¢...

3 months in High-A for a guy like Adolfo are a BIG DEAL. That's half a minor league season, and a guy who is very raw. Look at the numbers he put up - that was big time development and definitely worth it. And even with that he will STILL be healthy in spring, and with a team by May from what we have heard. If your choices are 3 months and 5 months of play in 2 seasons, versus 0 months and 6 months, you take the former without question.

 

[FS: Guest Post by Micker Adolfo - Ups and Downs, and what is next]

20 minutes ago, Wanne said:

which they usually do....no?  That's the frustrating part...should have just done the surgery.  Water under the bridge...just hope to see Micker back healthy soon.

Timing-wise, it made more sense to do what they did, even if the chances of healing on its own were small. Think about it this way - for a position player, recovery time is like 9 months. If they shut him down in March, that would have been missing the entire season, then starting in April 2019. By letting him DH and then re-evaluating in July, even if he still had to have surgery, he'd have had three critical months of hitting development done, and STILL gotten back in April or May of the next year. They did the right thing.

 

[2018-19 NCAA Basketball thread]

13 minutes ago, Heads22 said:

We'll see if Kansas losing Azubuike means someone else can win the Big 12 for once

Well ISU has SHARED the title with KU a couple times during their run. Would be great to see ISU win it outright. With their full roster back in place now they are a pretty dangerous team, more so than they were for the first 8-10 games of the season.

 

[FS: Guest Post by Micker Adolfo - Ups and Downs, and what is next]

Our latest Prospect Perspectives article is written by outfield prospect Micker Adolfo. Micker had a very interesting, and at time for him quite frustrating, 2018 campaign before ending with Tommy John Surgery. In his guest article, Micker talks about how the injury cropped up, adapting to DH'ing, the almost-comeback to throwing, surgery and where he stands today. There are some details in here I am pretty sure were never made public that are pretty interesting around what happened in July.

Here is the article. Enjoy!

 

[Sox have 4 prospects who threw 100mph]

59 minutes ago, beautox said:

Also Jace Fry

Fry had his first TJ way before his pro career, and really only missed a year of time. Bummer was a little more akin to Diaz in this case with two surgeries and that much missed time in a row.

 

[Sox have 4 prospects who threw 100mph]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Sorry, I meant do you know kind of injuries he’s been dealing with and what his outlook might be for next year.

One of the injuries is shoulder-related. Another was leg-related, but not sure exactly what. He pitched briefly in fall instructs but was pulled from like his second game there with... an injury.

Guys who miss basically two full years, and have shoulder issues, usually don't make it. Though if you prefer glass half full, Aaron Bummer did miss nearly two seasons to two different elbow surgeries, and he turned into a major leaguer.

 

[Sox have 4 prospects who threw 100mph]

17 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

What’s the deal with Diaz?

Has barely pitched the last 2 years due to an array of injuries.

 

[Sox have 4 prospects who threw 100mph]

4 minutes ago, SoxAce said:

That's assuming Burdi gets his velocity back...

Yes, and assuming Diaz' arm is still attached.

 

[FS Podcast: Rick Hahn interview full length audio]

43 minutes ago, maggsmaggs said:

By far the best interview with Hahn I’ve heard in awhile. Great questions, Matt, about organizational philosophy that a lot of us have wanted to know but would never get from a hype piece done by Merkin, Garfein, etc. 

Kudos from a fellow Trevian. 

Thanks man!

 

[Sox have 4 prospects who threw 100mph]

It's actually six. But Burdi and Diaz didn't throw in a game in 2018, not a regular season one at least, so they are not on the list.

 

[FS Podcast: Rick Hahn interview full length audio]

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

Interesting that RH hinted that Marco doesn't sound super excited about this July class.  At least not excited enough to need to add money to pay for players.

Yeah I got that feeling too. But it could also, maybe, just be a tactic to lay low publicly about it. Hard to say which is the case.

 

[White Sox sign RP Randall Delgado and INF DJ Peterson to MiLB deals?]

Can confirm both via our minor league transaction sheets.

 

[FS Podcast: Rick Hahn interview full length audio]

The podcast episode with the Rick Hahn interview in full is now live. All the details, links to download, ways to subscribe, etc., are here. Enjoy!

 

 

[Exclusive FS Interview: Rick Hahn on the process and what's next]

FYI, the podcast with the full audio goes up tomorrow morning.

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

Just now, Quin said:

Guys, I'm not sure if this thread has become about the Fall of the 2006 Sox, the rebuild being delayed, or Hunger Games V: Wakanda, but get back on topic.

Jim Thome would have been great in Hunger Games DON'T @ ME

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

3 minutes ago, fathom said:

They just drafted in the first round just about the safest pick in recent draft history.

And have gone over their pool allotment in more years than not since Hostetler took over the draft team.

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

That isnt my argument. I don't think they lost momentum, I think they squandered their talent and got the bare minimum out of it due to their unwillingness to spend. They could have made 2-4 more playoff appearances and won another world series or two during that span. They were really talented. 

I literally just illustrated that this is, again, flat wrong. They INCREASED SPENDING, by quite a lot, after 2000 and after 2005. You are just wrong on this. Move on.

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

2 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

No, that wasn't what I was referring to. What I meant was they acquired, for premium talent, players that could be amongst the best in the game or completely flop. I actually applaud them for doing that, but people need to realize there is a 20% chance that they ALL miss. It doesn't necessarily mean they made a bad or wrong trade, it just means they got incredibly unlucky. 

The bolded is exactly what happens at the core of most any rebuild. Pretty sure everyone here knows that, but it's not what you were saying.

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

1 minute ago, Jack Parkman said:

I don't really blame them for 2006, but I do blame them for the 2001-04 teams, as well the 2010 and 2012 team. They were a couple players away during those years, and they seemed to be content finishing second. They could have put themselves over the top, but didn't. 01-04 still infuriates me. 

You can blame them, and credit them, for every year. But your idea that the Sox lost momentum from 2000 and 2005 due to unwillingness to spend is just flat wrong.

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

3 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

The other thing that people have to realize is that the Sox acquired a TON of boom/bust prospects through both the draft and trade. The only sure bet they have acquired is Eloy, and that happened under their watch. The safest prospect they have acquired other than Eloy is Dunning, but he's likely a mid to back end of the rotation guy. Everyone else has the potential to completely flop. The numbers game says it shouldn't happen, but there is more of a chance that it could happen than most realize. 

 

It was the Sox drafting "safe" guys that caused the farm system to be a wasteland for years. Now the Sox are drafting, signing and acquiring the opposite, looking for ceiling, which is a good thing, and somehow you want the old days again? This is insane.

And "the numbers game" says that MOST prospects don't reach their ceilings. So, it SHOULD happen, and you go get a bunch of high ceiling guys for exactly that reason.

 

[Levine: Sox won't offer more than 7 years for either player]

5 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Not bored, a bit disappointed that the talent hasn't proven itself yet but there is still time for that to happen. I'm still optimistic, as long as the Sox spend money when necessary to maximize their window, should it open. I would hope they learned a lesson from squandering the 2000-04 and 2006-12  teams by not spending enough to put them over the top in a given year. It is a minor miracle they won it all in 2005. 

Holy schnikies is this an explosion of bad takes.

First, "talent hasn't proven itself yet"??? Did you actually think the rebuild would be over in 2 years? That is an absurd expectation. The future of the team is still mostly in the minors or having just arrived late last year. Other than Moncada, who we all agree hasn't been as good as we'd hoped (though he's not as awful as some are saying either), we really haven't seen enough to know at all.

Squandering because they wouldn't spend? 2006 the Sox dramatically INCREASED payroll from 2005. That team collapsed late on pitching mostly, not because the team wouldn't spend. The 2000 team won the division, then the Sox went from near-bottom payroll to league-average payroll the next two years which is a big jump. What are you talking about?

It is a miracle they won in 2005 in the same sense it's a "miracle" when any team wins the World Series. That team was dominant all year.

 

[Jimenez, Laz Rivera tops at line drive hits]

I said it when I scouted him in April, and later looks by others only echo it. Laz has a lightning-quick bat. He's also got a little speed, though he's not elite or anything in that regard. If he can learn to be a little more selective at the plate (which he did start to show a little in the AFL), he could be a dude.

 

[Exclusive FS Interview: Rick Hahn on the process and what's next]

We (FutureSox) caught a pretty big fish this time, getting a 1-on-1 interview with Rich Hahn. Highlights and some interesting quotes all right here.

FYI, this was not an interview where I asked about MLB free agents, nor did we discuss many specific prospects. I didn't want to ask the questions everyone else is asking him. This is more about the process, the system, and what they plan to change going forward.