NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 03:32 PM) How is Beckham even remotely close to an "asset?" He hasn't had any real value in years. No one is under the impression he's going to land an elite prospect. But him coming back and looking OK for a couple months will likely mean a team would give up something for him. If you don't do that, you release him and eat the rest of his salary, AND lose out on some sort of return. Some team will be desperate for a guy like him, a la the 2005 acquisition the White Sox made for an infielder. Or maybe even as a starter for a limited time. That has value. Unless you think this team, right now, has a good chance at making the playoffs... it simply makes more sense to play Beckham now (when he's healthy) and let Semien continue his development with no harm to himself.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:36 PM) That makes him 5 for 34 (.147) against starting caliber pitching, and not great SP either based on the teams the Sox have played. Semien needs to go back down and get every day at bats, pushing him up to early will result in having the same conversation about him in three years that every one wants to have about Beckham. Beckham pretty much mirrored his breakout rookie season last season, minus the power, which is not unexpected given a hamate injury. Selling low on him is akin to the Indians giving up Brandon Phillips for a RP. You need to let it play out and see what you really have not that he appears to have his approach in order. You can really blame his second and third seasons on him being rushed and not learning to make appropriate adjustments in the minors, and the majors is not a forgiving place to learn how to adapt your approach, especially with lift and pull as your hitting coach. If Beckham were on any other team, fans would want to pick him up to see if we could get him to turn it around. There is no reason not to take a flier on him this season and see where it gets you. If he regresses, hes non-tendered, if he puts up similar numbers to last season and the power comes back you have a top 5 second basemen. That covers most of it, good post. And I'll add, you certainly might up his trade value if he gets going later this month and plays well in May and June. In any case, it does not hurt Semien to play a little more in AAA, and the overall value equation says it is better to have Beckham play for now. Semien is a long term answer at one of the infield positions, but it doesn't have to be today. As a backup he's not going to get more than maybe 3 starts a week max, plus the occasional PH/PR role, and that just isn't enough.

QUOTE (The 815 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:23 PM) How is Basto a non-prospect as a 20 year old (as of 10 days ago) in high-A? Granted he put up awe-full stats last year but if he is a non-prospect then Barnum and DeMichele should be written off as well. Not comparable. Basto was drafted as a SS, was awful there defensively and was moved to 3B, and he's been awful there too. He has neither hit nor fielded anything more than bad. He was a 5th round draft pick, and he's only playing 3B at W-S because the only other alternative was Eric Grabe or an org guy. Barnum is a 1st round supplemental pick with plus raw power - different animal. DeMichele is a 3rd round pick who plays a competent 2B. Both have put up far better numbers, even with their struggles. Also, without getting into details, a White Sox scout gave a pretty strong indication about how bad Basto's D has been. So even the Sox' people aren't seeing anything there.

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 09:37 AM) Crawford was form the minor league phase of the rule-5, right? Isn't he in his late 20s? Yes and yes. Taken in the AAA portion of the Rule V, he's 27. He's had a lot of AA innings, a few AAA and a very few MLB. He won't be long for A ball I'd have to think, he'll probably be in AA and/or AAA pretty soon. He was technically on the DL, not sure why, but this looks like a temporary assignment to me.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 09:05 AM) They do this because they will be right most of the time. Most players in the minors won't reach the majors or if they do, they aren't stars. So if a prospect has a significant weakness, you say this and he won't be far off. That's true too. Since most prospects will fail or be disappointments, it is easy to look right if you are dismissive of virtually all of them. It is also the lazy approach, but many people take this.

A lot of these prospect analyst types are trying to break in by adding a personality edge to their profile. Parks and a few others go the silly, intentionally over the top route. Law and people who emulate him like to look big by being dismissive of everything. Younger, newer guys in this field have this idea that the more personality they inject into their work, the more attention they will get, and they are sort of right. But the more they do that, the more skeptical I am of their views. Just my opinion.

The improvement is real - not just the offensive numbers, but specifically encouraging were reports on him adjusting to breaking balls at least a couple times and staying back a bit further. On the other hand, the K rate is still far too high (though it's early). And what bothers me more is, some of the reports Wittman had (again, ignore his analysis and go with just his action reports) are saying he's still chili-dipping and flying open on inside pitches. This time last year, he had that same exact problem with pitches on the inner half, plus the flailing and breaking balls on the outer half. So it sounds like he's made marginal improvement in one area, but none (or little) in the other. That doesn't mean it is write-off time - it just means the process of improvement will be slow with him.

Wittman providing some nice information as to what he sees - but you have to simply take it as that. What he sees in those games. Some guys I'll take broader analysis from too, but a guy who says Hawkins' CEILING is a bench player at this point? Come on now. He may only be a bench player or may not even make it at all, but calling that his ceiling this early means you're just going for the look-I'm-Keith-Law-too angle.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Apr 12, 2014 -> 11:53 AM) 4 other guys on the Dash have higher K rates than Hawkins; Anderson, Barnum, Basto and DiMichele. Is this good? Basto is a non-prospect, and none of the other three are exactly high-contact types (at least at this point). Not sure if it is a good sign for Hawkins as much as a bad sign for the other guys, but either way, those numbers will start to mean a lot more in a month or two.

Bunch of releases: RHP Drew Bowen RHP Devin Moore RHP Joey Wagman C Franco Pizzoli OF Michael Carballo Surprised to see some 2013 draft picks let go this early. Carballo was epically bad last year though.

LHP Evan Crawford added to Winston-Salem. RHP Terance Marin, who got hammered in two outings this year, was released.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:52 AM) So, anyway, back to the actual topic, does anyone have recommendations on a decent self-propelled mower? The Honda I bought has been fantastic in the two years I've had it, and Hondas generally last a good long time as well. I forget what model I got, it wasn't high end, but I think not quite their very bottom end either. It is self-propelled, key-start. Toro is a good brand too.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 09:49 AM) Not a star, he could still be one but he is still young. I think his replacement, Danks, is a major league ready fielder, who had a great spring will be an able replacement capable of putting up a .250 avg or better while showing some above average power this spring. Get well Avi but Jordan will do ok. Just keep in mind, Danks isn't really replacing Avi. Viciedo is replacing Avi, and Danks is replacing Viciedo as the 4th OF.

Marty, perhaps you would understand this better with an illustration. Let's look at all the high school position players drafted in slots 3 to 6 (so Sox pick plus some reach bandwidth) of the 1st round in recent years, and see how long it took them to reach the majors... 2013 P5, OF Clint Frazier, CLE - Hasn't reached majors, not yet assigned, played partial Rk ball season, multiple years away if he makes it 2012 P6, OF Albert Almora, CHC - Hasn't reached majors, in A ball now, mutliple years away if he makes it 2011 P5, OF Bubba Starling, KCR - Hasn't reached majors, struggling in A ball 3 years after draft, at least 2 more years away if he makes it 2010 P3, INF Manny Machado, BAL - Reached majors in late '12 (2 years after draft), major league regular 2009 P3, OF Donovan Tate, SDP - Never reached majors, out of baseball 2008 P3, INF Eric Hosmer, KCR - Reached majors in 2011 (3 years after draft), now a major league regular P6, C Kyle Skipworth, FLA - Reached majors briefly in 2013 (5 years after draft), back in AAA now, has never put it together 2007 P3, INF/OF Josh Vitters, CHC - Reached in 2012 (5 years after draft), marginal prospect at this point, hasn't been back 2006 none 2005 none 2004 none 2003 P5, OF Chris Lubanksi, KCR - Never reached majors, out of baseball P6, OF Ryan Harvey, CHC - Never reached majors, out of baseball Now, what this should show you, is a few things. One, position players in slots 3-6 out of high school are very unusual picks, because of the risk and long development time. Two, out of the 10 players (7 of which have had any sort of real look yet), 3 never even reached the majors. The other 4 with any real dev time to work with took 2, 3, 5 and 5 years to make it. From 2011, Starling arrives no earlier than 2015 and more likely 2016 or later - 4-5 years from draft, BEST case. From 2012, Almora is still in A ball and needs multiple years more - so he's 4-5 years minimum as well. Frazier is so new he's probably not work discussing. Basically, taking any position player in the draft out of high school with that high a pick is little better than a 50/50 on them even making it, and for those that do, they take typically 4 to 5 years to get there (Machado being the one outlier). And by the way, most of these guys are not CATCHERS - a position requiring significantly MORE development time. Bottom line, if you draft a high school catcher with this pick, you can expect a roughly 50% likelihood of full-on bust, and if he even makes it, count on at least 4 or 5 years to get to the majors. Now ask yourself... if you have said - your own post - that you don't even trust pitchers in A ball to be part of any plans... how can you possibly think it is a good idea to change your draft plans for the 3rd overall pick based on an injury on the major league roster?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:51 AM) If I ever meet you, I am buying you a beer. Seconded.

In many martial arts, a big part of what you do as you reach levels where you are actually sparring is learning how to fall peroperly, to decrease the chance of injury. Maybe I am indeed overanalyzing, but, doesn't that mean it could be taught in any sport as well? It doesn't happen often of course, this isn't football, so maybe it just isn't worth the investment of time. But I do think it is possible to do. QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 10:16 PM) There is no increased chance of reinjury. Once the labrum and capsule are tacked down it will heal. The problem could be if the capsule is either too tight or too losee it could interfere with the stability of the glenohumeral joint. Since it's his non-throwing shoulder it will take less stress and most likely won't interfere. I wouldn't be surprised if he could DH in winterball in an attempt to reclaim some missed at bats. I had a torn labrum (throwing shoulder) repaired, but I also had "capsular damage" as they put it, and I got the impression they had to actually pull out all or part of a capsule. And I think they said that cannot be replaced. Maybe that's changed, or maybe I misunderstood.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 01:08 AM) I thought the Guerra claim was a steal, but North can you explain the point one of yall made about having to clear him through waivers to move him up? Thanks I think that got lost a bit in translation, with what Blake was trying to say. Guerra is not on the 40 man roster. He can be added, but I think Blake was trying to point out that if there are 40 guys on the 40, then someone has to come off and clear waivers to stay in the org. But, the 40 is at 39 right now. And Avisail will likely be transferred to the 60-day, which will drop it one more to 38. So it isn't an issue at present.

I know a retired couple with a cabin up in SW Wisconsin. They have 7 acres, but for the area right around their house, they just chopped out the smallish trees, and then they just mow the ground cover down to lawn length. Looks almost like normal grass. Most of the acreage they just leave as forest though.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 04:32 PM) What's the alternative? Bare earth or concrete? No thanks. Some places, like in the southwest, the towns actually forbid grass lawns. Or require use of grey water only. People xeriscape instead.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) OK, I have a brother in law that uses a battery mover for the last few years and i recalled that he had nothing but positive things to say. So I emailed him and here is what he said: I have a Black & Decker CM1936. It runs off a battery that has to be charged. It takes about 12 hours for a full charge and lasts about 1 hour in normal grass. If the grass is higher or wet it might only go about 45 minutes. I never had a problem finishing my lawn on a single charge. That is my front, side, and all around the back. I’m very happy with how it works and you don’t have to worry about gas or oil. The battery is about the size and weight of a car battery. In 3 years I’ve had no problems and the battery holds its charge. Glad it worked for someone. Maybe my lawn is just bigger or harder to cut, but that doesn't explain the batteries failing to survive a winter. QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 03:23 PM) What's this problem with gas and oil? Admittedly my cheap Toro mower is all of 3 years old, but I spend about 10 minute each year cleaning the air filter and lubricating a few things and it's good to go. I probably should change the oil this year. Haven't done that yet and I think it's recommended annually. Not a huge problem, just a pain to have to get gas for it, check oil and add. Plus the are louder, you breathe in fumes, etc. None of those things are the end of the world, but it was nice for a while to not have them.

Garcia, Iglesias and Montas all injured since the trade. Peavy, Wendelken and Rondon remain standing. This really sucks.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 03:24 PM) It's a bad injury, happening to his lead shoulder like that . . . I think you have to proceed with this rebuilding as if he's not going to be what was hoped. Which has virtually zero to do with taking a high school position player in the first round of the draft.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 01:21 PM) I need a new mower this year and I've been tempted by the cordless ones. Glad to hear some first-hand feedback confirming what I worried about. Yeah, I really wanted it to work. It was so quiet, cutting was fine, easy to push, no gas or oil to deal with. But the battery and charging technology just isn't good enough for it to be practical, it appears.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Apr 10, 2014 -> 12:14 PM) Olmedo was thrown out twice in Tuesdays game on outfield assists. One was at 1B by Mitchell. Today Olmedo was just thrown out by Mitchell at either 2nd or 3rd. He made some terrible baserunning blunders in Chicago too.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Apr 9, 2014 -> 02:34 PM) great info. that is exactly my fear. just like any other battery-powered device (cell phone. laptop, etc.), my fear is that it would start out fine but quickly lose capacity over time. didn't realize it would be that quick though! Neither did I. I have a battery-powered trimmer and lots of other battery-powered tools that have lasted for years just fine.