NorthSideSox72

Venezuela got underway Thursday (7 Sox minor leaguers), Mexico Friday (none). Other leagues start between now at November 1st. Here is a preview of the Sox prospects in Venezuela and Australia. Yes, the Sox are sending a couple guys to Australia, which is something they haven't done in a while. We'll do a second preview article for DR/PR when rosters are filled in. Feel free to discuss results etc. here.

Let's be clear about the "dependency" on federal government here... 1. As stated earlier, having a stable and effective federal government being necessary to a stable economy is not new, nor unique to the United States. 2. The federal government is NOT, in terms of people employed, larger now than it has been. In fact it is quite the opposite. Per OPM data, starting from the early 60's (there doesn't appear to be reliable data before then)... the number of federal employees peaked in the late 60's at approximately 6.6 million, then dropped pretty consistenly (except for a brief spike during the socialist Reagan years in the mid-late 80's) down to a low of about 4.1 million in the mid-2000's. It has now gone up slightly from there to about 4.3 million. In other words, even leaving out the rise in population, the number of people employed by the federal government has dropped some 30% or more since the 60's, and as a percentage of population would have dropped closer to 40-50%. 3. In terms of federal SPENDING, it is useful to look at the number as a percentage of GDP, over time, to gauge total economic impact. According to usgovernmentspending.com, the total federal spending vs GDP has been remarkably stable during that same period since around 1960: ranges 17% to 25%, currently in the low 20's. In fact a general trend line since the 80's shows nearly level. It CAN be noted the levels were much lower prior to WWI - it is the period from the late 1910's to the mid-1940's that saw by far the biggest increases. In any case, federal spending as a part of the economy has changed very little in the past 50 years. 4. In terms of revenue, the total federal income tax revenue taken in has also been pretty stable over time in the past 50 years, but with a slight downward trend (as a percentage of GDP). Individual income tax revenues are identical to 50 years ago, but business taxes are lower, again as a percentage of GDP. So really, if there is some much larger dependence on federal government than previously, it sure as heck hasn't been in the past 50 years. The federal government employees substantially fewer people, spends about as much and takes in slightly less as a percentage of the economy. One could even argue the problem is that taxes are too low, from this data. If there is a feeling of there being more federal government control now than previously, it does not appear to be financial in nature. Just wanted to set the baseline data here.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 14, 2013 -> 09:08 AM) We're facing a work stoppage at the end of this week at Los Alamos if this thing doesn't get resolved. It's not any sort of long-term project, but it's still annoying. Here's some more on the impacts of the shut down, which is really just an amplified version of the terrible sequester policies, on biomedical science. Yeah, I've got a friend who works at the other NNSA facility (Sandia), and he's a few days away from being sent home. When you think about the projects that LANL and Sandia work on, it is a little frightening that they are scrambling around trying to decide who they don't need around.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 11:18 AM) All 4 Sox pitchers pitched yesterday and it gets no talk here? For shame =p. McCray, for whatever reason, started the game with Leesman, Bassit, and Vance combining with 2 others to throw a shutout http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...4&c_id=t454 Micah Johnson went 2-4 with a walk, a triple, and 3 RBI Mitchell was 0-3 but he did drive in a run and came around to score (I'm assuming he reached on a fielders choice). Semien and Jacobs had the day off. Vance is a reliever, and I'm pretty sure that is what Leesman will be in the future. Bassitt, I think they are trying to protect him innings-wise. He's pitched over 160 this year, after about 90 last year.

The "media" thing is, IMO, way overblown. The Trib have a real stake, so there is concern there, and they clearly publish more Cubs material. But their Sox material is still better than any of the other papers. Any real "bias" I've seen is in the national media, and that isn't bias as much as laziness. Also, there is zero chance the Cubs leave Wrigleyville. Zero. Even if the City had given them nothing (which is basically what happened), the Rosemont option was never seriously a consideration. Cubs ownership could not possibly be that vapid. You want to see this become a Sox town? The Rosemont Cubs could do that.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 03:05 PM) Gotcha, thanks for the info....Another question, why the maybe with Bucciferro? I know he's a bit older but should we really fault him for finishing his college career? My "maybe" is mostly just not knowing a lot about him. His FB, at least in college, barely touched 90. I did hear a scout talking about how good his slider looked in a Kanny game though.

And According to this, park factor for runs for Kanny was more or less average among the SAL.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 02:28 PM) Is the Kannapolis ballpark considered very pitcher friendly? What about the SAL league as a whole, more pitcher friendly? There were 10 pitchers who posted an era under 3.25 in at least 25 innings pitched for kanny this year. According to this, the SAL is a more or less average park in that regard, maybe just slightly pitcher-friendly. This of course will vary year to year. More interesting is to look at league leaders in ERA. Kanny had a 3.80 team ERA, which was around league average, maybe slightly worse. I think a likely scenario here is that Kanny just had some interesting pitching, though many of those were promoted quickly. Guys like Goldberg, Recchia, Cose, Jaye were all promoted out at some point. I personally think there are some intriguing arms who finished there. The obvious like Danish, but also Ortiz, Lopez, Wendelken, Montas, Hansen and maybe Bucciferro are all worth keeping an eye on. Leyer and Olacio too, though their numbers didn't show it. That's a pretty interesting group in my eyes.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 01:35 PM) http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/obama...v-website-cost/ From what I can tell, that number is not what the website cost. That is the amount given to that company and it's subcontractors, to do ALL the technology for HHS departments. All ObamaCare-related systems and hardware, and possibly other things as well. Still, even if they did every bit of software and hardware for ObamaCare (which it appears they did), and maybe some other things, that is an enormous chunk of money. Just to be clear though, that is NOT the amount the website cost.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 09:45 AM) How on earth did a broken website cost 635 MILLION f***ING DOLLARS to create, let alone the original bid of 94 MILLION f***ING DOLLARS. Jesus, and you people want the government to be in charge of healthcare???????? I have a hard time believing that, even in a government operation. Where are you reading that?

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 12:45 PM) Thanks, NSS, good read indeed. Brad Goldberg and Cody Winiarski are other guys I've been following and I'd like to know more about, specifically stuff-wise. I can give you a brief on Goldberg: power arm righty with a fastball that can be mid-90's, limited secondary stuff. 10th round pick, had control issues in college, but very successfully corrected them in his 2013 pro campaign. Stuff profiles reliever. Possibly vulnerable due to low ground ball rate, but the velocity combined with the 2013 control make him a guy to watch. See his part of the interviews I did in Kanny here. Also, we're working with a guest writer to do a feature on Goldberg this offseason, so we'll get to learn a lot more then. Winiarski is more of a mystery, I've had a hard time finding any meaningful scouting data. This isn't a surprise, since he was a 36th round pick. He produced well at an age-appropriate level (23) at High A, very nice K numbers, reasonable but not spectacular control, then was promoted and did well in 5 games at AA. I'd love to know more about what he brings to the table.

If you are looking for a name of a Sox prospect who might break onto the scene next year, one to consider is Adam Lopez. I've found him interesting this year, and Nathaniel Stoltz now has a detailed write-up on him. Good read.

Ozzie's right as of today... but people sure do have short memories for history. Over time, this has been a clear Sox town, at times. Not for a while of course - the Cubs started really dominanting in the 80's when the neighborhoods changed, Reinsdorff made his biggest mistake ever turning down WGN to go to Cablevision, and the Cubs started night games. But things change over time. I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that the Sox could, eventually, be the more dominant player in terms of attendance and viewership. And even fan base, eventually. But a lot of things have to go just right, and it would still take a long time.

Jacobs PH for Semien, homered. Semien 0-4. Mitchell 2-4, HR. Two games, no Sox pitchers yet - that is odd. Bassitt, Vance, Leesman and McCray on their roster. Should see them soon.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 03:52 PM) Supposedly there are enough votes to pass a clean CR in the house, yet the vote isn't happening. That, more than anything else, sums up why American politics sucks so bad. QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 04:51 PM) There is literally one single person to blame for that right now. Well, one person who got backed into a corner. And who doesn't have the courage to fight. As I've said, people back here know me well enough to know I almost never blame one party for some political issue. But this is 100% Republican. No other way to look at it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 03:43 PM) That'd be good. I still want to see him continuing to hit, but he sounds like a nice prospect. I'd love to see Semien stick at 3B, but really, if he can play 2B and Johnson can be a super sub kind of player, it would not be a bad thing whatsoever. I have a hard time seeing Micah as a super-sub. Even if he improves at 2B, he'd still have to learn SS and/or 3B. Semien has a better defensive tool kit for being a super-sub, but he also (IMO) has more overall offensive potential, at least with the bat.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 02:13 PM) There are people who don't believe Johnson will stay at 2B and that his hands are a little rocky. The comparison I came up with was Emilio Bonafacio. Regarding Thompson, if he can become a 4th outfielder, Drew Stubbs type of player, it'd be a success. I was surprised to see Bernie Pleskoff saying good things about Micah's D from yesterday. Said to be smooth on the double play too.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 10:43 AM) Shutdown means no new beer from craft brewers Alright that's it FIRE THEM ALL, this is the last straw!!!!

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 11:05 AM) I'm pleasantly surprised by that. Dunn had far better hitting numbers on days he played 1B, which helped out that number a lot.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 11:56 AM) When Kirby Puckett came into the league, he was a good CF. Garcia is not. Kirby also basically moved to RF when he was 33. Chances are, if Garcia does play CF, he won't be a plus defensively, and he won't be there for long. If you are 240 as a 22 year old, you probably will be 250-260 as a 30 year old. There aren't many 250 lb. CFs. As for my 31 AB comment, it is true. Most professional players require 0 major league ABs to determine they aren't going to be very good. This is completely nonsensical, and you know it. You are trying to blend scouting with results, two different things. 31 AB's will not tell you what you need to know about a hitter.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 09:29 AM) Gotta pay the coach! I can't speak for all schools, but I know at many DI schools, the athletic department is required to be financially self-sufficient. They need to generate enough revenue or funding to cover their costs, often including scholarships. I have no idea how many schools do and don't have that rule, but some do. And of course many schools don't have any significant intercollegiate sports at all.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 08:52 AM) There are plenty of players 31 ABs can determine what they are. Garcia could probably get by in CF, but chances are with his body type, it's not a postion you will see him playing or really want to see him playing several years from now. On bolded: no. On the rest: I know it is an extreme exception, but... Kirby Puckett says hello. Just saying, body type tells you SOMETHING, but it is not a definite thing. What it comes down to is, you need to see him play there to really get a read. Metrics are useless at his amount of play.

I would like to have seen Michael Earley or Mark Haddow go instead. Both OF's who have shown some hitting ability, but are not highly considered as prospects. Haddow missed some time to injury this year, which is likely the only thing that kept him from AA. In both cases, it would be nice to see if they have anything to offer against tougher competition.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 08:49 PM) Glendales first game is tomorrow...I assume there's no place to watch the game online so who will be providing updates on twitter? FutureSox will post recaps, and occasional in-game stuff, on Twitter. Not going to be a blow-by-blow or anything though.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 06:43 PM) I'm an old-fashioned subscriber. My issue arrived last Friday. Surprised to see Sanchez in Top 20. Also thought Semien would have been higher, but then I remembered that with BA it's all about THE TOOLS. Ah, I am just online. Sort of funny the paper copy sometimes beats the electronic.