NorthSideSox72

The title of this thread is pretty funny. The article doesn't at all indicate a "lousy future".

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Sep 19, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) Both them need to stop walking people. I hate how hector takes 10 pitches to get a strikeout. Stat padding booger. I doubt he's stat-padding, I think he's just not fully learned going from a thrower to a pitcher yet. Wants to strike everyone out, make the perfect pitch, instead of being OK with early contact.

I'd expect basically nothing from the Crain trade. I saw some reports that the return was not related to his playing time, but some that it was, so I'm not real sure how that all falls out. But the Rays picked up Crain knowing this risk, so even if the list of possible PTBNL's was completed at trade time, the list won't have any significant prospects on it. At best, it is some low level lottery ticket prospect. Maybe just the cash.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 19, 2013 -> 09:24 AM) This has not changed in AT LEAST the last 15 years yeah, I was more getting at the Sox versus other teams.

I don't have any numbers here - just an observation. I've heard more than one Sox fan recently complain about the pace of the game, with our pitchers. More than one have said that it feels like the pitchers are taking much longer between pitches. If this was true, that might put the defenders at a disadvantage. The starting pitchers haven't changed a ton, though there has been some change. One thing that has changed - the catcher. All are possibilities. So, do people see this as being the case? are pitchers really taking longer? I can't find game time by team data for 2013. Curious on people's thoughts on this. Could be nothing.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 18, 2013 -> 02:03 PM) First two innings everything up and he is getting hit This is the reality of 2013 for Danks. This is the year he gets in innings and gets his strength back. Everyone had this reaction, though slightly less so, with Peavy. No one should have expected Danks to be good this year. Next year is when, if, he'll be his old self.

Something to be aware of... not sure if this still the case, but it was a few years ago... For any federal government job that has a minimum vision requirement (by Snellen rating), if you have had any kind of corrective eye surgery including Lasik, you are automatically disqualified. May not be the case anymore, but something to consider, if that is a future career path for you. Most jobs don't have a vision requirement, but some do, particularly in law enforcement.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Sep 18, 2013 -> 09:15 AM) Kussmaul had some sort of finger injury this year, was nothing major despite how much time he missed. It was a blister type issue, something along those lines, as I recall. Kussmaul will probably be in the Charlotte pen next year, but it is also possible he's gone to another team.

FB occasionally, rarely post to it. The Facebook App on iPhone is such garbage though, takes forever to load anything, behaves funny, which makes it frustrating to use. Twitter, I've got my own account I rarely use, but I'm using the @FutureSox account some of the time and read that feed a lot. Twitter is a great information tool.

I've not seen it put exactly that way, but... yes, I'd assume scouting is a little more precise with pitchers. And yes, "leaning" towards pitching, all-else equal, seems to make sense. However, all other things are NEVER equal. Furthermore and more importantly, if you draft no serious position player talent, you are forcing yourself to get free agents for all your lineup positions, no matter what. And that is not a good position to put your club in. Then there are other factors too. Relative cost of each in free agency varies year to year, so you want some balance of talent in your system. Some years there is more demand for hitters in trade as well, so again, you want balance.

People talking about Semien, using positions like... Septmeber numbers... or look at Phegley... are missing the boat. Semien's profile and time through the minors have been very different than Phegley, and how he's doing in MLB in September is just icing on the cake with him. He looks like a major league hitter to me, and it was just 3 months in AAA that told me that. The question is, will he be good defensively at 3B? If so, you can start him there right now. If not, you have more difficult choices to make.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Sep 15, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) Stats and reality don't always match up. Of course he is going to say something like that. It's not like this was ever going to be a trick question. The farm system still sucks. Sort of. First of all, the farm system has been better than most in baseball at producing pitchers, in recent years. That doesn't play into the current narrative about the system, but people are starting to realize it now. Second, the system has been nearly devoid of producing serviceable position players in the past 5 or 7 years. However, there are a few signs of life now, with a few infielders worth keeping an eye on. We'll see if they turn out to be anything or not. I personally think Semien is a starting major leaguer, and have for a while now. Micah Johnson is intriguing. There are others more raw as well. Third and finally, the team has not only changed its draft philosophy in recent years, but they have made dramatic improvements in LatAm after that section of org being decimated post-Wilder. Basically, the farm system still lacks depth, particularly in position players... but your characterization of it being something the same as always, "sucks", is inaccurate. There's real improvement already underway, but you won't see the fruits of that right away.

Nice to see some success, especially from a team just a couple levels removed from the majors. Looking at some of the guys who propelled the playoff run, there are some real prospects in there. Bassitt, Beck and Jaye's starting, Winiarski's relieving, Molina showing maybe he can succeed as a reliever, and hitting from Johnson and a number of others. Encouraging to see.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Sep 13, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) Another decent outing by B'ham RP Ryan Kussmaul, after a lengthy stay on DL. Never did hear what the problem was. Northsider, do you think Sox will protect him? 27 year old RH reliever repeating AA 2nd full year? Highly doubt it. I will say I am a bit puzzled he wasn't in AAA this year, but he's got marginal stuff. Not worth the slot, IMO.

I sent a note to Stoltz. One thing I was surprised he didn't even acknowledge was the possibility that Beck may have been focused on specific pitches or specific aspects of pitching, then was let loose in AA. This pattern has occurred a number of times in the Sox org with pitchers in recent years, and I don't think it is a coincidence. Good article though.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Sep 12, 2013 -> 10:59 AM) I will always marvel at how they killed an already-flagging Cubs/Sox series by starting to put it on weekdays. Absurd. Because it is smart business. Those Cubs games are going to sell out, or nearly sell out, no matter what day they occur on. So for the Sox, why not put that kind of series during the week? Then some other team who doesn't draw as well goes to the weekend, where they will draw better than if they were during the week. It is pretty simple - this way of handling the schedule gets more butts in the seats on a season-long basis.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2013 -> 09:00 AM) Until the White Sox actually produce a few more position players, no one is going to take them seriously. I think that is a big part of it, yeah. No one believes he will hit in the majors, in part because the Sox haven't been able to develop starting hitters.

Link

QUOTE (danman31 @ Sep 12, 2013 -> 01:32 AM) Kevan Smith. Miguel Gonzalez (though he had DSL time prior to his breakout year in Bristol).

Charlotte Knights

With the regular seasons over, and the playoffs over for all but B-Ham, now is a great time to update your AAP threads!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 11, 2013 -> 10:21 AM) #1) You don't know that #2) They are, so who cares? #3) Things already have changed dramatically in LatAm, another avenue for amateur talent, and it has nothing to do with the draft rules.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 11, 2013 -> 09:24 AM) He had a pretty terrible junior year due to injuries I believe. So that coupled with the fact that he needed a decent over slot bonus probably scared some teams off. Yeah that's the key to understanding it - he was considered a solid talent but coming off a bad year, had one year of eligibility left so he had leverage, and required an overslot signing.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Sep 11, 2013 -> 09:05 AM) Can't remember when a young sox prospect had such a good year starting off. 21 yrs old, great stats, including 31 SB's. Who else was this good in year one? Anthony Webster comes to mind, but I can't remember his stats. Makes me wonder how Engel slipped to the 19th round. There were others even this year, but they were quickly promoted. Hard to find examples of players who spent the whole year in Rookie ball and did that well, I agree there. There have been a few. Heck, Eric Grabe last year.

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