NorthSideSox72

Kannapolis is already underway. Brennan pitching - he's been seriously struggling so far this year. W-S plays later (Beck), Charlotte and B-Ham are off.

Someone asked about Matt Lane the other day... just announced he had Tommy John surgery, out for year. Plans to be back in 2014.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 22, 2013 -> 08:48 AM) I could easily see them assigning him to Kanny and justifying it as "rehab" so as to spare Hawkins from a true demotion. And in this case, that is fine. I think if they had demoted him based purely on performance, going A+ to A, would not have made any sense. But he's been out of play for a while now. And I'll throw this out there, TIFWIW... reading his Twitter account, seeing his quotes in interviews... I have makeup concerns with him right now. Maturity issues, principally. Not unexpected for a 19 year old 1st rounder, but, I think he's got some learning to do. And that will have as much effect on him as any mechanical issues.

Santiago is clearly higher ceiling than Axelrod, and his inability to get deep into games is likely a function of not getting the chance to do so for long enough a period of time. If you want him ready to be a starter in 2014, then he needs innings. I think you have to demote Santiago to AAA, and keep Axelrod in the rotation, for now. See if Danks is healthy and at least semi-productive. By the time you know that, it is late June, and it is go-or-no-go time for the team anyway. So you then make your call on buying or selling. If you are buying, then you keep your rotation as is, with Santiago starting in AAA (unless Axelrod falters or there are injuries), and have Santiago just keeping piliing on innings in Charlotte. If you are selling, then you can trade a bunch of guys and Santiago can be in the Chicago rotation. Either way, he's getting the innings he needs to be a full time starter in 2014.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:38 PM) Is there any update on when Courtney Hawkins will be playing again? Haven't heard anything on him for several weeks. Based on previous assessments, he should be ready for baseball around June 1st or so. Will be interesting to see what level they put him at.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 22, 2013 -> 07:19 AM) Probably because he is 24 years old and in his second year at Low-A And that he's a utility guy on that team, only playing regularly as opportunities arise from injuries or promotions. He's not a prospect, and more than Brent Tanner is. If Barnum hadn't had his new injury, he'd be in Kanny right now and MICHAEL Johnson would be on the bench.

RV has hinted he wants to get Beckham comfortable there as a backup for Alexei, which makes perfect sense given the lack of a true (and healthy, Angel) backup SS on the club. I seriously doubt they are looking at him as a long term plan there.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ May 21, 2013 -> 04:40 PM) Ehh, I don't know. It's kind of hard to judge RP because a lot of the guys are failed starters or develop later. I don't see any Reeds or any guys who will make it the show for SURE. The only current fast-riser, pure reliever is Webb. That is true. But those guys are rare in any system anyway. Most orgs don't draft a lot of pure relievers high in the draft to put them on a fast track.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ May 21, 2013 -> 11:26 AM) Things are a lot bleaker than I would think. With that in mind I really like Webb. That Jason Frasor trade looks great with Jaye and Daniel Webb being the return and progressing in '13. I don't think that the reliever depth is bleak, I think it looks OK. This org has usually had no problems turning these guys into effective relievers at higher levels. And a number of the guys I listed are intriguing, in my view. There are bleak positions in the system, but RP's isn't really one of the bad ones, to me.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:33 AM) Semantics. Quintana increased his fastball speed in the off season. He was around 88 last year and it's up to 90-92 now. Not semantics at all, these are base points to understand when looking at where he may go in development. And Quintana was over 90 last year, the FB faded late as he hit a new innings high. Note also I didn't say it was impossible for him to add velocity, just not likely.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:10 AM) What's the major rap against Taylor Thompson? Simply that he doesn't throw 95-100? There has to be SOME reason why they sent him to the AFL. Honestly, reading what little I have about Thompson's stuff, he's akin to a Kussmaul or Remenowsky, only with less deception. I think he went to AFL for the same reasons Kussmaul did, and Rem would have but for the injury he had that year - to see if they had something in him. They might. QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:30 AM) Why don't you think Castro will make it as a reliever? It is more that I still think he can be an effective starter. His numbers are bad in AAA, but look more closely at the game logs. He has great outings, and really bad ones. I don't think as highly of him as I did, but I am not ready to write him off as a starter just yet.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) I agree. He has great control but he needs to bulk up and increase his speeds. 1. It isn't real likely he'll be adding any speed at this point in his career. 2. Adding pitch speed is often not about bulking up - in fact it is the opposite in many cases.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:39 AM) Axelrod as a starter at the MLB level: 19 games, 108.1 IP, 4.32 ERA, 75 K, 35 BB, 1.33 WHIP, 14 HR Personally, that looks like a 4th starter to me. It's not a large sample size by any means (which his minor league numbers are, and those are phenomenal), but there's enough there for some stabilization. The Sox have a lot of talent in their rotation, but Axelrod really should be in a rotation somewhere in the majors. 4/5 guy, I agree. When I said 6th starter, I just meant that is how he came into the season the past couple years. He could be a rotation staple for another team if the Sox want to move him at some point (not that he'd get a ton back, but, he does have some value).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:07 AM) Axelrod has turned into a pretty damn fine pitcher. For a 6th starter filling in, and a guy who was released and signed as a minor league FA from the scrap heap... yeah, I'd say he's been a very nice acquisition. He's a major league starter.

OK, so if I understand this, I need to pick a 7-man bullpen out of our minors, based on high-side potential, right? I'd go with... Daniel Webb (Closer) Andre Rienzo David Purcey (L) Salvador Sanchez Kevin Vance Cody Winiarski Braulio Ortiz Thoughts on others... --Guys who just missed, for me: Brandon Hardin, Taylor Thompson --Kussmaul and Remenowsky are both tempting, and effectively can be among the "next guys" in Charlotte --I don't think Castro makes sense as a reliever, same with Cose --Santos Rodriguez just doesn't inspire any confidence in me at all. --Petricka just isn't likely to put it together at this point as a pitcher --A bunch of guys now starting in the lower levels, i.e. Hansen and Brennan, could become relievers, but its too early to say This exercise also dismisses the young arms with the MLB club, like Reed, Jones, Omo, etc.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 20, 2013 -> 08:28 PM) He's also still the youngest player in AAA in baseball right? He was on Opening Day, yes. Not sure about today. Just as you can't over-read that .370 AVG in B-Ham, you can't panic too much about his current hitting in AAA as a 21 year old. Give it time. Likely they won't have to make a decision on him until the offseason any way, in terms of whether or not he's ready for the majors.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 20, 2013 -> 02:05 PM) David Goyer, Christopher Nolan. They kind of write good DC flicks That does improve the outlook.

Seperate note... the latest Superman preview sure looks good. Except the director appears to be the guy who did 300. One can only hope they are using a different writer.

Saw the Trek movie, in 3D, and I have to say... not nearly as good as the last one. The flash and dash was good, and at least in 3D was even a little too much to follow. But the plot, much of the acting, story devices, even the dialogue really fell flat, in my view. The snappy feel of the previous movie was partially lost, and the intensity was severely lacking (replaced with loudness, which is not the same thing), except from Cumberbatch who was fantastic. Without him, this was a pretty garbagy movie. I was disappointed. And I echo what some others have said, that I really hope they try to carve some new ground in any future iterations, instead of an entire movie of rehashed plot lines and devices. It was fun, in a shallow popcorn movie kind of way, but didn't even do a great job with that. 2.5 stars.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2013 -> 01:12 PM) IIRC he isn't even the biggest single owner of the White Sox. Is there an echo in here? They're goin' after the lights!

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2013 -> 01:11 PM) Not a good start for Snodgress. His numbers aren't good so far this year, but I feel like he's been in a slow starter in recent seasons. Dude was drafted in 2011. He only HAS recent seasons. Anyway, slow starts, with a guy like that, usually means more like... adjustment periods. He's done Rookie, then A and A+, now AA - he's moving up fast enough that he's likely to hit some speed bumps. We're probably trying to compare him to Johnson, which isn't really fair. Snodgress still has plenty of time to get it dialed in, and they may have him working on some things. With Johnson, they broke down his mechanics and rebuilt them, they may be doing the same with Snodgress.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ May 20, 2013 -> 12:37 PM) Wouldn't mind a flashy owner with a mouth and an attitude. JR is too "loyal" for my liking. Either way, should big changes in the coming years. Why would there be big changes? People seem to forget... not only is Reinsdorff not the only owner of this team, he isn't even the largest one, financially. Or at least he wasn't a few years ago, the last time I saw. His face is out there as the public representative of the ownership group. The face may change, but it seems unlikely that the direction of the franchise changes dramatically. Also, even if JR backs away, he may still retain his stake in the team. So the ownership group may not even change in any significant way, other than JR becoming more of a silent partner.

Snodgress for B-Ham, just getting underway. W-S is off, Charlotte and Kanny play later (Rienzo and Olacio starting).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 17, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) His catching skills are reportedly very bad, but he has a strong arm. I thought so too, but that BA blurb says Average Receiver. I'd take that, with his other skills, in a heartbeat.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 16, 2013 -> 02:44 PM) Seriously, the more and more time passes, the more I put faith into what Law says. QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 16, 2013 -> 03:03 PM) Yeah, the guy is pompous and condescending, but he knows what he's talking about. Him and Jason Parks I think are the best guys in the media right now for prospecting. Pretty much. Much has been made of his bias against the Sox, on here. Part of that is that he's just a sarcastic, negative guy in general, so when taken out of context, you might think he's biased. But I've noticed a change in his tone about Sox draft picks and minor leaguers in the past year or so. That could be a result of improving the system. Or - and I think this may be part of it - there is a different GM in charge. Law, I think, isn't someone who disliked the Sox - he disliked KW. That's one theory. He does still make snide references to Sirotka. In any case, he's a good evaluator worth reading. And at worst, he may harbor a small bias against the Sox, but that seems to be fading for one reason or another.