NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (PolishPrince34 @ Jul 17, 2012 -> 05:59 AM) Cause for Concern-Barnum has missed the last 19 games because of a shoulder injury. Any news on his progress and to the extent of his injury. I've asked around on that as well, not getting an answer yet.

I'd prefer Lillibridge to Hudson, who is really only going to cover 2B well, doesn't hit much, and doesn't run well anymore. With Escobar on the roster, Hudson is just not useful.

QUOTE (Indy_Soxer @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 02:52 PM) Been following Grabe for the past week. How did we get him at 24th? Is he just having an outstanding season and will drop off, is his ceiling too low? seems to be doing very well, albeit in the appy league. Just seems like we got a steal with him so far. Its early to make a judgment. Certianly its great to see him doing well, but it is probably too early to get super-excited for a guy drafted in the 24th. Once he hits A ball (probably next season), if he is raking, it will be time to take notice.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 02:02 PM) You have a problem with a .385 obp replacing a .278 obp? When the guy with the .385 OBP also has a 50 point lower OPS and makes a ton of useless outs on the bases? Yes I do. That's not even to mention that Viciedo is a developing player, with Pierre is a fading player. Or the fact that Viciedo is already a better LF than Pierre is. Or the fact that Viciedo is FREE because the team already has him. Or the fact that Viciedo's potential is so much higher.

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 12:16 PM) Did everyone see the Ozzie/Bryce Harper nonsense? Oh my...so glad he's gone far away from this team. He's the definition of a toxic personality Not sure why this is related to the game thread, but... what happened?

I doubt any team will give the Cubs better than Axelrod-Mitchell-Fireballer or Axelrod-Hernandez-Fireballer. And if they do, they are overpaying, so they can have him. That's all I'm saying.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 11:39 AM) If the Sox were trading a pitcher like Dempster and all KW got back was Dylan Axelrod, Jared Mitchell, and an A ball pitcher who throws hard, I think I might throw up. If the Sox had Dempster, a free-agent-to-be in 2.5 months, and had one of the worst records in baseball, and with no compensation coming for his exit... I think you'd be a lot more upset if the Sox didn't trade him at all. Or you should be.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) You wrote that maybe Axelrod and Mitchell could get you Dempster. I strongly disagree with that. I'm sure there is a team that views Dempster as the difference between winning a division or not and that is what will push his price higher than Axelrod and Mitchell. That was one of the scenarios, yes. Maybe Axelrod, Mitchell and one of those boom/bust low level pitching prospects. But we'll see. There are a fwe teams out there looking to add starting pitching, and a few teams looking to shed it, and with the new rules, I just don't see teams paying out the nose for a 2.5 month rental of any one player.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 03:44 PM) Where do you guys for auto loans? I'd like to be able to go to a dealer with at least a different financing option in hand, but I don't have much of a credit history since I am fresh out of college but I figured this would be a good time to start that credit history anyways. I do know that my credit score is >750. Check first all your own financial institutions - anywhere you have accounts already, as they will probably give you a discounted rate. Check credit unions too. But ultimately, at least for a new car, you will probably find that right now, the dealer financing rates will beat anything you bring in the door. But bring something in the door anyway.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:56 AM) Not unless you consider Wilkins or Ravelo legitimate 3B prospects. Wilkins hasn't been a 3B in quite a while. Carlos Sanchez has been playing some 3B, but I'd be hesitant to trade him. Ravelo, and possibly down the line Saladino (if he has to move), are possible not neither are elite. Pitching down at AA or below, guys like Erik Johnson stick out, but again, not elite.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:19 AM) Any team looking for a starter can easily beat a Axelrod/Mitchell package. I'd think Castro or Rienzo have to go as part of a package to get a pitcher of quality. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:20 AM) Like I said earlier, I think because of the new compensation rules, prices might be a little lower than they have in the past. QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:21 AM) Sure, but Axelrod has zero value. Marty, if you read my post, I pointed our Axelrod as a "placeholder". The prospects are the meat of the trade, Axelrod is just there to hold down a rotation spot and eat innings on a last place team. And as SS2K5 pointed out, Dempster gets the Cubs nothing at the end of the season. So how much does 2.5 months of Dempster cost? Not a whole lot, and I doubt many teams will be willing to part with any truly elite pitching talent in return. That would make no sense.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 08:58 AM) I think a good selection for the AFL could be Rienzo, Salvador Sanchez, Saladino, Bellamy, Carlos Sanchez QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2012 -> 09:02 AM) [/b] Real good choices/guesses. All three have real good reasons to go. Walker might also be a good candidate after missing some time this year. Yeah, good list. Rienzo missed some time, same with Walker, so I can see both of them. Both Sanchez's make sense. Saladino has some things to prove, but he's still pretty young, so I'm not as sure there, and Bellamy they want to control his innings I'd imagine. Some other names to consider... Shoemaker is making a case for being an actual prospect, and they want to challenge him, so he could go. Has Nestor Molina gone before? If not, and if he misses significant time, he might go. Santos Rodriguez might go, he's been improving as the year has gone on. Kussmaul or Remenowsky maybe, in the not-sure-if-prospect category of relievers they always seem to send one of. Andy Wilkins has a lot to prove too, he's a possibility. If I had to guess 6, I'd go; Rienzo, Walker, C Sanchez, S Sanchez, Shoemaker, S Rodriguez.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jul 15, 2012 -> 09:07 PM) I think the package to bring Dempster to the Sox is Castro, Jones and a low level prospect... That would be overpaying, and I don't think it will take that much to get him. We're talking about 2.5 months of a pitcher, even if he is a really, really good one right now. I'll stick with what I've been saying all along - he can probably be had for a placeholder in the rotation (i.e. Axelrod), a close-to-ready prospect not named Castro (Perdro Hernandez comes to mind), and possibly some boom/bust or lower level guy. Alternately, maybe Axelrod plus Mitchell. But no way on Castro (the Sox' best current pitching prospect) AND Jones (A good young reliever already in the majors), AND another prospect.

Walker's OPS this season, month by month: .675, .716, .894, 1.016. K rate dropped over time too. You know who might be a semi-surprise pick to go to the AFL? The much-talked-about Brady Shoemaker. Since being promoted to AA: .293/.431/.561/.992. Just sayin'.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 04:05 PM) Yeah but we also had B-Mac, Dan Hudson, and Gio Gonzalez in our system too all relatively young, when it comes to pitching as long as the Wsox aren't taking the safe first round college picks I think they know what they are doing, it is the hitting scouting and development in the minors that has been seriously lacking. Agreed. But I will say they shocked some people with the number of younger (high school or early college) position players they took in this most recent draft... and they have a handful of boom/bust toolsy athletes, particularly outfielders, making their way through the system (Mitchell, Thompson, Walker), so we may see some change in that area over the next year or two. There are three or four infielders who just entered the system this year (draft and NDFA) that are tearing it up as well (DeMichele, Micah Johnson, Grabe, Jirschele), in the very early stages. Some fun stuff to watch.

QUOTE (PolishPrince34 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 03:50 PM) I don't ever really remember hearing Shelby and Harris being considered future starters. They had high hopes on Richar, but was a complete bust. Shelby was pretty highly considered early in his development. But he seriously stalled out.

This should maybe be in PHT?

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 11:48 AM) My impression is that guaranteeing college education is just about par for the course, almost regardless of round. Either the team or MLB needs to not f*** these kids' future by taking the leap to the pro's. Excited by Ayala. Great pickup. I'd be shocked if it was par for the course in the lower rounds. I mean, after round 20, these guys are all getting flat $1,000 bonuses or similar. A college education could cost 100 times that. At that point, that's not a benny anymore, it IS the bonus.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 11:16 AM) It's amazing though how much quicker Dunn's bat speed was earlier in the year. I think that is intentional on his part. He's been quoted saying he felt like he was swinging too hard, getting ahead of pitches. If he's right, the approach should eventually help him, but he has to get the timing down.

Didn't play for a little over a month, with the arrival of a new kid. Got back to it this week, was worried about being rusty... had my best hitting game of the year: double, triple, single*, walk. The double hit the fence, I was about 4 feet short of a HR. Hilarious moment though... the other team's best player is their left fielder, huge bat and seemed to be very good defensively. My asterisk-single... I hit a line drive that was headed down the line, but he managed to cut it off, so I stopped after a big turn past 1B... then, inexplicably, when he went to throw the ball in, it must have slipped out because his throw looped out of his hands towards the 3B line fence (he was trying to throw to 2B) and went bouncing into no man's land. Ended up on third. I could almost call that another triple, but, that would be pretty cheap.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 09:36 AM) White Sox draft highlights... All top 10 picks are signed, plus all picks through round 12. The White Sox draft allotment of $5,915,100 was spent down to the last dollar. Current the Tigers are the only other team that can say that. 9 of the 30 teams have spent over their allotment. The White Sox have signed 31 of their 41 picks. Unsigned picks 13 (411). Derek Thompson, LHP, John A. Logan College, IL 15 (471). Jordan Guerrero, LHP, Moorspark Highschool, CA 29 (891). Jason Coats, LF, TCU, TX 33 (1011). Jon Savarise, LHP, Stevenson HS, IL 34 (1041). Ryan Castellanos, RHP, Archbishop McCarthy HS, FL 35 (1071). Kyle Martin, RHP, Texas A&M, TX 36 (1101). Mitch Patishall, RHP, Pendleton Heights HS, IN 38 (1161). DeJohn Suber, SS, Morgan Park HS, IL 39 (1191). Mitch Glasser, 2B, Macalester College, MN 40 (1221). Sam Mason, RHP, Beverly Hills HS, CA I really like the Sox draft this year. The new rules helped them, I like the choices they made, the extra supplemental pick is big, and they signed their only major over-slot (Ayala). Signed 26 of their top 28, just missing 15 and 17. Maybe one of those two signs last-minute. They guys from 29 out really don't mean much to me.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 09:04 PM) I miss my sports car and I want a new one....now I can afford one... Anyone get any nice sports coupes recently? Opinions? I'm dreaming of an Audi TT RS right now....gulp... Maybe I am confusing you with someone else... didn't you just, like a few months ago, go through a huge, painful death march of a car buying experience before finally getting what you wanted? Now you want to replace it already? QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 07:15 AM) Don't buy new cars because they depreciate about 15% the minute you drive them off the lot. Have had 8 different GM and Chrysler vehicles in the past and have had major mechanical problems with every single one. Most recently have had two Toyota vehicles with no problems at all. We're hooked on Toyotas for life. Right now, I'd strongly recommend (for most people) a new car over a used one. Used car prices are, relative to new, more expensive now than they have ever been. Interest rates on car loans are absurdly low, you can typically get a new car at zero to two percent if you have decent credit - used cars are more, if you have to finance. Add to that the fact that warranties keep getting better and fuel economy (due to CAFE standards) keeps being upped with each new car model iterance... to me, new is the way to go. The way to avoid losing a ton of money into depreciation is not buy an expensive car (which depreciate much faster, with a few exceptions), and be careful what brands/types you buy. Toyota and Honda, for example, hold their value extremely well. So do hybrid models.

For a 2.5 month rental of Dempster, especially when his health has been a small issue this year... I think he can be had for a partial money deal (Cubs pay $3M, Sox pay $3M, or the like), and giving them two players: a placeholder starter (i.e. Dylan Axelrod), and a decent pitching prospect (any of the Sox starter talent in the minors other than Castro, maybe even two of them if they are boom/bust types).

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 13, 2012 -> 05:51 AM) Man, what happened to Bellamy and Infante? (I know that they're still in the system, but what caused to to fall so much?) Infante just hasn't been that good at the upper levels, and hasn't added much to his tool box other than velocity. Bellamy had surgery and missed some time, now he's back, so I wouldn't count him out just yet.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 04:50 PM) Yeah but that's kind of true from most UD seats, I've found. It IS really hard to tell: is that going out or an easy pop? So that is one legit thing about UD--it's hard to gauge wear that ball is going, depth-wise. QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 12, 2012 -> 04:52 PM) Yes, and you wind up cheering like an idiot for what turns out to be an easy out. Made me feel like a Cubs fan. I don't find that to be the case at all, as long as you are near the front of the UD and somewhat near home plate. If you are down the lines or way up the stairs, then yeah.