NorthSideSox72

He does get defensive, but I am surprised he blocked you. I once dressed him down on something where he was factually wrong (he laughably suggested that minor league teams were high-profit businesses), we had a big back and forth on Twitter that lots of people reacted to, and in the end we cooled it down. He didn't block me, in fact we interacted multiple times after that.

I never said the guy stinks. And the entire discussion is about what happens on the "actual field". What I am pointing out is mostly that you cannot get a reliable read on the future of a player just by looking at a slash line. Anyone who scouts players will tell you this. Context of the performance is important, as are position and defensive ability. Enjoy what he's doing! Really, that is a good thing. But if we are talking about MLB potential, it cannot be just about a minor league player's core numbers.

Well, he's not worthless. He's a solid choice for a AAA backup in case of injuries, and meanwhile some lower tier team desperate for a power bat might be interested in him and that can help you get a reliever at the deadline or whatever. And there is that tiny chance he actually turns into something valuable - a chance another team that doesn't already have a host of better C and 1B options might be willing to take. Collins I think can slot well in like an Evan Gattis role (sort of) where he catches sometimes, but also DH's and can play first (assuming he can work out some swing issues). Yermin can be the emergency backup to that very role.

I think we need to pump the breaks a bit on Yermin. First of all, he's a DH who maybe, occasionally, can catch at the MLB level. Hahn is talking up his defensive skills but in my viewing, and talking with people who have also seen him, they consider him a non-prospect behind the plate. He's pretty bad there. Also, he's built like a beer league softball player, which usually (though not always) doesn't bode well for the future of a guy who is 27 years old. So I just don't see him having much ceiling room there. And no he's not a 3B. Not sure about 1B but there is a traffic jam there anyway. So what role does he play? As a DH prospect, he would need to be a world-beater at the plate in the minors. He's spent 9 years getting to AAA, so I would be very skeptical of his numbers. Watching him hit, yeah he certainly can hit, maybe even competently in the majors. But I am not sure he rises to the level of professional DH prospect because that is such a high bar. I personally would try to use him as trade bait. There is always a slim chance that stings later, but more likely he's not going to be a significant contributor in the majors.

I knew this would be a rebuilding year for Iowa State, but yeesh. Not only not an NCAA tourney team, I don't think they will even get an invite to one of the minor tournaments.

I assume you looked into this already, but, are you sure there isn't a mass transit option? You are talking about a med/pharma company, and I know a few of those around the north burbs. ALL of them have shuttles to/from Metra stations, and some are also on bus routes.

Post-season is soooo different than regular season. 2005 I went to G1 of the ALDS when the crushed the Sawx, then was at the "AJ game" in the ALCS, and G2 of the WS. Those are by far the best. Blackout game in 2008 too. Regular season is harder, but three older games jump out: The "seat cushion game" where the Sox almost had to forfeit an actual MLB game because of seat cushions. The game also included a 3-run Pinch-Home-Run (Jerry Hairston) and a ridiculous catch by Daryl Boston. It was insane. Article here. What's not in the article is that they were actually saying over the the PA that if it continued happening, the Sox would have to forfeit. Sox down 8-4 going to bottom of 9, score 6 runs capped by a Gary Redus Grand Slam to win it. Box score. I was at Opening Day of the new ballpark in April of 1991. That was a really cool experience, even though the Sox got their asses handed to them in the game.

Rutherford certainly can hit the ball hard. And I have seen him hit some rockets into the seats in BP. But his swing is just not tuned for much loft. That plus his marginal abilities in center continue to give me pause. If he can make improvement in either game power or defensive ability around CF, he can be an MLB starting prospect. Until then he looks like a 4th outfielder to me, at ceiling. He still reminds me a lot of Ryan Sweeney.

This is turning into a FIlibuster thread, and we closed that forum for a reason. The politics stops, here and now.

I'm glad to see so many people supporting FutureSox with that $2 a month. It's damn cheap for some pretty darn good content. I do understand that people all got used to getting most or all of their news content for free, sports or otherwise. But that model just isn't sustainable anymore. I think everyone here gets that. One other reason the $2 a month is good, by the way... while no one will make a living writing for FutureSox, the content on the site is only as good as the writers who create that content. And to get and keep the best writers, being able to pay them a little bit gives FutureSox a much better chance. They have to get new ones all the time in part because a number of them go on to full time paying gigs. Examples of FS writer destinations in just the last few years: 2 MLB clubs, Baseball Prospectus, Hardball Times, NBC Sports, NowThis, 670 The Score, and Boras Corp. Writers who make those leaps are special, and having FS be a viable step along that path is part of what allows it to succeed.

I could be wrong, but I think there is a way to opt to give more in the form when you subscribe. But one of the guys/gals currently running the shop would need to answer for sure. @Rankin ?

You can actually get deeper into total pitches seen, S&B numbers, and then come up with rates. So it doesn't just have to be K and BB rates. But, K and BB rates get you a final result. Number of pitches seen per AB are important too, but in a different way. I think his load puts him in a flinchy place where he won't come out at the ball consistently. I also think, even after a couple years of tweaks, he's going to be behind significant heat because of the total load. Mind you I only saw him a few times in 2019, and it's possible he's quickened it up and I missed it.

OK so we want to go with a different measure than the home runs and walks you previously argued? I am not a fan of average exit velo myself. Obviously the harder you hit the ball the better, but that's in any given struck ball. Averages, even slotted into groups, don't tend to tell the story with enough reliability. And your stats leave out the fact that Collins just fails to make contact, far more often than Sheets. You can like Collins better as a prospect, for a number of reasons. But saying Sheets doesn't hit home runs or walk and Collins does is just not accurate.

Sheets hit 16 HR last season while playing his home games in a power-sapping park, and drew walks north of 10%, while playing (slightly) younger than league average age and in his second full pro season. The walk rates have been consistently there, and he has a power track record in college that is just now translating. Yes, he can, do both. He also strikes out far less often than Collins, who has some serious mechanical issues as a hitter. If you believe Collins can't catch and is really a 1B/DH, then putting Sheets above him or similar to him is not outlandish. I personally would still have Collins higher, but not by much and that's because I think there is still a chance he can do some catching as part of his presence on a roster.

The Google thing, sadly, can't be changed by FS. It will just shift over time as the new site gets hits. But good point about the sign-off article, I'll tell the guys to update that now that the new site is up.

I believe the Cubs are playing in London this year, some real games. There is a pro circuit in the UK, and more rec play is happening, but it is all still very minor over there. I've spent a fair amount of time in London on business and asked people, and most are fully unaware of the sport even being played there. Not sure about the rest of Europe, though I know there are some leagues in The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.

This was one of the reasons for the move. Not the biggest one, but we did actually get like 1-2% of our traffic from Europe, and that disappeared at the beginning of 2018 when TribCo screwed the pooch on that stuff. Also, FS now has a writer who in fact resides in Europe, which could not have happened on CN.

Remember: if you have a bookmark for the site, you will need to update it, as it is no longer chicagonow slash futuresox, it is just futuresox dot com.

FutureSox has migrated off the ChicagoNow blog network, officially, as of last night. The website is all-new. Here it is. There are still some tweaks being made, it's not in final target state, but it's up and running and already looks and feels a heck of a lot better than the CN version did. No ads at present, and any ads that come later will be non-intrusive. Give a crawl around, try some categories, read a couple articles, and comment with your thoughts so far on the new site! I can pass that info on to the right people.

Zaleski on quite the rise. He's also one of my favorite trivia answers. At the time he retired from pitching, he had spent 11 seasons in the White Sox minor league system (and no other system). I could not find in B-Ref another modern ballplayer with any org to spend that many years with just one team and NOT reach the majors.

By the way, for any of the lawyers or people who are interested in the law generally, I highly recommend the Lowering the Bar blog. Writer is a lawyer who shares amusing legal stories he finds, peppered with a wonderful sense of humor.

Keep in mind that non-competes are, in the main, unenforceable. The only path available for companies in the criminal sense is protection of trade secrets and the like, which they would have whether you left or not. On the civil side, they virtually never chase on that stuff because it does no good and they would almost always lose. What happens functionally is, if they are jerks about it, they can make your life difficult in going elsewhere in the way they respond to other companies on employment checks etc. But most companies don't play that game either. In other words, I wouldn't worry much about it as long as you don't bring something proprietary to bear for the new firm.

Notre Dame playing Iowa State in a bowl game. The team I grew up rooting for (come on, I'm a Chicago Irish Catholic) versus my alma mater. I don't watch a lot of football anymore, but will definitely need to watch this one. Also fun trivia, these two schools have never played each other in football. Ever. Notre Dame has played every other school in the Big 12 multiple times.

Here to give a nod to Jimmy about Stiever. James was all over Stiever as a sleeper from the draft on, and that helped push him into the T30 list right away when other sites didn't list him. Now BA has him 6th. That's a hell of a rise.

Brian made some connections, and was close with Dave from Barstool, and they did indeed trot out insider stuff at times. Sometimes they were right and got it first, sometimes they were wrong. That is, as you say, the name of the game. Feel free to point it out. I think I just always saw FutureSox as a collection of independent voices - none of us did it for a living, and had our own voices and lives outside of it. So they are separate to me, unless FS published the info in some way. You can disregard it. Or not. Whatever. Just be aware that, regardless of how many Twitter followers he has, Mike not only has connections made through FutureSox, he also works professionally in baseball. They guy has much deeper connections than the great majority of "random" twitter posters. Doesn't mean he will necessarily be right of course.