NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 02:54 PM) FanGraphs once famously said Mike Trout level athlete. More specifically, Nathaniel Stoltz said he was built like Trout physically. Body comp, but not tools comp.

I've only seen him once in person, a couple times on MiLB.tv, and briefly in an ST game on TV. But I've also spoken with people who watch him regularly. His defense is very good - speed is a big help, but he also seems to be pretty efficient to the ball. His arm is pretty strong too, though maybe not as big as sometimes characterized. The main question is, and has been, the hit tool. He made some significant mechanical changes last season. It's not just the AFL - look at his numbers during last year and you see the improvement during the year as well, leading to AFL. If he can make consistent contact, that is huge for him. He already draws some walks. He's a very strong guy, more so than you'd think for a speed demon, so there is raw, untapped power in his frame. Increased contact would allow that to play up. His speed is legit. 70 grade or better. Basically, if he can make consistent contact, he's got the tools to be a legit starting MLB center fielder. That is by no means guaranteed, but it is possible, if things go well. 2016? He could be a September call-up (so that he doesn't burn much service time), to use as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. But I doubt, even under the best circumstances, that his bat will be fully MLB-ready by then.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 10:44 AM) Utah Congressman Wants To Sell America’s 4th Most Popular Wildlife Refuge To Private Developers Sort of sad that a Utah congressman decides this is a good idea. When PR didn't even suggest it.

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 08:36 AM) Anyone ever taken a Sox minors road trip through the South? With new parks in Birmingham and Charlotte it's tempting. I assume the schedule is an issue, but it's probably relatively simple to do Kanny/Charlotte/Winston-Salem, right? The swing over to Birmingham is where it'd get tough, though maybe you could cross the new Braves park off the list while doing it. Some day... I've gone to the NC teams every year for a few years, for FS. Charlotte, Kanny and W-S are all within a little over an hour's drive from each others. Kanny is in the middle. The Charlotte park is fantastic. W-S is actually very nice too. Kanny is fine, it's prototypical A-ball.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 11:01 AM) Isn't Zavala 0-16 with 11 Ks? Straight outta the Tyler Flowers' playbook. lol, Flowers was really good for most of his minor league career. Also, while it's worth noting, it's also still very early on Zavala. QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 11:25 AM) He's been good defensively and has thrown out runners. Keep box score scouting if you'd like though. First sentence is true, and a nice surprise since it was mostly thought his bat was ahead of his defense. 2nd sentence seems kinda harsh though.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 09:15 AM) He's had 28 plate appearances. Let's give him a little more time. His BABIP is an entirely unsustainable .167. If it were the .320 mark he hit last year he would have a .280 batting average right now and we wouldn't be having this conversation. So far this year, albeit a small sample size, his FB% is up, his pull % is up, BB rate is up, K rate is down, pitches per plate appearance is up and his contact rate is up. All positive signs. Let's at least give him a few weeks before we try to magically save our season by calling up the likes of Travis Ishikawa or Jason Coats. For the record, I did say in the article that this wasn't saying it was decision time - but that in a month or two it could be. So this was more a table-setting article. QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 11:02 AM) There isn't an upgrade internally... so sit back relax and strap it down folks. I'd contend there are two or three guys that are upgrades, but that's because I don't think Garcia has improved or will improve demonstrably. I could be wrong, which, would be fantastic in this case. None of the upgrades are huge of course.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 09:19 AM) This is some asinine stuff right here. It is an insult to everyone who works really hard at the page. If it is the way you really think of FS, then you both should find new places to post. Nothing wrong with what Chili posted.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) Was your source your best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw him pass out at 31 Flavors last night? Almost. It was a Ben & Jerry's. It's the 21st century now.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 07:37 AM) Fixed it for you. LOL Future Sox isn't a breaking news site, that's not even our bag. Why in the hell would we pretend we know something? What I can tell you is we got an unconfirmed report, which we won't be breaking with due to considerations for the source (plus the fact that it hasn't been confirmed). The report is nothing sensational either, it's pretty mundane. We are really an access media site. We need good access to do what we do, well. So when there is a question of breaking a story (and a very minor one at that) but potentially burning bridges, we'll pass on reporting it just yet. Pretends. My ass.

Recap posted.

With Avisail Garcia looking more and more like his old self again, one has to ask what happens if he's still like this in a month or two. And if the team can't improve via trade (hard to make those level of trades in April or May), what are the options the Sox have internally, in the short term? Here's a look at the answer to that question. Who would you favor, and why? And how much leash, if any, do you give Garcia? Do you act now, or wait for him to improve and/or prospects to get adjusted in AAA first?

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 05:44 PM) I am thinking it is a personal thing right now. If it was injury related I think we would know I sent him a note via back channel - no response. FWIW. I would ask the Media guy in Charlotte but he tends to ignore those kinds of questions when we send them (the rest of the affiliates would at least tell us they can't respond or something - Charlotte just pretends like we didn't say anything).

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 04:32 PM) But in a purely popular vote, the candidates would literally just hit big cities, which skew heavily Dem anyway, so it makes things 30x harder for the GOP candidate who has to visit far more places in order to galvanize votes than does the Dem candidate, since that person can hit major cities, just GOTV and win. Well first, the election shouldn't be about cost of running in any case. Second, understand fluidity - the parties and state makeups change over time. The rural versus urban discussion is A) Not a Constitutional issue anyway, and B) is only currently stilted the way it is in terms of party bias. It wasn't before, and may not be again in the future. So you don't create laws under any assumptions that way.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 03:53 PM) Why should every vote count equally? EDIT: Won't that disenfranchise people from smaller, more rural states? Farmers? etc? Not sure what you mean here. First, I think every vote should count equally because that is the foundation of representative democracy. Second, not, the current system is what disenfranchises people because anyone in a state that is heavily to one side or the other is basically a non-entity in the election. The purpose of the Electoral College was to protect state powers - not power of people individually. And it is effective in that regard, sort of. But it happens to be my view that they got this wrong. The legislature is already split - full states elect a senator, individual districts elect a house member. I personally think the Presidency, being essentially the only national, elected office, should go to the people. Instead, we get another split, which effectively OVER-franchises rural or small states at the expense of the people. Just my personal view. I'm an individualist. If you want to empower states versus feds, I don't think the Electoral College is the effective way to do so. You instead make sure that federal laws stay within the confines of national interests, interstate commerce, defense, civil rights... the stuff enumerated in the Constitution. I realize this isn't a popular opinion, but I am tired of the Presidential elections being determined entirely by Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) Why should the primaries be purely popular vote based if the general isn't? My personal opinion is that both should be. But neither are, at least not exactly. The electoral college model, as it pertains to the Presidential elections, is in my view decidedly less than democratic and should be abolished in favor of a pure, national popular vote. That is the only way for every vote to count equally. But that just won't happen.

Charlotte @ Norfolk, 5:35CT, Miguel Gonzalez (worth monitoring for sure) Birmingham @ Jacksonville, 6:05CT, Brandon Brennan Winston-Salem @ Myrtle Beach, 6:05CT, Blair Walters (the return) Delmarva @ Kannapolis, 6:05CT, Johnathan Frebis Scoreboard

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 11, 2016 -> 12:33 PM) The Colorado thing is a huge story that no one seems to be talking about. Colorado more or less didn't have a primary then decided Cruz can be their winner and gave him all the delegates without their citizens having a real say. Indiana and whatever is just failing to play the game properly. I think that game is so stupid to begin with, but Colorado took it to a whole new level of corrupt. People should be pissed with the Republican party for spitting in the face of voters. It's not corrupt - the selection of a candidate is a party process, not an election. That said, I agree with you that the ideal model is for all party races to be voted, via primaries, in every state, without any Supers or Nationals or any of the other garbage. I'd certainly prefer that.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 03:13 PM) Kinda like Hillary did in New York. Yup. I'd be all in favor of my state (or any other) passing laws about people at least residing permanently and full-time (or nearly so) in the state before being allowed to run for the legislature or Governor. Maybe a 5 year minimum or something. I don't care as much about the districts, because those tend to change and sometimes people are redistricted into somewhere different, so I can see the argument against requiring it at that level. But you should be a real resident of the state at least.

In case anyone wants some background (now that he's already headed back down, lol), here is his prospect profile on Future Sox.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 10, 2016 -> 07:51 PM) If Eddy Alvarez can't hit n Birmingham it wouldn't shock me to see his release later this summer I can't tell if this is serious. Eddy Alvarez, after missing 3 years of baseball, posts two seasons of phenomenal numbers, and you think he might be released this summer if he struggles in AA? I mean, I get doubting him, but that's patently ridiculous, not to mention he's played all of four games so far.

Recap Posted We don't know a reason for Anderson's absence yet, but we are trying to find out.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 06:45 PM) Ultimately, the grid then starts functioning as a massive battery for the customer, as the amount of energy that may be generated through his rooftop solar only equals his demand about .03% of the time. The other 99.97% of the time, the customer is drawing from the grid or putting energy to the grid. While there is value to the energy this consumer is putting to the grid, just how much that value is is up for debate at the moment. In Nevada, with our proximity to California, I can tap into markets where I can obtain solar MWs coming off of utility scale facilities much more cheaply (or even get paid to take it) than by paying what Solar City is asking me to pay their customers. That is where the battles over net metering have arisen. Interesting stuff. I'd suspect that doesn't mean net metering will disappear, but that the bid/ask spread between power in and power out will widen. The flexibility benefits all involved, but it may be as you guys noted, that it doesn't have as much value as it's being given right now.

Recap posted

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 07:43 PM) Don't like seeing Zangari coming out mid-game. Grazed on the elbow by a pitch. Close enough that the ump said it was a ball at first. Doesn't sounds like a big thing. QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 9, 2016 -> 08:14 AM) I'm not worried about Anderson. He'll need to make some adjustments as he faces more crafty, AAAA types, but I think he will be fine with time. I've been saying for a while, I'd expect some struggles at first, and that's fine.

Recap posted Matt Cooper did well in his first start as a pro. Otherwise kinda crappy starting pitching last night.