NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 08:35 PM) O'Connell released? Or he's in camp in AZ. I haven't seen word of a release, but might have missed it.

Recap from last night Tonight's games... Charlotte @ Durham, 6:05CT, Erik Johnson starting Birmingham @ Jacksonville, 6:05CT, Carson Fulmer starting Winston-Salem @ Lynchburg, 5:30CT, Matt Cooper starting Hickory @ Kannapolis, 6:05CT, Ryan Riga starting Scoreboard Should be a fun set, pitching-wise. Key depth guy, #2 prospect in the org, and two guys just moving into starting roles.

By the way, that recap was written by our newest writer, MDL27 (Matt L). The recap team this year will include him, Rob (southside hitman) and Daniel (Quinarvy), with occasional jump-in help from myself and Dan (danman31).

Recap posted

Recap will be posted pretty soon.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 8, 2016 -> 08:24 AM) Well, I see your point. I think that has 100% to do with it being a Disney operation. Eh, here's the thing. Even in the original movies (Ep 4-6), while it was certainly male-dominated, the lead female (Leia) had some badass traits. Now Ridley, who is kind of part of a dual-lead so far. Now we have what appears to be a truly lead female character. I'd say it's in-line with the evolutionary arc.

One of the things I thought was interesting for these opening days was, there are guys I was pretty sure were just org bench players who got starts: --OF Hunter Jones not only starter for W-S, he led off. --Gerson Montilla started at 3B, and batted third for them as well - in place of Ryan Leonards --Louis Silverio, who has never played as a starter in the minors, started in LF over Landon Lassiter (who is a prospect, albeit a marginal one) --Josh Richmond and Marcus Lemon both started for BHAM, leaving Keenyn Walker on the bench (well, maybe Walker really has fallen that far) May not mean anything. Richmond hasn't played since 2014 so they may just have wanted to get him rolling. Maybe other guys are banged up a bit. But it will be interesting to watch the next few days.

Omar Narvaez picked a guy off at first. Threw another guy out stealing. Narvaez loves the back pick. Throws behind runners at first pretty regularly. I think he's got an interesting profile - not a starter most likely, but I think there's a chance he's an MLB backup C.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 03:12 PM) Cumberbatch? Have not seen anything about him being in this film. QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 04:28 PM) He isn't. I watched the preview on my phone. Got a closer look at who I was seeing, and correct, it is not Cumberbatch. But that is definitely Forest Whitaker.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 12:31 PM) It will be really nice when the actual storage mechanisms get cheaper. Tesla / Solar City's current product, why better than what existed previously, is still not that good, but once you get to the point you can store the power, you can technically be off the grid and energy sufficient (by and large) and that is a pretty nice concept. I figure 5 to 7 years is plenty for the tech to mature quite a bit. But even before then, ComEd allows Net Billing. So you can push surplus during the day and get a rate back (which is a little below the pull rate) on what you push, and then pull as needed at night. That will all be part of my math, when I get to it.

I'm excited how quickly the cost of solar tech for homes, and the cost of commercial production of wind and solar energy, are going down. Becomes more practical every day. In about 5 to 7 years, which is when I'll need to start thinking about replacing roof shingles on the house, I'll be sitting down to do the math on Solar Shingles and see what the differential cost, energy production, savings and payback period look like.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 7, 2016 -> 10:56 AM) I'm surprised I'm the only one who didn't like the trailer. It looks fine, but absolutely nothing about that is stand out. Compare that to the Ep. 7 trailer and it's miles apart. I guess we're at the point where people will go gaga over anything new in the Star Wars world. This looks mediocre. The trailer was pretty good, but I can see why it wasn't a WOW or anything. That said, before the trailer, I was more psyched for this movie than any of the other episodic pieces. A Star Wars offshoot that's a spy thriller, minus most of the Jedi magical stuff and more grit? With a cast including guys like Forest Whitaker and Benedict Cumberbatch? And a female lead? Definitely in for that.

Finally... 2016 Charlotte Knights (Class AAA) A few prospects, and a lot of emergency depth. Should be a lot of high scoring games on both sides in Charlotte this year. Their park, by the way, is fantastic. Highly recommend catching a game there if you can.

Charlotte @ Durham, 5:05 CT, Carroll starting Birmingham @ Jacksonville, 6:05 CT, Danish starting Winston-Salem @ Lynchburg, 5:30 CT, Adams starting Hickory @ Kannapolis, 6:05 CT, Martinez starting Scoreboard Link

Next up... 2016 Birmingham Barons (Class AA) These guys are loaded. 11 of the Top 30 prospects on one club. Should be fun to watch. But note the position change on the infield - that was unexpected. Probably not permanent though.

Birmingham will go up today, Charlotte tomorrow. Meanwhile... Winston-Salem released their starting rotation. Adams, Stephens and Lowry are in it of course. So is Blair Walters, no surprise there either. But the last one is interesting: Matt Cooper. This could be because they see him as a potential starter - he was in college. And he did put on velocity as last year went on. But the Sox also sometimes pick key reliever prospects, and have them convert to starting for a year or two to get more innings, even if they know they are likely a reliever. We (Future Sox) ranked Cooper 29th, he wasn't on anyone else's lists or even in their "others" mentions, so kinda cool we keyed on something that others didn't. Cooper has some unusual qualities. First, he's an extreme overhand guy. Second, his two main offspeed pitches - the curve and change - are delivered at the same velocity (and from the same delivery). Added to his downhill plane from the OH delivery, it means those two pitches look identical until right before the plate, when the curve breaks glove-side and the change fades arm-side. The combo, along with a low 90's fastball that tails a bit, seems to work well.

Wisconsin is done, plus those extra Louisiana delegates Cruz grabbed somehow. Things that have changed are in bold face. BASELINES Total GOP delegates: 2,472 Party-level delegates - unbound: 168 So, voting-linked delegates: 2,304 50.00001% of 2,304 is rounded to 1,153 Total ending delegates to clinch: 1,237 Delegates to clinch a convention-proof nomination: 1,321 CURRENT STANDINGS - total so far: 1,591 awarded (69.1% of voting-linked total) (leaving off the uncommitted/supers for now) (WI, projected last 6 as 3:3) Trump: 744 Cruz: 517 (includes 6 in CO which is partially complete) Kasich: 144 ---out... Rubio: 171 Carson: 8 Bush: 4 Fiorina: 1 Huckabee: 1 Paul: 1 PERCENT OF REMAINING DELEGATES NEEDED FOR CONV-PROOF MAJORITY (715 voting-linked delegates remaining) Trump: 577 delegates (80.7% of total) Others: mathematically impossible PERCENT OF REMAINING DELEGATES NEEDED FOR REGULAR MAJORITY (715 voting-linked delegates remaining) Trump: 493 delegates (68.9% of total) Others: mathematically impossible 566 of the remaining 715 voting-linked delegates are WTA, so 149 proportional delegates of some form (though some of those are Winner Take Most, which is a hybrid of sorts). Now, using recent national polls from March among the remaining candidates among LV (and I spread the few % points of undecideds proportionally), you get these likely proportional outcomes... DELEGATE COUNTS PLUS REMAINING PROPORTIONAL USING % ABOVE... Trump (applying 47% to remaining prop and totalling): 744 + 70 = 814 Cruz (39%): 517 + 58 = 575 Kasich (24%): 144 + 36 = 180 NEED TO WIN IN WTA STATES TO CLINCH PRIOR TO NOMINATION Trump: Must win 507 of 566 delegates for convention-proof, Must win 423 of 566 for regular majority number from voting-linked delegates Everyone else: Mathematically impossible if proportional trends continue Basically, if Cruz and/or Kasich win any one 1 of CA, NY or IN... or any 2 of CA, NY, IN, CT, NJ, MD, NE, WA... or any 3 of the 17 states remaining... it's a contested convention. Note that Colorado and North Dakota are among the non-linked and still underway. WILDCARDS --Most of the remaining contests are in one of these regions: west coast (which probably best aligns with a moderate like Kasich), northern plains (probably Cruzville), and portions of the northeast (Trump mostly, but PA could like Kasich). Regionality is key now. The south is basically done except WV, and there are a few left in the mountain west. UP NEXT Hitting another 2-week slot spot, then we get some key ones, many of which are Trump wheelhouses... APRIL 19: New York (95)... Last poll: Trump 52%, Cruz 21%, Kasich 20% APRIL 26: Pennsylvania (71, but 54 unbound)... Last poll: Trump 39%, Cruz 30%, Kasich 24% Maryland (38)... No polls in the last month Connecticut (28)... No polls this YEAR RI (19)... No polls in last month Delaware (16)... No polls at all

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 6, 2016 -> 08:45 AM) I didn't ask who was 3rd lol. I was asking who your favorite prospect is not named Fulmer or Anderson. Mine is Trey M. I like Adams a lot too. Edit: sorry I'll ask this on future sox threads. Nothing to apologize for. Just that Adams is pretty clearly the third best in the system right now, so most people would answer him. You might get more variance if you asked for, say, the prospect people feel is the most underappreciated / under-ranked.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 5, 2016 -> 08:22 PM) Adams is the clear #3 in the system as of today. The questions really come after that. Exactly.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 5, 2016 -> 07:16 PM) It makes zero sense. This is like saying "this team that was left out of the ncaa tourney could have won it all". If they could have won it all, they would have been in the tournament Well... 1. I don't think Kasich wins a general. But... 2. This analogy doesn't work. A general election is vastly different than a primary. The candidate that does best in a party primary is not necessarily who will do best in a general election.

Next up... 2016 Winston-Salem Dash (Class A Advanced) The front of the rotation, and the late inning relievers, look quite good. The offense... not so much. Lots of low-scoring games probably in store here, despite playing in a hitter-friendly park. Who do y'all like on this squad?

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 5, 2016 -> 03:34 PM) Who? Gona look him up O'Dowd will replace O'Connell as the backup C in Winston-Salem. Apparently they like Irish catchers.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 5, 2016 -> 12:41 PM) Good stuff. Kanny's lineup looks solid. You have Casey Schroeder listed as an OF. Is he done behind the plate? Typo on Schroeder - I explain in the article, he's splitting time with Zavala at catcher, but I mistyped in the list. Thanks, I fixed it. Was probably thinking of Fish. QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 5, 2016 -> 12:44 PM) Also, do you have confirmation of Cruz at SS? He's the best prospect of the three guys, but he played 3B last year for the most part and I know they like Mendick's game at SS. I do have confirmation from the org, as of the winter at least, that he was headed back to shortstop. Things could change of course, but that was what I was told.

I've pinned a thread in PHT for links to the FS affiliate previews. Kanny is up already, W-S later today or tomorrow morning. BHAM and Charlotte Wednesday and Thursday.

The affiliates have begun releasing their rosters. I'll put the links to the Future Sox team previews for each of the four full season teams in this thread. First up... 2016 Kannapolis Intimidators (Class A) While I know Birmingham will have most of the focus in terms of prospect heaviness, Kanny is my personal favorite this year for the team to watch. The others will be released over the next few days and linked here.