southsider2k5

I'd rather see shorter swings and approaches with two strikes to try to generate some sort of contact.

Eh. I think the idea that people who played baseball apparently can't understand launch angles is a bit silly. Apparently someone got to Avi because that was a big focus of his this off season.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 06:24 PM) Stanton is not a super star. But he is kind of a Kenny Williams player, so something like this wouldn't surprise me. But it's the same old story. The team has a dozen holes, but lets's load up the wagon and bring in the "star" The Sox still wouldn't have made the playoffs even if Frazier was the type of player so many thought he was. Lessons never, ever leaned. Heck, we just had a superstar - one a lot better than Stanton - and we traded him. lmao. Nice job of turning a trade proposal by a message board poster into something the Sox actually did.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 23, 2017 -> 05:14 PM) You just don't get this. Robert likely doesn't sign with us unless he can stay in the DR for a certain period of time to maximize the after-tax value of his bonus. No matter how much you whine about it and no matter how many ignorant comments you make about the DR, Robert is staying there until September. This should just autopost every time anything to do with the Robert signing is brought up that is just mindless.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 22, 2017 -> 10:11 AM) Dan Hayes has been very vocally against this. Seems to think he's been very affected by the stuff off the field. Not saying I disagree, but my guess is he knows things we don't. I remember Alexei recently having basically season long struggles over a death.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 21, 2017 -> 09:41 PM) He is getting the best medical attention possible in DR. They have a 12 year old specialist who really knows the ins and outs of the old meniscus. It's really important we get him back on the field so we can continue teaching him the finer points of stealing home. That's what you do with a 19 year old for whom you just forked over $55 Million or so. Did you h ave your robes on to make this post or do they just get in the way while typing?

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 09:31 AM) It just feels like every contending teams outfield is awesome though. Yeah, i can't think of which specific team actually has a need for him.

Even Kevan Smith has been surprisingly not awful.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 05:34 PM) Would you do it with 2 strikes and 2 men on base, 1 in scoring position? When he does that, he isn't doing it for strategy. I think that is the disconnect here. To me he is trying to ingrain the skill into certain guys skill sets so that when they really do need it, they have the ability and count/situation are not something they are thinking about because they will have done it under all circumstances.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 04:52 PM) Who knows with the prospects? The Sox traded what some thought were their besr 3 prospects, or at least 3 of their best for Frazier. Now Montas is getting lit up in Oakland, Trayce makes Frazier"s average seem league leading, and Micah is patrolling CF somewhere in the minors. It seems the few times teams have been burned giving up their top prospects for rentals has ruined it for a lot of guys. Theo and DD are still 2 guys who aren't scared of being burned. None of those three guys equates anywhere near what Rutherford does. The term "prospect" should not imply that all prospects were created equal.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 08:50 AM) I understand. That doesn't mean the deal will be a big win if Clarkin turns into a 5th starter and Rutherford busts. A solid 5th starter is worth more than a stud reliever for sure. It would be interesting to debate whether it is worth more than a good one and a stud one (assuming Kahnle stays a stud)

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 12:21 PM) Nelson Acosta was an under the radar guy I had my eye on after he put up good numbers in the DSL for a few years. Seemingly too advanced for that league and turning 20 in August, I assumed he'd be assigned to a stateside rookie affiliate this season. However, he's repeating the DSL for the fourth straight year and the wheels seem to have come off, as he now has an ERA over 9, a WHIP over 2 and is allowing over 10 walks per 9. My point is, it's difficult to "stat scout" these guys when there's little to nothing else to go off, like actual scouting reports. There is zero point trying to look at numbers a pick pitchers at age 16. These guys are all essentially draft and follows at this stage. I wouldn't worry about any of them until they at least get state side.

QUOTE (maxjusttyped @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 08:43 PM) Asche is up to .351 while hitting for power & drawing a ton of walks. At some point it seems a little ridiculous to keep a 27 year old with a ~180 wRC+ in the minors. When they .100ish in the majors that changes things.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 08:32 PM) Sounds like if Fulmer had spent all of 2016 in A+ and started this year in AA, you'd love him. I don't see how these guys repeating AA or in Stephen's case reaching AA at 24 years old is supposed to be some conclusive proof that Fulmer is an inferior prospect. It's fairly logical to think if we slow-walked Fulmer's development, he'd have a fan club following his AA debut this year with interest. I've been wondering if he might be hurt since about mid-May this eyar, but what seems most clear is the Sox are paying the price for pushing his development timeline harder than was reasonable. Totally this. We need to forget about his numbers for a while, and keep Fulmer in perspective. This is a great post.

QUOTE (maxjusttyped @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 06:36 PM) Cody Asche hitting like Ted Williams is so bizarre. Not if it is AAA.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 02:42 PM) Thank god it's over, finally Just wait for the next few years of "just wait until [insert player(s)] gets here".

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 12:57 PM) But Fangraphs is also a major proponent of ABTR. It's very possible that Kahnle has improved to this new level of performance, but he's am arm injury away from losing all his value even in that scenario, which is the most optimistic one. Considering that ABTR has never applied to the White Sox as much as it does right now, extracting what value could be extracted for Kahnle now was the smart move. It doesn't even have to be that much. It is obvious he had mechanical problems before this season that wasn't allowing him to command the strike zone and consistently repeat delivery and release point. He would go through stretches where he couldn't find the strike zone at all. Could that happen again? I'd say the odds of that are much higher than his ending up in Andrew Miller land. For every Miller there are 50 Neal Cotts who have a fluke stretch or even entire season before imploding back to whence they came. Another factor to think of is that Yankee Stadium tends to destroy a lot of people who might not be ready for those bright lights. I don't know Tommy Kahnle well enough between the ears to be able to guess if he could be one of those people or not, but there isn't a much tougher place to play in all of professional sports, let alone pro baseball than in the Bronx.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 11:11 AM) It should be noted the salary dump was a massive reason this trade was made to the point where Hahn mentioned it twice during his announcement presser. That's the very likely reason why the player return ended up so disappointing, moreso than any Sox players perceived value. This is almost certainly a reverberation from the Robert signing.

I am not thrilled with the end of the return (at least so far) I would have liked at least one more decent guy in this deal, but I am totally on board with the idea behind the deal. Frazier is worth nothing. Robertson had some value. Kahnle is a big wild card in terms of value, and I am thrilled we sold high on him. Relievers are so flukey and inconsistent, especially for a guy that was awful before this season. There is a pretty big chance of regression there. If putting him in the deal is what got the top player upgraded to Rutherford, that is fine with me.

With the news of a scratch, a new thread has been posted on the main page.

#hugwatch

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 17, 2017 -> 09:22 PM) I personally don't agree with this at all. That walk rate is going to catch up with him very soon if he doesn't learn some control. That could well be his undoing. For my two cents, walk rate to young pitchers is a similar metric to K% for young hitters.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 16, 2017 -> 11:30 AM) Including the last two losses, the Sox would have to play .320 ball after the break for 100 losses. That's tough to be that bad. I think 93-96 losses is a fair guess, and hopefully 2nd to 4th pick. But yeah, 5th at worse. Since their 13-10 start, the Sox have played .373 baseball, going 25-42. Once this team trades off the vets, it is going to be really, really ugly.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 17, 2017 -> 09:17 PM) JD Martinez came out of the Tigers game as well. Can't imagine Rizzo would move him for another f***ing bat. Britton didn't pitch in a save situation today.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 17, 2017 -> 06:58 PM) I voted the Birmingham guys cause I think Kopech is going to be a legit ace but damn, good question. I also think Kopech has the highest chances of busting too.