Lillian

Perhaps last night's decision to leave Lopez in the game was a "teaching moment". Renteria stated that they wanted to see if he could find a way to get out of the jam. He said that Lopez can usually "muster a little more". Especially with McCann catching him, I think that they were trying to give Reynaldo an opportunity to work out of trouble. It's part of the development of a young pitcher. The only question I have is how that could be even plausible, when his command was so bad. He just couldn't locate his pitches. Nevertheless, it is a year, in which developing the young players should take precedence over winning. Lopez has a lot of talent and could be a key piece in the starting rotation. We have to trust Cooper, Hassler and Renteria to oversee that development. I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to think that I could do it better. It's frustrating to us, as fans, because we want to win, but the coaching staff's priority may be different. If development is a higher priority than winning the game, then the decision to leave him in doesn't look quite so foolish.

Actually, I stated several times, that I preferred Harper to Machado. Nevertheless, neither one of them are living up to their contracts, It's early, but it isn't looking good.

Who, in this year's Draft, would be a good "sleeper" candidate, based upon this market inefficiency?

You have identified a very plausible "market inefficiency". I wonder how many front offices take that factor, into consideration.

You're right, but he's all we've got. That's why I'm hoping that they give Palka another shot.

He's there because he's the only left handed, power bat the Sox have. And you all wonder why I obsess over the need for a middle of the order, left handed bat. Well, that is your answer; so we don't have to watch Yonder's total ineptitude. This organization has long stated that it was a need, but they have not managed to find the right player. More ineptitude and it's getting pretty tiresome. And, the next impact bat, that will likely join this lineup is Robert, another RH hitter. I'm guessing that they are still hopeful that Alonso gets back to what he has been the last couple of years, which would be acceptable. But, I'm not holding my breath. In any case, at some point they will have to deal with the possibility that his option vests.

Abrams' best tool is his speed. The problem is that the game has moved away from stealing bases and bunting. It's now all about hitting the ball out of the park. That is not the kind of game, which I would prefer, but unfortunately, that is what it has become. Moreover, he may lose a step, when he fills out. He is a very lean youngster and if he is going to get bigger and stronger, so that he can develop more power, he'll likely sacrifice some speed. I don't know about this one. Seems like a long shot to me. Now, Witt is another story. There is a SS with all of the tools to be a big impact player. I still rank them 1) Rutschman, 2) Witt, 3) Bleday.

The best reason to believe that McCann's offensive performance is not a fluke, is that he has made some very wise adjustments, which are, not surprisingly, producing good results. His taking fast balls up the middle, or the opposite way, and pulling the off speed pitches, together with his practice of choking up on the bat, with 2 strikes, are fundamentally sound approaches. Again, he is not going to hit .340, but I think he will be a productive hitter. That, coupled with his defence, make him a very appealing option, to be the catcher, going forward. Well, I guess I've said all that before, but it bears repeating, for those who insist that it's too early to believe that he is anything more than the scrub, who played for the Tigers. I want to extend him, because I want him to be the primary backstop, for this rebuild. That is, of course, unless Rutschman miraculously falls to us, in the Draft. If we wait, until he reaches free agency, at the end of next year, this front office may balk at paying him, what the market commands. It wouldn't hurt to have him be Collin's mentor, either. Collins has a lot to learn, to become a good Major League catcher. The Sox have a very young pitching staff, and will need a good, smart catcher, to help them realize their potential.

The reason is to avoid having to pay him, when he becomes a free agent, after next season. Now is the time to lock him up, on an affordable contract, if he is willing to sign one.

Well, I said it before, but I'll say it again; extend McCann. He isn't going to hit .340, but he has convinced me that he should be our catcher, going forward. We are going to need 2 catchers anyway, and he certainly qualifies to be one of them. If Collins should develop and prove that he is a number one catcher, McCann could still be his back up. However, I doubt that Collins will bring enough to the table, to overtake McCann as the #1 guy. James has a pretty complete game, at this point. He is calling a good game, blocking balls, throwing well and hitting. He is also hitting smart. You guys know me, I love choking up on the bat, with 2 strikes and I have always advocated the approach of taking fast balls to right and up the middle, while pulling the off speed stuff. That is exactly what McCann is doing, as Stone pointed out, in tonight's broadcast.

Palka had a big night tonight. 3 for 5, with a double and his 10TH HR. He is the one I want to see get Yonder's at bats.

It is really annoying to see players, who just seem incapable of making adjustments and playing situational baseball. When Rondon had two strikes on him, I was screaming; "choke up and just try to elevate a pitch. to hit a sacrifice fly". With Anderson at third, it wouldn't have had to be hit very deep to score him. But no, there he was, with his hands all the way down on the knob of the bat. So stupid. I've seen enough of Rondon and his swinging for the fences, and I'm ready to see what Mendick can do. He seems like a pretty smart ball player.

Bleacher Report just posted their Mock Draft, and have the Sox taking Bleday: 3. Chicago White Sox: OF JJ Bleday, Vanderbilt Bleday went 8-for-16 with two doubles and a home run in four games in the SEC tournament to help lead Vanderbilt to a conference tournament title. That strong showing in front of a sea of scouts has pushed him into the conversation here at No. 3 after it had previously looked like a two-man race between Georgia prep star CJ Abrams and Cal slugger Andrew Vaughn.

I would continue to root for the Palehose, no matter where they resided. My loyalty is not to the city of Chicago.

That's fine, let them move to a city that will pay for a beautiful new stadium, with a retractable roof. It wouldn't bother me. I don't live in Chicago. Oh, and by the way, how about a new owner, while we're at it. LOL.

The Sox need to build a new stadium with a retractable dome. This is absurd.

Madrigal has 6 multi-hit games, in his last 11. That is very good to see.

Well Jack, it just may be that they "both suck, even though we hope they're good". However, like you, I am definitely rooting for them. The problem with Collins is that his bat would play fine, as a catcher. However, if he has to be a first baseman, or DH. not so good. I want a really good defensive catcher, and it seems most think that he will be just adequate, at best.

Being dissatisfied with the way the front office handled the ostensibly sincere interest in acquiring Harper and, or Machado, and being somewhat relieved that they weren't successful, are not mutually exclusive positions to hold. At the time, I agreed that they badly bungled the process, but at this point, I'm not unhappy that we didn't sign either of them. We are 1/3 of the way through the season, and neither one of them is coming close to performing at a level, for which they are being paid. The greater concern remains that the Sox front office seems to be incompetent at identifying the players with the best prospects to outperform their contracts, or even meet expectations. This is probably more of a failure of their scouting department, than of Hahn, or K. W. There were some players who would have really helped this roster, on affordable contracts. The guys we acquired have been awful, with the exception of McCann. They haven't contributed and are blocking young players, whom the organization needs to give playing time, in order to determine whether, or not they have a role, going forward. Let's hope that the Sox address this apparent short coming, and can better scout players, in the future.

I had completely forgotten about the wrist injury. Let's hope that has been the reason for his poor performance, to date and that he begins to demonstrate that 70 hit tool.

Rod Carew actually could hit for power. He simply chose not to, but rather to be a high average hitter. I doubt that we will see another Rod Carew, anytime soon. All of today's players seem to be "homer happy". Madrigal will likely never even sniff the the kind of production that Carew had, but I would be very satisfied if he could be a high on base %, Gold Glove second baseman.

He made that tremendous leaping grab of a foul ball, into the right field stands, and did look very athletic, nothing like the clumsy guy, whom we've seen in left. I like that he plays "loose," but does anyone think he acts a little too goofy? Have fun, but be serious about your job. We already have one "class clown," with Yolmer. We don't need another.

I never expected Madrigal to hit for power. My concern is that he is not hitting for average and he isn't walking enough. He needs to be hitting over .300, with an OBP close to .400. That would play, even without the power. However, he is a long way from those numbers. He has the ability to put the bat on the ball, but as someone here has observed, that may be to his detriment. It would be better if he were a little more selective, and tried to work counts to get a pitch that he can hit hard. Being so small, his strike zone should be conducive to drawing walks, at his current level. Pitchers at Advanced A Ball don't have very good command. I don't want him to be trying to increase his launch angle, and hit fly balls, but it would be better if he could hit more line drives. For a guy who had such an advanced hit tool, and was expected to be fast tracked through the Minor Leagues, he has a lot to work on. Look how far the other prospects have fallen, since moving to Birmingham, from Winston Salem. He better be hitting close to .350 in Advanced A, if he is going to be able to cut it, at AA and that's still a long way from the Major Leagues.

Well, if McCann isn't a good defensive catcher, then you can add that position as a hole to be filled, likely in free agency, because neither Collins, or Zevala are good defensive catchers and I don't see either of their bats being good enough to carry them.

Is there really much of a question about McCann's defence? He seems to be exceptional at blocking balls, and calling a good game. I don't know how his pitch framing grades, but he does also have a pretty good arm.