Lillian

What is the best Twitter feed to read, on this issue? I could use some "cheap entertainment".

I can understand the resistance to selecting an outfielder, with the #3 pick, in the Draft. However, that log jam of organizational outfielders is looking a little thinner, with the slow starts of Adolfo and Rutherford, at Birmingham. Given the realization that the Sox will likely not select a high schooler, you know that I'm intrigued with Bishops's LH bat. He has good speed and could be a key piece of the rebuild, in a couple of years. I still think that Eloy will end up at first base. The 2021 outfield could look like Bishop in LF, Robert in CF and Adolfo/Basabe/Rutherford/Gonzalez or Walker in RF. That would be a great defensive outfield, with big offensive potential. The only one, out of that list of RF candidates, who hasn't played CF is Adolfo, but he has the best RF arm, of the bunch. One of them is bound to develop into a useful piece, or we have really done a lousy job of scouting.

Kody Hoese is having a terrific season. One caveat, in comparing his performance to the other collegiate stars, is that he is playing in the AAC. I don't know how much that matters, but it is certainly a consideration. It would be more assuring if he were putting up those numbers in the SEC, or the PAC 12.

Thanks for the information. The larger dimensions should actually help batting averages. Could it be that the lighting is not very good? Our "stellar" outfield prospects are doing absolutely nothing, at the plate. It's hard to imagine that the jump from Advanced A to AA could be that difficult. Rutherford was pretty much a .300 hitter all last year and he can't seem to buy a hit. If AA is really that big of a jump, then we're all very premature in our excitement over Robert.

What exactly is it, about the Birmingham ball park that makes it so difficult to hit there?

For the benefit of "Turnin' two," or anyone else who might have misunderstood my post, regarding Bishop's yet untapped potential, allow me to clarify. The point is simply that, while he is the nation's leading collegiate hitter, in most offensive categories, there may still be tremendous upside, owing to the fact that he has only recently focused on the sport of baseball. There is a difference between drafting a great athlete, in hopes of turning him into a baseball player, and drafting a proven baseball player, who still has untapped raw potential. The logic is compelling and shouldn't need to be corroborated by a great number of examples. For every Joe Borchard, and Jared Mitchell, there are plenty of Tim Andersons, Joe Mauers, Kirk Gibsons, Todd Heltons and other 2, or 3 sport athletes, who regarded baseball as their "second sport". Who would question whether, or not, Bo Jackson could have become one of the best all time baseball players, if he had stayed healthy? Hunter Bishop has already done enough to establish himself as a baseball player, but it is reasonable to assume that he still has more room for growth, because he hasn't played the game as long as most baseball players, his age. Adam Engel had a similar background to Bishop's. He was also a star high school football player, with aspirations of playing in the NFL. Instead, like Bishop, he decided to play college baseball, also as a center fielder. Comparing the college careers of the two, should underscore what Bishop has achieved. A quick glance at Engel's junior year stats will illustrate my point. In 256 at bats, he hit 1 home run and batted .236. His OPS was .668. Although Engel is a far below average MLB hitter, he is probably a better hitter now, than he was, as a college player, which suggests that he was very raw, when drafted. Compare that to Bishop's remarkable performance, in his junior year. It is the combination of the raw athletic ability and the already accomplished production, that I find so intriguing about Bishop.

Rutherford is really struggling, in his first AA season. Even today, with the Barons finally mounting a decent offense, he is hitless, with a couple strike outs. Very discouraging.

That's obviously not the same as being removed from the game, but I'm sure that you knew that. I just wanted to clarify it for the person, from the U. K., who asked. Baseball is complicated enough, we don't want to confuse him.

Most of us are ready to "move on," from Yolmer, at least as anything more than a bench player. The question is; "who should take his place, until Madrigal arrives?"

I concur, last year's version of Yolmer, at what has always been his best position, second base, would have provided a serviceable piece, for this non contending team. However, there does appear to be something wrong with him. I noticed that he hasn't been using his glasses, in several games. Perhaps that has something to do with it. In any case, he should not be getting much playing time, unless and until someone discovers what is wrong with him. In the meantime, who is the best guy to assume the role of place holder, until Madrigal arrives, likely next year? Is Rondon good enough defensively, at a position that he has not played very much? He has pretty much always been a SS. Would Leury be better suited , at that spot, than playing the outfield? Escobar is hitting a little at Charlotte, but his offense has been so bad, for the last several years that it's hard to imagine that he would be worth calling up. Danny Mendick had a great Spring, but hasn't shown much so far this season. Ryan Goins is a terrible hitter. Laz Rivera is actually better suited for 2ND, than SS, but he has suddenly stopped hitting and he has only recently been promoted to AA. The organization has little middle infield depth, at the higher levels. There aren't any unsigned free agents, who might fill that hole and a trade seems unlikely, with Madrigal expected to take that spot, next year. So, between Rondon and Leury, who is best suited for the keystone sack, at least for this year?

Vaughn was 3 for 4, with a double. Seems to be back on track. Bishop was 1 for 4 with his 17TH homer, (in just 32 games). I still prefer him, over Vaughn. Left handed hitter, with good speed, over a right handed, first baseman, with average speed. Vaughn has been a "baseball rat," his whole life. Imagine what Bishop would be doing, if he had always dedicated himself to baseball. I'm not generally in favor of the idea of going after great athletes, with the hope that they can be turned into baseball players. However, what intrigues me about Bishop is that he has now established himself as a legitimate baseball player, even though he has come to the sport late in his athletic career. That suggests that he still has a lot of room for growth. It's scary to think about how good he might be, if he continues to develop. In the meantime, what he has already accomplished this year is quite remarkable. For me, it isn't even close. I'd take him over any other college player, with the possible exception of Rutschman, because Adley is a switch hitting catcher.

I agree and you raise another potential consideration. Does management have any concern for the "watchability" aspect of this team?

I agree that the young guys, including Cease, Robert and Collins, in the Minors, are generally very encouraging. There is one more guy, who might be a candidate to provide some depth to their beleaguered rotation. Lots of people in the organization are very impressed with Jimmy Lambert and he did have a very good start, last night, for the Barons. Perhaps they should consider giving him a chance. I just wanted to clarify the objective, regarding wins and losses, for this year. If it doesn't matter, and in fact, tanking for another high draft pick is the objective, then fine. Just take the losses. But, those who advocate that approach, shouldn't complain, right?

Just to clarify, what exactly is the objective, for this season? I understand that the Sox want to see progress from their young core. However, do they actually want to win games, or would they prefer to compile another 100 loss season, with the intent of acquiring another top draft pick? If they intend to actually try to win games, I believe that they are going to have to address the starting rotation. Not only does it appear that it lacks quality and depth, but it is potentially going to exhaust the bullpen. The starters must be capable of going at least 6 innings, on a consistent basis. These early blow outs are not only going to tax the pen, but they are going to demoralize the rest of the team. Next year, with the additions of Cease and Kopech, they should be fine. However, this season could be very difficult. At this point, maybe they need to give Covey and Fulmer another look. I'm most worried about Santana and wonder if he really still has anything left, in that veteran arm of his. Nova looks like his usual self and can probably eat innings, and get ground ball outs. Rodon, Giolito and Lopez need to pitch and should improve, as the season progresses. And then, there is always the chance that Banuelos could take the 5TH spot. What can they do with Santana? Could they have him work as the long man, until he can demonstrate that he can throw something better than 90 mph, straight fast balls? His first outing of the year looked like he was throwing batting practice. He's the perfect guy, if the objective is to tank, again.

So, you are in favor of tanking again, right?

The Sox have scored the following number of runs, in each of their games, so far: 3, 6, 6, 3, 8, 8, 2, 5, 1, 5, 1 That's 6 of 11 games in which they have scored 5 runs, or more. They could at least be around .500, with decent pitching. From that perspective, it doesn't look quite so bad. However, they need to address the pitching, or this season could be another "tank". With both Dunning and Kopech out for the year, and Cease not likely to be called up, until late in the season, if at all, I really think that they need to add another veteran, on a one year deal. Their plan was to have a couple of veterans, in the starting rotation, and that makes sense. However, do we really have any confidence that Santana, or maybe even Nova are going to be serviceable? Santana had nothing in his first start, no velocity and no movement. It was like he was throwing batting practice. The more that I think about it, the more that I like the idea of signing Keuchel. Again, let both Santana and Nova battle for one spot, with the loser becoming the long man, out of the pen. Banuelos becomes a LOOGY and potentially someone who could pitch to both RH and LH hitters, in relief. Insert Keuchel into the rotation, take the pressure off of Giolito and Lopez, and things just might stabilize. Management has plenty of payroll flexibility and Keuchel has already expressed a willingness to take a one year deal. There is no one on the farm, who is ready to assume a spot in the rotation. Sign him, and trade him to a contender, at the deadline. That timing might coincide with Cease's call up. Why not? .

"What now?" The one short term fix, which I'd like to see is signing Dallas Keuchel, to a one year deal. He is said to be open to a "pillow contract," in hopes of entering free agency again next year. That would be a reasonable move, even though it would cost the Sox a 2ND round draft pick. They have the salary room to sign him to a one year deal, at approximately $20 million. He could help shore up the rotation, and be a guy that could bring back a decent prospect, at the trade deadline. In fact, I suspect that if Keuchel pitched up to his recent historical level, that he would likely bring back a better prospect, at the trade deadline, than anyone, whom they might draft, in the second round. There are usually contending teams who become pretty desperate for some reliable starting pitching, late in the season, especially a left hander. If he were added to the rotation, whom would he replace? Well, I'd say that there are at least 2 candidates, who are both also short term, expendable players, who do not figure into the long term plan. Why not let him have either Nova's, or Santana's spot? Either one could be sent to the pen, which could also use some help. At the moment, Santana looks like he may not even be good enough for that role, but it's early, and he hasn't pitched much, in a long time. There is still hope. In any case, it's not likely that all 3 of those veterans would pitch well enough to create a "log jam".

The front office sees the same things that we do. They're likely already preparing to bring Cordell back up, after his quick start, both with the Sox and the Knights. Note that no one was clamoring for Cordell to be in the line up, before last nights 5 for 5, while hitting for the cycle and winning the game. Some of this criticism seems like "Monday morning quarterbacking". An organization which is filled with lots of good prospects is bound to have many instances where the right decisions will be difficult. Another case in point is that 3 of our top outfield prospects are all hitting around .100, at the top of the Baron's lineup. Time will sort out many of these kinds of anomalies. and issues. However, it's also not prudent to hastily react to every game, or even series, in evaluating who should get playing time. The less of a track record a player has, the more difficult these decisions are. After last season, how many would have been so eager to send Palka back down to AAA? The guy had a good rookie year and came into camp 20 pounds lighter, and has worked hard on his defense, all of which could reasonably be expected to help him take another step forward. His slow start is disappointing. Few of these early performances, by various players, both good and bad, are not necessarily indicative of what we should expect, going forward. Robert and Collins are not going to hit 100 home runs each and Palka is not going to go 0 for 500. The point is simply that it's too early to conclude anything. I enjoy following all of these dynamic elements of the organization's roster, but I try not to over react to any of them.

Whether some of us agree, or not, ownership and management are not going to over react to the first to weeks of the season, played in miserable weather. They will stay the course, and make minor adjustments. I'm sure that they are encouraged by what they see from their young core. They have to be happy with the starts for Anderson, Moncada and even Eloy. Minor Leaguers Collins and Robert also have to reassure them that the rebuild is progressing, and everyone has to love Cease's first start, last night. Rebuilds take time and require lots of patience. Let's see how Giolito and Lopez look, after a couple more starts, hopefully in some decent baseball weather.

Whether, or not, he can achieve that level of performance is indeed the question. My point is that his current approach affords hime the greatest chance for success. Why use an inferior approach? It would only impede his chances to reach those goals. Another way to look at it is to recognize that a good Major League pitcher, on a good day, is not going to give you much to hit, if you are looking exclusively for a ball that you can pull for a homer. However, even the best pitchers will offer up some pitches, that are just out of the zone. Using this approach affords the hitter a chance to still have a productive at bat. That was just such a pitch that Tim hit for an RBI single, yesterday. If you ask the pitcher if he thought that he missed his location, he would probably say "no, it was a good pitch". Tim beat him, because he didn't try to do too much with it.

That may very well be and if so, then maybe management needs to start rewarding guys who can hit for a better average, get on base, and no strike out. If all they are interested in is the long ball, I guess that you can't expect the players to not react accordingly. Moreover, the approach, for which I'm advocating, does not preclude hitting the long ball, when presented with the opportunity. Again, an inside pitch, a pitch right over the heart of the plate, or an off speed pitch would still afford a hitter his chances to pull the ball, for a homer. That pitch Tim hit yesterday was either going to be called a ball, or if he tried to pull it, he would have rolled over, on it and hit a ground ball to the left side. By going with the low and away pitch, and taking it to right, he got a base knock and drove in a run. It's just an intelligent piece of hitting and I applaud him. He's learning.

His RBI single, in the bottom of the 8TH yesterday, was off a low and away slider. He hit a line shot to right, which is the only way he could have hit that pitch. Tim continues to use that approach, when appropriate and if he can maintain his newly found discipline, I think that he has the potential to be a .300 hitter. That would be huge, for the rebuild. https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/video/ryne-stanek-in-play-run-s-to-tim-anderson?t=t145-default-vtp

At least Shields' stuff moved. Santana is throwing straight, low velocity fast balls and so far, there is almost no movement on his breaking pitches.

Not only his Santana's command not good, his stuff looks awful. Could be a long afternoon.

Why is Madrigal batting 3RD? That's just weird.