Lillian

Some of you might enjoy reading this summary of last night's offensive onslaught by the Dash, highlighting Laz Rivera's huge night. This guy is really intriguing. He wasn't highly touted, but his entire career, including his college and junior college days, is very impressive. I remember listening to Hostetler rave about him, last month. https://www.milb.com/milb/news/laz-rivera-paces-winston-salem-dash-with-career-night-at-playte/c-282919428 This is a very good scouting report, including good video: http://baseballcensus.com/2017/12/20/chicago-white-sox-laz-rivera-scouting-report-baseball-player-evaluation-video-december-2017/

I've been following the Sox for 66 years, and I remember seeing a lot of the same pitchers, in each era. Very few of them blew out their arms. It's only anecdotal and I can't provide any statistics. I just remember that it wasn't something that a fan worried about. You could pretty much count on a guy to make his starts and go late into the game. If today's pitchers didn't have TJS available, it seems half of them would be out of the game, and early in their careers. I don't have an explanation and I don't know what they are doing, but someone should seriously consider changing the current approach to pitching. I doubt that the fastball is the culprit. It seems more likely that it's trying to throw some of the breaking pitches, with the lower seams. That is what puts more strain on the elbow. Fastballs and change ups are the two best pitches in baseball, especially when effectively combined. The change of speed, with a deceptive motion, is still the most effective way to get batters out. That and location is more important than throwing curveballs, sliders and maybe even cutters. To that point, which of those breaking pitches puts the most stress on the elbow?

Maybe the medical profession needs to improve the TJ surgery and give pitchers some kind of "bionic arm". Then, every prospect could just have the procedure, before going pro. Seriously, it is getting out of hand. This was never anywhere near as prevalent, back when pitchers threw more often and many more pitches, per outing. Imagine how many guys would be out of the game, if it weren't for Tommy John Surgery, which didn't even exist, back then.

I couldn't agree more with your observation. He has taken so many pitches, just outside the strike zone, which could have been hit to the opposite field. It's frustrating to watch, particularly when he has 2 strikes and when teams employ the shift, in their defensive alignment. I understand that he is not unique, but it is nevertheless frustrating. Being a pull hitter is fine, but being "pull happy," as you call it, plays right into the opposition's strategy of pitching hitters away, and using the shift. He could be so much more productive if he exploited the shift, and just took the outside pitch to left field. Moreover, trying to pull an outside pitch, most often results in a weak ground ball. This entire approach is one of my pet peeves. I guess I'm just "old school".

Wow, was that ever prophetic!! "Tomorrow" we witnessed his biggest day at the plate, in his short career. A bases clearing double and then a 3 run homer is indeed a pretty nice "change".

Thanks Fathom, but it still doesn't confirm anything, definitive. I suppose that we will get an official report, today.

It's not even mentioned in the "recap" of the game, on the Baron's website. This is all that this normally good source had to say about it, an hour ago: https://twitter.com/CST_soxvan

Why can't I find any official "report," regarding Dunning's injury?

I was going to ask the same question, which "Donaldo" asked: How good is he defensively? How is his arm, in terms of both strength and accuracy? He has played CF, more than any other outfield position. Does he get good reads and take good routes? Or, perhaps he has simply gotten by, because of his speed. In reading more about him, apparently he made some pretty significant adjustments with his swing and approach, over the winter. Given his age, he'll turn 25 in November, I'd like to see him fast tracked, in an effort to see what the Sox really have, in him. The Best CF candidates, in the organization are Robert and Basabe, but they are both probably too young to be counted upon, for a couple more years. Could Booker provide an alternative to Engel, Cordell and Leury, as early as next season? He has been pretty consistent, all year, and this promotion to AA is off to a fantastic start. I'm intrigued!!!!

I agree and would expect at least .100 above his batting average. A more realistic expectation would be a .250 AVG and a .375 OBP, or higher.

And just how would Jackie Bradley Jr. fit into the Sox' coming window of contention? It makes no sense, to me. I'm not buying it.

I don't disagree, but it remains a priority, whether through free agency, a trade, or the draft.

Where do you think Walker will rank on our prospect list, especially the list of outfielders? He will obviously be behind Eloy and Robert, and probably Rutherford, but could he be above Adolfo and Basabe?

Excuse me. but batting where Tilson does, in the line up, renders his being left handed, of little value. My insistence on the need for a left handed bat is focused upon balance, in the middle of the order. I have long wanted a power bat, from the left side.

His defense rarely gets discussed, however I'd really like to see him play more fundamentally sound second base. He seem a little too flashy, at times. I give him a "10" on style, and a "5" on results.

At this point, I'm pretty resigned to the losses. My only interest is in the emergence and development of individual players. I'd like to be able to realistically muse about a competitive team, in a couple of years. However, unless some of our core players can demonstrate that they are legitimate pieces of that future, it will be difficult to sustain much hope. So, I'll continue to check the guys, down on the farm, as well as watch for Anderson, Moncada, Yolmer, Matt, Palka and anyone else, who could establish himself as part of that core, for 2020 and beyond. The biggest focus, for me, is my dream of a pitching staff filled with 5, or 6 young, affordable, top of the rotation arms. If that happens, I think the offense will be there, or can be obtained through trades or free agent acquisitions.

Regarding Moncada, but not exclusively; What ever happened to the old rule that states; with 2 strikes, a hitter should swing at anything close to a strike? It is a shame to see him go down, with the bat on his shoulder. Why not shorten up his swing, try to make contact and maybe foul the pitch off? It also wouldn't hurt to choke up, on the bat, with 2 strikes. I understand the idea of being selective, early in the count and looking for your pitch, but not with 2 strikes.

Backing off the plate could work, providing that he is willing to take those pitches on the outside corner, to left field, rather than insisting on trying to pull them. That approach would also be a way to counter the shift.

The Quintana trade is beginning to look like it will have brought back a better package than the Sale deal. Eloy and Cease have out performed Moncada and Kopech.

Flavum, I love that old quote from George Will's "Men At Work". It was an umpire's response to a frustrated rookie pitcher, who could not get a called strike, while pitching to Roger Hornsby, if I recall correctly.

You probably never read my post, in which I described, what I term "the angle of contact". It explains why breaking pitches, which break from inside, toward the strike zone, provide a better angle of contact, for a pull hitter's swing. The ball is literally breaking right into the swing path, of the pull hitter. By contrast, balls which break from outside toward the plate, provide a poor angle of contact, for a pull hitter. That is one of the reasons why it is often suggested that the best approach for a hitter, with such pitches, is to take the ball the opposite way, by using a "hands before the barrel of the bat" swing. It's difficult to explain, in a short verbal description, without illustrations, but the logic is compelling. Of course, a hitter must learn to not bail on breaking pitches, which appear to be heading toward him, before they break toward the plate. Good hitters learn to stay closed, and to recognize breaking pitches. About 20 years ago, I wrote an article on this subject, in which I demonstrated my hypothesis. Some years later, I presented it to Craig Walker, when he was the Sox hitting coach and afterwards, had an opportunity to discuss it with him. He agreed with the hypothesis and asserted that is was quite valid. His reservation was the same as the one, which I just articulated, i.e. a hitter must be able to not bail on breaking pitches, which start inside, and then break toward the strike zone. He also concurred that good hitters are able to do that, with reasonable consistency. That is part of what makes them good hitters. I understand that this principle is antithetical to the entire approach of platooning, which was popularized back in the late 50's, by Casey Stengel. He used it extensively with a platoon of Elston Howard and Yogi Berra. It then became conventional baseball "wisdom" and practice. That doesn't mean that it is entirely valid. Again, it does provide the advantage of eliminating the temptation of a hitter to open up, or "bail" with his front foot, and it affords a hitter a little better look at the pitch, as it comes from the other side, but that advantage is off set by the poorer angle of contact. Now, you may be wondering why I am so vehement about the need for the Sox to have a middle of the order, left handed bat. After all, since most pitchers are right handed, why wouldn't it be better to have almost all right handed hitters, based upon my hypothesis. The fact is that most hitters are right handed. My point is that you need to have the balance in the line up. It is not advantageous to have an opposing pitcher get comfortable facing all of the good hitters from one side of the plate. Moreover, since managers use their bullpens, by matching left handers with left handed hitters and right handers, with right handed hitters, by having a good mix of both, in the lineup, the opposing team is forced to "burn" through the pen, in the late innings. In addition, there are some inherent advantages to hitting left handed, chief among them are that a left handed hitter is closer to first base, and the momentum of his swing, carries him in that direction, thus allowing him to get down the first base line, faster.

I think that he is still nursing the hamstring, which could explain why he isn't going all out. There is no question about his speed, when healthy. However, the point is that he is simply not a good hitter, from the right side, for average, or for power.

Yes, Fathom, it is not that great of an advantage to hit from the other side of the pitcher's arm. Plenty of guys do just fine, without switch hitting. There are however, advantages to hitting left handed, especially for a guy with his speed. He could probably beat out a lot of infield ground balls, from the left side. I don't see the need to insist upon him trying to be a switch hitter.

At some point, it would be interesting to see how Moncada could hit lefties, while batting left handed. He has looked completely hapless.

That was very impressive. I didn't realize that Covey was selected on the very next pick, after Sale, in that year's draft. It is pretty clear that our Sox saw something intriguing about him, and Coop has him pitching like a top of the rotation starter. If he can pitch like he has been lately, that would significantly accelerate the time table for that anticipated window of contention. Next year's staff of Rodon, Lopez, Covey, Kopech and Giolito could provide enough to get it done.