Lillian

Maybe the front office will try some kind of half measured "rebuild". They could keep the pitching, but try to assemble a better offense. That has been their biggest weakness. That middle of the order, consisting of Abreu, Melky and Frazier is not really very productive. With Abreu having an off year, and Frazier being an all or nothing slugger, they are not likely to score enough runs to make this squad contenders. Frazier seems to be the trade chip, most likely to net something worthwhile. I like Melky, and his left handed bat, but he is not a #3 or 4 hitter. They need two studs at those two spots. Maybe Collins will be one of them, in a year, or two, but unless Jose rebounds, he doesn't measure up. He has been the biggest disappointment for me, of anyone on the roster. A third consecutive year of .300, with 30 homers and 100 driven in, would have been great, but it doesn't look like he's going to get there. A stellar staff is too hard and too costly to assemble. They have the pieces to accomplish that, and with the potential of Rodon, Fullmer and Hansen, they may ultimately be able to move Sale, or Quintana. However, for the time being, it might make more sense to keep the starting staff together, and try to concentrate on fixing the offense, for next season. I think Frazier and Robertson are the two guys who should be shopped the hardest. Depending upon what they get back, they could then focus on filling the rest of the remaining holes. Does anyone think that Davidson might be capable of holding down the hot corner, next season? If so, the infield could be set with Davidson, Anderson Lawrie and Abreu. If not, they would have to go outside the organization to replace Frazier. I don't like moving Lawrie back to 3RD. I like his defense at second much better and his bat plays pretty well there. There aren't that many second basemen who put up much better offensive numbers than he has, so far. I think that they have to find a good centerfield replacement, in any trade for Frazier and, or Robertson. I believe that most of us agree that Eaton should stay in RF

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 01:26 PM) FYI, 70 MPH from 46 feet is the equivalent of 92 MPH from regular distance. You would absolutely kill your pitching staff if you had them throw BP like a game. This is what I wrote: "While a BP fastball, thrown from a shorter distance, may approximate the reaction time, the speed, at which the pitch is traveling is vastly different. Major League hitters have the bat speed to catch up to high 90's pitches. However, their eyes require some adjustment to pick up the ball, if they have just been looking at pitches traveling 70 miles an hour." Perhaps you missed the point. Finding guys who could throw fast balls, from the mound, would not be a difficult challenge. I'm sure that there are plenty of failed prospects, who could perform that function.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 12:02 PM) Bregman, Reed, McCullers, Martes, and Tucker. Who says no to that: the Sox or the Astros? Where are the established Major Leaguers in that proposed deal? How do you trade Sale for a bunch of prospects? Too many top prospects fail to pan out.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jul 18, 2016 -> 10:41 AM) I won't argue any points about the Home Run Derby. I see both good and bad with it, and one could always argue that it screws up the participants for the rest of the season. However, batting practice is a valuable part of a hitter's training every day. Tee work, side toss, soft toss, BP fastballs...it's all stuff hitters do each day. Slower pitches from a shorter distance are, in my opinion, more effective than a pitching machine. Live pitching is more effective because of the variation in location and speed. Besides, some extended BP hitting (like the home run derby) isn't going to destroy a hitter because the pitching is slower. Well, that has always been conventional baseball wisdom. However, as a counter argument, think about this: Conventional baseball wisdom also asserts that it is easier to hit a pitcher, the second or third time through the lineup. That notion is based upon the concept that the hitter can begin to get accustomed to what the pitcher is throwing. If that's true, how does hitting BP fastballs, from a shorter distance, off the mound, help the hitter to get "accustomed" to anything?. It takes the hitter's eye a little while to get used to the speed of the ball. While a BP fastball, thrown from a shorter distance, may approximate the reaction time, the speed, at which the pitch is traveling is vastly different. Major League hitters have the bat speed to catch up to high 90's pitches. However, their eyes require some adjustment to pick up the ball, if they have just been looking at pitches traveling 70 miles an hour. Several years ago, in my 50's, we owned a Atec Casey, Pro pitching machine. The boys used to take a lot of batting practice. I couldn't resist and spent many hours, for several years, hitting with the family. I didn't have strong enough hands to catch up to the fastest pitches, but did pretty well with the off speed stuff, including the curve balls and sliders. What originally got me thinking about the subject of the article, to which I referred, was that I noticed how hard it was for my eyes to adjust to the faster pitches, after looking at off speed stuff. I could eventually see a 90 mile an hour fast ball, on any given day, but not until seeing several of them, especially after seeing a lot of slower pitches. So, while my lack of strength and bat speed made it difficult to hit the "heaters," my eyes could at least get used to the higher velocity pitches, but not immediately. Each new session required seeing several fastballs, before my eyes could pick it up. I've spoken to lots of guys who have played baseball, and they agreed with my observation. In much the same way, after looking a several fast balls, a curve ball almost appeared to be traveling in slow motion. It was hard to wait on those pitches, which seemed to take forever to reach the plate. I found them very easy to hit. Of course, I knew they were coming, so I was able to keep my front shoulder in, and not "bail" on the balls that broke from inside, into the strike zone. The eyes had to adjust to the speed, in either case.

I've never liked the concept of "batting practice," because seeing slow pitches, from a shorter distance, does nothing to help the hitter's eye to become accustomed to the type of pitches, which he will see in a game. If anything, it could be detrimental. Several years ago, I wrote an article about it, and gave it to Greg Walker, who was then the Sox hitting coach. He agreed with me, but it's hard to break baseball tradition. The point is that the Home Run Derby is much too much of that potentially detrimental activity. Not only are the pitches not representative of what a batter sees, but the swings are not the kind that he should be taking in a game. So much of hitting is timing and getting the eye trained to follow, and see pitches. The more rounds and pitches that a contestant sees in the Derby, the more likely he is to screw up both his timing and his swing. At this point, I'd like to see Frazier take a day, or two off, just look at some regular pitches and then start taking BP in the cages, off a pitching machine, throwing MLB caliber pitches. Maybe he could stand in the "box," just to look at the pitches, during one of the starter's side sessions, out in the bullpen. This guy has had a bad swing all season long, and all those pitches in the Derby likely did little to fix it. His homer, or strike out approach couldn't have been helped by the Derby. The last thing a guy needs, who is leading his team in homers, but last in average and OBP, is to be participating in the Home Run Derby.

He did have an awful second half, last year, after winning the HR Derby. That competition has messed up a few hitters, over the years. If that happens again, this team is going to be just awful. His only value on offense is his ability to hit home runs. Once that goes, he will be worthless, and certainly not capable of being a middle of the order hitter. Just imagine what the offense would look like, if that happens. Yikes!!!

It is becoming increasingly easy to see the point of those who argue that it's futile to try to fix this team's offense, for this year. Moreover, it's difficult to have much confidence in Hahn's ability to make a good trade. I'd prefer to see the front office try to get some young players to replenish the depleted farm system. They probably should be seeing what they could get for Shields, Frazier, Cabrera and Lawrie. Non of those guys will likely be on this team, past next season and this mix appears not to represented a very well constructed offense. I guess you could add Robertson to that list. We shouldn't expect Jackson to be back next year either, so there's another hole which will need filling, not that he really has filled it, to this point. Maybe they should figure out what their core is going to be in their oft cited "3 year" plan, and trade everyone who doesn't figure into that equation. So, that leaves Eaton, Anderson, Abreu, Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Fullmer, Jones, and the best of our recently signed draft picks. Whom have I forgotten. Which of our current Minor Leaguers would you expect might be able to fill some of the many holes on the roster, after such a purge? Could C. Sanchez, Davidson, Delmonico or May be reasonably expected to make any contribution to the Big League roster? It's hard to believe that they haven't scored a run in the last 3 games. WHAT A MESS!!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 12:28 PM) fixed. Doesn't trust the front office to make a trade, so therefore, it's time to downgrade the position. I am shocked because Shuck is left handed. Your wise crack aside, you stumbled onto an interesting point. Shuck actually has a history of hitting left handers better than right handers, so using him because he's left handed, doesn't make sense. Moreover, I haven't been advocating a left handed hitter per say, but rather a "middle of the order" Left handed hitter. Hopefully, Morneau will fill that role. For those of you who think that I obsess about the need for a middle of the order, left handed bat, I'll remind you that Hahn has openly acknowledged that very need. I like Bourgeois because he could hit lead off. He has pretty good on base percentage skills, doesn't strike out much and can steal a base. I am not thrilled with Anderson leading off, because of his inability to take walks. If Bourgeois led off and could produce around a .350 OBP, then Eaton could stay in the #2 hole, and Anderson could hit somewhere further down in the lineup, although I'm not sure where.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 15, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) Lillian, with all due respect, back to the drawing board with that plan. We might be laughed out of the American League with that plan...or at least the City of Chicago. That may be, however he is probably the most suitable option, within the organization. I don't trust our front office to make any more trades.

I'm ready to give the journeyman Minor Leaguer, Jason Burgeois a shot. I know that he's 34, but he's always been a capable hitter, and is having a career year.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Jul 6, 2016 -> 08:19 PM) That makes sense, especially about the launch angle issue. I clearly remember that he used to throw these totally ineffective worm burners. Either way, glad that's fixed! To all of you who are wondering why Eaton did not display this arm last season, I understand that he was in tremendous pain all of last year. The shoulder surgery has removed all of the pain.

Eaton's throwing is just insane. Do you think that the surgeon did more than just clean up that shoulder? It's like he has a bionic arm, or something.

Returning to the thread topic; Anderson is a revelation for me. He has so much more baseball ability than I anticipated. I had this mistaken notion that he was a great athlete, but very raw, in terms of his baseball skills. All of those scouting reports, which described his defense as being questionable, and his alleged lack of plate discipline, had me thinking that he would be over matched by Big League pitchers. He has so much more range at short, and so much more power at the plate, than I expected. He just may be a 5 tool player. When you consider how young he is, and that he has only recently begun to concentrate on baseball, after playing mostly basketball, you have to be excited about his future. The issue of plate discipline is interesting. He has continued his pattern of not taking walks. However, he doesn't seem to swing and miss, at a lot of bad pitches. He may simply be one of those aggressive hitters, who likes to swing at strikes, early in the count. That is not an entirely bad approach. While you don't see that many pitches, you do have a better chance to swing at a more hittable pitch, by not waiting around until you get behind in the count. Hawk brought up an interesting point, during the Houston series. He pointed out that since starters only go 6 or 7 innings, before automatically turning it over to the bullpen, there really isn't that great of an advantage of trying to run up the pitch count. I pointed out, in a previous post, that there are a lot of very hittable pitches, outside the strike zone, providing that the hitter doesn't try to do too much. If a hitter is willing to take an outside pitch to the opposite field, there is nothing wrong with swinging at it. Well, just a few observations, but at least we're back on the topic of Tim Anderson.

I think almost all of us agree that his lack of willingness to take an ocassional base on balls is a concern. However, there is a nuanced point, which should be mentioned. In addition to having a "quick" bat, and exceptional speed, his ability to take outside pitches to right field, should afford him the ability to get a lot of base hits on balls which are not necessarily strikes. Unlike a power hitter, who tries to pull every pitch, a hitter who is willing to go the other way, can be very successful, swinging at outside pitches. A hitter's ability to expand the strike zone, and hit outside pitches, with good results, can be a tremendous advantage. It takes away one of the important pitches, which a pitcher can employ to get a hitter out. Therefore, while he still needs to have enough plate discipline to avoid swinging at everything, that does not necessarily mean that he must limit himself to swinging only at strikes. In the limited opportunity that I've had to observe him, Anderson does seem to lay off really bad pitches. He has gotten several base hits to right field, on outside pitches. As long as he continues to avoid "rolling over" on the outside pitches, and maintains his "inside out" swing, with the hands before the barrel of the bat, he may not need to alter anything. I must admit that I am very impressed with his ability. So far, he is much better than the scouting reports, especially on defense. I hope that the coaching staff doesn't try to get him to alter his approach. Until he demonstrates that he is hurting himself, why not let him stick with what seems to be working for him?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 28, 2016 -> 06:47 AM) Come on Lillian, Morneau isnt a committment, he is a lottery ticket. That may very well be, however two more bats, in addition to the Morneau "lottery ticket," just seems like overkill to me. I think that the bullpen is a higher priority.

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Jun 28, 2016 -> 06:15 AM) If we kept Latos we could've put Gonzalez in the pen. But I guess that ship has sailed. That was the smartest move that would allow the team to focus on trading for an impact bat (like Cargo) rather than just another guy and a reliever. If they are honestly "going for it" they might as well just trade Fulmer and anyone else still in the minors to plug holes. Because the whole thing is going to have to get blown up if this 3 year plan doesn't work. If they could do something like get Beltran and Cargo that would make me fairly confident we would be in the wild card mix until the last day. I'm sure Avi could be involved in one of those trades. Maybe even Saladino if they were willing to risk leaving the bench very thin. lf - m cabrera cf - eaton rf - c gonzalez dh - beltran 1b - abreu 2b - lawrie ss - anderson 3b - frazier c - avila (with collins in the wings) That would be a pretty sweet lineup. Literally zero on the bench though. I guess we could bring up Leury as a speed guy off the bench. You also have Burdi as a potential setup man for end of this season and the playoffs. Rodon would really have to make some strides in the 2nd half of the season but that could be a surprisingly good playoff team. They don't need to add two bats, as they are already committed to Morneau, to fill one spot. One more bat and a bullpen arm, would make more sense to me.

Most of what I've seen was anticipated. The most impressive thing is his extraordinary range, which just may enable him to develop into an elite defender at short. He certainly has the tools. The least surprising aspect of his game is his lack of patience, at the plate. He will never stick at leadoff, unless he can learn to take his walks. Without an ocassional base on balls, he would have to hit close to .350 to be an effective leadoff hitter.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 24, 2016 -> 02:37 PM) 1. Tim Anderson ® SS 2. Adam Eaton (L) RF 3. Melky Cabrera (S) LF 4. Todd Frazier ® 1B 5. Alex Avila (L) C 6. Brett Lawrie ® 2B 7. J.B. Shuck (L) CF 8. Avisail Garcia ® DH 9. Tyler Saladino ® 3B wow at this lineup Our cleanup hitter is hitting .200 with an OBP of .300. Is there a worse lineup anywhere in the Majors?

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 24, 2016 -> 12:56 PM) Lucroy alone is probably worth at least of one Fulmer or Anderson (plus some) - I am sure that the Brewers would ask for both. And the Brewers aren't just going to give Braun away for salary relief. Perhaps you are correct, in asserting that the Brewers wouldn't give up Lucroy without asking for a ransom. However, they may be willing to indeed move Braun for not much more than salary relief. According to an article in today's MLB Traderumors, by Steve Adams, they might want to move Braun's salary in order to achieve the financial flexibility to try to resign Lucroy. Here is what he wrote: "While Jonathan Lucroy is perhaps the most-cited trade candidate in baseball, GM David Stearns tells Heyman that an extension can’t be entirely ruled out. Heyman notes that if the Brewers are able to move Ryan Braun, they could look to reallocate some of those funds to locking up Lucroy, who is more open to an extension now that the Brewers are performing better than most pundits expected. There could, of course, be some level of gamesmanship there, as it would make sense for any team official to downplay a prime trade target’s availability." Would you be in favor of taking on all of Braun's contract, if it didn't require giving up any significant talent?

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jun 24, 2016 -> 12:19 PM) Braun and Lucroy would require Fulmer and Anderson, plus. It ain't happening. I'm not going to dispute that, but I wonder on what you base your assertion. It was my understanding that the Brewers are very desirous of moving Braun's salary. How can they expect to accomplish that, and still get a couple of top prospects?

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jun 24, 2016 -> 09:46 AM) It's nice when statistics confirm that a trend you notice isn't just in your head. Anyone think the Sox could put a package together for Lucroy? I know it would have to include Fulmer, but even with him, do the Sox have the pieces to make it work? It may not take that much in talent, as Lucroy will be a free agent after next season, and the Brewers are reportedly shopping him. However, they would want young talent in return. The key may be that they are eager to move Braun's salary. I've been advocating taking both of them, and all of the salary, which could mitigate the need to give up much talent. Although Braun would be an overpay, and a long term commitment, Lucroy's very affordable contract would make a package of both very intriguing. You put Braun in the outfield, Lucroy behind the plate and Morneau at DH and you have transformed this anemic offense into an impressive lineup.

Regarding the frustration over the DH, the front office has already committed to a DH. They are most likely going to rely upon Morneau to fill both that hole, as well as the need for a left handed hitter. The obvious other hole to fill is another outfielder. Given the lack of depth in the farm system, I still think Braun makes the most sense, as he could probably be acquired without giving up much talent, providing J. R. is willing to take on all of that salary. Adding those two bats to the order, would transform it into a respectable offense. The lineup could look like this vs. RHP: CF Eaton LF Braun 1B Abreu DH Morneau RF Cabrera 3B Frazier 2B Lawrie C Avila SS Anderson

Exactly, "Flavum". That's the point. It's much more important how the front office feels. They will likely try to fix it, but it's hard to have any confidence in them, at this point. They have made so many bad decisions, that they may be better served by not doing anything. Perhaps they should just stop digging themselves deeper into the hole, in which they have put themselves, until they can come up with a viable strategy, going forward.

If he still had the ability to play a caliber of baseball, which would enhance this team's chances to improve, this moral debate might be a worthwhile exercise. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Therefore, this entire discussion is a waste of time. We can hope that Hahn will be able to find a couple of players, who would actually improve the roster. Names like Braun, Jay and Lucroy qualify. I'm hoping and wishing, but not really expecting anything significant.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jun 14, 2016 -> 09:12 AM) I think it's just a reference to you plugging him right in the 4th spot. I'm expecting like 6 or 7 (and that isn't with the lineup you have). I understand. In that case, they could flip Morneau and Cabrera, when facing RHP. That would still accomplish breaking up the RH hitters.