Lillian

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 11, 2016 -> 06:16 PM) Saving his job, he might, especially with the argument the new pitchers in the fold will compensate from the anticipated losses of Fulmer and Adams in that deal. For the long-term future of the Sox and JR's perspective, no way he okays that deal. I think a lot of determinations on both Ventura and Hahn have to be made this season before they can figure out a plan for 2017 (all-in/rebuild) and beyond. Adding Shields, Braun and Lucroy would force all-in, and I'm not sure JR's ready to commit to that much extra money. Plus, you have the PED's issue with Braun. Lucroy makes sense, in that Collins could be ready in 2018 to replace him. Braun also makes sense, but ONLY if his performance this year is indicative of future performance and not an anomaly. Too risky, IMO. When was Braun's production ever not impressive? He has been one of the Major's most consistently good hitters, his entire career, with or without PEDS. This team needs some offense, and the outfield is as good of a place to start, as any. There is no one in the organization who is expected to provide outfield offense, in the next couple of years. They will be looking for another free agent, in the off season, if they don't acquire someone now, and next year's free agent class doesn't offer much. I'd just as soon have Braun, for the next 4 seasons. He is probably worth the $19 million per year and if he gets suspended over PEDS, they would not have to pay him. It's obvious that this team has no intention of rebuilding, so if they are going to go for it, the next couple of seasons, they better acquire some offense. They are at least two solid bats away from having a respectable offense, and one of them needs to be left handed. Does anyone disagree with that?

"Balta," would you give up Fulmer, and take on all of Braun's contract? I would. Next year, when Morneau leaves for free agency, Braun goes back to LF, Melky DH's and the Sox sign a good defensive centerfielder, so that Eaton could go back to RF. With Braun and Lucroy added to the offense, they could go with an Austin Jackson type centerfielder, with not much offense.

The Sox entered the off season needing several players to fill some glaring holes. Unfortunately, their less than impressive acquisitions have not really improved the team very much. Jackson was not one of the coveted top tier choices for an outfielder, who could also provide offense. Now he is gone for a good portion of the remainder of the season. They still need a left handed, middle of the order bat, which they probably never had in La Roche, and when he left that removed any doubt. They got two catchers, in an attempt to upgrade over Flowers and Soto, but that isn't proving to be a success either. At this point, they have signed Morneau, who will have to DH. Therefore, Bruce is not a viable acquisiton target, because he would have to play the outfield, and that would severely weaken the defense. Next year, they will still need another outfielder, as Melky and Eaton would be the only proven outfielders on the roster. The Brewers seem intent on trading Lucroy and are hoping that someone will take Braun and his salary, in the deal. That would fill two holes on this roster, and transform this pathetic offense into something pretty respectable. What would it take in young talent, if the Sox agreed to take on all of Braun's salary? Line up for a second half post season run: CF Eaton DH Morneau 1B Abreu LF Melky RF Braun C Lucroy 3B Frazier 2B Lawrie SS Anderson Regarding Braun's ability to play RF, this might be of interest: http://www.brewcrewball.com/2016/2/15/1099...ryan-brauns-arm The alternative would be to switch Melky and Braun, with Cabrera moving to RF. Neither option is very appealing defensively, but they both catch the ball, albeit with limited range.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 10, 2016 -> 11:03 AM) Unfortunately left handed bat middle of the line up, gold glove SS with OBP of .450 aren't available at the present time. You do have a way of twisting one's words. I don't think that is what I said. Is that what you inferred? The point is that this team is not failing because of anything that a young, budding SS could fix. Therefore, why risk damaging his confidence, by bringing him aboard this sinking ship? Let Saladino play, and provide good defense at a crucially important defensive position, and try to fix the problems elsewhere.

I don't understand the front office's thinking here. They certainly have gone to extremes here. First they want the veteran leadership, so they bring in a guy who is clearly "washed up". Then they reverse course and bring up a kid who they admit is a little raw, and still learning. I wan't crazy about the Rollins acquisition and even less in agreement with this one. It's too soon to be calling up Anderson. He is not a "savior" for what ails this team, and they are risking damaging his confidence. If he becomes a really great player, it will very likely be in a couple of years. In the meantime, he should be getting much more experience in AAA. His skill set is not what this team needs. He has no plate patience, which means that his OBP is not likely to be anywhere near .300 in the Big Leagues. He is not an elite defensive SS, as I have stressed in prior posts. He isn't even a left handed bat, and certainly not a power hitter. So what exactly does he bring to the table, that suggests that he needs to be rushed to the Majors, in order to help right this "sinking ship"?

You can imagine how happy I am with this pick. Finally, someone in the organization who may actually be a future left handed, middle of the order hitter. I love his knowledge of the strike zone and his patience. It's also a plus that he is old enough that we won't have to wait around 4 or 5 years to see him in Chicago.

QUOTE (CB2.0 @ Jun 6, 2016 -> 07:24 AM) It sure is a good thing we're going to spend $27M on Shields when Detroit just showed the entire division (and league) all you have to do is trot out RH pitching against the Sox to sweep them. My 2 year old daughter can see the Sox need LH hitting...what is the FO doing?? THANK YOU VERY MUCH. How long have I been beating that drum? LaRoche was not a good choice, in the first place, but now that he's gone and the money from his salary available, Hahn is clearly trying to acquire a middle of the order, left handed bat. I'm confident that he will get someone, but not optimistic about how good he will be.

"Caulfield", that is precisely my point. They should try to explore the various options, and playing Rollins provides no added insight. If Tyler could be counted upon to fill one of the holes created by the departure of Frazier and, or Lawrie, the front office might have a better idea of how to proceed.

This issue should be relatively simple to resolve. Here are the reasons to let Saladino play: 1) SS is a defense first position and, at this stage of his career, Rollins cannot provide even average defense. Saladino is a plus defender, with better range and a better arm. 2) Platooning them doesn't make sense because Rollins can no longer hit RHP and Saladino is actually a better hitter vs. RHP. If Robin insists on platooning them, it should be reversed, with Rollins facing lefties and Tyler the right handers. At least that would get him the majority of the bats. 3) There is little doubt about what can be expected from Rollins, at his age. There is always the potential for a young guy like Saladino to evolve into a pretty good player. 4) Management should be trying to find out what they have in Tyler, going forward. Although he can play several positions, he is probably best suited to SS or 2ND and those two positions could belong to Anderson and Lawrie, next year. If Tyler can establish himself as a regular, they could trade Lawrie, or at least not try to resign him. Or, they might even consider Lawrie as Frazier's replacement at 3RD, when both of them become eligible for free agency, at the end of next year, and giving 2ND to Tyler. Rollins does not enter into that future equation, therefore playing him accomplishes nothing, going forward. 5) At least according to Harrelson, Saladino has a very high baseball acumen, which along with his speed and versatility make him a very useful utility player, at the very least. What am I missing here, aside from some preference for "veteran leadership," or some other dubious notion?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 30, 2016 -> 09:13 AM) http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_...8/jimmy-rollins There's Ventura's argument for the presence of Rollins in the line-up. Kind of hard to argue with those numbers, and the amount of familiarity he has with the NL in general for so many years. However, aren't a lot of those at bats during his prime? He is obviously not the same player.

What is the solution? Who inside, or outside, of the organization could provide some "relief" to this beleaguered bullpen? How does Shields represent any help? Maybe the best solution is to have the starters pitch deeper into games, thereby limiting the use of the pen. If they can get to the 8TH, instead of the 7TH inning, that would leave just 6 outs to be covered by the relievers. So, how might Shields help achieve that goal? In his first 10 starts, he has gone 7 innings 4 times, and 6 2/3 once. He gave the Padres 6 innings, in the other 5 starts. Is it realistic to expect that he might be able to go 7 innings, on at least half of his starts? The other two questions are; Whom would he replace, Latos or Gonzales, and could either of those guys provide help to the bullpen?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 29, 2016 -> 08:35 AM) The reality here is the Sox need another starter and can't really afford to use their prospects to get one. I'm not sure that Shields is the right guy, but I like the underlying idea. The Padres would definitely have to eat some money (maybe $10M) for this to work. And no doubt it would be risky, but given where the team is at, I'm not against rolling the dice and taking a shot at a playoff run. If you miss the playoffs, I think you really have to consider blowing this thing up. We can't keep trying to patch-work the holes around our stars, especially with the next two free agent classes being garbage. One possible strategy would be to accumulate a couple more veteran pieces, with the idea that they could become good trade "chips," going into this coming off season. With that dearth of talent in this year's coming free agent market, teams seeking to fill holes will likely be more open to trades. We would have a few players that other teams would covet, and for whom we might get some pretty good young talent. Does Shields meet that description? I suppose that at the right price, and assuming that he stays healthy, he could be a player that teams might want. Adopting such a strategy would seem to necessitate holding on to the few remaining young prospects in the organization. Therefore, if they acquire Shields, it doesn't make sense to give up Anderson, but rather take on more salary, instead. Any rumors including Anderson don't make much sense, in any context regarding a trade for Shields.

I can't imagine that the Sox would take on that contract, and give up young talent. That would be very foolish.

All of that nonsense about the closer not being able to pitch with a big lead, because of the absence of adrenaline. Hey, I think he put himself in a big enough jam to muster up some adrenaline. Maybe it was more than adrenaline, that was missing.

The thing to remember, "Chitown" is that if he can't draw walks, he will need to be a .300 plus hitter, in order to have an acceptable OBP. That is a pretty high bar for a young player, even one with a much longer professional career track record. His current OBP is only .21 above his average. That is fine if he can keep hitting .321. Moreover, I think some overlook how hard it is to get extra base hits, unless you are hitting balls in the strike zone. You will note that an awful lot of his hits are singles. Of course, if he can steal enough bases, that would help boost the number of his total bases.

A few points regarding Anderson: 1) He can't come up to just be platooned, facing only LHP. He needs to play every day. 2) His results vs. RHP are probably not good enough yet, to justify his making the huge leap to the Majors. 3) His defense has to be polished enough to hold down the critical shortstop position. His plus arm strength and range are great tools, but he needs to employ them effectively, and make the routine plays, including turning the double play. 4) He appears to have tremendous confidence. It would be a shame to shatter that by subjecting him to failure, on a grand scale. 5) To reiterate, he must demonstrate that he can work counts and draw an occasional base on balls.

And going a little further back, there were the two QB's; Borchard and Fields. Even Micah Johnson was a basketball player first, and then later switched to baseball, where he seemed to always be trying to acquire the baseball skills to match his speed and athleticism. But then, you guys know all that. As I have stated before, I personally prefer skilled baseball players, over "great athletes".

Where do you think Delmonico fits in the Sox future? Is he an option to compete for the third base opening, when Frazier leaves in 2018? Then there is still Davidson. It seems like there are 3 possible replacements for Frazier, if you include Trey. So, who do you guys think has the best shot at it? How would you rank their defense? I would guess that it would be Trey, Nicky and Matt, in that order.

Regarding a potential trade with the Brewers, this might be of interest: http://brewcrewfever.com/2016/05/24/trade-...s-braun-lucroy/ Both Braun and Lucroy are discussed and the Sox included as a possible trading partner. Therefore, sketchy as the article is, it is relevant. The Brewers want young affordable pitching. They would not likely target Anderson, because their #1 prospect, Orlando Arcia, is also a shortstop. Arcia is ranked 2ND, among all SS prospects, by MLB.com.

Ok, Caulfield. I'll accept that as a valid reason to abandon any hope of Morneau being able to contribute this season. I had read that he might be able to contribute somewhere, in the second half. You are probably right. Thanks

Morneau was supposed to be able to start swinging a bat in June. It's almost June, so how is his recovery coming? He wouldn't need to do much more than swing a bat, if they let him DH. Could he be ready to hit after the All Star break?

Look at CarGo's stats, now that he has cooled off. He has pretty much the same line as Avi. When you factor in that he is playing in the N.L. and in Colorado, he doesn't seem very intriguing, especially with that contract.

That is a terrific post, "Dizzy Sox". I never thought about the tendency of the Sox to select "toolsy" outfielders, as a K.W. obsession. You may be on to something. In any case, you express my sentiments exactly. Thank you.

OMG!! If he really profiles as another Grady Sizemore, I'm 100% on board. LOL I don't care if he's only 9 and in Little League. I'll wait.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 23, 2016 -> 01:54 PM) He's 19 from a College Prep school though and would most likely be the best player on the boards if they land him. Would be an excellent choice in my opinion. I guess we have to trust the scouts. However, we all know the arguments against a Prep position player: 1) They haven't had an opportunity to ever demonstrate their ability to hit high quality pitching. 2) They require a long time to develop. 3) They aren't even physically mature, so it's difficult to know what they will look like, once they mature. Regarding "best player". The rankings are very close between Collins and Rutherford. Therefore, I assume that there is not a clear "better player". I'd rather have a guy who could contribute in a year or two, rather than 5 years. This is so intriguing to me: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/5/10/1...f-miami-florida