Lillian

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

I'll be disappointed. A high school position player just seems like such a gamble, as well as a long wait for any contribution. I really want Collins.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 23, 2016 -> 09:55 AM) So two lines of ignoring the trend lines (which are quite important, as he was challenged at this level), and one line referring to a stat that shouldn't be used to evaluate defense. I can understand some hesitation. But you are focusing on a few specific stats, and not seeing the whole picture, both stats and otherwise. Perhaps you misunderstood this last post, which was merely a response to "SouthSideSales". He asked for those stats, and I provided them, since he was at work, and couldn't look it up. I wasn't trying to draw any conclusions from them. I've already stated my concerns, and they remain. However, I am hoping that Anderson continues to make progress and ultimately lives up to the great expectations, which are based primarily on his athleticism.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ May 23, 2016 -> 06:24 AM) Maybe I'm crazy, but I see a guy who is super athletic and just needs the reps at SS. He's getting them at AAA. He may never be elite but he has the tools to be above average. He needs development and it's good to see him doing so. I think we all knew, or at least I knew, he'd struggle to start AAA. Now he's caught fire and swinging great. Haven't checked his BB% and K% rate lately. I look later after work. I also haven't saw anyone posts saying, "well Anderson committed his third error in two games." What's his error total? He now has 6 walks, in 181 plate appearances. He has struck out 42 times, which is 23% He has made 7 errors in 192 chances, for a .964 fielding %.

Although none of us knows what the front office really thinks of Avi, it would seem useful to give him every opportunity to demonstrate whether or not he can be the DH. If he can't, then the need for another bat becomes more acute. It is very doubtful that anyone else on this roster could fill that role. They should be letting him play as much as possible, while carefully evaluating him. In the meantime, Hahn has already stated that they are actively engaged in attempts to acquire a left handed bat.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 20, 2016 -> 07:49 AM) What list of prospects currently out now has 10 guys ranked ahead of him? Hard to believe it's Baseball America, which is generally accepted as one of the best and certainly most famous listings. Even if that were true, it's not really a big deal because SS is the most athletic position on the field, and prospects coming up there often end up at 2B, 3B, CF or pretty much anywhere in the outfield. I'm sure most of the lists only have a couple of catchers ahead of him, that's just the nature of the game right now. There's a lot of incoming talent at that position, such as Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado will be shifted there from 3B once JJ Hardy leaves Baltimore, Bogaerts, Cozart, Corey Seager, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Brandon Crawford, Trevor Story (there's an even better prospect behind him in the Rockies' system), Ketel Marte and Addison Russell/Javier Baez. These positions tend to ebb and flow. 15 years ago, ARod/Nomar/Tejada/Jeter ruled the AL. Recently, it was almost impossible to find a great 3B...and certainly a franchise catcher. As far as Anderson hitting leadoff, he would hit 8th or 9th his first year or two before becoming comfortable. Eventually, he'll end up at leadoff, 2nd or at the bottom of the order if his OBP/OPS don't merit as many AB's. The reason trading Anderson won't happen is we have to fill holes (or sign extensions) at 3B, SS, 2B, catcher, CF and LF over the next two years, and that's not even dealing with the rising cost of pitching (and the lack thereof in terms of cheap/young pitchers on the market). That's six positions alone...and you could probably make it 7, adding uncertainty surrounding Avi Garcia's future. Anderson has to become an All-Star player for the White Sox unless they're going to raise the payroll to the $150-175 million range. It's also not a sure thing they're going to want to overpay Todd Frazier in his middle thirties for declining production...he'll probably receive offers like $70 million for 3 years if he keeps this current pace up over the next couple of years (assuming the defense stays the same and BA is in the 240's). The only shortstops, whom you mentioned, who are on the Top Prospects List ahead of Anderson, are Crawford, Turner and Swanson. The rest of the players you cited are no longer considered prospects.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 22, 2016 -> 09:35 PM) Probably has something to do with Garcia being very cool recently and 0/12 with 4 k's against Ventura lifetime. Sands has also been more dangerous this past week, so attempting to with the hot hand and shake things up a bit. If Avi is supposdly a different hitter, with his new approach, shouldn't his history against a particular pitcher be of less significance? You would think that they would like to see how the changes affect his results against a guy who had previously dominated him.

What exactly does Jimmy Rollins bring to this team? With Abreu getting the day off, the best DH they could employ was Rollins, even with a RH pitcher. Wow, if that doesn't speak volumes about the need for another bat, I don't know what does. If Rollins isn't going to hit, what is the point of having him on the roster? He is not a good SS, at this point in his career. I asked once before but I'll ask again; How much better is Saladino, defensively? I know he's better, but to what degree?

Thank you "Harkness". That is very kind of you.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 21, 2016 -> 04:00 PM) He's getting very hard to watch. Slumping is one thing, even getting worse is one thing, but right now he has some elementary problems. It's not just that it feels like he's being pitched very consistently and predictably inside, the numbers bear it out as well. Nobody sees as many inside fastballs in the league as Jose. But he can't lay off of them and he can't hit them hard. I'd like to see him at least look like he has a different strategy. Go up there looking for inside heat and pound it...or, if he just can't do that, then try to go up there refusing to swing at anything that looks to him like it's on the inside third. Right now it looks like he's up there trying to be able to cover any kind of pitch, but he's only seeing one kind of pitch and he can't handle that one. There are at least 3 ways to counter the strategy of being pitched inside: 1) He can get his bat out in front early enough to pull the inside pitches, before they get in too deep. However, that would require him to swing too early, and also likely result in a lot of pitches pulled foul. 2) Take those inside pitches for balls 3) Back a little off of the plate and take the strikes, which he could still reach, the other way. He has enough power to hit to the opposite field, with authority. Any pitches that look like they are even close to coming inside on him, he could take with confidence, knowing that they were definitely inside, given how far he is from the plate. If they throw him breaking balls "away," many will actually break across the plate for strikes, given that he is standing off the plate. He would need to recognize them as strikes, and make some contact. If he is going to be suckered into swinging at balls breaking away, and out of the zone, as he has so often done, standing off the plate won't work for him. However, if he can lay off those low and away breaking balls, this tactic could effectively counter the strategy of being pitched inside. If there is indeed something wrong with his right wrist, as someone here has suggested, going the other way, and not rolling his wrist over, could help overcome that. The "hands before the barrel of the bat" swing takes a lot of stress off of the top hand. One thing is apparent; he can't continue to do what he is currently doing. He must make some adjustments. I think that he will figure it out, and I hope that he does so very soon.

I know that many think I belabor the point, but acquiring a middle of the order left handed bat is still a high priority. Although Eaton is hitting lefties very well, it is worth noting that our two best hitters, so far are left handed. (Melky is more productive from the left side). I have no idea who, or from where he is going to be acquired, but that has to be Hahn's number one priority, which he has openly expressed. Of course, another RH Starter would be great, as well.

Yes, we do and it wasn't very long ago that some on this board derided those of us who wanted to talk about addressing them. Remember: "The team has the best record in the League. Don't be such pessimists." We sure don't look like the best team in the League. Take away Sale, and this is a .500 team, at best.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 20, 2016 -> 02:14 PM) Lillian and I are going to keep a keen eye on this thread. Indeed.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 20, 2016 -> 09:24 AM) I guess I am just not seeing much of the overly optimistic sox fans as you are. There are people around here who really like him but I have seen no one that talks about him like he is flawless and a sure bet. If he was he would be facing the Royals tonight. Perhaps I've gotten the wrong impression. It just seems like most posters here think that he's "untouchable". Any time a trade proposal is made, which might have to include Anderson, many nix it immediately.

Just as a point of information; Shields actually has pitched better on the road than he has in Petco Park, since joining the Padres.

For those of you who asked what prospect ranking does not include Anderson in the list of top 10 SS prospects: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016/#list=cws?list=ss I think that source is credible, don't you? Look, I'm not "down on him". I just think that he is overrated by many Sox fans. As I said, athleticism, speed and bat speed are all great, if they translate into being good at baseball. There have been too many guys like Joe Borchard, Brian Anderson and Jared Mitchell. Micah Johnson looks like he may be headed for the same scenario. Great athletes, with various physical attributes, who never amounted to anything. Meanwhile, the Dustin Pedroias and Prince Fielders of the baseball world become stars. By the way, isn't Altuve amazing? None of those guys look like athletes, but they are very skilled at what they do on the diamond.