scenario

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 3, 2008 -> 07:22 AM) Poreda is a pretty solidly built dude. You don't see many big and strong lefty pitchers. He's huge. Not fat or anything... just a big guy. That's why I took the pictures of him walking next to Armstrong and the handshakes after the game. I wanted to get something that helped show a size comparison. If he makes the team in spring training, he would be the second tallest player on the Sox roster. Picture Jon Garland if he added 30 solid pounds. Sort of like that... Not sure if Poreda played football, but he sure could have. He's a little bigger than Clayton Richard who was a big QB.

I think the Sox just had their big annual organizational meeting. In light of the Wilder firing and Regier demotion in May... there are probably some loose ends the organization feels the need to clean up. Plus this marks the end of Buddy Bell's first year. Likely there will be some housecleaning of scouts, coaches, etc, as he continues to restructure the minor league system the way he wants it.

Jayson Nix is playing for Yaquis de Obregon in the Mexican League.

A few Poreda pics...

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Nov 2, 2008 -> 11:18 AM) I think what your seeing is a new commitment to drafting, and I like it. It's the Buddy-factor. I think KW has more confidence that if he puts resources into the farm system, that he'll see something positive come out of it.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 2, 2008 -> 09:51 AM) From what I have seen from Richard is that he doesn't have the stuff to be much better than a AAAA player. I understand why some people would think that. He really only threw 2 pitches with command during his short time up this year (fastball and slider). But... He has two other pitches that were very effective in the minors (curveball and change). If, with a little MLB experience and maturity, he starts throwing those where he wants them with regularity... he's going to be a very effective MLB pitcher.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 2, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) While I agree Richard is better off in the pen as a second lefty and long man, I disagree about the fact he'd be a dominant reliever. OK... you obviously don't like Richard. He has better secondary stuff than we saw late last season. In fact he has 4 solid pitches: fastball, slider, change, and curve. If he throws them with command in spring training, I think the odds are good he comes north as the fifth starter. If, like this season, he only commands 2 of them, then he'll be in the pen. I'd love to see him add the cutter like Danks did last winter. I wouldn't be surprised if Professor Coop gave him that homework assignment for the offseason.

The thing that struck me about Danks when I saw him is how big (tall) he is. It surprised me. I mean... I read the stats (6'5"). But when I saw him in person I couldn't help but think... "that is one tall centerfielder." And not a scrawny guy either. Very athletic build. I could see him putting on a few pounds over time and being moved to a corner position.

Danks is making this AFL thing look pretty easy so far... In his 4 games, since being called up... 1-4 (Tuesday) 4-4 (Wednesday) 2-4 (Friday) 2-4 (Saturday) 9-16 with a double and a homerun. Nice.

I think Kenny is serious. So most people who expect different are simply setting themselves up for disappointment.

I think the odds of Josh Fields being our 3B next year are very high.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 05:06 PM) ps. Sorry scenario...probably means you won't see either one of them (Danks/Beckham) tomorrow. Probably Poreda though. Take yer sunscreen...it's still friggin hot as hell out. Still tryin' to wiggle my way out of work tomorrow to get out there....we'll see. Just got back to beautiful sunny Chicago. Man... it was fun going to AFL games. Definitely something I would recommend to anyone who can pull it off. Quality talent. Small crowds... easy to get close to the field. Beautiful weather. I did see Beckham on Thursday. He played second base. And although the box score won't tell the story, I walked away with the impression that this guy IS the real deal and much closer to the bigs than I expected. The boy oozes confidence. Every time he came up to the plate or handled the ball in the field there was a feeling that "something" was going to happen. At the plate, he singled and walked twice. Scored the game's first run on a sac fly with a good slide at the plate. He has a nice tight swing and very good plate discipline... watched several close pitches rather than hacking away... consistently went deep into counts. In the field, he made 3 plays that were borderline 'special': 1) a perfect relay throw from the outfield to the catcher that almost got a guy who was stunned it was so close; 2) jumped fully extended to snow-cone catch a liner that looked like a sure gap drive; and 3) went deep up the middle to get a grounder and make a nice flip to force a guy at second and end an inning. IMO, I think there is a good chance that he could go to spring training this year and surprise alot of people. I've got some more notes and a bunch of pictures which I'll put up later.

I think the odds of us trading Jenks are somewhere between zero and none.

QUOTE (logic101 @ Oct 26, 2008 -> 12:38 AM) http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?...name=grey_jason • White Sox outfielder Stefan Gartrell suffered a third-degree shoulder separation when he hit the ground diving for a fly ball, and though it is expected that his AFL season is over, he has not been ruled out to return sometime in November. Thank you. I wasn't aware of that guy's blog. Here's another quote from his entry the day of the injury (Wednesday). "White Sox outfielder Stefan Gartrell could not leave under his own power, as he was carted off the field after a phenomenal diving effort on a deep fly ball."

I went to the game today. (Saturday the 25th). Absolutely beautiful weather. A whopping 234 fans in attendance. LOL. The Sags won 15-4. The only Sox player who got into the game was Armstrong. I thought he played pretty well. Had a 2-run single, a solo homerun (which was a towering shot), walked twice, and picked a runner off 1B with a nice quick throw from behind the plate. Got some pictures. I'll post them later after I filter out the good from the bad. I saw Poreda, Beckham, and Rodriguez. Tried to get picks of them on the bench. Will have to see how they turned out. Also, an interesting note, the Sags roster showed that Jordan Danks was recently added to the team. And Stefan Gartrell is no longer on the roster. Gartrell had been playing respectably. Not sure what happened.

From Stoney's blog... "All has been quiet on the White Sox front as Kenny Williams and company have to decide #1 what team they want and what kind of team they are able to acquire for next year. Some time those 2 things are not exactly compatible. Although the list of free agents is not official quite yet, it's safe to say the Sox will not be in the battle for CC Sabathia. The Sox, who have had a few too many people on their disabled list recently, probably don’t have enough room on their roster for Ben Sheets so don’t go look after him. But there are some intriguing lower level agents that the White Sox might have some interest in. I believe that Kenny has at least one, possible 2 blockbuster deals that he will participate in; one that I am not at liberty to discuss at this point and a couple others that I can only guess at. But the Sox know that he have some work to do because the Indians will get better, Detroit will get older and Minnesota is always pretty tough."

Sox awaiting word on spring move...

I've had an ongoing dialogue with a Tribe fan who lives in Winston-Salem and goes to the Warthog games. He had this interesting and funny comment about CJ in one of our conversations... "They love him here in Winston, if crowd applause is any measure. He's also quite often the 'Biscuitville RBI Guy' so the fans who yearn for coupons to a "down-home country" fast food chain are especially pumped when he bats." Claim to fame... being the Biscuitville RBI guy... gotta love minor league baseball.

Beckham's latest blog update is pretty funny. I like the bubble prank.

Here's an interesting little stat... If you take the top 20 starting pitchers in the AL (ranked by 2008 ERA) and look at the teams they play for... Here's how it stacks up. The number in parentheses below is the number of those 20 pitchers that play for each team. LAA (3) Sox (3) Tampa (2) Boston (2) Toronto (2) Royals (2) Seattle (1) Detroit (1) Cleveland (1) Minnesota (1) Baltimore (1) Yankees (1) Teams without a starting pitcher in the top 20: Texas and Oakland.

Great job. It will be very interesting to see how he does at Birmingham this year.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 21, 2008 -> 06:52 PM) We really need Brandon Allen to change his initials. Not just BA... TBA The Brandon Allen

Two Sox pitchers got lit up like Christmas trees on Tuesday. - Harrell went 1 2/3 and gave up 6 runs. - Rodriguez went 1 1/3 and gave up 5 runs. On the other hand, Poreda pitched one hitless inning and struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Oct 21, 2008 -> 09:52 AM) IF Crede was resigned to say a 5 year deal, should the Sox feel a moral or ethical calling to trade Fields to where he would have a true MLB roster shot? I think the team with the greatest need (and opportunity) would probably offer the most in return. So, economic calling and ethical calling probably end up being one in the same.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Oct 19, 2008 -> 03:09 PM) D.J. Carrasco in the Venezuelan League. Makes me wonder if they plan to stretch him out to compete for the 5th starter position.