scenario

Reinsdorf isn't going to be around forever. And given the way JR operates (building traditions, rewarding loyalty, etc.), I picture him putting together a succession plan that includes elevating KW to some level of ownership. Which means Kenny could be around for a long long time.

Call me crazy, but I like the rotating DH... as long as Flowers is one of the players in the rotation. I'm picturing Flowers/Kotsay/Jones will all see time at DH. If so, the lineup will probably work out to be 8 regulars + 5 reserves + 12 pitchers. With the likely reserves to be Vizquel, Jones, Flowers, Nix, and another player yet to be determined.

From Bruce Levine's story on the ESPN Chicago website... "According to White Sox sources, Jones is not being considered as a starting outfielder at this point."

QUOTE (qwerty @ Nov 25, 2009 -> 07:10 AM) The only way omogrosso sees any time in the majors is if the sox have to do their yearly call ups due to the desperation of no one on the big league roster being able to record outs. He would likely come up, get smoked, and never be seen or heard from again. If i went back through the years at all the candidates (relievers from the minors) that people have thrown out there... and i mean they truly believed they could make any sort of impact for the major league roster...well it would be amusing to say the least. Age is such a key factor, even for relievers, that i cannot believe so many think so little of it. Sure there are aberrations, but that is why they aberrations and nothing more. I cannot stress strong enough how much age matters in the grand scheme of things. Generally if you do not make the majors by a certain age/time frame that the organization has in mind, they move on and you are thrown onto the back burner. There is always new up and coming talent, so the room for error is rather small. Just one set back may be your last. I understand the farm has been depleted in recent years past, and that is why i feel some ''prospects'' here are giving unwarranted hype, but give me a break. If i knew absolutely nothing about the chicago white sox, and i stumbled upon soxtalk, i would think the major league roster was composed solely of minor league players. I don't believe that the vast majority of posters on this board have unrealistic expectations about minor league players. They just like to read about and talk about them. If not here, then where? We simply try to cover as many players as possible in as much detail as possible to give people who are interested a way to learn about the players. So, please don't feel the need to be a reality cop for minor league discussions.

Anybody who throws high 90's has a shot to make an MLB squad if they can get the ball over the plate with some consistency. Omogrosso has had some control issues (and a few health issues) that make his minor league numbers look mediocre... but he's got a major league arm. Not sure whether he can stick with the big club yet, but I'm glad to hear he's on the road to good health and going to get a shot in spring training.

Great news. Better than I expected or had heard previously. Omogrosso to be 100% by spring training Blackhawk’s Omogrosso gets spring call with ChiSox Beaver County (PA) Times Sunday November 22, 2009 09:04 AM Brian Omogrosso got one of those “good news, bad news” calls last week. The call came from Chicago White Sox director of minor league relations Buddy Bell. The bad news was that Bell, a Cincinnati Bengals fan, had to give Omogrosso the business about the Steelers being beaten. Omogrosso, a Blackhawk High School graduate and Steelers fan, was able to take that bit of ribbing a bit easier thanks to the good news: The White Sox were going to put Omogrosso on their 40-man roster. That means Omogrosso will take part in major-league spring training in February. The move was made official on Friday. Omogrosso had been called up from minor-league camp to pitch in a few big-league spring games, but this will be his first experience to train with the major-league team. “I was very happy about it,” said Omogrosso, 25. “I’ve been kind of waiting to see what was going to happen, whether they were going to expose me to the Rule 5 Draft.” At the start of the 2009 season, Omogrosso was with Class AA Birmingham, and he got off to a great start with a 7-2 record. He earned a promotion to Class AAA Charlotte, but in four games, he posted an unsightly 15.88 ERA. It turned out that he required some surgery on his right shoulder. He had been feeling tightness in the back of his shoulder beginning in early June, and he figured it was something he could simply fight through. The shoulder never healed, and it got to the point where he wasn’t even throwing between starts. He was shut down at the end of June with the surgery following at the end of July. “It ended up being a little clean-up in the shoulder,” said Omogrosso. “I’m already throwing again, and I’ll be a hundred percent by spring training.” Noted for having one of the best fastballs in the White Sox’s farm system, Omogrosso is looking forward to testing himself against the competition in spring training. And he insists that nerves will not be a factor. “I’m not nervous. There’s no point to it,” he said. “I’ve done this my whole life. I’m just going to go out there and give my best, and, hopefully, my best is good enough to get a job this year.”

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Nov 22, 2009 -> 07:20 PM) Around $7.5M and yes, that's a lot of money. Tampa recognizes they have to step up to compete in the AL East. If they scoff at the price... fine... Let them wallow in loserville again. God knows they're familiar with the territory. But if they want to play with the big boys... $7.5M is not alot of money to pay for one of the best closers in MLB. Look at what tightwad Cleveland was willing to pay for Kerry Wood to try and help them get over the top.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 22, 2009 -> 06:21 PM) Flowers, Hudson, Jenks and D2 for Upton might be TBs offer. If Friedman asked for that much, I'd refuse to take his phone calls in the future.

The first half of the article says the "Rays plan to be aggressive in addressing bullpen and catcher". So... might Bobby be part of the equation? Package up Jenks and AJ... ask for Upton and another player in return.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 06:30 PM) Why could Morel not be a star player? I'm not knocking him. He could turn out to be a very good major league player some day. I'm just suggesting that the odds of a guy who hasn't played above A-ball yet being an MLB star are low and that the law of averages is working against him... just to make it to the majors... much less becoming a star. Regarding where we drafted him, etc. Actually he was considered a reach in the 4th round... somebody who wasn't high on alot of teams boards and probably could have been picked up later in the draft. But so far, he's making the people who picked him look pretty good.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 05:38 PM) I guess the second one is what I'm asking. Just seems to me that although they've both had terrific years, neither has the skillset to make any impact in the majors. Doesn't matter, really. KW will deal them as soon as he gets the chance. Just following up on your earlier question... Each of them has special attributes that should get them a shot if they continue to develop... A. Both have nice simple swings (no hitches) and seem to hit the ball for both average and power. B. Retherford can play multiple positions. That's a plus for him to get on and stick on a roster. C. Morel is a plus defender at 3B. The combination of their hitting and fielding attributes gives them a significant advantage over alot of other guys... for example, 1Bs and corner outfielders... who have to hit a ton to not be 'dime a dozen' types.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 05:26 PM) So do folks really believe Retherford/Morel are legitimate prospects? Depends what you mean by 'legitimate prospects'. If you mean 'do they have a shot at getting called up to the major leagues someday'... then I think the answer is yes. If you mean 'do they have a shot at sticking around for awhile in the majors in some role'... possibly. If you mean 'will they become star players'... probably not.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 04:36 PM) Just goes to show that K's wether in pitching or hitting aren't the end all be all stat. The team with the best ERA in the league (Phoenix Devil Dogs) had the second fewest strikeouts... but gave up the fewest walks.

CJ with 3 RBIs in a 5-4 championship win... continuing to build up his reputation as a big game player.

QUOTE (daggins @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 04:28 PM) Danks swings at a lot of first pitches huh Yep. Not just today. That's his regular pattern.

The Javelinas pitching staff has 14 strikeouts throughout 8 innings. The other team (Devil Dogs) has... 4? Hard to imagine that this game would even be close based on that stat.

Nice hit by CJ. Got all of that one.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 21, 2009 -> 09:39 AM) Patrick, how far away do you think Morel really is? I have never really looked into this kid until now...could he be our starting 3b as early as next season? Edit: I mean the 2011 season. Don't know. He sure looked good in the AFL... Apparently, Gary Ward helped him make a few adjustments that obviously brought some nice results. But I think we'll have to see him over a larger sample size of at-bats. Next year at Birmingham will be very telling. I expect Viciedo will spend the year as Charlotte's 3B, so it's likely that Morel will spend 2010 with the Barons and 2011 in Charlotte before he gets a shot at MLB in 2012. That's assuming of course that Kenny doesn't get an itch and deal one of them before then.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) Tell me, do I understand this correctly? Will he find more polished curveballs coming his way there? As I understand it, the better raw stuff is in AA, but more pitchers in AAA have been up to the show. Yes QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) So would we get a better idea of his strikeout/discipline projections if he were exposed to more polished repertoires? Depends what he's struggling with. AAA is a good testing ground for hitting off-speed stuff. But there are hitters who can thrive there but not be able to hit a major league fastball. (ex. Josh Fields) QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) I guess that's my question; are pitchers in AAA tougher pitchers? Difficult to compare. Some pitchers never make it above AA. Others go right from AA to MLB. AAA on average has pitchers who are more talented, but the primo talents don't spend much time there.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 01:07 PM) Does it really matter? Not really. But if he doesn't, it could mean we'll flip him during the offseason for another team's former first round bust... ala Borchard for Thornton. That passing thought just interested me for a minute.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 20, 2009 -> 01:04 PM) What about his year last year screams put me on a major league roster for a year? ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Most teams already have toolsy minor league outfielders who are struggling at the plate. Not sure they'll come running to add one of ours to their major league roster.

Anybody know if Lillibridge has any options left?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 19, 2009 -> 09:39 PM) I posted a bunch of quotes from the Arizona board at MLB.COM after the trade was made. They blasted the s*** out of it. Just google the Allen trade thread. They're in there somewhere. Yeah, but about 3 weeks after the trade when Allen started tearing up AAA, they changed their minds and were declaring Josh Byrnes a genius for the move. I'm not upset we traded Allen. I just wish we had gotten more for him than Pena.

Jordan Danks finished the AFL season leading the league with 31 runs scored and was in the top 10 in hits, doubles, RBIs, total bases and walks. He struck out 26 times (9th in the league), but walked 20 times (2nd in the league). Over 26 games (99 at-bats), he batted .343 with a .458 OBP and a .963 OPS.