Dick Allen

Supposedly there is a real possibility no college SS will be drafted in the top 250 this year. So if you are trading Alexei, you better have some sort of alternative in your system or some available option moving forward, or you could be looking at crap at SS for the White Sox for a long time.

QUOTE (PorkChopExpress @ May 5, 2014 -> 12:13 PM) Why? Why not have Dunn in LF, and use one of De Aza or Jordan Danks in CF for the two games at Wrigley? An OF of Dunn in LF, De Aza in CF and Tank in RF would have to contend for worst defensive major league OF of all-time.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2014 -> 08:46 AM) Except you're dealing with multiple variables or factors. On paper, Rodon would SEEM to be the higher risk, just like all the teams assumed that Sale (or even Danish) would be. In reality, the Strasburgs/Priors/Hoffmans get hurt just as often, seemingly. Or someone like Jake Peavy, with a very violent delivery. You're not going to like my answer, but I'm going to defer to Cooper and PTAC and Schneider on this and make a calculated guess. On one hand, the almost 100% certainty that we wouldn't be able to keep Rodon after Year 6. On the other, the fact that the recent injury concern/s make Hoffman a much easier signing and allow you to allocate even more money for later selections. Of course, all things being equal, you take Rodon. But all things certainly aren't equal here. Of course, were the White Sox to select Hoffman with these recent shoulder injury concerns hanging over his head, and were he to get seriously injured within the next 12-18 months, they'd look quite stupid. And yet on some recent draft boards, he's still going in the Top 5 (Twins). At this point, I'd actually prefer to take the guessing out of it and eliminate Hoffman entirely, but we have to wait and let things play out first with the rest of his collegiate season. If you are afraid of a possible injury, that pretty much eliminates every player. Might as well sit out the draft.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ May 5, 2014 -> 08:31 AM) I actually care about the series for two reasons. 1) I love betting scrub fans that the SOX will win it. Unfortunately, I lost a good bit of money last year but I feel I should be able to recoup some this year 2) I love seeing the scrubs suffer Scrub fans like to act like they don't care about a crosstown beat down but in reality, they do. Of course they do. If you have ever been to a Cubs/Sox game at Wrigley, when the Cubs win it is like they have just won the WS in there. Cubs fans will always tell you Sox fans care more about it than they do, but that is totally bunk. One of my greatest moments was at Wrigley with 2 Cubs fans and another Sox fan to even it out, with 2 outs in the 9th. Cubs fans standing and cheering, Dempster closing, AJP at the plate....you can put it on the board, Sox lead. Not only did the Sox take the lead, but it was AJ who did it. It couldn't have been more perfect.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2014 -> 08:15 AM) Unless Hoffman becomes Verlander II and Rodon is simply another version of Francisco Liriano, tantalizingly talented, but, in the end, flawed. Hoffman has at least two more starts before the draft, the first will be this Friday, if ECU reports are accurate. Of course, there's no guarantee that Rodon/Hoffman both won't fall apart and Mr. Jackson becomes Joe Mauer Jr. with the Cubs. Then what player drafted had no injury concern? You draft the player your scouts tell you will be the best player at #3. Being afraid to draft a Scott Boras advised player with really not a lot of leverage that makes much sense is silly.

Both teams being really bad has hurt the interest. Obviously, it is nowhere near the spectacle it once was, and those 3 game weekend series were a lot fun. But both teams weren't this bad before. There is less interest in 2014 in attending any White Sox or Cubs game than there has been in many years. That, along with the jacked up pricing (at least at USCF) will keep many seats empty.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2014 -> 05:57 AM) How can anyone know that before the year 2018 or 2019? Lesser ranked today by a preponderance of scouts means absolutely nothing tomorrow. There are a ton of scouts at the time of that draft who thought Mitchell had all the tools to be a wonderful player, and he'd proven it at the highest level of collegiate baseball, so it's not like he was one of the draft day wonders with a 52" vertical and 4.23 forty time for an NAIA team. Can we say that every team in baseball believes that Rodon is going to have the best pro career, yet quite a few of those teams will deliberately skip over him (including the Marlins and Astros) and take what THEY KNOW TO BE a lesser player in Aiken or Kolek? By definition, aren't the collegiate pitchers and hitters going to rank higher than the high school players, since 98% of the time collegiate players are much more polished and closer to the big league level at the time of the draft? Can you state with 100% certainty that Rodon will be a better player than either Hoffman or Jackson when looking back 5-10 years from now? Look no further than the Prior/Mauer situation. Everyone in baseball believed Prior was a once in a generation pitcher with repeatable mechanics. Or Strasburg from that draft. Or Bryce Harper. Doesn't guarantee anything. You're just as likely to end up with a talented enigma like JD Drew or Colby Rasmus as a franchise cornerstone. And even if you draft Harper/Strasburg, you can't guarantee their health. Looking at all the sliders Rodon has thrown already in his career, would you be surprised at all if he goes through TJ surgery? And for a pitcher we'll only control for six years, when you're staring right in the face losing 1 1/2 of those 6 due to surgery and recovery time, is he really the clear choice, and why is that? OK I will rephrase, you are taking a player you believe to be a lesser player. Is that OK? Every pitcher is an injury risk. Rodon may be an injury risk. Chris Sale is an injury risk. Should the Sox trade him for prospects you don't believe could be as good as him? Hoffman is clearly an injury risk. The HS guys are injury risks, let alone history of HS pitchers taken this high. They might be Doc Gooden (he had his own problems) they might be Zach Greinke (but it really took 6 years for him to establish himself as a top of the line guy, and then he gets expensive and is gone) they may be Todd Van Poppel or they may be Gavin Floyd (some scouts said he could be in a major league rotation as a HS pitcher). If the Sox pass on Rodon because of signability concerns, the advantage they gained losing 99 games last year is lost. I don't think they will pass if he is still there, but it's all probably moot as I doubt he will be there. He has been the prize since last year. He hasn't been hurt. He still should be the prize. Boras can't negotiate, and the player he is advising has very little leverage if the Sox choose to take him. He could go back to college, but that's not going to happen if he is taken 3rd.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2014 -> 07:47 PM) And missing the forest for the trees, I take it that means you have given up on this one. No I haven't. You are advocating knowingly taking a lesser player at #3 so there is more money available for lesser players. It is the same thing as trading Sale for prospects. Quantity over quality. If you are so concerned the Sox will draft a bust at #3 the chances only get greater they choose a bust later in the draft. As of now, the only player to appear in the major leagues for the Sox in the 2009 draft is Josh Phegley.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) Because he was picked #29, and given a slot level bonus. If an organization was willing to bet their entire draft on him, shouldn't they have probably oh, I don't know, actually drafted the guy? Serious that it makes zero sense to speculate that an organization would be willing to bet a ridiculous amount on the guy when pretty much all of baseball actually passed once on the guy. That is just dumb because the actual reality doesn't support that at all. He was picked 25.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ May 4, 2014 -> 02:49 PM) Viciedo needs to get through his thick head to stay short and quick, it will fly like it just did. If he gets that through his head he'll have good at bats I don't know if you have noticed, but he is having a pretty good year.

It will be interesting to see if Kluber comes out in the 8th. The game Hawk mentioned with Buerhle happened in 2002. The Sox were leading 3-1 and Buehrle threw 104 pitches through 7. Keith Foulke got lit up. Kluber is at 100 pitches.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 3, 2014 -> 09:04 PM) It's unbelievable that you still don't understand the difference between a 32-year old trainwreck-turned-bounceback free agent this past offseason, and a 29 year-old consistently solid free agent next offseason. We don't hate free agents, Marty, we hate s***ty players. Who is this 29 year old consistently solid free agent available next year, and who was the 32 year old train wrecked turned bounce back free agent this past offseason?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 08:18 PM) The other question not asked is whether Mike Trout would be the player he is today if in his first spring training he'd destroyed his leg to the point it took him 2 years to recover. He missed a season. You can say Mitchell was going to be a star if that injury never occurred, but he had a lot of trouble with contact before that injury. He was a very raw player when drafted, but I don't know how that injury is the reason he doesn't make contact. He is a bust and more than likely would have been a bust had that injury never happened.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2014 -> 08:19 PM) And NO ONE thought Mike Trout was the best player. That is exactly the point. Your method would have wasted an entire draft for garbage, despite this draft creating plenty of major leaguers, and this team having both plenty of players drafted after the #3 pick and many players drafted after that point being used to generate the roster we have now. The Angels did. The Mariners picking 2nd were torn, and they were wrong.the Yankees thought he was the best player in the draft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:57 PM) Again, that is my point. Who IS better. But at that point you are trying to project who will be better down the road. And you are willing to take that projection and sacrifice every single player who would come after the #3 pick for that one player. Even though Mike Trout was picked WAY down the draft board from #3. The best player in that draft wasn't taken #1, #2, or #3. He was taken #29, and pretty no one expected it. There was no outrage on draft day that Mike Trout fell to #29. Your method misses out on Mike Trout. BTW, the #3 pick in 2009? Donovan Tate. Congrats, you got a bust, and no other player to show for it. You also missed on guys like Paul Goldschmit, Jason Kipnis, Wil Myers, and a couple dozen of other major league baseball players. The point of drafting is to pick the player you think will be the best player on the board, anything else is the old way which got you Broadway and crap like that. The 2 excuses used for the White Sox poor drafts were money allocated and draft position. What you propose would make this draft business as usual. The Sox missed on all the players you mentioned anyway.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:35 PM) Probably applies most to the guy who had a 8.94 BB/9 rate at AAA Memphis last year and has a 9.00 BB/9 rate with the White Sox All things being equal, Cleto or Downs should go. Downs definitely won't . It will probably be Putnam. .

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:33 PM) So you won't put your money where your mouth is and stop trolling the rest of the site? That's more important to you? Funny how that works out. I am not trolling. What is the consequence of your latest mistake?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:25 PM) I'll leave if you will. Didn't you just post you expect consequences for each mistake you make? Funny how that worked out.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:27 PM) Yeah, whatever. I'll be more likely to cry when we don't get anything back in return for our investment into him. Our investment? Do you own the team?

Caulfield in tears. Double for Beckham.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:22 PM) Leury? Mistake. You can't post tomorrow.

Solid single for Tumbleweed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:09 PM) No, Adam Dunn thinks this is no different than Little League. He's the one who just made a little league mistake. People do make mistakes. Even you.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 3, 2014 -> 07:03 PM) The good news is Dunn will clearly be benched/punished somehow for a boneheaded baserunning msitake there. You reslly think this is no different than Little League. Or else why would you want to punish the team and leave a hot Adam Dunn on the bench for a game as punishment for a mistake he rarely makes and is fully aware should not happen.

Dunn is usually a slow but real good baserunner. That blunder was surprising.