Harry Chappas

I picked Pittsburgh just becasue I'd like to see them s*** or get off the pot.

I stopped watching baseball and paying until due to the cub run months ago. I did not know Verlander had turned in such a good year.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Nov 17, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) Honestly you want your starters to go in as long as possible in games. Sox starters put the 4th most innings pitched in baseball in 2016. As for the relievers he had pitched some of them alot on back to back days but overall sox had the second fewest innings for relievers in all of baseball. The offense was terrible so every game was a one run game thus the high leverage guys were used more consistently. Couple with the fact the injuries, there was not much to work with out there other than Jones and Robertson.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 10:52 AM) Yep - Been very much enjoying this season. Very clear that Michonne is ready to fight as are a few others. Question is how long will Rick be held down. At some point clearly all the other communities are going to unite against Negan. Please note I don't read the comic books so this is my speculating not off the comics. That was what last season proved that the Rick Army is not nearly at that capacity to actually fight larger groups. My guess is internally the Negan crew will turn on themselves.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 10:57 AM) I know. I feel slightly embarrassed that I'm still sticking with it. It is a good 40 minutes spent there are worse things to do with your time. I am actually surprised it has stayed at least decent thus far and it is actually very good this season. Holding its story much better then LOST and I went down with that plane.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 08:19 AM) also some speculation that Daryl was communicating with Rick by blinking morse code to him, we did see the morse code sign/wall hanging in the house. Every episode has been really solid. As long as the obvious stupidity of the last season is not written back it, it should go pretty well.

QUOTE (Brian @ Nov 14, 2016 -> 10:52 AM) Finished all the Black Mirror. Not one bad episode for me. SOme weaker than others but quality. Ready for the next 6. Last episode was fantastic.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 16, 2016 -> 09:48 AM) I just don't see Turner going anywhere. It's one thing for a GM to liquidate 3-4 of his top 10 prospects for a guy like Sale. It's another thing completely to send off a young player the general fanbase has already latched onto as a star of the future. I don't either but that is the haul it should take. Washington has better options than Boston in that regard and as such it will hurt them more. Washington could also use a Robertson, Jones, Abreu and even a Cabrera. Max and Stras aren't getting any younger.

I think Washington is actually better suited than Boston with Turner and Giolito.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 06:28 PM) This isn't an exact science. The Sox are the king of "awesome trade at the time" and then it never works out. Their moves have been applauded by all the big writers the past few offseasons not that it means anything but regardless, a lot of this is a crap shoot. As long as the Sox can stop acquiring veterans who inevitably perform in the 10-30th percentiles they'll be fine with a proper rebuild. Avisail Garcia started seven games in centerfield in August and September of a season where the White Sox lost 99 games 3 years ago. Could you at least come up with a semi-pertinent gripe? You're still complaining about the drafting strategy the Sox had two scouting directors ago... You say they can't develop any hitting whatsoever. They just developed a franchise SS who they picked #17 overall in a bad draft. That SS put up more WAR in a half of one season than any player in that draft has that isn't named Kris Bryant. That player was supposed to be super raw and everyone b****ed (myself included) that the Sox moved him too quickly. He is one of the five most valuable assets in that draft and already the second most productive player from that draft. The following two years they selected the two most accomplished college pitching arms and followed it up with the most polished college bat. Your gripes are jaded and would be relevant in November of 2013 but times have changed. Sox have already improved player development dramatically despite the 2013 narratives appearing ad nausem. If the Sox hit this rebuild right (some will get pissed, but it's not that hard to do with the assets they have at their disposal) they'll be in fine shape soon enough with financial flexibility and a load of young talent. As long as they don't continue to get of the worst return in the league on their investments in FA and inoffseason trades they should be in great position for playoffs come 2019. Would I want to be ready this year, of course, but it is what it is and at least they've addressed their issues (to your point, other than KW and Bell), they've picked a lane and they're doing what's best for the org. My semi-pertinent gripe has to do with the Sox trading for a guy that they believed to be a five tool player that may have one tool and is now a piece they are missing in a big way. That is a scouting failure of the type of player they are looking to get now. They hit on Eaton in a big way and missed on Davidson. The fact that Iglesias was the prize of the Peavy trade makes it worse to me. The White Sox are in this predicament becasue they built a core and then could not fill in the pieces around them. This rebuild is unprecedented because the front office failed at their job. I along with the media liked the moves they did on paper. They need to win these moves in reality not on paper. Their international activity is an area where they do not want to compete as well outside of one guy. Hopefully they have remedied these things and you are right. I really hope hope my trepidation is unwarranted and I am just turning into an old bitter fan. I have no problem with the rebuild and if there was a paradigm shift in the organization that would be wonderful.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 02:53 PM) Buddy Bell isn't involved in acquisitions and evals he's in charge of overseeing the development of players in the minor leagues. The Sox FO's has been inadequate in plenty of different ways over the years. Even so, as much as the lazy narratives around here would lead you to think it's just Kenny Williams, Rick Hahn and in your case, Buddy Bell, just sitting in an office bulls***ting up a package that's simply not the case. They have been working and preparing for a trade with at least the Red Sox and Dodgers for almost a half year. Given what I was told around the deadline that never came into fruition, they've probably been set and prepared to sell just didn't get the okay from management until this offseason. I get that Bell and Williams are not boots on teh ground guys. My issue is that I really cannot take what this organization has produced and see anything positive without putting on the rose colored glasses when it comes to taking players that need work and preparing them for the MLB. Whoever scouted Avasail Garcia and thought he was a center fielder missed badly. Whoever thought the athletic, raw baseball skillset draft idea, following the middle of the road college pitcher craze missed badly. The inability to develop any type of hitting whatsoever is missing badly. As an organization I do not think they have an offensive philosophy. Under Hostetler it appears that maybe they are looking for more OBP, now they need to develop them. Maybe the tiger, zebra or whatever it is can change their stripes and I sure as hell hope they can.

I like Hahn and think he could do it correctly. The problem will be running it through KW and then handing them off to Buddy Bell. Then of course they will all be rushed to the big leagues prior to being ready.

South Sider a lot of the points you are making are that they are from times past and not pertinent to the current situation. My point is that the organization as a whole is the same as it has been for all of these moves and has been since the 90's. KW and Buddy Bell are there and overseeing these things.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 15, 2016 -> 10:33 AM) The scariest thing about a rebuild is expecting an organization that has a decade long streak of not developing position players for the most part will be depending on developing position players. Hopefully Getz is good at his job. The thing I come back to is that the assets that they have should not require a rebuild but the fact that it does leaves me to believe that with this regime in place they are destined for failure. For three years they have had the pieces in place to build a winner and they failed miserably at it so now they are going to magically get it right? Giving away Tatis in the Shields deal...my god what a waste that is now....is a case where the organization failed to realize what they had in totality and sold Tatis in exchange for additional salary relief for Shields.....what a waste that whole exercise now appears. The team will always be financially hamstrung to keep it from doing what needs to be done.

The White Sox seem to be in unprecedented territory in regard to a rebuild. They have impactful players that can bring in two or three of the top minor players to the White Sox. Three guys that should net at least two top 100 players Sale (plus at least one B+ guy) Quintana (plus a B guy) Eaton You then have add on's that could clean out a good system if packaged with those guys above but also could get a guy that would be in the White Sox top 10 if dealing with a deep team Jones Frazier Abreu Cabrera Robertson Again this is all unprecedented and looks like it is not a bad idea on the surface.....here is where the trepidation sets in The cubs did it so why can't the Sox?......the cubs got lucky with a GM being fired for some reason and then taking over their operation, another GM giving them Rizzo, Arrieta figured it out, Beane lost his damn mind, Contrearas and Baez were there and the cub spent wisely on foreign players and then in free agency to finish it off. They are also developing players and have an organizational philosophy...oh and Maddon was dropped in their lap....these things fail more often then they succeed. The thing that scares the crap out of me is that the White Sox cannot develop players so anyone playing below AAA this year is more likely to bust then reach their potential. The White Sox cannot scout very well. This is the organization that believed Avasail Garcia could play center-field. These are also the guys that seem to have no advanced MLB scouting worth a damn. These guys felt Jimmy Rollins was the answer at SS last off-season for a team that was looking to go to the playoffs and that James Shields was worth giving up a solid SS prospect for.....after Latos lightening left the bottle. Jake Peavy and Javier Vazquez were two other trades that should have added to the foundation of this team....they did not. I want to be excited about watching and learning about these moves but with this organizational philosophy and Buddy Bell continuing to fail, I believe I will just see more failures. I like Renteria only because he seemed to be the guy the cubs wanted to advance their team in the rebuild and they seem to have a good plan over there. Maybe Getz will change things as Hostetler seems to have...we will see.....but with KW overseeing it my gut tells me they will be undersold like many trades before them and we will be left with Carlos Rodon, Tim Anderson and a whole lot of Brain Andersons.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 14, 2016 -> 03:36 PM) Trea Turner, please! Giolito too That would be perfectly fine for me.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 14, 2016 -> 10:53 AM) We just had two teams trade their best prospect + for relievers. In one case, it was for a couple months of a reliever. A Sale trade would require a package that's unprecedented but without a doubt teams are willing to dance for the best LHSP not named Kershaw. Is Sale the only guy going though? I think you can hit on a Sale deal but they also need to then move Quintana, Cabrera, Robertson, Frazier and probably Abreu to make it worth trading. While discussing with teams they will all want Eaton and probably Jones. That is a lot of teams you need to deal impactful youth. If it is a money saving venture that the Sox are going after than moving those guys will be easy. Similar to the Ray Durham trade of years past for all but Quintana and Sale..... My personal guess is that in the end they will need to spend money on a bad contract or 2, trade Rodon and hope to compete.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Nov 14, 2016 -> 08:37 AM) Why? Why do people think this? Everyone is reporting that they are rebuilding. We've been beat over the f***ing head with it and I keep seeing this. It's a stupid opinion based on KW still being around. When push comes to shove I am not certain they will get the value back that they are seeking. Teams are valuing youth more and more each season and for Quintana, Sale and Eaton a team would have to give up a good amount if not all of their youth. I just do not see the trade partners matching up enough to get these deals done. If the White Sox are not going to use the financial benefits of these deals to their advantage they will lose out badly at the end of the day.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Nov 13, 2016 -> 06:48 PM) Great memories in Chicago, but don't think I miss him. All the stupid penalties. The Hawks are the king of the video tributes now. How was that hit late in the game on Kempney not interference?

My guess is they told him they intend on non-tendering him when they have to. No reason make if official now. Still odd that nobody would take a flyer on him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 11:56 AM) At some point the Republicans can take responsibility for themselves for electing this completely unqualified man who campaigned on punishing Americans. The party of personal responsibility. The problem with the republlican party was that they never backed a candidate and allowed 16 folks to roll out and campaign which was whittled down over time to Trump who while being a democrat 3 years ago figured out how to rally something and then after receiving the nomination further rallied something, I am not certain what and won the white house. The democrats went with a candidate who 8 years ago lost to someone that had more (but not much) political experience than Trump and far less real world experience. Then after 8 years ran the same candidate out there who in the last 8 years didn't really wow anyone further...and who by the way was challenged by a 75 year old socialist from Vermont in a primary. During her campaign Hillary never rallied anyone for anything other than to tell everyone how bad Trump was. Now the democrats are protesting...what they are protesting I am not certain but it just seems like protesting is the new thing to do. Trump won becasue he rode a wave of bigatory/anti-PC/rhetoric. I do not quite understand the plight of the transgender community (G/B/L I think I do) and while it was not an issue for me in this election I felt that something like the bathroom issue for a portion of the country was saying enough is enough. The safe spaces and things of that nature, certainly at the university level appeared to be something that the Trump supporters got behind. At this point, I think anyone the Republicans would have rolled out there would have won. Bill Clinton was shown to not be much of an asset for Clinton and while you would think all minorities and women would back Clinton, that was not the case. The biggest issue was them stayign home in the battleground states. Staying home in Illinois means nothing, the Madigan democratic machine is stronger than ever but in the rust belt and other battleground states every vote mattered.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2016 -> 07:21 AM) Soler is Avi Garcia in training. In training....he is already there. That's why Fowler may end up back there.

NIU seemed to have a student body that came home on the weekends. Not sure if it is still that way but it would make more sense to have an afternoon game with a tailgate opportunity but he way the MAC works don't see that happening unless baseball season is going on. They could easily schedule the game for Comiskey in October and if a miracle happens move it back to DeKalb.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Nov 10, 2016 -> 12:11 PM) I'm praying he shocks everyone and really does prevent any anti-LGBT laws and he tries to help minorities that are here legally. If he can do that he would actually be really, really good for the party going forward and he could have an 8 year stay. Going after illegal immigrants won't hurt him, even with minorities (as the election showed). But not bridging the divide domestically will be very bad for him for 2020 and the party beyond. I would not be shocked by this at all and actually expect this to be his stance.

QUOTE (Donaldo @ Nov 9, 2016 -> 07:47 PM) North-South...parallel to 3rd base line. Looks like fewer than 10,000 people actually showed up. Jason Benetti doing play-by-play for ESPN. That game should have been played the Saturday after Thanksgiving when the NIU students are home. Northwestern should play there.