harfman77

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ May 16, 2014 -> 08:38 AM) Am I the only one left that thinks Gordon will be shipped off at the deadline? It depends. I was against getting rid of him before the season as I think he has had a number of factors working against his success since his rookie season. We saw then that he could be a capable MLB player and I believe that we need to be patient and see where things go with him. If he can maintain this level of play through the summer, he will be moved if the Sox can receive appropriate value for him, but he will more than earn the ~$5.5M arb number he will receive next off-season if the Sox hold on to him. The Sox can always look to move him then as well. If he falls on his face after the break the Sox can just non-tender him.

Ebersol is probably the homerun hire in that group. He would be able to stand up to owners and actually lead while helping craft the game so that is more consumable to TV audiences. So he wont get it.

That would be perfect for me, I would love to get Aiken. Rodon would a solid option as well, I would rather go underslot than take Kolek.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 15, 2014 -> 12:21 AM) You mean Hoffman in the 2nd round? No way they're going to take a pitcher on the shelf with TJ surgery for 12-18 months with the #3. There was a report posted earlier in this thread that there is still a chance that the Sox select Hoffman at #3. The odds aren't great that it is going to happen, but it could make sense in the right set of circumstances.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 13, 2014 -> 01:36 PM) No one is suggesting that, but if Kolek was the one left standing, if it were me calling the shots, I would definitely consider a hitter, if there were no other pitchers worthy of the #3 pick. He seems destined to be hurt. It sounds crazy, but he throws too hard at this stage. I would want Rodon. I'd probably take Aiken. At least he took the winter off. But from all accounts, Rodon has just as many if not more concerns from how hard he throws coupled with the amount of sliders he throws and how he has been handled, Aiken would be the only one of the three that would be worth a shot. Every draft is a gamble. I would look at something else other than Kolek too, but mostly because I think he will be a RP in the majors, and I think there are other guys that would provide more value. But you can't really just disqualify him because he might get hurt, because the same thing can happen to any other player you select.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 13, 2014 -> 10:21 AM) Read this. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/...on-taillon/#all http://www.espn.go.com/blog/high-school/ba...alks-tommy-john So we should take nobody?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 13, 2014 -> 08:12 AM) Braxton Davidson at both 24 and 30. That's a bold call. You'd think he be ranked higher if he were worthy of two spots.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ May 12, 2014 -> 02:27 PM) You talkin' to me ? You mean De Aza ? I never said trade the guy . He just needs to stop looking like he can't field or run any better than a 50 yr. old. The guy is stumbling around like his legs are shot. If his legs are shot then he has no approximate value unless you want the current value of Ken Griffey, Jr. No I wasn't talking to anyone in particular, was talking about the original topic, Ramirez. I don't see any club out there that would give up an appropriate value for Ramirez during the season. Perhaps the Yankees in the off-season or Dodgers if either Hanley walks or is convinced to move to 3B full time, but with the way that Gordon and Uribe have been playing that is pretty doubtful with Guerrero waiting in the wings. I sure would like to pry Pederson away from them in a deal for Alexei though.

Just going to throw this out there given Nola's ascent recently, his brother is in AA with the Marlins. Some times those familial ties have an impact with selections. I doubt they take him given the composition of the draft, but it would not shock me, especially if the Marlins want to employ the same underslot strategy that has been talked about constantly with the Sox. At this point, I think Kolek and Rodon go off the board at 1-1 and 1-2, and the Sox pick between Aiken and the field.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 12, 2014 -> 02:26 PM) I think he can make it in the bullpen as a 2nd lefty, but yeah, I don't have high hopes for him. Yeah, I think he can be a quality lefty out of the pen.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ May 12, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) The sox get to split 67 millon five ways. Wow. Here we come! The "value" is based off a sale of the station. Sox get more money from the tv contract than they get from CSN revenues. This. There isn't a ton or real value there until the stake in the network is liquidated. The Yankees have been selling off chunks of YES to Fox over the last five years to boost their cash on hand while still reeling in the money from the contract. All that this valuation does is add another $200M to the sale price of the Sox.

Who are you going to trade him to and get appropriate value?

This weeks stat update: Carlos Rodon - 7 IP 4H 1R 0ER 1BB 9K Season - 13 GS 1.73 ERA 93.2 IP 76H 35R 18ER 29BB 111K Tyler Beede - 6 IP 3H 1R 1ER 6BB 6K Season - 13 GS 3.43 ERA 76 IP 61H 41R 29ER 32BB 82K Jeff Hoffman - TJ Surgery Season - 10 GS 2.94 ERA 67.1 IP 53H 26R 22ER 20BB 72K Sean Newcomb - 6 IP 7H 4R 4ER 2BB 6K Season - 12 GS 1.36 ERA 79.1 IP 43H 14R 12ER 33BB 84K

Rodon V Wake 5:30pm ESPN3 Beede @ Florida - 5/8 Hoffman - Out Newcomb @ UMASS Lowell 11am (5/10)

Rehab assignments can last up to 20 says and his started on May 2. In 23 AB's he has yet to K and has a pretty unlucky .217 BABIP.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 9, 2014 -> 11:04 AM) Good, we definitely won't reach for him then. That does hurt the Sox leverage in pre-draft negotiations though.

I still really like the idea of taking Chavis and sticking him at catcher to see if he can handle it. From Law on 4/13 • Sprayberry High School shortstop Michael Chavis has had some first-round buzz after a very strong spring season at the plate, showing strong hit and power tools after a modest showing last summer. Chavis is maxed out physically, 5-foot-10 or 5-11 and already very strong, so there's less projection than there is on your typical high school prospect. He has a quiet approach with strong hands and wrists, so the contact he makes tends to be hard, with plenty of loft in his finish. He showed better running speed than I expected, above average to plus down the line, although I think he'll settle in as a 55-rated runner in a year or two. He has the arm to play anywhere on the field, but his footwork isn't right for shortstop; he could move to third, or even right field, but he has a catcher's build and the intensity for that position, assuming he has the interest. I know a few teams have discussed having him catch at their pre-draft workouts; his bat might be too advanced to take that risk, but you've got a potential superstar if he takes to the position quickly.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 8, 2014 -> 01:32 PM) The math isn't that simple. It is more like... take $2M now (low 1st round pick), or live in Haiti for a year (with little chance to keep up your competitive chops) to perhaps get $5M, but also possibly get the same or less, while having to do your rehab in a country that lacks the type of facilites you'd have here. And in both cases, to have basically the same shot at more money later as a major leaguer. I'm not sure I'd take that chance going to ANY country, but sure as heck not Haiti. To wit... Yeah, if he can do it in the Bahamas, he could get better care, and be less at risk to his person. That's different calculus. I guess I am not sure if you actually have to live in Haiti to get citizenship there, they may be very lax in their citizenship laws and it may only require a singular trip to sign some documents and then he would be free to rehab wherever.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ May 8, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) Third best player on the team, plays a position where we dont have much else at all. MLB has parity (and MLB asks you to get into the playoffs, basically. getting in is the goal). so trading him means you dont think we're going to compete 15, 16 etc. But we would have to be really bad to not compete. To find that much defense with palatable offense is really difficult at SS. The weird thing is the Sox have the things you seek ...ace, SS, possible all-star cleanup type guy...............but the replaceable stuff just isnt in yet. Bodes well for '15 though. Striking distance. Round out the rotation, pen, and C. Semien has spent the majority of his time at SS, and for the long term plan of the Sox, he will probably need to move back there to fit either Sanchez or Johnson into the lineup at some point. I don't think Alexei gets traded because there won't be a market for him. Almost all of the teams that will be in contention have long term solutions at the position with the exception of the Yankees, and I don't see them making a play for a SS until next winter.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 8, 2014 -> 01:19 PM) I just want to point out the insanity here, even though I like Badler. Move to Haiti for a year? Has be BEEN to Haiti? Because I have. That's a ridiculous idea. Haiti is an option, but so is the DR, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, or Curacao. He may have mentioned Haiti as it would likely be an easier process to gain citizenship there than most other countries as many Cuban players have done so in a relatively short amount of time without actually having to live there over any extended period of time. Never gonna happen, but it is an interesting proposal, unless MLB institutes an international draft, in which case you don't get the bidding war.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2014 -> 09:10 AM) Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 5m Bet on the Astros drafting Carlos Rodon with the first overall pick, says @johnmanuelba. His full mock draft: http://bit.ly/1qibOgz Based on that, the Sox would have some really intriguing options available at 44 with Davidson, Chavis, Ti'Quan Forbes, Gettys, and Weaver still available. Some of them wont make it there, but if you can grab one of those guys you are in great shape.

QUOTE (Greyone @ May 7, 2014 -> 03:35 PM) This also has to scare Rodon a little as well right, no way he can go back to college and risk a lot of money. He's probably not far in line behind Hoffman in line to take his turn at TJ given the way he has been used this season.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 7, 2014 -> 03:43 PM) Why would they do that? I get they may have a "preference" for college arms, but when the talent gap is so huge, it would be insane to ignore Kolek/Aiken in favor of TJ Hoffman or Nola or whatever. Agree, but I don't know their thinking. It seems like the org has an aversion to selecting HS pitching in the first round, I dont know if that was KW thing, a budget thing, or what. The Sox have passed on better players many times in the past. As I said I hope that they end up with Aiken, Rodon would be a tremendous get as well. I dont like Kolek as much as most do and would probably prefer one of the position players (Jackson or Gordon) to him.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 7, 2014 -> 03:09 PM) WAY too much risk at #3 guys. Tommy John is NOT an automatic 100% recovery like a lot of people think, and having it this early increases the chance of a second one in his 20's. The track record for a second TJ comeback is not good at all. Even if you signed him way underslot, you're saving money for the 44th pick. No one available at 44 is worth punting on a healthy #3. It depends who their options are at #3. If they refuse to take a HS pitcher, I am not sure that anyone in that area is any less of a risk than an injured Hoffman. There are plenty of guys with mid-first round talent that could slide to 44, where the Sox could pay them top 10 money to skip college and could still pick a few spots to pull a Michealewski (sp?) from last season. If the HS guys are off the table and Rodon is gone, I would rather have an injured Hoffman than a healthy Beede.

I am not sure that this takes Hoffman out of consideration for the Sox at three, it actually probably helps them. If they can get Hoffman, the guy they have seemed to really like, to sign for slot value in the 5-10 range, thats $2-$3M dollars more they can spread out through the rest of the draft. Thats a lot of extra money to sign a guy or three that slip because of signability concerns. Its a really ballsy move, I doubt they will do it, but it is a way to add some extra talent while getting the guy that you wanted. I am pretty sold on Aiken and will be disappointed if the Sox pass on him.