bigruss

He was in the minors for 59 games, and although he raked that is incredibly little time and very easily could be that he was just hot during that time and wasn't showing the holes in his game (wasn't ready defensively at 3b quite yet, nor 2nd with the double play and he hadn't dealt with failure yet so some seasoning would've helped). I just believe that a cost controlled #2/#3 pitcher is worth >>>> than a dominant closer. Fore example, Brian Matusz was worth 3.1 WAR even after just a good but not great season (4.3 ERA, 1.343 WHIP, ERA+ 98), compared to Neftali Feliz's 2.4 WAR even though Feliz dominated, mainly because of the amount of innings that a starter has and thus the impact they have on the season. I personally think it's easier to develop bullpen arms than starters so when you have a choice you begin with starter and transition if you really need to because they can't handle it. 2 weeks, although short for a first round signing, is not like they had a deal in place (8 other first round (not including supplement) draft picks signed before Sale). The Sox were surprised he was there and took him as the best person on the board, hands down (which I love). I include that under scouting and signing

He was ready physically, but not mentally, you saw that with a 3 month long slump, sometimes it's best to have a player figure that out in the minors when he isn't hurting your MLB team while figuring out how to deal with failure. Sale's best value is at SP, and has shown throughout his collegiate career that he can handle the innings, so putting him in the closer role and only getting 50 innings of work out of him instead of 160 innings (this next year or two, can be higher in the near future) is ridiculous. Closers are easier to find than a #2/3 pitcher under team control for many years. And if it's injuries you're concerned about, some arms just won't adjust to pitching every day or two rather than longer performances every 5 days. They picked him without knowing that, they didn't have an idea whether Sale would accept less money to sign faster, and they took that gamble, which normally they wouldn't have. If paying overslot later means better players in the system, that's fine, but the fact is they need to draft better, and that means go deeper and get more superstar potential. Which is why it's a 3 way attack that the Sox need: scouting, signing, development.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Nov 15, 2010 -> 05:05 PM) The White Sox definitely need to allocate more funds to the draft, but they first have to change their philosophy of not paying over slot. With the state of our current minor league system, we can't afford to be throwing away top 10 round draft picks. We failed to sign our fourth round pick in 2010 (Matthew Grimes) and our seventh round pick in 2009 (Justin Jones). Both of these guys were high-upside high school pitchers that would have been great additions to our system. I don't know what their specific demands were, but I doubt they were that outrageous. The slot rates for these draft positions are relatively low, so paying these guys over slot wouldn't have made a huge dent in the draft budget. I honestly believe a minor change in our draft philosophy (a willingness to pay over slot for picks like these two) along with a slight increase in funding (to support these above slot bonuses) could give our minor league system a huge boost in the long-run. Agreed, but the Sox have done a pretty good job when picking at a higher position, they didn't throw away their #8 pick in 2008, and the Sale pick was out of the ordinary for them (in a good way). The problem is later in the draft, or when they pick at #25 or so, do they grab someone with high potential who is more of a risk or do they play safe with a cheaper paycheck. We'll see that once again in this year's draft and which direction they decide to go in. They'll most likely have atleast one extra pick from FA's like Putz or Konerko (one will most likely be gone, Putz gives us 1 pick, Konerko 2 if they leave) so we really need to utilize those selections. I did like the Trayce Thompson pick, but they need to continue to do so and we'll start to see these guys really have an impact 3-4 years down the road.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 15, 2010 -> 04:40 PM) Speaking of which, am I the only one who wishes they would ditch the names on the back of the jersey's all together? I love just seeing the numbers. I like the name's if we pick up a new player or have a young guy come up that I haven't seen yet I like knowing who it actually is without memorizing player's numbers.

Dang, missed the list again...

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 15, 2010 -> 04:19 PM) Until we start allocating legitimate funds towards the draft, will continue to flounder. Though I will concede that at least regards to first round picks, and only first round picks, we seem to have turned a corner. Not just to signing the picks (which is a huge part of the equation), but also to the scouting and development after the signing. If we cannot "afford" to sign the guys taht Boston, Philly, and other big spenders are willing to spend than we need to know who we are drafting better, and get the most out of them. Of course we cannot find every diamond in the rough or draft every superstar, but we haven't had an impact guy from later in the draft for awhile now. We also are not producing superstars, whether that's in the development (think rushing Beckham, or puttign Sale in the closer role and not trying him as start -of course this has only been talked about thus far) or in the scouting, it needs to improve.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 15, 2010 -> 03:01 PM) Not really. If you don't include Sale, who might end up a reliever anyway, we arguably have the worst collection of SP in the minors. And I'm not speaking from total ignorance. I subscribe to BA and follow other prospect-laden sights extensively. This is pretty much common consensus. Two of our top prospects coming into '10, Flowers and Danks, flopped miserably. Mitchell got hurt and was already raw to begin with. Other than a few relievers with decent upside, there's nothing to get excited about. And yes, I know JPN, Scenario or Northside will tell me I'm a minor league devil and I'm wrong. THere's a few players who surprise each year, but our depth is depleted from trades, promotions, and weak drafting until a few years ago (even then, Im still skeptical on some of our picks). To truly have a deep farm system we'll have to hold onto at least a few prospects and continue to build from the draft and development.

We need to win this game, no excuses now. Zook could probably lose out and still not get fired (too much money tied up and Geunther won't want to deal with a new coach since he's leaving next summer.

QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 15, 2010 -> 01:50 PM) It has been a long time since I made Kahlua. I may research recipes to find one that does not use instant coffee. Also, in the past I bought whatever cheap vodka they had on sale. Now I'm thinking something two notches up the chain will make a big difference. Did it not turn out that great with cheap vodka? Also, had Pumking beer the other night, very tasty.

you guys.

Why does Kahlua have to be so expensive (for us college kids), I am addicted to white russians and black russians. Also, looking for breweries to visit while abroad (besides the Guinness one, not sure if I'll get to go to Dublin but I do have a friend studying there while Im abroad). I will be in the Netherlands and I'm hoping to find some local brews there and maybe down in Belgium. I am planning to spend atleast a few days in Germany after the trimester since I'll have a month of free time after school.

QUOTE (Felix @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 06:35 PM) AUG > * Nuketown blows. The only problem with Nuketown is the respawn patterns, where you usually respawn right next to someone from the other team. Other than that, it's a fantastic small map. Jungle is the worst.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 10:14 PM) That's partly it. The main scene that got me was the guy at the end firing his weapons, then nonchalantly dropping them and doing the slow walk away while everything exploded. It just felt disrespectful to real war veterans. I think you're looking to far into it, it's an entertainment source. If anything, that showed the entertainment value over a realistic viewpoint of it. It's about playing how you want to play in the game, not how you would fight in a real war.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 08:53 PM) I thought that the commercial was in poor taste for when they released it. Because they used real people?

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 08:48 PM) They "action movie" war and discount the chance of crippling injury in the commercial. Hey! Everyone's shooting bad guys and doing it flamboyantly! Eh, most people know it's just a video game, and really is like an interactive movie with all the theatrical cut scenes, etc. Hell, they even used the same camera software as Avatar for many scenes.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 09:20 PM) That kid's got an arm. He definitely clocked his dad.

QUOTE (knightni @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 08:41 PM) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB1JQ_tfbHM Pretty disrespectful and in pretty poor taste, in my opinion. I personally love the commercial. I guess I don't really see the issue with the timing, if anything it should bring more attention to the troubles of veterans (the game highlights many of the mental instabilities of soldiers after action and for some gives an emotional connection between the gamer and the soldiers).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 07:45 PM) I am about 95% positive it has been discussed in detail on this very site. Huh, I had always heard Fields and Danks, but I didn't think they were in the same package. Oh well, probably just forgot.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 08:25 PM) The Sox IIRC offered Fields, Danks, Gio, and Sweeney. It was weaker at the time, but in hindsight that offer absolutely obliterates anything the Tigers offered. Do you have a source for this? Im not really doubting that this was offered, I just never saw this detailed of a player list.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 07:08 PM) He couldn't. It is really well documented that Detroits offer couldn't be topped by the White Sox. The Sox had the top offer in, and Detroit blew it away. Google it if you don't believe me. Im pretty sure he's talking about getting Maybin right now.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Nov 12, 2010 -> 11:14 PM) The G11, commando, and ak74u are my favs. i hate that im not consistent with my kills though, its always hit or miss every match. maybe its my internet connection.. time to upgrade to 100 mbps Nuketown is such a fantastic map, and the AK74u owns on it. The GALIL is my fave weapon for any other map though. Also, one of my favorite game plays from MW2, demolition, now sucks in Black Ops, very disappointing.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Nov 12, 2010 -> 10:31 PM) Is there a way to just completely mute everyone's mic volume in multiplayer? I know you can do it to individual players, but I dont want to do that every match. I'm just sick of listening to people belching and their kids screaming behind them. Just start your own party.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Nov 14, 2010 -> 01:47 AM) Damnit, I really think that package for Maybin is something we could have easily topped. The prize player in the Marlins return was San Diego's 24th best prospect? Jeeeez. He was ranked that before he turned in a pretty damn good season for the Padres in their bullpen. The Marlins were looking for bullpen help and got some decent arms in return for Maybin.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 11, 2010 -> 04:52 PM) Am I the only one that feels Danks has hit his ceiling? Not saying that's a bad thing. But it seems for the last couple years he was expected to have that 'dominant' season which vaults him into the elite. He's been roughly the same pitcher for the last three years. His worth is borderline All-Star, but will be paid much more than that.

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 11, 2010 -> 04:46 PM) Was Beckham's head messed up in the second half when he hit .310? Let's give him another year, and see what he can do. THe best MLB hitters are those who keep their slumps minimal.