bigruss

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 04:19 PM) I want to put it out there, Ozzie is handling Poreda good. He let him know what Poreda needs to do to stick and thats a good thing. If you were going to a new job (in this case the bigs), wouldn't you want to know what is expected of you. I mean, sure, it is relatively obvious that you need to produce, but Ozzie telling Poreda that he's here to help the club win, etc, etc, basically lets him know that a the organization is confident in you (thus they called you up) and b lets you know that you need to make a pretty immediate impact. I'm excited to see Poreda pitch and wish him the best of luck. He's got a great arm. I would hope that Ozzie is being open, honest, and fair with Poreda. THe best thing for a new player, and most players in fact, is to know what is expected of them, for them to be pushed, but also to be encouraged. Hopefully Ozzie did not forget that last part, but I think we can be assured Ozzie is being open and honest with him.

One of the reasons why I love Soxtalk so much is the chance to expand my baseball knowledge and to share my opinions with others, and let me tell you I have learned a vast amount here in my time. My post count doesn't reflect the time I have spent on here, for I actually read almost every thread here, and quite a few in the Filibuster, SLaM, and the other sport forums. I do so because of the posters who come here, for we here at Soxtalk have a great group of posters who love the White Sox and have fascinating opinions that if you give a chance can learn from. I for one do not want to lose this to a watered down version of what once was, and I hope that past, current, and future posters also share my pleasure of what Soxtalk can and should be, and will uphold the integrity and intellect that can be found here. Thanks Soxtalk.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 03:48 PM) Seastrunk is giong back to school. No one is going to give him big money since he has limited upside, imo. If you give big money to a guy later in the draft it has to be someone with a lot of upside, imo. Is he a soph eligible or junior? He may raise his stock but his price wont if he comes out as a senior. Those guys have no bargaining chips.

Seastrunk is still available I believe (havent checked in about 10 mins tho, which is a long time in this stage). He would be a solid pick up but would require overslot at this point to keep him from going back to school.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 03:29 PM) I wonder if the Sox took Goodwin with the intent to make a hard push on him if they can't get Thompson signed? With our lack of good young OF, I REALLY hope we make a strong push at both. I would be sorely dissapointed if neither gets signed, happy if one does, and estatic if both do. But really, with our reaches that we made, we should be able to pony up the money to get both, IMO.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 03:10 PM) Okay, then, followup question: Which do you feel is more of an organizational need given the current farm system, draft picks, and ML team? Both OF and pitchers are some of the weaker spots of our farm system. But with the emergence of Hudson, Carter, and other guys I would go with Goodwin as the more needed player since we really only have Danks as a legit OF prospect (not including Mitchell or other guys drafted so far). We also have Shelby, but he is solid as a prospect, not great.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:43 PM) Am I the only one that noticed that the athletic high-upside CFers we drafted are all black? Thompson is white, or atleast mixed I believe.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:32 PM) The question winds up being...how much is it worth to them to not have to go through the draft again next year? If the best Washington offers is $15, do they think they can hold out next year and get a richer team with the #2 pick who will actually go significantly higher? The odds of the Yankees/Red Sox/Cubs picking #2 is pretty low. Not to mention he would be one year farther from FA. So unless he gets a huge offer compared to the 15 mill the Nats will offer from a team next year, it wouldnt be worth it. Also add in the risk of injury etc.

Giovanni Soto, No School, Drafted by the Tigers.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:26 PM) Directed at someone with a lot of knowledge of the farm and such: if you had to choose one of Williams and Goodwin to sign, which would you pick? I dont have as much knowledge as some other guys, but I would go with Goodwin from what I ahve read, I feel he has more upside.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) Heres some info on Goodwin, a UNC committ, and a top 100 prospect. Oh and he was North Carolinas High School Baseball Player of the Year Wow, please sign this guy.

Just put Hahn and other guys on his signing, we cannot be afraid to go after top players because Boras is their agent. Now, if his demands are ridiculously high, then I understand, but no reason not to offer this guy overslot money and entice him with a good deal.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:44 PM) Oh f*** yes. f*** yes. I hope we plan on buying some of these guys. If we hit on a few of them, wowzers. I will accept those reaches from earlier in the draft if it means getting guys like Goodwin here.

This is our Danks2 I guess, I'll be very happy if we sign him. From what I read he has huge potential.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) Great selection. Hopefully we can get him sign. YOu sign him and the draft looks a lot better. Offer him low to mid 6 figures and see if he bites. Seriously, this is where those reaches will open up the chance to sign someone like Dane. Do it White Sox.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 12:55 PM) Well, I just got home from work, but my first thoughts are that the 2nd day has been a bit disappointing so far. I like the Buch pick a lot, but other than that it seemed like we reached a lot, and didn't take a chance on any of the big guys that fell b/c of signability issues. On second glance, this Jones kid could be a good get if he signs. Hernandez from U Tennessee just drafted by Philly.

I believe Diego Seastrunk is still available.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) chemistry works in different ways, the NYY in the 70's weren't too fond of Reggie and the Oakland A's in the 70's got into fistfights... talent and winning overcomes a lot of chemistry issues True, but when you dont have a team that dominates in terms of talent (such as the White Sox, and usually the vast majority of MLB) then chemistry is vital for a team. Winning makes chemistry come much easier, no doubt about that. Few can complain about a team enjoying success. Also, one thing I forgot to mention, another big key to chemistry is whether the team is buying into the coach's gameplan or style, or the coach adjusts to the players' abilities. Example, the team is loaded with HR hitters, but the coach insists on playing small ball, that can cause some friction if the players dont buy into it or the coach doesnt change his style for that team. Im not saying the coach has to love the style, but he has to maximize the abililty of the players given to him. Twins are one team where the coach and management agree on a philosophy and style (or so it seems) and they bring in players who are talented and can fit the system. They dont have the most talent, they have some great talent in Mauer and Morneau, but they fill the team with guys who fit well into their system. These guys believe in the coach and the chemistry just forms because of that. Maybe it is because I dont read the Minnesota newspapers, or they dont get alot of coverage here, but I dont recall too many chemistry issues surrounding their team in the media, a good sign that whatever problems they have personnel wise is taken care of early so that they can focus on winning.

I really like the A's draft so far.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 12:12 PM) Actually maybe not...the feed I'm using isn't necessarily up to date. All of them were picked unfortunately.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 12:00 PM) matthew hopps....also not in BAs top 150 from california....and hes 23 already Either were reaching on alot of these California kids (big possibility), or we are scouting it deeper and have better info on alot of the more unknown kids (not so likely).

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) Ryan Buch from Monmouth U in Jersey.....nationally the #90 overall prospect according to baseball america Buch broke out in 2007, when he went 9-2, 2.44 as a freshman at Monmouth and ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the Atlantic Collegiate League that summer. He's always had a prototype pitcher's frame and an excellent curveball, but his stock soared in April along with his velocity. Buch has reached the low 90s with his fastball since he was a freshman, and he has still pitched in that range for most of this spring. More recently he had run his fastball up to 95, sitting at 92-93. The velocity on his sharp, downer curveball has also spiked, reaching 84-85 mph. Even when he throws it slower—and some scouts report seeing a 74-77 breaker, while others have seen it at 81-82— it's still a true above-average offering. But when he throws it harder, it can rate as a 70 or better pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale. Buch is refining his fastball command, and he does not have a lot of feel for his changeup. But scouts can dream on him, and he seems likely to be drafted in the first two rounds in June. Thats more like it.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 11:40 AM) Hudson and Carter both gave up less hits than IP, and both had better strikeout numbers. Hitters have no problem with Collops stuff apparently. I believe Poreda had similar problems especially considering his stuff (obviously not as bad as an ERA but he was striking out to many guys and I believe he was giving up a fair amount of hits). Ill reserve my judgment until I hear about his stuff, and his problems. Trust me though, if his stuff is considered mediocre and his upside is limited then its a joke of a pick and this organization really needs to make some changes.

I really dont care about the stats. I mean, look at Hudson and Carter, if we can get guys with live arms and have a good chance at fixing their mechanics or whatever to improve them, then Im fine with the pick. Just dont give me a crap pitcher who also doesnt have the stuff just because you want to go cheap.

I see a Twitter update on the MLB draft tracker saying Storen already signed with the Nationals. Impressive by them and his commitment to get up to the bigs early.