witesoxfan

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 13, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) Aw, Wite ruined it. Sorry, I was always good at deductive reasoning in school.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Feb 13, 2014 -> 08:55 AM) Agreed. This thread is lame. Post Super Bowl is down time for sports media. So this is what they had to come up with and people bite on it. I think people will get less interested in professional sports as more political doctrine enters the arena. This has happened to the NFL. Yes, people absolutely stopped coming to games once Jackie Robinson was allowed to play.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Feb 13, 2014 -> 08:50 AM) So if De Aza is the best outfielder out of spring training, you don't think Robin starts start him because winning is worse than hoping Viciedo eventually blossoms or Eaton eventually proves he is not a 4th outfielder. Remember, Eaton was pulled from more than 25% of the games he started in CF and RF last year. Eaton was pulled from 2 games last year. He made 1 pinch hit appearance. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...b&year=2013 He was used as a pinch hitter, pinch runner, and (I'm assuming here) a fielding replacement late in games as well.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 13, 2014 -> 12:20 AM) Leaving the AL East will do that Yes and no. Being a good pitcher pitching in front of a good defense will do that. Pitching in a pitcher friendly park helps that. The Cards and Reds were both top 3 in runs scored in the NL last year.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 08:14 PM) Also I should point out that Ervin Santana on a 3-year deal during the age of 31-33 somehow is too old whereas 34-year-old Dunn needs to play so we can maybe save a few pennies. Ha. At least pick one or the other. Ervin Santana does not play for the White Sox. It would require bringing him in from outside the organization while also giving up a second round pick (which is something Rick Hahn has said he will not do). Adam Dunn is already in the organization and is signed for one more year and the Sox are going to try and save money before they outright release him. Do you not see the difference or should I spell it out with blocks and pictures? Stop bringing up Ervin Santana. You may as well suggest they sign Edgar Martinez or Randy Johnson because those two options have a more realistic chance of happening.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 06:57 PM) Are you saying that by virtue of him being our best offensive player last year he should be kept on the 25-man roster? You have problems seeing the bigger picture. Do you think about what you say or just randomly blurt out anything that fits the agenda?

I can't think about spreading or scattering ashes without thinking of The Big Lebowski.

QUOTE (Jake @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 04:07 PM) Best comment from Deadspin re:Bynum jacking up shots I started laughing out loud at work.

QUOTE (Willard Decker @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 03:32 PM) More Cleveland Cavaliers news for anyone who's interested. It seems that the reason for Andrew Bynum's suspension has been leaked. I'm surprised the Pacers wanted him, though I think they signed him so that Miami wouldn't. --Captain Decker That is such an awesome story. It's like the ultimate 14 year old throwing a tantrum move.

YEAH JEETS YEAH JEETS

QUOTE (scs787 @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) I assume he's getting that much because he took a 1 year deal? No, he's getting that much because he was really, really good last year.

Jeter came up as part of the group of new, power hitting shortstops in 1995. Garciaparra retired 5 years ago (and I am still extremely suspicious of his uprising), Alex Rodriguez is a walking circus, Miguel Tejada transformed from a power hitting behemoth of a shortstop to essentially a slap-hitting utility infielder, and then several others came and went much more quickly. Jeter was the only one who was pretty damn consistent throughout the course of his career while also being one of the best. Paul Konerko was a good power hitting 1B in an era of good power hitting 1B. I love Paully K, but he's not one of the all time greats. Jeter is. I don't care if the Sox don't do anything special for him other than a "Please rise and give a standing ovation for Derek Jeter," but he definitely deserves a league wide send off.

QUOTE (Hawkfan @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) I've heard from multiple sources that historically, players that have undergone Tommy John surgery have performed much better in their second year back. I'm hoping this is the case, cuz John Danks is the s*** He had shoulder surgery, not Tommy John. It was a similar surgery to Johan Santana, but it appears he's handled it better.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 09:57 AM) The fix is very easy--don't award the Winter Games to a city where the average February high is 50 degrees. I am so glad I have not been watching. This seriously sounds like one of the worst Olympics in a long time.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 08:33 AM) GF and Bristol are certainly hard to evaluate statistically. First, any and all rookie leagues, the numbers need to be taken with a few grains of salt - rawness, task focuses, adjustment to pro ball all have effects. In Bristol's case (now the AZL team), they are usually the younger guys too, so even more raw. GF has some filler like any team, and it is really hard to know how the org sees these guys. We also rarely see any video or in-person scouting reports. In terms of stats, not only is there league inflation, you are also talking about a rookie league where defense will generally be poor. Then there's the fact that usually, the Sox put their college guys (typically 22-23 year olds, with some exceptions) on that roster, so you have to sort of expect a stronger level of performance from them. Other teams use their PIO teams for younger, more raw guys too, so the Voyagers sometimes have an advantage that way (as a result, they are almost always a playoff team). But that doesn't mean you can't read ANYTHING from it. A strike out rate in the 30's isn't a death rattle or anything, but it is a red flag. On the other hand, showing the ability to draw walks and make consistent contact are less effected by park factors and the like, and so I think they can be indicators of potential. Absolutely, and I think we're on the same page here. It's just that, when I see a guy put up a .350/.450/.600 line with great peripherals in Great Falls, I don't even get close to thinking "ohh he looks like a great prospect" even if it's a high schooler (though that's obviously more impressive). Instead, my initial thought is "let's see what he does in A ball." Take Tyler Kuhn's 2008. He hit .375/.424/.570/.995 as a 15th round pick out of West Virginia. His walk rate was 7.5% and his strikeout rate was 12.5%. Those are all great numbers, especially from a guy playing middle infield, but, had I known what I do now, I'd basically just say "let's see what he does in A ball."

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 08:19 AM) The Pioneer League generally is one of the most prolific hitters' leagues, behind only PCL typically. As a park though, GF's Centene Stadium is actually more of a pitchers' park relative to league. Overall I'd say you should consider GF hitters' results to be slightly inflated. On the article linked, I'm a little surprised at Jacob Morris being on the list, let alone near the top. I can't easily dismiss that 34% K rate. If you want a guy in GF who looked particularly good as a hitter from the 2013 draft, I'd go with Christian Stringer. He hit .312, walked 22 times versus just 12 K's in 189 PA. And he's a guy who was drafted mostly on defense. I personally find it hard to put much stock into Pioneer League stats as is though, regardless of environments. Whereas I think you can look at numbers for guys even as low as Kannapolis and basically grade them on some sort of letter grade scale, I look at the Pioneer League (and now the Sox AZL team) as pass/fail. So many of the guys on those rosters are primarily used just as fill-ins that it's hard to put faith in those numbers.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Feb 12, 2014 -> 08:15 AM) Is May a better prospect than Hawkins? I bet we'll know by mid-June, barring injuries. No

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 03:35 PM) My predictions: Avisail will end up looking like the best/most complete position player. Abreu will look elite at times, end with decent numbers for a slugger, but overall will impress. The contract won't look out of sight. Davidson will not break with the team, will K a lot when he gets here, and will end 2014 almost as much of an uncertainty as he is now. But still part of the picture. Eaton will impress when he's on the field. He'll hit the DL at least once and will constantly battle little injuries. Johnson will hit a wall mid-season but finish strong. Will look like a 3/4 in 2015. Gillaspie if he gets playing time will continue to improve. I think we might get some big things out of Viciedo this year. Adam Dunn will hit 70 home runs and then turn into Superman. Q will be awesome. I didn't know you had such strong feelings regarding Adam Dunn. /just having fun

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 02:34 PM) I feel like that can be a good thing, though. I don't care too much about the weather during the week because I'm working all day, every day. But I want it to be nicer by the weekends so I can be outside and enjoy myself. Maybe it's different when dealing with cold vs warm temps, rather than really cold vs cold. That much is nice, you're right, but -15 feels so much damn colder after a nice weekend like that.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 01:05 PM) In three months when I'm sweltering in 100+ temps people sill post the balmy 70s and 80s. It all evens out. Relative cold is still cold. Honestly, that was the s***ty thing about January. For about 3 straight weeks, Monday would be like -15 with -30 wind chills, it'd warm up to 20 by Friday, and then Saturday/Sunday would both be 35-40. A cold front would come in, and Monday would be -15 again, and that just feels awful. It's stayed between -10 and 10 over the past couple weeks though and I'm starting to get used to it.

Then the Bills should sign him, and then we can finally live out the wet dream of having Peppers and Williams book-ending a defensive line.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Tell me, is this also the year Gordon Beckham breaks out!?!?!?!?!?! .291/ .327/ .466/ .792 in the second half next year, 114 wRC+, improved his BB and K rates. He's also only going to be 25.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 12:33 PM) For all the talk about a gay player supposedly affecting locker room culture in the NFL, I could actually see it being an issue in MLB. That's simply because of all the players from Latin & South America. Most of these countries are way behind the US as far as gay rights go, and there seems to be a homophobic culture in some countries. It's just something that's part of the culture they were raised and as we have seen, it's not easy to change over night. There was a major leaguer recently who wrote a gay slur on his hat in Spanish, not thinking it would be a big deal. The Sox former manager called Jay Mariotti by a homophobic slur too.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 11, 2014 -> 11:37 AM) Please nobody take this troll's bait. I don't think I can go through this again. I agree with your opinion and will still defend to the death your right to say it.

"The answer of every executive I spoke with was yes." Proud to be a baseball fan today.