witesoxfan

Well now that we're talking about Johnny Damon's penis, I think now is probably a good time to unpin this thread

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 03:24 PM) It'll be really tough to justify having a rookie sitting on the bench as a backup 1b/DH from the LH side when Dunn is on the roster. If he is on the roster next year, he will be starting

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 02:33 PM) And he did have a major league career, even starting at a few stops along the way. Gload also spent a bunch of years blocked and didn't get fully out of the minors until he was 30. In Wilkins' case, in 2014, there will be no one (currently under contract) in the 1B slot (dunn at DH) ahead of him, and the league is starving for young 1B players (which was decidedly not the case in the mid 2000's. Just saying, not quite the same thing. Though there are some similarities there. They aren't the same thing, you're correct on that, and I think there's definitely a chance Wilkins gets a shot next year (if not this year). I'm saying I think Wilkins likely role at the MLB level will be as a bench player against RHP, and I think he will prove to be perfectly adequate.

Viciedo is the most frustrating player I've honestly ever seen in a Sox uniform. I wish he'd show a bit better balance at the plate, but he has monstrous potential. I've made the comparison about a zillion times on here, but he really looks like primetime Adrian Beltre at the plate...short, compact, quick, powerful swing. But, when he's going bad, he looks like Wily Mo Pena - swinging for the fences on every pitch, and maybe he'll hit one out but probably not and look at that, he's 0 for his last 17 with 10 K's. He is still very young and has time to become very productive, but he needs to improve his consistency. Flowers, on the other hand, is either going to have to put in a ton of work on pitch recognition (which is weird because he's a catcher, but, like I said, I just don't think he's quick enough), he needs to shorten his swing, or he needs to learn how to cheat, especially on inside pitches. Both can be decent to good hitters. Viciedo is far, far likelier to get there.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 02:32 PM) You are right. However, I think that poor plate discipline can be either "no plan at the plate" or "cannot recognize pitches fast enough." The former is coachable, the latter may not be. I personally struggle to be able to tell which one it is when watching guys on TV. Presumably, the coaching staff has a way better idea of this from talking to the players and seeing them practice, but if they think they are getting guys that can be coached out of their hackiness, it sure doesn't seem to be working To me, I see a guy like Viciedo as "no plan at the plate," where he has no idea what he's going to do except something very basic. That's improving, but still. I view a guy like Tyler Flowers as "cannot recognize pitches fast enough" because he knows what he wants and where he wants it, but he doesn't have the hand-eye coordination to make the sweet spot make contact often enough. Based on numbers alone, Garcia is going to fit into the former rather than the latter.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 02:13 PM) So wait, Sabermetrics came within an inch of destroying the world? Just lucky Batman had stopped Bane already, otherwise it would have

.297/.344/.501/.845 - Ross Gload at 25 years old at AAA.

The best part about arguing and fighting is the makeup sex

Really excited to see what Semien can do at AAA. Hopefully he handles well because it would be nice to have a skillset like his in the lineup next year.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 11:37 AM) I can guarantee you he is making nowhere near $500k from ESPN. Yeah, not sure what I was thinking there, but $150-200 as shack suggested is probably closer. With all he does though, it wouldn't surprise me if it's higher than that. Anyways, I have no doubt he could work for an MLB team for any number of reasons. He's good at his job. I value his opinion. If you don't, that's your perogative, and frankly I don't care. I'm done with this silly incessant argument.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 11:27 AM) Rest assured, if Keith Law knew all the answers , he would be an employee of a MLB team whether you choose to believe so or not. He's just another guy with an opinion, and his track record is no better than anyone else in a similair position. I don't believe this to be true. I am guessing he is getting close to $500k a year or more working for ESPN, while he would make considerably less doing the same amount of work, or a similar or greater amount of money while working way more hours for an MLB team. At the end of the day, there wouldn't be enough difference in talent between the "top" choice (Law) and the second best choice to justify the financial cost it would take to make up the difference. And, due to his contract with ESPN, I doubt he can even be a senior advisor to a team.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 11:21 AM) Just don't claim Elvis Andrus BELTRE COULD COME WITH

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:54 AM) But that doesn't mean his opinion is invalid. Maybe he doesn't really evaluate certain areas as much because of his time constraints or whatever. Doesn't mean he doesn't have a solid opinion on a particular player or a group of players relative to what other evaluators have. If I am a lawyer and I work 40 hours workweeks because I work in corporate law, I may know certain aspects of the particular work I focus on just as well or better than a lawyer that works 80 hours a week in his own practice or firm. No one evaluator is going to know everything or everyone. This is actually a great point. A scouting director is going to need to know detailed scouting reports on about 1500 players while having basic knowledge of another 5000 players, and that's merely active players. You probably also have, in total, data for upwards of 20,000 players. As a baseball scouting writer, you are primarily dealing with top prospects and major leaguers. I'm sure he knows a few others, but there are minor leaguers he never needs to know or worry about. Maybe 500 players at any one time. But he can be very good at evaluating them.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:49 AM) I suspect that wasn't the real reason Law decided not to continue his quest. I'm pretty sure he knew the time commitment from the get go. But you said if you worked 80 you would be better, and I'm sure every team has guys who work that, so you are admitting Law, doing what he is doing, is not as good as any current team's evaluators. You made my point. Thank you. your initial point was that, "if Law was so good, why didn't he have offers?" And he did have offers. Then it was "well if he has offers, why did he turn them down to be with his family?" To be with his family. "But he must not be good enough if he is spending time with his family." It's an 80 hour week. "So if they work 80 hours, he must not be good enough." 40 hours vs 80 hours. "You made my point." WHAT?!?!

BTW Soxtalk, congratulations on the longest thread in PHT history. Next closest? Only 2,980 or something like that. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80747

Where is Powdered Toast Man when you need him?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:36 AM) All I said is if he was as great as he thinks, he would be working for a MLB team. You said the 80 hour a week thing made him walk away. If that is true, the guys working the 80 hour weeks should have a more informed opinion, correct? For the love of god, yes. That doesn't change the fact that Keith Law is a skilled talent evaluator. I also don't understand why you're driving this "if he's as great as he thinks" angle. I am great at my job, and I work 40 hours a week at it. If I worked 80, I'd be better. I don't need to work 80 and I don't want to work 80 because I value my personal time. Why can't Keith Law do the same?

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 09:54 AM) He was completely wrong on Sale and now brushes it off saying he is going to break down soon due to his arm action, which is why he didn't like him in the first place. That brings me to my original point nicely though, he seems to put a high emphasis on a clean pitcher's delivery, for example, when the Sox obviously do not. Poreda, Sale, and Danish are the first few examples that jump into my head. Sox also seem to value athletic ability quite a bit, where he prefers more pure baseball skills. Etc etc I genuinely don't believe you could be further from the truth here, at least regarding the first two points. #1) His assessment of Sale was that he did not believe he could make it as a starter. He did not have a good grasp on how good his slider was, but he had him as as a supplemental value because he believed he was a reliever. #2) The Sox DO put an emphasis on clean delivery. Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, Javier Vazquez, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Hector Santiago, Jose Quintana, Dylan Axelrod, and I'm sure I'm missing a few too. The only two real exceptions to this rule are Chris Sale and Jake Peavy. The Sox traded Brandon McCarthy in part because they did not believe he would hold up over the duration of a season. They weren't wrong.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 09:27 AM) I find it more depressing since the organization drafts by agent, minors don't show seem very good at developing unless it's a pitcher. The White Sox typically only avoid one agent, and that's not always the case anymore either. Beyond that, Hahn has shown a propensity towards dealing with Boras in the past as well. The slotting system makes this a lot easier on the Sox too.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 09:19 AM) His opinions over the years, certainly haven't distinguished himself from anyone. If someone wants to think he really knows any more about what he's seeing than the guys who are getting paid to do the same thing, great, but I don't see it. And isn't his withdrawing his name to "spend more time with his family" indicate that spending more time with his family would hurt his job performance? Since he's spending more time with his family in his current postion, in a roundabout way, isn't he admitting his opinion is probably not as accurate as it should? Are you f***ing serious? The guy wants to spend more time with his family and you are suggesting that it's because he is not a good scout and not because he wants to spend more time with his family. BTW, he is paid to scout players. He is a "baseball scouting writer." Tell me how he's not getting paid to scout players.

There is so much going on in this thread that is facepalm worthy

He interviewed to be the Astros scouting director prior to the 2012 season but withdrew his name from consideration. Wikipedia suggests it was to spend more time with his family. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with not wanting to deal with the pressure. I have no problem with that, though I'm sure some on here will immediately claim that he is "nutless" or is a "fraidy cat" but really, these same people would crumple under the pressure of having a position that high within a professional sports organization. Oh, and in that same chat, he describes Manny Machado as the "MVNTP" which is the "most valuable non-Trout player." At 20 years old, he has a 4.3 fWAR, which, given the actual definition of "most valuable," I would say that is pretty close to being correct, at least in the AL (because I am assuming that Machado will stay pretty healthy and have a long playing career and make greater than $200 million in his career). That was a pretty bold, though not altogether groundbreaking prediction on his part. There are other examples as well too. From this point forward, we'll be able to use Rienzo as a measuring stick because he likes his stuff.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 08:09 PM) Again, I did not mean he is unprofessional and has a bias towards a certain franchise, I was implying that his way of evaluating talent seems to clash with our scouts and front office view talent. For the most part, I think he's been pretty accurate

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 01:46 PM) From Keith Law.. "What you think of the White Sox' return for Peavy depends largely on what you think of Garcia. I've long held that he's an extra outfielder, or below-average regular, a player with some tools but very little baseball skill or instincts, especially at the plate where he appears to have no plan at all." Surprise suprise! He hates a player the White Sox love! In other news, the sun rose in the East this morning Really? Because he's a member of the White Sox? How about this from February November? http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/...sider-keith-law but no he's White Sox and Law says death to everything White Sox EDIT: I would like to add this in, which I found interesting. From Tigers Prospect Report: http://tigersprospectreport.wordpress.com/...avisail-garcia/ So Keith Law hates the White Sox AND Tigers? That doesn't seem right, does it? Now, I would suggest looking up any team and Keith Law, and you will find that Keith Law does not "like" many teams.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 31, 2013 -> 02:10 PM) Just the tip? Best game ever, because it's never just ended there