witesoxfan

#1, no reason to ever trade the #1 pick in the NBA, unless you are trading it for a very good proven player. That's not going to happen with this draft. #2, Noel scored 10.5 per game this past year, which was 3rd on the Wildcats, though I have no idea how much was gained (or lost) because he was out. Also only averaged 7 shots a game. He really didn't do a lot offensively and I don't think he would expect to do a lot offensively in the NBA either.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 22, 2013 -> 08:53 AM) Thanks Rush. More quality analysis Doug Williams gon have to choke a b****

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:07 PM) This team is quite an enigma. Handled Texas and Boston two of the AL's best They need to score and make Addy's life easier. Boston is not anywhere near one of the best teams in the league.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:00 PM) Feels great to win a series against a good Red Sox team. If only Sale didn't get scratched for tomorrow's game. The Red Sox are not good

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:20 PM) He's got a K/BB around 2.5, and an incredibly low BABIP. He's having a very good year, but his ERA is misleading. xFIP has him in the mid 4's. Oh yeah, he's going to come crashing back hard. He's still having a pretty crazy season and he's a good pitcher. Just not low 2's ERA good.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 21, 2013 -> 07:27 PM) You don't play a Major Leaguer on a rehab assignment out of position for no reason. Its less of a difference than left and right field, especially seeing that Beckham came up as a shortstop. If nothing else, it's insurance against Alexei getting injured. Reading anything into it is overreacting.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 21, 2013 -> 04:37 PM) It sounds great, but it is still pretty early for a deal of that magnitude. I just suggested it in the other thread too, but I do think you're right. I don't think that sort of deal is far away though. Milwaukee is going to need young pitchers soon enough here either way, and getting rid of relievers they aren't going to have next year is a good way to start that process.

I imagine they will have this discussion, but that it will be a relatively easy decision to make. Demoting Santiago is an option, but it's similar to how the Twins kept Johan Santana from starting and taking over for a while, and while Santiago is no Santana, he's incredibly talented. I think ultimately the discussion will come down to "how the hell do we fix this bullpen." Axelrod is not the solution to that. Axelrod is a perfectly good starting pitcher, but he is a perfectly terrible reliever. So you either use a rotating 6-man rotation, getting guys out and going with hot hands (which means Peavy and Sale may have like, tops, 1 skipped start unless they get hurt), or you trade a starter. At this point, you can't justifiably trade Sale or Peavy. You can make arguments for trading Santiago or Quintana, but you have to get an absolute monster of a young stud back in return to make any sort of deal like that. That leaves Danks (not) and Axelrod. As I suggested in the other thread, I think dealing Axelrod (plus someone else) for a couple relievers actually makes a lot of sense. Milwaukee makes sense as a destination because they need starting pitching, even if they don't compete this year, and they can afford to shed some relievers. I do really like Axelrod too, but the Sox simply do not have room for him.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ May 21, 2013 -> 04:51 PM) Announcing it 3 months later =/= developing it 3 months later. And the products are going to be released at pretty much the exact same time. There is no difference other than Sony announcing their product first. Your Sony-homers are going to buy the PS4 and talk about it being superior, your XBox-homers are going to buy the One and talk about how it's superior, and the machines are going to be so similar that arguing over which is better is going to be like arguing whether doggy style or cowgirl is better, when in reality nobody should honestly give two s***s because both will be awesome (and very expensive).

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 21, 2013 -> 04:12 PM) Why would Beckham play SS? QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:49 AM) There's no reason to talk about it, and looking into it as anything more than getting Beckham playing time is reading into it too much. He'd be a mediocre (at best) defensive shortstop at the MLB level and his bat doesn't play well enough to make up for the glove. He's good at 2B. The Sox (Knights) played him there because they would appear to be grooming Sanchez to play 2B in the future because he's in the exact same boat as Beckham with different hit tools. Beckham needs less work on his defense at 2B, so they put him at SS because they primarily care about him getting his feet under him and his bat back into swing.

That reminds me of the 30 Rock where Jack introduces the smart TV and says "crap" and the Kardashians comes on

Either you run with a 6 man rotation of sorts, you demote Axelrod to the minors (he really does not belong in a bullpen), you move Santiago to the bullpen (also a possibility), or you trade one of these starters for some relief help. Teams that can use starting pitching that are, atleast in the early going, competitive are Milwaukee, Colorado, Anaheim, Oakland, and Baltimore (and this is in order of teams I think the Sox would like to deal with and would consider dealing). Milwaukee is a team that can get back in the race if their pitching stabilizes, even as far back as they are. What I would suggest is that the Sox would trade Axelrod (plus 1 other piece) for Axford and one of the two lefties, most likely Gonzalez. It's dangerous because Axford has been lighter fluid over the last 2 years, but his stuff is still there, and Gonzalez (and Gorzelanny) just signed their contracts this offseason, so it's early to be dealing them. But that sort of move really does help to stabilize a bullpen and add much needed depth. Other teams have nice depth too, but I think the Angels would almost prefer taking a risk on Danks the way they throw money around (only half-joking here).

If PS4 "set the bar," and XBox is matching it, then I'd say XBox is doing pretty damn well too considering they're announcing it 3 months afterwards.

I would give either Memphis or San Antonio about a 5% chance of beating the Heat. Memphis could play shut down defense and get hot from the field and the Heat playing their 3rd straight very physical series in a row could be their end. I could also see the Spurs getting really hot from outside and playing fundamentally sound and solid defense. In the end, I could see those things, but I strongly, strongly doubt they will happen.

I haven't read much into it, and I doubt I will leave unimpressed by the system itself, I just think the name sucks. Looking at how it has been branded though, I don't mind it as much. I just hate how it seems all the next gen systems have been "[name of product][letter/number]"

I would just have Danks keep rehabbing the arm until it is absolutely necessary to bring him up. Use a 6-man rotation if you have to. Skip guys when necessary. Keeping Danks away from starting in games is a bad thing, but the Sox (could potentially) have 6 good starters, and you should maximize that value. You won't get that with one of them in long relief.

That might be the worst, least creative name of all time.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 18, 2013 -> 02:35 PM) Well Gillaspie should definitely start vs RHP. vs LHP: Gillaspie .222/.222/.222 Keppinger .136/.130/.136 I don't think there really is a right answer. Keppinger has a career .328/.370/.478/.848 line against LHP in his career over about 800 plate appearances. There is no doubt who you play at 3B against LHP.

If he improved his average velocity from about 89 to 91 (or 92), he suddenly goes from a 4-5 to a 2-3. EDIT: I should qualify this. If he can yada yada without sacrificing movement.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:33 AM) Semantics. Quintana increased his fastball speed in the off season. He was around 88 last year and it's up to 90-92 now. If anything, he's had a slight boost in velocity, there really hasn't been any drastic differences. He was at 90.4 MPH last year and is at 91.2 MPH this year. Also, there's this http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxo.aspx?pla...=P&pitch=FA

Not often I cry watching TV. Office finale did it. That show struggled in the last 2 seasons, but they really pulled it all together the last 2-3 episodes or so.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:27 AM) Dwight in Houston would be sick. The only future in LA is in Cliptown, which would also be sweet. The Lakers need to tear that team down and rebuild. Let Kobe go play his last couple seasons somewhere else to try and win one more.

If he improves his changeup, he's got a shot to be a #3 guy. Anyways, your best way of getting value for Axelrod is including him in a package for a better player. You can sell the idea of him as a #3-4 starter much better when other players are included as opposed to if you are trying to sell him alone.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:42 AM) The jury is still out for me until he gets at least 30-40 starts. Remember how good Phil Humber looks for 15-20 starts? Here's where I see things differently. Humber in AAA - 104 G (93 GS), 527 IP, 4.70 ERA, 403 K, 164 BB, 1.37 WHIP Axelrod in AAA - 31 G (31 GS), 188.1 IP, 2.58 ERA, 167 K, 52 BB, 1.10 WHIP You can compare their other minor league numbers too and Axelrod is far superior. There might be some John Ely to Axelrod's game, and the second or third go around the league may start to destroy him, but I absolutely think he's a 4th starter in the majors. I wouldn't be surprised if he faded off into the distance - righties with 89 MPH fastballs don't often make it in the majors - just that I think he absolutely deserves a shot.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 21, 2013 -> 09:17 AM) For a 6th starter filling in, and a guy who was released and signed as a minor league FA from the scrap heap... yeah, I'd say he's been a very nice acquisition. He's a major league starter. Axelrod as a starter at the MLB level: 19 games, 108.1 IP, 4.32 ERA, 75 K, 35 BB, 1.33 WHIP, 14 HR Personally, that looks like a 4th starter to me. It's not a large sample size by any means (which his minor league numbers are, and those are phenomenal), but there's enough there for some stabilization. The Sox have a lot of talent in their rotation, but Axelrod really should be in a rotation somewhere in the majors.