caulfield12

Maddux at the end of his career, similar athletes and fielders. Although Maddux never could amp it up into the mid 90’s in the first half of his career when he needed it. Has come a long way from the kid in KC with social anxiety disorder who mused about his preference for mowing yards over baseball.

Crazy that Jimenez is still in single figures for doubles in mid-August.

We do need that LH Lillian bat there to break up the middle of the order...just not sure we can pencil in Sheets quite yet. Walker seems at least 50/50 at this point.

Both of Cease’s homers surrendered on fastballs, 96 and 95. It’s going to be an interminable day/night.

Four hits, zero runs... Yeah, remember one game where Flowers got called on the Posey Rule and at the time there was just no way you could ever tag out a baserunner if you followed it 100%. Harrelson was livid, naturally.

That wastes a lot of Madrigal’s fundamentals having a catcher on base in front of him. Robert, Madrigal, Moncada, Vaughn, Jimenez....Anderson 7th or 9th.

All fastballs and curves this inning, slider to retire Reddick was just his second. Started Springer with all slow stuff instead of leading with FB this time around.

I tried to jinx Cole by starting him for the ‘ol fantasy team, but that late start/shadows will be death to Sox hitters as the game goes on.

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=11493&position=3B Machado is on course for a 4 fWAR season, which is a bit of a disappointment but not a disaster. By value terms, at $8-9 million per war for free agents, it’s hardly bad at all. He also had to play SS for five weeks this year, and filled in much better than last year at that spot. It’s not the 6+ of last season, but they’re not in their contention window until next year or 2021. The bulk of their remaining minor league talent is in pitching, particularly Gore and Patino. No franchise should ever apologize to its fans for adding a superstar at age 26. In the end, they still have three to build around (Paddack, Machado, Tatis). They also built in an “out” after five years.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-yordan-alvarez-dodgers-cuban-signings-mistakes-astros-20190706-story.html Almost an exact copy of the Tatis deal (never even set foot onto an milb field), except the Dodgers thought they needed Fields for the playoffs...whereas the White Sox in 2016 were just desperately trying to stay in contention after the bottom fell out in that Rangers’ game. The Astros and Padres obviously knew the Latin American talent better than anyone else. He sought Yordan Alvarez, a lightly touted, teenage position player with questionable power, a relative unknown who has developed into one of the sport’s most promising young sluggers and a fixture in Houston’s lineup. Alvarez, now 22, had been signed by the Dodgers less than two months before Luhnow asked about him. He had yet to play a game in the Dodgers organization. He never would. The Dodgers agreed to trade him for Fields. They have watched from afar as Alvarez has blossomed into a 6-foot-5, 225-pound force. Fields was cut by the Dodgers this spring after 2 1/2 seasons. “Looking back on it now,” Friedman said recently with a rueful smile earlier, “we obviously wish we would have said yes to other names they asked for before him. It’s pretty special watching what he’s doing in the batter’s box.” Alvarez debuted in June and hit seven home runs in his first 16 games. He doubled Friday against the Angels and entered Saturday’s game with a 1.116 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Probably can’t break the record as a home game...but that first one will be sparsely attended.

If Robert becomes a similar superstar, he might get out of the penalty box...unless you prefer to credit KW and Hahn instead. The storyline is already shifting from Guerrero Jr./Eloy this season to the pursuit of more well-rounded players, and the ultimate importance of speed, defense, base running, etc. Robert, Madrigal, Moncada and Anderson will have to lead the way for the rest.

Yeah, the Royals won’t give Merrifield away to a divisional rival...unless we generously overpaid. They have to put their faith in those three minor leaguers, period. Trading prospects for veterans almost never works, unless it’s for a finishing piece when you already know exactly what you have and need.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/fernando-tatis-jr-is-on-another-level-entirely "He's the most exciting young player I've seen since Ken Griffey Jr.," venerated baseball journalist Peter Gammons said a few Sundays ago during batting practice at the MLB Futures Game in Cleveland, nodding toward Junior—Griffey, not Tatis—behind the cage as he spoke. Tatis has yet to even play 100 games in the bigs and already the chorus is nearing standing-room only. "He's a top-10 player in the major leagues right now," says Skip Schumaker, an 11-year veteran who helped the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series and now serves as the Padres' first base coach. "He's all-world in defense, he's all-world in running the bases, he's all-world at the plate. "He's a difference-maker when you put him in the lineup on both sides of the ball." The kid is all of 20 years old. Already, he has joined Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Correa as the only three shortstops to have 18 or more homers in their age-20 seasons. Last month, he became the youngest player to belt leadoff home runs in consecutive games. He projects to finish the season batting .320/.383/.600 with 34 homers and 64 extra-base hits despite missing five weeks from late April to early June with a strained hamstring. Despite standing 6'3 1/2", he plays shortstop with the agility of an Olympic gymnast, tumbling and somersaulting his way to sizzling worm-burners and one-hoppers clearly out of his reach and then finishing the plays with rockets to first that Statcast clocks as fast as 94 mph. He is everything you've heard about Vladimir Guerrero Jr...times 10. That is no knock on Vladdy, whose arrival this spring was greeted with breathless anticipation and who just happens to be good buddies with Tatis. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2848713-fernando-tatis-jr-is-stealing-the-show 29 for last 109 (.266), and just 1 for his last 14, down from .339 to .315 Finally has hit a wall. Still over 400 babip, .408 coming into last night (0/2 + 3 k’s). 29% k.

We would be elated if Tim Anderson averaged a 3.6 fWAR the next two seasons...

https://sports.yahoo.com/signed-baseball-card-white-sox-172104651.html

The Score guys thought this was the greatest idea in the world and that Benetti was perfectly suited...that someone like Len Kasper would ruin it by not being able to play off Walton at all.

Could we fix the spelling of his name?

The Aaron Miles fanclub was so traumatized by that move...looking back, it’s pretty hilarious how some become so devoted to certain prospects that they lose all perspective. Miles -0.7 career fWAR Uribe 22.7 career fWAR (8.8 w Sox, 7.2 with the Dodgers in 2013-14)

You forgot that a claim here blocks Collins yet again, so the “conspiracy theorists” can make hay with the fact that the organization keeps figuring out ways to prevent him from being on the big league roster again in favor of Castillo, AJ Reed, Matt Skole, etc.

Tyler Flowers would be another example of a player they gave up on who went on to improve elsewhere...ironically, with his original/drafting organization, the Braves (who actually seem to know what they’re doing.)

And he’s actually not locked in right now, despite having a recent hitting streak (usually just one hit per game.) On the defensive side, he’s now up to 18 errors...most of them made since he returned in June from the hamstring strain, and the majority have been made on throws he shouldn’t have made to start a DP or forced because his arm is one of the best in the sport and he loves to show it off. That said, he usually makes 2-3 highlight reel plays per game, so it all cancels out. He’s going to have to learn when to throttle it back, but that will come from play more meaningful games, rather than just playing out the season well below .500.

And Montas, and Phegley...

Yeah, we got hit with that “superpen” idea where it was supposed to be visionary (really started in 2014-15 and with Royals and usage of A.Miller) but now every team has 6-10 guys between the mlb and milb rosters that throw 96-103. Not exactly extracting surplus value. (And you just know when we actually need Colome to save games that matter, his conversion rate will be in the 60’s or 70’s instead of 85% and above.) Of course, half of those guys in our minor system were wiped out by injuries or underperformed. Not taking advantage of the Robert overspending year, not following up in the two years since with anything besides fake Tatis. Dominican operations still in shambles. No Asian talent in a decade. it just goes on and on, and all adds up to mired in mediocrity, if you can even describe that as close to a .500ish ballclub. Watching Buehler sucks, just knowing that scouts were looking at all the Commodores games that spring and summer. Predictably, Hahn would argue ten other teams missed as well from where Fulmer was drafted to the Dodgers’ spot. That he was simply the best college pitcher/hitter their scouts bird-dogged that season, not unlike what we have heard about Collins, Burger, Madrigal and Vaughn.

I hear you. Was shocked to see Muncy playing second base with pretty decent mobility the other night. Not only do the Dodgers hit with their draft picks, but guys like Muncy, Chris Taylor, Turner, Kiki Gonzalez, it’s uncanny. But they can do it with consistency. It’s almost like Madrigal and Robert played so well this year that it’s making Hahn falsely believe he can get away with his “incremental augmentation” plan of Type B/C free agents because we have a bigger base or foundation of young talent than just four players (Eaton, Sale, Q, Abreu). We’ve doubled it to eight, essentially. But those final “over the top” pieces...or even supplemental moves to upgrade where you’re getting 1.5-2.5 fWAR out of RF, DH, 2B, etc., those remain especially elusive. After all this “tryout” time, three full seasons, the only useful pieces to come forth (after the obvious headliners) are Leury Garcia, maybe Fry, Bummer and McCann.