caulfield12

Interesting FG projection from a little more than one year ago... https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/projecting-yoan-moncada/

Depends partly on what you think about Mejia’s true potential, the Braves losing eligibility for Maitan, Acuna Jr. and Albies...the White Sox only lost Jace Fry (?) But the injuries have taken their toll, too. Giolito, Lopez and Fulmer all lost their rookie status last year, or the beginning of this year...along with Moncada.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24229846/mlb-baseball-always-good-cooperstown-new-york

Anderson has taken a slight step forward, but he's still not an All-Star shortstop compared to what the very best at that position do. Moncada hasn't progressed much, if at all (especially when compared to where he was in late April.) Yay for Soria and Shields improving the most? Giolito, Fulmer and Lopez are basically the same or much worse. Davidson/Sanchez are treading water. I suppose you could argue that if you combined Palka and Davidson into a platoon, they would be "serviceable." Engel and Delmonico have been disappointments, although nothing was expected out of Engel other than from some who get excited about ST results. His defense hasn't been particularly good, and he almost always throws to the wrong base or inaccurately. Even Avi has managed to take a lot of shine off his future prospects with the Sox, assuming Hahn was potentially serious about extending him. We all know the minor league side of things...but Hansen and Robert being lost for most of the season...not to mention Dunning being out, has set the rebuild back to 2021 in the minds of most prognosticators, essentially forcing a trade of Rodon since he will be a FA after our first legitimately competitive season. White Sox fans should get a reward for not recording the worst attendance in baseball, and coming out this weekend, months after the team was buried. They're pretty close to being 26th in the majors, which is exactly what they have averaged from 2013 through 2016 while "trying to compete."

Jared Kushner was a life long Democrat before working with Trump, and was Partners with Soros, In 2014, Kushner, with his brother Joshua and Ryan Williams, co-founded Cadre (now RealCadre LLC), an online real-estate investment platform. His business partners included Goldman Sachs and billionaire George Soros, a top Democratic Party donor. In early 2015, Soros Fund Management financed the startup with a $250 million credit line. Kushner did not identify these business relationships in his January 2017 government financial-disclosure form. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Kushner

What is the benefit of supporting a team with hard earned money that doesn’t care about having a chance at closing games, winning in general and is holding Jimenez and Kopech back? Will it compel the Sox to pursue Machado or Harper if attendance climbs to 20,000+ per game from 18,500? One would think not.

And they have taken a huge gamble putting most of their eggs in the pitching basket. Look no further than what has happened with the 2015 Mets’ rotation. Compare to Baez, Bryant, Contreras, Schwarber, Happ, Almora and Russell. The only failure there was Soler, so they were 7/8 with their top position prospects (we can eliminate Baez because he was Hendry and Contreras because he could have been picked up by any team in Rule 5 a half decade ago.) If you want to extend to pitching, you can add hitting on Hendricks as well. Is ANY MLB team realistically going to hit at an 83% rate for top pitching prospects? The rate there is 30-40% at best. It was MUCH worse than that for the White Sox in the 1998-2001 groups. If they come up short, do they have the budget to throw $100-150 million at a Darvish type and then cover for the lack of hitting (see worst outfield fWAR in baseball, -0.6)? An elite closer? That’s a lot of heavy lifting still to go even if Jimenez is an absolute stud hitter (900+ ops). Can you afford to keep Avi Garcia? To put it in perspective, Happ and Schwarber can’t even play everyday and each of those guys would be the best hitter on the Sox. Heck, David Bote would be our best contact hitter. And Russell is still a better player than Moncada or Anderson despite being a huge disappointment to most Cubs’ fans this season.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nazis-racists-bigots-extremism-us-ballot-2018-053425570.html Extremism in GOP candidates (growing collection of Nazis, racists, bigots continues unabated)

Okay, but what can you actually get in return for him this offseason or next year at the deadline? You’re merely creating one more huge hole without guaranteeing you can fill another with your acquisition pieces.

And, if you trade Rodon (for far less than you got back for the Big 3), you’re essentially forcing Kopech or Cease to be a #1/TOR piece. The Sox haven’t acquired one from outside the organization since Garcia and Contreras. I guess tryouts can count the Quintana steal and his evolution into a 2, almost signing Tanaka (that would have blown up if they committed Darvish money.) Hansen has taken two steps backwards, he was the other one with that potential ability, with Dunning slotting in as a 2/3 guy and equal numbers believing he’s a 1 or merely a 4/5. López’s future outcomes are all over the map, too, along with Giolito’s. Simply put, without a healthy Rodon, there’s yet another element of uncertainty for that predicted 2021 dominance.

I just met a huge White Sox fan at my high school reunion (husband of former classmate)...we spent a long time talking about this very issue. Honestly, I have no idea what we actually have in Moncada or Anderson at this point. If they are going to be 2-3 war guys or much more. Moncada was supposed to be a 5-7ish superstar. What do we have in Giolito, or Lopez, at this point? Covey? The biggest cause for celebration is the healthy return of Rodon (for now), and Abreu/Avi hitting better than they did previously. But it's likely neither of those guys are part of the 2021 team, unless they shock all of us and sign Garcia to an extension. There's just a lot of uncertainty and frustration. I suppose the White Sox might not have any choice in eventually making it back to the playoffs, because we should be ahead of all the other rebuilding AL Central teams in 2021 and onwards, but actually having the firepower to beat the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Cubs, Dodgers, etc., is another matter altogether. Having a run like the Pirates in recent years (where they would make it but get knocked out early or just have one WC game) doesn't automatically turn this team into a 2.5-2.75 million attendance generator, which is what Reinsdorf would need to justify spending $130-150 million on payroll again. The Cubs are still going to be dominating the Chicago market at least for the next couple of years, too. Beyond the minor league health issues, we have a number of posters wanting to trade Rodon (clearly our best pitcher now)...and the simple fact that Hahn and Company have bungled almost every free agent signing for a span of almost five years. Eventually adding Jimenez and Kopech will make this team much more watchable, but still more or less back in 2010-12 mode, where we're competitive but far from dominant. And the odds of signing any big name FA's this loaded offseason are diminishing by the second. At best, we get someone like AJ Pollock (who can hardly stay on the field) for a "bargain" price but alluring enough to get him to sign for AT LEAST 3 years, if not 4.

Better curveball than Giolito’s for most of this season...

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/07/17/socialist-firebrand-ocasio-cortez-to-stump-for-el-sayed-in-michigan Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is trying to put a leftist stamp on the Democratic class of 2018. Among the stunners: Progressive Kara Eastman beat former Rep. Brad Ashford in a House primary in Nebraska; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ousted the No. 4 House Democrat, Rep. Joe Crowley, in New York; and Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot who bested Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, a top Democratic recruit, in a House primary in Kentucky. Many of the winners have been backed by EMILY's List, which trains and funds female Democratic candidates for office. But the trend goes much farther than who's on the ballot. The age of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Women favor Democratic candidates for the House by a 25-point margin -- helping Democrats to a 12-point edge in the generic ballot (RCP average is 7.3%, so 10% split would probably be accurate) where those surveyed are asked whether they'd prefer a Democratic or Republican member of Congress to represent them, a Quinnipiac University poll out last week found. The shift, most drastic in suburban areas, could be insurmountable for Republicans in some districts, much like the rise of rural voters helped catapult Trump to the White House two years ago

✔@scottmerkin Rick Hahn talked about Kopech and Jimenez today, and they won't be called up until all the boxes are checked off. Hahn didn't go into what needs to be done by both--keeping those points within the organization.

In the Quad Cities now, the White Sox have ceased to exist in sporting goods stores...I’m forced to wear my Sosa early 90’s White Sox jersey for our same time period high school reunion. Pretty pathetic there’s more demand for Joe Maddon jerseys than a single player like Moncada, Abreu, Avi, Anderson, Rodon, etc.

Mission Impossible: Fallout....pretty damned awesome stuff.

https://www.southsidesox.com/2018/7/27/17620576/its-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up-rick-the-promotion-delay-ticks-on

Anne Hathaway to the rescue?

I think the Democrats need to run a Charlie Baker-led ticket...

Blum, an entrepreneur who leads a software company, was unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary. He faces Democrat Abby Finkenauer, a two-term state representative from Dubuque. “(Blum) has been so incredible in so many ways,” Trump said. “He fights so hard. He loves this state. He loves the people. I guess he’s got a race against somebody they call ‘Absent Abby,’ because she never showed up to the statehouse.” Finkenauer responded in an emailed statement, saying: “It’s disappointing that Congressman Blum apparently spent his time on Air Force One talking political nicknames instead of telling the president how awful his Twitter trade war is for our farmers.” Blum and Finkenauer are seeking election to Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in Northeast Iowa and includes the cities of Cedar Rapids, Waterloo and Dubuque. Source: dmregister.com Hopefully we have video of Reddy making googly eyes at Ivanka. I predicted he’d get a nickname out of this, although it probably came from Scavino.

Staunch conservatives and American preservationists are Trump’s true base, representing about half of those who voted for him. They tend to be America-first nativists who are socially conservative and opposed to immigration, and may feel culturally threatened. Trump’s hard-line immigration policy is meant for them, and they’ll probably stick with him no matter what. The disengaged, a small portion of Trump voters, aren’t very knowledgeable about politics, but they do tend to feel powerless and left behind in the modern economy. Trump’s vilification of immigrants and Muslims may appeal to them and earn their loyalty. Free marketeers and anti-elites are more moderate. They tend to be traditional Republicans who may have voted for Trump simply out of party loyalty. They support free trade and a light government touch on the economy, which is at odds with Trump’s interventionist trade policy. Some of these people already regret voting for Trump, and he could lose more if his protectionist trade policy backfires or the economy weakens. Since these two groups represent about 45% of Trump voters, his approval rating could fall into the mid or low 30s if the economy begins to struggle, which would weaken Trump’s political power and his leverage over fellow Republicans in Congress. This is his biggest vulnerability. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-supporters-never-waver-185256151.html More

Russell and Happ for deGrom would have been an interesting one...

Angels with lots of Asian fans due to Ohtani...and best player in MLB since Bonds.

Go Cubs, Go! I guess 2-3 more years of disparity between the two respective teams and we might not even have a Cubs’ thread, unless Fathom still cares to maintain it.

Can’t we also apply that to the 2008 and 2016 Clinton campaigns...? Simply because of experience and her husband’s political instincts, you’d think it would be impossible not to win. If Crowley were to beat her, somehow, then it would be 75% on her. That said, at least she’s on the radar screen on a national basis. She’s definitely a very intelligent woman, but she’s going to need time to get up to speed on a number of issues (especially related to international events and foreign policy.) Look what happened to Sarah Palin when she became McCain’s VP candidate and was forced into the spotlight with a decade more of government service. The media, and public in general, tend to be much harder on female politicians than men. Let’s see if Trump today in Dubuque goes after Reddy’s candidate by name and even gives her a nickname. That’s when you really start to matter, lol...