caulfield12

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 22, 2017 -> 09:40 AM) I don't think anyone rated his power above minimal. He shouldn't be on the list. The power of God!!! He does leadership/corporate seminars and training for the LDS Church/BYU out in Utah now.

Victor Mesa will sign for $300k just to play with Moncada, Abreu and Robert...then sign a huge extension like Tim Anderson. Well, one can certainly dream a few Cubans are pulled to the Sox in the same way every veteran bench player wants to go to the Cavs and Warriors.

Supposed five tool Sox outfielders Darryl Boston Mike Cameron Kenny Williams Sammy Sosa Jimmy Hurst Chris Young Brian Anderson McKay Christensen Shawn Lil Abner Anthony Webster

QUOTE (bmags @ May 22, 2017 -> 09:00 AM) For time to first, may have the Tim Anderson problem where he just gets out of box really slow but then has great ability to stretch for another base when he gets to full speed. Well, that's not unusual for a 6'3" guy out of the RH box who might still be growing. Difference between first step quickness getting jumps and stealing bases...and then flat out sprinting speed on a track from yards 30-60. That's where Avi Garcia gets his five tool readings, especially now that his weight is lower. Or same reason Saladino was supposedly the fastest base runner in different readings.

Found him. CFer Ben Badler says is even better than Luis Robert. At least statistically, Robert outhit. 1. Victor Mesa • of, Cuba • Age: 20. B-T: R-R. Listed as the top prospect at the 2017 WBC. The son of Victor Mesa, the former Cuban baseball star who used to manage the Cuban national team, Mesa is the most exciting young prospect in Cuba. A 20-year-old coming off a breakthrough Serie Nacional season in which he hit .354/.399/.539 in 70 games, Mesa is a plus-plus runner who led the league with 40 stolen bases in 50 attempts and plays outstanding defense in center field with a strong arm. He would be a high first-round pick if he were in the draft. Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...uH4W1vrD7ZyA.99

Just listened to the same thing. Seems we can cross his arm off the plus tool list. Basically, said the Sox would take him first overall in a draft but other teams might rate him lower...and that he obviously compared favorably with all the high school guys. He didn't try to compare him to a Hunter Greene because he doesn't cover the draft at all. Second, who is Victor Mesa or Meza he referred to? The All-Time Cuban basestealing great and a manager now, or another Cuban still on the island that he said was even better than Robert? Guess we need to keep an eye on Jorge Ona who's now in the MW League for the Padres and played on the same junior national team. Finally, nothing about that Jose Israel Garcia guy we started hearing about recently for this signing period. No agreement on his speed to 1b vs. his recent sprinter's speed over twice that distance in workouts, but seems he falls at 55-60 for the moment. The other thing about swinging through 76 mph or mostly 80's fastballs in Cuba with the watered down pitching is we won't know much until he's at Kannapolis, whenever that happens. Fastballs in Cuba are changeups in the US, especially for someone like Michael Kopech.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 22, 2017 -> 07:53 AM) I think we may need to temper expectations a bit. I thought Badler was one of the higher people on Robert and he sounded a lot more cautious on the SSS podcast today. Said in not so many words he would not be a unanimous top 10 pick in this draft and was probably better than the HS bats available in this draft but not obvious. Do Pavin Smith or Haseley have anything approaching five tools? Would the White Sox spend $50+ million on Faedo in the open market (if it existed)? Or Carson Fulmer? There were too many quotes from scouts and GM's on Robert's talent level/potential that aren't near the glowing praise we're hearing about the potential player available where the Sox select.

On March 11, 2002, a fire at a girls' school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia killed fifteen people, all young girls. The event was especially notable due to complaints that Saudi Arabia's "religious police" (aka the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) stopped schoolgirls from leaving the burning building and hindered rescue workers because the girls were not wearing correct Islamic dress, and possibly for not being escorted by a male.[1] As Hanny Megally, Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch put it, "Women and girls may have died unnecessarily because of extreme interpretations of the Islamic dress code. State authorities with direct and indirect responsibility for this tragedy must be held accountable."[2] According to at least two reports, members of the CPVPV, also known as Mutaween, would not allow the girls to escape or to be saved from the fire because they were "not properly covered", and the mutaween did not want physical contact to take place between the girls and the civil defense forces for fear of sexual enticement, and variously that the girls were locked in by the police, or forced back into the building.[2][6] Civil Defense stated that the fire had extinguished itself before they arrived on the scene. CPVPV officers did appear to object to Civil Defense workers going into the building—Human Rights Watch quoted a Civil Defense officer as saying, "Whenever the girls got out through the main gate, these people forced them to return via another. Instead of extending a helping hand for the rescue work, they were using their hands to beat us." The CPVPV denied the charges of beating or locking the gates but the incident and the accounts of witnesses were reported in Saudi newspapers such as the Saudi Gazette and Al-Iqtisaddiyya. The result was a very rare public criticism of the group.[6] Wikipedia

Yeah, fwiw, Gleyber Torres was just promoted to AAA. After Moncada, who is consensus #2? One thing I don't get is how Law could argue not even Top 100 (is this based on age and no results yet in MILB, or actually attempting to project him?)

Leury Garcia leads Rizzo and Benintendi in ops...and is now qualified in terms # at-bats. Tim Anderson from high 160's to 134 and climbing to nearly 700 now. Avi 16th, Abreu 60th Bregman, T.Turner, Schwarber, Swanson, A.Russell, CarGo, Odor all under 700 Josh Bell really holding his own so far, of the offseason Q targets.

Luis Robert is...well, let's say he's worth 2 WAR in his first MLB season, either next year or 2019, then an average of 4 WAR over each of his following 5 seasons. (I would estimate this as his 50th percentile outcome.) That's 22 WAR in total, or roughly $200,000,000 worth of value during his cost-controlled years. And the White Sox would pay around $50-60M total during the arbitration years, plus of course the ~$45M to sign him yesterday. So if Luis Robert is a 2-4-4-4-4-4 WAR player, the Sox, give or take a buck or two, will pay $100M for $200M worth of production. And if Robert turns into Matt Holliday with better defense & baserunning (in other words, prime Andrew McCutchen), then his value becomes more like $300,000,000 to $350,000,000. And this is not a pipe dream; it's more like his 85th to 90th percentile outcome. That would be nice to have. Molina lacks the potential for a bargain, but offers much more certainty due to tangible and intangible defensive and leadership contributions. Luis Robert offers the potential for a spectacular player for the indefinite future. I cannot stress this enough -- Luis Robert has more positives and fewer negatives than pretty much every other minor leaguer in every other organization. He's obviously a safer prospect than any pitcher. He has better plate discipline and general athleticism than Eloy Jimenez. He is distinctly bigger and stronger than Victor Robles and Ronald Acuna. He's a better defender and baserunner than Austin Meadows and has much, much more batting potential than Amed Rosario or J.P. Crawford. There is an argument to be made, and I'll make it in half a moment, that Luis Robert is now the #1 overall prospect in baseball. When evaluating elite prospects, you look for the red flags. Chunky physique, poor plate discipline, general excess of arrogance rather than a sturdy self-confidence, difficulty staying healthy, not young enough relative to levels of competition, shaky work ethic. Luis Robert has none of these troubling traits. By all appearances he's a humble, hard-working kid with a great health history and a track record of dominating older players in international competition over and over and over, since he was 14 years old. In short, he's the Cuban Bryce Harper, but without the swelled head or demented Pete Rose-worshipping father. Luis Robert is the investment you make. http://www.scout.com/mlb/cardinals/forums/...321&page=17 Would there have been a chunk of risk involved in signing Luis Robert? Of course! Every large contract comes with risks. After all, how much value has Adam Wainwright provided since the start of 2015? Perhaps 2-3 WAR, and most of that with his bat? So everything, even so-called safe contracts for established MLB veterans, involves some risk. But holy moly, the difference here is the upside with this kid. How much upside? Here's a quick comparison of Cuban Ciego de Avila teammates. In 2015 23-yr-old Jose Adolis Garcia batted .319/.399/.523 and was MVP of the league. In 2016 19-yr-old Luis Robert batted .401/.526/.687. And lest you assume that the league batting radically changed from one year to the next, here's a detail. In 2015 there were 20 hitters who exceeded a .900 OPS. The next year there were 20 batters who exceeded a .925 OPS. Barely statistically significant, if at all. Luis Robert is a guy -- if he stays healthy and enjoys merely a typical improvement curve over the next 4-5 years -- who could well be prime Matt Holliday, only with better defense and baserunning. At worst you're getting Hunter Pence Redux. And even that type of player would be well worth a $70-80M outlay, including all those fees and penalties. (And yes I meant to rhyme that. Mo hasn't completely destroyed all the poetry in my soul. Heaven knows he's been trying though.) Great day for the White Sox. Bad day in multiple ways for our local nine, not least of which due to Mo's (now ongoing) mis-valuation of where to make the largest investments. (And how exactly would that nearly $200M David Price contract be working out right now?)

Found this old article from March 14th, so weird...like he disappeared from the face of the earth after the middle of March GLENDALE, Ariz. -- White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon moved a step closer to getting into game action on Tuesday (March 16th), throwing 64 pitches in his first simulated game of the spring. Rodon faced White Sox Minor Leaguers on a back field at Camelback Ranch, pitching from both a full windup and from the stretch. "Rody did a really nice job," manager Rick Renteria said. "He was working on fastball and changeup the first round, working on fastball command. He mixed in some cutters and some sliders. His ball has tremendous life. Nothing against the kids who were hitting against him, but we saw a lot of balls in the cage." Rodon might have one more simulated game before getting into Cactus League action, according to Renteria, though the White Sox southpaw is raring to return. "I just want to get in a game," Rodon said. "Just to pitch to those guys, get in the game and pitch." The White Sox are easing Rodon into action this spring, although it is not injury related. http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article/219...first-sim-game/

Need more hype. It's Zack Freakin' Greinke!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-...4b03b485cb2522a Trump Touched a Glowing Orb in Saudi Arabia and Folks Found It Just a BIT Odd Some of the hilarious Twitter comments made this one worth opening.

Greg, as soon as Mueller concludes his report, that's when you can breathe a sigh of relief. And not until then. Even if Trump survives this (and it's 50/50 right now), his presidency and Pence will be so weakened that they would have been better off rebooting. And Sean Hannity's job is to have the exact effect on his "followers" that he's having...making them believe there's absolutely nothing wrong with Trump and everything wrong with the "liberal" media, which never used to include CNN or the Washington Post before this particular election cycle. Think of it the other way around...for 8 years, all you heard on Fox News was how terrible Obama was, right? Why would they have ANY reason to be fair/impartial/unbiased on the subject of Donald Trump? Their viewers wouldn't tolerate a "fair and balanced" show. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/n...ticle-1.3183860 In the meantime, Newt Gingrich is STILL pushing the "Seth Rich was murdered by the Dems" storyline to push back against Trump stories despite it being completely debunked/retracted/corrected last week by the local Fox affiliate...and despite his parents practically begging the GOP to stop tarnishing the memory of their kid.

White Sox are now 15th in MLB runs scored per game but only have the 24th highest OPS. So they're either excellent at manufacturing runs/clutch hitting or are due for a regression. Usually, there's a stronger correlation between those two numbers.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 21, 2017 -> 09:16 PM) Because 85 percent of the students there are Catholic and I showed you the Catholic position on being gay, the official position. It flat out says this type of sex is wrong. So .... why in the hell are they attending ND to begin with when the Catholic religion is like this?? Just like Pence. Now Reddy educated me on that terrific statement by ND on gays. I LOVE their stance. However if you read what Reddy provided me, there's nothing in that document on the church's position on same sex sexual activity. I'm confused because if they are that worked up to walk out on Pence, they sure as hell should not be attending ND out of protest. No. I do what I feel is right. I feel like all organized religions probably have something I disagree with. I'm not perfect. I like my religion for various reasons. I like community worship. I feel good in a church (yes it's selfish of me I guess). I feel good among fellow worshipers. I like to observe people and I enjoy seeing happy people for an hour every Sunday. Sure I approve of the homosexual orientation. I'll try to get it right and use the right word, not lifestyle. Sorry if I offended. Sorry about that. I definitely approve of all sexual orientations. I feel like if they are going to protest Pence, they should show some guts and protest everything about ND because the church it is founded on is 100 percent in agreement with Pence on social issues. Yeah I agree with your third sentence for sure. Obviously they are not evil. Then why is it 85 percent Catholic? Well a big reason is the Catholic high schools of which I went to in Chicago feed kids to ND as well as the Benedictine schools. 85 percent are Catholic students! That's 15 percent non Catholic. And they are mad at Pence but not their leaders at ND??? Greg, by this argument, you should be protesting your own church or dropping out. Certainly, there has to be 15-20% of a Church's teaching (Catholic/Christian, etc.) that we disagree with or don't feel all that strongly about. What's most important, the "core belief" or quibbling about every little issue? Seriously, if you read the New Testament literally, it promises hell for those who basically (should) know that being homosexual is wrong, if you don't confront those individuals with your evidence/testimony...you're basically condoning their actions. And yet how many church members (besides Fred Phelps' in your neck of the woods) do this? Does Tim Tebow even get in people's faces and preach to gay people and try to convert them, for instance? It's highly unusual in society today.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 21, 2017 -> 08:31 PM) I wouldn't be shocked if we saw some salary-dumping, especially for guys who are underperforming by the deadline. I also imagine we'll see fewer rebound free agents next year. Robert was a big expense for an owner who has explicitly lobbied against paying amateurs tons of money for years. Good to know Hahn can talk JR into it, though. Yeah, it won't be for another Holland, Shields or Miguel Gonzalez, it will be cases like Pelfrey where we're paying almost nothing. And, for the moment, it seems like the veteran money might go into either catcher or the bullpen...although it would seem they have plenty of young arms to throw at the wall (right now) and determine which ones are going to stick. The only thing that could change this timeline would be if MOST of their youngsters excelled in the second half and they looked like the 2014 Royals at the end of the season, or 2015 Astros/Cubs...ahead of their competitiveness windowl. With the struggles of Giolito and Fulmer (last start), it's hard to imagine the young starting pitchers ALL doing well. We might be lucky if 1/3 (AAA prospects) has an ERA under 4. Then again, Kopech seems like the one who could really come up and dominate from the get go, if they do bring him up this August/September. From everything you read though, it seems they want him to spend the entire year in AA/AAA.

QUOTE (SouthSide2004 @ May 21, 2017 -> 07:49 PM) You're assuming there is only one buyer and they'll have their pickings of the reliever market. The price for Herrera may end up being a lot higher if multiple teams are interested. The reverse argument: 1) They don't have to worry about winning the NL East at this point. 2) Glover's doing okay, SO FAR 3) They have Harper for the next two years, so the desperation in the playoffs might not set in until 2018 4) Already gutted part of their system with the Eaton trade 5) They need a CF to replace Taylor as well...so we're not a good match for providing two players in one deal. 6) There are at least 3-4 other options available other than Robertson, at much cheaper salaries 7) Robles is the future for when Harper's gone, they have to hold some powder

God, that app drives me crazy. All the Chinese students use it constantly. That said, at least someone came up with the correct picture of Luis Robert. It should have taken the author all of 30 seconds, if he wasn't mailing in his column to collect a paycheck.

When is the introductory press conference? This week? When the full team gets back from Arizona/road trip? I don't quite get that article from Imrem. If he'd written it (a similar tome) after Bryant, Russell, Soler, Schwarber, Baez, Almora, Contreras and Happ were all brought up to the big leagues, he'd be proven mostly wrong in his skepticism. Actually, Soler would be the only clear "evidence" that might be comparable (in this case), but they're totally different styles of player besides their common origin in Cuba.

It's not the 1950's or 1960's...or the movie RUDY, for that matter. Very few choose a school like Notre Dame for religious/moral/ethical reasons...maybe 5-10%? And if you look at everything the new Pope's been saying, I think he is more of a moral authority here than either Pence or even a platform of conduct/beliefs from a university. And it's not like the Berkeley demonstrations...nobody was hurt, or arrested. Will it be remembered for a long time? Was it effective? Who knows? But I still remember the cast of Hamilton "confronting" Pence when he attended the Broadway show, you have to give people credit for at least trying and following their morals or values, as long as it doesn't "harm" other people. I suppose Greg would argue those parents/students who were Republican/not interested in protesting were somehow harmed, but it would be difficult to prove in a court of law.

The next question is going to be about cash flow, with the Robert deal. Obviously we're hoping to clear a lot of salary from July-September, but how much, for example, is JR willing to eat to get a Kieboom or Soto (assuming that Robles is completely unrealistic). If the suggestion is Soto and a secondary starting pitching prospect for Herrera (control through 2018) and Cain (FA), we're going to have to eat at least 1/3rd or 1/2 to make it feasible for the Nationals. Otherwise, they'll just go to cheaper options like Herrera, Hand, Tony Watson, etc.

12th in the draft

Comey's 86 year father infects himself into politics with anti-Trump comments http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/20/politics/com...rump/index.html