caulfield12

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_y...20high%20school There aren't many Brett Gardners out there, but great illustration of persistence/perseverance... At the very least, they need to be the first team with an academy in Cuba. Or Brazil...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 02:22 PM) Here's a SSS article on the Avi/Peavy trade. The Sox were asking for the right guys from Oakland. http://www.southsidesox.com/2013/7/31/4573...-trade-analysis Michael Choice, not so much. Couldn't the argument be made that every team in baseball was interested in Gray and Russell?

I'd honestly rather have Carl Crawford at half price and Desmond than pay Ethier AND give up talent to boot. Crawford would have to morph into more of a power guy like Tim Raines later in his career. It could work at USCF. It worked well with Thome, just not sure how much LA is willing to eat. In terms of risk, it's still fairly significant even at half off discount...ala Ryan Braun or Jay Bruce. At least Harrelson and KW would be elated for awhile.

The whole premise is you need to get somewhat lucky and find one superstar. Yao Ming singlehandedly put basketball on the map in China. If you had an American version of Pele and the US Men won a World Cup, things would definitely start to change...look at the incoming talent (albeit non minority) drawn into the PGA the last decade because of Tiger Woods, for example. Russian female tennis players or South Korean female golfers...just takes one.

If you really believe Fulmer ends up an elite reliever but another team perceives him as a starter...but then why would you have drafted him so high there in the first place? He's not Royce Ring or Aaron Poreda.

$22.5 million just might do it.... http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2016/1/24/1082...-of-free-agents See last paragraph and then the sentence below it, haha. White Sox a cost-efficient line-up? Well, if you take Cabrera and LaRoche out of the equation, sure. You can argue all the other guys might even be underpaid, like Frazier, Eaton and Abreu. Lawrie and Avila still have some decent upside if healthy.

Jeff Conine would be another example, growing up as a racquetball champion...pretty sure he went to UCLA if memory serves correctly.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 01:50 PM) That Astros route didn't work out so well for them. I think the would have been better off with Bryant and Rodon rather than Appel and Aiken. Of course, at also depends on how quickly their top four from 2015 make an impact, with Cameron as a huge upside wild card just like his father.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 01:45 PM) 100% agree with this. I'm a Saladino fan, but Desmond provides a better floor and much more upside. Also, worry about where Desmond & Anderson fit in next year. As for Jackson, he has his warts and his Seattle numbers are a bit worrisome, but his defense provides a floor and allows us to move Eaton to a corner where his defensive value improves. And if the contracts are structured right, I think we could squeeze them both in at $20M next year, which in theory should have been Cespedes type money. Still think it's closer to $25 million...we'll see. I don't think you'd want players who are resenting the feeling they are underpaid...but maybe that's the sting of motivation both guys would need. We know that Fowler is still likely to be overpaid despite the QO attached. As far as Desmond vs. Anderson, one of them could see more time at DH or in the outfield...but you have this entire season to assess. Basically, getting some positional flexibility and speed/athleticism at two additional spots, compared to Avi's physical potential which is largely untapped or underutilized.

The logic of timing a signing to coincide with Soxfest or not seems at best short-sighted. Unless you believe Upton would have come to Chicago for the same deal which most observers feel is foolish for Detroit, you're arguing Davis, Cespedes and Gordon could/should have signed here instead, which doesn't pass the logic test upon reflection.

I'm not seeing the compelling need to overpay Fowler based on last year. Jackson automatically starts out with $11-13 million more value preserving the pick. He improves the defense automatically, the single biggest issue for the Sox last year. At much less the cost of Fowler, he preserves payroll flexibility to add Desmond and/or more talent at the trade deadline. He's spent a lot of time (successfully) in the Central and would be even more motivated to beat Detroit. Finally, his offensive slump wasn't so much about Safeco as playing anywhere outside of Michigan after the first three months of 2014...compare his home to away stats, there's a 200+ point shift in favor of home vs. away. Frankly, though, I would much rather have Desmond than either outfielder if I could only choose 1/3 for now.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 07:25 AM) Spin that any way you'd like, but Spencer Adams had better numbers across the board at High A last season...and he was a year younger. Any time you're drafted top five to ten, you tend to get the benefit of the doubt...unless you're Carson Fulmer apparently.

Mets have Colon for insurance too, right?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/31101/adam-warren Warren's line was pretty solid with the Yankees last year...maybe they're also accounting for depth.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 07:07 AM) That 1.5 K/BB ratio, so elite http://twinsdaily.com/topic/19651-nice-read-on-kohl-stewart/ The same story we heard on Beck. Working on sinking two-seam fastball, getting groundballs and keeping pitch counts lower... Here's another on the same subject... http://twinsdaily.com/topic/10905-kohl-stewart-68-k9/

Fwiw, the premise of the Rays' addition would be for him to split time with Brad Miller at SS and play some left field and DH as well. Right now, there's little consensus how well he would adjust to that role, ala Zobrist and now Logan Forsythe.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jan 26, 2016 -> 06:54 AM) Are you referencing the same Kohl Stewart that's striking out less than 5 per 9 in high A? Lol! I'm not, USA Today is....

Seems pretty simple to track players who had similar swing percentages at age 23-25 and see how many of them came out of it to consistently post 775-825+ ops numbers...since that's what he would need as a negative defensive contributor.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/01/mlb-best-a...s-nationals-mlb Cubs 1, Mets 2, Indians 4, Tigers 21, Royals 22, Twins 25 (but Berrios/Stewart on the way)

It would be interesting to see the actual percentage of children adopted vs. those under state supervision... For babies who are born with mothers addicted to drugs: Cases of rape and incest: Babies that are born with birth defects, mentally-challenged: Babies that are white vs. non-white: How many international adoptions vs. non-white adoptions among US couples (straight and gay): Babies who come up for adoption when their mother dies while giving birth:

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 10:47 PM) *Sees Caulfield, does a "Control + F" search for 'Royals' and finds nothing* I approve! In all seriousness, great post. India is an interesting market. There was the movie, Million Dollar Arm, (which caulfield mentioned) about those two pitchers who went to the Pirates from India. That probably got some people thinking about the market. It would be great to see the Sox/baseball expand to there. Haha...I was actually going to make an analogy with that and my idea of finding more Brazilian/Jamaican athletes but refrained. I'd also note that the ONLY way that would make sense was playing in OLD COMISKEY. As to the current dimensions, the defensive gap covering ability isn't quite so important as SF, Seattle, Minnesota, SD, etc. With our stadium, we need above-average hitters who are at least average defenders...compared to the opposite, like a Juan Lagares type. These type of things of athletic transitions have been attempted many times throughout sports history, when you think about Michael Jordan or all of the NFL wide receivers who originally started out with world class track backgrounds. Usually with mixed success at best. FWIW, Orlando started out as a soccer/futbol player and 4 X 100 meter sprinter/trackster.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 10:54 PM) Caufield....that was an excellent and well thought out post. I'd be curious of the logistical issues / concerns getting something set-up, but do agree that the concept would be brilliant if done right. Not sure what sort of legal parameters need to be in place / MLB rules, but getting in Cuba before others (if it is even possible...not sure if they would be open to it) and from an India perspective, why not. I see little reason why franchises don't at a minimum enter into partnership type deals all throughout the globe to maximize there ability on potential talent and while you can't hit every country, India would be an excellent place to start. One risk is resources are finite so there are real costs associated with set-up, operating, finding other talented players to play with them (if the quality of talent is super poor, harder to be able to get guys to develop / find resources). This likely means the initial costs before hitting on real talent could be pretty high (as you'd have years and years before truly establishing). Might ultimately mean cost / benefit doesn't pan out, but the general thought and line of thought is spot on, and ultimately good for the global brand of baseball. Thanks, I was looking at it more from the macro-perspective of growing the game of baseball in the future, then the smaller level of the White Sox and then the more generic idea of "charity" as we know it. Combining "social entrepreneurialism" ideas in a way that would have an eventual payoff, thinking about the massive amounts spent on bonuses on the Latin American players under 21 that are almost like lottery tickets (such as Micker Adolfo). If there was a way to get the funds (whether through the White Sox, convincing municipalities like Bedford Park...that's where the idea came from, that Crain's Business Journal article...from MLB International...or from an insurance company sponsoring a contest that anyone is quite unlikely to win but being able to throw out the "Million Dollar" aspect of a competition's the best way I know of to quickly create a pool of possible talent with the least amount of actual money initially invested. And yes, the start-up costs are going to be considerable, but then when I think about how much money goes into Latin America or Bonifacio or Gordon Beckham, it doesn't seem quite so ludicrous if you really think about it. The White Sox have been pioneers in Brazil (Gomes, Paulo Orlando, Andre Rienzo...but unfortunately not J. Gomes at catcher) and Cuba. That has to be worth something in terms of social capital. We missed the huge opportunity in Venezuela, IMO, when Ozzie was manager...I don't think we got anyone other than Freddy Garcia you could directly attribute to the connection, but that alone was a huge factor in the world championship. I'm honestly not sure why we never put an academy down in Venezuela when at least 10-12 teams were doing so (the Astros, most famously). Budget for minor league operations was squeezed for major league payroll, I suppose. I even looked up to see what Jerry Krause was doing (he was sent on a mystical mission in 2010 to find Latin American talent and quickly ended up with the DBacks the next year without a peep) and also Dave Wilder, who should have recently been released from prison after serving two years. Granted, Reinsdorf is famous to a fault for being loyal, but I don't think that would allow for Dave Wilder or someone like Chris Correa (Cardinals' hacking scandal) to have a place with the team. Then again, America is a sucker for the comeback/rehabilitation story...when someone on top of the world gets knocked off and fights to return to their previous glory. I just liked the idea of the BRICS countries because 1) their might be more opportunity than ever before with Brazil's political and economic problems, Olympics and World Cup, etc. and 2) India, although one of the most frustrating and difficult countries I've ever visited from a touristic side, has tremendous untapped potential. Now there are other sports that could be similar, like jai alai or racquetball (Jeff Conine) and also throwing the javelin (pitchers), but it seems the closest synergy of all is right there between cricket and baseball.

They're already doing it, but not in an effort to bring in players but more in a similar way to MLB clubs investing in the Reviving Baseball in the Inner City program with Boys & Girls Clubs. What's the name of the Chicago version of that program, that was involved with Jackie Robinson LL? Also, if you search John Tumminia (White Sox scout) and Scott Merkin (and "Baseball Miracles"), you'll see that Reinsdorf has supported these efforts since at least 2012...but, once again, more "non-profit" oriented, almost like mission/volunteer work rather than marketing the White Sox and trying to unearth new players. A previous winter clinic was run by Tumminia in the Monte Plata province of the Dominican Republic. Tumminia plans to return to the same area at the end of October with Rafael Santana, the White Sox player development and scouting supervisor for their Dominican Academy, serving as the guest speaker. Tumminia hopes to take seven staff members to the Dominican for that trip, although he laughed while adding that he's not sure how they are going to do it. The White Sox as an organization paid the way for five people to visit South Dakota, also sending along White Sox hats and gloves, after Tumminia placed a call to White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf asking for assistance. "I called Jerry and said, 'I need your help. I need financial help. You know it's a good thing,'" Tumminia said. "He said, 'I'll get back to you,' and [White Sox vice president of communications] Scott [Reifert] called and they really came through." "I'm not sure what we did, but we helped out a little bit," Reinsdorf said. "This is really John's project. He's a terrific guy, and I'm very proud of him. He really likes to do this kind of stuff. John is a Brooklyn boy, and all the Brooklyn boys, we were all brought up to do good stuff." Kenya and Nepal stand as two other potential destinations for Tumminia clinics in the near future, and Havana is also on his list. The clinic at the Pine Ridge Reservation finished with a barbecue involving traditional baseball food such as hot dogs and peanuts and a rousing rending of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," not to mention excitement instilled in children who probably hadn't had much previous organized interaction with baseball. "Our goal is to reach out in a humanitarian way and represent baseball and, this year, the White Sox," Tumminia said. "As I was mentioning to Scott and Jerry, I want to try to give back to baseball in a different way." http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/print...60&c_id=cws This one of the main reasons I'm proud to be a White Sox fan...stuff like this that you never hear about unless you really investigate closely, as well as Sox Charities in general, one of the best programs in the majors. FWIW, I've been to that same Pine Ridge Indian Reservation...it's famous for being the location of Wounded Knee and is the poorest county (Boone, SD) in all of the United States. Back in the day, there was a movie called THUNDERHEART with Val Kilmer and Sam Shepard about this same area. Lots of alcohol/addiction, education and casino-related issues, certainly not the kind of place you'd ever expect to unearth a future MLB player but stranger things have happened.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 25, 2016 -> 09:36 PM) http://showmestatesportsreport.sportsblog....n-desmond-.html http://www.draysbay.com/2016/1/25/10821340...ors-ian-desmond Some pretty interesting things said about Desmond in the Rays' link and there's a few videos as well. The huge advantage for the White Sox is that same Hardball Times article has a pick in the 25-30 range at somewhere around $11-13 million....or about half the cost to the Rays, who are obviously even more financially-limited than the Sox. Losing a high-first round draft pick is just not something the Rays are in the business of doing.

It's an interesting approach. It's certainly not "sexy" compared to the Chevy Pride girls, but you gotta do what you gotta do. As they mentioned in the article, for a cost of $400,000, you basically get your advertising investment back if you are successful attracting just a couple of industries or companies to relocate or choose to open in your city. Sometimes it's frustrating to listen to all the ads for the Plumbers/Steamfitters/Pipefitters and wish we had all the "cool/hip" companies wanting to invest in the White Sox, but that's just not the reality right now. Kudos for Boyer and & Co. for thinking outside of the box. New Lenox, fwiw, has attempted the same strategy.