caulfield12

Do we really want to add another notorious PED's guy? Are Brewers or Braun fans going to come out and support him at USCF? JR is going to be gun shy to add any commitment beyond 2017 after what has taken place with Shields the last 3 starts.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2016/6/14...jols-brad-lidge Did Bartolo Colon break James Shields? Btw, Shields once finished Top 3 in the Cy Young voting, so that's one of the reasons for his label. Of course, so did Dallas Keuchel, and he's definitely no ace so far this season, and barely throwing 88-90 when I've seen him.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/14/politics/oba...oric/index.html Obama finally declares war on Trump and his beliefs, essentially...

Leading to the obvious point....why don't they just send Coats back down and put someone like Leury or Bourgeois in that much more comfortable bench/PR/PH role. Unless they really aren't that concerned about how they treat Coats compared to try to extract whatever value they can get out of Avi Garcia...I don't see how "showcasing" Avi is likely to lead to a conclusion that he's made any type of progress or improvement on the defensive side. It would be better just to hide him at DH and hope some team comes along that is desperate enough to give him a full-time job on a rebuilding team and is also willing to give up something intriguing (or part with a veteran on a contract the Sox can absorb).

He's more like that Edward Jones or The Money Store advisor your family has used for decades, you go to BBQ's and share a couple of cold ones at Applebee's with him and his family and would feel terrible about "firing him" and going with a better broker because he's a good guy. Certainly, you don't want to hurt his feelings because you have the sense he's doing the best that he can, even though there are lots of better options to choose from. At least you're comfortable with him and know he's not out to cheat you or take advantage somehow.

Or some would argue he had something to prove against his former team/mates...added incentive. We've seen it time and time again from former White Sox players when facing us, whether it's Eduardo Escobar or whoever.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/anderso...-for-white-sox/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-s...teen/index.html Greg, how would your feelings have changed if Walt Disney World had been attacked instead of Pulse?

Yeah, otoh, it's fair to say he's been paid like a #2 over the last 5 years or so, whereas the performance since maybe the middle of 2014 has been closer to a 3. It's all because he pitched in so many playoff games for the Rays there earlier in his career, and the fact that he has been the undisputed "team leader" wherever he has gone (at least until SD). Plus, the whole nickname things. At least Pedro Martinez gave that free/unsolicited advice. He wouldn't have if Shields was still still pitching 3-4 times per season against the Red Sox (w/ Tampa Bay).

What about DeAngelo Russell + another piece for Butler?

Injuries are not an excuse for this team. If you want to point to non-performance, it's clearly Abreu (until the last couple of weeks), Rodon and more recently Frazier. This team was put on the field with a razor-thin margin of error, because of Avi (plus the LaRoche "situation"), the back end of the rotation (they actually got about what was expected from Latos, to be honest) and the financial issues (or lack of willingness to give up a draft pick) that led to a number of "value" signings, some which have worked out "okay" like Austin Jackson but none have solved or addressed long-term issues with this team. Basically, those "long term" issues have just been punted down the road into the future, not unlike our national debt. We're doing the same exact thing now taking on the Shields contract (when it wasn't even completely necessary) and also pushing up Anderson to the majors quite quickly. Then, because we're in "desperation mode" now to stay in the race, we have to pull the plug on playing Saladino or Coats or Sanchez or basically anyone (see Micah Johnson early 2015 or Marcus Semien early 2014) for more than 2-3 years if they don't contribute something positively almost right off the bat. We take guys who are obviously not ready for prime time like Tyler Danish and Kahnle and just throw them into the fire and are seemingly surprised when those moves don't work. On the other hand, we stubbornly hold onto "suspects" like Coats and JB Shuck because we can't develop any legit alternatives in our minor league system. It's pretty clear the writing is already on the wall with Coats, and that's a sad thing...because he busted his ass to become at least a possible future regular and he's just not getting a chance, because the White Sox just don't have enough confidence or trust in his ability to deliver. But they trust in Avi? And guys like Beckham and Viciedo in the past to turn things around....based on what? Money invested in them? Prospect ratings? The fact that Avi HAS to succeed to justify the wisdom of a past trade, or the fact that Iglesias has become a regular for the Tigers and Montas might become a significant contributor to the Dodgers at some point this season? I just hate that Garcia bought himself another 2-3 weeks in the line-up because of last night. It's better than a loss, but to expect some kind of turnaround in his offensive approach or defense at this point is foolish and short-sighted. And now we're betting our season on Justin Morneau returning to 2014 form on a $1 million "make good" contract? It's almost comical.

Renteria has a much better record managing the White Sox than Don Cooper, fwiw. Probably not much. Just like his enthusiasm and excitement more. Appreciation for the opportunity he has right now to still be a part of professional baseball in some capacity after what transpired with the Cubs. Plus, he's the bridge to all the Latin American players, which is of critical importance in modern-day baseball with 35-40% of players originating from DR/Venezuela/Cuba/PR/Mexico.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 14, 2016 -> 06:58 AM) I truly think as dumb as it sounds, that Avi is being showcased somehow. Ventura would give him multiple days off in a row at DH. Now he plays every day in the OF with a better defender on the bench. It really doesn't make any sense. Knowing his flaws as well as we do, why would a team like the Brewers (just an example, could be the Rockies, same applies) want Avi Garcia? They already added Domingo Santana from the Astros, and you'd think they would be quite wary because Garcia would HAVE to play RF/LF for them...and that outfield's even bigger than USCF, so even more opportunities for miscues. The Rockies have Blackmon, Parra and then they're going to have to move Story probably to the outfield to make way for an even better SS prospect coming up in the future. I could see a trade for someone like Jake Marisnick or Tucker (the older one) or, God forbid, Carlos Gomez, but it's not going to be part of a blockbuster, IMO. I doubt Rasmus would go for Avi Garcia either, unless they just completely throw in the towel on competing this year.

Were there three teams ahead of them in 1997, just in their own division? My recollection is that it was ONLY the Indians. Granted, they were a juggernaut offensively, but one superteam vs. three "decent/good" teams probably is a wash statistically, especially when said team's history of beating those teams head-to-head is close to abysmal in recent years. It's not as clear-cut as some would make it seem, as going all-out for a "REAL" hitter means decimating the farm system...unless we're willing to accept a smaller but more logical piece that fits with the idea of supplementing our current roster while not having a significant impact on the team's ability to compete in the future. And even if you could get Lucroy and Braun (Mil willing to deal them), it would take every legitimate prospect from our system to pull that one off. Not the kind of trade the White Sox have made since Wells/Fogg/Lowe for Ritchie or Reed/Morse/Olivo for Garcia. Of course, back then, they had a LOT more depth in their minor league talent well.

Except it seems Robin is already reaching the end of his rope on trusting Coats...as he's already starting Avi over him defensively and also pulled him from the game after he was struggling mightily just to make contact, let alone put a ball into play. I'll go with Pearce of the Rays as the best possible add right now...for the time being, and also future strengthening of our overall depth/bench. The way he's going right now, though, he would be a full-time line-up presence.

Lillian, your expectations of Justin Morneau seem to be sky high. Think we need to be a bit more restrained in our projections for him, at least until he can prove something on his rehab assignment. Pinning the second half hopes on a career comeback, and adding Braun/Lucroy to go along with him...well, I guess it's no crazier than adding James Shields, but. Also, Anderson at leadoff so quickly with his lack of walks is the same logic (which everyone questions until he finally changed) of Yost placing their lowest OBP guy in Escobar at the top of the line-up. Anderson's better off hitting 9th with little to no pressure on him to ignite things, or at least hitting second, which will get him more fastballs to hit with Eaton on base and also forces him to focus on just doing the "little things" in terms of moving runners along instead of trying too much to be a hero or force things. And that Braun/Lucroy package is going to wipe out the remainder of the farm system, too. Honestly, if you were the Brewers and building towards the future, who would you be excited about getting back? Fulmer and Adams? I'm not even sure you can see that to their fans as being enough, because you're trading away their 2 best remaining players. In the short-term, they just need to figure out a way how to limit Shuck/Coats at-bats and Avi Garcia appearances in the outfield.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 13, 2016 -> 11:11 PM) They'll never trade Wiggins. Too risky that he's the next big thing. Trade will never get done cause Bulls will demand Wiggins be included IMO. Lawrence loyalty!

Okay, not to be confused with "Hawaiian Punch" or Kool-Aid Fruit Punch, lol...glad we got that one straight. Need to restock that flavor for tmrw to keep the positive vibes going.

Seems more like a case of personal "demons" than any type of "terrorist ideology" at play here... If ISIS really wanted victory over the US, they would target someone/something closely associated with Donald Trump, like one of his buildings/casinos or the Miss Universe/Miss USA pageant. That would actually generate some (I'm not going to call it a "well of") sympathy for him, giving him a much better chance at being elected...which is exactly what someone looking to destablize the US government and provoke it into an all-out war (including ground troops) would do strategically.

I'll use a Greg argument. In the end, it was Renteria in the dugout when they won...we don't or can't possibly know for sure with Robin the same result would have taken place were Ventura still in charge. Just like we can't know if Robin Ventura could successfully have managed the Braves as well as Bobby Cox, the A's/Cards as well as LaRussa, the Tigers/Pirates as well as Leyland and the Yankees as well as Joe Torre...or if any different White Sox manager would have similarly guided that 2005 team successfully into the playoffs and post-season. Actually, we have to give Robin credit for removing the possibility of Renteria putting Tyler Danish into the game later!!!! Keeping the rally going, Brett Lawrie lined a single to right-center field to score Abreu making it a one-run game, 7-6. Now only down by one run, Ventura went to the bullpen to keep the Tigers offense still and called for... Tyler Danish. The rookie who has struggled in each of his appearances was called into the face the Tigers middle of the order. Danish walked Miggy, gave up a single to Nick Castellanos, who committed a TOOTBLAN by trying to stretch it into a double. With a runner on third and one out, Danish intentionally walked J.D. Martinez. Looking to use his sinker to create a double play, Justin Upton waited for a pitch up in the zone and drove a single to center to extend the Tigers lead, 8-6. Ventura would lift Danish for Dan Jennings, but it appeared that gamble would cost the game for Chicago. www.southsidesox.com

Instill a sense of confidence in the team...is it a complete coincidence one of our biggest victories of the season happened with Ventura not playing an active role at the end? Got the best out of our bullpen?

Wasn't that just cherry-flavored Gatorade?

Dedicated especially to Ozzie and Hawk Harrelson, for all their love of the Twins/Royals over the last 12+ seasons.

So you still think the Sox would have won had Ventura remained in the game? His biggest supporter around here didn't believe this to be the case...thought we would lose regardless of who was managing.

of the game-winning manager, breath of fresh air listening to him for a change http://m.mlb.com/video/v811772783/detcws-r...?game_pk=447820