caulfield12

Not only that, but he's a really nice kid, humble, good family, Ivy Leaguer... It's annoying when the Cubs aren't the obvious villains. Thankfully, there's at least Chapman now. And Lackey is the kind of guy it's easy to hate of he's not on your team, and a lot of people are trying to figure out reasons to hate Arrieta, but Sale acting like a 13 year old hasn't helped much...finally, the heart of that current order in Rizzo, Bryant and Zobrist, three more guys you'd be shocked with any of them having an off field issue. Schwarber seems to be like a quality dude as well. Then there's Maddon vs. Ventura, two completely opposite personalities.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 13, 2016 -> 09:13 AM) The Yankees are having trouble getting full buy in from the cable networks on their baseball station, as are the Dodgers amongst others. Guess who will have a vested interest in NOT having another baseball network for CSN to compete against? Yes, but the Yankees look to be caught in a rebuilding period when they are charging the highest prices in baseball for their media products as well as in-game experience. The Dodgers haven't been able to threaten the World Series and things look even bleaker with Kershaw out and Seager/Turner the two best hitters in that line-up. The situation the Cubs are looking at is completely unique in baseball should they win at least one World Series in the next three years...the closest parallel is Boston, but even that might not being doing it justice because of the advantages the city of Chicago provides over Boston. It has been pretty obvious with the White Sox pulling back on the total amount of giveaway items available on the weekends...as well as a lot of sponsorships that aren't taking place at all because the Sox don't want to set the bottom of their marketing deals so low, making it more difficult to renegotiate or raise the rates again when the team finally turns its performance level around. At a certain point, making these deals at 50 or 25 cents on the dollar becomes disadvantageous to the franchise moving forward. The marketing basically has to wait on the team, because Sox fans are tired of this whole mired in mediocrity thing, not when there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

http://www.southsidesox.com/2016/8/13/1246...could-be-costly And his competition...?

Only the Oakland A's and Rays would seem to be in trouble (for different reasons). The jury's still out on Miami (with Stanton and Fernandez they have two headliners) and Cleveland's in an improved position this year and going forward. One big decision that will impact the White Sox will be whether the Cubs start their own independent network or not. If it's only Comcast bidding for the Sox and Cubs simultaneously, we know which team will get squeezed. Realistically, this offseason would be the perfect time to start that mini-rebuild because they can immediately inject a ton of life with AA and AAA position prospects within a year or so of the majors. It might even mean taking another risk and selling high on Eaton while waiting on Abreu. But that would probably require a new owner's determination to "peak" in 2019 instead of rolling the dice again in 2017. The other major consideration is timing that huge free agent class after 2018 with being the "final pieces" to having a really good team in 2019. Of course, waiting another two years will be hard, but at least there'd be a bigger payoff in the end than fielding .500 teams the next three seasons and/or losing Q, Sale or Rodon to injury.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Aug 12, 2016 -> 07:09 PM) Your mixing everything up in your head. The need for position players has nothing to do with bringing up Burdi or Fulmer. And Tilson was brought up because the Sox had another injury (Avi Garcia). The Sox wanted to see what they had in Tilson. Sox fans, especially those who went to New Trier or know him and his family, were excited to see him. Fulmer has looked awkward but from the Sox perspective, it is valuable to see that. Instead of penciling him into the rotation for 2017 or 2018, they know what he has to work on to be on the roster next year.....everything. The more I see Fumer, the less confident I am that he will ever become a starting pitcher in the majors. Teerrible Draft oick by the White Sox and those are the sorts of bad decisions that have prevented the Sox from becoming better than a .500 team. It has everything to do with the lack of excitement regarding this franchise. Imagine Benitendi coming up instead of Fulmer being added to the bullpen. This place would be alot more alive. And you're forgetting the damage this has done to Fulmer's trade value...not sure how that's much of a positive with how much he has been exposed. Plus, Hahn desperately wanted a position player he traded for to make him look good. And you still haven'r explained the lack of playing time for Saladino last year in favor of Alexei, or Navarro this year.

Ventura desperate to avoid 3+ innings from the pen. Doubt it's worth it, although getting his 3rd win should be a big confidence boost, especially in his hometown. And apparently Abreu's son will be in the US for at least one month, so that might explain his lack of excitement. Yet another Sox baserunner cut down...what else is new?

Should have put this one away....

That's the difference between 92-93 and 95-96...k instead of a homer. And getting ahead in counts.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Aug 12, 2016 -> 02:31 PM) Major league level playing time and experience that a player could never get in the minors, an opportunity for management to assess how a player performs at this level, how he reacts to pressure, how he fits into a team's chemistry, how a player reacts and responds to failure. Last but not least for the White Sox is the appeal for fans at this point in the season. Fans would rather see young players out there trying to earn a job rather than guys like Robertson who are about to lose theirs. Sure, but they played Alexei over Saladino and now Navarro nearly everyday over Narvaez when he will be departing as well... They tried it with Tilson, although that only lasted half a game. If that was their concern (your latter point), they sure haven't done an effective job "marketing" Fulmer to the fans, either. He's either pitching with a dead arm or his mechanics/psyche are off. Just like with Rodon earlier this year, some of that swagger is gone that helped make both of them so effective in college. I guess it's one thing if they really believed in him (Burdi or Fulmer), another if the reason is to give the fans someone to be excited about in what will be a difficult stretch for tv viewer and team alike. More than anything, they need young position players to excite the fanbase, and there are already so many relievers throwing 95-100 that it isn't nearly as exciting as it was a decade ago. Or to at least "honor" Ventura somehow and communicate to the fans this will be his final season, that a change in leadership is needed both on the field and in the front office.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 12, 2016 -> 05:21 AM) He's still probably a Hall of Famer. So if the Sox trade Harambe's apple pies for Albert Einstein, we get two Mike Trouts? And a lifetime pass to the zoo of your choice...along with 100 Bo Bobbleheads (est. $50 value for each). To top it off, a CD of Benetti's 150 corniest jokes this season, the answers to all the of the 2016 Sox Math questions and a lunch at Giordano's with Alex Snelius.

QUOTE (FT35 @ Aug 12, 2016 -> 09:47 AM) Yeah that was my stretch. I don't think he will make their opening day roster, but I think they may call him soon. I put him in there because he'll be 22, he has 3 years of college under his belt, he's already on the mature side as far as his hitting. But mostly I put him in there because they rush any sort of value in their system and having him on the roster makes it possible for them to only sign 1 cheap, low level backup catcher as a "Jimmy Rollins place holder" till they call up Zack. I figured we got a full year of Adrian Nieto and he was only 24, below average defensively and couldn't hit at all--why not Zack? Well, if they want to destroy 2 out of 3 kids they draft from the 1st-3rd rounds by rushing them up because there are no better options or they don't want to spend on free agents, they're really going to run this franchise into the ground. Collins shouldn't even be on the radar until 2018 if they're going to develop him as a catcher. That's where he has a premium value, and we haven't had a better than average catcher since AJ's prime years. It has been a long half decade of really bad performance at that position for the Sox. Rush him up as a hitter, you might get an average AL DH in a couple of years, but that's not going to move this franchise into contention like having a Top 5-7 catcher would.

The ship has sailed in terms of Fulmer/Adams (even as part of a bigger package) bringing back guys like Arenado, Cargo or McCutcheon... You're not going to be able to trade Q for Arenado...no team would give up one of the five best young position players in all of baseball for a pitcher, considering how many pitching injuries there are these days.

Turner's looking more comfortable out of the pen. Ranaudo or starter by committee like today's game...or Danish, as it doesn't really matter anymore.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 11, 2016 -> 07:23 PM) You don't know if that is the plan. Right now they just might want to see if he can maintain what he has been doing at a higher level. The more you find out about him the better prepared you are to make future decisions. The reason Sale, Rodon and Anderson were each pushed so quickly was "win now" situations. What's the compelling excuse to push Burdi up so quickly right now? Or for Fulmer to continue struggling in a role he's ill-suited for?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Aug 11, 2016 -> 11:24 PM) But they are totally realistic scenarios! The likes of signing Gomez and/or Castro, taking on a contract and giving up almost nothing for Ethier, dealing lower level prospects hoping Norris bounces back. All these guys will be linked to the Sox by reports due to the holes on the roster and I think it'll be legitimate interest. How is that going to lead to any type of sustainable success? The ONLY way to do that is position players who are under the age of 30. This is more of the throwing darts against the wall strategy, and it just doesn't work anymore. And maybe only 5-10% of the fans will continue to fall for it.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Aug 11, 2016 -> 10:16 PM) Don't be flip. What transpired in the late 80s with the blackmailing of the state by Reinsdorf to secure him a lifetime of profits via taxpayer subsidies was a disgusting abuse of public policy by gullible politicians, but initiated by a morally bankrupt owner of our Sox. Reinsdorf is not a man any of us can be proud of based on what he blackmailed the state into with that stadium and lease deal. The funny thing, reading this, is it feels exactly what a certain political candidate would argue about using bankruptcy laws and lobbying to his advantage...using the system like any good businessman would. Not illegal or even unethical, but certainly ugly. You weigh that against the positives such as his loyalty to employees, some groundbreaking minority hires and White Sox charities...maybe it all balances out, but just barely. No matter the positives, the stadium deal (and resulting disappointment for the first decade), the strike in 1994-95 and White Flag will be a part of his legacy as well. Now we can find owners that are worse, but that's hardly a rallying cry for a franchise desperate for something to break its way.

It's telling that it took four plus months for them to notice how the professionalism exemplified by Morneau was sore lacking at the big league level...

House bet?

First career complete game for Duffy. If he sucks, as a certain poster intimated, I would like to see an actual good pitcher. Then again, the White Sox are dead men walking. Congrats to Hahn for drafting a poor man's Addison Reed, though.

Scioscia's going to make the Hall of Fame as a manager...that situation with a former AAAA pitcher vs. the ego of a micromanaging leader make the situation a bit unique. And we went through a similar situation with Guillen and Williams, right?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 11, 2016 -> 06:38 PM) I know there is the ridiculous myth about this ownership group. But realistically, there are plenty of ownership groups out there who treat their teams like an annuity. The Sox do put a fair amount of resources into their team. There are baseball teams out there who have figured out how to minimize their payroll in order to maximize their revenue sharing checks. The Sox have never fallen into that group. There are also groups who are losing 8 figures a year or more on debt payments that never go back to the team. Sure the Sox could find the next freespendin billionaire who needs a play thing. They could also find the next Jeff Loria or Larry Dolan. At least the Indians shelled out for a manager and made the playoffs in 2013 and 2016....and attendance is close to 20,000 per game, so that's trending up as well.

What happened to the Fulmer who was supposedly the best NCAA pitcher in 2015? Seem the White Sox are just mailing it in or the offense simply doesn't believe the bullpen can ever hold a lead against KC.

Except he is at total cross purposes with the 2017 team at this point...helping to elevate the win total, taking at-bats from a Saladino or Coats or Garcia (well, that's a bit of a stretch) and very unlikely to be traded for a future asset this month because his pittance of a salary makes a waiver block highly probable. Too bad it's not Avila doing this, because he is under control for 2017...but it's just the way this season has gone.

Ptac, 3 2 1...

Saladino might as well get more opportunities hitting higher in the lineup...nothing to lose. Let's see how he responds.