caulfield12

Pods' body really wore down near the end and he had to remodel his game quite a bit. He didn't have 100 steals, but he came close a time or two...especially his minor league wear and tear caught up with him.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 27, 2015 -> 10:30 AM) For all those wondering why Hahn wouldn't or couldn't trade the guy... he's now struggling to find a minor league deal. Because he was waiting for a major league deal and then settled for a situation where there MIGHT be an opening, either in the outfield, DH or 1B.

Crisp and Reddick are set. There's the Fuld/Gentry spot, but that would push Crisp back into CF to make room for Viciedo in LF. The problem is Billy Butler blocking him at DH, and the size of that outfield in OAK again. They also have Ike Davis/Freiman for 1B, although neither of those guys are sure things by any stretch of the imagination. Ravelo will also get some consideration, but probably not until next year.

It's not Nate Silver, that said, it's sometimes interesting to see the perceptions out there... Of course, the Tigers already have Rajai Davis/Gose, Cespedes and JD Martinez, and it's probably simply speculation about Victor Martinez being out into the regular season, along with the fact that Viciedo profiles similarly to Delmon Young, POTENTIALLY. (Of course, you never want him anywhere but RF in Comerica with all that ground to cover). Or maybe speculation that he would want to be around another Cuban or play for a pennant contender, who knows...in a familiar division. The Indians were one of the other main teams linked in terms of interest.

Anyone excited about a new season of House of Cards?

FutureSox (FS): Your speed has gotten a lot of attention, but how much of your success in stealing bases would you say is raw speed, versus technique or analyzing pitchers? Micah Johnson (MJ): At the beginning of the season it was probably like 80% just speed and good jumps. But as teams started figuring it out, and pitchers adjusted, now it is more about being smart. I'm not the fastest guy in the league, so especially now that they know me, I have to be smarter. Keeping in mind he was talking about Kannapolis/SALLY/Low-A, in terms of his stolen base totals. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...p;#entry3119553

http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giant...ing-6097453.php Since this is sort of the de-facto "financial issues of MLB/Sox" thread, Why the SF Giants don't want to overspend...(they're currently at $164 million with the luxury mark at $187 but with $400 million committed to Posey/Cain/Pence)

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 10:38 PM) Where do these odds come from? Just a poll at MLBtraderumors if you search for his name. Last weekend, I asked which team was the most likely to acquire Viciedo. The Tigers were the favorite destination at nearly 19 percent, while the Phillies and Giants each checked in around 15 percent.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 07:35 PM) No one is a natural . Sure the faster you are the better your chances. I'm sure Coleman learned a lot of things along the way that helped him . You don't reach the pinnacle of the highest levels of any sport without gaining a lot of knowledge along the way and putting that knowledge to good use. If things can't be taught why hire the guy ? He knows he has a lot to offer otherwise he might just say " Either you got it or you don't, end of coaching lesson. " Thank you Captain Obvious for stating he won't be teaching the slowest of the slow runners . The guys he's instructing all have speed, Eaton, Michah Johnson, Carlos Sanchez, Tim Anderson , Avi Garcia but his most important lessons are baserunning not steals , going 1st to 3rd on a single or 2nd to home. He constantly speaks about imparting the knowledge so it becomes second nature which with practice turns it into an instinctual thing. In other words you can LEARN to be a natural.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 09:39 PM) 100% hoping that Micah wins the 2B job. I really like Carlos, but he projects much better as a reserve infielder. If I'm going to give everyday at-bats to a prospect in a season I'm serious about winning, then I definitely want it to be a guy who can possibly be the long-term answer at the position. Unfortunately, Sanchez's upside is pretty limited offensively IMO. I actually think a lot of people are sleeping on Micah. He might of had some struggles along the way, but the Sox pushed him through four levels over the past two years. And yes, I know he was a college draftee, but he missed half of his junior season due to an elbow injury. The fact is the Sox have been fairly aggressive with him and despite that he's had a couple stretches of dominance. His AA performance in particular was quite impressive and sold me on him as legit prospect. If healthy, and that's the biggest concern IMO, he can be a dynamic offensive player. Defensively he needs some work, but playing everyday with Alexei and working with the major league coaching staff might be good for his development. Agreed. Johnson might bust, and players drafted in his round aren't normally expected to make the majors, let alone morph into an All-Star, but he has the most potential and projects to make quite an impact with his speed and athleticism. You can't have dynamic players at every position on the field, obviously, but Sanchez would be hard-pressed to ever get much above 650ish in terms of OPS. Most would guess he'd end up between 575 and 650 if they had to bet their house on it. In other words, he won't kill you, but he's also not the type of player who will make a huge difference in making a playoff run either (the definition of a complementary/team chemistry player)...the only reason to start him is if his defense is 5X better than Johnson's, or Micah doesn't have his legs/hamstrings 100% healthy.

At one point, he was favored at 19% to end up with the Tigers, so at least that didn't happen. He always seemed to hit well in Comerica.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 07:52 PM) Baseball must truly be the most difficult sport to make it in. And must have the worst talent evaluators of any sport. Here's yet another example. Brian Anderson. You watch this guy hit during his prime and you could tell pretty quick he had no chance. Yet scouts raved about this guy as a 5 tool player. What did scouts see in him? He looked like a pitcher at the plate. He stood straight up and had no clue basically. Pretty good defender though. CJ Henry was a first round pick of the Yankees. One of the worst athletes you'll ever see. All the busts the Sox have had and other teams. These scouts are miserable. The NBA scouts will be rivaling baseball if they keep drafting these college freshmen, though. Just some of these Kansas guys ... Thomas Robinson a top five pick?? Can't play. Julian Wright in lottery? Ha. Xavier Henry lottery? Showed nothing. But the Brian Anderson story is a sad one. He blames his partying choices, etc. I just don't know if the talent was there to hit a moving baseball. Keep in mind usually 6-10 players each first round never touch the majors. Another 10-15 have pretty limited impact, under 20 career WAR usually. MLB is even more inexact than NBA scouting. Everyone knows the Mike Trout story, Piazza, Pujols, Buehrle, etc. Plus "system" programs can make college players (like Duke, UNC, KY or Kansas) look a lot better than they are in reality...most Kansas teams, their points have traditionally been scored in transition. In the NBA, it's a lot of isolation plays...and possessing the ability to break down a defense, equipped with multiple skills, rather than merely being a good outside shooter like a Trajan Langdon type.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 01:40 PM) Haha. We'll all crash the Team Beckham victory party, which is just elrockin sitting by himself at the Big Hurt brewpub. Don't forget Dick Allen. And Marty. So there's at least 3. One of the recent scouting comments was basically his biggest concern being turning the double play/pivot/transition...and that if he couldn't master that skill, he would have to play LF (which isn't going to work for the Sox, he would he be minor league depth for injury or trade bait).

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 07:19 PM) will this stop him from being in the draft next yr..... i don't know the answer. Nope. Nix is also there (who was part of the same draft and already settled out of court with the Astros about losing his $1.5 million after the Aiken negotiations fell apart).

There goes my hopes for the Founding Fathers, first Jefferson, now Ben Franklin. What next, George Washington was bi-sexual?

http://news.yahoo.com/katie-couric-intervi...-160100857.html Rand Paul's solution....basically, is to only arm the Kurds.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 10:57 PM) The basketball is ugly, the players, uglier. https://vine.co/v/O2qXE1MXuxY

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/...ocracy-20120403 Didn't realize things were so bad there...just followed the teacher's union fight with Lewis from afar.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/02/25/lev...-on-competiton/ Sanchez is very good, but probably not elite...in the same way Gordon's not elite, either. “I love his offensive potential,” said a veteran major league scout who saw (Micah) Johnson a half-dozen times last year. “He must improve on the double play, or else his future is in the outfield on defense. So we have two elite athletes in Johnson and Anderson, with no place for them to play (currently) in the outfield. Here's hoping they both stick as middle infielders, that would give the White Sox a HUGE shot in the arm for the next 5-6 years. It will be interesting to see if Micah sticks at 2B or if they also give him some time in the outfield (in Charlotte) if he doesn't make the big league club. The problem there is that Ventura likes to use late-inning defensive replacements, and Johnson would fit in more as an everyday replacement (for Avi Garcia or Cabrera) than he would as a bench player due to his very limited experience out there. We also have limited options for the 4th outfielder position (unless you consider Bonifacio the primary back-up there)...at least for the time being.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 10:17 PM) NIT here we come, sigh. Hill was dreadful, worst game for him all year. Also, Iowa is the ugliest team I think I've ever seen. Kind of like the 1983 White Sox, haha. Actually, when Uthoff and Jok are playing well and they're running the floor and getting out in transition, they can be very fun to watch. When it's a slow-down, foul-riddled, physical game....then you're going to be watching the Aaron White free throw show instead.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 10:14 PM) This has to be one of the saddest performances I've seen when a team has its entire season on the line. Join the club. Last year, Iowa lost 5 of their final 6 (including the dagger at home on a last-second shot against Illinois) and somehow lost to NW in the B10 tourney despite beating them twice in the regular season by 26 points. Texas is going through a similar situation right now...they easily could be 6-10 in the B10 at the end of the week. Huge fall for a top ten team.

I think a midnight free throw shooting practice is in order for Iowa. Will Groce lock Illinois out of their practice facility like Miles did with Nebraska?

Uthoff just having a horrific game. Thankfully White showed up, and Oglesby is finally hitting some big 3's.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 08:56 PM) Groce has pretty much said Colbert didn't bring it in practice. Morgan been worthless this game, along with Hill. Being down by 1 is amazing considering the difference in fouls. OTOH, Iowa has committed 8 turnovers already, and is only 8/13 (61.5%) from the foul line, with Aaron White and Uthoff almost never giving up those opportunities. Jok and Woodbury have been beyond terrible. That sequence at the end of the first half is indicative of the entire game so far. Iowa could have extended the lead and the momentum, and, boom, it swung right back to Illinois because of a silly pass and not getting back on defense with their heads hanging. Gesell hasn't been healthy for 2-3 weeks, either, so Clemmons has become more important. With his wrist still hurting, Mike has no alternative but to drive or show from about 15-17 feet and in.

Sloppy first half by both teams. Fouls, free throw shooting, turnovers galore...no consistent offensive rhythm for either team. Note to McCaffrey: Please play Olaseni more if actually you want to win.