caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 05:43 PM) If that's optimism, I'd hate to see what a pessimistic view would be be like. Do you see any other way to turn around the worst offense/defense in baseball without trading away pitching? It's certainly not going out and signing Upton, Heyward and Alex Gordon.

The White Sox obviously have to improve at 3B, SS, C and add a younger/cost-controlled starting pitcher (see below)...assuming we won't just dump Cabrera or LaRoche. We have roughly 4-5 assets to get that done: 1) Samardzija, you either trade him for the highest possible return (addressing at least one of the four areas listed above)...or then offer him the QO and you might end up with a motivated #3 starter for next season pitching for a long-term contract (of course, that's what he is theoretically doing THIS season). Worst-case scenario is the draft pick, best is trading him in June/July. 2) Quintana....there's simply no choice here, you're going to have to trade young pitching to get MULTIPLE position players back and bring the offense and defense closer to league average/statistical mean. He's the only logical pitcher to trade, unless the return for Sale is so overwhelming that it makes more sense to deal him (which has often been stated is virtually impossible). 3) Ramirez...hope he improves offensively and defensively over the next 6 weeks to where you can get a decent return for him...play Sanchez/Leury/Saladino there in the second half. 4) Putnam, Duke or Petricka....see if any of the 15-18 teams competing around the majors will give you a "sell high" return on one of them, especially Putnam or Petricka...this is the one area of the team easiest to replace and the most expendable if we're transitioning into a 2 month "losing period" where we essentially are playing for a high draft pick again without announcing it Now, there's the BRIGHT SIDE. 1) You have replaced 3B, SS and catcher, as well as discovered a young, cost-controlled 4th starter. (You MIGHT have Samardzija as a motivated/more dedicated and committed #3 on a one year deal but unlikely.) 2) You're betting on offensive improvements from Abreu, Eaton, LaRoche and Melky Cabrera. That's reasonable. Progression out of Eaton and Avisail Garcia. 3) You have a rotation of: Sale Rodon ??? or Samardzija #4 acquired above Danks However, by June or July next year, you can add Fulmer. That leaves you: Sale Rodon Fulmer #4 acquired above Danks/Montas/Danish/Beck/E. Johnson It would be really exciting to see all the youngsters fighting for a pennant race and injected onto the major league roster like we saw in 2012 when we used something like 12 rookie pitchers. MAKE DON COOPER EARN HIS MONEY, haha. 4) Along with this plan, the creation of a "super bullpen" for 2016, built around Robertson and the 1-2 relievers (Petricka/Putnam/Duke) you don't trade to improve the offense/defense. To this, you can add (and one of these four will probably take Danks' spot): Montas throwing 90 MPH split-finger changes Danish's weird angles and higher velocity out of the pen Beck Erik Johnson Blake Hickman (University of Iowa...will max out his stuff as a reliever) Nolan Sanburn Nate Jones or Jesse Crain Another Top 3-7 draft pick in June, 2016 (which can also be used for a major league ready hitter in a deeper draft class) 5) Depending on how things go with the new SS, you have Tim Anderson knocking on the door at either SS, 2B or LF/RF. You have Trayce Thompson or Courtney Hawkins pushing for playing time (maybe they'll have to cut bait on Cabrera, although that will be an expensive pill to swallow). You have Micah Johnson with another year to develop at 2B, and/or Anderson (depending on what happens at SS). You have the time to experiment with Leury Garcia, Saladino, Micah and Sanchez in the 2nd half of 2015. 6) Conor becomes a bench guy (3B/1B/DH/ph) Obviously, this whole idea relies on a LOT of things breaking right. The trades outlined above. The continued development of the young starting pitchers, in particular, Carson Fulmer and Rodon. You're dealing with innings limits on Fulmer. You're counting on at least Anderson and Micah Johnson, and perhaps Hawkins and/or Trayce Thompson to make an impact. But it's probably the most realistic way of competing in the 2nd half of 2016 and then into 2017 and 2018 without dealing Abreu or Sale and totally starting over from scratch. A lot of posters are going to disagree with the trading away of Quintana, and we might not even find the right offer/s, but I think it's the best possible card to play....knowing we're going to have limited payroll flexibility, and that's assuming all those guys like Bonifacio, Beckham, Ramirez, Flowers, etc., are gone.

Sanchez 0 for his last 18. And that stretch is broken. More bad baserunning. Not sure why we're so happy that Sanchez got thrown out there. Praise the effort? A hit from Flowers practically guarantees them of another week at the bottom of the line-up. The Detroit announcers will be incredulous that Sanchez is still on the roster and starting when we face them soon.

1/26 now. Parent is a genius. He even hit a fastball.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 10:03 AM) So let's get this straight: Eaton gets benched for not playing in. Alexei doesn't make 2 plays that leads us to lose the game, and it's not like this is the first time this happened this season. Alexei has been horrible, yet he plays. Gillaspie comes in to pinch hit yesterday hits a 2 run bomb to take the lead, AND still in on defense for the last 6 outs. This tells me he's not hurt, if he is, then Parent is an idiot. And Beckham still playing over him with a righty on the mound. Flowers comes in the game and immediately lets 2 runners steal on him, yet he plays. Mark Parent is a joke. Beckham's 0 for 25 stretch is rewarded with more playing time after Conor's homer? Yeah, that makes sense. Carlos Sanchez and Flowers at the bottom? Yeah, we pretty much don't have a clue at this point what the hell to do. Alexei gets promoted to more ab's when he is one of the worst hitters in baseball? Stop the insanity.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 10:54 AM) Well, you had no issue with teachers being fired over the last incident, why should this be any different? Perhaps if they went thru and hired that dirtbag anyway, it would have created a hostile environment for any Jewish students at the University. Sounds like an argument that progs use. As a teacher, I feel that my right to an opinion and selective bias should be something that I present fairly and objectively...saying, this is how some people believe and why, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's right...that students need to study every issue and make up their own minds, certainly not just follow what their parents, teachers or peers tell them without doing some research about the validity of that opinion. Somehow i have the belief that a pro-Israel stance wouldn't have gotten him fired. If the university was consistent and not selective, then that's one thing.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 07:27 AM) I had to laugh when reading that article. Calling Gordon Beckham a "hot commodity" defies intelligent thought. In one 0/25 stretch, he's gone from a hot commodiity to yesterday's garbage. Not that it wasn't expected or predicted.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 06:33 AM) I haven't seen Jurassic World but this guy needs to get a grip. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015...ia=twitter_page It was worth it just for this Chris Pratt Eminem rap... Skip forward to 0:38

http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/co...round/28755105/ Respected analysts, including at Baseball America and ESPN, had projected the junior to be taken on the First-Year Player Draft's opening night, somewhere in the range of No. 70 overall. Instead, Hickman was the 202nd player picked. "I hope I do (get more than slot), but if I don't ... I didn't really get into this for the money," Hickman said. "I love the game, and I'm just very happy that it's here. It's been a long three years. I've been working extremely hard for this. I won't let dollar signs stop me from my dreams." The early vibe he's gotten from the White Sox is that he'll start out as a relief pitcher.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 06:09 AM) They bought out Dozier arb years in the offseason so he is going to be around for a few years. Plouffe, I dont know. He has turned himself into a pretty good player and would hate to give that up after a decade of not having a good 3bman (Joe Crede was probably the best of the lot since Corey Koskie, but Crede got hurt). I have no idea where they are going to stick Sano, but he will be up sometime this year. What about Berrios? Do they bring him up quickly...wait on Santana, stand pat or fight for the division or wc this year?

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 05:27 AM) The Twins are also down to 1 outfielder because of Hunter's suspension and Aaron Hicks getting hurt during batting practice. The Twins played yesterday with a 1 man bench and that was Suzuki getting a day off from catching. The funny thing is the Indians a week ago said Lindr wasn't ready. Where will they play Sano, by the way? 3b? 1b? Dh? Corner outfield? Or move Plouffe? When do both he and Dozier become free agents?

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 04:50 AM) this was last yr you posted. i am talking about this off season. Grandal, for one. Miguel Montero. Derek Norris. Trading with the Mets, Red Sox or Astros.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 14, 2015 -> 12:48 AM) A former reporter said the problem with the organization is that it laid back. That's why they get free agents to come here. Then the organization sucks at developing position players so the roster become casual. Players like Ramirez can't be benched because there is no one to replace him. Maybe a few on the pitching staff may fear they can be replaced but not the position players. How many other organizations that have been this poor at developing position players would keep the same people in tact. There is no accountability other than low attendance. They need to sell this team to someone who might care a little bit more. And then they fail to show patience with young players like Semien and Johnson. When they do bench a player, it's Eaton and not Alexei or Tyler Flowers...as they don't have a legit candidate for either of those positions. Then, they stick with players like Dunn, Danks and Cabrera because they don't have enough flexibility to eat those payroll mistakes because of their smaller ones like Keppinger, Teahen and Downs. They're always sort of in it at the break, forcing them to add...when they probably shouldn't. The only possibly good position players they've gotten (Eaton and Avi) have been a result of clear direction, rebuilding moves. Two (seemingly) worked out, but trading Reed and Santos yielded nothing of value (along with the failures of Beckham and Viciedo)...once again forcing them into the desperate free agent cycle which has busted in 2011 and 2015. Which leaves the team further away from the playoffs than clubs like the Cubs, Astros or Royals who went through essentially 5-8 year rebuilds but have better odds of sustaining success compared to the KW Mississippi Riverboat Gambler "all in" approach that doesnt work more than once every 25 years.

http://news.yahoo.com/academic-group-votes...-214745973.html In a related matter, how far does internet free speech extend in terms of hiring and firing decisions? University of Illinois censured. Agree or disagree with their actions?

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2015/6/4/87289...-power-rankings Too bad Ramirez has decreasing demand with all the teams currently looking for help there. Trading LaRoche so quickly would be an admission of overreach by the front office.

Why should that be a surprise when we've had the worst defense in baseball since 2012....Micah, Semien, Phegley, Viciedo and Rangel Ravelo all couldn't find permanent positional homes, etc. That's not to mention bringing in guys like Teahen and Keppinger. Rondon is our best currently and he came from the Red Sox. Who else besides Thompson and Engel can defend well? Our best infield prospect on the fielding side can't hit (Sanchez). About the only hafway decent player we produced who comes to mind is Eduardo Escobar. Buddy Bell and Ventura were Gold Glove caliber 3b. It doesn't make any sense. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...P=rangel-ravelo By the way, what happened to Ravelo?

In CF. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/adam-e...ite-sox-coaches Interesting weekend with Eaton, Abreu moved to DH and also to see if Beckham starts at SS tomorrow for Alexei. “(Ramirez) does need to make those plays. He’s made them before. Ball gets stuck in your glove, you know, it happens. It seems like things like that happen too often. Not just to him, but to us that end up adding outs, adding base runners and not getting outs. Those things are adding up too frequently.” http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/bullpe...e-sox-loss-rays No word on whether Ramirez stayed to answer questions not.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 13, 2015 -> 05:24 PM) There are too many cooks in the kitchen, and the head chef sucks. We should bring in Reinsdorf's son or nephew or whatever he is to play SS tmrw...maybe that will help Alexei to wake up out of his stupor.

That might have been our last/best opportunity this season to get back to .500 disappearing before our very eyes with Sale on the mound tmrw. The Rest of the AL Central is looming again.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jun 13, 2015 -> 05:02 PM) Putnam has been absolutely terrific as of late. There were at least three splitters in that sequence Souza barely fouled off.

First we heard about the great bullpen that's allowing 35% of inherited runners to score. Now the Beckham Jinx...whenever you start to believe in the team turning things around or any player not named Chris Sale, you will end up being disappointed.

Minnesota's in a huge funk right now...not sure if he's ready, but the same thinking with the Astros bringing up Correa in the middle of a losing streak. Inject some excitement and enthusiasm.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 13, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) I really pushed for Bonifacio this off season, but he really has been terrible. Bonifacio and Flowers needs to be DFA'd. Sanchez down. Call up Davidson, Saladino and Kotraras. Kottaras.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 13, 2015 -> 04:58 PM) Sanchez, Flowers and Bonifacio need to get demoted/released. Not to mention Parent and Ramirez.

The only player more maligned than Alexei Ramirez, Tyler Flowers. Good line, Dave Wills.