caulfield12

Got screwed on that last ball/strike call. Should be out of the inning by now...SIGH. And the whiff!

QUOTE (farmteam @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 06:31 PM) With how much that movie would make, they could probably offer him north of $100 million. I don't think I'm joking. More common like with Downey Jr. now is "back end" shares of profits at certain price/box office points...which ends up limiting the frontside risk and allowing studios to keep budgets lower while incentivizing actors simultaneously.

Funny Tigers' radio guys think the White Sox want to see what they have in Jordan Danks for next year, lol...didn't know why Dayan wasn't in the line-up.

Viciedo has 2 homers in 17 career ab's vs. Scherzer. Don't get it. Do we really need to find out what DeAza and Danks can do...? At this point? I get playing Garcia everyday, but it doesn't make much sense to play Jordan Danks so much/Tekotte. At least Adam Dunn is looking as good as he has in a White Sox uniform...

Is there really no game thread? Funny. My.first.ever. Which means we will lose for sure, haha. Well, DeAza got on base at least.

Just after the trading deadline, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said the team had tried to acquire an additional right-handed bat. The price was too high, Duquette said. Nearly midway through August, names of players reportedly placed on waivers have been leaking, and on Tuesday afternoon, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted the Chicago White Sox placed Paul Konerko on waivers. While former Oriole Mark Reynolds is available now that he’s been released, Konerko would be a much more attractive option for the Orioles. After the 2005 season, Konerko toyed with signing here, but opted to stay with the White Sox. At 37, he’s hardly the slugger he once was. He’s hitting only .243 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs. Seven times in his career he’s homered 30 or more times and he has six seasons of 100 or more RBIs. Konerko is owed about $3.25 million, and even if he clears waivers, can block trades because he’s played in the majors for more than 10 years and five years with the same team. A free agent at season’s end, Konerko seems like a player who’d want another pennant race, and perhaps the Orioles could offer something to tempt Chicago. It’s sort of reminiscent of last year when they acquired an even older Jim Thome from Philadelphia for a minor league catcher. It’s a long way from happening, but Konerko as a right-handed designated hitter could help the Orioles. www.csnbaltimore.com

"When I'm not playing, I had nothing else to think about," Crain said of hearing trade chatter. "When it came through, I was very excited. It was a tough (season) over there. We were going through some tough times." He will see better times with the Rays. Tampa Bay entered play Wednesday at 64-43, a half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. The White Sox, meanwhile, have floundered most of the season and sit firmly in the AL Central cellar at 40-64. A timetable for Crain's return remains unclear. He said he hopes to enter the Rays' bullpen "sooner than later," with a personal goal of pitching again sometime in August. Meanwhile, manager Joe Maddon was vague in placing a target date on Crain's first appearance, instead leaving his trust in head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield's evaluation. "The hope is to get him well," Maddon said. "We don't have any specific time frames yet. All I know is that he is in the right hands with Ronnie Porterfield and the boys upstairs. I don't know exactly the time frame. We just anticipate it's going to be in time to help us." Crain anticipates the acclimation process being somewhat simple. Shortly after the trade was announced, he spoke with White Sox infielder Jeff Keppinger, who played 115 games for the Rays last season. Keppinger's message: Crain would enjoy himself. For the reliever, a trade to Tampa Bay represents a new beginning and an uncommon chance. "To be traded while you're on the DL doesn't happen very often," Crain said. "To come to a team like this, first place, I've heard great things about them. I couldn't ask for anything more. It's an awesome opportunity." You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at [email protected]. www.stpetetimes.com/sports

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 05:16 PM) You're thinking of Jon Berry, easy to get the two confused. And the basketball Barry brothers, lol. Jonathan Berry and BARRY (the misidentified one, not unlike KW being ill-informed about Molina)...neither one of those guys made it to the majors, in the end.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) Didn't we have to pay the deferred portion of Manny's contract? Regardless, I'd like to see him clear waivers and see Hahn trade him to a contender for a Jeff Barry caliber prospect. He definitely deserves one last chance at a ring as sickening as it would be see him another uniform. JEFF BERRY!!!! By the way, the Royals AREN'T so bad, after all. This just in. Unfortunately, nobody notices.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 04:00 PM) I would put the odds of him being claimed at 10,000:1. This is what they did with Thome when he went to the Dodgers. If he so decides, the Sox will eat his salary and ship him to a competitor. I don't foresee that happening, but it's certainly possible. As I've pointed out about 14 times on here, he still kills lefties. Will go with 100:1 or 50:1, just for argument's sake.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:49 PM) I know it won't matter in the end, but hey, why not be an under-the-radar bidding team for him with tons of money to spend? Can't hurt, would rather be that than "Team everyone knows is desperate to sign this guy". See A's/Beane/Cespedes. Everyone knew that Soler was going to the Cubs, Puig to the Dodgers, pretty much. And there was a very strong inkling through Jaime Torres about the Sox and Viciedo, for another example. Since there's no catch-all (ahem)... http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/nati...nzalez-dispute/ Interesting situation with insurance/lawsuits/kickbacks. Wonder if the White Sox have ever sued to get back any of the $402,000 that went to Dave Wilder and the additional money to the other two scouts involved in the Dominican? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/us/05cncwarren.html?_r=0 Didn't realize ALL this happened to JR... A Chicago lawyer, who was a Northwestern Law School classmate of Mr. Reinsdorf, went to prison for stealing millions of dollars from escrow accounts of one of his companies. Years later, Mr. Reinsdorf’s longtime trusted bookkeeper went to jail for taking nearly $1 million from another of his firms. “It all taught me a lesson,” Mr. Reinsdorf said. “If somebody wants to steal from you, they will.” Yet, despite all that, the most loyal owner in all of baseball with his ex-players/scouts/front office personnel.

The next Axelrod/Simon Castro, yay!

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:22 PM) It's hard to say about his walks because he's one of the best hitters in Cuba means a lot IBB and HBP.He always walked more than he struck out but I doubt that would translate to the Major League since very few if any power hitters walk more than they K.His Wiki page gives more info on how he has done in international tournaments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Dariel_Abreu. Here's another link for a Baseball America podcast ,with Ben Badler, from yesterday where the 1st 1/2 mostly talked about Abreu. They speculated on which teams would be most likely to sign him. They only mentioned high profile teams listing the Rangers, Red Sox, Pirates, and Nationals whose situations may lend themselves to signing him. Also mentioned it's very good timing to be entering the 1st base market with not a lot of great prospects in the minors or free agency. Mentioned also things that scouts see as negatives like any other player who comes from Cubam Leagues. Things such as the level of play being equal to High A or AA which translates not being used to higher velocity pitches and sharper breaking pitches and the longer ML schedule and overall fitness level and the ability to stay fit once you get a big contract in the land of plenty. Also not a pure bat speed guy like Puig. Can't believe there's a sentence with Nationals and Pirates together with Rangers/Red Sox and the phrase "high profile." Baseball has really undergone a seachange in the last 2-3 seasons.

http://www.triplethreatinc.com/pc_bat_speed.htm I THINK I FOUND JEFF MANTO'S NEXT ASSISTANT HITTING COACH. (He can work with Viciedo, Gordon, Flowers/Phegley, Gillaspie, Keppinger, Garcia, etc.) INVEST THE SAVINGS, JR, INVEST THE SAVINGS (in the right places)!!!!

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:22 PM) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz And we wonder why everyone is snoozing through this season? It's REALLY difficult to come up with FIVE exciting players....let alone ten.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:11 PM) Didn't people already guess that Anderson is probably just at the "Exhausted" point from having played many, many more games already this year than at any point in his career before? I.e. last year was a high school season, he followed that up with a college season and a full season of rookie ball afterwards. No!!!! He was supposed to start from the get-go in Kannapolis with at least 15 homers, MAYBE a couple of errors, a ton of triples and at least 30-45 stolen bases. Anything less than that=FLOP "I don't care if he played 41 consecutive days in the Junior College World Series, he shouldn't be tired playing baseball for millions. It's a game, for Christ's sake. He grew up in Mississippi, how much hotter can it get in North Carolina in August...he should be RAKING!!! No excuses! If we're lucky, we have another utility infielder but without the arm or speed of Leury Garcia." theoretical random messageboard comment on Anderson from Rick Hahn critic

Who are the TOP 3 MOST EXCITING MODS (and how do they compare to Yasiel Puig, and their positions on diplomacy in East Java vis a vis indigenous tribesman and rice and sugar cane farmers, lol)? By the way, did anyone every answer what happened to Scenario...is he okay? And where is Cubano to discuss Ramirez, Cespedes, Puig, Soler and this new guy????? Not seen since the middle of the summer in 2012.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:11 PM) Didn't people already guess that Anderson is probably just at the "Exhausted" point from having played many, many more games already this year than at any point in his career before? I.e. last year was a high school season, he followed that up with a college season and a full season of rookie ball afterwards. Skepticism abounds with ANY Sox position player prospect until ONE actually succeeds again, right? We'll see how long the Semien bandwagon holds, after the Phegley and Micah Johnson ones crashed and burned (you could probably add Hawkins and Carlos Sanchez for many this year).

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 03:07 PM) We're The Millers is hilarious. Before I saw the name, thought it was from Greg775. Thought this was interesting...Pacific Rim is basically a homage to Godzilla/Japan, and yet it only finished in 5th place in Japan and barely made a million bucks when it finally debuted this past weekend there. WHY? (apparently due to the presence of the WRONG Japanese actress...if they chose one of the two from Wolverine, it might have made $5-10-15 million, so bizarre) Will Japan Finally Adore This Pacific Rim Star? Pacific Rim is Guillermo del Toro's big love letter to Japanese monster movies like Godzilla and anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion. Too bad Japan isn't exactly in love with (Rinko) Kikuchi. Actress Rinko Kikuchi is Mako Mori, one of the film's lead pilots to battle the dreaded kaiju in one of this summer's biggest Hollywood flicks. Pacific Rim is already getting good notices—Hideo Kojima and Kanye dig the GlaDOS infused flick. Now if only Kikuchi could turn that into popularity in her home country. The actor made a big splash internationally with her role in Babel as Chieko, a deaf high school girl. This role put her on the map. Prior to Babel, nobody really knew who the heck she was. Kikuchi didn't make a name for herself like many Japanese celebrities and actors typically do, which is either by appearing in numerous TV dramas, variety shows, or in a string of commercials. The Japanese film industry is a shell of its former self. TV is king. Even though she did appear in a few dramas, such as Liar Game, prior to Babel, and she did some car ads, Kikuchi never was really able to parlay that into becoming a huge star in Japan. Even after Kikuchi was nominated for an Academy Award, the first Japanese female to get an Oscar nod in 57 years, and became the face of Chanel, Japanese success remained elusive. She did top an opinion poll about who Japan was most proud of internationally, but that seemed to flitter away. Will Japan Finally Adore This Pacific Rim Star? A Livedoor News article from 2007 talked how in the wake of her international success, Kikuchi wasn't exactly in demand back at home and wasn't popular with Japanese housewives. When you don't have a fan base, being a talented actor isn't enough in Japan. On 2ch, Japan's largest bulletin board, a thread talked about why Kikuchi hadn't become popular in her home country. The thread is fairly brutal (actually, it's really brutal), and some say her looks aren't appealing to Japanese, while others commented about the graphic nudity in Babel—something that seemed unbecoming. Then, some didn't even know who she was. In 2010, Kikuchi appeared on afternoon variety show Waratte Iitomo!, which is an iconic Japanese program. It's an institution, like The Tonight Show. Her appearance went so poorly that people on Yahoo! Japan (here and here, for example) began saying she should never appear on variety or talk shows again. While she seemed stylish, Kikuchi didn't make a very good impression and came off as awkward. Perhaps she was nervous? Whatever the case was, she seemed to lose even more fans. Will Japan Finally Adore This Pacific Rim Star? One of the main issues seemed to be how in Japan the mass media and the country's entertainment complex work in tandem. Her success was achieved outside of that realm. And then when she actually did appear on Japanese TV, she seemed somewhat awkward and not exactly quick with quips—a necessity to survive in mainstream Japanese show business. For many Japanese it's perhaps baffling why she, out of all the Japanese actors, has been successful abroad. For Americans, it's probably akin to when particular entertainers become far more popular in foreign countries than in Hollywood. That year, however, she appeared in two TV dramas in Japan. Since the country's television industry overshadows its film business. The following year, she appeared in a Japanese period drama. But since Babel, Kikuchi has done mostly foreign film work (though, she did do voice acting in a Mamoru Oshii anime as well as appear in a live-action Oshii flick). Then, she appeared in major Hollywood films 47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves and the previously mentioned Pacific Rim. So far, her popularity hasn't really taken off at home. With the good buzz around Pacific Rim, perhaps Japanese fans can focus on her acting, instead of how good she can work the Japanese entertainment machine.

God, you're right...in two months, Anderson has gone from prospect to suspect because he's not piling up XBH's, stealing tons of bases or looking like an elite (yet) defending SS. Yikes. He better not join the list of Sox flops...because there were cases to be made he was one of the top 3-4-5 most exciting players in the first round. Well, I guess about 6 weeks ago, a lot would have been voting Josh Phegley, right? Or Micah Johnson, for another. Trayce Thompson isn't getting much love either...at least so far.

Poor Paulie. Wish he was going out in better fashion...when he was the best fastball hitter in the majors, even two years ago, he would have certainly been on my list/s.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 02:29 PM) I voted for Sale, A. Garcia, Santiago, Mitchell, and Beckham. I don't know much about the minors, although thanks to many of the very knowledgable folks on this board I'm more informed now. But I've heard a lot of potential good things about Mitchell. Sale and Santiago I like for obvious reasons. I believe both will be parts of the Sox rotation for quite a while. Garcia has a ton of potential, and he's another that could be in a Sox uniform for many years. Finally, I chose Beckham because he's looked so much better this year since coming back from the DL. His defense ahs always been good, but it seems like he'a finally figured something out with the bat. Time will tell, but maybe Hawk was right and he'll take over as the leader of this team. As a wild card, I'll say I'm interested to see how L. Garcia does. It sounds like he has the potential to be decent starter with great defense and speed and an okay bat. It would be nice to see that happen, but having him as a super sub wouldn't be a terrible thing either. Oh, and don't forget about Micker Zapata. I know he's a long ways away, but you never know. Didn't think MITCHELL would get ANY love...but there you go. He's always been "chock full" of potential but we haven't seen so much of it since the injury, unfortunately. He had that really hot/cold season and now he's basically fallen off the map completely, although he still might get some PT in September. FORGOT BRENT MOREL.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 02:21 PM) Dylan Axelrod Very funny. You're just mad u can no longer vote for Rios. Joking. I guess u still can, based on his play the first 3 months, if you wanted to. Next, the complaints that Rienzo and Erik Johnson weren't there. If someone complains about not including Troncoso/Tyler Greene/Jordan Danks/Tekotte, not sure what to say there. Maybe Flowers would have been on the list before the season started. I've never been in love with Addy, so he wasn't there, either. Danish? And the infamous 'Zewski 3B prospect. Santos Rodriguez? Olacio? FORGOT MICKER VIVA ZAPATA (I'LL STICK HIM WITH BARNUM AT BACK END OF TOP TEN).

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 02:21 PM) I got an error message because I didn't choose at least one from the second list, so I just threw Dunn in there, but the five Sox players I'm most excited about right now are: 1) Sale 2) Santiago 3) Quintana 4) Reed 5) Jones Garcia certainly has a chance to get there. So does Siemen if he keeps hitting. The other prospects have quite a bit to show me before I get excited about them. Yeah, there are DEFINITELY many different definitions of "exciting." You chose to go with mostly major leaguers. I don't know if I would ever call Quintana "exciting" but his progress/development have been...and I should/could definitely have included Nate Jones in there for his fastball/slide piece package but I chose to go with rising prospects like Webb and Montas instead.

I'll go with.... 1) Hawkins 2) C. Sale 3) L. Garcia 4) A. Garcia 5) Dayan Viciedo Just to get the conversation started. Micah Johnson would have been in the rankings (for me) had this been done 6 weeks ago, PROBABLY. Semien right now is my #6. Santiago #7. Webb #8, Ramirez #9. Zapata/Barnum tied at 10. FWIW, for the entire majors....they just did this as ESPN.com and came up with: 1) Miggy 2) Trout 3) Puig (but with more 1st place votes than Trout) 4) Darvish 5) McCutcheon Hard not to include Carlos Gomez in there with the incredible season he's having. Bryce Harper should be somewhere in the conversation...Strasburg used to be, Kershaw? Zach Greinke, if you include his hit tool. Hanley Ramirez has had a great season, WHEN/IF healthy. Cano. Scherzer/Verlander (pre-2013).