caulfield12

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 08:00 PM) But no one would ever have said that Alexei was a candidate to be one of the best players in the big leagues. You're not making a strong case here that he's a guy who would be a top 5 pick. The Cubs paid Concepcion better than the first pick in the draft, or the Phillies with Miguel Angel Gonzalez. Or look at the money the Dodgers gave two middle infielders that are parked in the minors. It's hard to compare the under 23 international spending area with the June draft, anyway...and then again with the amount they would be willing to spend on an Abreu or Tanaka. That said, Abreu's very familiar with this kid, so surely Hahn has already had that conversation about his ability, work ethic, how he would fit in chemistry-wise, etc. You can also look at it like this...would you rather give Ben Zobrist, for example, $75 million or this kid $3-5 million? The thing is....we know the Cuban players intimately now through our relationships with Torres, with El Duque and Contreras, through our 4 current Cuban players...I trust that network 10X more anything we have going in the Dominican right now, at least until we start to see some real/tangible results.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:47 PM) Dunn pretty unproductive And yet he's still second on the team in OPS at 804. Conor's at 788 despite his first homer.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 01:47 PM) That movie pissed me off at the time because Denise Richards seemed like the only girl to not go nude in it. Thank God for Wild Things. Whatever happened to Neve Campbell, haha? What was her name (the other main actress in SS)? Dina Meyer or something. I remember she used to appear on Beverly Hills 90210. Starship Troopers has kind of become a cult classic over the years. Patrick Muldoon completely disappeared from the face of the earth after that one...and I can't remember the name of the guy who plays the hard-ass sergeant, but he's perfect in the role.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:42 PM) Weaver has nothing on these pitches Location, location, location.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:34 PM) I see Robin Ventura has L Garcia batting 2nd right in front of Abreu. That's why he earns the big bucks. Leury is like Willie Mays Hayes/Wesley Snipes in Major League. He tries to hit every ball out of the park and pops it up or gets under it, when he's been able to accomplish that feat just once the entire season (ironically, not at USCF, where it should be easier).

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:39 PM) When does Taylor come up for Sierra? When they decide that the risk/reward of losing Sierra is less than the benefit of playing Taylor...and unless they trade/bench DeAza or Viciedo, which is even more unlikely, or Eaton gets injured again, there's not regular playing time for him anyway, just platoon AB's at best.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:37 PM) Where else is Johnson going to play? I meant Franklin's value. But you can same the exact same thing for Micah, especially if he has to play LF. There's no way he has the arm strength for CF, then we're back to the argument about not having enough power from our outfield. In an ideal world, he could play all over the field like Chone Figgins, particularly 3B/2B/LF/CF, but Micah's never played 3B that I know of...and then you're replicating the same player as Marcus Semien, except for Marcus' ability to play SS at least adequately as a fill-in.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 12:52 PM) So basically here's the question. Is this guy a sure thing, top of the draft, almost can't miss guy, or is he a guy who could go in the teens or lower who has a high ceiling but a high bust rate? Because yeah, if you convinced me he's a version of Tulowitzki except healthy, I'm going to be game as well, but if he's a talented but raw guy like most 19 year olds are, then having a whole bunch of 16-17 year old wild cards could do more for the org long term than having him. From everything you read, there are some parallels with Alexei Ramirez. He's one of the fastest players in Cuba...and he's equally comfortable playing 3B, SS and 2B. That's the kind of versatility we need, a Ben Zobrist who can actually play all those positions capably and be a credible threat offensively. Remember, Alexei came to the White Sox as a CF/2B.

QUOTE (chisoxt @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:22 PM) The dearth of organizational pitching talent is both inexcusable and embarrassing. Maybe the white sox can start to draft pitchers with, you know, actual skills instead of relying on Don Cooper to reclaim anybody with their throwing arm artAched to their body. You just described Paulino and Tommie Hanson pretty well. Hey, Alejandro...where was that bunt at the end of the game last week?

QUOTE (chisoxt @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:22 PM) The dearth of organizational pitching talent is both inexcusable and embarrassing. Maybe the white sox can start to draft pitchers with, you know, actual skills instead of relying on Don Cooper to reclaim anybody with their throwing arm artAched to their body. Alexei Ramirez increasing his trade value. 16 steals. First tater of the season for Conor. That was LONG overdue.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:19 PM) Sean Lowe was better Until we traded away 3 pitchers for 1/2 of one in Todd Ritchie. Perhaps the single worst of all KW's early reign trades. Of course, the one thing we needed most in 2003 was a 5th starter (and no, Neal Cotts starting instead of Mark Buehrle in Yankee Stadium wasn't the solution).

Who was the outfielder they were just criticizing for backing up one of those plays? DeAza? This whole cheering for your favorite NL team in the 2nd half/playoffs thing is getting old quite fast.

Did anyone else see this one coming...? Can't imagine him getting another start. As DJ just said, the Angels have no respect for the White Sox right now. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the pitching match-ups. And speaking of DJ, Carroll needs to return to the DJ Carrasco role.

Finally Davidson shows up this season as a prospect again and 2 of our best 5 prospects (Montas/Anderson) both go down almost simultaneously. Sigh. What really sucks was how good both of them were going...would have been fun to see what they could accomplish in the last 2 months of the season and playoffs. Well, maybe Anderson will be in the AFL. What's the prognosis with Montas? Minor injury or ACL/MCL repair? Btw, say Tyler Kolek has made his debut in the Gulf Coast League 2 IP, 2 H, BB, K.

That's the issue. Seattle has never been 100% comfortable defensively with Franklin at SS. It's like Micah Johnson at 2B. If he has to play 2B, his value goes down considerably. Otherwise, they wouldn't be playing Miller, because Franklin has a lot more upside offensively.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 01:43 PM) Even with a failed physical? Are teams allowed to perform physicals prior to draft? That seems ridiculous. Not that I know of....maybe they can be granted access to past physicals, but to conduct their own, that's not allowed. And if Aiken indeed has a major physical/pre-existing condition, then you probably will see that rule changed.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 11:55 AM) What about it? Am I supposed to forget about the rest of his career? This is just like your obsession with Chris Carter because he started off hot for the A's a few years back. That doesnt make his career all the sudden outstanding Morse is what he is. He is streaky and can hit it hard, but he isnt reliable. If he was, then he wouldnt be on his 4th team in 2 years Chris Carter didn't have four consecutive years between a 772 and 910 OPS. And he didn't have the disadvantage of trying to hit at Safeco last season, either. He is only 32 years old, after all. I think it's a perfectly good example when he put up those numbers at ages 27-30, and his career OPS is over 800. That's a solid/productive player in my book.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) I would not give up the rest of an MLB draft for those two. Okay, and the Univ. of Missouri/Tommy John pitcher.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 12:24 PM) Caufield / Balta, lets forget about this prospects hitting the prime of their careers in 2016-2018. We need talent and accumulation of talent (when they hit their prime of their careers is irrelevant). I would argue I'd take a 1 Kolek / Aiken over 5 10th round picks. However, I don't know (not knowing anything other then what some reporters are saying) about this Cuban vs. the 16 year old we were previously rumored on. I tend to think this guy, playing where he did for Cuba, would rank that way, but I don't in fact know that. If some were willing to give up the rest of a draft as long as we got Rodon/Adams signed, then the same type of thinking has to be in place here about taking this kid vs. 1 guy ranked 25-35 and then 4-5 guys in the hundreds of thousands for bonuses.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 12:03 PM) But signing Soler also didn't cost the Cubs a chance to sign 4-5 other guys either. You might get 5 versions of this guy if you don't sign him. What's the success rate of those guys ranked in the top 30 over the last couple of seasons? It's a crapshoot at best. Whereas none of those Dominicans have come close to proving themselves to be effective players on U16 National Teams or for a SERIE NACIONAL team. Do you want Aiken/Kolek or Rodon? That's basically the same difference, between this kid and Adolfo. We need prospects who are hitting the prime of their careers in 2016-17-18.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 11:10 AM) Personally I compared him to Jorge Soler, who was actually older at the time he signed and is still a couple years away. But we also don't have to give him $30-40 million, either. We're talking about $3-5 million. I'll take 5-10 versions of this guy over one Soler every time.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 11:00 AM) Morse has literally had one true good season in the majors, and has just been injured or in a platoon situation the rest of his career. And this year?

Comparing this kid with Viciedo at the same age (and considering the fact that Viciedo was kicked off the national team and missed significant development time in his late teens) is a lot more relevant than comparing him to Micker Zapata. He was essentially viewed as the best young player in Cuban coming into Serie Nacional. And we all know the impact most of those guys, even Alexei Ramirez, have had at the big league level now...we can't say the same for 15-17 year old Dominicans who are barely holding their own in AZ.

The argument about Viciedo's home and road stats deserves another look. What compelling reason is there for him not to perform better (especially in the AL) if he's playing 81 home games in a different stadium? 2011-2013 combined on the road, 523 AB's, 22 homers, 75 RBI's, 771 OPS 2014 779 OPS at home vs. 616 at home, projected over a full season it would be 24 homers and 68 RBI's. Essentially, season after season for 3 1/2 years now he has been a guy who will give you 22-24 homers and a 771-779 OPS EVERYWHERE BUT USCF, when the average for a MLB LFer is closer to 720-730. Not to mention the fact that he's only 25. As a team of radio broadcasters was saying yesterday, it's easy to go out and find veteran relievers in the July trade market, it's MUCH more difficult to find power hitters in an era with less and less power by the year. Another former White Sox who "clicked" later in his career, Michael Morse (and yes, it's hard to separate exactly how much of it was his evolution as a hitter vs. PED's, but clearly it can't be 100% the latter or he would playing at AAA Iowa with Manny Ramirez). Yes, we can compare Paulino to Viciedo or Beckham all we want, but it's apples and oranges.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 08:35 AM) I don't think anyone has said Ackley has value. If they have, they're wrong. You are also talking about guys that are the exception to the rule. No one is saying that the Sox should cut bait with Viciedo or give him away for peanuts or stop playing him all together, but I don't think I've ever seen this much support for a guy who has never shown anything but flashes. Gordon Beckham. Brian Anderson.