caulfield12

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 07:49 AM) I like how all but 2 of them are divorced from their husbands, and the last one "dated Nyjer Morgan". Nyjer Morgans castoff somehow made the show. lol What's next for her, Flavor Flav of Love Season 11?

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 08:07 AM) Ellsbury, Pence, McLouth, Cruz, Beltran (sort of an OF) Honestly, from that list...Ellsbury is too expensive and a pipe dream, Pence would be a good veteran leader for our team and role model (but why would a SF Giant want to play on a rebuilding team except for money, and that's not Hunter Pence from everything I've read)... McLouth is not someone you want to invest millions in. Cruz has the PED's allegations hanging over his head. The Cardinals are amazingly adept at knowing who to keep and who to jettison, and WHEN. If they let Beltran walk, there's a very good reason, and signing him to the type of money some big market teams will be able to throw at him, at his age, is foolhardy at best. Granderson and Pence are the ones who are making the most sense so far. Choo will also be way out of our price range. Honestly, if you combine our minor and major league operations, we're the WORST franchise in MLB right now....who would want to jump into that situation as a FA?

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 06:49 AM) There are free agents other than Utley, McCann, Granderson, and Morales. Granderson is not even the best FA OF in the market. Yes, I know, Choo is probably the best, and he's not going to think of giving any "hometown discount" unless we signed 2-3 other Korean players (which wouldn't be a terrible idea, since they actually play the game in a fundamentally sound way and can bunt and execute).

Crain's climb: All-Star reliever Jesse Crain was scheduled to be examined Monday night to determine the next step in his rehabilitation from a right shoulder strain. To this point, Crain has followed a plan of taking up to six days off before resuming a throwing program. He said that worked the last time he suffered a similar injury. "I don't have that pain in there anymore," said Crain, who hasn't pitched since June 29. "I'm ready for that next step and start strengthening it and throwing again." Gordon's growth: Gordon Beckham, the Sox's best hitter in an otherwise lackluster lineup, batted second for the second consecutive game. "The way he's swinging it, you put him in there and let him go," Ventura said. "He's been having good at-bats and a good approach, and it's a good spot for him. Alexei can go down there (in the seventh spot) for RBI stuff. That's probably something that's been missing for him. Being in that No. 2 spot doesn't give him many RBI opportunities." Beckham entered Monday with a .341 batting average and was 11-for-22 in his last six games. "When he's healthy, he's hitting it to right field," Ventura said. "That's why you see his average the way it is. Just the at-bats and putting the barrel on it, going the other way, it's a good spot for him.'' Viciedo's vice: Left fielder Dayan Viciedo wasn't in the Sox's lineup for the second time in four games as he copes with a slump during which he has produced one RBI in his last 12 games and one homer in his last 44 games. "Sometimes it's like he's trying to hit a five-run homer," Ventura said. "He can't get it all back at once. I think more of a simple approach would probably help him. Once you start this way, it's hard to get a young guy to just focus on the pitch-to-pitch process because it's a long way back." www.chicagotribune.com/sports

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:34 AM) He made it to the majors about ten years too early for her, you know she wishes she was a reality TV star diva, but too late for that. By Christian Boone The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The estranged wife of former big league pitcher Kris Benson remained behind bars late Monday on charges she threatened with a gun at his Smyrna apartment, according to TMZ. Records from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office show that Anna Benson, a former model and star of the VH-1 reality series, “Baseball Wives,” was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault with a weapon, one count of criminal trespass and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. As of 9 p.m. Monday, Benson had not posted bond and remained in the Cobb County Jail, a sheriff’s official said. TMZ, quoting the police report, says Anna Benson arrived at her husband’s apartment and threatened to hit him with an “expandable metal baton.” She was allegedly upset that she had been forced by the judge hearing the couple’s divorce to vacate the home they once shared. Anna Benson is then alleged to have produced a handgun and (asked for/extorted) money from the former Sprayberry High School standout. TMZ said Kris Benson told police his wife was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time. Kris Benson left the apartment, telling her he was getting the money. Instead, according to TMZ, he called police. Kris Benson starred at Clemson and played in the majors with Pittsburgh, NY Mets, Baltimore and Texas.

Braves catcher Brian McCann finally seems to be fully healthy and has been red-hot over the last two weeks, leading David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to predict that if McCann keeps it up, he'll score a free agent contact close to Yadier Molina's five-year, $75MM deal with the Cardinals. O'Brien notes that this deal will come from an AL team that will eventually transition McCann to a DH role, which is why I'd argue that McCann's eventual contract will fall at least $10-$15MM short of Molina's deal. McCann's bat doesn't carry a $15MM average annual value if it's not coming from the catcher position, plus Molina brought elite defense and a less-checkered injury history into his new contract. Does anyone want to commit 5 years and $60-65 million to Brian McCann at his age? Looks like we're back to Utley (75% chance he stays in Philly), Granderson and Morales for our FA aspirations. And guess who has Kendrys Morales as their client? Mr. Scott Boras After the Mariners moved in the fences at Safeco Field and acquired several veteran bats in the offseason, it has to be disheartening for the team and their fans that the M's are again struggling at the plate. The Mariners are near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, carrying an overall team slash line of .233/.296/.371 heading into Friday's action. The offensive slump can't be blamed on at least one of those newcomers. Kendrys Morales hit .253/.354/.422 with three homers though his first 96 PA, roughly on pace with the .787 OPS he posted with the Angels in 2012 though this season Morales has hit for less power and reached base more often. He's been one of the bright spots in the Seattle lineup but if the M's can't pull themselves together, Morales could be expendable come the July trade deadline. Morales was acquired by the Mariners in December in a one-for-one swap with the Angels that sent Jason Vargas to Anaheim. It was a logical move for both teams as the Angels needed space at DH and the Mariners had an excess of starting pitching given the number of young arms in their system. Morales was a short-term investment for the M's since he is only under contract through this season, earning $5.25MM in his last year of arbitration eligibility. That's a very good price for a solid bat, and if Morales is a deadline pickup, a trade suitor would owe the switch-hitter just $1.75MM over the last two months of the season. Here are some of the teams that could be a trade fit with the Mariners... * Rockies. While Morales has played some first base since his return from the leg injury that cost him almost the entirety of the 2010-11 seasons, he is best suited for a DH role. An NL team might not want to risk playing Morales in the field every day, but if the surprising Rockies stay in the NL West race, they could acquire Morales and only use him against right-handed starters. Colorado has the right-handed hitting Jordan Pacheco to use against southpaws as Morales only has a career .714 OPS against lefty pitching. Todd Helton (currently on the DL) is also still in the mix at first for the Rockies but the club can't expect much from their former franchise player given his recent injury history. * Giants. Brandon Belt's struggles have left the Giants thin at first base, but I see Morales as very much a longshot fit for their needs. * Tigers. If Victor Martinez still hasn't returned to form by midseason, Detroit might look to improve their designated hitter spot. Scott Boras, Morales' agent, could be a factor in such a trade given his good relationship with Tigers owner Mike Ilitch. * Rays. Tampa Bay is another offensively-challenged team that has Wil Myers waiting in the wings for a call-up to play right field and Luke Scott on a minor league rehab assignment. Morales would be an upgrade over Scott at DH and, since Morales' remaining salary would be in the $1.75MM range, he'd fit into the Rays' limited payroll. * Orioles. Nolan Reimold has been getting the majority of the DH at-bats with Wilson Betemit out until June. The O's could be in the market for an upgrade but it's doubtful given that a healthy Betemit hits right-handers well enough to make Morales redundant. It could be argued that the Mariners should not only keep Morales but also pursue an extension with him, given that the 29-year-old is one of the team's few productive bats. Scott Boras clients, however, generally go to free agency and you wonder if Morales would want to remain at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field over the long term. Besides, the M's could always deal Morales at the deadline and then pursue him again as a free agent in the offseason. Trading Morales in June or July would net the Mariners a decent prospect or two as they may already be looking to reload for 2014.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:36 AM) Even in her prime, Anna Benson was not as hot as people made her out to be and she came off as a b**** in interviews as well. Her husband was overrated as well on the diamond. Not looking so good without all the make-up and the beauty of youth and plastic surgery to cover up her ugliness.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) Hopefully, he won't have the opportunity to be scared. the White Sox need a professional, experienced manager who understands basic strategy (that befuddles Ventura), can evaluate talent and can develop talent and properly use the talent that he has. Ventura has shown none of these skills. Neither has Bell. Neither has Hahn, for that matter. Gillaspie was a good move, Keppinger a bad one. http://csnchicago.nbcsports.acquia-ps.com/...ite-sox-pulse-0 And what the hell is White Sox Pulse? If there was/is one, it's dead now.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 09:56 PM) Hawkins is an embarrassment right now. Hopefully he can get his head right by next year. Someone with the Sox is going to have to play "bad cop" and tell him to shut down that twitter account. It seems to be an unneeded distraction to him at this point.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 09:37 PM) Carlos Gomez with the play of the year to end the Reds/Brewers game Despite the impending Braun situation, Weeks falling apart and Aramis Ramirez going down like he was shot by a sniper just moving inches to his left, Carlos Gomez looks a LOT better than any player on the White Sox minor or major league roster. HIGHEST OBP on the Dodgers? Puig? Hanley Ramirez? Nope, Zach Greinke.

Forgotten in all the discussion about prospects today is Carlos Sanchez. It's as if he doesn't even exist anymore.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-213858535.html Anna Benson very much NOT quiet...

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 05:35 PM) Let's brainstorm for a new manager. Someone with some fire in his belly! Guy can't be afraid to get in people's faces. Swear words are a-okay so that we know he's into the game. He should be very animated. He must speak the language of his Spanish-speaking players. Must be a former White Sox. World Series rings preferred. Any ideas??? This is your cue, Greg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Banister Best manager I've ever been around. Now the bench coach for the Pirates in his 3rd full season. No nonsense, no mistakes tolerated, almost like a Marine Corps drill sergeant but everyone on the staff/front office respected the hell out of him and the players did too. Led us to the SAL championship in 1995 and has almost twenty years of experience now.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 04:03 PM) Phegley had a bad freshman year of college, so I'll say his 19 year old season in A ball would have been horrible. It's really apples and oranges. What would the comp for Hawkins putting up an 800 combined OPS all the way through the Carolina League last year at age 18? There simply isn't one.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...lb&c_id=mlb Why Puig not being in the game would be crazy http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20..._la&c_id=la Adrian Gonzalez throws his support to the PUIG campaign, cool move by a classy player

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 04:33 PM) I agree that they'd be selling on him low right now. I also wonder why he is the scapegoat right now when so many others are making even worse mistakes than him. Simple, he's the youngest (lecturing him might have more of a positive impact as he's the most likely to be around, you don't criticize someone unless you really care about them and believe they can and will get better, etc.) or one of the youngest starters. Along with DeAza and Ramirez, his overall play has fallen off the most from 2012...but those other 2 guys are veterans and seemingly harder for a manager to criticize without running the risk of losing respect or the clubhouse itself (I would argue by seemingly NOT doing anything, he's lost some respect/fear as well). Next, there are more available options/alternatives at LF (Tekotte, Wells, Wise, Danks, Keppinger, Dunn, Jared Mitchell) than any position on the roster. We don't have natural back-ups for Ramirez and Rios. Third, he still has the most future potential if he puts it together of anyone on the roster. Fourth, everyone's tired of picking on Flowers and his replacement has already been brought up.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 03:36 PM) Alexei being traded is risky. The Sox don't have another SS, and the good ones aren't cheap financially or what they will cost in terms of talent to acquire. Holding onto Alexei much longer is equally risky. I'm not holding my breath about Ramirez being a totally different player again after redesigning spring training for the Sox again...although, in fairness, not resting him until this last has to be at least one of the top 2-3 factors in his defense performance. And he has improved his stolen base numbers/aggressiveness.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 03:23 PM) I think that Trayce Thompson is the highest ceiling player in our system and, even if not, is the current "most likely to be a star" player. It has to be between him and Hawkins. Obviously, Courtney has the most pop in his bat of anyone in the system. If you look at everything else, running/throwing/fielding....then Thompson has the edge or slight edge. And nobody can really project what batting average each would put up in the majors at the end of 2014 or 2015/16 for Hawkins. Way too early to even try extrapolating Courtney because of two completely conflicting years, some at the same level. Thompson does have more of a track record, and more "predictable" stat lines now...but there is still the idea floating around everything will just "click" one day and he'll make a huge step forward. Of course, I wouldn't say the odds of that happening are better than 50/50 at this point. Could go either way. I wouldn't with any amount of confidence at this point say he's going to be a breakout major league superstar.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 03:24 PM) Ozzie and Rios are buddies. Rios had a problem with KW, and it almost got physical. Who didn't KW have a problem with, besides Buehrle, Konerko, Dye, Peavy and Thome? Then again, he probably had issues with Jake as well...trying to remember, probably about the way he became injured.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 02:14 PM) I still say Hawkins should not be close to #1 ranking. That does not mean I am not pulling for him -- I am. But a #1 prospect should be a very good baseball player whereever he is playing. If he were at Kanny instead of W-S, would his numbers be as good as Micah Johnson's? I doubt it. He is struggling to hit .200 and strikes out over 50% of the time. Those facts should preclude him from that high of a ranking. He is not even close to Phegley. Do you think Hawkins could hit .316 in AAA? No. Is he as good a hitter as Ravelo or Johnson? No. And as far as Zapata goes, can't we wait for him to play a few games somewhere? If he is just 16, that means he is 4 years removed from Little League. Listing Hawkins as #1 reminds me of Joe Borchard. Almost everyone at ST thought he was #1 long after he showed be was not big league quality. If he repeats at High A next year and handles it, I'll be on his bandwagon, too. Not now. Except 16 in the Dominican is like 18 in the US, in terms of "Darwinian Theory" of the intense competition down there to get noticed, for agents/buscones to identify you as well as the MLB academies and scouting combine....I wouldn't describe him as being 4 years removed from LL because there's no such thing in the DR. You're fighting for your survival the first moment you step onto a diamond....sink or swim.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 02:18 PM) Hawkins' offseason this year is going to be a huge. Everything he has learned this year has to be dealt with and he has to get comfortable with his mechanical changes going into '14. Which mechanical changes are those you are referring to?

Carlos Carrasco from the Indians is the arm I would go after. Another Coop project. He has all the tools, but just hasn't put it together in CLE.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 01:45 PM) Stritcly off of pure ceilings, I would rank Hawkins #1, and then Zapata would go no lower than after Hawk, Thompson, Anderson, and Johnson. I could see arguments for maybe Rienzo and Barnum being ahead of Zapata, but his ceiling is huge with that power. Rienzo's going great now, but how long will it last? If he does this for 6 more weeks, then it will be more impressive. Same thing with Gordon Beckham, Phegley, etc.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 01:42 PM) Yet they trusted Papa Grande? He's always on again, off again...but yeah, they probably would have trusted a veteran more than Reed...that's how Leyland thinks (just like Ozzie in that regard). That, and how quickly they temporarily gave up on the kid (Rondon?) who was anointed the closer coming into ST and didn't even make it onto the OD roster. Definitely "win now" mode...and I wouldn't give up a lot to get Reed when there's just as good a chance Al Alburquerque straightens himself out.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 11:51 AM) Prospect evaluation cannot be SOLELY about perceived ceiling. If you have a guy in AAA who looks like a very likely solid or above average major league starting player/pitcher, and a super-toolsy guy in A ball who is struggling, I don't think it is out of hand to think the former is more valuable than the latter. I do agree that Hawkins still has an argument to be #1, but it is not nearly as cut and dried as you are making it seem. That's where rating Barnum and Walker will be difficult...Walker's playing at a level he's not quite ready for, he has some good tools (I like his balance at the plate, in particular), has been hitting better recently, but he's still in the 210's and striking out a lot and showing minimal HR power, which means he almost has to be a leadoff or #9 hitter in a major league line-up. Barnum hasn't done much, he's been injured over and over again, but he has to be somewhere between 6-10 based on sheer potential alone. Same with Zapata, if I was doing it. Zapata's somewhere in the 8-12 range, arguably. Finally, Beck and Snodgress are two more interesting guys where there are a boatload of differing opinions.