caulfield12

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.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 02:45 PM) i am really excited of this part of sox baseball improving. but my concerns is, if the leadoff hitter is really not a base stealer, wouldn't he do more harm by trying to steal and getting caught. i mean the #2,3,4 hitter that the sox will field, wouldn't it be better to have him on base than getting caught? i mean, anyone who played ball know it is an inherent, natural talent that one has, and not learned. thoughts??? It's a lot more about technique and reading the pitcher at the big league level. In the minors, pure speed, pitchers not holding runners and just poor fundamental throwing mechanics from catchers are the main culprits. Actually, Micah had a technique thing going, but it was felt by most scouts that it wouldn't work at higher levels and that he would have to make adjustments in his approach to be effective.

Terrible free throw shooting by Iowa so far. Illinois should just unintentionally intentionally foul Woodbury every time he's on the court.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 08:36 PM) The show started tonight and continues on Thursday and Friday night. Adam eaton got 93. So you'll have Abreu, Sale and Eaton. Although Ramirez or Quintana are possibilities, they would only make if it they played for Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers.

The thing is, Olaseni's a much more dynamic and effective player, yet McCaffrey's bound and determined to force him on Iowa fans. It's almost like when he beat out Roy Williams/UNC in the recruiting battle, he was promised that he would start forever or something.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 02:51 PM) with all this money being mention, doesn't it seems as the sox should be getting more?? when i first read about the money, i was trying to figure out why so wasn't it more money. the northsiders are sharing the csn network with the sox. what other regional pro baseball will compete??? the $$$$ doesn't add up. Because all of those teams are getting NEW regional contracts or starting their own networks. It's all about timing. The White Sox and Cubs don't have that opportunity for another four years. Just "bad luck" to be on the back end of this trend for both teams, actually. Not that anyone's going to feel too sorry for the Ricketts family.

NW is actually looking like a legit B10 team again. I guess that takes a bit of the sting off losing there, seeing Indiana also lose in Evanston. Point-spread has gone from 6.5 to 8 with Iowa as the favorite. WEIRD. That almost guarantees an Iowa loss, literally if not in the betting world.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 01:04 PM) Nope. Doesn't seem like a difference-maker, will have to outbid several big spenders for a guy who is likely league-average. Let's use our young depth here to save some resources for next year when we'll have to replace a starter. Or we can just plug Montas or Danish into the equation... If all else fails, there's always going to be a slew of pitchers in that $8-12 million per year category who could slot in at 4 behind Sale/Quintana/Rodon and ahead of Danks.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 12:47 PM) Meh. Pass. The Sox aren't the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox. We don't have unlimited payroll that we can just say, eh, whatever if it doesn't pan out. Also a total of 2 stolen bases over his past 3 years. Why is it that we on this board like to operate the Sox as a fantasy baseball team? Second base is one of the least important positions I have concern for. Spend 10mm on this guy? No thanks. We have capable options at 2b. As long as my guy at 2b can hit .260, get on base, steal a few, and play a solid glove/turn DP's -- Fine by me. Save the money to spend on pitching. It's one thing if Johnson or Sanchez give you a 650ish OPS. It's quite another to be below .600. To say we have capable options at 2B is really pushing it. We have options, but that's the same thing as saying we have options at catcher, too. They're just not the best of options. One thing that's for certain, it's going to be a lot easier to improve 2B than C or 3B. With that said, sure, they can and probably will be able to wait until mid-season and target the Chase Utley's of the world. As far as operating like a fantasy baseball team, I don't think anyone has mentioned adding to the payroll in the last 4-5 years without talking about budgetary constraints, lowered attendance and revenues, waiting for the new media rights deal, etc. Also, middle infield positions are critical to a team's success, especially from a defense standpoint. That's why it will likely end up being Sanchez or Beckham. If Gillaspie, Flowers and Garcia all hit, then they can carry Sanchez's bat. But how likely is that? At the very least, I'd run it by Abreu and see what his opinion is on the guy. He's certainly familiar with Olivera from his time in Cuba.