caulfield12

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.

I would think a better excuse for Game 1 of the double header is cheering for the USMNT against Belgium. Maybe they could show parts of the game on the scoreboard between innings?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 07:31 AM) If he's 19, he could quite easily be 4-5 years away. Ummm...no, this would be similar to Viciedo, where he was signed after 2008 and made an impact in the 2010 playoff race.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 09:07 AM) I'm pretty sure if Jeff Keppinger suddenly became Cuban, Soxtalk would want him re-signed. Because Keppinger was one of the fastest/biggest/most athletic/youngest infielders available...and could also play SS?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 1, 2014 -> 06:53 AM) For a guy who doesn't attend games, you sure are obsessed with attendance. Why is your excuse for not attending any better than others? I have mlb.tv (when the stream works/doesn't freeze) and mlb gameday audio, which is revenue distributed equally to all the clubs. If the White Sox place a farm team in Wuhan, China, I'll be glad to support them. Otherwise, I only have August 5th-22nd to attend games, and will try to make at least one (my hometown is the Quad Cities) when I am back in the States.

Attendance so far this season 28. Chicago White Sox 793,806 (39 games)...20,354 average 1. Charlotte Knights 402,723...9,589 average 1. Birmingham Barons 260,734...6,518 average

The 2009 D-backs' first-round pick has gone 8-for-26 (.308) with four homers in his past eight contests, raising his average to .201 with 15 round-trippers on the season. Monday brought his June average up to .239 with nine long balls and an .892 OPS. The third baseman -- acquired from Arizona in the offseason for reliever Addison Reed -- was hitting .182 at the end of May with just six homers in 48 games. Davidson readily called the two-month stretch the worst performance of his career. "I've struggled this season, but I'm glad," Davidson said. "I'll definitely never say I've figured it all out ever again. It keeps me humble, keeps me focusing forward and always trying to progress." The prolonged slump wasn't an easy thing for Davidson to combat, but now that he thinks he's on the other side, he is convinced he's better off for it. "If you were talking to me a month-and-a-half ago, I probably wouldn't be as positive as I am now," he said. "It's definitely been, I don't know, a life experience I'll never forget. I got down on myself, lost all confidence. Now I know that I've had to build my confidence from zero all the way back up. "It's kind of cool to actually have to find that self-confidence when nothing is going right. Moving forward, I think that makes me a better player. Definitely, when you're hitting .250 … that's nothing compared to hitting .160 through the first two months. It always could be worse. I definitely believe that going through this will make me a better player and a more confident player in the long run." www.milb.com

https://twitter.com/robertreidryan/status/4...5781120/photo/1 Speculation where? You know it's the kiss of death when they start selling a high school pitcher's jersey in stores before he's even signed a contract.

Astros make Sports Illustrated as cover story...predicted 2017 World Series winners Jinx ensues immediately. http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2014/...lic/#22102101=0 First the cyber hack/leaked trading documents. Almost simultaneously, SS Correa's knocked out for the season. Appel's having a horrendous year as well...at least he was. Now the Aiken situation with his signing/non-signing. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/06/...hamps-for-2017/ Cover picture (George Springer) http://fullscalesports.com/2014/06/25/astr...-series-champs/

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/06/infi...eaves-cuba.html

The Next Cuban Baseball Wonder Boy? 22 November, 2012No Comments By: Reynier Batista Morales Yoan Manuel Moncada Olivares is currently full of expectation, because in less than a week, he will wear the jersey of the Cienfuegos team, as rookie, in the 52nd Cuban Baseball Series. And no wonder, because this young player knows there are hundreds of eyes on him due to his distinguished career at youth level, which makes him one of the top prospects in the country. “Cienfuegos can expect the best of me this year despite being a rookie, I hope to have a good result from the work of my coaches and the support of my colleagues who have helped me, and I wish to give a good show to the people of Cuba,” this 17 years old youngster noted. Moncada was born in the neighborhood of Las Quinientas, municipality of Abreu, and made it to the Cuba team in the category 15 -16 years thanks to an excellent performance in the National Championship of 2011, in which he had a tremendous performance with 40 hits in 24 games, including eight homers. Moncada became famous in the 14th World Baseball Championship U-16 IBAF (AA), which was held in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, where Cuba finished second and he became the only Cuban chosen for the all stars team of the tournament. He won the recognition for Best Third Base by his excellent figures, being the main slugger in the Cuban squad: Average 500, 10 hits in 20 at-bats, with two doubles and an equal number of triples, plus 0.800 slugging percentage and he committed just two errors in defense. A few days ago he had its pre-competitive test towards Cuba’s most important sport event while participating with Cienfuegos (The elephants) in the 20th Antillana de Acero Cup in which "I felt the best since this was my first competition in the Senior Class". He added "This is a good preparation for the National Series as our team thinks to be on top this year". Besides being a switch hitter, Yoan Moncada is able to play multiple positions in the infield, besides the 3rd base, he also plays as shortstop and in second base. "I feel good in all three positions, I used to play as shortstop, there I felt better, but now that I’m playing in second base I also feel comfortable and I think I can also do well here". Cienfuegos´ boy will have opportunities to shine from now on. He has talent to spare. Time will tell if he has what it takes to reach stardom. His focus on training will have much to do with that. http://oncubamagazine.com/sports/yoan-monc...all-wonder-boy/

http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-a...-and-video.html Their entire budget for international would have to go to this guy, but it might be worth it. He's exactly the kind of dynamic athletic talent we need on the infield, especially if he can play 3B. Seems he's become more of a middle infielder (SS/2B), but the idea he could play 3B, combined with that level of speed and athleticism...well, obviously Jose Abreu's going to be intimately involved in the entire process of the White Sox going after him. Would be another great option to go along with Timmy Anderson at SS. Have Abreu personally bring his former teammate a check for $5 million. Only the Marlins and Astros can outbid us, right? Forget Ynoa.