caulfield12

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 11:41 PM) I've been keeping an eye on Micah Johnson down in Kanny. 22 years old, a bit old for the league, but off to a good start so far. Based on the sample size this year and last year, he looks like he can get a base and also has above average to plus speed. Anyone has a scouting report on his defense? If he gets promoted to Winston Salem later this year, he's definitely worth following. I've read comps to Shelby, Jr., Willie Harris, Danny Richar...we'll see.

We've got plenty of bullpen depth in AAA/AA. Can't afford to get buried too far behind in April/May...should have taken at least 1/3. It will be interesting to see if Wise or Viciedo plays tmrw. On one hand, you have to win NOW, and maybe Wise gives you the best chance against Masterson, who has been super tough on us in recent starts. On the other, Viciedo has to learn how to hit RH pitching and continue to develop as an everyday and not platoon player.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 08:25 PM) Cause last year, someone like Molina was thought of as having a lot of potential and excuses were made for his awful performance throughout the season. This year, there aren't any new pitchers in the system that cause people to get excited to follow them. I can't recall the last organization I've seen that has worse infield prospects than the Sox. It would be nice if Phegley can keep performing well, as the Sox could definitely be looking at a situation where they go into next season needing a catcher or two at the MLB level. Dylan Axelrod has the upside of Zach Stewart, lol. Even if he gets lit up, I'd rather see what we have in Simon Castro (if anything).

And that's with Carlos Sanchez coming pretty much out of nowhere to become one of our top overall prospects. After that, you have what, DiMichelle? And no 3B prospects to speak of at all, if Ravelo's moving over to 1B. Once again, the DR issues raises its ugly head...pointing out the overall lack of athleticism/talent and dynamic game-changing players in the system, other than Hawkins and POSSIBLY Thompson. Hopefully Barnum can get over that injury bug, because we're in DIRE need of some impact bats in that line-up to replace Rios/Dunn/Konerko.

Interestingly, both Axelrod (Padres) and Santiago were 30th round draft picks.

Have been saying this for two years now, since his debut against the Twins.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 07:56 PM) Sox got outplayed on all fronts this series. And outmanaged. Every single decision Ventura made backfired, seemingly.

Nats' announcers also shocked that Santiago was our long man with that type of stuff from the LH side.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) Infield defense will be fine, I'm not so sure Gillaspie can't contribute as much offensively as Beckham. Hell, I'd love to see Gillaspie hit well enough to bat 2nd vs RHP. I'm more worried about range, arm and turning the DP for Keppinger at 2B. It won't just be automatic chemistry with him and Alexei. That takes time in real-game siuuations to develop that trust and feel for each other's tendencies and habits.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 06:57 PM) It should be a much more enjoyable series though.... They've had a very difficult time getting those games in against the Yankees. Don't love the idea of Sale pitching in a t-shirt in that type of weather.

To top it off, Courtney Hawkins is 0/3 with 3 K's, Dunn/Flowers look abysmal and our infield defense will be an issue for the next two months. Sigh.

Obviously, they'll go with Gillaspie at 3B and Keppinger at 2B as long as they can...it's really bad timing, in the sense that it's the absolutely worst possible time to take a look at Sanchez as we need to win every single game at this point in the season and he's not quite ready. But we will get an extended look at Gillaspie, that's for sure. And we'll see the glaring difference/s between Beckham and Keppinger at 2B on the defensive side. 9 errors already...not counting the numerous mental errors.

Fathom was right. We should have held back Santiago for today. Axelrod's going to have to be pushed to the very limit, even if he gives up 5-6-7-8 runs. 40 pitches in the first inning is just not going to work. On the plus side, Gillaspie is continuing to look good. Hopefully, he can develop some doubles/XB pop, especially at USCF. What's the time frame now for Beckham to return from the broken hamate bone? And Tyler Flowers can't be a complete black hole. FWIW, that was Dylan Axelrod's very first AB at age 27. The Nats' announcing team and interns couldn't find anything for him in the minors, either.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 07:19 AM) caulfield12, bringing you non-stop pointless Jorge Soler updates since 2013. Fine, I guess since it's better to just go with the FIRST story and never get an accurate picture...we should simply paint Soler as another Delmon Young because he's a Cubs' prospects and some are too lazy to actually care about the truth. Sigh.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 11, 2013 -> 09:46 AM) Random and strange post is random and strange. Loman has been a beast so far in Charlotte, slugging over .700 and OBP over .500. I can only assume you mean there are only Mitchell and Sanchez to follow in Charlotte... in which case... Castro? Rienzo? Phegley? And how do you lump Keppinger (a major leaguer), Mitchell (a decent prospect) and Loman (an insurance policy at best) into the same analysis? Josh Phegley is a serious prospect? Okay, if you say so. Castro and Rienzo have passed Molina, but there's going to be suspicions now about Andre because of the PED's case last year. We can keep repeating their names, but that doesn't mean scouts are in love with them as much as some who follow the Sox minors closely. Those three examples are random because no matter how a player does in spring training, 95% of the time it doesn't translate. Remember Wilson Betemit's 8 HR spring? The White Sox couldn't get rid of him quickly enough...which probably wasn't the best move on their part, as it turned out. Thanks for attempting to characterize my post with your apt adjectives, though.

Soler grabbed a bat from his dugout and raced toward the Clearwater bench. Cubs player Javier Baez and hitting coach Mariano Duncan hauled Soler back into his own dugout. Initial reports indicated that Soler hit the walls of the dugout with the bat, but more recent reports have removed that aspect of the story. No video has yet surfaced of the fight; contact us if you have it. Daytona would go on to lose the game 14-9 in extra innings, but that's not the story. Soler was ejected and will likely face a lengthy suspension. In 2006, Delmon Young, then a Tampa Bay prospect, was suspended 50 games for throwing a bat that hit an umpire in the arm. yahoo.com/sports

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 10:01 PM) Gonzalez and Sale are the only impact players that K-Dub drafted in 12 years, and he didn't know what he had in the former. Just in case people are wondering why the current product is hot garbage.... KW was also in charge of the minor league system from 1995-2000. So you have to include the likes of Mark Buehrle, Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede, Chris Young, Jon Rauch (once one of the top pitching prospects in baseball before his labrum injury), Brandon McCarthy, Clayton Richard, Michael Morse and Daniel Hudson. Some pretty impactful players there. Not to mention he brought in the likes of Esteban Loaiza, Jose Contreras, Bobby Jenks, Alexei Ramirez, Tadahito Iguchi and Sergio Santos for free, virtually.

Breaking News: Theo Epstein Overconfident Again If the Cubs are going first-class to remodel their house, they also figure to pursue a first-class free agent to complete the puzzle. It's early, of course, but all fingers are pointing to Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, the top free agent position player on next winter's market if Robinson Cano re-signs with the Yankees. The Cubs can't comment on their interest in Ellsbury, but there's little doubt he will be on their radar if he goes through the season without a new deal. Epstein had Ellsbury as general manager of the Red Sox. Top scout Jason MacLeod drafted Ellsbury for them. Second baseman Darwin Barney played alongside Ellsbury at Oregon State in 2005. And Chairman Tom Ricketts loves all things Boston, as evidenced by the proposed Fenway-ization of Wrigley Field and the bordering streets. The Cubs will have financial flexibility. They bid $75 million for Anibal Sanchez last December, so it's evident they are willing to pay for talent. Ellsbury will be costly, despite some injury-plagued seasons. His agent is Scott Boras, who just got Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus a $120 million, eight-year deal. With three potential impact players in the minors in Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Albert Almora, and a very good shot at landing another with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft, the Cubs could add Ellsbury to the current core (Rizzo, Starlin Castro and Jeff Samardzija) for the expected ramp-up in 2015. Epstein's comfort level is as high as it has been since his arrival in Chicago. During a pregame media briefing on the field on opening day, he stopped in the middle of questioning to say "I love this song." Epstein said he had all the right people in the right places to make his game plan succeed. "We are in a much better position … with our scouting department … our player development …" Epstein said. "It's night and day for us, just in terms of comfort level, just because of the leadership we brought in. "Everyone is on the same page, there's a really clear vision. We're all working toward that common goal. There is a much greater comfort level, absolutely." Sullivan/tribune.com/sports

It only took Daytona's Jorge Soler a few seconds to make it from his dugout to that of the Clearwater Threshers following the seventh inning of his team's 14-9 extra-inning loss Wednesday night. But considering the fact that Soler — a 21-year-old who was given a nine-year, $30-million contract by the Cubs last year — was wielding a bat as he charged across the field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, Daytona manager Dave Keller said those few seconds were “kind of like a nightmare.” Soler was caught by teammates near the Threshers' dugout, and he never swung the bat. But the heralded prospect was ejected following the incident, and Keller said he did not know if there would be further punishment from the Cubs or the Florida State League. The incident followed a confrontation between Soler and Clearwater's Edgar Alonso at second base following the final play of the seventh. Soler slid into the base on the play, and he and Alonso exchanged words. Teammates from each side came out to separate the two, and the groups headed back to their dugouts. But Soler came sprinting back out of the Cubs' dugout — bat in hand — toward the Threshers dugout. “I think that he was frustrated by some things and there was some emotional things he was fighting with,” Keller said. “Why he did that, I don't know. I think he was frustrated by what happened. When he slid into second base, (Alonso) ended up laying on top of him. He was laying on him so (Soler) pushed with his arm to get him off him, and I think the second baseman interpreted that the wrong way like he wanted to fight or something.” Keller said the two sides exchanged words and that Soler was upset about some of the things said to him. “There were two separate incidents, and there was really no fight,” he said. “But because nobody was around him when he was running across the field with a bat … that makes things a little bit crazy.” Daytona (3-3) led 9-7 against the Threshers (3-3) at the time of the ejection and unraveled following the incident. Clearwater's Logan Moore sent the game into extra innings with a two-run triple off Ryan Searle in the ninth that tied it at nine. And the Threshers pounded out five runs in the 11th to pull away for the win. Brian Linder, staff writer, Daytona Beach News-Journal http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/...1?p=2&tc=pg

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 08:17 PM) #4. Waiting on Walker, Thompson, and Mitchell...... will be a very long wait. They just need ONE of those three, Hawkins, and Sanchez....for three of the five to be good. With the White Sox, though, 1/5 would be considered a high success rate. The main thing is that at least we have the pitching foundation...especially if Danks makes it back 100%. It's easier to fix holes in the line-up than the starting rotation.

Bruce Chen, 1-0, and not scored upon this year. Holding down the Twins in KC in the top of the 7th, 1-0 KC on a Butler solo homer. Mauer just doubled off him. Wade Davis started for KC.

By Paul Sullivan, Tribune reporter 9:10 p.m. CDT, April 10, 2013 The Cubs had no comment on reports that prospect Jorge Soler was ejected during a bench-clearing incident in Daytona. The team was trying to gather information on the incident. The minor league web site MiLB.com reported that Soler was ejected during a game with Clearwater. A tweet from @Cubsminorswraps said Soler attacked a dugout with a bat. WHAT???

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 08:08 PM) I'm pretty sure that Paddy was hired after the Edwin Jackson trade. Hard to say what really happened...it might have been one of this situations like the Cubs with Hoyer that they were already talking to Paddy about bringing him over when that trade took place...although if they got caught, it would be considered tampering or the baseball version of "insider trading."

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 07:58 PM) Win two. Lose two Win two Lose two I don't think the LV odds of winning two in a row behind Axelrod and Quintana are too high at the moment. Of course, Axelrod was great last time out...which, of course means as soon as you start expecting it from him consistently he'll have an atrocious outing.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 10, 2013 -> 07:52 PM) He just pitched last inning. No doubt in my mind he could be a #3 starter next year for this team if he got experience in the rotation this season. Hopefully Peavy's just going through a dead arm period and can get a little more juice on his fastball. I don't know anyone who expected him to repeat his April-July performance from last year, but he can't pitch more like 4/5 guy if they hope to compete. At least his first start was good. There's that.