ILMOU

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Weren't the Knights terrible this year? They had a terrific offensive club, but endured some of the lousiest pitching ever conceived. Their poor fans were subjected to a steady diet of retread/reclamation attempts and the suckage was legendary.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 12:34 PM) Antonio Blakeney reopened his recruitment and "rumors" (SOURCES CONFIRN) are that it was pressure from Nike, who is upset that Wiggins went from a nike AAU sponsor to KU (Adidas) and then signed with Adidas after. All of Blakeneys top 4 are now Nike schools. It seems like one of those "superfan tries to rationalize decisions of 18 year old kid" rumors, but anyone heard of stuff like this before? I just don't see Nike being that dumb and risking their NCAA relationship. The NCAA needs Nike infinitely more than Nike needs the NCAA. The shoe companies can do whatever they want - they are the Golden Goose as well as the 800 Pound Gorilla when it comes to recruiting impropriety. No one wants to talk about their role, let alone kill it. Their money indirectly funds all the non-revenue sports and maintains the NCAA itself. You'll never see them go after the apparel manfs. Rumor is, Wiggins had cut a deal with Adidas before attending Kansas. He was literally delivered to KU.

So, who's choking harder right now, the A's or Royals? Outside of James Shields, saw a ton of not ready for prime time from KC this week. Having Yost as the mgr. probably not helpful at a time like this.

Shaping up to be a great night for the Sox, this thread wise. Mets, Phils win, SD, HOU leading. Don't worry yourself HabaneroNoggin, the protected pick is virtually in the bag, and the difference between 7 and 11 may or may not be anything significant at all.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 01:32 PM) I think it would be interesting too look for a lefty reliever in Japan or something. If we found someone I'm not sure we'd be willing to pay enough to make it worth his while to come over here, but it would be kind of an outside the box idea. I wonder who/how many people the Sox rely on when it comes to scouting international players that are *not* coming out of LA? QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) Not enough....kW supposedly scouted Tad iguchi via video.....not sure about Takatsu. Other than a Korean pitcher who got a decent-sized bonus about five or six years ago the org has been bereft...but just look how many Asian pitchers the Red Sox have gotten decent mileage out of. Exactly. Seems like it's a market we can't afford to neglect, and having one is bound to help in any FA pursuit of the Kuroda, Tanaka and Maeda's of the world. I want them to pursue Kuroda, if it's even a possibility. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 12:41 PM) Does he have an military obligation like Choo did(and got out of)? You have to think that gives any major league team pause Good point on the military service - it's a big deal to get out of it, but I have to believe that it's been considered. The fact that I haven't heard anything in months makes me believe it's not happening, but if anyone knows anything about Choi, much appreciated. He's got a MLB.com page if that means anything, probably not.

QUOTE (almagest @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) I thought this was interesting from today's Keith Law chat: Isn't Greg Walker still there? Cue DA response in 3, 2 . . .

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 12:50 PM) Nope. I hate the new stadium and I've only been there once. It's in a bad part of town that I grew up near and is too far away from where I live now. People have been shot and killed right outside of it. Birmingham annually makes the top 10 list of most dangerous cities in the United States. So maybe a day game would be preferable if I find myself down that way?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 08:27 AM) I wouldn't expect any Sox affiliate moves for at least 3-4 years. The top 3 affiliates all have new or near-new parks and are drawing a ton of people, with great facilities for the players. The Sox even took an ownership stake in the Dash last year. Kannapolis is extended through 2018 and likely getting a new park in the next few years. Great Falls also extended through 2018. The AZL club has the Camelback facility and is ideal for the club. Oddly, there was a report this morning on SSS that GF was not being renewed, but the story is now removed, and was apparently wrong.

Personally hoping there's a lefty college power bat available where the Sox pick, who's a potential fast-mover. But BPA of course.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 01:19 PM) The concerns about durability really haven't been (at least not primarily) about his frame. It's the delivery. Watch some video to see what people mean about that. His delivery is similar to Peavy's. I know, and I have, of course. Yes, it's funky. I think they've tamped down the effort-level from his HS days. Compare videos of each and you may see what I mean. Despite the obvious major injury, Jake has reached 2100+ innings at 33. Not too bad, if that's the delivery comp. worry.

Kid turns 20 today. Getting the twitter love from his fellow prospects. Obviously, valid concerns remain about his mechanics, but the slight-frame/durability issues need to be put to rest. He's 205 pounds on a six-foot frame and completed 130 pro-ball innings at 19. Here's a recent photo of him, looking stacked, with Courtney Hawkins, and a recent Dash photo - His frame looks like a slightly-downsized version of Rodon to my eyes. The issue should be a thing of the past, but you can expect to be reading it up until he's a stud in MLB. Meanwhile, the Cubs 23 y.o. CJ Edwards, who Tyler outweighs by 50 lbs., still ranks in the 50's in top 100 lists, with a profile that screams reliever to anyone who's paying attention. Been babied the whole time with pitch counts of 80 (less than TD despite 3+ years older) and still missed most of the season with throwing shoulder issues. This is analogous to the continuation bet in Texas Hold 'em, and is rooted in a similar likelihood of BS. #rankingsajoke

I think a team really has to trust its OWN scouting in these particular cases, and the fact that current judgements are often based on minimal inputs. We've seen mis-scouting of Lexi, Puig and Abreu, among others. It's understandable.

Has anyone here heard anything about the availability of Korean third baseman Jeong Choi? Before the season, there was talk of him becoming a FA this offseason. Supposedly has Choo-like OBP skills with decent pop and glove. Checked his stats awhile back and it looks like he's played less games than his teammates (and not putting up the greatest #'s) so maybe dealing with injuries. Has been called the David Wright of Korea. He'll be 28 for next season. Not sure if the org feels Conor's D is adequate at 3B, or if he'll be a platoon DH/1B or even LF down the road, or traded. The Davidson plan is currently shelved. This could be another possibility.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 06:47 AM) I would put odds down that the Sox don't sign any of those guys anyway. Regardless, it would be nice to have all options available, with minimal penalty. This offseason could unfold a whole lot of different ways.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 08:41 PM) And we are pretty much losing a game on everyone again. We are the only s***ty team winning this week. Ugh. I'll be REAL REAL upset, and you all should too, if the Sox don't end up with a top 11 pick. We won't be able to use all that money we have on FA without losing our 1st RD draft pick, and that could be a huge blow to rebuilding our system. They still have some cushion. Very little chance the pick becomes unprotected. Even if they wind up ahead of SD and Philly, they'll get the 11th and final protected pick. They're still up 3 1/2 games on Cincy and 4 1/2 on the Mets in that regard - shouldn't be much of an issue.

QUOTE (flavum @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:35 PM) I think 8-8 will keep them in the top 10, and since I predicted 74-88 before the season started, I'd take that. Seconded. Nice 11 game improvement over last year shows progress to prospective FA's and should maintain the protected pick. Fortunately, the Mets, Pads, Reds and Phils have been playing well enough to stay ahead of the Sox. Hope that continues. Probably won't catch the teams below us (maybe Houston), but a great pick can be had at #9, 10 or 11.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 02:44 PM) ^My last post was confusing, but my point is this: We need 2 lefties in the pen, 5 pitchers in the rotation, and a long man no matter what. Danks is getting $14.25M no matter what, we can't do anything about that. Right now we're looking at Surkamp/Snodgress/garbage as that second lefty, and if we want to upgrade that it'll at least cost $1-2M on the open market. JUST as a specialist. Right now Carroll/Rienzo/garbage is probably the long man. Danks is in the rotation. At minimum, we're talking about 3 roster spots to fill at a combined pricetag of $15.25M or so after minimums go to in-house options. If we want to upgrade over the second lefty we're looking at something more like $16.25-17.25M for those same three spots. Move Danks to the pen, have him be BOTH the second lefty AND the long man, while putting Rodon in the rotation. This costs 2 roster spots rather than 3, it costs $14.75M which is cheaper, and we'd likely be upgrading all three of those roles (Danks > Carroll/Surkamp/Garbage & Rodon > Danks). There's a possibility, though a tad early to call just yet, that the Hound can become an excellent longman/spot starter, and be one of the 5 RH in the pen. We'll see how he finishes the season/ST. But I also really like the Danks to the pen idea, if no takers can be found in the interim. Unfortunately, I suspect he'll be given the chance to start, at least early on next season, in order to improve trade possibilities/terms. That might even be the most prudent plan, even if we don't like it. Some pitchers will be getting hurt at the end of April-early May, perhaps Danks will start the season well.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 01:48 PM) This QUOTE (hi8is @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 01:58 PM) Odd, considering I just saw Rodon sitting next to Semien at the game today. Well that's what I was getting at. They could find a way to get him working with Coop, without starting his clock. Couldn't they?

"I'm disappointed that he didn't come up for the last month," Cooper told MLB.com. "Not to pitch, but just to be here and get a feel of things. Have some sidelines. Get comfortable and all that stuff. I'm disappointed that didn't happen, disappointed that he's not going to the instructional league. But listen, we'll see him in Spring Training and have a better idea." "Certainly, he's a talented kid, and Rodon looks good," Cooper said. "I never had a guy that didn't have things to work on. Everybody. And so I'm anxious to meet him, to watch him, to start the relationship. Again I wish it could have started now, but for whatever reason, it didn't. We'll see him in Spring Training." This doesn't exactly thrill me. Why isn't Coop calling the shots here?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) Martinez will turn 36 in December. You sign him for 3 years, you pay him through his age 38 season. You do HAVE to take risks. I think Martinez is a good calculated gamble. He is what you need. A switch hitter, a middle of the order bat, who makes more contact than anyone else on your team. As I have mentioned before, I think some team will probably offer him the moon, but maybe not. I would guess NL teams aren't going to be interested. Maybe the Yankees. Boston has Ortiz. Detroit has to be interested, but who know where they will be at with their payroll, and with all the injuries, it may be time Cabrera moves to DH. Maybe KC to take Butler's place. Maybe Oakland, but at least most of the big spenders will be sitting his bidding out. Agree hugely on VMart. He fits the profile of the slow-to-age professional hitter, as long as the overall health is there. He's a real game-changer for the lineup batting behind Jose. AND we'd be taking him from a chief rival. If nothing else, the strategy should be to force someone else to overpay for him, if the Sox can't land him. Some of the whippersnappers may not remember how good Julio Franco was hitting behind the Big Hurt. It rocked. This could be similar.

I'd like to see Sale finish with an ERA in the 1s.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:35 AM) Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 2h Cuban pitcher Jorge Despaigne is now a free agent: http://bit.ly/1soiN6N Sounds like a couple other guys at the showcase as well. Would love to add to the org this way, if they like what they see.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 11:10 AM) no. No indeed. And this is an area to wait on anyway. We'll know by next Memorial Day how fast Frankie M. and Tyler D. are moving toward the South Side. No reason to believe that the org won't be aggressive with both, if they perform, as FM was assigned briefly to Barons at the end, and TD has earned a start in B'Ham next April. If Frankie doesn't have any more injury setbacks, I'm confident you'll see both in Charlotte by the end of May. Noesi is giving me a bit more confidence lately that he can be a decent 5 on a good team, and there's room for growth. As far as depth, possibilities include the Hound, Beck, MEJ (the Mysterious Erik Johnson) and likely another low cost reclamation project or two in our future as well. Danks has gotta be moved somehow - may not be possible in the offseason, but hopefully early in the next. Still, they're going to need another arm, at least, if they plan to contend in 2015. And this assumes Carlos is ready to go a full season of MLB - that may be a stretch. If he's not set on retiring or going back to Japan, the guy who requires the smallest, lowest risk, commitment, in time and $, yet yields consistently excellent results each season is 40 year old Hiroki Kuroda. Don't know a single reason why he'd want to come to Chicago, but I'd be a wooing if I were RH. Perhaps we should give him a reason to be comfortable here. There's Maeda, or maybe there's some old lefty pitcher wanting to come to the States to be in our bullpen. Wouldn't mind seeing the roster become as Asian-friendly as it is Latino-friendly to boot - why not? HK's attachment to the Yanks is probably lessened by the reality that it's no longer any guarantee of postseason glory, and next year's prospects aren't so great either. He's talked about retiring/retiring in Japan, but I say we should throw a few MORE million at him than anyone else, to get him on a one year deal. Don't know how realistic, just throwing it out there. Anyway, point of the post is we may not need a potentially disastrous megadeal with a FA pitcher, but as far as relatively big commitments go, if the Sox were to make one, I would much prefer the Maeda idea to Shark.

Hound was good tonight. A's are scuffling, but he faced a lineup with 7 switch hitters/lefties, which has been his biggest obstacle to starting. Not saying he has the repertoire to start long-term, but I'd like to see him win a long-relief/spot starter role on next year's team. No reason for him to spend any time in AAA next year, imo - I think he'll be one of our 12 best coming out of ST. We'll see.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Sep 10, 2014 -> 04:50 PM) Garbage piece. It's solely based on the word Potential. There is a strong chance guys like Polanco and Baez will not even be regular players. I also disagree with Tanaka at 1, he's only 2 years younger than Abreu, and is prone to losing a year due to injury. But this piece kind of made the "Sale vs Abreu" debate we had a couple months ago lopsided, as we can agree Sale is superior to Tanaka, and has a much more friendlier contract. Indeed. Huge overvaluation of potential vs. present reality.