danman31

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 08:50 PM) Are they stretching him out, or he is going down as a reliever? Haven't heard anything about starting so I'll assume he stays in the 'pen. People forget he only had 26.1 innings there last year and still hasn't pitched in AAA.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 07:48 PM) Did I read that right about Infante to AA? Yes. He will start the year in Birmingham.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Apr 2, 2011 -> 08:50 AM) I have a hunch that the Colonel signing means a corner infielder got hurt. Gilmore? Loman? McPherson? Gallagher? He's not going to W-S at age 29. Perhaps Daryle Ward retired? Hate to see Robbie Hudson go. Ward was traded last August.

QUOTE (IChaseBlackWood @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 08:45 PM) Sorry guys ...Chase told me about this on Tuesday, but I was traveling all that day and haven't had time to get on ...I'll try not to drop the ball again!! Lol Ha you've already been way ahead of everyone on a few things so you could do nothing the rest of the year and we'd still love you. Is Chase in extended again this year?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 03:36 PM) There's still a week before the season starts, so somebody could be signed. You see BA's latest round of transactions? Several cuts, a few of which we know of. http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospe...ns-march-23-29/

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 04:20 PM) 14-7 now.......oh boy. Come on Ozzie, just throw out Santos.... Ehh, I'd rather Ohman use up useless innings than waste an actually decent pitcher.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 04:19 PM) Rock and I called it the minute the signing was announced. You will learn to hate this man. You and hundreds of others. Not a tough call.

QUOTE (peanut33tillman @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 04:17 PM) This games beginning to annoy me, get it together Will. The Sox are up 9 and the game is beginning to annoy you? Holy hell how do you watch baseball if this annoys you?

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Apr 1, 2011 -> 04:14 PM) Welcome to the team, Linebrink 2.0. lol Yep. He's a total gascan.

Thanks Knight. These are always terrific.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 12:34 PM) My point is that certain teams were pegged as contenders or "elite" teams before the tournament started, despite the fact that they never exhibited anything close to that. Duke and UNC were high seeds that were overrated. Again, name me some really good wins from this year to prove that. I think Kentucky, to a certain extent, was also overrated, though they played well enough to get to the Final Four. None of these teams were as great as they were made out to be. You can trash the resume of these teams all you want, but come up with teams that were more deserving of those seeds. I guarantee they won't have more quality wins without having many more losses as well.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) Those 4th and 5th years are the important parts though, the part of his career where he's winning the conference with his own recruits. We don't know how capable he is of building a program because he has so little experience as a head coach so far. Anthony Grant already did a lot of the heavy lifting at VCU by going 76-25 before he left for Alabama. He also recruited the five best players on this current VCU squad and Larry Sanders, who left after last season (Shaka's first) for the pros. He just hasn't built much of a resume, you don't know if he's Todd Licklitter or Thad Matta yet. That former one is the comparison that would worry me. Following a brief stopover from Matta, Lick went 53-12 his first two years with a Sweet 16 appearance. Butler went 49-43 his next three years before he had another solid season (29-7, Sweet 16 appearance) and bolted for Iowa. He didn't last long there. Then again, it could make a ton of sense for Missouri as their roster is loaded with returning talent. A coach that can maximize that right now and reap the benefits of a strong season on the recruiting trail could set them up nicely. I'm not sure who that coach is though, these candidates don't exactly thrill me. Ultimately this is the biggest argument against Shaka. It's not that he isn't experienced. I don't think that matters, youth probably helps trump that in recruiting and he has proven to some extent to be a very good game coach. It's that we don't know how he will do in year 4 or 5 because he hasn't had one. The lack of experience doesn't make him a bad candidate, it makes him an unknown. More importantly, like you said, the remaining candidates don't thrill me either. Unless there is a seemingly random rumor about a high major coach (for example Painter or Weber to OU) that surprisingly comes to fruition, I believe Shaka is the best candidate of the group.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 08:31 AM) I've tried to get some scouting reports on Charlie Shirek, to shed some light, but nothing recent comes up. He's a mystery to me. He's a guy with excellent control who can hit 95, and supposedly has a decent curve and change. Yet, his K numbers keep dropping. Anyone have any idea what his deal is? He did have some injuries last year, so maybe a healthy 2011 will see him improve. He is a sinkerballer so a lower K rate would make sense, but he's in dangerously low territory.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 02:40 PM) In a move that I don't understand, after splitting 2010 between AA B-Ham and brief stint in AAA Charlotte, Charlie has been demoted to High A Winston-Salem. Not sure if he's going to continue as a starter, or if they are re-training him as a reliever. We'll see. Generally relievers move up a level if they go to the pen.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 01:50 PM) Generally those coaches didn't finish 5th and 4th in their conferences, miss the tourney their first year and were one shot away from missing the tourney their 2nd year. Bruce Weber at SIU: 15-12 (t-5th MVC), 20-13 (3rd MVC; NIT 2nd round), 16-14 (t-4th MVC), 28-8 (t-1st MVC; Sweet 16), 24-7 (1st MVC; NCAA 1st round) Bill Self didn't make the postseason until his fourth year at Oral Roberts and that was the NIT. He didn't make the tourney in his first year with Tulsa and went 9-5 in the WAC in year two (with a tourney appearance). Tom Izzo didn't make the tourney until his 3rd year at Michigan State. Generally everyone does exactly what you just said. QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 01:54 PM) I'd take Shaka above all these other coaches being hired or rumored to be up for jobs like Gregory, Weber, and Painter. I think that's fairly clear at this point. Unless you can get a Matt Painter type (and really, meh) who is potentially frustrated at his major job, Shaka is the most attractive candidate.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 30, 2011 -> 10:04 PM) That was heartbreaking. Everyone of these 'wait-to-unfold' events like this has not ended up in my favor. Ha. Hey at least I realized early on this year that the team was going to be a disappointment. If we land Shaka Smart I'm happy Painter stayed.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 30, 2011 -> 12:41 PM) VCU was definitely not overrated. Butler was not overrated. There are a bunch of teams that were clearly underrated going into the tournament. So Duke = overrated, Butler = underrated. Duke also smacked Butler by 12 earlier in the year. You can't say everyone but the teams in the final 4 were overrated. Even half the teams in the final 4 sucked in the regular season.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 30, 2011 -> 08:48 PM) Solid writeup, thanks. Sounds like everything else I've heard about Zeller. Not flashy, but very good. I actually like that more, it means he's more likely to stick around longer instead of leaving earlier. Just from watching you can see the agility and a surprising passing touch, but holy hell is he skinny. He won't be doing much against Big Ten bigs at least until his sophomore year.

Andre Rienzo Position: RH SP Born: 6/5/88 Ht: 6'3" Wt: 160 Acquired: Signed as free agent from Brazil in 2006 Rienzo's FutureSox profile Rienzo @ Baseball-Reference 101 IP, 125 K, 32 BB, 3.65 ERA for Kannapolis in 2010. He will start in Winston-Salem in 2011.

System Breakdown: Starting Pitchers The conclusion of this series is about the lifeblood of any minor league system, starting pitching. You can never have enough pitching as the saying goes. The White Sox don't have to worry about having too much starting pitching in the minors though. Most of the top pitching prospects in the system either profile as relievers or are veteran minor leaguers that have limited ceilings. There are few new and exciting names to talk about, but that's not to say there isn't hope. ---- I gotta admit I procrastinated a bit on this piece because of the lack of quality the Sox have here. I love Rienzo and Reed and Heidenreich could turn some heads this year, but for the most part there isn't lot to get excited about. Anybody got any really under the radar sleepers?

QUOTE (newsoxfan @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 04:21 PM) Spent this past weekend at Camelback Ranch and I have to tell you, the new batch of A and high A Sox players are HUGE! I dont think I saw a player below 6'3" all weekend. I remember people mentioning that during drafts the last couple years. They've certainly trended towards the very tall players.

Escobar returns to AA, this time at the start of the year. Hopefully he can continue to flash some offensive ability so he can get that glove to the Majors.

Gartrell is still hanging on in the org. Probably his last year with the team unless he has a breakout year.

That went from maybe Mizzou to probably Purdue to "100%" going to Mizzou, to Purdue announcing an 8-year extension. Now please, can we get Shaka.

This should help to confirm a few things. http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/sport...0,2074739.story