bighurt4life

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 11:18 AM) How is Beckham in the speed department? How does he compare to the NL East shortstops in that sense? his writeup says that he's got above average speed and good baserunning instincts

I'm cool with Beckham though I would've preferred Crow. The only person I really didn't want us to take is Castro. damn commie pinko

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 12:45 PM) IIRC, the slotting system was not in existence for the Borchard pick. That said, I didn't follow the draft at that time so I can't comment on that fully. However, after that failed pick the Sox have been afraid of going out and putting out big bucks on a prospect. They can put it down and rationalize it anyway they want, but they have went with the easy sign since that point in time. In there defense, most of the time they pick (which is usually in the teens & twenties) has been at a point where typically guys grade out relatively similarly. not saying that the slotting system was in place but we did pay a very large bonus, equivalent at the time to going over slot

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 10:28 AM) but its well known Reinsdorf refuses to go above slot money (and I have a problem with that approach because I think its fiscally smart to go above smart money because in the long term, with proper scouting, it gives you more good prospects. Not necessarily true. We went well over slot with Joe Borchard (I think we also did with Nevin Griffith) the team's philosophy on this issue is that they'll pay more if the player is really worth it but if they see two players who grade out similarly but one want slot money and the other wants 2-3 million more than slot then they'll take the player who's a little cheaper and more worth the money

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 09:46 AM) Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Cannonball! ha!

Walker had some other comments about the situation that I read in an ESPN article Walker met team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on Monday, according to the Chicago Tribune, and spent much of the day wondering about his employment status. "I've never quit anything in my life," Walker told the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday. "I'll leave it at that. I have too much respect for Jerry Reinsdorf and what he's done for me. He's a good man and a good friend and he wants me to keep fighting, so I'm going to. "There's some things I'd like to say, but I'm not going to say them. I'm going to keep my mouth shut and earn my money he's paying me. And if anybody doesn't like it, tough." I've been thinking for a while that he was a lame-ass and needed to be fired but after reading the comments he made I have a lot more respect for him. Not saying that he shouldn't be fired but I have major respect for the way he's handled this situation

Met lots of football and basketball players when I went to the U of O. Some of the bigger names I met, Haloti Ngata (plays for the ravens) Joey Harrington, Reuben Droughns, Basketball players- Freddy Jones- plays for the Knicks, Luke Ridinour- Sonics , and had a beer with Luke Jackson- lottery pick by the Cavs in '05, now in the NBDL

From what I've been reading Beckham has a serious hitch in his swing and isn't terribly athletic, that's kinda scares me off of taking him at #8. It seems like we might have a shot at any one of Skipworth, Hosmer, Smoak, or Crow. I'd be happy with any one of those picks, my top pick out of the four would be Hosmer. He's got plus plus power potential, has a cannon arm and good athleticism. If he slides to us and we pass on him for someone we can pay slot money to I'll be pissed

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:25 PM) Seriously, when does Cook go up to AAA? With his age, we need to start to advance him as much as possible. We can't baby him and bring him up at age 29, it won't do much good. He needs to be in AAA soon, with a September call-up, and a chance for a roster spot next spring. i've been saying the same thing for a while now, maybe the White Sox brass doesn't think that he's a prospect but at least give him a chance, there's nothing more that he can prove at AA

Winson-Salem wins 4-3 Retheford goes yard for second day in a row 11 hr on the season boxscore B-Ham wins 7-4 David Cook homers #11 on season OPS up to 1.080 Link with his 15th save on the season his era is at 1.96. Nice pickup in exchange for Mackowiak boxscore Charlotte wins 8-2 Egbert has a nice game 7.0 1 ER 0BB 4K Russell goes 2 IP and only give up one hit, his ERA down to 1.73 boxscore Kanny loses 7-6 Estill gets his first BB of the season to go with 15K's boxscore

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 1, 2008 -> 05:03 AM) Alvarez could easily be the pick. Not all teams are sold on his defensive ability at third, and could be moved to LF or 1B. i stand corrected

Whoever had TB is an idiot. They just signed Longoria to a 6 year deal and Alvarez wants a major league contract. They will NOT take Alvarez, nothing is more clear than that

yes you are a jinx, still he put up 5 k's with only 2 bb's. Sometimes you'll get knocked around a bit but his control and strikeouts are there which is what i look for

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 29, 2008 -> 09:12 AM) That is the point, Cook is an organizational guy anyway and taking him away from Birmingham could have a significant impact on the Sox relationship with one of there minor league affilliates. I realize to fans of the big league club, we don't necessarily care if Bham wins or loses, we care if the prospects are doing well. However, to the minor league organizations, they care about winning and making the local fan base happy and moving a guy like Cook (org guy) would be a bad move. Now if you are talking about a guy whose a top top prospect, development would win out and the guy would get promoted, not so much for those organizational type guys (plus in the grand scheme of things, another couple weeks in AA isn't going to have a significant effect on whether he turns into a good player at the next level or not). That makes more sense. However like previous posters have said I'm not sure that he's just an organizational guy anymore. He's hitting for average, power, high walks, low strikeouts and have heard that he's a pretty good outfielder. I say move him up soon and lets see what he can do in AAA. Some guys just take longer to figure it out like Paul Lo Duca who was in the minors until he was like 29 or 30.

If there are any deals we make this year it should be to get younger. We need to move one or two of the following players, Konerko, Crede, Thome, and Dye. If we move Konerko we can put Swish at first and move Anderson to CF If we move Thome bring up Fields and give him the bulk of the DH at bats If we move Dye put Swish in RF and let BA play center If we move Crede bring up Fields. this team has a weak farm system and an aging lineup. that is not the recipe for prolonged success as an organization, just look at how horrible the SF Giants are this season. They had the same combo of aging lineup and barren minors a couple of years ago and now they're terrible with no end in sight. I think that we could make any of the aforementioned moves without sacrificing the current season while still improving the overall health of the organization in preparation for future seasons.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 27, 2008 -> 10:26 PM) A couple ideas: 3. An even crazier idea. Orlando Cabrera, Mike MacDougal, and Chris Getz to SF for Omar Vizquel, Ray Durham, and Randy Winn in a sort of our-crap-for-your-crap deal. Cabrera nets the Giants the draft picks they would get for Randy Winn a year early and they also get out of his contract. MacDougal gives them an arm with still some upside and they can try to get some worth out him of during a crappy year. Chris Getz gives them Durham's replacement. Meanwhile for the Sox, you DL Paulie, move Swish to 1B, put Winn in CF, Vizquel at SS, and Durham at 2B. Our defense takes a hit at 2B and perhaps there's a slight downgrade in CF from Swisher, but Winn could also end up as an upgrade there defensively too. I don't know how well he still plays CF. But in terms of the lineup, you can put this lineup out there: We'd add a little more speed overall but a lot more contact and OBP. The only offensive hole in the lineup would be Vizquel, but if he becomes a major problem the Sox have both Uribe and Ramirez to turn to. He's a veteran though so even if he doesn't hit he should be able to at least make productive outs when the situation calls for them. It's a crazy idea but I think it would definitely be a win now move that wouldn't hurt the team since Omar and Durham are FA after this year while Winn is a FA after '09 and, even though he makes $8.25 million next year, he's a good enough hitter and versatile enough to be a valuable 4th OF. I'd shoot myself in the head if we made that trade. We'd get Durham who can't do anything that Richar/Uribe/Ramirez can't do, Vizquel hasn't been able to hit for 4 years and Winn is a 4th OF at best. The only thing we get out of that deal is we lose the draft picks we get if Cabrera leaves in free agency and we get to pay a bunch of money to Durham and Winn. terrible trade

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ May 28, 2008 -> 09:21 AM) We are pretty bare at the CI positions as well. There is not really any position where we have any amount of depth. Silverio, Miranda, Getz and Paiml should provide some depth in the MI, Shelby, Estill and Gallagher have potential at CF. At the corners Allen and Marrero are at 1B. None of these guys are cant miss, and thats what we need. I want more of a sure thing then a toolsy guy, toolsy guys seem to falter more often than not. I think with the system we have we take the best player regardless of position each time, I agree that with how bad our farm system is we should probably just be taking the BPA regardless of position. Our minors system needs a major infusion of talent.

I've asked this before but when does David Cook get moved to AAA. Between last season and this year he's played 80 games in AA and has a combined OPS of about 1.070, I think that he's shown all that he needs to in B-Ham to warrant a promotion.

coco crisp, jonny damon, melky cabrera, jd drew, and bobby abreu are in the top 15 vote getters, that's all i need to say

I agree that we should give PK some time to heal his hand to get swisher out of CF and give BA some at bats

How much longer is David Cook going to stay in AA, the guy is mashing, time to move him up to AAA and see if he can hit up there. Maybe he's just a late bloomer but looks like he may be a legit prospect

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 26, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) You act as if guys who can hit 30+ homers, bat around .300, and provide you with a high OBP grow on trees. Beckham so far has been a one year wonder, and there is still doubt as to whether he can play short or not. Beckham is probably the least sure thing from the bunch of Hosmer, Smoak, and Wallace. nobody has hit 30 and .300 yet, all just projections. I'm just saying that finding guys who's only tool is hitting is a lot easier than finding guys who can hit, field, catch, throw and run. that being said, if beckham projects to not stick at short then I think you just take whomever is the best hitter of the bunch. Honestly, none of us are scouts and baseball players are probably the most difficult players to project out of all the major sports so who the hell knows. I just would like to see us shore up the middle infield spots through this draft as our farm system is almost totally devoid of infield prospects

QUOTE (quickman @ May 26, 2008 -> 12:36 PM) you cannot win gold gloves without a bit of politicing. I am sure this is not the first time he has done this. good point there. kinda like how jeter has won several gold glove awards but he's been an average to below average ss for several years now

Hopefully we can take someone that plays a premier position in the draft. Wallace will probably end up at 1st (plus we already have our future 3b in Fields if he manages to stay at 3rd) Smoak and Hosmer also play 1b. First basemen are a lot easier to find in the later rounds than other positions because you don't really have to be able to do much defensively at 1st so teams can draft someone purely for their bat instead of looking for players will great tools who have to be able to do everything well, this way if their defense never comes around you can just stick them at first and call it a day. I'd like to see us go after Beckam because that will be a need position for us in the near future. (some would argue that it is a need right now)

After tonight's outstanding showcase on national tv we might be able to start shopping Count Chocula for a legit prospect or two. That being said, if he pitches like he did tonight then i'm not sure I want to see him go. His splitter was nasty but I get the sense that he will invariably go back to the inconsistent pitcher we've all become accustomed to, though it was fun watching him deal tonight anyways. He was practically unhitable