Y2Jimmy0

QUOTE (VAfan @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 08:29 AM) Did anyone else enjoy seeing Billy Beane's trade deadline strategy go up in smoke last night, at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals? I'm talking about the Jon Lester trade, which Beane must have thought was his ticket to the NLDS should the Angels somehow pass his A's and he be forced into a one-game wild card game to get in!! There he was, Jon Lester, out on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, having outdueled James Shields and the first couple guys out of the vaunted KC bullpen to a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7-3. But Lester couldn't finish the 8th, and Oakland goes on to lose 9-8 in 12, blowing 1 run leads in both the 9th and 12th innings! All while Adam Dunn, in his only postseason game in his career, sits on the bench! With the Sox out of it, we have to take our pleasure somewhere!!! Discuss. No. I like Billy Beane. He's really good at his job. I was hoping Oakland would win it all.

I don't think it's realistic to have a lottery in a league without a salary cap. It's not an even playing field. Sometimes the best strategical option is to strip it down to bare bones and roll with a $30 million payroll for a few years and draft really well. Smart teams shouldn't be forbidden from doing this.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 07:44 PM) Ideally, Rodon starts the season in the bullpen and becomes a starter in either June or July to save his arm. That's not ideal at all. It's a horrible idea, actually. None of Rodon's service time should be wasted in a big league bullpen and he should not start the year with the team.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 10:40 PM) I wish more people would post their grades, then mine wouldn't be so scrutinized. I never thought this thread would turn into this. You make a compelling statement/sentence, but I grade them based on the factors I've listed in my many posts: acquisitions, record of the team. I just am stupified that people think he's way better than a C, which is an average grade. Believe me, if the Sox ever contend again til the final week of the season I WILL give Mr. Hahn credit. I'm not posting grades for irrelevant players that have no bearing on the future of the White Sox. Sale and Q both get A's. Abreu and Eaton get A's. All 4 lived up to or exceeded expectations. Avisail is an incomplete because of the injury. The front office gets an A because there wasn't more they could have done. It's well been well documented throughout this thread how good of a job Hahn has done. I mean of course terrible baseball players will get terrible grades from a message board poster. I don't have the time for that though.

Carlos Rodon will not be pitching out of the bullpen. 1 year ago, scouts were talking about him as 1 of the 10 best pitchers on the planet after his Soph season at NC State. He won't start the year with the White Sox but I'd be stunned if they waste any of his big league time pitching out of the bullpen.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 11:59 AM) You can't look merely at the surface and say "the team was bad so Hahn was bad." That's shallow, naive, and wrong. He didn't bring in any bad long-term contracts. He got a guy who has a bit of talent in Nieto. He brought in enough minor league free agents and other young relievers that we can say "hey, maybe they have the makings of an OK bullpen heading into next year." He brought in a #4/5 starter for the cost of a waiver claim. He got something for Beckham, De Aza, and Dunn. He signed Jose Quintana to one of the best contracts I've ever seen in my life. He drafted a guy represented by Scott Boras and then actually got him signed, and said player is already one of the best prospects in all of minor league baseball. He continued expanding the Sox horizons in Latin America. He didn't trade away any valuable, long-term pieces from the minor league teams. Oh, and he also signed some Jose Abreu guy. Frankly, I'd like to hear your reasoning for why he deserves anything other than an A. This is a great post from wite and similar to what I wanted to say in the thread as well. He signed Sale and Quintana to great below market deals, traded for Adam Eaton, enhanced the farm system, signed Rodon, and won the bidding for Jose Abreu. It has been a tremendous year for him. I am looking forward to another offseason of acquiring young, controllable pieces and the further addition of high end talent to the farm system. Since this time last year the Sox have locked up Sale and Q long-term, and acquired Eaton, Abreu, and Carlos Rodon. Not to mention the other moves that were made. Hahn has done a fantastic job.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 08:55 AM) Now I know why the Raiders let Houston walk. Nice player, but not worth anything close to the money he got. They didn't let Houston walk. They offered him more money than the Bears did. He decided to leave. Same thing happened with their LT that went to Arizona.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Sep 29, 2014 -> 10:27 AM) Russell, Maeda, and some bullpen help please. Robertson maybe? Maybe. I like Maeda. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox went with Maeda or a guy like Masterson/McCarthy. In the bullpen, there are a lot of free agent options. I'd gamble on Joakim Soria at age 30, and sign him to be the closer. Zach Duke and Luke Hochevar are other intriguing names.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 28, 2014 -> 05:02 PM) That's great! I can't remember a time when we recently had that draft spot and wound up with a complete bust. Oh. Haha I thought of this as well.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Sep 28, 2014 -> 04:55 PM) Sox lose, Cubs win, Sox get 8th pick? Yep. White Sox have the 8th pick in the 2015 draft.

Is there a poster or someone that a poster knows who can get Bulls tickets?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 11:08 AM) The key ones for us There is also this one: @Jaypers413 (IL): Thanks for the chat, Bill. Had he qualified, would Rodon have unseated Jackson for the top spot? What were your impressions of him during his time there, and do you see him breaking camp with the Sox in April? Bill Mitchell: Considering that Rodon was arguably the top player in the draft and that he’s closer to the big leagues than anyone else in the AZL this year, it’s safe to say that he would have ranked at the top. I saw both of his brief outings. He was rusty at first and had trouble locating his pitches, but by the second inning of his last start he was dominating. I see more minor league time in his future, but he should be in the big leagues to stay at some point in 2015.

Spencer Adams was listed as the #5 overall prospect in the AZL by Baseball America. Here is a chat transcript with other White Sox related questions in the mix. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2014...prospects-chat/

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 26, 2014 -> 10:29 AM) I think you guys are right. Perhaps I'm underestimating Q a bit. I looked around the league real quick and on most teams Q would slot at #2 and even #1 on few others. Heck, Buehrle was the Sox #1 for some years and Q's K's and ERA are better than Buehrle's were at age 25. In order for Q to be traded, the return would have to out weight Q's value to the Sox and future Sox teams. I think some people need to remember that Hahn put Q on the no trade list last winter with Avi, Sale and Abreu for good reason. One more thing. The Sox do not need to explore a trade for Q, other teams explore trades for guys like Q. This is correct. Quintana is a stud and he will be the White Sox #3 starter a year from now. The White Sox will have 2 aces at the top in Sale and Rodon. Slide Quintana in behind and it's one of the best rotations in baseball. If Q were to be traded, he would bring back quite the return. Using Pittsburgh as a trade partner it'd be Alen Hanson and Josh Bell as the starting point. With that contract, Q is a very valuable piece.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 25, 2014 -> 03:11 AM) Is anybody THAT high on Petricka? I mean he might be the best of our rotten bullpen and I wish him the best but is he a great prospect? No I don't think anyone is that high on Petricka. He's very similar to what Reed gave the White Sox though. If Hahn turned around this offseason and traded Petricka for a position player prospect, that was highly regarded with 6 years of control attached, everyone would like that deal too.

QUOTE (knightni @ Sep 24, 2014 -> 09:00 AM) Even today, I'd rather have Davidson than Reed. Davidson's upside is huge. Closers are replaced every year. Great post. This is how I feel about it as well. Reed just isn't a valuable piece to the White Sox. Davidson might be.

QUOTE (LDF @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 07:01 PM) I agree with you. I wonder if there is really a team interested in danks. however I still think danks is going to surprise a lot of people next yr. I think a team like the Pirates would be interested for like $6 million per season. That means the White Sox would have to eat like $16 million to get it done. Not sure they will be willing to do that.

It's Alshon Jeffery. Say it with me. Even in the thread I've seen it wrong. I think the guy is good enough in his 3rd season to not have his name mispronounced anymore.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 23, 2014 -> 11:24 AM) Yeah, the patience of some Sox fans is a little thin to say the least. I questioned him over last winter. I seriously did not see what the hype was about with Johnson. His fastball is straight as an arrow, his curve ball was decent when he didn't hang it and his change was alright. I wasn't surprised one bit that he fell on his face with the Sox but I did not see him falling that hard at Charlotte. I'm thinking Rodon stays at Charlotte to start 2014 while the Sox look to trade Danks sometime in June, then call Rodon up. Bassitt's right handed pitching arm is why I'm wondering if he has a shot considering the sox are looking for a right hander in the rotation to go with Noesi. This would move Carroll into the pen where he pitches better anyway and could close up one hole in a pen full of holes. This winter will be interesting to say the least. If Carroll is any part of the 2015 White Sox, something went terribly wrong.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 22, 2014 -> 08:31 PM) If he's closer to Viciedo than Puig/Cespedes/R.Castillo/Leonys Martin as an OFer, it's quite understandable. Dayan really needs to be moved to DH as part of a platoon situation, facing lefties and some righties. Or he just needs to be moved in general. Dayan is bad at baseball.

It will be exciting having Rodon, Bassitt, Beck, and Johnson all starting at Charlotte. Danish and Montas with both be at Birmingham with Hawkins, Anderson and the rest of the crew. Luis Martinez, Jace Fry, and Spencer Adams will all be at either Kannapolis or Winston Salem. I left some guys out too but the Sox haven't had this much legit starting pitching in ages in the system.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 22, 2014 -> 09:23 PM) My following responses are made with the caveat I don't care about Jerry's pocketbook, just the fact if the Sox sign a player to a multi year deal and he is a bust, the fact we can't get rid of him will annoy me to no end. Aoki: No. Please God no. Mr Slappy will be so hated on this board all season. Shields: No, because it'll take a 5-6 year deal and there's a huge risk he could flop at any time. Now if he'd go for 2-3 years, sure. He seems awfully durable and is still pretty good. Butler: If he is willing to admit he's a huge question mark and take a 2-3 year Keppinger type deal, fine. Playing KC 19 times means he'd get 76 at bats against the Royals which could help the batting average and production since he'd want to beat his old team's ass. V-Mart: Not gonna happen but would be a nice signee for 1-3 years. Again, somebody will probably give him a 5-6 year deal and the Adam Dunn deal has made those unpopular on the south side. I was reading Toronto put Buehrle on waivers this season. How bout a trade where they pay 3/4 of his contract and we send them a minor league stiff and bring back Mark? Then we could move one of the other lefties to the bullpen. Or Rodon could start his career in the bullpen for a year. Rodon is not starting his career in the bullpen. That would be a horrible idea as well.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 22, 2014 -> 09:28 PM) Is Soria on a multi-year deal? Doesn't he still have closer stuff? Can Hahn get him? Good call, Greg. I've always loved Soria.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 22, 2014 -> 12:48 PM) It's just insane to me the difference in power between the baseball union and the football union...with all the money the NFL has right now, why on earth do the players not strike and demand guaranteed contracts? I know more of an emphasis has been made on guaranteed money recently, but jeesh... Because 50% of their league lives paycheck to paycheck and the owners know it. They just hold out until the players cave.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 13, 2014 -> 11:13 PM) I like to follow Illinois high school football from afar. My question to you is: Do you think high schools should run the spread? I see Loyola QB had six interceptions in one half in its opener. I was watching Brother Rice play Loyola on The Cube and I just don't think high school QBs should be passing so much. Seems like it's not a winning formula in high school. I would think a more old school ball control offense would work better in high school. As far as the games ... Are you surprised Rice beat Loyola? I wasn't a big fan of Rice's third-year coach til that big upset victory over Loyola making me think he may have a clue since the defense excelled. Yes high schools should run the spread if they have the personnel. I coach at Lockport and we just installed a new offense this year under the new coaching staff.