Y2Jimmy0

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 08:40 AM) Increased versatility is a good thing for players to have, not bad. It's the eternal optimist in me, but I think a high end comparison for Semien could be Ben Zobrist. Zobrist has always shown better contact rates, but I don't think it's far fetched to assume that Semien could be very productive with the bat. That'd be a really good career if he were as good as Zobrist. Zobrist has had two seasons as an 8 WAR player and has accumulated 32.9 WAR in his career. Zobrist is very good. I hope Semien could be close to that good.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 07:11 PM) You want the Sox to start losing every single playoff series they're ever in? No but i'd like to be there as often as they are.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 06:17 PM) Traded, I might add, as a low level minor league throw in from the Cubs in the Rich Harden deal. That is one I think is important. When you trade away guys, steal some lottery tickets from a team's lowest minor league levels. Donaldson was also a catcher at the time of that trade.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 06:04 PM) http://www.nbcsports.com/baseball/mlb/oakland-way Great article, long, but as always with Posnanski, worth reading. 1) They don't invest in toolsy outfielders who strike out way too many times compared to their walk rates...they have brought in players like Cespedes, Crisp and Gentry at the major league level with lots of athleticism, but they don't try to make athletes into ballplayers as a consistent drafting/development philosophy. 2) They aren't afraid to use platoons and make back-up plans, even when those guys are hitting as well as Moss (see the trade for Kyle Blanks example) this season. 3) With pitching, target strikethrowers and "outs getters" more than being overly concerned with radar guns and K's, especially in stadiums with lots of foul territory and dead fog nights where the ball doesn't carry. That would lead to the White Sox taking either Aiken or Nola over the likes of Rodon/Kolek. It might also have something to do with what's going on with Beck and Danish. See examples of Kazmir and Millone, who throws the same velocity-wise as Buehrle and Chen. Pitch movement/effectiveness, etc. "I would say there are three or four things that we concentrate on when it comes to pitching," Zaidi says. He then lists off what he readily admits are relatively basic things that you will hear from most teams -- stuff like command and intelligence and a proven track record of performance (and building a strong defense that can help a pitcher prevent runs). He talks about the talent A's pitching coach Curt Young has for helping pitchers find effective ways of getting batters out. 4) Don't use the bullpen in conventional ways or follow the textbook...be imaginative (or the opposite of Ventura for much of his time in Chicago). Also, be willing to admit you're wrong with guys like Johnson and be willing to go with an untested Doolittle (and quickly). 5) The biggest lesson, perhaps...not getting discouraged with one or two failures at the major league level, but having longer-lasting confidence in their original assessments on players and their AA/AAA results (see Donaldson, Josh). Don't get too discouraged or give up too quickly on a Marcus Semien when he gets overmatched and has a lot of traits you like in his minor league statistics (pitch taking/working the count, OBP, low K/BB ratios, even to the point where there are more BB's than walks). 6) No matter how ugly a guy's scouting profile or lack of tools, does he get on base? Does he limit the number of outs he gives up to the opposition? The White Sox are 5th in the majors in runs scored and 15th in OBP (.319). Meanwhile, Oakland is first (.340). 7) Keep trying to figure out ways to improve the defensive metrics...a long ways to go in that area. Control runs allowed. 8) Core of position players getting 60-65% of your at-bats or more in the 25-31 age range. CHECK. Good article. I think Beane is a really good GM but a lot of that stuff is done out of necessity. I wish Beane would have taken the Boston job in hindsight so I could see how he would GM a team with unlimited resources. He is very good at finding inefficiencies in the market and getting everything he can out of players. He has to though. Bob Melvin is a really good manager and Oakland is great at platoons but I feel like they have to do the platoon thing because they just don't have the resources to do anything else.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 09:10 PM) Anderson putting up some huge numbers of late...awesome to see Anderson has star player upside. He's the #1 prospect in the organization for a reason. He has very loud tools. Very raw and frustrating at times but he can be really special.

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 10:52 AM) Is Liddi on the roster still or did they release him? If Micah Johnson and Saladino will be getting some Ab's in the OF they may as well release or trade Gorkys Hernandez or Tekotte as well.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 10:49 AM) They did a draft prospect special last night on MLB, and Weaver seems to be quite the character. Funny dude. Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember Trea Turner being on the top 50 list. Anyone know if his stock has fallen that much? Nah. Turner will probably go in the top 15 picks or so.

When does Micah Johnson come off the DL? I wonder if the Sox will put him in the OF in Charlotte when that time comes. I'd like to see Semien and Sanchez in the MI ether at SS or 2B pretty close to every day. Maybe put Micah in CF? It's not like Jared Mitchell, Tekotte, or Gorkys Hernandez would be affected that much by playing less. Interesting scenario's brewing for that Charlotte team.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 10:20 AM) At this point, I am expecting Kolek and would be very surprised if we have the opportunity to take Aiken or Rodon. But then again Houston and Miami have been so secretive it's really up in the air. Can't wait for Thursday Obviously they could take a hitter in round 2 but I love the idea of drafting a fast moving college RHP in round 2. Especially if they go with a HS arm in the first. There are some position players that I wouldn't pass on though.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 06:58 AM) They're losing an awful lot of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 games. Wait until they deal Hammel and Samardzija. I think the #1 pick in 2015 is definitely the goal.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 06:46 AM) Actually, the Charlotte roster is now at 25 includung Semein. Micah due to come back soon will make 26. They have another infielder named Michael Johnson who isn't playing much and is probably expendable. It's a little more complicated than that. Davidson, Johnson, Semien, Sanchez, and Saladino.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 05:41 PM) Unless the organization believes BOTH Semien and Sanchez are slated to be utility players in the Keppinger/McEwing/Oquendo/Grebeck mode long-term, they need to pick the best one (in their belief) and stick him at SS everyday. Saladino's no longer a prospect for everyday MLB time, so he will be the first one (and has been) to be moved all over the field. And Sanchez/Micah Johnson both can't play 2B at the same time, either. Aren't Dan Black and Andy Wilkins both at Charlotte as well? They don't even have the DH spot open. It really does seem like a trade could be coming relatively soon.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 31, 2014 -> 04:30 PM) Which average is falling faster, Eaton or Flowers? Too many easy outs in the lineup right now. They have to do something about De Aza. Why didn't Konerko retire? I mean seriously. He's done playing pro baseball. They should have been playing Semien at 3B, Conor at 1B, and Dunn at DH during Jose's absence. The fact that PK is hanging around is still just as irritating as I thought it'd be.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 31, 2014 -> 02:43 PM) He may technically be a Sox fan, but he typically s***s all over them while constantly sucking Theo's dick and hyping up the greatness that is the Cubs rebuilding plan. Bernstein has been a big fan of what Rick Hahn has done. It is convenient to hear what you choose to hear though.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 31, 2014 -> 01:11 PM) Vogelbach, Pierce Johnson, Alcantra all come to mind for Beckham. Just a few names. The Cubs don't need Beckham though. My guess is STL. Within the next week here I think Baez will start playing 2B and be up sometime by July. They also have Alcantara. Beckham to the Cubs would make zero sense to me.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ May 31, 2014 -> 07:43 AM) Boo hoo the Sox are getting national attention for once over the Cubs. Cry me a f***ing river Dickstein. Haha considering Bernstein is a White Sox fan, this is kind of a dumb post.

Dan Bernstein wrote another White Sox related column today. It is right here: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/05/30/ber...wers-white-sox/

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 30, 2014 -> 09:53 AM) I doubt OKC will can Brooks, although I do feel like he's holding the team back. I feel that Vogel's job might be on the line though. There's just way too much drama in Indy. I think they both get fired.

No because similar to Sale, you wouldn't get what Quintana's contract is worth in a trade. Q has been damn good this year.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ May 30, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) I am sure they will be trying to cut deals up until the day. Was it leaked in previous years? I remember the year they took Correa I thought it was surprise. Most people thought that Houston would take Gray last year and Appel/Gray would go to the Cubs. Houston settled on Appel and the Cubs took Bryant. You won't know anything until draft night.

Hitter of the Night: Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox (Winston-Salem, A+): 3-5, R, HR, K. Anderson has plus tools but is also extremely raw, which makes his .279 batting average somewhat impressive, but oh my goodness does his 42-to-4 K:BB rate scare me. This was from BP Today. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article....articleid=23726

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 11:09 PM) Allen Thomas and the minor league strength and conditioning staff has a HUGE (literally and figuratively) project ahead of them. At least it will be interesting. In some ways, I prefer this direction, even if it blows up, because it's much harder to find an ace than to find a Quintana/Floyd/Humber/Jenks/Santos. In my lifetime, Jose Contreras was the only true ace we got on the cheap, and that only lasted 4-5 months. Loiaza in 2003, but that also didn't last. And then Freddie Garcia, which was only possible due to our farm system and the ability to sign an extension due to the closeness with Guillen's family. Caulfield, we are in agreement here. I would question passing on Rodon/Aiken in favor of Kolek but I agree with your premise completely. I'd much rather swing for the fences and take the chance that Kolek develops into an ace than drafting someone like Nola or Freeland. Nola is going to be solid. At #3, I want a potential ace. Even if some risk is involved.

QUOTE (hi8is @ May 29, 2014 -> 09:45 PM) ESPN Insider request: http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/post?id=9471 Who does Bowden have us taking? I see he has the Astros taking Rodon. Kolek. It's not based on sources though. Just what he would do.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ May 29, 2014 -> 01:22 PM) If I ran an MLB team this statement would be engraved on everything I owned and it would be dyed into the carpeting of my office. It's so easy to get tricked into overpaying for a reliever. Never let it happen. Every time you trade a Reed for a Davidson, if things don't work out, you look at the way you evaluated that prospect, not the decision to trade the reliever. We could use another Karchner-for-Garland right about now. This is an excellent post, man.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 29, 2014 -> 11:00 AM) Hoffman is just too much risk for the #3 pick. The highest someone in that situation before went is Giolito. The mid teens. You're talking a year before he's pitching again, another year to bounce back to form (hopefully, if all goes well)...then you're pushing him back all the way into 2017 or 2018. The White Sox are going to want a more immediate contributor than that...unless they believe that Aiken/Kolek are potential aces who can quickly get to the big leagues while Chris Sale/Abreu are still the core of the foundation in Chicago. God I hope they aren't thinking this way. Always take the best player. You don't have to take the best guy that is the closest to the majors. Draft the guy that is #1 on your board when it's time for your pick.