Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 11:42 PM) I was definitely being hyperbolic But see the war projection from the link you posted earlier. How is trading a guy that's on target for the same WAR THIS season that this prospect is projected for over all the years of club control a good trade? If he was projected for like 6 WAR I could understand, but it's just asset we already have so many of. Oh well. I don't love the trade. I give up. Why don't we wait and see what similar relievers go for between now and the deadline? Maybe you're right and Hahn jumped the gun and took the first decent offer he got. At this point it's really impossible to say, might be more clear in a few days if selling early was the right call or not.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 10:15 PM) He has pretty good stuff. Don't diminish the stuff he's developed. Pretty good is not elite though and there are/were plenty of pretty good relievers on the market. And I'm not trying to be a dick, but do you think honestly Hahn took Cordell over better prospects or do you think he misread the market and should have sold Swarzak earlier/later?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 10:07 PM) Imagine saying "the White Sox will sign a guy to a minor league contract who will go on to be a top 10 reliever in the league. They will then trade him for Ryan Cordell." Oh, how glorious! Was a top 10 reliever will be a top 10 reliever. Without a track record, elite stuff (like Kahnle), or multiple years of control, no was going to pay a big price for him, especially not in this market.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 09:52 PM) Let me ask you this... If we were a contending team, and we needed an arm in the bullpen, and we went out and traded Adam Engel for a guy that has performed as well as Swarzak has, how would you feel? Soxtalk would have been f***ing ecstatic about such a deal. QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 10:00 PM) Bats are worth nothing, relief pitchers are worth nothing, and like 3 SP have been traded. The whole league has gone bats*** crazy about prospects. It a joke. But that's the point, it's a huge buyer's market for relievers. I 100% get your view on dealing Kahnle now, when the market dynamics weren't in our favor and he had multiple years of control left. But we pretty much had to move Swarzak now and I'm going to assume Hahn took the best offer he got. I really don't think Hahn would pass on more impactful talent for a guy with a 4th OF ceiling in the first year of a rebuild. They probably really like this kid and think he has a chance to be an everyday player.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 09:57 PM) Cmon man. Most here have barely heard of him until tonight. Now he is something. He had a career .299 OBP in AA. He puts up good numbers in Colorado Springs, but so does most of the team. If he truly is a 4th OF floor, think how great the Brewers are going to be if he is their #17 prospect. He seems to have decent tools but nothing outstanding. Maybe he becomes something, but chances are in 2 years we all forget he even exists. Probably will forget who Swarzak is too, but what amazes me is you can get hot relievers for next to nothing during the season. Makes Dombrowski's failure in Detroit more unforgivable to Tiger fans. Losing Swarzak isn't going to hurt the White Sox, and they weren't going to get a surefire guy for him either. This is fine, I just thought it would be a bit better. Obviously the Sox are higher on this guy than many. I'm not sure how any of this has to do with the terrible comp you made. You don't have to like Cordell, but comparing him to Jason Coats is just lazy.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 09:47 PM) Their number 5 prospect, Keston Hiura (just drafted), is mlbpipeline's #97 prospect in baseball. By their estimation, I would bet he is far worse than #200. I'm tired of arguing, but a guy that is 7th in WAR for relievers at the end of July should get better than this. Case closed. What exactly were you expecting? Do you like the OF prospect the Mariners gave up better than Cordell?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 09:46 PM) He's the secomd coming of Jason Coats. Come on, this kid has a much better set of tools than Coats did.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 09:39 PM) I get bent out of shape because people are sheep. They go on record as saying they expect X return for a player, and then they justify Y * s*** return with a bunch of nonsensical justifications. I may certainly be wrong, but at least I have a mind of my own. I don't think anyone was expecting much for Swarzak though. A guy in a system's 8 - 15 range was what I was hoping for and that's what we got. Given the strength of the Brewers system, I would argue that Cordell is a top 200 prospect.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 08:57 PM) For instance, I'd have much rather had Diplan. At least there may be a need for him. How is there not a need for a CF? I know we all sit here and plug Robert in as our long-term CF, but the reality he may not stick there. Might as well use the next two years and see if someone goes out and runs away with the job. And I'd rather have multiple options than automatically give Engel 1,200 plate appearances. I don't know, I just find this kid super interesting. Pretty good tools across the board, pretty decent track record of hitting throughout the minors, and has consistently been just outside the top 10 in two very deep systems. The fact the Brewers are loaded with OF talent made him expendable and those are the types of guys you target with a piece like Swarzak. This kid has the chance to be a legit everyday CF and pretty much right away. What more could you ask for a rental reliever with a very limited track record in a buyer's market?

People really seem to be sleeping on this kid. His ceiling is way higher than 4th OF. I was somewhat dissapointed with the Robertson/Kahnle/Frazier return, but I think this is a really nice return for Swarzak given how loaded the market is right now with relievers.

I really worry about our organization's ability to develop hitters. Right or wrong, I still can't believe they hired a guy with as little experience as Chris Getz to run things. And until I see positive changes take place on the offensive side, I'm going to be skeptical it was a smart hire.

QUOTE (Username @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 07:06 PM) Yeah his league is definitely the main concern. Wonder if it's like the coors effect at all. Lot of research has been done saying even objectively good hitters tend to have extremely home/road splits away from high altitudes. Look at Fowler, he actually got better leaving coors. The hangover effect is real. Having said that, I'm not overly concerned about his stats. This is about gambling on a guy with plus speed & bat speed that can actually play CF. Given that Robert is the only big name prospect who might be able to stick in CF long-term, I think it's worth having another option (and one with some upside) who can push Engel & Leury for playing time these next two years.

Longenhagen had him as the 12st best prospect in a pretty solid Brewers system. I really like the fact that he's essentially major league ready and actually has good all-round tools. There is some upside here and for a team that could be patching together an OF for the next two years, he's a great guy to gamble on.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 05:59 PM) Looking like Gray and Alonso are going to Oak. Not official yet. Where are they going?

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 05:08 PM) Swarzak for Ray straight up, who says no? Lol...the Brewers. But hey, it can't hurt to ask!

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 05:05 PM) Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal Sources: #Brewers in talks with #WhiteSox about right-handed reliever Anthony Swarzak. Nice!

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 12:00 PM) So, the dragons were pretty young then. The mythology of dragons (in both the books and the show) is that they have extraordinarily difficult to kill or even injure. They were the equivalent of Westeros nuclear weapons. The difficulty with dragons was actually being able to control them. Thus, while it might make sense that a random spear could hurt a young dragon, it makes less sense that it would work on a fully grown dragon - and it seems to not even a little comply with the shows mythology that "giant crossbow" is a real threat. The giant crossbow is stupid in any event because it should already exist in this world (ie, it's not some super impressive discovery by Qyburn). Additionally, in the battle they showed this week, there are literally flying projectiles zooming through the sky - again making it appear that this weapon already exists. It was a pretty seriously underwhelming reveal. I mean, the dude that creating FrankenMountain's best anti-dragon idea is a super big crossbow? Come on... I really thought the Dragon Horn was going to be a thing and this seems like quite the reach in comparison. I guess we'll have to see how they use these giant crossbows. I keep going back to the wildfire in season 2 and maybe there will be some trick in how they leverage them that makes them far more effective.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 10:52 AM) Does any of this discussion change anyone's expectations for the 2020 starting rotation and bullpen? What is your best guess for the pitching staff, based upon the current talent in the organization? My guess would be Rodon (unless he's traded), Kopeck, Lopez, Hansen and Cease. I don't know what to think of Giolito. Do you guys think that he'll make it? Fulmer, Burdi and the rest of the top guys would battle for bullpen spots. Right now, I'm envisioning the 2019 opening day rotation looking like this: 1. Kopech 2. Rodon 3. Lopez 4. Giolito 5. Adams I think Burdi, Fulmer, & Stephens will be in the bullpen along with Geurrero as the long man/spot-starter. I would expect Hansen & Dunning in AAA and pushing for rotation spots by June. Cease probably starts 2019 in AA unless they decide to fast track him as a reliever (which is where I think he ultimately ends up).

I think the odds are Swarzak is dealt alone. He's pretty much a fit for any contender. Melky & Gonzalez are going to have much more limited markets and I don't think packaging one of them with Swarzak will greatly change the prospect return.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 07:17 AM) I think it may be somewhere in between, but you may be right. The pendulum has swung really hard towards prospects and opportunity costs - it has really hurt veterans like Melky. He is still a pretty solid bat, but just maybe not solid enough to make someone give him a full-time spot in their OF. Maybe 2/18 is my guess. See, I think someone will give him an everyday shot, but will be skeptical to go multiple years with him. Two years is a possibility I guess, but would probably have to be an AL team that could move to DH in 2019 if necessary.

QUOTE (MDWhiteSoxFan @ Jul 24, 2017 -> 06:01 PM) On tv sounded like the Chi Sox had the louder crowd at the game. I was at the game yesterday and it seemed predominantly Cubs fans. From the L to the bus to the bars to the section I sat in, there very few Sox fans. But the Sox fans in my section were loud and did a great job of offsetting the size disadvantage.

Yeah, no way Melky gets anything close to his previous contract with us. My guess is he gets a one year deal for $7M to $10M.

8 in the top 70 is great, but would be nice to see a White Sox drafted & developed guy make the list. I still think Hansen will be on most of these lists by the end of the season though. Maybe Burger can crack the bottom 10 if he gets promoted to Winston-Salem before the end of the season and continues to do well. Right or wrong, I think Collins' poor batting average will keep him off all the main year-end lists.

Well given that Ellaria Sand killed Cersei's daughter, I have feeling her visit to King's Landing is not going to end too well. And I think the last remaining Sand Snake is actually Ellaria's daughter, so I could see Cersai doing some f***ed up s*** to her in front of her mother.

Will be there today! Hopefully Gonzalez can keep things interesting. And glad to see Moncada batting 2nd!