Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 01:17 PM) I still think that's wrong. Moncada was consensus 1 overall, Devers was top ten overall on many, top 20 on all. Kopech was ~50-ish usually, sure. But 2017, Giolito may not even be on some top 100s. Robert and Hansen are probably ~50-ish. Some may even be lower on Robert because of his age. I think you're really sleeping on these guys. Giolito not make a top 100 list because why? I seriously doubt he would of fallen out of the top 50s on most lists despite his slow start to the 2017 season. Luis Robert was ranked 45th, 23rd, & 37th on mid-season lists (BA, MLBP, FG) based almost solely on third hand scouting reports. He's almost certainly going to rise quickly in those rankings when these evaluators finally get to see him for themselves. And what do you mean Robert might be lower because of this age? Hansen is probably 50ish caliber prospect right now, but he has a ton of helium and will rise significantly with AA success. I don't think your evaluations take away from your initial point, but I think you're vastly underselling the quality of a proposed Giolito/Hansen/Robert package.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 10:24 AM) It's obviously a bargain, but still hurts the White Sox, so no. Any contender would and should do that. See to me, this is about as high as I’d go. If we’re unable to sign him long-term, we’d at least get a comp pick back. I’m willing to surrender the difference in value and pay his $17M salary to improve my chances of ultimately landing Machado.

Who here would do Cease + Fulmer for Machado? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but I have a feeling I’ll be in the minority on this one.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 09:25 AM) Exactly. Let's perform an exercise. Assume Adam Eaton came off a 6 war season and was healthy, but the Nats now want to trade him to make room for Robles (hypothetical since obvi they have room now). Who are the teams that would go after eaton? What are their farms now? In 2 years, you may have the White Sox, Pads and Braves in that position but for this and next year it's brutal. Right now you have to basically hope that the Astros, Yanks and Dodgers want your guy but they are stacked. Rockies seem like the best bet to give up premium talent right now given their window could be ending in the next couple of years.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 08:49 AM) Anyway I'm not sure why people aren't more glad that we don't have to make this choice for a rental. Also, to yellich - the market this year has been really terrible toward sellers. So sniff around, but we just need to wait. I don't see it getting much better for sellers next year, as what made it so special for the white sox was striking when all the top teams also had the top farms. Their arms race last year depleted that with the white sox getting the most gains. This is what happens when the main buyers are the Giants, Angels and Dbacks, three teams with terrible farms. This is a great point and why I thank god every day for not letting the Sox “go for it” one last time. The amount of talent we brought in between the Sale, Eaton, & Quintana deals could very well be franchise altering. Prospects like Moncada & Jimenez are almost never traded and were able to capitalize on unique market factors to land those guys. While Ozuna isn’t as good of an asset as we had, the return the Marlins got for him was pretty weak and very indicative of the market today. Probably even more reason to hold onto to Avi and hope he figures out how to get some loft, because any potential return will likely be pretty poor.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 12:02 AM) Giolito/Robert/Hansen are like back-end top 100 guys. You can’t be serious about this right? All three of those guys are/were top 50 caliber prospects. Giolito has obviously seen his stock drop some, but Hansen & Robert could easily be top 20 prospects a year from now. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if Robert was the #1 prospect in all of baseball a year from now. His ceiling is really that high as his tools are simply unreal.

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 10:35 PM) SoxTalk has been way higher on Hansen then basically everyone else since he was drafted. I think we’ll finally see him start catching up in the major rankings lists this year.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:48 PM) Why do people put Cease and Hansen on the same tier? That makes me want to sell Cease, because Hansen is SO MUCH BETTER. That said, you make the "Cease/Hansen" Cease, drop the Stephens/Guerrero part and make Burger someone Sheets or less and it's not a terrible proposal, though not one I'd want the Sox to do, either. I agree with you on Hansen being a way better prospect than Cease, but no way would I trade Giolito, Cease, & Sheets for one year of Machado. I think you can make a strong argument that Giolito alone is more valuable than Machado. All it takes is him being a 2 WAR/year pitcher and he clearly has more upside than that if all goes right.

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:57 PM) Well, he is. It is ok to bring them up every once in a while in casual conversation but the constant barrage of snide comments, if you're doing it in a logical, constructive conversation it is one thing, but trying to antagonize me by making snide comments constantly shows a lack of respect. A workplace is supposed to be a team, the way I look at it is the people that are being paid more or are in higher positions than you are there because they have been doing it longer. Everyone is there because they bring something different to the table. I'm there to learn and do the tasks assigned. I guess I don't look at my boss, or anyone in that matter as an authority figure, but someone who is there because they have more knowledge than I do on the subject. If somehow the members of the team are not allowed to constructively criticize each other because there is some sort of pecking order, then the world is more f***ed than I gave it credit for. Everyone is supposed to be working toward a common goal, right? If I have valid, evidence-based reasons to disagree with someone(I'm talking about actually doing the job here, not politics), and it is good for the team/organization why should I keep my mouth shut, and let the team fail? If someone is so insecure that they can't take being made to look stupid when they have a stupid idea or process to get a job done, then they probably shouldn't be working. You brush it off and take it as a learning experience. I'm sure that everyone has been made to look stupid at one point or another at work, right? First rule of business is your never purposely make your boss look stupid. If you can’t understand that point, then I’m not sure you’re cut out for the corporate world.

QUOTE (Tony @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 08:20 PM) Yeah, 1 is actually my least favorite. Maul is a cool character, but I at least sort of enjoyed the huge Jedi fight in the arena in Attack of the Clones, and love me some Jango Fett. 1 was just such a kids movie, it's really hard for me to watch. The Pod Racing, Jar Jar, all of the Gugan stuff really, Jake Lloyd being...not a good child actor. Just a rough one. Agreed, episode one is easily the worst. Darth Maul may be a cool looking character but he also has zero depth to him. He alone doesn’t overcome all the wrongs with the film.

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 06:10 PM) What actually happened to me was an indirect firing; My boss somehow found out my political views and started harassing me about them, I spoke up and said: "Can we just leave politics out of this, it has zero to do with my ability to do a job for you." My boss then chewed me out and I was subsequently dismissed. How was your boss harassing you exactly?

Diehard Orioles are starting to lose it. Hard to blame them, would suck to lose a star like Machado for basically nothing. Also, look at this proposed offer one of their fans came up with:

Jack, what exactly did you do on social media that caused you to get fired? Did you rip your company or bosses at all?

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 05:10 PM) Where did I say that there are no consequences for one's actions? Of course I know that actions have consequences, whether positive or negative. You don't mess with people's livelihood over petty s*** like political disagreement. Laws are there for a reason. If you're not breaking laws, there is zero reason for one to be fired for having personal beliefs. If businesses can't separate a person's personal and professional life, and you think it is okay to not have them be two completely separate entities, then I can't help you. What my employees do in their free time is none of my business. So you’d be ok with your employees posting hateful rhetoric on social media?

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 03:00 PM) I would bet that if he makes a list it will be on mlb pipeline but I think he's off BA/Fangraphs/Law. He was 37th & 40th respectively on Baseball America & mlbpipeline’s mid-season top 100 lists, I’d be shocked if he completely dropped off them after a poor half season. I think he’ll be in the 80 to 100 range on both those lists. You’re right about Fangraphs though, he won’t make the cut. I feel pretty confident he’ll make two of the big three lists.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 12:51 PM) I just don't know how Rutherford can be a top 100 prospect at this point. That's really crazy. Maybe he will develop, but if there aren't 100 prospects in the minor leagues you would take in exchange for him right now, the game may be in trouble. He’s still young with plus tools, he’ll most definitely be a top 100 prospect.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:41 AM) Angelos is going to turn 89 during the season. I don't think a full rebuild fits his schedule. He's pretty much screwed either way. lol...good point.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:40 AM) I agree with this. Probably don’t get less, but getting much more would require a desperate buyer though. I still think they’re better off trading him now and moving some other pieces like Britton, but it doesn’t sound like they want to rebuild. Whoops, looks like they blew that idea. Britton out six months with a ruptured Achilles. The Orioles are a f***ing mess.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 20, 2017 -> 09:22 AM) I don't think they'll get less at the deadline. Probably get the same amount if not more. I agree with this. Probably don’t get less, but getting much more would require a desperate buyer though. I still think they’re better off trading him now and moving some other pieces like Britton, but it doesn’t sound like they want to rebuild.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 02:22 PM) To be fair, those were generation changing movies. No one has made a Star Wars impact of a movie since Star Wars. A few might have visited the neighborhood, but none of moved in. These movies were to movies what The Beatles are to music. No doubt that’s a big part of the magic. Clearly they were movies ahead of their time. But A New Hope just felt like this epic adventure in a vast new world filled with all sorts of mysteries and interesting characters. The problem I have with this new trilogy (so far) is its the same basic formula but without bringing anything fresh to the table. They have this vast universe of unlimited potential and they’re simply going to recycle Stormtroopers, Death Stars, & evil Sith Lords again & again. Take us someplace new with the story for f***’s sake. And invest just a little bit of time into making these worlds feel like actual places and not just the “salt mining” planet. These never have to be the deepest of movies with overly complicated plot structures, but try to wow us with fresh new stories, characters, & worlds that let our imaginations run wild like they did as kids. Maybe the next trilogy will be able to succeed in that regard by not having any tie-ins to the existing films.

I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but have also given up on the idea that Star Wars will ever be special again. They’ll continue to recycle the same story lines over & over (this started with episode 6), they’ll continue double-down on the cheese & tone-breaking humor, they’ll continue to ignore character development for all but a handful of characters, and they’ll continue to make lore & background info generally less important. These movies have become Disney family-fun popcorn films and that’s fine. I think people need to accept that the magic from A New Hope & Empire Strikes Back is pretty much gone and not to take it personally. These are at least far better movies than Lucas’ new trilogy. Can’t really expect much more from Disney TBH.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 01:50 PM) I was assuming "Knights of Ren" was the long lived group that he had joined a-la when Vader joined the "Sith". I always assumed it was his group, but honestly I don’t know. Here’s a quote that supports this idea: Here’s a theory on the Knights of Ren being those same boys. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.inverse.co...dents-jedi-kylo

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 18, 2017 -> 04:36 PM) Sort of on the same thread as this, something caught my attention during Luke’s version of the flashback. He said when he woke up that Kylo had taken some apprentices with him, and killed the rest. So where are the force users that he took with him? I’m assuming those are the Knights of Ren and I thought they showed them briefly in the TFA during a dream or flashback sequence. If so, are they still alive and where have they been? Maybe they’ll make an appearance in the final movie.

QUOTE (Soha @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 09:20 AM) If you followed along in the draft this past summer, the Sox made it clear they wanted to draft high school kids. There just were runs on them before their picks and it didn't work out well. Nick Hostetler evens mentions they want to spread out the talent in this article: https://theathletic.com/187901/2017/12/18/q...-hes-ever-seen/ Sounds like we might be going HS heavy in this next draft which makes a ton of sense. Would also be nice to see some LatAm signings actually make an impact stateside.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Dec 19, 2017 -> 07:17 AM) I tend to ignore most of these "inside sources" rumors. Did we see accurate rumors of the Stanton deal as it ended up before it happened? Oh I agree, but the Diamondbacks rumor actually makes some sense to me form AZ’s perspective. Move some spare parts and get a huge upgrade in Machado in a going for it season and then recoup a draft pick next offseason. I just don’t see why on earth Baltimore would want those pieces.