Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 7, 2014 -> 12:06 AM) Mario Kart is fun, but that's not a system seller for me and the only time I play is it when someone else has it. I wouldn't buy that on my own. I'm getting old for the 40+ hour games myself. Watch Dogs has that much content if you do all the side stuff, which I insist on doing. I simply can't do that many of those games a year. It's just that Mario whatever or Zelda doesn't really interest me regardless of game length. That's fine that they don't interest you, but to say they are "baby games" and that they only target kids is absurd. I just beat Portal 2 on Friday, an all around awesome game. Before that I put 50+ hours into GTA V, which is one of my favorite games of all time. I love mature games when they are well done, like the Uncharted series, but sometimes I want to play something that's about pure gameplay. The new Mario Kart is amazing in short bursts and looks more next gen than anything I've seen on Xbox One or PS4 so far. Super Mario 3D World, while nowhere near as good as the Galaxy games, is still a tons of fun and the fact I can play it with my wife is a bonus. Hell, I just started Wind Waker HD yesterday and it's crazy now good that game really is, unfortunately it doesn't have the "cool" factor a lot people in our demographic base their purchasing decisions on. The point I'm trying to make is that Nintendo games don't have be mutually exclusive with more mature games. They both offer different experiences that are enjoyable on their own merits. I personally think that if most people got over the "kiddy" image concern, most hardcore gamers would find plenty of Nintendo titles they'd love.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 10:01 PM) Not really. If he is being honest with the staff, they would be able to find something. Maybe it's just a learning year for him. Any theories on what could be causing the velocity decease if not injury?

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Jun 6, 2014 -> 01:45 PM) That's the very essence of "prospect". Part of it is what have you proven already, but the other major part is what do you have the potential to produce? Its the very reason guys like Hawkins and Trayce Thompson can rocket up and down prospect lists. Its the reason that guys like Micah Johnson, Sanchez, and Beck can stagnate no matter how high their batting average's appear or how low their ERA's drop. You can see a clear distinction between folks on here who view production at the minor league level over potential, and vice versa. Its fun seeing the difference in thought processes. But saying others are crazy with their lists because of a different view isn't fair. Adams has the potential to be a #1 starter, and we haven't legitimately gotten our hands on many of those over the years. Usually we are drafting in the middle of the draft, and end up with guys that produced in college and have the potential as #2-#3 type starters, or completely raw athletes in the OF. This is exciting as hell. Great post. These lists are always going to be based on the most current information and as a result will tend to be fickle. As for ranking Montas over Davidson, I wasn't the biggest fan of Matt to begin with (still like the trade) and his struggles haven't instilled any more confidence. Montas on the other hand has incredibly stuff and has been absolutely dominant for a short, but recent stretch. Right now I'm taking him over the guy who has had contact issues in the past and currently has a 34.5 K rate.

I'm not buying into the Saladino hype. Maybe if he keeps this up all year I'll reconsider, but until then he's a fringe reserve infielder prospect IMO. Semien, Johnson, & Sanchez all may be legit to varying degrees. I think Beckham is pretty much a guarantee to be moved by next offseason and more likely by this deadline IMO. That opens up one spot in the lineup for Semien or Johnson. The real question is what they do with Alexei. If we keep him, the only way we're getting two of these guys' bats into the lineup is moving someone to the outfield, most likely Micah Johnson. I think Carlos Sanchez is the odd man out and will be traded in the next 9 months. This is going to be an interesting deadline for us, because we have several pieces that should probably be moved, but with how the team is playing right now, a White Flag 2.0 is going to be a hard sell to the fans. Also, I don't think we should under estimate the addition of Rodon, who can be a member of our rotation as early as next year. With him in the fold, there is little doubt in my mind the Sox will active in free agency next offseason. I would argue having some momentum heading into the offseason would be beneficial when courting big name free agents and doing another White Flag isn't going to help in that regard. I could honestly see the Sox hold some of their trading chips and attempt to go on a run here. I don't see them being buyers by any means, but Hahn may feel a long-shot playoff run is more beneficial to the organization than the prospects we'd get back for guys like Dunn & Belisario.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:24 PM) Wendelken over Sanchez and Beck? I don't know... Wendleken is way closer to #20 than #10 IMO.

1) Rodon 2) Anderson 3) Johnson 4) Hawkins 5) Montas 6) Danish 7) Davidson 8) Adams 9) Sanchez 10) Ravelo

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 08:22 PM) Do people really think the Texas Rangers, if given the choice between using money and using prospects, would have chosen to use a better prospect in that deal? No, but had we been willing to pay his remaining salary his market would have been bigger. It's really not that difficult of a concept, most teams aren't flush with cash come the trade deadline.

I think it's completely fair to say that the return we got for Rios was underwhelming and that had we been willing to pay the rest of his 2013 salary we would have gotten a much better return. Clearly the Sox were looking for financial flexibility in the Rios deal and that's what they got. Not sure I agree with that decision, but it definitely impacted the overall return. Also, like Dick Allen & raBBit have already stated, trading Rios did not result in us getting Abreu. The money would have been there regardless. This team has cut back on payroll because it's doing a semi-rebuild and only wants to commit big money to guys that can be part of the long-term core (Abreu/Tanaka). I think people will be very surprised when they see next year's Forbes' numbers and see exactly how much money the Sox made this year.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 05:29 PM) It was a conscious decision for KW to spend all on the ML at the expense of the Farm System. We could easily have spent more in the Draft if we wanted to regardless of having extra compensatory picks. When KW would squeeze out extra money to sign an AJ or Tadahito, where do you think it came from? His amateur-talent acquisition budget. It was not in the best interest of this franchise long-term the way he ran it, but it worked in the short-term (and for that I am grateful). Except for the fact Reinsdorf didn't want him going over slot. Hard to spend more money on the draft if the boss is preventing you from doing so. The new CBA has been a blessing for us because it put us on even playing field with the rest of baseball.

I'm cool with any of the big three, but my personal draft board would be Rodon-Aiken-Kolek. I do think it's critical that we get at least one college starter tomorrow night, so if we go with a high school arm in the 1st, I'd definitely lean towards a college arm with our 2nd pick. However, if we land Rodon at 1-3 I'd probably prefer a college position player with a strong hit tool if available. Regardless of how those first two picks play out, I see this being a pitching heavy draft for us in the first 10 rounds.

People can blame Kenny all they want, but our low draft spending was due to draft position (guarantee we've had one of the lowest average draft positions over the last 15 years), not taking advantage of the compensation system and accumulating a bunch of extra picks, and Jerry's refusal to go over slot since he was friends with Bud (Borchard/Danks being rare exceptions).

Keon Barnum with a .889 OPS over his last 10 games. That includes a 20% K rate and a 12.5% BB rate. Given that he's only 21, I think there's still reason to be hopeful with him.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 07:46 PM) The lack of power could make them ideal #1, #2, #9 hitters. I'm not sure it's a lack of power that makes players ideal for those spots.

Right now I'm predicting: 1) Aiken 2) Jackson 3) Rodon Jackson going to the Marlins is our best case scenario. Ultimately I think Aiken takes below slot money and goes 1-1. That allows Rodon to fall to us at 1-3. Honestly, I'd be shocked if we passed on Rodon for Kolek. Hahn has already called him the best college arm in the draft and he'd fit much better in our timeline to compete than a high school arm. I'm slightly worried that the Sox could pass on Rodon in favor of Nola to avoid the Boras headache. IMO, that would be a huge mistake.

I think Sale looks more badass with the mustache so I'm ok they forced him to trim the beard.

Absolutely pathetic. Love the Beckham highlight reel just now.

Alright Quintana, just get out of this inning without any more damage.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) Going off the poster above you (he's only 20) is kind of what I mean. Maybe his value to some teams is low, but there's at least some team out there with their own Buddy Bell sitting there dreaming over the guy and looking at him as a "must buy" player who in short order will gain so much value that he won't be available at all. The floor on any prospect with makeup issues & K issues to boot is not even a Major League player. I'm not saying trade the guy for scraps but when Hahn is out there looking for a young MLB-ready or pre-arb MLB proven piece to add to the core so that we have a hope of contending next year, Hawkins should be part of that package. And if you can find the perfect storm of a situation where you can trade him to someone else's Buddy Bell then that's just wonderful. I mean just imagine if Jared Mitchell had been on another team while the Sox were trading proven players, who might we have more or less dumped to pick him up? What exactly are Hawkins' makeup issues??

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 08:02 PM) I thought either Leury or Sierra would have been sent down or DFA'd. Or De Aza, preferably. Semien needs regular at-bats, it's as simple as that. As for De Aza, might as well give him another month and see if he can catch fire for a few weeks. It's not like he's blocking anyone and maybe we can salvage something of value for him. Either way, he won't be on this team next year that's for sure.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 03:38 PM) Rondon is hitting 245 so thats eh but Wendelken is pitching real well lately too. These two guys were the throw-ins in the Peavy trade. Garcia was obviously the centerpiece, but Montas was the other key part of the deal. His upside has always been high, but he was probably bit underrated due to being an extremely raw player in an incredibly deep system. Right now, he's a top three pitching prospect in our system and if he keeps this up he could arguably pass Danish & Beck to claim the top spot (excluding our pick at 1-3). IMO, if either Garcia or Montas develops into an above-average player, the Peavy trade is a huge win for us. If somehow both make it, then we're talking about one of the best trades in Sox history. On top of that, Wendleken has some shot of making it as a reliever and Rondon has a small chance of becoming a starting shortstop simply because his glove is so good (although I'm totally skeptical of his bat developing). Way too early to truly evaluate the trade, but the initial returns are promising.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 03:43 PM) I believe in Connor, no question. He's a Major League player & a potentially very valuable complementary piece. These types will matter a lot more once you have your stars already penciled in. Biggest needs: #2 RHSP and big LH power bat in the middle somewhere, as a young guy though. Those two along with catcher are our biggest needs. Flowers has been better this year, but I still think he's a backup catcher on a championship caliber team. Unfortunately, I think catcher is a spot that will have to be addressed via trade.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 1, 2014 -> 10:35 AM) I think you have to get a solid #4 as well in order to allow for the possibility that Sale is best utilized for around 30 starts a year during the regular season. Hopefully Johnson shows enough to make it as long man in the pen and he would be the fill in for the starts Sale misses. Rienzo, I think ultimately is a set up guy. Way too early to write off Johnson, we need to understand what's causing his velocity decrease and whether it's temporary or permanent. If that velocity does return, then he has more than enough talent to be a quality #4.

Chris Sale is just so damn good. 9 up 9 down while only using 30 pitches. Add in that cool mustache and he's got to be the most enjoyable player to watch on the Sox. Abreu can give him a run for his money, but there's something special about watching a pitcher just dominate lineups.

QUOTE (scs787 @ May 31, 2014 -> 10:28 PM) Who says they won't be willing next year? This past offseason just wasn't the time to do it IMO. Too many question marks(both "positive" and "negative") to add high priced players. Yup, I have no doubt in my mind that Hahn will be active in free agency next offseason. We should have a ton of money to play with and a lot less holes to fill than we did coming into this season. I think getting a #2/#3 caliber starter, preferably right-handed, will be the primary goal of the winter. James Shields would probably be the perfect addition and his age may prevent him from getting an obscene number years in any deal. If we could somehow land him, you're talking about one of the best #1/#2/#3 in baseball in Sale/Shields/Quintana. Between Danks, Johnson, Rienzo, and maybe even Beck, I think we could find two decent enough starters to round out the group and still have one of the better rotations. This doesn't even consider the possibility of us drafting Rodon, who'd likely be ready by 2016. Again, getting another top end starter is our crucial pitching need. Get that guy, and I think will prioritize this need, and I think we have enough pitching depth to fill out the back end of the rotation.

QUOTE (woods of ypres @ May 31, 2014 -> 11:06 PM) Theo already proved SABRmetrics work. 2004, 2007. Not to mention Mozeliak in St. Louis has won two also. Plus Ben Cherington's 2013 Red Sox... I'm not arguing the validity of SABRmetrics, obviously they are incredibly valuable, but they should go hand in hand with what you see from watching actual games. From what I can tell, Bernstein doesn't even watch baseball games and simply uses advanced metrics as a crutch for the bulk of his commentary. The best SABR posters on this site, Eminor3rd & cw42 to name two off the top of my head, use a blend of advanced metrics and scouting to help tell a narrative. Bernstein sounds like he goes to Fangraphs once a week, checks out the league leaders in WAR, and then argues baseball with callers exclusively using those numbers. I used to enjoy listening to Bernstein because he is a smart guy, but his "I know more about everything than everyone" ego has been his downfall and his commentary on baseball is horrendous.