Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 11, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) I want to combine them into Micah Sanchez. Yeah, that would be awesome. QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 11, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) If we continue to hit well, I will gladly take Sanchez's defense over Micah's defense. Continue to hit well? We've had like three games in the past two weeks where we scored more than 3 runs. And as I mentioned earlier, Sanchez is second to last in baseball in WAR. Micah, despite one of the worst defensive stretches in recent history, wasn't nearly as bad as Carlos has been. Why on earth would you sacrifice overall value in order to shore up the defense?

Carlos Sanchez is just a disaster offensively. I want Micah back up here after the All-Star break.

Wow, Bryant having a tough day.

Nice work Melky. Another run here would be huge.

I know it's only been 1.3 games, but I really like what I'm seeing from Saladino. Assuming he can hold down the position defensively, he may have enough speed & bat to be a productive 3B in today's game.

Sanchez is second to last in all of baseball in WAR at -1.0, but who cares because DEFENSE.

I think it's fairly likely that Erik Johnson is in the rotation sooner rather than later. They skipped his previous start in AAA to help manage his innings. I don't see them doing that unless they think there's a good chance he'll be needed on the major league team in the near future. My guess is if they decide they are sellers he replaces Shark and if they decide to hold their ground (or buy) then he replaces Danks.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 10, 2015 -> 10:53 PM) ChiSox Bar and Grill, the sports bar attached to the stadium, has great food. Not badly priced either. 100% this. More often than not, I find myself heading there before the game for their maple wings & pulled pork tacos than going with the traditional hot dogs w/ grilled onions in the park. Just stay away from the Big Hurt beer, which they serve there, as it's absolutely disgusting.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 11, 2015 -> 12:35 AM) I'm just saying I am glad he didn't get all down on himself and go in a slump, sort of what Davidson did when he didn't make the team last year. While I agree with your point on Micah, Davidson simply sucks. Being down about not making the major league squad was just an excuse made by his supporters. Because unless his emotions carried over into this season, he's simlly not a good baseball player.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jul 10, 2015 -> 10:19 PM) It's upsetting to me that instead of being happy and excited that the Sox won, I am more relieved that I don't have to hear the Cubs fans. Maybe I am weak and should know better but I am not the s*** talking type and the Cubs fans I deal with tend to be. I am going to the game Sunday as well so I wanted to be in good shape going in just so I don't have to deal with meatheads. Obviously I am biased, but does anyone else feel like your regular Cubs fan is an especially uneducated fan? I am sure it has a lot to do with them losing 90+ games three out of the last four years and not winning a playoff game since Bush's first term but I find myself just nodding at their weak attempts to make banter. Yes, the Cubs have more fans at their Cubs and yes, if the season ended today the Cubs would be in the playoffs. I am just not phased. They just seem out of the loop. Some guy was giving me s*** at the golf course and I tried to change the subject and said, "Is Rondon not the Cubs closer anymore?" and he said "Rondon is on the Sox." So I am not like, "No, not Rodon, Hector RONDON, the Cubs closer," and he says, "No it's Motte, the Cardinals guy, we don't have a Rodon." It's one guy, but still. So bad. Please Chris Sale, be the best Chris Sale you can be so I can relax when we lose 2-1 or 1-0 on Sunday for Quintana vs. Arrieta. I was at yesterday's game and endured almost no s*** talking. In fact, the most I experienced was between me & a security guard, who wouldn't let me try to take a picture with Frank Thomas (who was sitting four rows in front of us). But to your point about dumb Cubs fans, we literally had one fan turn around in like the second inning and ask "Do you know who Frank Thomas is?". I honestly thought my wife, a diehard Cubs fan, was going to clock this woman. We were both completely mind boggled by this. IMO, both sides have plenty of knowledgable fans, but because the Cubs dominate the large casual section of Chicago (like the woman I mentioned), their fanbase oftentimes comes off uneducated & stupid.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 10, 2015 -> 01:19 PM) Call up Saladino and bat him 2nd against the Cubs in his first game and play a position he has only played 5 times in the last 2 years. No pressure kid. It's not like he was hitting the cover off the ball in AAA. Hope he does well He was hitting the ball pretty damn well over the past 30 days. I have no problem with the move.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 10, 2015 -> 09:13 AM) Nope. Accuweather I said for today, which is a true statement.

Will be at the game today behind the Cubs' on-deck circle. Super excited for this game. Supposed to be great weather and the pitching matchup makes this the most unpredictable game in the first series. Plus with the Cubs having their best season in years and the Sox on an up-swing, the atmosphere at the game should be intense.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 9, 2015 -> 07:36 PM) Couple points - for one, I'll say Micah was bad but you will not find me saying he was "historically" bad anywhere. I agree with you on the sample size issue there. Second, I don't expect Micah to step in and be all that great with the bat. Yes an upgrade over Sanchez, but he was still a pretty easily exposed hitter in his stint up here and I expect struggles are the norm with guys who come up from Charlotte. Therefore I think the upgrade in the bat is easily offset by the downgrade with defense since I'm not projecting him to do what he's doing at charlotte for a while. That therefore is why I made that point - because you can't assume Micah's going to come up and hit .300 in the big leagues just because he is hitting better in Charlotte now. Third...some whispers we heard a week or two ago suggested that the reason why Micah was not afforded an adjustment period with the glove is that the pitching staff, possibly Samardzija specifically, were becoming particularly frustrated with him and that was the #1 reason why the defense improving swap was made. If the pitching staff is standing strongly behind Sanchez...at the very least that will buy him extra time. And finally, thanks for the cheap shot. Obviously we agree on point #1. As for point #2, I don't envision Micah being anywhere close to a finished product at any point this season. I do think with some moderate improvements on both sides he'll at least be a positive WAR player, which would be a huge upgrade from what we're currently getting. And I don't doubt point #3, but once Shark is traded and the season is officially ceded, it won't really matter. Micah clearly has more long-term upside than Carlos and needs development time at the major league level now if we want to count on him in 2016 & more importantly 2017. And I apologize for the cheap shot, I misinterpreted the logic behind your initial post.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 9, 2015 -> 06:55 PM) Just to note the contradiction - Kottaras's defensive shortcomings are likely to offset his offensive gains but that's not considered for Micah. Contradiction? I don't believe Micah is anywhere as bad defensively as we saw earlier this year. I know the cool thing to do on this site is state he "was on a pace for a historically bad defensive season" despite the fact it was an incredibly small sample (therefore not enough to be predictive) and was a rookie playing on a team with expectations of competing for a playoff spot. I don't think it's much of a reach to believe the guy may have been pressing a bit in the field. Furthermore, I'm not sure why guys like Sanchez are given an adjustment period with the bat, but Micah isn't afforded one with the glove. Kottaras on the other hand has been a league average hitter in the majors who happens to play one of the weakest positions in baseball. The fact he is rotting in AAA (for a parent club with catching issues) and not even a backup for a major league club suggests he must be terrible defensively. Despite that, I said he was still worth a look, I'm just not optimistic. But obviously I'm not surprised this post came from you. Only the most recent history for a player matters and clearly Micah will be a disaster defensively for the rest of his career because of his first six weeks in the majors.

While I want to believe in this team because of the pitching, the offense is simply too flawed to fix during the season. I have faith in Eaton, Abreu, Melky, & Avi being league average or better bats going forward. Same goes for LaRoche if he was actually used effectively (i.e. platooned). Problem is we have holes at four spots (2B, 3B, SS, & C) and limited options to fill them internally. I 100% believe Micah will be called up soon amd effectively plug our 2B hole. I'm very skeptical that our options at other positions will be enough of upgrades (if at all) to make a difference. I simply don't believe in Davidson, feel that guys like Thompson & Saladino will have a rough learning curve, & that Kottaras is more likely to offset any offensive gains with his defensive shortcomings (still worth like a look IMO). At this point, I really think our best approach is to trade Shark (hopefully for a major league ready prospect), fill his spot in the rotation with Erik Johnson, and hope the pitching doesn't fall off too much. Give some of the young guys I mentioned a look and hope a couple of them show enough to be considered for spots next year. I hate giving up on this season, but I think we'd crazy to pass up on a possible strong return for Shark in hopes of a long-shot attempt at the playoffs. All roster moves between now and the offseason should be focused on setting ourselves up better for 2016 & 2017.

Given the way the SP market appears to be shaking out, Shark may have some real value. IMO, Hahn needs to be aggressive and push a Shark deal sooner rather than later. I think being first to market will maximize the return. Only takes a few more sellers to turn this into a buyers market and that could happen between now and the 31st. Would like see a trade shortly after the All-Star break.

Offense finally breaks the 4 run curse at home!

Way to go Adam!

Totally f***ing out, the f*** this ump looking at??

Safe!?!

Remember when we all felt bad about s***ting on the Beckham signing a few weeks ago? Amazing how quickly he's destroyed the little goodwill he had earned on this site. Hahn should be embarrassed for spending a combined $6.5M on him & Bonifacio.

Here's my blow this s*** up lineup for the rest of the season: 1. Eaton, CF 2. Johnson, 2B 3. Abreu, 1B 4. Cabrera, LF 5. Garcia, DH 6. Thompson, RF 7. Kottaras, C 8. Sanchez/Davidson, 3B 9. Saladino, SS That lineup would likely be hot garbage, but at least we'd be giving some young guys (& Kottaras) a look.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 10:34 PM) put lexi on the 60 day. Like now. Honestly, I'd much rather see Saladino at this point. Alexei just looks done IMO.

I can't recall a worse base-running Sox team in my entire life. I feel like we're constantly making outs at second & third trying to stretch single & doubles into doubles & triples. Haven't we already done so twice tonight?