Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 05:47 PM) The six-month gap with the older brother was overseas is what is most concerning. Who was he meeting with? Did he learn bombmaking skills there? Did he meet with other terrorist cells? Etc, etc. Definitely seems like the older brother was the more radical/naturally violent one and probably influenced the younger one to follow a similar path. Obviously that's just speculation on my behalf, but there's been a lot of sketchy/negative info reported on the older brother and not quite as much on the 19 year old.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 01:37 PM) I wouldn't say much better. You would prefer him to play SS, but you prefer anybody to play SS. It sounds like his max value is at 2B. Besides, the difference between the average 2B (.701 OPS) and SS (.688 OPS) is negligible. (numbers from 2012) Fair enough. Sometimes you can get away with an offensive-oriented 2B, but obviously that trend is starting to fade away based on the numbers you show. As for Sanchez, even if he doesn't have HR power, he still profiles well as 2 hole hitter with his skillset. He just needs to hit enough doubles and triples to get his slugging percentage to a somewhat respectable level. Given his age and his production last year, I don't think that will be an issue.

Older brother has a 3 year old child?

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 01:22 PM) Rangers claimed Charlie Leesman. Good pickup. Throw him in the pen and see if his fastball jumps up a couple MPH. I still think he has a chance to become a solid left-handed reliever.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 09:34 AM) Hence I said he can fill multiple positions, but not spectacular in a particular one. The sox saw him as a utility guy at the majors more than anything. I don't recall his defense being terrible at any positions. I am not comparing Sanchez to Kuhn outside of the fact that the Sox don't have a definite position for them. But I do say that the Sox want Sanchez to be able to play multiple positions, and where he ultimately ends up is determine by our need versus if he's better at SS or 2B The scouting reports I've read list Sanchez as a plus defensive player at 2B and an average defensive player at SS. He's nothing like Tyler Kuhn defensively. However, given his lack of power, he projects much better offensively at SS at the moment. I'm guessing they want to wait and see how he develops with the bat and how teams needs open up in the future before ultimately deciding which position he should be at long-term. In the meantime, you play him at both positions and increase his defensive flexibility.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 12:32 PM) Dunn is one of the biggest disappointments in franchise history. Dollar for dollar, he's a bigger disappoint than Scott Linebrink & Jaime Navarro. Trying to think of other sizable free agents who flopped.

Semien may be a bit underrated around here. Seems like he can do a little bit of everything offensively. Haven't heard much about his defense though. AA will be the real test for him, as we've seen many positional prospects stumble in Birmingham. So far so good though.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 17, 2013 -> 01:57 PM) He's got a lot more than a dozen or so games of rope. As he should. Let's see how he's doing in May, maybe Memorial Day, maybe even June. If he's still hitting well below .200 (which I doubt he will be), and no longer drawing a lot of walks either, then it becomes time to make adjustments. What do you expect to do in the meantime anyway? Do you think Seth Loman would be likely to do better right away? Possible, but improbable. I agree, but I still think you move him down to the 5th spot regardless.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Apr 17, 2013 -> 12:37 PM) What is the record for speedy, left-handed outfielders with no power on the same roster anyway? Who are you referring to?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 17, 2013 -> 12:22 PM) Your mantra last year was why change anything they're in first place. That didn't work out too well. Do you think Danks will be an upgrade over this year?

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 11:29 PM) Why? Seriously makes no sense unless someone is hurt in the OF. Yeah, I totally agree. Even if you wanted to platoon Viciedo, which I don't agree with this early into the season, you'd use Wise. Maybe they just want another left-handed bat off the bench with Gillaspie pretty much a starter now.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 04:49 PM) Not advocating bringing him up right now just saying service time does not matter. That said, he is in AAA so the organization thinks he's close. I don't think they're going to wait until he's 23 or something before he's promoted. How about they wait until he turns 21 in June? We're talking about a kid who's currently hitting .250 in 10 games. I get that our offense has sucked and has been painful to watch, but that is not a good reason to rush a prospect who is probably already the youngest player in AAA. At least give him a few months, make him show he can hit AAA pitching for an extended period of time before calling him. And I couldn't disagree more about service time not mattering. Giving up a year of control of a good, young player for no reason is definitely stupid. How people can argue otherwise blows my mind. And again, let me reiterate that winning would be a good reason to forego service time. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of other good reasons.

I seriously hate Jeff Manto. It may not be his fault, but I've never seen a Sox team fall 0-2 in the count so frequently.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 06:27 PM) This might be a 90-loss team. Lol...keep trolling.

Nice work Paulie. Let's keep this s*** going.

QUOTE (Baron @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 06:20 PM) Nothing helps ticket sales more than threatening many years of terrible play. Even the Cubs fans are already tired of their rebuilding and it's only year 2. I'm sure 100 losses would really put faith back into the organization for Sox fans. Marty made plenty of outlandish statements in his time, but this one takes the cake IMO.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 06:16 PM) They need to to put the annual word out that if this slow start continues this team will be broken up. Not for the players to play better, but for the fans to gain a little faith in the organization. Yes, because the causal fans can't wait for the team to be broken up.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 12:43 PM) Don't care what Theo and the Cubs are doing. For the White Sox the surplus value of service time is inconsequential when the big picture is considered. The Sox paid Chris Sale, they'll pay Carlos Sanchez if he is worthy. So what's the big picture benefit of calling up Carlos Sanchez right now? You don't think the White Sox are capable of winning this year, so unless you think he'll develop faster at the major league level (which makes no sense) I can't see a benefit to waste his service time.

First off, I think it's way too early to talk about unloading. Second, the starting pitching can still be a strength for us the next two years. Sale, Peavy, Danks, & Quintana are all under team control. Santiago hopefully will get a chance in our rotation at some point this season. Plus there's a decent chance Erik Johnson will be ready next year. We have more than enough options to put together a strong rotation, which is always the hardest part of fielding a competitive team. Obviously the offense will be an issue, especially if Paulie leaves or retires. However, we should have some money to work with given that Konerko, Floyd, Thornton & Crain all could be gone. Honestly, I expect a lot of changes this coming offseason from an offensive standpoint. It's pretty clear that Hahn wante a more consistent offense given his moves for Keppinger & Gillaspie. Hopefully with some time he can accomplish that.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 12:39 PM) I am not a fan especially batting 3rd, and would rather the Sox be spending that money on something else. But his homers are useful. I just don't see how anyone can come to the conclusion he is much different from last year yet. If he puts the ball in play more often, I don't see how he possibly will hit less home runs over the course of the season. Read the article.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 12:31 PM) There doesn't appear to be a clear direction. I don't understand how they can't find a spot for Jordan Danks. Platoon him with Viciedo and put him in center to see if he can become anything useful. Jordan Danks? Are you serious?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 12:16 PM) Recent reports of his FB velocity are mid-high 80's. That's a far cry from the mid-90's he was hitting last year. Same guy reported he had some very inconsistent delivery aspects as well. Not sure if he is figuring out his now-much-bigger body, or they are slowing him down on purpose, or what. Hopefully he's just having a dead arm period or something.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 12:16 PM) I really don't care about that arb clock stuff. I just don't. Chris Sale got brought up a month after he signed, and we're all pretty happy with him. As far as Keppinger--he can play 3B, 2B, 1B, DH. And really, he shouldn't play every day anyway. Maybe 3 out of 4 days. I think if the team just tanks the next couple weeks and Sanchez continues to do good things, give him May in the big leagues while Beckham is gone. You realize that Carlos Sanchez is 20 years old right? That this is only his third season in America? We've already been incredibly aggressive with him, let him spend a few months in AAA and continue to develop without the pressures of being in the big leagues. It's not like he's a finished product. What does he or the Sox gain from a one month callup? As for Sale, it's not like we lost a year of abritration because of the initial callup. Regardless, not caring about a young player's service time is very short-sighted. You always want to turn your good young players into 6 1/2 years of service time if possible (unless they can help you win) rather than 5 1/2 to 6 years. There's a reason the Rays do this consistently. Theo & the Cubs are also doing the same thing. There is a lot of surplus value that can be attained if service time is managed correctly.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 11:39 AM) And I'm saying he will probably hit around .200 with around 40 homers and probably over 200 strikeouts. Just like last year. Probably a little worse than last year, but it's 50 AB. It's amazing how everyone comes to conclusions so quickly. Last year when everyone thought he was so valuable, from 4/8-4/17 he was 5-34 with 1 walk. So you think he can achieve those numbers with his new approach or you're just confident he'll ditch it in the near future? Again, I don't disagree with you about what Dunn is capable of, but he needs to go back to his old approach. The numbers in that article show why swinging early in counts is killing his game. This isn't just a slow start like last year, this is a flawed approach to hitting that is unlikely to ever work for Dunn.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 16, 2013 -> 11:20 AM) Carlos Sanchez with a single. Depending on how things go the next couple weeks, I wouldn't mind if he played 2B for the Sox everyday until Beckham comes off the DL. Over Keppinger? Dude is 10/31 on the road trip. There's absolutely no reason to rush Sanchez and start his arbitration clock.