Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 06:14 PM) Is this the thread where I state that Gillaspie is a better fit as the 3rd baseman of the Sox for the next 5 years than Davidson is? Gillaspie isn't great, but he provides some solid offense as a lefty hitter in a lineup stacked with righties in the middle of the order. Conor is starting to look legit against RHP, but he still sucks against lefties. I still think his role is ultimately as a utility player that can fill in at 3B, 1B, 2B & LF. Obviously he'd have to learn a few positions there, but there's no reason we couldn't get his bat into the lineup 4 or 5 times a week if he's backing up Davidson, Abreu, Semien, & Viciedo (or whoever the LF is) next year. With a four man bench like we typically go with, I think having a reserve like that would be ideal.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 05:54 PM) Yes, I believe Marcus is already better than Gordon. Semien should be our starting 2b right now. Agree 100% with this. Marcus is an incredibly smart, selective hitter. He'll have his struggles at times, but offers an offensive dimension that Beckham doesn't possess. He also fits the 2 hole perfectly and makes the entire lineup better. His ability to take pitches not only helps to wear down opposing pitchers but also gives our middle of the order hitters more looks prior to their at-bats. Semien may never be a star, but he's exactly what this team needs more of offensively. QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 05:56 PM) After 14 games you say this? I remember hw Josh Fields was anointed as the next 3Bman of the future based on half a year stats and where did he go? Please don't compare Semien to Fields. They are nothing alike as hitters and it's an incredibly lazy comparison in hopes of making a point that doesn't exist. Like I said before, Semien is an incredibly smart, selective hitter. Prospects with his skills typically translate well to the majors and everything I've seen from him suggests the same.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 01:34 PM) How many teams would actually be able to give Rodon money equivalent to the #1 pick? Doesn't really matter, he's a junior and can simply go back to college. He & Boras may see this year as an outlier and feel confident and he can reenter the draft in 2015 and go 1-1 and get paid then. Not a risk I'd take if I was guaranteed 1-3 money right now, but Boras has done this before with Appel.

We aren't trading for starting pitching (or a major position player) in-season. Players cost a premium from June to July and it would be incredibly short-sighted to pay that price in what should be considered a long-shot season at best. We should be saving our resources for the offseason and positioning ourselves for a real playoff run in 2015. Honestly, while this offense will come back to Earth at some point, Eaton, Semien, & Abreu all seem legit. We may be closer to being competitive that a lot of us originally thought.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:52 PM) I don't know that it is in stone, but from the reports from those that have sources, the Sox are very much connected with Hoffman. We have heard that have had checked in on Beede and know they scouted an Aiken start, but in this thread by our insiders and in different scouting notes, the Sox are consistently linked with Hoffman. I think Hahn never dreamed that Rodon would be in the discussion, and you never know about the smokescreen he may be laying for negotiations or what not. It is more just an accumulation of indicators leading to a reasonable hypothesis than anything concrete. Of course, all of the Hoffman stuff could be smokescreen from the org as well but there has been little about other potential Sox targets other than Trea Turner. I will become a Cubs fan if we take Trea Turner. Holy f*** would that suck.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 14, 2014 -> 12:37 PM) Yeah, since when did this get set in stone? I mean, Hahn has said Rodon is the best college arm. Yeah, Hahn said this just a few weeks ago. IMO, Rodon & Hoffman are the top two guys. Rodon could very well price himself out of the equation for us. Not saying I agree with that, but Hahn may say f*** it, dealing with Boras and overslot demands is too costly for us when Hoffman is on the board and willing to sign quickly. This pick and draft in general is too important to deal with major signability concerns from the start. Either way, I think we want Kolek & Aiken to go 1 & 2, so Hahn has the flexibility to pick the best college arm. Otherwise, a guy like Beede moves into the picture, as I don't see us taking a HS pitcher #3 overall. Obviously there's a first time for everything, but us taking Kolek or Aiken (less so) would be shocking. Just don't see it happening.

Were there talks of Alexei going through some personal problems last year? If so, maybe he's finally moved past them?

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Apr 13, 2014 -> 08:07 PM) You ruined a good post with this inane idea of trading Beckham. Semien hasn't proven anything yet Either has Beckham and guess who is 4 years younger?

Just need a good ole fashioned triple play here.

Is Robin really going to let Quintana complete the inning and go 120+ pitches?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 13, 2014 -> 11:03 AM) Been my sentiment all along. I worry he's a guy we draft under slot. He's been horrible against good competition this year as well. The only way that happens is if Hoffman goes 1 or 2 and Rodon is demanding way over slot. Honestly, I think Hoffman will be available at 3 and he'll be our pick. He just makes too much sense for us.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 12, 2014 -> 11:38 AM) Paulino has one bad start (in Colorado of all places) and he goes from offseason darling to whipping boy. Yeah, people like to bust out their jump to conclusion mats way too early around here. I definitely thought was he getting a bit too much love from some posters this off-season, but I'm still not going to write him off after two f***ing starts.

Love all the lefties in the lineup against Masterson, although I hate Garcia batting 2nd. Oh well, I'm sure he'll go 3/5 today and make me look like an idiot.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 10:15 PM) Former 1st round draft picks are always going to get the benefit of the doubt...Buddy Bell, until this day, still probably believes the lights are just going to go on with Mitchell and he'll become a productive ballplayer. Buddy Bell isn't in charge of the major league roster, so I'm still not sure why you're pushing this narrative.

Come on Chris, stop walking these f***s.

The Sox are never relocating because a split Chicago will always be greater than whatever s*** markets are available to move to. I'm sorry, but the whole notion is beyond ridiculous. Maybe they move to the suburbs when the Cell's lease expires, but they aren't abandoning the Chicago market for a Portland or Charlotte. There is no way such a move makes financial sense and MLB would never allow let it to happen anyways.

QUOTE (daggins @ Apr 8, 2014 -> 09:39 PM) May is struggling quite badly but its still very early. Anderson is hitting for more power than I thought he would, but there's a bit too much K in his game. Presumably Carolina league pitchers are still busting Courtney with offspeed stuff. Showing good adjustments so far. So many Ks tho. Yeah, while it's hard to complain about the results so far, Hawkins really needs to get that K rate closer to 25% before I get too excited.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 10:37 AM) Erik Johnson will come around I think. Our starters haven't been bad (outside of Johnson). Bullpen is what sucks Bullpens are streaky, I think it's way too early to jump to conclusions on them. Not a huge fan of Lindstrom being the closer though. Would prefer Jones (if healthy) or even Webb, but I totally understand the reasoning.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 09:52 AM) https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/4524584...2190592/photo/1 Nieto starting. Abreu 3rd. Gillaspie 5th. Avi sitting. Viciedo batting 4th. So strange that Viciedo sits four straight games and then is immediately put into the cleanup spot. I guess Konerko would also have the same issue, but I still would have probably flip-flopped them. Glad both are in the lineup today though.

Will Viciedo & Konerko get their first starts today? Let's hope so.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Apr 5, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) Nathan Stoltz tweets from the game on Olacio, in reverse chronological order, so read from the bottom. Certainly encouraging stuff. Thanks for sharing that. Obviously I'm sure most of us were wishful he could develop into a starter, but getting a stud left-handed reliever would still be a huge win with someone as raw as Olacio. Those tweets make it sound like that's a real possibility. He could solve a huge need for us down the road.

Yeah, one of the things that caught my eye from the games yesterday was Olacio striking out 6 batters in 2 IP. If the Sox plan on keeping him in the bullpen going forward, then he must have gained some serious velocity coming out of relief and they must expect him to move fast. Given his age, they did not have to give up on him being a starter just yet. And as we see with a lot of top relief prospects, keeping him in a starter's role at least gives him a chance to develop his secondary stuff. The Sox must feel Olacio can be a dynamic left-handed reliever at the major league level and pretty soon to make this change so early into his career IMO.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 4, 2014 -> 08:30 AM) If JDA is what I'm hoping he is, we don't need a guy to carry the entire offense. We need a lefty to hit behind him and do some damage. Pretty much any of those names would look ok hitting 5th in our lineup if they were healthy. An upper .700's OPS, 15+ HR, and the ability to drive in 75+ runs in a full season's equivalent would work pretty darn well there. The guy wouldn't even need to play every day, if the team was deep enough you could easily slide one of the righties into that slot on days when there's a lefty on the mound. Balta, we're going to a need a DH that provides a hell of a lot more than an OPS in the "upper 700's" for this team to take the next step. Even if Abreu is an offensive force, he can't carry this offensive alone. We'll need a second legit power bat for the middle of the lineup and that guy isn't likely to come internally. People complain about every free agent being too old or too expensive, but the reality is we'll have money to burn next offseason and holes that can't be filled from within. If we're serious about competing, we'll have to take some gambles in free agency. I like the V-Mart idea if he has another productive year, but I think we have to seriously consider Sandoval. Maybe he ends up getting some ridiculous offers, but he's one of the few left-handed impacts bats that will only cost us money.

Probably won't make a difference, but it would be real nice to limit their lead to 2 runs heading into the 9th.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 10:59 AM) Yeah it's dumb. If Viciedo is part of the White Sox future I believe that he should be starting as well. 100% agree. Extremely worried Robin will go with the straight platoon in LF, which would pretty much destroy any value Dayan has left. Hope that isn't the case, but when you see Conor batting third it's easy to question Robin's judgement.