Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 06:12 PM) I agree. He leads the Southern League in hits, runs, total bases, walks, OBP, OPS and is top 10 in everything else including HR, RBI, SB. Fangraphs has a weekly feature where they highlight the most noteworthy minor leaguers who basically have not yet appeared on a top 100 list. No player in the minors has appeared more often than Semien. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-fringe-...e-prospects-14/ What's funny is that if Semien was in another organization, we'd all be enamored with him. Look at how much love Garin Cecchini got around here when his name was brought up in hypothetical trade talks. Look at their slash lines: Cecchini: .316/.417/.444/.861 Semien: .290/.420/.483/.903 Semien is clearly outproducing Cecchini with the exception of batting average. Now check out their BB & K rates and BABIPs: Cecchini: 14.1%/18.6%/.392 Semien: 17.4%/13.7%/.317 Semien has superior plate discipline and clearly Cecchini has been pretty lucky this year. Now add 20 SBs vs Cecchini's 5 and the fact that Semien's plays a premium position and everything would suggest Semien is the better prospect. I'm sure someone would site the 7 month age difference in favor of Cecchini, but it just blows my mind that one guy is considered a top 75 prospect in baseball by this board and the other couldn't even crack our mid-season top 10 list.

I'm sorry, but if we don't add a couple of guys that can improve the team's OBP, we won't be competing next year. I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying that, but we're not going win s*** with a team .OBP hovering around .300.

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 04:44 PM) I'd like someone to show DA's or my argument wrong about the draft. You can't. There is no consistent correlation between losing and having a productive farm. A week ago when we were speculating about which teams we wanted to trade with because of their great farms who did we turn to? The Rangers (they have a couple pennants and have been competitive for 5 years or so), the Cardinals (who have been winning for years) and the D-Backs (usually middle of the pack). Why are those teams so successful without drafting in the top ten? Well the Rangers have typically outspent most teams, so that's why their system is amongst the best. But your point is true, draft position helps some, but not nearly enough to purposely lose. And when your team can support a $100M payroll, you're definitely better off trying to be semi-competitive every year. Not only will you protect your key revenue streams (season ticket base and TV/radio renewals), but you'll also be able to spin off veteran pieces for more advanced prospects.

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 01:49 PM) You have to wonder if we had them working on something in particular early in the season that was causing them to take a step back Not sure about Rienzo, but this seems to be the norm with Snodgress. Took a little while to get going last year, but then went on an incredible run.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 1, 2013 -> 10:47 AM) Oh, and to answer the question where the money actually goes, my guess is that the list for the offseason looks something like: Extend Quintana Extend Reed Extend Beckham (No reason to go to arbitration for another year, he's worth risking something like $3/15 guaranteed on with an option/buyout) Maybe extend Santiago Get all those guys locked up, and then: Sign at least 1, more likely 2-3 more veteran bullpen arms, including at least 1 lefty. Fix the **** bench. This step probably will involve bringing in a few guys (like Salty as I noted in the last post) who can contribute, maybe do several things, and can do those things well enough to actually get playing time. Guys coming off bad seasons or injuries would be idea. Is there even a reason to extend Quintana yet? He's not even arbitration eligible until 2016. Reed & Santiago make more sense to extend IMO, but honestly, signing any of them to extensions would have a minimal impact on our 2014 payroll since they're all stil pre-arb. Beckham will want more than 3/$15M to buy out a free agency year, probably more like 3/$21M. Viciedo & De Aza are also arb-eligible, but I believe that's it for our team. Not a lot of guys getting big raises either. I still don't see where are still money is going next year. I'd be shocked if they didn't make at least one decent signing. We don't have a 1B for next year so I could really see Morales or Hart signed to fill that hole as long as it's a somewhat short-term deal (2-3 years max.)

I really wish we could have moved Rios at the deadline, because I'd love to sign Choo in free agency. He fits so many needs for us it's not even funny and I'd totally be cool with a rotating DH amongst Choo, De Aza, Garcia & Viciedo (who would serve as the primary DH).

Here's my question, if Semien continues to play at a high level, how is he not a top 5 prospect in the Southern League? And if he's a top 5 prospect in one of the three AA leagues, how is he not a top 100 prospect? Based on that logic, he has to be top 3 in our system, because only Garcia and possibly Johnson would make it right now.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 11:19 PM) Taking out the cash it's not debatable at all. I think Garcia has the highest upside of any player in either deal, but the Cubs definitely got more quality prospects than we did.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 11:02 PM) Not an awful deal, as I think Garcia is more of a sure-thing to be a everyday starter than someone like Cecchini. I think this sums up the deal up nicely. Garcia is an excellent #1 piece IMO, but not getting a 2nd top propsect is very disappointing. Unfortunately, it's hard to expect much more than what we got without picking some money. Hopefully Hahn has a plan in place to use these cost savings tomorrow in potential Rios & Ramirez deals to generate better returns.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 09:28 PM) Sounds like he's piecing together the pullings. I still say Bradley is too much lest we are throwing in Reed or another piece. What else is Hahn waiting for unless it's one of a team's top guys?

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 09:22 PM) Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS #redsox are in serious talks for jake peavy I still say a Peavy deal will be done by midnight, whether it's with the Red Sox or someone else. Hahn will have to worry Ramirez and the mess that is Rios tomorrow.

QUOTE (daggins @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 09:18 PM) Iglesias has been spectacularly bad at the plate lately and still owns a .377 BABIP on the season. Which is .78 points higher than his best AAA BABIP. That screams fluke to me.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 09:07 PM) So, we're back to this huh? Fake twitter account. Peavy will be moved soon IMO.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 08:34 PM) Veal with his 11 walks in 14 IP enters the game. Biggest disappointment? Blue Jays or Nationals? Angels? Match-up LH who can't get lefties out to hold the lead. .387 average by lefties against Donnie this year, lol. Indians' announcers just PR'ed that Gordon is a Gold Glove caliber 2B. (Good job, Hawkeroo!) If the offense and defense aren't already nightmares, we can undoubtedly add bullpen rebuilding woes to the off-season list of debate topics, haha. WTF

A deal is going to happen tonight IMO...there's just too much interest in Peavy. Someone will cave soon.

The good news with a possible Rios trade is we should be able to sign a free agent outfielder to replace him. I think Choo would fill a ton of needs for us and would be a huge upgrade over Rios. We should have the money, I'm just not sure if Hahn would want to commit a long-term contract to him.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 07:24 AM) Why are some people pretending it's some new untested approach to wait for the deadline to get the best offers coming in True, but I do think a Peavy decision will prior to his start. Guys like Rios & Ramirez will probably be last second deals if they get moved.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 30, 2013 -> 06:44 AM) Keith Law speculated on BBTN that if he doesn't pitch or hardly pitches, we'll get 25K or something just to make it technically a trade with the commissioner's office Ok, that makes some sense.

So did we give up money in this deal? If so, I don't understand why we'd potentially get money back as part of the return. Maybe they mean international bonus money?

I'm much more concerned about the lineup getting more left-handed than the rotation getting less left-handed.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 28, 2013 -> 06:18 PM) I don't really like it in that case, no I'd happily take Hanson straight up for Rios. It's the exact type of deal I'm hoping for with Rios.

Semien now leads the Southern League in OPS. It's going to be very interesting to see where he ranks in the Southern League top prospects list.

I'm all for losses at this point, but a Phegley walkoff would be awesome.

QUOTE (mike65 @ Jul 28, 2013 -> 04:00 PM) I don't think there is any doubt that the Cardinals are involved; even the lazy scribes in STL have said as much. What has always had me puzzled is how far Mozeliak would go to accomplish a trade. Cardinal fans are quite fond of the team's #1 farm system ranking. I think he likes the condition of the Cardinal minor leagues but he has a team that can win this year so I think he is torn. Mathey loves Kozma but I don't think Mo has ever felt that Kozma is a SS on a championship club. I like Matheny but sometimes Mo has to save him from himself. Matheny kept using Boggs and losing games until Mo had enough and sent Boggs to Memphis. It is the same with Kozma. The Cards would have to bring a high dollar SS before Matheny stops playing Kozma. Mo brought Rzepsynzki up last week and Matheny hasn't used him once. I said all that to say that Mo will do what he thinks is best for this year's roster and I don't think he would hesitate to trade a couple of prospects for what he believes are upgrades. Whether he has offered enough, only time will tell. He traded a top prospect last year when he traded Zack Cox for Mujica. Mo palys to win. I honestly believe getting Peavy & Ramirez would put you guys over the top. I get how cool it is to have a #1 farm system, but Sox fans know better than anyone that a system can crash and burn quickly and if you're scared to move prospects for proven players you'll regret it more often that not in the end. If I were Mo, I wouldn't pass on improving my chance for another World Series title unless the Sox's asking price was beyond ridiculous.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 28, 2013 -> 04:03 PM) Jayson Stark ‏@jaysonst 1m White Sox haven't shown interest in eating any of Peavy's $ (close to $24M left). That & health were big issues for Atl, Bal, StL & even LA Well that's just f***ing stupid. I don't blame them for not eating any of his 2014 salary, but not eating some money left 2013 is idiotic if doing so will get us a better return.