Chicago White Sox

Chris Bassitt was Fangraph's sleeper White Sox prospect. Sounds like he's throws pretty hard, so he's definitely one to keep an eye on.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 03:46 PM) Dude was 19. He knew exactly what he was doing and he could have easily said no. Seriously, we're not talking about someone being peer pressured into driving drunk or shoplifting. This kid purposely murdered and mutilated dozens of innocent people. I don't give a f*** if he looked up to his brother. That's no excuse for being a b****-ass coward.

I love the posters that only come out of the woodwork to b**** about the team.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 23, 2013 -> 06:39 AM) FWIW, The Cleve announcers said the Sox lead the majors in swings and misses. We're the 11th worst team in terms of strikeouts (better than I expected), but we are dead last in walks & OBP. Our batting average is also thr 4th worst in baseball, which means we're making weak contact and/or are getting unlucky to some extent. Offensively we're a mess and we continue to throw away outs due to poor decision making and a lack of execution. What's really a shame is that we're first in quality starts. Our starting pitching is out there battling. Even Axelrod has pitched well. Unfortunately, it's all going to waste right now. The bottom of the 7th and top of the 8th last night is the perfect example of why our starters have no wins.

It's going to be interesting to see how Thompson, Walker, & Hawkins develop as the season progresses. The Sox have been very aggressive with these three guys and some initial struggles should be expected. Hopefully we'll see improvement throughout the year, even if their final stats don't blow people away. Hawkins is the one out of the three making me the most nervous right now. How could his K rate go from 12% last year to 60% this year? Something with his approach at the plate has had to change. I keep telling myself there has to be some explanation for this and that it can be corrected. I just wonder what the hell Winston Salem's coaching is doing with him, because it should never get this bad.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 06:38 PM) Did you see the video I posted of his home run from milb.com last week? I can't see how he ever hits anything on the ground with those mechanics. No I didn't, I'll have to look for the video.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 06:04 PM) http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20130422 Hawkins sitting Could Hawkins still be feeling the effects from that quad injury earlier this year? I just don't understand how a 60% K rate is actually possible. Not after the season he had last year. It's absolutely mind-blowing.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 06:17 PM) The offense is in desperate need of help. Peavy and Rios should get them a couple of solid young everyday options. Guys like Reed, Floyd, Crain and Thornton should bring something decent back too. Trading our best offensive player doesn't seem like a good way of helping the offense. And you don't trade Reed for something "decent". You only move him if you're blown away.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 05:30 PM) There are some pretty solid potential bats available around the infield. Robinson Cano is obviously the prize, but some other names like Jhonny Peralta, Brian McCann are on the list as guys who regularly produce. Then there's a good number of guys who might be able to give you moderate production or short deals: Utley, Morneau, Morales, Adam Lind, Mike Morse, Stephen Drew if he stays healthy this year. 3b is pretty weak, and outside of Granderson and Ellsbury the OF doesn't impress me, but there are some other DH types in there as well. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/2014...ree-agents.html Cano would actually be the perfect addition. Unfortunately, there's no way Reinsdorf would spend the money it would take to bring him in (and not that I blame him). Utely would also make a lot of sense at 2B on a short-term deal. There's a couple of DH types that could work as potential Dunn replacements, but if we're goin to get a true impact bat it looks like it will have to come via trade.

I still think a rotation of Sale, Peavy, Danks, Quintana, & Santiago/Johnson can be amongst the best in baseball next year, which is why I'm completely against a firesale. Building a strong rotation is always the hardest part of putting together a playoff caliber team and we already have that part down. However, revamping the offense is going to be a serious challenge for Hahn. He's going to have to use his limited resources very wisely. We desperately need an impact bat or two and generally need better all-around hitters (more AVG/OBP). I'm not sure what's going to be available in free agency, but we should have some money to work with. Hahn is going to have to get really creative with his moves though. I don't envy the position Hahn is in right now, but I do think he can put together a good enough offense by next season with the right moves.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) I don't see why Dzohkar's disgusting, appalling acts means we should lower our own moral standards. Why do you feel domestic terrorists deserve the same rights as regular U.S. citizens? More importantly, why should we take the moral high road with known terrorists? This kid brutally murdered and mutilated dozens of people, destroying numerous people's lives in the process. He did so with the intent to create as much pain and suffering as possible for these innocent people. Why does he get your sympathy when he took none on his victims? How would you feel if you were left a cripple or lost a loved one? I'm guessing you'd be singing a different tune. The moral high ground is always easy from an outside perspective. I'm not for prison rape or torture or anything else you may refer to barbaric, but unfortunately prison is a dangerous place and bad things happen to inmates all the time. If something bad happens to poor little Dzohkar, I will feel no sympathy for him whatsoever. Pure evil doesn't deserve our sympathy.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 08:12 AM) Prison, like every other murderer in many states (including Illinois) and most developed countries? So life in prison? I'm fine with that, I personally think that's a much worse punishment than death, especially for a pretty little 19 year old.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 22, 2013 -> 06:14 AM) nice excluded middle, apparently it's either execution or hugs. You still haven't told us what an acceptable punishment would be.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 21, 2013 -> 06:40 PM) Cubs are absolutely doing it the right way. Whether it works or not who knows, but that's the way to do it. Simply discrediting it because it's the Cubs is silly, plus it's all new management anyway. Well no, it's not the right way to do things, at least not anymore. The new CBA has made traditional rebuilding much more difficult and risky. Also, I love how some people are actually envious of the Cubs' situation. Go talk to Cubs fans and see how excited they are about where their organization currently stands. Having zero chance to win at the beginning of a season sucks balls and so does realizing that will be the case for the next three or four seasons if not even more. Most Cubs fans were on board for Theo's full rebuilding at first, but after seeing the sacrifices required first hand most are already tired of it and it's only been two years. This would be no different for White Sox fans.

I actually don't get why Mitchell was promoted to AAA in the first place. He was playing pretty awful at the time of the promotion last year. Honestly, this is a pretty poor reflection on Buddy Bell's part. He hyped up Mitchell so much this offseason and yet nothing has seemed to change. I'm not sure what he saw in the offseason, but it apparently hasn't carried over to the regular season for Mitchell.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 10:23 PM) Yep! I prefer the moral high ground, though. Having the state kill this person on my behalf doesn't actually do anything for me. Nor does subjecting him to 60 years of solitary. So what do you suggest is an acceptable punishment?

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Apr 19, 2013 -> 06:03 PM) it's going down pinned down in a boat? Is that being reporting?

Maybe this news conference was all a bluff to draw him out.

CNN reporting shots fired.

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.