Chicago White Sox

The only moves that really should happen soon IMO are sending Beckham down, calling Kuhn up, and moving Morel to 9th in the lineup. I know Kuhn is far from a sure thing, but I'd prefer to give him playing time over Escobar. Honestly, a Kuhn/Lillibridge platoon might be decent option in the two-hole while Beckham tries to figure his s*** out in AAA. As bad as Morel has been, he needs to be in our lineup everday. I just want him in a spot where there's little pressure and limited situational hitting.

That grand slam actually makes me feel a little better about this loss. If you're going to blow a game, might as well do so in epic fashion.

De Aza better be on the bench tomorrow. That type of s*** can't be tolerated.

Holy f***ing f***, De Aza is a f***ing p****

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 15, 2012 -> 10:25 AM) But you can never assess a system based on developing relievers when the system has been so bereft of impact bats for the last decade. I think one thing people need to remember is that pitching has been a priority for organization under KW. We go pitching-heavy in almost every draft. We seek young pitching when making trades. As a result, we should expect more pitching to come though the system than position players, which is exactly what's happened. I also think this makes it harder to evaluate the system, because we usually only have a couple of position players prospects at a time that actually have a chance of being above average major leaguers. That can make the system look a lot weaker than it really is IMO.

De Aza, cf Morel, 3b Dunn, 1b Konerko, DH Pierzynski, c Ramirez, ss Fukudome, rf Viciedo, lf Escobar, 2b Wish Beckham was in there today, he's hit Porcello pretty well, although in limited at-bats.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Apr 15, 2012 -> 09:30 AM) Include me in the group that doesn't understand what the title has to do with the article, or where the discussion has subsequently gone. Marty, you have been pretty critical of KW in the past...are you being sarcastic with the title or agreeing with KW's stance on the system or what? Yeah, I have no idea where he's going with the title. You can make an argument that minor league rankings don't matter that much or they aren't very accurate, which seems to kind of be KW's point in the article. However, this "stay out of our business" title is clearly part of Marty's anti-KW agenda.

At what point do you send him down to AAA and have him totally revamp his swing? I was all for giving him one more full season to prove himself, but now I'm thinking spending some down time in Charlotte without the pressure of immediate results may do him some good. Not saying we should make the move now, but if he keeps this up throughout the rest of April and into May it must be considered. The good news if we go this route is we have a guy at AAA (Tyler Kuhn) who can take Beckham's spot on the roster and who can compete with Lillibridge for playing time at 2B.

I didn't see the game yesterday, but my guess is that Dunn was simply stressing a bit since it was his first home game after a historically bad 2011. He still took 30 pitches in his four ABs, which I doubt he did many times last year. IMO, Dunn looks incredibly better this season even if the results aren't there yet. People need to realize that Dunn is going to strikeout a s***load even when he's playing well. I feel like he's seeing more pitches and making better contact than last year. If we give him some time, the power will eventuallh be there. As for Beckham...

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 13, 2012 -> 07:20 AM) Pretty unusual stats for a 19 year old Venezuelan infielder. Let's hope Sanchez keeps up the good plate discipline. That's why I'm so high on him. You rarely see such discipline from a 19 Latin player. I wish I knew how his defense was though. I found it interesting they had him play SS last night and moved Semian over to 2B. If he's even a half-way decent defensive infielder, then he's definitely a top 10 prospect for us right now.

Carlos Sanchez has his OPS up to .858 with a slash of .304/.467/.391. He also has 7 BB's vs 4 K's.

Some members of the media may still be bitter over how bad we underperformed last year. Regardless, I think the hate the Sox are getting is beyond ridiculous. But then again, a huge number of people on this site are sleeping on this team too. There is simply too much talent on this roster to not be in the mix of things this year. People are also underestimating how much damage Ozzie caused last year with his terrible managing. Robin will certainly make some rookie mistakes, but he's going to be worth a couple wins over Ozzie IMO.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Apr 11, 2012 -> 07:30 AM) De Aza - CF Morel - 3B Dunn - DH Konerko - 1B AJ - C Ramirez - SS Fukudome - RF Dayan Viciedo - LF Beckham - 2B Danks - P I really like seeing Fukudome in for Rios against Masterson. Other than Morel batting second, I really like this lineup.

I think the Sox score a decent amount of runs after last night's debacle.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 8, 2012 -> 06:25 PM) And I really don't like Robin juggling the lineup this much. Guys need stability. Think of a good place to put somebody and let them stay there until they prove to you they can't hit. I agree, but it's the beginning of the season and he's seeing how guys look in different roles. Unfortunately, outside of De Aza, Dunn, & Konerko, the rest of the players don't really have obvious spots in the lineup. I have no problem with Robin taking a couple weeks to get the order set right and that requires trying different combinations.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 4, 2012 -> 07:39 PM) I'd be stunned if Olacio starts right away. I'd be more stunned if he doesn't struggle right away. He walked more than a batter an inning in the DSL. I don't care how good your stuff is. You have to throw strikes. Don't forget Jeff Soptic in that extended ST group. I still think the Winston-Salem rotation is much better for that level. We'll see what the top level teams are throwing out. PS here's my Dash preview on FS. I plan to have the Barons' and Knights' previews up tomorrow assuming the rosters are out. You were right. The rotation at Kannapolis to start the season will be Walters, Webb, Snodgress, Parrent, & Vance. Vance wasn't a guy I thought would be a starter, but he posted a hell of a K rate in relief for GF last year.

Carlos Sanchez, especially if he can play a solid 2B. He doesn't turn 20 until June yet he's already displayed a high a walk-rate for a Latin prospect. He may not have a ton of speed, but I like that he's a switch hitter. I think he has the tools to become a very good #2 hitter down the road for us.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Apr 6, 2012 -> 06:43 PM) FWIW Ventura said we might see Lillibridge on Sunday. Yes, Morel and a god awful game but put me in the camp that wants to give him a chance, let's not write him off after 1 game. He needs to relax. Yeah, but he shouldn't be batting second. Honestly, Alexei should probably be in two hole.

I still think that Cabrera at 3B will be a disaster and will offset a lot of the gain going from Martinez to Fielder on offense. Verlander remains the key and I don't see him repeating last year. The question is how close he comes.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 5, 2012 -> 12:37 PM) Ibis started it all...? (b****ed out KW in the parking lot for trading Freddy) I thought it was for firing Oney. Regardless, all this nonsense makes me hate every single Guillen in this world even moreso.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Apr 4, 2012 -> 10:21 PM) Bingo! Shirek is the opening day starter for Charlotte tomorrow. Do you know the rest of the rotation?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 4, 2012 -> 09:20 AM) W-S and B-Ham are the two squads with starting rotations I will be excited to see. I think all five of these pitchers are intriguing. Even Kannapolis could have a pretty good rotation. Snodgress and Olacio are two of our better pitching prospects. Walters and a couple other guys look decent. Plus you got Erik Johnson and Myles Jaye in extended spring training to start the season. I'm guessing they'll head to Kannapolis at some point. A rotation with those five guys would be pretty damn good, especially considering how weak our system is.

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Apr 3, 2012 -> 05:56 PM) I think the only reason Heath was in the rotation was so he could work on pitches. He opened last year in Charlotte's bullpen if I remember correctly. No doubt, but I'm guessing they'd rather give him the innings than Veal.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Apr 3, 2012 -> 03:29 PM) I could see the AAA rotation being Leesman, Veal, Axelrod, Doyle & Olsen. I completely forgot about Olsen, so he should be in the rotation assuming he is still around. I didn't realize Davis was cut, for some reason I though they brought him back. So I guess there's one spot available for Veal or Heath. I went with Heath simply because the Sox tried him as a starter last year for a little bit and they put him on the 40 man roster over a guy like Doyle. Who really knows though, there could be another minor league free agent in the mix that I'm not aware of.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Apr 3, 2012 -> 10:09 AM) Dubler has to be in B'ham, Jared Price & Adam Ricks were released and there is no other catcher in the system that I'm aware of that would be AA ready. I know Silverio had a good run in High A last year, but he'd be a better fit for Winston-Salem than Birmingham. Third base in W-S is going to be manned by Jake Oester and Carlos Sanchez. Unless Silverio has been moved to the outfield, that might work for B'ham. I only have Jose Martinez, Jared Mitchell & Kenny Williams Jr. projected for B'ham. Corey Smith could go to Charlotte, but there's no room for him there Regarding Silverio, they may just be sending him to AA so Sanchez and Ravelo can play everday at A+ and A respectively. Those are two of our younger prospects and should play everyday. Having said that, a move to the OF would make some sense for Silverio and with Short out for the year there may be an opening that needs to be filled.