SCCWS

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 11, 2015 -> 04:33 PM) If Abreu gets hot, the entire line up will get better as a lot of other guys will have some pressure taken off of them, and will see a lot more pitches to hit. I hope you are right but Abreu was hot most of last year and it didn't help a lot of other guys

Amazing. You can't make some of this stuff up. Hopefully there won't be anyone wearing Sox gear protesting the graduation.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 11, 2015 -> 09:50 AM) Since being 8-14, they have played 4 over .500 without playing well. Rodon in the rotation helps. Sale, IMO, getting up to speed after missing spring training helps. Q is been much better lately. Get Samardjiza going, some guys starting to hit better, and who knows what happens. As great as everyone wants to make out the AL Central, each team has some major flaws. The fact that the Sox probably have a much better record than they should I find encouraging. They have to regress to the mean which would mean some guys are really going to be playing pretty well soon. There is no question in my mind Melky will be much better. Eaton will be much better. Alexei will be much better. Abreu will be much better. To me the key is Samardjiza. If he starts pitching like they thought he would when acquired, it is going to be hard to beat this team. That would be 4 top guys. It is so funny how little respect Q gets. The advanced numbers say for the past 3 1/2 seasons, he's been just as good as Jon Lester. Yet he makes more than $100 million less, and is younger. I would agree on your premise w a couple of thoughts. 1.Some players just have bad seasons. So I do think some of the players struggling will improve but I would also assume some won't. 2. Alexei I consider as different in that age and playing a demanding position may be catching up to him. Hopefully not. 3 Next I worry about injuries both ways. Some teams will be getting guys injured back i.e. Verlander. We hopefully get Jones back. Other teams are going to lose front-line players as well. The Sox have such little depth that any injury to an outfielder or SP could really have a major impact. 4. Finally I think Rodon will be really good until we use up his tank of gas. So I think we see a major contribution from him until at least mid-August.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 12:17 PM) His greatest value is either with the Sox or as a comp pick at the end of the season. No reason to think about trading him. Yes the team is 6.5 games out of first and 3.5 out of the wildcard, but that is not insurmountable by any means especially given how many things have gone wrong thus far. When the players start regressing toward their norms this team will be right there. It has taken a while to gel things together which can be expected when there are so many new parts. I think by the time the end of July rolls around this team will be looking to upgrade a position or two to make a stretch run. Agree that some players will move more to norm. We are seeing Beckham go the other way as well w more playing time. We also have been pretty free of major injuries but we should expect to lose some time as well. I discount the 6.5 and 3.5 because you have to factor in the number of teams we are behind as well as the games back. We should know by mid-July whether we will be buyers or sellers

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jun 10, 2015 -> 12:49 AM) Based on Samardzija's performance so far combined with being a three month rental, I could not do it. There's been no indication Samardzija will improve. I could see it if Samardzija was pitching the way he did last, but not now. I may be underestimating the value of Shark as a short term rental. I just read about the young phenom, Rodriquez, Boston brought up. In his first 3 starts he has a .44 ERA and 21 SO in 20 innings. Boston got him at trade deadline for Anrew Miller. Now granted Miller was a lefty closer but Baltimore still only go the 3 months out of him. Rodriquez was Baltimore's 3rd highest prospect. So maybe Shark brings some team's top 5 prospect.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 9, 2015 -> 06:52 PM) Stop using logic. If Robin wants to have 6 sub-.240 hitters in his lineup against potentially the best pitcher in the AL, he'll do it because strategy. Shark is hitting .500. Let him DH

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 8, 2015 -> 08:09 PM) i am not confused. you said --- no where is Tampa mention and i didn't mention Tampa. all i said is if i had to choose between Maddon and Martinez, i too would chose Maddon. see No clue what you are saying. After being an assistant in Tampa for many years , Martinez did not get chosen to be his replacement. The choice was not Maddon versus Martinez it was Martinez versus Kevin Cash.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 8, 2015 -> 12:28 PM) I responded to this and didn't even notice the green font. haha my bad. They aren't rebuilding though, man. They will try to compete next year. They won't be trading any of those guys. I would be stunned if they traded Melky, LaRoche, Duke, or Robertson as well. Just doesn't really make sense. They want to compete; not rebuild. What happens if they fail to compete this year w these players???? If this team finishes 5-10 games below .500 do you really think Hahn will bring them all back again???

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 8, 2015 -> 04:45 PM) if it was me and the choice would be Martinez or Maddon, i too would have chosen Maddon. btw, isn't Martinez still with Maddon in chi? HUH???? Your confused. Once the Cubs chose Maddon, Tampa did not hire Martinez to replace him. They hired cash instead.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 8, 2015 -> 01:06 PM) while the idea of Skinner is nice, and he is internal. i am wondering if the sox should go outside the org for a replacement manager. i am still thinking of several former players who has major league experiences. i can't exactly remember the previous list i made, i know i am missing one more name. but i still like these candidates. and these are in my order of preference. 1. Mike Maddu - pitching coach atl. 2. Dave Martinez as i said there were a couple more, but i can't remember who?? I thought Dave Martinez should have been the choice when the Sox chose RV. Having said that, Martinez has been up for several jobs since and been passed over. When he didn't get chosen to replace Maddon, I thought maybe he is not considered as highly as a manager replacement.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jun 8, 2015 -> 08:04 AM) I think he's going to sign a long term deal with the Sox and that it has always been the plan. This rough stretch is only hurting his bargaining power a bit. I don't think the Sox are thinking about giving up on him, nor should they. A top 4 of Sale, Jeff, Rodon, and Quintana is very appealing moving forward. Trading Shark does nothing but create a hole in the rotation. The top 4 is the rotation you have right now. If this team, with that rotation, is below .500 at the All-Star break that is a concern. If you finish the year w that rotation, less limited starts for Rodon down the stretch, that is even more of a concern. It probably means the offense/defense is so bad it overcomes the starting pitching. So then we are back to trading Q or Shark to help overhaul the offense.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 07:09 PM) Minor league records (especially the AAA team) aren't that important to the major league operations. The only thing that matters is the development of the legit prospects...winning is probably 10% at most. Now if it's the A teams, rookie ball, AA...depending on the organization, winning percentage becomes a bit more important, especially if the major league team has struggled to put winning teams out on the field. The problem with looking for Charlotte solutions are contract situations like they have with Melky Cabrera and John Danks. If they're willing to bench Cabrera, they still don't have an everyday option in Thompson from everything we've read about him. The front office can tinker with the bullpen mix a bit (Guerra up), but they're unlikely to do much better than Petricka or Putnam pitching as well as they can (see 2014)....for now, the best options there are still Crain or Nate Jones. Catching...that situation has been discussed into the ground. If they felt Nieto or Kevan Smith or Kottaras were better long-term solutions, they would be up. In the short-term, all they can do is risk Beckham slumping offensively by moving him back to 2B...or putting Bonifacio at 2B, in order to jump start the offense. The third option would be signing Everth Cabrera to do what they had hoped Micah Johnson would (except play better defense). The main problem is Beckham isn't raking LHP, he's hitting RHP much better (wiping out the idea of a strict platoon at 3B with Conor)...but somehow they're going to have to play Bonifacio more often for either LaRoche or Cabrera against lefties (for now, it seems they will bench Cabrera and bat Alexei 2nd in those situations). They can't give Sanchez more than another 3-5 games to get his offensive game back on track. I am not talking about players. If Skinner has been able to coach up a mediocre roster, maybe he can breathe some life into the White Sox.

I don't think Charlotte has the greatest roster. When we discuss players to be called up to help the White Sox, the options seem limited. Yet Skinner has them playing well with one of the best records in the International League. Maybe there is an internal option should Hahn decide he needs to jumpstart this team.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 06:07 PM) Samardzija has not been good enough. I don't think the Sox pay him unless it's something like 5/$100 and I wouldn't even really want to pay that from what I've seen. I think the 2016 compensation pick is an extremely important thing because of the draft flexibility that it allows. That being said, if the Sox are out of this thing they may look to deal Shark. What are some packages that would be realistic to take instead of the comp pick? Give me some teams and return packages. Boston for whichever young catcher, Swihart or Vazquez they are willing to give up.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 04:16 PM) Hoping for a new 2nd baseman tomorrow night. Another crowning achievement for Buddy Bell. Beckham or Leury????

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 04:08 PM) Looking at it day after day the staff cannot be working with him or it would be corrected by now. Hawk Harrelson has worked w him on his defense..............................

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 04:04 PM) Davidson not working out has really hurt. Hopefully he keeps hitting lefties and can at least be a platoon player. Not sure how is range is, but he has cut down his errors in Charlotte. Unless they send Sanchez back though, there is no space for him.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 03:30 PM) That is not right. I will simplify for you. If a team is 4 games behind 1 team, they only have to win 4 straight while the other team loses 4 straight to tie. If a team is 4 games behind 2 teams then the odds of both teams losing 4 straight is greater. If the other two teams are playing each other it is impossible. So for each team added to the equation the odds are greater. Thus when you are 4 games out in the wildcard behind 6 teams, in reality you are farther out than 4 games.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jun 7, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) Yep, still just 4 back in the Wild Card... Not really. They are 4 back with 5 teams in front of them. If they were the 3rd team in wildcard chase they would be 4 games out. There is a factor when teams are in the same division which I think is 4 games per team and 2 games per team when it is interdivision. If the White Sox won 4 straight, 6 teams would have to lose 4 straight for them to be tied for the wildcard. So realistically they are about 8-12 games out.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 6, 2015 -> 09:20 PM) Everyone in baseball knew the Tigers badly needed a SS with an above-average glove and the Red Sox didn't think he would hit this well or they never would have traded him. At the time, they were confident about Bogaerts. That trade is one of many reasons for their poor season this year. Seven strikeouts in a row. Bogaerts is having an excellent year in Boston. He has been hitting .300 and is an excellent defensive shortstop. Boston felt his range especially his arm-strength was better than Iglesias. N Bogaerts will be more of a power hitter especially w the Boston wall as well. Go figure. Iglesias never put up solid BA number in the minors. Nice to have 2 quality SS prospects to pick from.

Sox started 6 players hitting less than .250. Tigers had only 1. Do you think we need some offense????

QUOTE (harkness @ Jun 6, 2015 -> 08:52 PM) Danks needs to move to the bullpen or something... He just destroys your team every other start.. just cant do that when you are 25-28. Tired of his S*** Danks is the 5th starter. If he wins every other start that would be okay.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 6, 2015 -> 01:41 PM) Please, for the love of god, don't make Shuck a starter. It is not making him a starter. It is playing him and Gordon while they are swinging a good bat. That means anyone hitting over .250. They started last night's game w 6 sub .250 hitters.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 6, 2015 -> 12:19 AM) Or it's just more of an argument that this was never going to be a one-year turnaround. And I still don't think it is. If the Sox end up 81-81, it's a huge win, IMO. You get a draft pick for Samardzija, keep everyone else, and you enter the offseason needing to add 4-6 more wins to be a playoff team. I thought this was a .500 team going in so I am not as upset as some fans. Management has already come out and said they expect to challenge for a playoff spot this year. So I don't see them keeping "everyone else" if they finish at .500 or less. But what happens if this team finishes 4-6 games under .500.. Are you content for 2016 to shoot for .500 and 2017 to challenge???

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 6, 2015 -> 11:58 AM) I do get a good laugh out of how our only solution for the 2 hole after Melky is the one guy who's hitting as bad as he is. I hate to say it, Gordon is probably the right answer Alexei went 2 for 4 in the 2 hole last night. So you are not going to make another change for a week or so until you see if it sparks his bat.