SCCWS

Not exactly the same but another factor for small hitters- small hands http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/19201739/dustin-pedroia-do-anything-different-small-hands

I think we as fans overlook the advantage of leaving a ptcher down in AAA rather than thinking they should fill the 4/5 rotation slot. We saw Fulmer and how his poor showing in the majors has hurt him. I would rather have Shields back than just rushing a young pitcher only to see them not ready to pitch in the majors. Some players will bounce back but some really struggle to make it back when they fail miserably in their first season.

I do think the fans will return w success on the field. But sports attendance has changed since the days when the sox could draw 2 Mil. Overall baseball attendance continues to drop at a steady rate. Oakland had a good year but saw attendance drop. Boston had one of the greatest years in their history but saw a decline at the gate. It is not only baseball. College basketball despite all the hype it receives is also on the decline w attendance. Obviously the options for fans to see games is affecting attendance but Ithink the White Sox will have a major hill to climb trying to bring back big fan numbers. Hopefully their rise will coincide with a Cub drop and they can attract the casual fan. I have said for many years that the White Sox do not do a good enough job selling corporate season tickets which can insulate to some extent down years on the field.

My guess is that Machado stays w LA. Yankees and Dodgers may be players in the market: New York and the Dodgers are set to reset their base tax rates from 50 percent to 20 percent of the amount over next year's threshold of $206 million. That would put them in better position heading into a free-agent class that includes Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson and potentially Clayton Kershaw, who has the right to opt out of his deal with the Dodgers. http://www.latimes.com/sports/mlb/la-sp-baseball-notes-20180912-story.html

Agree and the kid the Dodgers selected a few picks later was a bust. So we did good. But I wished they had passed and took that gawky Judge kid the Yankees took at #30..................................

He has above average range but also makes an above average number of errors. So his DWar makes him pretty average. Obviously errors is not the greatest stat but his number on total chances is one of the highest % in MLB.

He pretty much made the Yankees look hapless

It can be in some cases. Yankee and Red Sox management both must be under the assumption that broadcasting experience is the best training for a future manager as Cora and Boone have done pretty well their first year. Then again maybe you and I could win w those rosters.

I like Anderson . He improved at the plate but I wouldn't said "huge strides" . His walks went up but in all honesty they were pitiful last year. His power numbers jumped up but his average fell 17 points. Strike-outs improved as well. Overall his OPS jumped to 687 from 679 so it is progress. Funny watching Semien the other night, the announcers talked about how his defense has improved so much. I immediately thought of Anderson and that we should be patient w his defense. His D-war jumped this year so he is getting there.

Or some of the decent starters were not decent.

In fairness, injuries are caused by numerous factors including bad luck. I think the training staff has to be evaluated on players not being in shape, not recovering well. misses diagnosis etc.

FWIW--During the Red Sox/Yankee broadcast last weeknd, the crew was talking about the job Alex Cora has done. They noted his ability to relate to the players in the clubhouse. AJ praised Ozzie for the same qualities. Unfortunately, his commenst got cut a little short at the end of an inning when it looked like he was going to add more about Ozzie as a manager.

He played a limited number of games at 3B in minors and majors and struggled( understandably). Hahn moved him back to 2nd after the trade and he obviously prefers 2nd. Moving him to 3B should be a last resort.

That is a 20 game improvement. With no Kopech, I think that is a stretch. Now we are in a lousy division but I think 10-12 game improvement would be good.

I agree . But he also played 54 games last year and had his struggles. He should have learned something last year and worked harder in the offseason.

Or get a different brand of bats.

I think Sale, unfortunately, will re-sign in Boston. As I have posted a couple of times, he seems to be a very different person. so far. There is never a peep about him other than strictly baseball stuff. David Price is constantly in the crosshairs of the Boston media and everything Chris Sale is very positive, both ways. Hopefully, money becomes an issue w Betts coming up first but Boston usually finds boatloads when they need it.

There absolutely is. There is success on the field which the fans only care about. There is success in the balance sheet which a very few in the FO care about. That does not mean that the owner does not care about winning. The question is how much does the owner care about winning.

I doubt it. He really struggled in Boston at 3B. Some of the media blamed his abnormal SO streak on his minset trying to play 3rd. In hindsight, that was not the case. When the Sox got him, Hahn immediately said he was moving back to 2nd. Until the hitting gets resolved, I doubt they move him back to 3B again. Maybe to the outfield is a possibility. I guess 1B is also one.

I don't think it is too early to say that if they are not more competitive in 2019, Hahn won't be there for 2020.

Whay am I missing? Knowing this was a rebuilding year, why didn't they just have him examined after the Opening Day injury and have the surgery back then? He ended up w a couple of hammy's due to the knee but he also could have hurt the knew more as well.

To be a great team, you have to have some great players. You have seen some of the young talent in Rodon,Anderson, Moncada, Fulmer, Gio and Lopez. How many are great after 1-3 years. So even 2021 is a stretch to expect the next wave to be great. Unless Hahn intends to sign 2-3 top free agents and trade some of the young talent to acquire established stars.

Understand your point but Yoan also has speed and plays an average defense in the infield. Unfortunately the #1 prospect and the coming of another Robinson Cano set too high expectations. Hopefully he becomes an above average 2nd baseman with a ceiling of still being a star.

Good post. But I think 2020 is more likely 2022. I would add Anderson to the other 4 you named. But looking at those 5, they are all in some stage of year 2-3 and pretty much have been up and down this season. Rodon looked like a 1/2 starter for a while but lately has struggled. Hopefully that is only fatigue after missing so much. Moncada and Anderson have been up and down and Gio and Lopez have short streaks of good and bad. I think it is reasonable to assume the next batch arriving in late 2019/2020 will also take a couple of years to adjust. I do think Eloy is the exception and will be a solid if not stud from Day 1. Then they have to trade and sign additionla talent. That can also be a good/bad situation. Teams like Boston and New York have both success and failures with the additions they make to their young core. Finally they have to find a manger to put the pieces together. I think 2020 would be great to reach .500. But more importantly, it would be great going into 2021 that we have 6-7 young players in place and doing well.

Covey is our new ace. Now to pick some other starters to fill out the rotation for 2019.