SCCWS

Maybe that is the Theo philosophy. The Red Sox have also won several World series with some acquired starting pitching.

He kinda is......................

Another sign the rebuild is moving ahead..........................

I think that is true for some college players where the club thinks AA to majors may be okay. But the HS/international kids may need AAA .

But a different era. I agree he needs time in AAA but some players go straight from AA to majors. So i think he will be moved pretty quickly to AAA but then stay there till they think he has no more to learn at that level.

Hopefully the kid is okay from a mental standpoint after this. The high of getting drafted and invited to spring training to having an incredibly terrible year after that must be agonizing for him. Hopefully he is able to recover and come back down the road

I doubt it is Kopech. If he comes up, someone other than Hahn is calling the shots.

Greg: I posted on this site years ago that one of the biggest deficiencies the White Sox have must be the lack of corporate season tickets. I worked in New England for my career and every company in creation had Red Sox tickets. My company had 8 tickets and at least 10-12 of my vendors had season tickets. So the $100 rickets and $30 parking at Fenway was much easier when the game was free and you could use the T to park and ride to games. Celtic/Bruin tisa were also prevalent but not as much for Patriots. In addition, corporate tickets means the seats are sold even if there is not a fanny in the seats. I had to make a trip to Chicago in the early 2000's to a large Bank and they offered to take me to a Cubs game while i was in town for a few days. There office staff all semmed like Cub fans so I declined. I regret i didn't go and at least see Wrigley in hindsight.

Just a thought on the Rays. I posted several weeks ago that their average is inflated because the Red Sox and Phillies series drew large crowds 20,000 ish but Toronto and Minny drew 10,000 ish. But attached is an interesting article where the Red Sox AAA affiliate posted fake attendance. Why? They are lobbying for a new stadium and looking for taxpayers to make deep investment rather than the Red Sox. I wonder if Tampa will see a "resurgence" at the turnstiles since they are also looking for public investment in their attempt at a new stadium. http://www.golocalprov.com/news/pawsox-attendance-inflated-by-as-much-as-300

In fairness, Machado has only played about 10% of his career games at SS. We may find out this year if he is better at 3rd than SS regardless of his desire.

Why would he fall off? I think he is headed for a big season again. He is putting up pretty good numbers early with I think poor run support.

Even 775 is a pretty solid OPS. Ironically so far, Yoan in his brief career is putting up offensive numbers very similar to Chris Carter. HR-OPS-BB-KO categories all pretty much the same.

Greg: Make sure you do not place anything on your bedpost when you hit the sack tonight in case you are wrong. It is getting close to Derby Day.

It would be better if Joe Maddon was let go and we scooped him up.

I actually saw a listing recently and Oakland was last, then the Trop and then the Cell.

How do you define worst stadium in professional sports? Have you ever been there? I have been 10-12 times and have been to about 6 other active MLB parks and like most it has pros and cons. It has good sight lines, easy access from interstates, plenty of parking and you normally can sit behind home plate for $20. Food is average. The cheap playing surface and overhead obstructions make it a lousy place to play. Cowbells are annoying to me and I am sure many players. Atlanta moved in 2017 from Turner Field built in 1997 to Sun Trust. They averaged 24,000 in 2016 and 30,000 in 2017. Why build a new stadium if attendance doesn't matter?

If the attached is correct, the White Sox had the 2nd largest % increase in ticket prices in 2018. But they also are in the bottom 3rd for overall ticket pricing. They probably should be running ticket promotions to attract fans understanding the product may be more AAA than MLB quality. https://www.vividseats.com/blog/2018-mlb-ticket-prices

I am not convinced attendance does not matter. If so, why would teams still build new stadiums? Tampa Bay doesn't draw now and they want a new stadium. Why spend the money ( the team will have some price to pay) if attendance doesn't matter. I can see if a stadium has safety/security issues but otherwise wouldn't ownership be better off milking an old stadium if attendance didn't matter? Why did the new Red Sox management invest millions in Fenway to expand seating if attendance didn't matter?

Hahn better not interview with Bryant Gumble...............................

Lost in the collapse was an outstanding effort by Volstadt. But why did Fulmer only pitch 1 inning? Did he have an injury?

Hopefully this is a sign that the cold weather really set him back. If so, the next stop in Houston should help as well.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 08:43 PM) And I'm not sure than even swapping out Benintendi for Moncada (which would have been impossible due to his rookie season's positive results) would have put the franchise in an even better position...because there are clear limits to Benintendi's ceiling (see Ian Happ). Borderline All-Star, sure, because of the team he plays for, put not a franchise-altering type of talent, either. One of the Boston sportswriters compared Moncada and Benintendi to the second coming of Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. A potential All-Star and HOF. That would be pretty close to your thoughts. Pretty sure the timing was in 2 phases. At the All star break, the talk was White Sox wanted Moncada and Boston offered Benintendi. Some Boston rumors said Whhite Sox wanted both. They arrived together in Boston during a pennant drive. Benintendi produced and Moncada was sent back. So when the trade happened off-season, the Red Sox were then willing to offer Moncada after what Benintendi showed.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 09:09 AM) Off to Oakland Hopefully the 80% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow is early rather than later in the day.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Apr 14, 2018 -> 10:08 PM) What’s that supposed to mean? His post was a grounded expression of an opinion. I guess you just wanted a reason to flex your all mighty esteem mod muscles. Feeling better now? Thanks but no problem. He/she couldn't defend his point so he resorted to name calling.