SCCWS

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 08:34 AM) Do you mean Archer? Cobb isn’t on the team anymore and was never as good as Chris. Yes. I will correct post

Living in Tampa area for the winter, I get to see a lot of the Rays. They get good starting pitching and Archer is good but they are an awful team. Remind me of some of the past expansion teams. A few good young players and veterans and the rest look like AAA material. More amazing, they are going w a 3 man rotation. They went into the year wanting a 4 man and one got hurt so they changed to a 3 man and use days off and bullpen day to get through. This franchise needs an implosion. the Sox should sweep as long as they get by Archer.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 04:27 PM) Yikes... Benintendi was promising last year but I'd hardly call him a stud. Moncada's "struggles" have been going on for about a week, not 2+ years. He was an above average player in his MLB time last year, I can't find a single metric that says otherwise I would say striking out 37% of his AB last year ( while his team was 23%) and hitting .231 was struggling. I don't count this year since the sample size is so small. But he is struggling so far and striking out at a higher rate early on.

QUOTE (daggins @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 11:36 AM) Andrew Benintendi, the "more polished" player the Red Sox refused to trade, is batting .174 with no extra base hits. Please, I beg of you, forget this thread exists...cast it into a deep pit and move on with your lives. As a White Sox fan living in Red Sox country that is a terrible comparison. Benintendi and Moncada arrived together from AA to the Majors. Moncada went back to AAA while Benintendi stayed in the majors. Benintendi has 700 ABs 22 HR- 105 RBI-22-SB 89 BB/140 SO and a .270 avg. Moncada has 286 ABS 9HR -26 RBI 3 SB 35 BB/98 SO and a .226 avg. Benintendi has been a stud since he arrived. Moncada has struggled for 2+ years. I still think Moncada has a higher ceiling. To make it worse for me, even Devers who was behind Moncada arrived last year , has similiar ABS as Moncada and put up better numbers. I would take Moncada over him as well but I do have "White"-colored glasses.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 6, 2018 -> 04:26 PM) What makes you think the leadoff spot is effecting? It’s not like we’re trying to complete this year so I doubt he is pressing and his approach looks basically looks the same as last year to me. The kid simply needs to move through the next stage of development and getting the most at-bats possible is what will help there. I'm not sure it is. I said if he continues to struggle it might help to move him down in the order for a while. Some players are affected by their batting position especially the leadoff and cleanup positions. Regardless if this year means anything, young players will still be trying to improve their game and will press if they struggle.

Not yet, but if Moncada continues his struggles, I hope they move him down in the order to see if the leadoff spot is affecting him. Maybe he will bounce back and then midseason move him back to leadoff.

How about the first two weeks ( 2 series home and 2 away) of the regular season are played in the spring training sites. Each team will loose gate money for two series since spring sites are smaller than MLB sites. Require new stadiums to have retractable domes. I saw a piece yesterday where Tampa Bay, (probably the worst franchise in baseball) projects their new stadium if built will cost $800 Million of which the rays will contribute $150 MIL. It would have a retractable roof ( but only 15,000 seats since they will never draw more than that)........................................................just kidding.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 3, 2018 -> 10:28 PM) Aside from that walk, rough game for Yoan If he continues to struggle this month, I hope they move him down to 6-7 spot and see if the pressure of leading off is affecting him.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 01:55 AM) Attendance used to matter more. Now it's all about TV deals. Unfortunately for the White Sox (and many other MLB franchises), the teams negotiate for local right on their own. The good news is, the "salary cap" is going to help us long term, as the Sox make enough money as an organization to afford the entirety of the cap. I think attendance still matters. Tickets, food and gear are a source of revenue for the team. Crowds have a major impact on the surrounding area depending on the location. If attendance wasn't important, teams would not continue to build new stadiums. I live in New England and Florida and in both new stadiums are very hot topics right now. In New England, a turf war is developing over the new location for the Red Sox AAA location. Tampa Bay continues to "beg" for a new stadium to replace the Trop. As a New England resident, I know Fenway has a whole cottage industry in the surrounding area. At the same time, Gillette Stadium was built in the burbs. At one time, there was only private parking lots around the stadium. Then attendance came along and now there is a massive year-round entertainment complex in and around the stadium. TV is a big big deal but attendance is still a big factor.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Mar 28, 2018 -> 04:32 PM) Yes, I agree, people are sleeping on this kid -- both nationally and in Chicago. There's a lot of lazy analysis and old school thinking wrt to his batting average and strikeouts last year and a lot of ignoring how good his defense was (overall, certainly had some hicups) in his first season full time at 2B. The SI "scout's" preview actually said he had a "hitch" (his timing mechanism) in his swing and wouldn't be surprised to see him back in AAA this year. Come on. He has one of the prettier swings in all of baseball, especially against RHP. He rips the ball as evidenced by his exit velocity. He's going to be a star. If he can hit 280 he'll be a superstar. If he just hits 250/330/470 and plays good defense he's a 3-4 player. If he hits 280/370/520 he's a 6 WAR 2B and a superstar. He can get there imo. Won't be this year almost certainly but by the time he's 26? Sure. I hope so but i am "wait and see". FWIW---His 2018 spring results were a slight drop off from 2017 ST. If he starts slow, I hope they drop him down in the order for a while in case batting 1 or 2 is putting pressure on him.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 28, 2018 -> 10:10 PM) Forgot about Thome, although he was injured, on the wrong side of 30 and getting pushed out by Ryan Howard. Freddy Garcia is about the only other example from the last 30 years, but definitely not a superstar. All-Star, competitive for a few Cy Youngs, sure. Carlton Fisk who had a few good years but he also was heading downhill

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Feb 28, 2018 -> 08:32 AM) Can you explain to me how the catcher is a complete bust? Many fans have little patience for development. Whether it is minor league prospects, college freshmen, 1st round draft picks etc, fans assume they should produce immediately and when some don't they are ready to throw in the towel. But there are also the fans who think every prospect is a sure-fire future ML starter after they have a good year in Rookie ball. Years ago, the only prospects fans cared about were those that made it to AAA. Now they are targeting when a 17 year old will make his ML debut.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 25, 2018 -> 08:29 PM) He is absolutely right. The problem is that tanking has been proven to be one of the best paths to a championship, so teams and fans have embraced it. While it sucks for the fans during the tanking, nobody has any regrets if it ends in success. WRONG. The fans who die before the success will have regrets on their deathbeds.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 25, 2018 -> 05:02 PM) Robert gonna see a ton of offspeed pitches this year Shhh

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 24, 2018 -> 04:07 PM) All it takes is one team. If you are the Yankees, and know the guy grew up a huge Yankees fan and has always wanted to play for you, and know the chances of him leaving you are more likely smaller than other teams, if that got the deal done, I am pretty sure they do it. Some teams may use the logic Balta used and say if he leaves we can redirect that money elsewhere. Who knows, maybe even the White Sox. I would bet Derek Jeter will offer him the world. Now if he is a huge Yankee fan and a SS wannabee, Jeter was probably his hero. Jeter sells him the native son coming home and he goes Marlins instead of Yankees. Now if winning is his ultimate, then Yankees might win out. Hopefully he goes back and forth between them and instead says White Sox. FWIW--He has had good success at Yankee stadium.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 10:26 PM) I was going for the ugly AND empty "jab" (wasn't really intended to be that way). Like you said, at least ours isn't ugly. I have attended 20 games or so there and I don't considerthe stadium ugly but the playing surface is. For the climate it is located in, it is very functional. Without a roof, days games would be impossible at times and rain delays would be very disruptive. Now I don't know why the roof wasn't retractable. I have been to Toronto and I like the overall layout of the Trop better but the retractable roof makes the one in Toronto's playing surface so much better. Again, they trade their best player and still want to talk of a new stadium. It appears their new stadium if it ever gets off the ground will most likely have a fixed roof as well. Living in the Northeast and Florida, it is a huge spectrum swing between the Trop and Fenway.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 08:01 PM) Which Rondon, Jose or Bruce? My guess is Bruce since he was in the same division...do they have an issue or something? Bruce drilled him in a blowout game last year that cleared the benches.

“This year, knowing that I’m going to be at second base every day, I’m going to feel more comfortable.” There may be another element to this. Boston changed him from 2nd to 3rd and the results were bad both offensively and defensively. When he came over in the trade, Hahn said they would move him back to 2nd. He may have been still uneasy last spring but after a year in the organization, he goes into this spring w a permanent position.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Feb 16, 2018 -> 09:59 PM) When your starting CFer had a pathetic 37 WRC+ in the inflated offensive environment of 2017, his defense simply does not matter; at THAT weak an offensive output, he's a net negative to the team, even if he's the best defensive CFer in the history of MLB. Now, if Engel an get his WRC+ to ~80 or so, AND play stellar defense, then that's a different matter. But I doubt he's capable of doing so. We'll see. We are in a rebuild. We will most likely have 2 young pitchers in our rotation to start and hopefully will add another 1 or 2 in July/August. Last year the Sox were one of the worst defensive teams in the AL. My point was Hahn may want the best defensive player on the team used when the prospects are pitching. The key next year is to develop prospects not win or lose. Maybe defense affects the development of young pitchers by letting them get out of innings quicker. Maybe the staff wants them to stay out there and fight adversity. We will see what they do.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Feb 16, 2018 -> 08:19 AM) If Engel starts, he might then be the worst starting outfielder in majors (offensively). But that may not make a difference. One issue Hahn may see is how important is the defense to the young pitchers. Is it worth having a .200 hitting gold glove type over someone who can play some defense and hit. He may see the value of making Engel the 4th outfielder but using him mostly on days the young pitchers are on the mound.

http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/bl...ook-second-base Red Sox will give Blake Swihart a shot at 2nd base in training camp w Pedroia still recovering from surgery.Maybe this is a guy who will turn up on waivers this spring or could be had in a swap of 2nd tier prospects. His value is low but he is out of options. He looks to be a "bust" but maybe a change of scenery and a move back to the position he wants to play could be a cheap gamble.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 02:53 PM) JDM update: The Red Sox’ current top offer to Martinez is “in the vicinity” of only $100MM, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/02/j-d-...rs-tuesday.html FWIW---Speier is usually pretty dialed in to the Red Sox.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Feb 9, 2018 -> 03:14 PM) I honestly don't get why areas that get heavy tourism dollars aren't more acceptable to dropping a "tourism tax" Dollar or two on a room...or rental car. Can't believe San Diego didn't do that to keep the Chargers. For some reason I think some Maricopa County judge shot down the "tourism tax" after it had been in affect for a while...and said they had to refund money from the car rental/room tax. Said it was "unconstitutional". Not sure how you can randomly describe that particular tax as unconstitutional and not others. I never did get an answer to that. Florida already has a 5% tax on tourism. Every hotel/condo rental less than 6 months has a 5% tax.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Feb 9, 2018 -> 03:53 PM) I thought the Rays might move to Las Vegas I thought Havana. Ybor City may be a close 2nd. I think it is great that a team that constantly unloads star players and has no fan base thinks a new stadium solves the problem. For those not familiar, this is a move of only 25 miles. I have been to abnout 01-12 games there over the years. A few years ago, you could park for free and pay $11 to sit behind home plate in the upper deck. They drew about 20,000 a game. Then they staring charging for parking ($15-30) and raised tickets closer to $20. Attendance dropped to 15,000. They will never survive w/o a core fan base. Florida has too many transplants and seniors that go to Rays games wearing other team gear. Now the population of Florida, based on the amount of construction of housing, must be growing. Even their NFL franchise is one of the lower drawing teams in an area where college football is huge. Ironically the NHL does well in a city you wouldn't expect to.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 2, 2018 -> 05:45 PM) I hope you understand that the whole reason he wants to play SS again is to try to increase he value on the free agent market. If the top bidder offers him the most money to play 3B, he will sign the contract and play 3B. Maybe he wants to be a SS. Some players desire to play glamour positions like SS or CF. But if the talks w the Sox get serious, let him play SS and move Anderson to CF or trade him for something we need. I think his agent convinces him 3B may be easier on the body than SS but then again some SS have had long and successful careers.