SCCWS

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 22, 2017 -> 10:40 PM) To anyone who didn't watch the game: The box score says 4 earned runs, but 3 of them were truly earned. One was due to Leury failing to catch a ball that was literally hit right at him and then not ruled an error because there was no catch attempt. No walks in his first start is good. 3 home-runs is bad.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 22, 2017 -> 12:51 AM) Great post Greg! I do wonder if maybe guys are being brought up too soon and also afraid to send them back down for a week or two. I think every player is different. Delmonico is hitting better in the majors than he did in AAA. I do think starting pitchers need some time in AAA. But we are seeing positional players jumping from AA to majors and having success.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 11:51 AM) I consider myself to be extremely pessimistic but I have to ask...why do you even watch if all it takes is a bad month or 2 for a guy to be completely done? Scouts doing player analysis for a living miss on guys who make it and one's who don't. Fans are like riding a roller coaster. After a game last week, some fans were all excited about Moncada. This week, some have ditched the bandwagon. I see a lot of Red Sox games and the media and fans are enthralled w Devers since he is putting up Babe Ruth type numbers early on. By the time the playoffs arrive, he will probably be ice cold. I know Delmonico will also come down to reality. I just hope he ends up a .280/ 20 hr guy but even then he may be a problem defensively.

QUOTE (Scoots @ Aug 19, 2017 -> 01:03 PM) Not gonna lie guys, I think the Sox are gonna score some runs next year. This is exciting to think about right now because the offense is hitting, but what I think is so unique about this bunch is they have a good balance of different tools they can choose from. They have the ability to hit homeruns, but they also have speed and quite a bit of contact guys. They also have a good mix of righties and lefties. Renteria can do a lot with this bunch. Check out this potential starting lineup... 1. Leury Garcia LF 2. Moncada .....2B 3. Abreu .........1B/DH 4. Avi .............RF 5. Delmonico....DH/1B (He can learn 1B) 6. Davidson......3B 7. Anderson......SS 8. Smith/Omar...C 9. Engel............CF Lots of balance in that lineup. If we can get August 2017 Tim Anderson to play for 3-4 months out of the year, and if all those players put up offensive numbers like they have been to go along with the tools they are known for, then this team will be fun to watch, even if the bullpen blows all the games. Delmonico is also still a big question mark, but I'm let's ride that horse as far as it will take us. He is hitting like a 3-5 hitter right now. Power lefty bat? Yes please!! Bench= Yolmer (I see him platooning quite often with Davidson), Smith/Omar, Outfielder (Hansen?), and Saladino. What are your thoughts? That is pretty much the lineup the Sox have been using since the trade deadline and they are last in the AL, averaging 4 runs per game. So if all those players put up offensive numbers like they have been it will be pretty much the same as this season. We need a major improvement from Moncada, Avi needs another career year, Abreu can't slip and everyone else needs to improve a little except maybe Delmonico whom in fairness may be playing over his head. I think next year is another bad year where we get a good draft pick and hopefully see Moncada bust out and Anderson raise his average 20 points.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 10:45 AM) Agree with the last few posts. I really don't subscribe to the "brought up too soon" lines. For the most part I think those who are going to succeed do so regardless. Those who fail, will fail. Now there are exceptions - I think a Giolito actually does need time in the minors. Let him adjust when it doesn't matter with the Sox and with the best coaches and best talent around him. I think Moncada needed time in AAA this year more for defense instead of offense. He mostly played 3B the end of last season so he needed to spend some time going back working at 2nd. Then, depending on his psyche, he also needed some time offensively to adjust after the problems he had in Boston last year.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 17, 2017 -> 01:17 AM) This sub .200 s*** probably is good for Moncada. It's obvious he is a physical specimen and you'd think his early struggles should help his mental frame of mind. If he's a competitor maybe it'll humble him up if he needs that and he'll be better for it. You probably need to trust your coaches in this game. Don't know anything about him personally but struggling early during a meaningless season could wind up helping him. Maybe, but he also struggled in Boston last season during a pennant race. Maybe staring from ST and going into the ML next year may help.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 16, 2017 -> 12:24 PM) uh what http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=prospects - Moncada #1 in game http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2017-top-100-prospects/ - Moncada #1 in game http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2017...gcjIctHPOf3d.97 - Moncada #2 in game, beyond Benintendi, who the Red Sox were never giving up trolls gonna troll It reminds me of how skewed NCAA BB recruiting gets. A kid is ranked 50 and he signs w Kentucky and next ranking he drops to 20. Moncada was clearly ranked higher 3rd than Benintendi 15th going into 2016 season. By the end of 2016, after each got called up that changed. Rankings are very subjective. Some are very accurate and some are not.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 16, 2017 -> 08:14 AM) Yup, he's a bust. Better hope Jimenez is the real deal or this rebuild is doomed. Boston is very much the opposite of us. They promote positional players that usually contribute but their pitching prospects mostly struggle. I blamed Moncada's burp last year as no AAA time. But the players in his high prospect grouping, Benetendi( no AAA time) and Devers ( 9 days in AAA) have been strong contributors immediately despite AAA seasoning. Hopefully the sox see more RH pitching to boost the kid's morale.

Another concern is whether he should continue as a switch hitter. That issue may resurface next spring training if he continues to struggle from the right. Certainly his defense has improved in one year so he may eventually solve the RH struggles he is having. The K% is skewed because of the high # from the right side.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jul 31, 2017 -> 11:53 AM) Just looking at Davidson's stats tell everything. He has only walked 16 times in 86 games and has 124 K's. That is not a good or sustainable mlb ratio for a player who does not make alot of contact. Davidson is similar to a Chris Carter type player, if given a full season he likely will hit 30+ home runs, but with a low average/tons of strikeouts/low on base/poor defense. Guys like that are fine for a rebuild, but should be no more than a bench player on a contender. I understand your rational but he still only has played 86 games. Seems like a quick decision w less than 300 AB. I would say you should judge him next August when he should have 600 or so AB. Avi is hitting over .300 w 300 abs. Can we now decide he will be a .300 hitter going forward?

Let's also remember that Avi has taken a step up offensively this year after several years of struggling. So like I posted about Moncada yesterday, Davidson has improved his defense enough to be adequate at 3rd. Someone in the organization needs to now try and help Davidson and Moncada cut down on strikeouts. Opponents must love to see them back to back right now.

I saw him several times in Boston last year and he just looked lost. I think the positive this year is it seems like his defense is okay now that he has gone back to 2nd. So that is a major improvement. Now hopefully someone can work with him on cutting down the strikeouts. I am a little concerned in that Davidson is just as bad and no one seems to have helped him within the system. For Moncada, this year is just getting his feet wet. Hopefully by ST we will see some more contact and less K's.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 29, 2017 -> 02:45 PM) I think Moustakas has hit the jackpot with the timing of this season in which he's become a power hitter deluxe. Boston or the Yankees figure to offer more than 4 years 80 million. Don't you think he's headed to Boston for money we can't even imagine? I don't. Boston has brought Devers up and even if they send him back to AAA, 3B will be his next ST to lose. I don't see Boston spending mega bucks on another 3B. If Moustakas could play 1B, that is another story but his whole career has been at 3B.

QUOTE (New Era on South Side @ Jul 28, 2017 -> 01:39 PM) I am going tomorrow to see Moncada play and outside of my birthday and bachelor party, it will be the only games I attend this year. I see two tickets to tomorrow's game in section 103 (row 4) for $35 each and two in section 107 (row 9) for $32 each on StubHub. If anyone has better seats than that for $40 or so, please let me know. I always buy discounted tickets as there's no reason to pay full price. StubHub and coupon codes off the White Sox website instantly make going to games more affordable. I'll be going to more next year when some more prospects will be up. I have a feeling when the kids are up in 2019 the season ticket holders will be back and the fans will follow suit. I am not sure I agree. There will be fans who give up season tics who will find other avenues of entertainment and will not return. I had season tickets for AHL Hockey for 15 years and then gave up because minor league hockey dropped in talent and fan interest. I then had college basketball for 22 years but my team went through a drought. I dropped out and now they are a good team and attraction but I am content to watch games at home and only go on a very rare occasion. What the White Sox have to hope for is that a young generation of fans start following them in order to gain favorable attendance in 2020 and beyond.

QUOTE (beautox @ Jul 27, 2017 -> 05:13 PM) Get him as many PA as possible and try to salvage something from this lost year. Or Renteria has no clue. Anderson is hitting .224 from the leadoff and .280 from the 7th spot this year. He has been struggling but recently hitting from the 7 he raised his average 6 points. So the manager moves him to the 8 spot and then the leadoff and he goes two straight nights with nothing. Extra plate appearances form a position in the order where he has had major problems may not further his career at this stage.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 11:59 AM) Let's see who is left on the team next Monday night before going too nuts about Moncada's spot in the order. For me, Melky gets traded, and Anderson-Moncada hit 1-2 for two months. No bunting before the 8th inning. Hopefully no way. While Anderson has struggled hitting 7th, he has not even hit his weight batting first with a decent sampling. Let's wait till the kid gets straightened out mentally before he hits there again. I doubt Moncada will be a 2 batter in the future because he strikes out way too much. 3 or 5 is good for rest of year.

FWIW--Heard on a Boston Sports Show that it would be very unlikely Stanton would be dealt since he is the key asset if the ownership is going to sell.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jul 22, 2017 -> 11:19 AM) This stuff can absolutely affect players. Watched it last season in the NFL with a WR who's close friend died and he had issues. These guys are human. Just has to work through it and get to the off-season so he can get his mind in the right direction. Timmy will be fine. Sometimes you take a step back to take two steps forward. Not necessarily. If the issue is outside of baseball, the offseason may be a worse scenario. The structured requirements of in-season, especially travel may force him at times to forget about the issues. But once that structure goes away in the off-season he may loose an outlet for his frustration and be more immersed in the problem. Hopefully he is getting some professional help to face his adversity.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jul 22, 2017 -> 12:35 AM) Who the hell coaches base running on this team? Frazier was but not any more.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 08:15 PM) When he does that, he isn't doing it for strategy. I think that is the disconnect here. To me he is trying to ingrain the skill into certain guys skill sets so that when they really do need it, they have the ability and count/situation are not something they are thinking about because they will have done it under all circumstances. But that also means that our minor league system did not work with him enough on it. He is not a player who jumped quickly to the majors like Sale and did not get time to work on fundamentals. I do think that more players in general are arriving in the majors with weaker fundamentals

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 04:13 PM) What the good managers have is good players. Torborg was canned from the Marlins mid season, and then they won the WS. Of course they added Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to their roster. His career winning pct. as a manager is .006 higher than Robin Ventura's, a guy who was blamed for a lot of things you still see with the same players this year. Bad baserunning, bad defense, stupid throws....Lefty Tanner set the record for consecutive last place finishes by a manager. All these guys did pretty well when they had good players. Ozzie Guillen was a genius when the Sox won and he wanted all the attention. When he did the exact same thing when they were not so good, he was an ego maniac. No one wins with bad players, some lose with some good ones, but the locker room stuff, IMO, is now self regulated. Players make much more money than the manager for the most part. If you have talent and the right players leading your clubhouse you're fine. If you are looking for your manager to be that guy, IMO, it will be brief and there are 2 or 3 guys tops that could get it done. I think John Farrell is a great example. Look at this stretch he has had 2011--81-81 w Toronto 2012--73-89 w Toronto 2013--97-65 w Boston Won World Series 2014--71-91 w Boston 2015--78-84 w Boston 2016--93-69 w Boston 2 great , 2 average and 2 lousy.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 12:35 PM) Patrick Nolan‏ @SSS_pnoles The White Sox have 17 failed sacrifice bunt attempts in 2017. Half the remaining American League teams haven't even attempted more than 17. Blame the groundskeeper

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Jul 20, 2017 -> 12:30 PM) That's what I figured and ALSO a reason I don't really consider Anderson's performance as part of the rebuild. But SS is a prime spot so if Anderson doesn't make it then they will have to fill in via FA or a real high draft pick.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 12:16 PM) I'm 100% sure he'll start tonight. Only possible reason he wouldn't start is if he gets injured or sick before the game. or if he misses his flight................................

QUOTE (reiks12 @ Jul 19, 2017 -> 08:06 AM) Andersons OBP is way too low to be leadoff. Even if he hits his ceiling he will be a bottom of the order guy when these guys get their due. In addition, he has really struggled batting 1st compared to 7th.