Southwest Sider

Moncada has had a great night. Wow!

Cahill isn't this kind of pitcher anymore, our guys are just mentally f***ed.

I think even the Oakland crowd is bored of this game. Too bad our team couldn't make it a little more exciting for them.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 09:30 PM) That's a good idea, especially since the rainouts would mean that Fulmer or Giolito would've been good to go Maybe they would have been blasted too, but this experience would be much better served with one of them.

Lopez, Giolito, or Fulmer should be pitching this game... just to get a taste of playoff atmosphere.

For my money, Adam Engel has at least a half of a season. I want to see if he can make the adjustments that he needs to make to be a MLB regular. In all likelihood, he probably won't, but before giving up on him I think he should be given an extended look. If he's been in a slump for the entire season at the halfway point, then yeah let's go ahead and try another option. These are the luxuries a rebuilding team can have. Give Adam the time he needs to make the necessary adjustments, see if he does it, and if not, sucks for us and Adam but we can then give Cordell or Tilson a shot. My half season suggestion may be too much for some around here, I understand. 1/3 of the season should be ample amount of time as well.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 16, 2018 -> 10:34 PM) Nice pitching that inning, honestly Yeah that will happen when you let pitchers off the hook enough. They start gaining confidence and actually pitching well.

I have the highest of expectations for Moncada as well, as should everyone here. At this point, if you are so unhappy with his production that you just can't stand yet, I'd say take a step back. You are following it too closely. Scrutinizing every game, every at bat, every pitch. You can't do that. Seasons and careers are judged on the whole. I'm also disappointed with his slow start, but not surprised and definitely not upset. Prospects need time to prove what they are going to be. Even IF he was lighting the world on fire, he hasn't standardized how his career trajectory is going to go. We all thought Beckham was the next big thing after his rookie year and look how that worked out. My point is is that you simply cannot make any judgments on Moncada yet because he hasn't been around long enough to prove what he's going to be. It took Beckham at least 3 seasons, maybe 4, to prove that his rookie season was a fluke and that his 2nd season wasn't just a sophomore slump. To that end, it is a pointless mental exercise to come here and post FUD about his career when he hasn't even played 1 whole MLB season. You are wasting yours, and everyone else's time by doing this.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but from where the Sox were a few years ago at developing hitters to the direction they are finally seemingly going... is incredibly encouraging. One example, and I realize he hasn't exactly proven himself completely yet, is Yolmer. Back in the dark days a prospect like Yolmer may never have made it as a hitter, and it really looks like he may turn into a nice player for the Sox. Maybe the scouting has also improved drastically, but we are so quick sometimes to denounce coaches for a players failures, that I feel like we should also attribute some successes to coaches. Steverson has to be responsible, to some degree, for Yolmers continued development at the MLB level. It's not just Rick Renteria.

Worst thread ever. OP is normally a good contributor to this forum, but this fud here is a joke. Even if Moncada maxes out at .250 this year, I am not going to start being worried about his development until we get at least 2 full years in and he's not hitting better than Gordon Beckham did.

An article on the Athletic discussed this in a bit more depth, and evidently none of the Sox were bothered by it at all. They all took at as good natured ribbing. Donaldsons body language didn't suggest it was in good-nature, but either way I'm happy to hear the Sox aren't phased by his antics.

These are tough questions because we're starting to get into territory where we may need some of our productive players for the next competitive Sox team. It goes without saying though, that anyone in the bullpen is open for trade. Soria and Jones can go ahead and have great years so that we can extract value from them in trade. Miguel Gonzalez, should he be worth anything at all, should definitely be traded. With the position players it starts getting really tricky. With Jimenez waiting in the wings, Avi may be one of the easier players to let go. Truth be told, if he continues to succeed, I will have a hard time letting Avi go and I really hope if he is traded, we get 1 or 2 really nice prospects back for him. Even though he came from Detroit, he has one of those "homegrown" kind of feelings about him for me. Without trying to get too ahead of myself here, we've gone through all the trials and tribulations with Avi and seemingly came out on the other end with a pretty darn good baseball player. Even when Eloy comes up, I'm not telling teams that I'm taking best offers available for Avi. If no one is offering anything worthwhile, he's simply not going to get traded and we will move forward with him and figure out some OF platoon system or something. We can get both him and Eloy at bats. Davidson is kind of in a similar position, for me, but he's one year behind Avi in terms in proving himself. If Matty D has a really nice year, it will mean he cut down on his strikeouts and hit 35 bombs. You can't trade a guy like that. He's a guy who could accelerate the rebuild. Having a guy like him who is not expected to be a part of the rebuild become a part of the rebuild is huge if the Sox want to be the best. To trade Abreu would quite literally require a Kings Ransom. His combo of elite power and average hitting skills, along with his leadership skills make him the most important player on the Sox. Trading him would be a tough pill to swallow, and would hopefully come after he's been able to impart leadership skills on some other players. I don't think there's any situation where Welington would get traded. He was brought in for a reason, and trading him may be more detrimental to the young staff than helpful in terms of prospects received. I could actually see the Sox exploring an extension with him if Collins or Seby aren't blowing doors down next year. He's developed into a pretty darn good backstop over the years.

QUOTE (Quin @ Mar 28, 2018 -> 01:21 PM) How to build a bullpen using money you can't spend anyway: an op-ed by Rick Hahn. Seriously. People will never shut up about him being a trailblazer or a genius if we built a serviceable or good bullpen using International Draft Money we weren't planning on using anyway. We have been getting some very interesting guys with this money.

I'd argue that as long as a team is showing up to games every day, they're going to try to win. Just because upper management isn't making foolhardy free agent investments or stupid trades (like the Shields one) to "fortify" the MLB team doesn't mean they are tanking the season. We are already pushing several of our top prospects to the MLB level, with perhaps more joining this season. It is expected of them that they will contribute to MLB wins. Welcome to the modern age of baseball. High end young talent wins in this day and age and if that's not the goal for every team, they're doing it wrong. No one is going to hand a team a bevy of young uber talented prospects, there is a price that must be paid for it and that price is having a team that probably won't be as competitive for a spell.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jan 31, 2018 -> 11:47 PM) yea, but he can't hit. It would be really awesome if he was able to turn the corner with the bat.. in any way at all given how terrible he was with it. I look forward to seeing if he can accomplish this this year.

This thread did not need to be reopened because theres seriously been only a few interesting posts in the last couple of pages. Everyone else hijacked this thread with their spam. Message board etiquette 101: Don't spam threads. As I break the etiquette myself...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 6, 2018 -> 08:53 PM) "You know the greatest thing about the National Hockey League? The last 2 minutes take 2 minutes". -Al Michaels FTW. That's an epic quote, especially if it was really on an NFL broadcast like I think it was. (I wasn't watching)

The Master Sword makes it easier to deal with breaking weapons as it simply goes into a cooldown. Definitely explore areas for Korok seeds so that when you meet Hestu you can begin expanding your weapons inventory. Everyone is different, and you may not enjoy BoTW as much as I did, but from a logistic standpoint it does get better. Pick up every item you see and eventually you will have almost unlimited options for food. Stamina sucks in the beginning because you can't scale any mountain you want, but as you improve your stamina wheel, your ability to explore will be increased.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 24, 2017 -> 10:46 PM) Wouldn't be worth it. You are decimating potential for the team for a single player. Although that's probably what it would take to get him. Yeah, I'd honestly not be interested in that deal at all, but I think the Angels might take it somewhat seriously. It's a better package than the Sale package by far.

Jimenez Kopech Collins Hansen

Oh well, now we just hope the Sox throw the most money at him next year and that he's a money talks kind of guy and not another "Gotta play for the Yankees" kind of superstar.

A couple of friends were telling me that Machado came out and said he wont be signing any mid season extensions if hes traded. I cant find any info on this. Has anyone else seen that?

So the offer isnt that strong, but still the best? I'll take that.

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ Dec 14, 2017 -> 12:59 AM) Carson Fulmer was dealing like an all-star as well. Lots of pitchers flame out after hot starts. Not saying this is a certainty with Gio, but he hasn't produced for a few years yet. If Hahn thinks he can convince Machado to sign, or flip him at the deadline I'll trust his judgement. Top 10 players and potential Hall of Famer's are much more GOLD than guys who look good for seven starts. I'm buying what you're selling. I'd like to see Machado hit for higher average, but its hard to argue with his defense, power, and still respectable averages and RBI numbers. Also, his WAR was awesome in 15 and 16. I'm also a huge proponent of having as many solid pitching prospects as possible to maximize your the potential that you have a rock solid rotation... but this certainly is enticing if its Giolito or Rodon's names being bandied about. Kopech... no thanks. You also have to kind of hope that 2017 was a fluke, learning experience kind of a year for a young stud like Machado.

What the heck, are these GMs gonna be up all night trying to hammer out a deal or are they gonna go to bed? Info keeps trickling out...