tray

Hindsight means nothing. What I want to know now is how this hot mess can be turned into a respectable team for the rest of this season....a team that fans will pay to see and spend time to watch on TV. If they can't then maybe turn to some Bill Veeck style promotional antics. Maybe get a midget to lead-off or blow up some country music CD's in Center field. And maybe it is time to let Jason Benetti and Steve Stone go. This ugly losing baseball deserves the kind of sarcastic tone that the late Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall employed during the 1970's or the self deprecating style of Bob Uecker. The candyazzz approach to losing ugly from the management and from the announcers isn't working ...and it's only the middle of May.

How valuable is one year of player control considering that eventually you are going to have to decide whether or not to sign a player to a long term deal? Is it wise to have several of our top prospects s begin their service time in any one year or years (which means that they would come up at the same time) ? You would not want two or three star players wanting huge long term deals or choosing free agency at the same time. Maybe the rules have to be changed regarding service time.

The Sox made some miscalculations in evaluating existing pitching and position player talent on the way to forming the 25 man roster to start the season. They thought many of these guys would be better than they have shown us thus far. Now, if several players are deemed to be under performing for an extended period of time, then the Manager has to take responsibility, or the front office, or whoever is making player personnel decisions.

The Sox are trying to keep the team respectable, which is understandable. The fan base can become demoralized with too many losses and some of us are there already. My question is this: Should the Sox use fringey major league talent to fill-out the roster (Engel , Delmonico, Narvaez, Trayce Thompson, Davidson, Palka..) ? Or should they start replacing some of the marginal talent with unproven young prospects that might have initial failure but would provide more interest to fans ? If prospects are "not ready" maybe they should be told - "get your shoes on , you're goin' in." Baptism by fire or what have you.

"Low baseball IQ" is something that we should probably stay away from when discussing a black athlete, even if we think someone is as dumb as a box of rocks. Having said that, there is no denying that Anderson makes too many errors. So what is Renteria or Sox coaching staff doing to address this? I get frustrated by TA's defensive technique on ground balls. His footwork often does not get him to where he needs to be to catch and then transition into throwing with balance and accuracy. He almost never uses two hands to catch a grounder, even when that looks like the safest and most reliable means. Can't the Sox promote Omar Vizquel to bench coach on the major league team so he can teach players how to catch and throw and focus in on their job? If TA doesn't work out, the Sox might consider taking a SS or third basemen in the first round of this years Draft, although I think the top few prospects will be high school players. Another option, is to pursue Machado in trade (then sign him to a long term deal) or bid for him in free agency after the season. TA reminds me of Marcus Semien in some respects. He can hit in clutch situations, but he also can make key errors on routine plays. If he doesn't cut it at SS, maybe he should be traded because our minor league teams are stacked with OF talent. As far as I am concerned you can write in Luis Robert for CF and that might be sooner than expected.

I liked Hawk and Wimpy. I always thought Stone liked the Cubs better and that he would have been more comfortable staying on the North side. Benetti? The nerdish look and routine just doesn't work for me.. Sox Math, the play shelf, pandering to Stone, the oddly configured straight man/funny man 9 inning comedy team. And God forbid you go too hard on Benny because he is handicapped. But that isn'y what this is about. He just doesn't cut it and cannot fill the shoes of Harry and Hawk who came before him. One thing that hasn't been discussed is the antipathy for the Cubs that both Hawk and Harry had as Sox announcers (yes, Harry used to wail on the Cubs). Sox fans loved that. Cub/Sox in Chicago is like the Hatfields and McCoys, Republican v. Democrat, Religious vs Agnostic. Right or wrong you take a side and that's pretty much it. Anyway, let's see what happens after a full season. Maybe people will get used to Benet and Stone's shtick. On the other hand maybe their routine will wear on fans, diminish fan interest, reduce ticket sales and advertising revenue, etc. That is what would make it obvious to ownership that it is time for a change.

The two games were fun to watch despite Benetti. KC looks like they are destined for last place, not us. KC is a lifeless team with a depressed fan base and a horrible bullpen that will only demoralize the team further when they fail to close out games. IMHO we need a Closer and we need Eloy in the line-up. And we need Rodon in the rotation because at least one of our current starters is probably not going to hack it.

Thank you for hosting this forum.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 25, 2018 -> 09:01 PM) No. Do not give anything up for him when he can walk at the end of the season That is the counterpoint and a very legitimate one. Maybe I have too much confidence in JR's ability to sign a mega deal with a player like Machado or maybe I just want this guy on our team badly or maybe seeing Burgur's big azz running the bases scared me. Put Machado at third with the projected line-up we could have and the Sox start looking like a legit contender for a wild card in 2019.

Baltimore doesn't need Machado this season so I don't think they would be adverse to trading him. Maybe, just maybe, the Sox have enough decent prospects to make that trade without giving up (and of ) their top 5 or 6 prospects and impacting the rebuild. Perhaps it would take one of our roster players (Avi? Fulmer?) as part of a package for Manny. Once in the Sox fold, I think JR would be able to sign him long term. After seeing Burgur run out that triple like a fat-bottomed girl, I want the Sox to go after Machado like a beach.

I hate the cubs and the Ricketts but I do admire Epstein's formula - Draft great position players and then buy pitching. The Cubs hand was forced into that when the Astros foolishly selected Mark Appel with the first pick in 2013 Draft. Cubs would still be looking for the first modern day WS title for the franchise if Houston didn't make that mistake.

If the Rays are relocating in the central part of Florida, I would think Orlando would be better choice than Tampa.

I cannot get over the Sox losing Tatis Jr. in the Shields trade. I was mad about it when it happened and now it just irks the he11 out of me when I see it come up, like it did at Soxfest. That will turn out to be the worst trade in White Sox history.

I am anxious to see Burgur play some 3b in the minors so the Sox can determine if he can advance in the system at that position.

Margulus runs the SSS forum like a grammar school class where everyone has to kiss his behind.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 21, 2017 -> 10:45 AM) Can't believe Orioles didn't agree to trade Manny for Russell, Montgomery and Almora if that rumor is true Orioles want (at least) two pitchers back.

One year of Machado is not worth what the O's want. Their mistake is waiting to re-sign or trade him. IMO, the Sox would be wise to re-sign or trade Abreu and Avi before they get put in a similar situation.

The White Sox reportedly had the best offer. That might mean we are into the 72 hour window as we speak.

O's only have one year of Manny so they cannot expect the moon in return. I agree with everyone who has said that Kopech is essentially untouchable. Jerry is not getting any younger. He is a billionaire so he can afford a big Contract for Machado. You can bet that if the cubs did not have Kris Bryant they would be all over this. I don't want to trade Avi to get Machado. One of the goals in getting him would be to create a strong line-up with Avi, Abreu, Machado, Moncada, Tim Anderson, Castillo, Eloy Jiminez, Luis Robert.

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ Dec 14, 2017 -> 12:28 AM) I'm not gonna lose sleep over losing Giolito when we have Rodon, Kopech, Lopez, Fulmer, Cease, Hansen, Dunning, 4th pick. We'll have money and the assets to get another pitcher as good as him if need be. It's almost impossible to acquire guys like Manny. You make a good point I did not think about which is, if the Sox trade Gio or Kopech for Machado, then they can sort of replenish by taking a starting pitcher prospect in the first round.

Would Abreu plus Avi G be enough to get Benintendi . Chavis,. and another prospect from BoSox? I don't think so, but thought I would ask for other opinions.

AJ is a winner, a student of the game, and would be a great Manager or broadcaster.

I believe the Yankees still have a formal grooming policy. Not sure about any other team but leaving the length of facial hair aside, Harper might not want to play for certain teams or Managers for other reasons. For example, the cubs fans and cubs media can be brutal. I just see Harper fitting in out on the West coast, possibly with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers or the Oakland A' s seem like the best fit for Bryce Harper's hair and personality.

Even the most careful analysis of advanced stats that support a regression theory cannot take into account the human element which can involve many factors ...attitude, injuries, conditioning and training, motivation, among others. In addition there are some players that seem to just figure things out at some point in their career. Some of those factors have been discussed, particularly with Avi's weight, conditioning, foot speed, and quickness. This guy was hauling to first base on ground balls last season and got to a lot of balls down the line and in the gap. I am excited to see him in RF with Eloy in LF. That could be two nice hitters in the corners for us over the next few years.