tray

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 26, 2017 -> 03:43 PM) Albers was lights out at this time last year. I guess you missed the point of the post. Well OK the White Sox might go into a season long dive like last year and Swarzek might blow up like Albers. That is one way to look at it. My own view is that our bullpen is deeper this year than last, there are reinforcements available in the minors that we didn't have last year, and most importantly, Renteria actually knows how to use a bullpen. This is a different Manager, a different team, and a different season. My own opinion is that the Sox are better right now than they were at the same time last season, regardless of the record or Matt Albers.

QUOTE (Real @ Apr 26, 2017 -> 04:17 PM) looking at the standings, wow this division is poop. Poop? I heard kids using that word in third grade.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 26, 2017 -> 04:18 PM) When do playoff tickets go on sale? I don't know, but I won't be buying any. I will be at home rooting against the cubz. I am betting that they won't get lucky two years in a row.

Fans are looking for excuses concerning their last place prediction for this years White Sox. Let me suggest some that I use.. Renteria is one of the best while Ventura may have been the worst Manager in MLB. Leury Garcia was a largely unknown commodity and nit used properly last season. This year he looks good as a CF (glove and arm) and as a switch hitter. No one predicted Avi Garcia would have the kind of sustained success he has had thus far. Sale only started on out of every five games, and he didn't win 'em all. No Matt Albers in the bullpen this year. Swarczak has been lights out, Holland and Shields have been decent. Our catchers have been a plus offensively and defensively. I think tanking is off the table, at least for now.

I'm not buying the accusation that the Sox have a bad organization since they have not made the playoffs for ten years. And how convenient to create the artificial time frame beginning when they won the WS. Compare a larger sample size...say 100 years. One World Series Championship for the cubs in over 100 years, and that was a lucky win in the 10th inning of game seven, or they would still be looking for one of them. Bad organization? Frankly I do not like old Joe Ricketts and the dirty Wall Street money he brought into Chicago, the demolition of the bleachers, the ridiculous scoreboards, or the over development at the small tract of land on Clark. The Sox are in good financial shape right now and are not burdened with bloated player contracts for older under-performing players. THAT is why they are in a great position to go after a player like Robert and they will. If the bidding gets crazy, they will pass. This guy may just be an over-hyped Yasiel Puig once he faces major league pitching.

Everyone has a right to their opinion but at the same time, will those who turn out to be entirely wrong come back here and admit that they were wrong ? I doubt it. Reinsdorf is a billionaire who signed the largest Contract with a pro athlete in its time with Michael Jordan.On the other hand, JR does not believe that spending more than other teams guarantees a championship. He has been burned by any number of player Contracts for the Sox and Bulls. Thus, he proceeds with caution and requires team management to perform due diligence on these players, especially when a lot of money is involved. My own opinion is that JR will tell Hahn to go after Robert like a b1tch and that money will not be an issue. The Sox appear to be a perfect fit for this player.

Avi must relish proving his keyboard critics wrong. That bomb he hit today was 429 feet, I believe - a game winning towering blast against a great pitcher in Yankee stadium.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 06:02 PM) There's no weird perception vs. stat/facts here because perception is reality in this case. Numbers will tell you that Schwarber isn't far worse than Garcia defensively but they will tell you they both currently suck. Schwarber has played about 60 games in his life out there and Avi has played years and years out there and isn't getting any better. Even if you think Schwarber is always going to be a bad outfielder it stands to reason he's going to improve at least a little bit. I guess we can throw in Schwarber's awesome post season numbers but I'm not going to use a 14 game sample size to make a point which is funny considering that small of a sample size is why we're having this conversation to begin with. So to summarize, Schwarber has outproduced Avi at every level and when I say outproduced, he's destroyed his numbers at every level, he's about 2 years younger, is under contract for a few more years but you wouldn't trade Avi for Kyle because you think he's fat. Got it. Avi Garcia is much faster this season because of weight loss and he was always much faster than Schwarber. Schwabby has a surgically repaired knee, and yes, his weight coupled with that leg injury is a majaor consideration when it comes to mobility and speed. Schwabby will be a man without a defensive position, which means he will become a DH in all likelihood. Woah....bang, bang bang,,, Avi just Crushed a 3 run bomb. Speaking of the devil! My man!

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 18, 2017 -> 04:03 PM) Literally all of them outside of these 2 weeks. Not to mention Schwarber is close to 2 years younger and is under contract for longer. Schwarber is horrible defensively...far worse than Garcia. Schwarber's weight has to be a concern for any National league team because there is no DH there. Schwarber looks like a tank. When you say literally all numbers, which ones are you referring to ? Schwarber is a .240 hitter since he has been in the league but did hit a lot of home runs last season. I'm seeing a lot of downside to Schwarber because of his weight, his lack of speed, and the serious knee injury he sustained. Cubs gave up on him as a catcher and soon his defensive liabilities might be exposed in the outfield like they were during the 2015 playoffs. I think the comparison is instructive for demonstrating how perceptions sometimes precede reality and stats/ facts.

Any offensive or defensive stats to back up some of the opinions here?

I'd like to see some comparisons between Avi Garcia and Kyle Schwarber. Garcia is 25 while Schwarber is 24. Schwarber is about 6 ft. tall and weighs about 240 pounds. Avisail Garcia is 6 ft 4" and I am not sure of his weight because he has lost at least 15 pounds. in any case, I believe he weighs less than Schwarber. Speed on the bases and in the outfield- No comparison. Avi has plus speed. Schwarber is a dump truck with a flat tire. Nwither is a plus defender and they have both made lawn darts of themselves in the outfield. OBP and Batting Average? Schwarber appears to a consistent .240 average hitter. Avi probably will hit for a better average this season. Would the Sox trade Avi for Schwarber straight up? I wouldn't

If we can win one game against the Yankees we will return after the road trip at .500. That's pretty good considering that there a lot of team under .500 that are supposed to be good but might end up suking.

Scouts have considered more than a few games when they suggested that Moncada profiles as a Center Fielder. Among other things, he has tremendous foot speed which would be more of an asset at that position than it would be at second base. Yes, people said that about Tim Anderson, but Moncada's body type looks more like Mike Trout than Anderson's does. Moncada looks like is relatively muscle bound. Perhaps third base if he wants to play the infield. In reality, many young men that are Moncada's age don't like to listen to parents, teachers and coaches so I doubt he will. One thing I might try would be to tell Moncada that CF is there for the taking but second base may not be, especially by the time he is ready to come up. Saladino might nail down that spot down if he continues to play well.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Apr 17, 2017 -> 01:55 PM) He has played 0 professional innings in the OF. While I agree he probably profiles pretty well in CF, don't think the Sox send him out there unless he proves he cannot play the IF at the major league level. Thats at least a full year away. Numerous Scouts agree with you, namely that Moncada profiles well as a Centerfielder. Moncada wants and even insists that he play second base. Who is in charge of deciding where this guy plays? If I am the Manager at Charlotte, I tell Moncada to put an outfield glove on and get out there so I can see what he has. Let's see the speed running down balls in the gap. Can he do that, or not?

May is horrible in CF. He turned an out into an inside the park home run yesterday. He has not hit a ball with authority and mainly just strikes out. Leury Garcia on the other hand has played a decent CF. Two big plays the other day. One with his glove and the other with his strong throwing arm. There is an opening in CF for Moncada if he wants to earn it. He just needs to get off the idea that he can play second base at the major league level. He did anything but prove that during ST.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 11:09 PM) It's psychotic that we're seeing numbers like this all without Rodon. Tank for Beer is DOA.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 09:24 AM) Maybe. Maybe I don't care what you think No need to make it personal dude.. I was addressing something that is ridiculous and unnecessary.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 15, 2017 -> 07:07 AM) It's been done here for years, if you start a gamethread and the team wins, you get to keep starting game threads until they lose Maybe something that juvenile should be discontinued.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 14, 2017 -> 12:22 PM) Asche is actually the MVP. Most Vilified Player.

I thought Gonzo was just missing around the corners of the strike zone. Better that than missing inside the strike zone. Nice game and nice series win against Cleveland. One of the only points of consensus here seems to be that Renteria has been doing a great job thus far, especially in comparison to what his predecessor (did) for the last few years.

I can't stand Benetti. I hope they move him to radio. Think of who could possibly to color commentary opposite Benetti after Stone leaves and who would even want to.

Saladino made great plays at second last season and he just made another today...possibly a game saver. Moncada was not impressive at second base in Spring Training. Why mess with Saladino if he is excelling as a second basemen? Moncada's build reminds me more of Mike Trout - solid, muscle bound, with good straight line speed. If only Moncada could put on a center fielder's glove he could really fill in a huge hole in the outfield between Melky and Avi and, at the same time, add a left hand bat with pop in the line-up. Matt Davidson has been fun to watch at the plate, but unlike Avi, he has not missed too many meals. I don't understand how he got that big. The extra weight could really limit his usefulness. On the other hand, if he can get in better shape, he could be a force. Avi Garcia is a case in point. He runs like a gazelle this year compared to years past.

" he flat out said he wanted the team sold after his death." Jerry has never said that the team was for sale and has not threatened a sale since the old days. His sons and daughter have never said what they would do with the Sox and Bulls when Jerry passes away. They could very well decide to make it a family legacy, like the Halas family has decided to do with the Bears. The value of the White Sox is in part dependent on the co-ownership of the Bulls, and vice-versa. Therefore, unless there is someone like a Mark Cuban who wants an MLB team and an NBA team, or to a Rocky Wirtz led group, the sale of either franchise on its own seems unlikely.

Selling the team has started coming up, most directly the Trib article talking about JR telling his son to sell the team in the event of his death. The Sox ownership has not brought it up. Jerry Reinsdorf did not tell his sons (he has two sons and a daughter) to sell the White Sox . The comment that he made was about the difficulty of owning a baseball team versus a basketball team and if one were to be sold, which one would make it easier to maintain. Reinsdorf's sons and daughter have never commented on this nor should they. The Reinsdorf family have the unique luxury (and leverage) of owning two professional franchises in one of the largest cities in the United States, as well as a percentage of the media outlet that covers them. The Sox, one of the leagues oldest franchises, are not going anywhere and neither are the Reinsdorfs. I want to see the White Sox win another one for Jerry.