Rodon the key for resurgent White Sox

By Phil Rogers / MLB.com | @philgrogers | February 16th, 2016 + 25 COMMENTS

USA Today is picking the White Sox to win the American League Central, and as radical as that seems, it just might be right.

The White Sox look more prepared to compete with newcomers Brett Lawrie and Todd Frazier hitting on either side of Jose Abreu. The Sox started 2015 with Micah Johnson and Conor Gillaspie at second and third base, respectively.

The biggest improvement -- the one that makes the White Sox dangerous for the Royals and the other teams trying to catch them in the AL Central -- comes from getting a vintage performance from Abreu and having Frazier and Lawrie working in harmony with Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera, who came to life after a 28-38 start. Now that would be fun.

But this isn't how USA Today believes the White Sox can steal the AL Central. It sees the front of the Sox rotation as the key, citing a "possibly unparalleled 1-2 punch of Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, backed by a full season of Carlos Rodon.''

It's easy to see how 90-plus starts from those guys could add up to a whole lot.

You know all about Sale, and have heard how Quintana remains one of the best secrets in baseball. So there's nothing radical about this thought. But what if Rodon is too good to be anyone's sidekick?

Would there be a better 1-2-3 combination than this in the Majors?

Maybe Matt Harvey-Jacob deGrom-Noah Syndergaard. Maybe Max Scherzer-Stephen Strasburg-Lucas Giolito. Maybe Corey Kluber-Carlos Carrasco-Danny Salazar. Maybe Jake Arrieta-Jon Lester-John Lackey.

That's about it.......................

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[ We hardly knew y'a ]

Chris Archer scolded two young Rays pitchers for showing up “late” to camp


Chris Archer is already establishing himself as a clubhouse leader for the Tampa Bay Rays, and he isn't afraid to call out players who aren't, by his estimation, doing things the right way.

On Sunday, the newly minted All-Star scolded two young pitchers - Jacob Faria and Blake Snell - for not arriving earlier to the club's spring complex in Port Charlotte, Fla., where a team meeting was scheduled for 9 a.m.

"You guys are the last two pitchers here,'' Archer said to them, with a group of reporters in front of his locker. "You guys have zero service time. You got no right to be coming in after me, really. I get here super early. I wouldn't expect you to be here at 6:30, but 8:30?''

Despite only recently turning 27, the right-hander's age belies his seniority. Since 2014, Archer leads the team in starts and innings pitched - no other Rays pitcher has come within 23 starts of Archer's 89 - while earning more wins above replacement (8.5) than all but 14 pitchers in the majors. This past season, Archer finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting after posting a 3.23 ERA (122 ERA+) over a career-high 212 innings.

With those credentials, the former fifth-round pick boasts considerable credibility in the Rays clubhouse, and it may behoove Snell, in particular, to heed Archer's words. Widely considered the club's top prospect, Snell is expected to make his MLB debut this summer after navigating a meteoric rise through the club's minor-league ranks in 2015. Snell, at age 22, opened the year in the High-A Florida State League, but was pitching for Durham of the Triple-A International League by July, and finished the campaign with a 1.41 ERA and 31.3 percent strikeout rate across 134 innings at three different levels.

Giancarlo Stanton says Marlins have 'no more time' for excuses in 2016

Chris Archer, one of a trio traded for Mark DeRosa, was one of the good ones that got away.

Cubs-Jays WS?

http://www.oddsshark.com/mlb/mlb-odds-w ... es-futures

Sounds reasonable.

Yep, trading Archer as a teenager struggling with his control is the risk you take with young arms.

It's part of the business, happens to every team without exception.

And thank goodness it is so, or our 90s Tribe wouldn't have had guys like Vizquel or Lofton.

Don't mind deals....you just have to pick more winners than you do losers.

Cubs don T-shirts with Maddon's latest motto

White Sox Interested in Bruce, CarGo


Levine: White Sox Still In Pursuit Of Left-Handed Power

By Bruce Levine–

GLENDALE, Ariz. (CBS) — A relentless pursuit of left-handed power has been the objective of the Chicago White Sox front office since last October.

The team’s brass has done a quality job of filling gaps at three infield positions and behind the plate. The energy and talent brought in by the additions of Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Jimmy Rollins, Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila appear to be significant upgrades across the board.

Despite this improvement, the White Sox know that a big bat from the left side will be needed to have proper run production balance. Presently, this plan may be incomplete.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has always allowed his front office to add important players despite having to go over budget from time to time.

Chicago has burnt the midnight oil talking to clubs about potential trades. The White Sox missed out on free-agent target Alex Gordon, who decided to return to the Royals on a long-term deal. They were right there too on Yoenis Cespedes, in it until the end until he returned to the Mets. Although Cespedes is right-handed, the power numbers were too attractive to pass up.

Next came a two-year offer to Dexter Fowler, who turned down three years from the Orioles at about $35 million as well as the White Sox’s proposal and returned to the Cubs for one season. Andre Eithier of the Dodgers was also pursued before spring training began.

The White Sox may now be focused on Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.

Gonzalez hit 40 homers and had 97 RBIs last season. The money for Gonzalez and what the Rockies front office is asking for in return appear to be the holdup right now.

“They asked for my top two minor league players, a major league player and to absorb most of the contract,” said a general manager who was interested in Gonzalez. “We will wait for something more realistic ”

Gonzalez has $37 million left on his deal over two years.

What might be more practical for the White Sox? A deal for Bruce, who’s 28 and making $12.5 million in the last year of his deal before becoming a free agent. Considered a solid all-around player and clubhouse influence, Bruce has averaged 26 home runs and nearly 80 during his past eight years in Cincinnati. The troubling numbers include a huge slide down to a .217 batting average in 2014 and a .226 mark in 2015 while averaging nearly 160 strikeouts over the past three years.

Former teammates Navarro and Frazier like what Bruce brings to the field.

“Great teammate and great guy,” Navarro said of Bruce. “He is one of those guys that is going to go out there everyday and give you his best.If we get him he would be a huge plus for us.”

Added Frazier, a teammate of four years: “He was a great teammate for me. He got into the major leagues as a young kid. He developed into a good ballplayer. He goes about his business the right way. He works his tale off.”

With an aggressive owner who wants to win every season, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn and executive vice president of baseball operations Kenny Williams can continue their pursuit of a big run-producing bat from the left side on a daily basis.

Park blasts third spring home run for Twins



FORT MYERS, Fla. --

Byung Ho Park led the way for the Twins, hitting his team-leading third homer of the spring. Park's solo blast to left came in the fourth inning against right-hander Andre Rienzo. It was the third dinger this week for Park, who also knocked solo blasts on Sunday against the Rays and Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

The most intriguing piece to the Twins’ 2016 puzzle is someone about whom we don’t really know a whole lot.

Byung Ho Park signed with the Twins this winter, which came as a fairly surprising move, considering the Twins already had a first baseman, a DH and a third baseman locked and loaded for next year.

Still, the Twins showed a willingness to be aggressive in taking a gamble on the best hitter in Korea’s top league, the KBO, and if it works in their favor, it could look like a stroke of genius in a couple years.

The Twins paid his Korean team, the Nexen Heroes, about $13 million for the right negotiate with him, and then they gave Park what amounts to a four-year, $12 million deal with a team option for a fifth year. In other words, if he’s productive, the Twins might have paid scrap-heap prices for a middle-of-the-order bat.

Byung Ho Park put up silly numbers in Korea. If you just look at them in the context of Major League Baseball, you’d think you were looking at numbers from a video game that had the user difficulty pulled way down.

Park, 29, has posted great numbers in the past four seasons with the Heroes. In about 132 games per season, he’s scored an average of 106 runs, hit 43 home runs, 26 doubles, driven in 123 runs and drawn 85 walks with 128 strikeouts.

In the past two years, he’s been even better. Those averages go up to 128 runs scored, 53 home runs, 135 runs driven in, 87 walks and 152 strikeouts. In his final season in Korea, Park hit .343/.436/.714 in 622 plate appearances.

But it’s universally believed that the talent level in the Major Leagues is greater than that in the KBO, so to expect him to reach anywhere near those levels of production would be unfair. And according to three members of the Twins front office, the Twins don’t expect that level of output.

Kang has an effortless home run swing. The article may be right on the spot by saying the Twins might have paid scrap-heap prices for a middle-of-the-order bat if he produces. I really like his swing.

Kang? You mean Jung Ho Kang of the Pirates?

The article you posted is about Byung Ho Park.

I think you are confusing your Ho's!