Email a copy of 'White Sox GM Rick Hahn Q&A: Part Two' to a friend
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By brettballantini | at
Email a copy of 'White Sox GM Rick Hahn Q&A: Part Two' to a friend
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LADreamin
The jerseys… lol. Had to get that little jab in on Sale.
ASapsFables
Unlike Gordon Beckham, Tim Anderson did experience periods of extensive failure in his minor league career. He was typically a slow starter at every level in which he debuted, including last season at AAA Charlotte.
Of course, Beckham was also a highly decorated NCAA player and advanced college bat coming out of the University of Georgia when the White Sox selected him with their first pick in the 2008 Rule 4 June Draft.
Anderson was also a White Sox first round selection in 2013 but he hailed from a Junior College in Mississippi and never even played high school baseball until his junior season. He was a star basketball player in high school and couldn’t even secure a baseball scholarship to a four year college upon graduation.
pplama
Great interview(s) Love the candor.
Hope the Sox have cleared out any members of the Pro Scouting or Analytics dept. who thought they would get anything from Navarro or Avila.
ASapsFables
Agree about the interview…both parts!
As far as the decision on the catchers, it should be noted that Alex Avila was signed (by his dad!) to a MLB contract to return to his original former team in Detroit while 33-year old Dioner Navarro is still a free agent waiting for a call from some (other!) GM.
Apparently, the White Sox still can’t get enough of veteran catchers, even former ones, who have questions when it comes to defense and framing in particular. After all, they recently signed former backstop Geovany Soto to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. As things currently stand, the right-handed hitting Soto will likely break camp as the platoon partner with left-handed hitting catcher Omar Narvaez to begin the 2017 season.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
How does pitch framing benefit baseball or the fans in any way?
Would Dback’s fans really rather watch Jeff Mathis “frame” than Wellington Castillo hit? I seriously doubt it.
Fooling the 60 year old umpire should not be a “skill”. Robo-umps, please.
pplama
Pitch-framing isn’t just about “fooling” the Umps by getting Balls called as Strikes. The Sox’ C’s were so bad they lost the bottom 2 inches of the strike zone. It was crushing to watch starters throw 6 pitches over the plate and only getting 2 called strikes. You could see them being forced to throw meatballs just to get a strike.
PS- They also didn’t hit. So there was no “either/or” scenario there.
ASapsFables
What you say is correct, but it’s still fooling the umps.
I hate the whole concept of framing and also the idea of MLB continually wanting to change the definition of the strike zone itself to address periods of pitching and hitting domination in it’s game. On top of all that, umpires are still inconsistent with their calling of balls and strikes regardless of rule changes.
It’s about time MLB seriously considers the implementation of laser strike zone technology that is also pre-programmed for each batter. This would eliminate the games biggest judgement call once and for all and might also have the added benefit of speeding up the game with instantaneous calls that can’t be disputed by players and managers.
whosyourmomma
Plus if you ever watched a Jon Lester pitched game he whines at some point every game about the strike zone. His catchers probably got him 300 more strike calls than the Sox best starter too. K zone then in the playoffs just drives everyone nuts. Have the old timers back there just to determine foul tips, plays at the plate, etc. The only fair way to do this for teams and pitchers is to use technology.
pplama
Having a strike called a strike is not “fooling” someone. There’s a thing called PitchF/x. Been around for a decade. These are measurable effects.
Maybe familiarize yourself with how much of the actual strike zone bad catchers cost the Sox last year before giving opinion on “fooling” people and the “concept” of framing.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Maybe familiarize yourself with how robo-umps would address the things you are complaining about, also.
Priggs89
Umpires calling strikes balls is just bad umping.
In regards to using technology, I’m pretty sure there was an E60 or something like that on it not too long ago. If I recall correctly, they didn’t tell anyone that they were testing their process out and wanted to see if people would notice any differences. I think there was like a red or green light that would flash in CF if it was a ball or strike, and then the umpire would call it accordingly. If I’m not mistaken, it went pretty perfectly.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
I’ve wanted ball and strike calls to be automated for years both for the consistency and because it seems baseball’s replay rules overlook how much of an effect a bad call on a pitch can have.. They review close calls at first base, but whether a pitch is called a ball or strike on a full count can impact a game just as much.
ASapsFables
Absolutely agree. John Lackey is even worse than Lester with his constant whining! lol
Btw-Lester also benefited from having Davis Ross as his personal catcher with the Cubs (Red Sox as well). Ross is considered to be one of the premier pitch framers in MLB and was excellent at that again in 2016. Of course, Ross retired following the season so it will be interesting to see what effect that will have on Lester’s numbers in 2017.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
I wanted robo-umps but it wasn’t a pressing issue for me.
Until about a week ago I thought about it and realized pitch framing is awful for baseball and needs to be killed.
Robo-umps are the only way to do it.
Even if the robo-umps aren’t 100% perfect….what we have now is just awful. Umps who can’t call balls and strikes even before the framing. Then framing on top of it.
And as a result, teams get these catchers who can’t hit and can’t throw out baserunners (two things that entertain fans) to get guys who can frame (which offers ZERO entertainment value).
Get rid of it. Get the calls right. No reason not to do it.
floyd30
I’m not sure they are understanding what pitch framing does. Please move on from this cause if you don’t understand what a good pitch framer does for your pitchers than you really don’t understand the game to well.
66TheNumberOfTheBest
I understand the value of pitch framing in the current state of the game.
It shouldn’t be part of the game. It hurts the game and offers no positive value. Robo umps would eliminate it.
So, let’s eliminate it.
How does it benefit the game or the fans to have framing as part of the game?
hyraxwithaflamethrower
As a Sox fan, I don’t think Buehrle belongs in the HOF. Solid pitcher, fun to watch, good teammate – all that. But he was never dominant over the course of a season, let alone several. He was very durable, but I don’t think that makes someone a Hall of Famer.
ASapsFables
Mark Buehrle was a pleasure to watch with his pitch efficiency and quick pace on the mound. He was also an excellent fielder with a great pick-off move. If every pitcher went about their business like Buerle, there would be little talk about speeding up the pace of the game.
As a member of the White Sox he had a profound impact on Chris Sale. Although they had entirely different mechanics and stuff, Sale mimicked Buehrle’s quick, no-nonsense pace on the mound. When either of them started and were effective you could expect a game to be completed in around 2 hours, sometime less.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
I remember a game he pitched against Halladay that was done in about 1:45.
buehrle5687
He dominated the entire 2005 regular season and postseason. Bartolo Colon’s 20 wins is why he didn’t get the cy young that year. His no hitter was essentially a perfect game because he picked off the runner at first.
If he were on a higher profile club during his prime he’d be a shoe in.
ASapsFables
Actually, Mark Buehrle threw two no-hitters in his career, including one perfect game.
The contest you referred to was his first no-hitter on April 18th, 2007 at home on a damp 40 degree night against the Texas Rangers. The only batter to reach base against Buehrle was Sammy Sosa who walked in the 5th inning. Buehrle promptly pick him off first base. He faced the minimum 27 batters, striking out 8 and allowing just the one base on balls.
Buehrle achieved his perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23, 2009, also at U.S. Cellular Field and in better weather, a sunny 69 degree afternoon. In the top of the ninth inning, Rays’ leadoff hitter Gabe Kapler hit a deep fly ball to left field-center field, where DeWayne Wise made a spectacular catch, taking a home run away from Kapler and saving the perfect game for Buehrle. Wise was a defensive replacement to start the inning. Buehrle fanned 6 in this contest.
Note: Ironically, both no-hitters were finished in 2:03, typical for a Mark Buehrle start. The final score of the first no-no against the Rangers was 6-0 and the second versus the Rays was 5-0.
lesterdnightfly
No questions about replacing Ventura? Or about the working relationship with Kenny Williams? Or has the Pale Hosers’ owner ever nixed a deal himself?
Puzzling….