Coastal Carolina wins College WS

[MarquetteDano]

Fantastic that another small school won a major NCAA championship.  Nova now CCU.  Makes me wonder what the big boys will do to ensure this does not happen in the future?

Sounds conspiratorial but the big conferences must not be too happy about this happening.

[GGGG]

First national championship for any Big South school. The next day they leave to join the Sun Belt.

[Tugg Speedman]

Would you consider baseball a non-revenue sport?  If so, why should they care?

[GGGG]

I think baseball makes some good money for southern and western schools. But I don't think they care enough to make them do something about it.

[buckchuckler]

Great win for them.  I watched a bit of it as there are 2 guys the WSox drafted on CC. 

[wadesworld]

I don't watch a ton of college baseball but I watched the first 2 games of the Championship series.  Wish I could've watched the 3rd game but it was at 1 on a work day because of the weather.  It was a great series.

[Herman Cain]

Would you consider baseball a non-revenue sport?  If so, why should they care?

1. I like your new name. Hope you don't suffer the same fate.
2. Here is some stats on college baseball attendance. At the high end I think it could be considered a revenue sport.

 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/baseball_RB/2016/attend.pdf

[buckchuckler]

I don't watch a ton of college baseball but I watched the first 2 games of the Championship series.  Wish I could've watched the 3rd game but it was at 1 on a work day because of the weather.  It was a great series.

Im in the same boat.  The games were very well played.  I do try to watch a bit of the CWS as it is always entertaining. 

[Lennys Tap]

Great win for them.  I watched a bit of it as there are 2 guys the WSox drafted on CC.

Which two, buck?

[buckchuckler]

Which two, buck?

The closer (who actually started game 2), Mike Morrison, and the 3b Zach Remillard

[Lennys Tap]

The closer (who actually started game 2), Mike Morrison, and the 3b Zach Remillard

Thanks

[tower912]

Chanticleers rock.

[Tugg Speedman]

The closer (who actually started game 2), Mike Morrison, and the 3b Zach Remillard

Future all-stars the soxs can trade for useless veterans (see James Shields)

[🏀]

Watched all the games on vacation near Myrtle, super fun atmosphere

[buckchuckler]

Future all-stars the soxs can trade for useless veterans (see James Shields)

So you think Erik Johnson is a future all star? 

[Tugg Speedman]

Tatis Jr. Has a chance.

The soxs are the worst team in baseball developing talent. It's because they live in the Cubs shadow and constantly empty the farm system for some "name" over the hill veteran in hopes it will excit the fan base to buy a few extra tickets.

It's amazing Sale made it through without getting death away.

[buckchuckler]

Tatis Jr. Has a chance.

The soxs are the worst team in baseball developing talent. It's because they live in the Cubs shadow and constantly empty the farm system for some "name" over the hill veteran in hopes it will excit the fan base to buy a few extra tickets.

It's amazing Sale made it through without getting death away.

Tatis is a 17 year old that never played stateside.  He may be an all star.  He may also never crack A ball.  The Sox have Anderson at SS now and guys like Cruz and Nunez that have similar skill sets at SS and they are more advanced prospects.  The rest of your post was incorrect and mostly nonsensical.

[Tugg Speedman]

Tatis is a 17 year old that never played stateside.  He may be an all star.  He may also never crack A ball.  The Sox have Anderson at SS now and guys like Cruz and Nunez that have similar skill sets at SS and they are more advanced prospects.  The rest of your post was incorrect and mostly nonsensical.

Keith Law has the Whike Sox ranked 22 (of 30) farm systems.  This is actually an improvement as most of the last decade they were in the bottom 5 and three times dead last.

http://www.southsidesox.com/minors/2016/2/11/10964796/white-sox-farm-system-takes-a-hit-in-keith-laws-rankings

If Morrison and or Remillard ever show any promise they will be traded away for some useless over the hill veteran.  Ditto Anderson, Nunez and Fullmer.  That is what the Sox do.  See the terrible Todd Frazier trade, giving three of their top 10 prospects (Montas, Thompson, Johnson) for a 30 year old.  Yes Frazier is having a very good season now, check back in 10 years and you will turn away in embarassment at how bad this trade was.

Kind of like Kenny Williams trading Gio Gonzelez over and over again, only for Gio to pitch in all-star games for teams other than the white Soxs.  Gio was a throw in for Nick Swisher in 2008.  One of Kenny's worst trades.

Face it, they are a poorly run baseball organization, among the worst in baseball.  This will never change until Reinsdorf sells the team.

[buckchuckler]

Keith Law has the Whike Sox ranked 22 (of 30) farm systems.  This is actually an improvement as most of the last decade they were in the bottom 5 and three times dead last.

http://www.southsidesox.com/minors/2016/2/11/10964796/white-sox-farm-system-takes-a-hit-in-keith-laws-rankings

If Morrison and or Remillard ever show any promise they will be traded away for some useless over the hill veteran.  Ditto Anderson, Nunez and Fullmer.  That is what the Sox do.  See the terrible Todd Frazier trade, giving three of their top 10 prospects (Montas, Thompson, Johnson) for a 30 year old.  Yes Frazier is having a very good season now, check back in 10 years and you will turn away in embarassment at how bad this trade was.

Kind of like Kenny Williams trading Gio Gonzelez over and over again, only for Gio to pitch in all-star games for teams other than the white Soxs.  Gio was a throw in for Nick Swisher in 2008.  One of Kenny's worst trades.

Face it, they are a poorly run baseball organization, among the worst in baseball.  This will never change until Reinsdorf sells the team.

Well, they already have refused to trade Anderson, and he is the teams current SS, so that's a quick K for you. 


So, they are the worst run franchise.  Great.  You have a single example of an All Star being traded 8 years ago. 

Other than Gio, give me an All Star the Sox have traded?  You got any?

As for the Frazier trade, well I thought you said the Sox can't develop talent?  So why are you then criticizing them trading three prospects for an All Star, slugging 3B?  The three prospects you cited, Johnson, the Sox gave several shots.  Elite speed, but he can't play the field.  They had also already found a regular 2B in the off season (Brett Lawrie) so he didn't have a spot (And despite the terrible farm system he was still behind Saladino and Sanchez even before Lawrie).  Frankie Montas was a prospect they acquired in a trade (so hmmm, they must be somewhat capable trading, because if you think Montas was good, it was good of them to acquire him right?  Seems hypocritical (or maybe ignorant) of you).  Montas has a huge arm.  He is also huge himself.  He has trouble staying on the field.  Maybe a starter, likely a reliever, hasn't contributed at all, currently on the DL.  Trayce is good.  He is also 25, and had problems making consistent contact.  This was a classic sell high on Trayce.  Just about every analysis of the trade was amazed at how little the Sox gave up.  In 10 years this may look like a lopsided trade, I doubt it, but then, teams always trade promising youngsters for established players.

 You think the Sox are the worst run and can't develop talent, yet rag on them for trading a 17 year old for a guy that was an All Star. (seems to imply you think they would have developed Tatis into an All Star)  You rag on them for trading a 20 year old A ball pitcher for a HOFer.  Not sure what kind of return you expect, but that seems ok to me. 

As for Reinsdorf.  He gets crap for no reason.  Again complete ignorance on you.  The team is over .500 in his 36 years of ownership.  They have been competitive more often than not.  He is aggressive, he tries to win.  I love that in an owner.  The franchise winning % is higher after Reinsdorf (.510) than before (.502). 

The Sox aren't the best run team.  But they are far from the worst.  And using a blog post of someone elses farm review doesn't prove anything.  The Sox use the farm exactly as they should.  To improve the Major league team.  This year their farm system has netted the team, Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie and Tim Anderson among others.  That isn't too terrible.

[buckchuckler]

By the way, Keith Law, the guy you use as your expert on the state of the Sox farm system, loved the Frazier  trade. 

[Tugg Speedman]

Chris Young was traded to AZ as part of the Javy Vazquez trade.  Blew up in their face.  They should have traded Brian Anderson but they are too incompetent to judge their own talent.

Trading Clayton Richards as part of the Peavy trade was another huge mistake.

And we haven't even discussed the huge amount on money that have wasted in free agency.  From Adam Dunne to Adam Larouche, they have a knack for getting one train wreck after another. 

Since winning the World Series in 2005 that White Soxs have exactly zero post season series.  They have not been to the post season since 2008.  They are not going this year and probably not next year.  That means 10 years of no October baseball, that is the very definition of a poorly run team.

Their problem is they are team with no plan, they haphazardly trade players just to plug holes.  Then when to do well or poorly for three weeks in a row and their plan changes.  A month ago they get James Shields, they they have a really bad three weeks, which Shields contributed too, and now they are listening to offers for Chris Sale.  What the hell are they doing?  What is the plan????

They do not believe in developing talent which is why their farm system is an embarrassment and they trade away all their young talent for guys that Frazier, who at 30, will be well on the backside of his career in two to three years and they will need yet another third-basemen.

Meanwhile the Cubs won a post season series last year, are the favorites for the world series this year and are looking at three to four post season seasons in a row.  Why?  New management with a plan.  Look at the talent their farm system has developed, more than the Soxs in the last 15 years combined, and look at the talent they still have

Law has the Cubs as the #4 farm system even though they have graduated SIX players to the show ... potentially five of them will be all-stars THIS YEAR.  I think you have to go back about 40 years to find 5 all-stars out of the Sox farm system, Jenks and Sale being the last two, and the Cubs did that at the same time with more coming.

Reinsdorf is the past.  Management of a professional franchise has changed.  He is still using the 1980s/1990s playbook and both of his teams never make the post season anymore.  They only organization more screwed up than the Soxs are the Bulls.

Note, I am a bigger Sox fan than Cubs fan but it is hard to watch a randomly constructed mis-managed team.  The James Shields disaster was the last straw.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Coastal Carolina - So when do they serve suspensions for UNC violations?

[buckchuckler]

Young was a good player and a well regarded prospect.  Though KW was hardly the only GM to fall victim to the allure of Javy Vazquez.  But really, Young had 2-3 years where he was good, and has been mostly a 4th OFer.  Obviously a world better than Anderson.

Clayton Richard was no loss.  He had a couple years of being a decent mid rotation starter but that was all.  He obviously made an impact on you though, as you didn't even get his name right.  Peavy didn't work out perfectly due to some injuries, but keep in mind, for Peavy they got Garcia, Montas and Wendelken.  And Montas helped bring in Frazier, and Wendelken helped bring in Lawrie.  Not bad for Clayton Richard. 

The Cubs, whom you hold up as the beacon of a well run franchise are quite deep and talented right now.  Well, a good part of how they built that depth of talent was a 5 year stretch in which they were 118 games under 500.  That is averaging bout 93 losses per season.  When you draft in the top 3 for a bunch of years, it becomes easier to add that top tier talent.  Not saying it is easy, as there are many misses, but it is more likely.  Under Jerry Reinsdorf (guy you find to be a terrible owner) have lost 93 games or more 1 time.  The Cubs averaged that over 5 years.  Tanking helped the Cubs.  They rebuilt.  They killed a trade in which they acquired a burn out prospect that turned into a Cy Young winner.  How Theo signed veteran starters and spun them off was masterful, but it took a lot of being quite terrible. 

And how do you know they are listening to offers on Sale?  People bring it up all the time, but not usually anyone with inside info.  All you ever hear from the Sox is that Sale isn't going anywhere. 

The Frazier trade is a weird thing to complain about.  "This stupid team, that brings in All Star 3B, I hate that."  Cmon, really?  If they are bad again next year, they will be able to trade Frazier mid-season and get back at least a group of prospects near what they gave up for him.  He is a solid glove with a well above average bat.  Oh and if Frazier is traded or leaves, they do have a guy they view as a 3B of the future.  He is a 20 yr old in AA right now.  Not killing it, but not floundering in a league where he well younger than average. 

Farm system rankings are not the be all end all you know.  It would be perfectly reasonable for the Sox to have Carlos Rodon in AAA right now.  He would likely be near the top (if not the top) prospect in all of baseball.  The Sox don't suppress guys.  They also don't leave them blocked.  Major league players are better than prospects.  Especially prospects that are years away or have shown major deficiencies in their game (Thompson, Montas, Johnson).

And the disaster threw his second straight QS yesterday.  Not that he is going to win the Cy Young, but all they need is him to be serviceable. 

[Tugg Speedman]

Cubs have a series break ... new ownership took over in 2009.  So only judge them from 2009 forward.  Again made the NCLS last year, favorite to win the series this year.  Have potentially 5 young all-stars next week straight from their farm system.  They are the envy of baseball and are going to be busy in Octobers to come for many years..

Is the reason you hate Keith Law is he suggested that the Cubs are building a dynasty farm system that could yield results similar to the 1990s Braves (14 straight years in the playoffs)?

Before you note the Braves won only one World Series ... Management's job is to get to the playoffs.  Once in the playoffs, anything can happen, like Met's Daniel Murphy looking like the second coming of Babe Ruth against the Cubs in the NCLS.  So cannot put playoff results on management, only if they have made it.

The trade market is so efficient that you cannot keep winning.  At best you trade equal talent for equal talent at another position.  Most of the time you trade too much for lesser talent to get what you need.  That, in my opinion, is the Frazier trade.  The Reds did not give him away.  They picked off the Soxs.  The wheeling dealing Soxs needed something now and gave away too much of the future to get it.  Wait a few years and this will be painfully apparent.

If the Soxs suck next year, and Frazier has the same numbers as this year, they are getting less back because GMs know the peak year for a baseball player is 29 and a 31 year old Frazier (his age next year) will be rapidly losing value.

In 2016, the way a team wins is with their farm system.  The Royals, Giants, Red Soxs and Rangers all figured this out and played in many late October games.  The Cubs have now figured this out and are on their way.  The Soxs have not.

The soxs are looking to win 85 games and be satisfied, only to turn over 40% of their roster every year.  This is a prescription to not be last, but also not be busy in October.

[Macallan 18]

Sounds conspiratorial but the big conferences must not be too happy about this happening.

Kudos to Coastal on their championship!

The selection committee did all they could to stack the deck for the ACC and SEC this year. The ACC got 10 teams in, the SEC 7 and for the first time since the tournament expanded from 48 teams in 1999, the NCAA did not select any Pac-12 schools to host a regional, and Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech) was the westernmost regional host city.

Despite having the odds in their favor not one ACC or SEC school made it to the CWS semifinals and 2 west coast schools, Arizona and UC Santa Barbara, made it to Omaha.

College baseball's reliance on the RPI does a major disservice to West Coast programs who, unlike their ACC and SEC counterparts, actually play tough teams during the mid-week. It is ridiculous that a team like Boston College, who finished under .500 in conference play, gets a bid to the CWS.

The article below provides good insight on how the RPI hurts West Coast schools while helping southern schools:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/teams-716525-west-rpi.html