A month or so ago, a player who played for Griff and I over the last couple of summers — as well as with Griff during the school season of 2010 — walked away from the game during the fall of his first season of college. His reasons were not unusual by any means. These included not loving the game anymore, not liking his teammates, not liking his environment, and not liking his coaches. Being of considerable intelligence, the player took the obvious logical steps and arrived at the conclusion that he never really loved the game but rather his company within his personal experiences relative to the game, be it on or off the field. Of course I encouraged him to give his decision a little time and a little reflection so that he is confident in it when he looks back at his life. I urged him to gaze beyond talent and performance and rather toward more rudimentary factors such as basic emotions like love, joy, hate, pain, etc. In the last couple of weeks he has developed a new desire to return to the field, and I think his reasoning is worth discussing.

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Both the Chicago Cubs and their fans have a lot to look forward to in 22-year old outfielder, Brett Jackson.  Since being drafted 31^st overall by the Cubs in the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft, Jackson has rapidly ascended through the minor leagues thanks to a combination of power and speed.  Baseball America ranked him as the 74^th best prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2010 season, and needless to say, Jackson exceeded the expectations.

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Despite reports that Jake Peavy is ahead of schedule in his rehab, Chris Sale is preparing to be the White Sox 5^th starter in 2010…..Sale has begun a conditioning program to build endurance and strengthen his legs…..he needs a defined role headed into 2010…..bouncing between the rotation and bullpen will only stunt his development. [Chicago Breaking Sports]

Kenny Williams has stated that Brent Morel will likely be the White Sox third baseman in 2010…..while he may not have the power of Dayan Viciedo, Morel is a superb defender with gap power…..Ozzie believes he has a better glove than both Joe Crede and Robin Ventura…..Viciedo could potentially fill a void at 1B if they don’t re-sign Konerko or another free agent. [Carrie Muskat/MLB.com]

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Ok, so they didn’t actually say that, but you have to imagine that the Florida Marlins’ announcing tandem of Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton were instantly devastated upon learning that the organization had traded Dan Uggla.  No longer will they be able to deliver their patented home run call, “His name is Dan Uggla!”

Soon, Marlins fans will have the joy of hearing, “His name is Omar Infante!” Granted, it will only be, roughly, eight to nine times per year, and for the sole purpose of informing the fan base that they have a new player.

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The Chicago White Sox signed third baseman Dallas McPherson, 30, who was once one of the Los Angeles Angels top prospects…..played for the Oakland A’s Triple-A affiliate in 2010….. hit .267/.339/.541 with 22 home runs in 354 plate appearances. [Baseball America]

The White Sox are willing to hear offers for RHP Gavin Floyd…..would expect a substantial return considering Floyd is a proven 2^nd or 3^rd starter…..Floyd made 31 starts for White Sox in 2010 and went 10-13 with a 4.08 ERA…..had a career best 49% groundball rate…..was 3-1 with a 0.80 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in July. [MLBTR]

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