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Agreed. He also knew (for the first time in his career) that he didn’t have to carry the load on offense. His approach was noticeably different, swinging at less pitches out of the zone.

Devils Advocate: Since Giolito's family isnt in dire need for the money he doesnt need to try and completely maximize his pay and can choose where he feels comfortable. Its impossible to tell someone's motivation unless you know them personally.

I wouldn’t want to give up any prospects to get Benintendi, so I prefer Eaton on that basis alone.

Jose will certainly regress but he’ll be better than what projection models are expecting out of him IMO. He legit was in much better shape last year and put up a xwOBA in the 93rd percentile.

If you can’t afford a weak bat from a position that is 1/9 of your lineup and primarily defensive (and often better D than the starter) then the correct answer is : “we didn’t build or roster correctly”

The whole idea behind "cancel culture" is dumb. The same people who are screaming this in response to things like being a racist and committing treason against the nation are the same ones who cancelled Colin Kaepernik and the Dixie Chicks. They had noooooo problem costing people their incomes then, so what changed? The party of "personal responsibility" and "fuck your feelings" is the party losing their minds here. Maybe they should take a hardy helping of their own advice? And please no one on Soxtalk give me the "Freedom of Speech" line or i really will lose it.

CHI 20. Rashawn Slater OT Northwestern CHI 61. Rondale Moore WR Purdue trade CHI 83. Rashad Weaver EDGE Pitt CHI 93. Greg Newsome II CB Northwestern trade CHI 205. Kelvin Joseph CB Kentucky CHI 219. Greg Eiland OG Mississippi State CHI 224. Tre Norwood S Oklahoma CHI 230. Jonathon Cooper EDGE Ohio State

I'm glad someone gets it.

I've run through this a few times. This is what I think is my best one: 24 Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT 52 Jalen Mayfield, OT 58 Ronnie Perkins, EDGE 131 Osa Odighizuwa, DT 161 Dazz Newsome, WR 205 Israel Mukuamu, CB 242 Ian Book, QB

I think Jose also benefited from having no April to mid may or so. He doesn't like the cold weather and usually isn't as good the first 6 or so weeks of the season. Career ops by month April 836 May 806 June 848 July 830 August 987 September 884 Overall 870. So last year he started with hot weather right away. Even that he was quite bad the first two weeks (maybe it is not just the weather but also some time to warm up) but in August and September he really raked. I think the better shape also played a role as playing for a contender motivated him more but some regression certainly will be coming. I would gladly take 3 war and a 130 wRC+ from him this year.

Can't do proof of vaccination, because the only people that could go are health care workers and people that have major health conditions. Those are the people that should stay away and let the healthy adults wear masks and socially distance themselves and things will be fine.

With a 60-game season that didn't start until deep into the summer, it's hard to justify comparing 2020 to the predictions of a full 2021 season. Many players (like Jose) didn't have the early season slump. Others never experienced a mid-season slump because of the length of the season. There was no cold weather to deal with. And on and on. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see a WAR drop from Jose, and placing his projection in line with 2019 seems logical. I do think, if 2020 had been a full season, we would have seen better results from Jose. He obviously couldn't have kept up the pace for HRs and RBIs over 162 games, but he looked totally locked in last year. I expect a very good 2021 for Jose and a higher WAR than predicted.

Would take Beni over Eaton 10/10 times. Sad the White Sox didn't get in on this. No reason not to. Would have been nice depth.

Benintendi always reminds me of Gordon Beckham and his rise and fall. Both looked like sure things to become stars. They both will end up with relatively long careers but with very ho-hum results.

Keuchel has averaged about 6.0 innings per start as of late, which means he’d only have to make 27 starts for that 4th year to vest. We’ll have to hope that Cease & Kopech pass him by come 2022 and (along with a Lynn extension) can push him down to the #5 spot in the rotation. That way we can skip him a handful of times and then hope he misses a start or two due to injury. He’s an important piece of the rotation this year, but I do worry about 2022 and especially 2023 with him. It would definitely be nice to have that $20M freed up for other things.

It’s 75% better than 3-4 years ago when Moncada was struggling and Benintendi looking like a perennial All-Star. After all this time, Yoan and Kopech still retain the volatility that was the partial reasoning behind the trade from the Boston perspective. To their detriment, though, Benintendi has regressed. He was the quintessential high floor, but limited ceiling collegian and Hahn rolled the dice. Devers was never going to be included as the third piece. Guessing it would be a 50/50 split or maybe even slightly leaning Devers if you had a poll asking who you’d prefer as a White Sox fan to have between him and Moncada from this point forward. Also, speaking of DH/1B/3B, Miguel Andujar would be an ideal add, but the Yankees aren’t stupid...even though he currently has no place to play.

Cordero is one of those toolsy guys like Adolfo that has never been able to stay healthy and match his raw power with actual HR consistency in the majors. Plus, AB’s getting more and more expensive. And he doesn’t have the arm for RF. For this season though, Benintendi in LF, Jimenez to DH would have been something to consider. Just need to keep Jimenez healthy and out in the field for 140+ games somehow.

I haven't seen one post where anyone is sad. Benintendi isn't a failed prospect . He's already accumulated a decent amount of WAR in his short career. But Boston never put him in RF so I would imagine he doesn't have the arm for it.

I don't think he is high upside at all. Not much about him excites me.

Pretty sure Adolfo was awarded an extra one for missing so much time due to injury.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/02/which-players-will-have-the-largest-change-in-performance-in-2021.html These numbers are based on the extrapolation of last year's data over an entire season. Very interesting stuff. Hope it doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised.

Yeah I agree, I can understand if you don't want to rank madrigal top25 due to upside concerns but not ranking him is quite crazy. Really for an 80-100 ranked player you are glad if he becomes a 2 war player. For example here are the 2014 fg top100. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2014-top-100-prospects/ There are some solid players ranked 80-100 and even a few good ones (berrios, odorizzi, wong, colome) but most of them did not even become multi year regulars.

That’s not indicated at all. Maybe they saw Dunning as basically a non-contributor

He's a big union guy. He's not going to take a short deal because he understands that hurts the guys coming up behind him.

Seems like more teams are choosing to start at 6:10 or 6:40 for weekday games, Wish the Sox would have done that too. Stickin' with 7:10.

And in the most predictable way possible, #CancelDisneyPlus was trending last night in response to their decision. Because logically, if you are so against cancel culture, the only appropriate action to take is to cancel something else

True but also liking the Lucroy signing more & more! If he's fully recovered, he could have a solid impact.

In April the only team we play that is actually trying to make the playoffs is the Angels. The other teams are Tigers, Royals, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, Red Sox. We will need to start off strong against these weak teams.

Pretty tough dude! Evidently, he played with a herniated neck disk for 3 years which kind of matches up with his struggles as it got worse. He also got concussed and a broken nose in a July 2019 home plate collision. Surely that couldn't have helped it. His surgery was last off season over a year ago (not sure exact date). But its sounds like he's feeling pretty good now and ready to get back to it. He could be a heck of a pickup!

I like this part of it. Now we don't have to deal with games starting super late in like August. Just get it over with. Plus the benefit of the weather will be beautiful and pretty much gauranteed no postponements for at least the first week while they're out west.

I’m making this somewhat political so I apologize but I just can’t stand this argument I’m seeing by one side of “Why does Disney get to be the moral arbiter or what is right and what is wrong?” Because they write the checks and she takes their money. You represent the company and they have every right to say “We don’t agree with these views and have decided to part ways in our relationship.” It just bothers me to no end this idea of having zero consequences for our actions. It’s fantasy land to believe otherwise

Given Hahn's MO...I would be more surprised if he wasn't talking to those players about extensions.

Minnesota has 2 titles in the AL West.

Arthur Allyn protested the placing of the Sox in the AL West in 1969. They didn't like being in the same division with two expansion teams, and they had three teams on the West Coast. The Sox had less games against the Tigers, Yankees, and Red Sox, and they already had enough attendance problems as it was. Sadly, in 1969, the Sox finished behind the expansion Royals. Things worsened and they lost 106 games a year later.

That doesn't even make a lick of sense. How would limitations in 2021 prevent extensions from happening when all of these players already have known contracts for 2021? This is the exact line that bothers me about these guys. The information in the first tweet could well be right. But then when you get to the second one, it is either personal speculation, or just making stuff up, because it doesn't pass common sense.

Fegan says Kelley and Cespedes are reporting to Arizona for a minor league mini-camp but aren't part of ST roster

Tatis might be the best player in baseball, so yeah he isn't the 4th best SS. Not 1 GM would take Bogaerts over him for the next 3 years.

Plus, isn't that against HIPA?

4.4, 2.0, -0.5 over the last three years for AB. If you look at averages, he’s a 2, but look at the path of those numbers. Eaton 1.9, 2.4, -0.5 (but missed quite a few games for a counting stat) That would give you just a 1.3 as the average. Of course, 2020 was a shortened season. Not a huge difference in salary, $6.6 million (AB) closer to what the Sox should have paid if Rosario’s only at $8 million. But that would force Jimenez off the field and to DH, and Benintendi can only play LF. Which means you’re still blocking Vaughn unless you’re just writing off either Eaton (or Benintendi) already for the second half of the season. In which case you’re once again wasting money/resources. And you’re putting Jimenez back in the field after sitting all that time.

This is based on WAR, in 2019 when Jose won the batting titled his WAR was only 2.0. So right on with this projection.

My wife was able to set up an appointment to get her mom the vaccine by calling the Mariano's pharmacy at 11:00 PM. We wouldn't have known to do this except her aunt asked someone in person at the pharmacy how to get an appointment. Apparently they open registration at 11:00 each night, and as long as you are one of the first callers, you can make an appointment to get the shot. I imagine other pharmacies are doing similar things. There's no real information out there, so you have to hunt around and be creative.

Beckham only really had those 3-4 months is his rookie campaign. He’s around a career 5 war, 80+ ops hitter, with a lot of that value derived from his defense. Benintendi has double that value already, with a 107+ ops, but almost all of his value coming on the offensive side.

Greg says hi. Peace to you all amid this icy cold tundra.

Not seeing the Dunning move as a mistake, simply because they have (now at least four) alternatives in Cease, Kopech, Rodon and Lopez they believe can outproduce him this season. They likely never projected him as more than a fifth starter or swingman in the bullpen. They just have to be right on that evaluation. It’s nothing like trading Wells, Fogg and Lowe for one pitcher, then not being able to replace him...or giving up Montas and Bassitt in addition to a future MVP candidate for one year of Samardzija. Those were desperation moves...they simply had to work for the team to compete. What will make most everyone extremely irate is if they use this “window of unprecedented financial flexibility” not to take on any additional salary or fix the obvious roster/depth issues we’re already well aware of at the trade deadline.

Lee has a nice ceiling, glad to get him outta KC. Not A huge Benintendi fan.

So many ignorant takes here today, feels like a game thread.

I agree, we can’t afford to watch businesses or people wither away. Something is better than nothing. I can’t even imagine what the economy will look like a year from now if there are still active restrictions in place a year from now. There comes a point where were going to have to live with the virus.

Here you guys go: 52. Liam Eichenberg OT Notre Dame 61. Trey Smith OG Tennessee 97. Kyle Trask QB Florida 108. Rodarius Williams CB Oklahoma State 135. Aaron Banks OG Notre Dame 205. Tariq Thompson S San Diego State 219. Jimmy Morrissey OC Pitt 224. Dez Fitzpatrick WR Louisville 230. Jonathon Cooper EDGE Ohio State 2022 LAC 2nd 2022 LAC 3rd 2022 WAS 3rd 2022 BUF 3rd 2022 LV 4th 2022 ATL 4th The first sim I only did 1 round and got a better trade at 20 because somehow Waddle was there. But Id say this draft gives the Bears a good foundation for next year when they would have added a bunch of picks.

Run to za pillows

Let's look at the 2021 Sox and compare them to 2020. Starting Pitching 2020 v. 2021 1. Giolito v. Giolito. Slight improvement. Giolito is still developing, and the projections have him improving. 2. Keuchel v. Keuchel. Slight decline. Keuchel isn't going to put up a ERA of 1.99 again. 3. Dunning v. Lynn. Vast improvement. Dunning wasn't really our 3rd starter, but I'm putting him here so I can match Cease with himself. 4. Cease v. Cease. Likely improvement, perhaps significant improvement. This is all about our new pitching coach helping to fix Cease. It's unlikely Cease could be worse. 5. Lopez/Gonzalez v. Rodon/Kopech. Likely vast improvement. Lopez and Gio were really bad. If Rodon doesn't get hurt, he'll be much better and a good bridge to Kopech. The Sox have significantly upgraded their rotation with Lynn, and the expected arrival of Kopech. If Katz can get Cease on track, the Sox will be very strong. Not top of baseball, but more than strong enough with their offense and bullpen. Bullpen 2020 v. 2021 1. Colome v. Hendriks. Improved. Colome was very good at converting saves, but his underlying numbers have been declining, and he might not be good enough for playoff baseball. Hendriks is better. 2. Bummer v. Bummer. Big improvement. He wasn't healthy in 2020. Hopefully he will stay healthy this year. 3. Heuer v. Heuer. Improved. Has to be as he gains more experience. 4. Marshall v. Marshall. Stable. 5. Crochet v. Crochet. Improvement if Crochet is used in the pen instead of stretched out to be a starter in AAA. He will improve with experience. 6. Cordero v. Cordero. Same. 7. Fry v. Fry. Same 8. Cishek v. Fill in the blank. Improvement, as Cishek was bad last year. 9. Detwiler v. Fill in the blank. If Crochet takes Detwiler's innings, this will be an improvement. This is a better bullpen, and could be one of the best, if not the best, in baseball. Hendriks can compete with anyone, Bummer is super solid, and the rest are very good. Crochet is the wild card. If they use him in the pen and he stays healthy, we should blow away teams at the end of games. Starting Lineup 2020 v. 2021 1. Anderson v. Anderson. Same. I actually think Tim can get even better, but I won't project that here. 2. Moncada v. Moncada. Vast improvement. If he returns to 2019 form, this will be huge boost to this lineup. 3. Abreu v. Abreu. Same. Many will predict a decline, and it may happen. But Jose will remain the leader of the team. 4. Jimenez v. Jimenez. Slight improvement. He will continue to get better, and will make up for any decline by Abreu 5. Grandal v. Grandal. Same. He didn't have a great 2020, so it shouldn't be too hard for him to at least match it. 6. Encarnacion v. Vaughn. Improvement. Encarnacion was 70 OPS+ bad. Vaughn, when he comes up, will crush that number. 7. Robert v. Robert. Improvement. He started hot, went ice cold, then started improving at the end. He should be much better in year 2. 8. Mazara v. Eaton. Improvement. People fear Eaton will get hurt, but he only missed a few games his 3 years in Chicago. When he plays, he'll be vastly better than 64 OPS+ Mazara. 9. Madrigal v. Madrigal. Same. He had a fabulous rookie year. This lineup should be much improved with a much stronger year out of Moncada, better DH play with Vaughn, an improved RF, and Luis Robert in year 2. We were second in the AL in runs scored to the Yanks. We could be #1 in the AL this year. Bench 2020 v. 2021 1. James McCann v. Zach Collins. Big drop off. This is the one position on the team where we are taking a step back. It's why many are calling for another backup catcher. I think if you give Collins some ABs, he'll come through on the offensive side. He will likely never be as good defensively or as a game manager as McCann. 2. Garcia/Mendick v. Garcia. If Leury stays healthy, this will be an improvement. 3. Engel v. Engel. Same. A solid platoon player and defensive replacement. 4. Last man v. Last man. ???? We don't know who the Sox will choose as their last bench player. Will it be an infielder or outfielder? Coaching 2020 v. 2021 1. Renteria v. LaRussa. Vast improvement. I know many of you hate TLR. But he's going to be first all-time in wins for a post-integration manager this year. Renteria had the Sox having fun last year, but he had no clue how to manage tight pressure packed games down the stretch and into the postseason. LaRussa does. 2. Cooper v. Katz. Vast improvement. We have to see it, but going off what Katz did for Giolito gives most of us confidence he'll do very well for other pitchers too. Might be the key move of the offseason. 3. Remaining coaches v. remaining coaches. Even. There may even be improvement here, but I'll leave it even for now. Overview Here are the areas of improvement. Starting pitching: Giolito slightly better, Lynn huge plus, Cease likely improved, Rodon/Kopech much better than Lopez/Gonzalez Bullpen: Hendriks better, Bummer healthier, Heuer more experienced, Crochet the wild card. The rest are the same. Lineup: Moncada much better, Vaughn better than Encarnacion, Eaton better than Mazara, Robert better in year 2 Bench: Garcia staying healthy. Coaching: Huge improvement with LaRussa and Katz. The only declines are Keuchel will be unlikely to have a 1.99 ERA, and Collins cannot replace McCann at catcher. Granted, this is a very optimistic overview. Injuries will happen and could upset this evaluation. But it's crazy to look at this team and predict they may not make the postseason, will melt down and be terrible, and all the other doom and gloom predictions Sox fans have been expressing lately. This is a young, hungry and improving team, strengthened by savvy and skilled veterans, managed by a Hall of Famer who has a top notch pitching coach by his side, with no obvious weaknesses. The lineup could be scary 1-9 if Moncada is back, Vaughn acclimates quickly, and Eaton stays healthy. The top 3 starters all were top 7 Cy Young vote getters last year, and there is potential for starters 4 and 5 to become studs. The bullpen may be the best in baseball. I wouldn't call us World Series favorites, or even AL Pennant favorites. But we can match up with anyone in the AL, and if we win the pennant, we will have a shot at winning the World Series. So, there's my rosy analysis. Go ahead and tear it down if you like. But if you are really a Sox fan, why not just enjoy it?? We have an awesome team that should be very fun to watch.