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It sucks to lose. It's easy to point blame and be angry. That said, you cross the line into personal attacks on the player or manager here at Soxtalk - expect a suspension. No exceptions. Please be a grown up and think before you type.

This place is full of legit mental cases. It's 80% of the reason I log on.

Grandal is arguably the worst free agent signing in the history of this franchise. I can’t believe people would take him over James McCann.

Reported to Feds

Stoney just said on the radio that Grandal is “trying to set a record for most groundouts to second base in a season”

To be fair, at least he wished a peaceful death. Even in the heat of the moment, CWS didn't want Tony to feel the pain Tony made him feel. Honestly think this is all being a bit overblown. It was a shitty thing to say, but I asked Chitown and he said it was just good natured ribbing in his opinion.

The Mets have a very happy pitching staff. The White Sox not so much.

McCann and his 75 OPS+ and 79 wRC+ this season would put this offense over the top, surely

Listen buddy, I don't think that crosses the line, guy. I hope you can move past that verbiage champ, but if not I wish you nothing but the best pal.

Is sarcastically calling somebody "Pal" against the rules?

I am already getting tired of 7 inning doubleheaders

That is mean. Reported.

IWULT: Hello, mr FBI? I want to report an internet post. FBI: Did he threaten you or your family with bodily harm in a way that can be considered legitimate? IWULT: No but.. FBI: Did he violate your privacy, hack you, or destroy/damage your equipment or use this post to commit fraud? IWULT: No but.. FBI: Did it contain CP or other illegal imagery? IWULT: NO! He wished the manager of my baseball team death tonight while he sleeps! FBI: Get a load of this guy everyone... hahahahahaha *CLICK*

I apologize for the comment in the game-thread last night and clearly don’t wish anyone ill will over baseball. It was simply tasteless joke driven by the moment, but alas it went too far and definitely missed the mark. Again, apologies if I offended anyone.

Yeah, I saw a hope said manager dies post last night and was kind of shocked.

Let’s see how they fuck this one up.

This isn’t true.

I swear people who do things like this in hopes of getting an internet high five from someone like Steve stone are a whole other level of weird. "Did you see what this stranger said on the internet!?!?!" You literally don't need to venture much further than the response to any highly active tweet chain to see way more vile comments. I love that stone would be more appalled by a tweet like that than he, and many fans apparently, are by Tony larussa repeatedly driving drunk and risking actual lives. Weird stuff all around.

Thank you for this. I stopped coming to game threads years ago because of this and this year it’s been worse than ever. I just want to come to enjoy the game with fellow Sox fans.

It’s been well documented that I disliked the Grandal signing from the beginning. It’s not because of his bat either. It’s because I think his defense is terribly overrated and this team needs a strong defensive catcher, not a below average one. I could care less if he hits for a 115 wRC+ or whatever if his defense sucks. This team has enough hitting, need pitching and defense to win the big one. And call my CERA concern a “meatball” take or fluky or whatever but it’s become a consistent trend across the last two seasons that Sox pitchers pitch better to anyone other than Grandal. It’s not surprising either when you see him catch and call a game.

At what point does Leury being horrendous at the plate is more of a hindrance than the value of his position versatility? He's in the lineup 4-5 days a week when he should be in it once a week.

When my wife catches me doing something I know is borderline wrong, I typically also get incredibly defensive and start swearing so now I am 100% convinced they were. When I'm not wrong, i always react calmly and don't even address her nonsense. Guilty!

Clearly being from my perspective. Given this is a message board, I don’t expect people to take it any other way than it’s written. That being said, I can say with absolute certainty that I don’t actually wish ill will on Tony La Russa over his in-game decision-making and if you knew me outside of Soxtalk you’d agree with that notion. Unfortunately I made a joke in very bad taste and it’s 100% fair to be criticized for it. No other way around it.

Was mostly joking. He definitely needs to cut it out with the hard grounders into the shift but he still isn't even top 4 on the team in ground ball rate. For as bad as he looks at the plate, his xwOBA has never been higher and his wOBA has never been lower. His walk rate has never been higher and his strikeout rate has never been lower. His hard-hit rate and xSLG have never been higher. The only concerning batted ball metric is his launch angle being down a few degrees, which I'm sure will get ironed out over time. Way too small of a sample to stress about his results when the underlying metrics are so good, so I'm not worried

If $18 million to one player precudes us from signing other good players, then this rebuild has already failed

Yep he’s flat out costing the Sox games with truly irrational decisions.

lol mccann has such a cult following here its hilarious. Yasmani has been really bad in 21 and definitely 100% deserves some criticism for sure. I've been big supporter of his against the meatball takes, but he's been just flat bad in 21. He was fine last year. I do honestly think part of the problem is Sox fans expected a different hitter than Grandal really is. What he did last year is exactly what he's done his whole career, which has made him widely considered one of the best 2-3 catchers in the game, pretty much unanimously. McCann is a really solid defensive catcher that has has produced about 2-3 months of good offensive in his 7+ year career. Career wRC+ of 85. Rag on Yasmani all you want (and like I said, he deserves some flack so far in 21), but he has a career wRC+ of 117. Offensively, they aren't really comparable at all. Defensively, I would agree that Yaz has been pretty disappointing so far in a Sox uni - I certainly expected more. At the end of the day, McCann is in New York and is looking like the offensive producer he's been for 95% of his career. I like the guy - but he isn't some savior.

This is three games in 20 games that TLR has admitted this. That is AWFUL. Stop defending him. This was a horrible hire and it is affecting the Sox play.

I also despise Grandal 👍🏼

Crossing my fingers... Bruce Bochy is still out there.

It would suck to see Tony get forced to resign, wouldn’t it

"I'm super serial."

Need baserunners down two at that time with 2-3-4-5 hitters coming up with 0 outs. Definitely a mistake.

No, managers look stupid when they do stupid things. When players are out in the right spot they will still often fail. Vaughn probably doesn’t hit a 3 run home run in the 8th. Foster or Bummer might well have been hit in the 7th. When you put guys into a position where they have their best shot to succeed and they don’t, people don’t blame the manager. People blame the manager when he says things about wanting a single with the tying run at home plate or when he doesn’t recognize that his starter gave everything he had, or even ask, and puts guys into positions to fail.

A lot of people wanted Giolito pulled before the 7th even started and pretty much everyone did once he gave a leadoff walk. None of this was hindsight, it was simply watching a gassed out pitcher quickly losing it in a one-run game.

I don't understand the calls for Ozzie after some losses. There are many others who could have been good managers for this team. The White Sox just refused to interview them.

I get why people are disgusted. Our best starter going against a lousy opponent. I almost assume a win. Managers have decisions of when to pull a pitcher when to pitch hit when to call for a sacrifice bunt, etc. In 162 games these decisions are made by managers and pretty much overlooked when the team wins. Managers look stupid when pitch hitters strikeout or the new reliever gets shelled. My point is...every manager makes fans unhappy some of the time over a long season. Hine sight always has 20/20 vision.

c'mon just give it up. Neither Ozzie nor TLR should be coaching. That's why they haven't had a job in at least 8 years. Give it up

Thanks man. Game threads have gotten out of control. Remember back in the day half this BS was addressed. I love chatting with everyone here, but ill be honest that game threads get really annoying and its usually the same cast of characters. I understand the team is expected to do well, but the constant bit..ing and moaning over every decision who ever the manager is at the moment is lame. Just like the post I called out the other day about someone saying fing someone's girlfriend. It has no place here. I've been here since the beginning 02-03 maybe and its been crazy in the game threads the last couple of seasons

Not play both Leury and Hamilton. Robert out so that makes sense and Grandal has been shitty so I'm pretty ok with Collins being in there.

Going out for my actual anniversary tonight so, don't hate me, but I wouldn't mind a rainout! Looks like, at worst, they would be playing in some precipitation most of the night.

Idk man I think Grandal's .108 BABIP is gonna sustain

I think talking about taking Giolito out prior to the 7th is silly. He is our ace and he had 95 pitches and we're facing the worst offensive in the AL. Had TLR taken him out and brought in Foster or whoever, you'd be ripping him that they took Gio out too early. Now, I definitely think it would have made some sense to pull him after the lead-off walk and long Baddoo at bat. Certainly after the Ramos double. He was definitely left in too long, but taking him out before the 7th even started is wayyyy too quick of a hook.

Does this mean that we can’t point out our perceptions of the personal characteristics a player or manager may exhibit that make him incapable of doing his job professionally? Im speaking about TLR and whether he’s capable of managing at his age and with his disposition and the controversy surrounding his personal habits

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is the most famous example, but yes.

He's a guy that analytics loves apparently but when you watch, you can't help but think: "what the fuck."

Bottom line is most White Sox fans who are old enough to have lived through Tony's first stint with the White Sox , are far more surprised he has this reputation of making teams better. None of mismanagement is a surprise. This was a guy who Tom Paciorek, the mild mannered Wimpy, once said couldn't manage a lemonade stand. He's clearly slowed down. You can tell that in his speech. Call it ageism or whatever, but he shouldn't have been hired, his drinking and driving gave them an out, they didn't take it, and at the end of the year, I can almost guarantee he will call it a day.