gogosox1959

Does the CBA address situations like this where the team wants to manipulate innings to negate an option?

The only thing that they are realistically playing for is whom would host a game 5 vs. Houston. I'm totally good with resting players and lining up starters for post season

Does the playoff roster go back down to 26?

Think ahead and be optimistic. Many more pinch hitting needs in the WS w/o DH.

What's rarely mentioned in evaluating the catchers is what we can't see: game planning and game plan execution. When Zavala was called up instead of Yermin, TLR specifically referenced Zavala's game planning. The game planning is important as it might explain pitch sequencing that doesn't always seem to make sense in real time. They game plan with very advanced statistics, (this is Katz on the computer - not TLR).

kasper walk off call:

AV is 1B by trade and most probably serviceable at 3B in an emergency I won't mention his one start at 2B.

There is no longer a question about Goodwin in CF with Robert back and more so when Engel comes back. Then it would seem to be: when Grandal not catching: DH=YG, LF=EJ, RF=AV when Grandal catching: DH/LF=EJ+AV; In right: Engel/Goodwin

It needs to be a 3rd catcher as they will be conservative with Grandal until close to playoff time. Hamilton will get one spot and the third catcher will get the second. I predict that Seby will get roster spot 28 after being sent down for 4 days when Grandal returns. I imagine that they will send Seby down for the 4 days as he's already used an option this year while Collins has not used an option this year and it would be crazy to blow an option year for 4 days.

games played Sox=124; Abreu=117; Moncada=112; Vaughn=107; Anderson=104

It's lIkely that we will never see the A line-up before mid-September unless we lose 3 in a row somewhere along the line As TLR said even before the start of the season, he manages for Sept-Oct. I also don't expect starters to go that "extra" inning...like there was no way that Giolito was going out for the 8th in mid-August.

Vaughn is really only an outfielder or DH. His background is 1st, but he is generously listed as 6'0". A bigger target with more stretch range is needed. More typically: Abreu is 6'3"; Jimenez is 6'4"; Sheets is 6'5"; Lamb is 6'3"; even Grandal is 6'2". Anyone else think that Vaughn looks like a catcher? He also has the smarts for it, (Cal-Berkley).

Zavala is not going down. Collins is gone unless they decide that they have an extra arm and go with 3 catchers until Billy or Engel get back

Maximum allowed on rehab assignment is 20 days for position players, (no minimum)

I don't think that he's ROY as his early, (initiation), numbers stop it from happening. I strongly believe that he's the team's MVP, (non-pitcher division). Where would the Sox have been if he couldn't play left after Eloy went down....and now RF with Eloy coming back? I agree that he should be the DH. It's a handicap not to have a big target at 1st to throw to. In fact I prefer him in the outfield to 1st when you compare the number of infield hits by short stretching as compared to balls that get by in the outfield. What would be fun to do is to read all of the initial posts about what was going to happen with him in left.

Depends who starts the game in LF or DH. You can't "move" someone to DH.

...and more importantly, you don't die. The Sox got to 85% quite a long time ago....before the Cubs got added to the team. Will there be quarantine bubbles during the playoffs?

For all the early season bitching about "lack of depth", those AAA players are the reason the Sox are in position to roll now that the upgrades have taken hold.

Kimbrell is also the ultimate insurance policy if Hendriks were to get hurt.

Championship windows are of limited time. If the trade helps the Sox win in 21 or 22, then I don't care if Madrigal is an all star in the next 5 years......it would be more than worth it.

I predict AV in right as TLR won't sit him two games in a row.

538 is a well respected statistical based sports/politics website. This week they published the linked, lengthy analysis; it's well worth a read. (I didn't see it posted anywhere on soxtalk). "lessons to be drawn from Chicago’s season, about the importance of organizational flexibility and prudence in roster building. The White Sox have sidestepped the flimsiness that can hamper teams over-reliant on marquee names, leaning instead on a cast of able fill-ins and MLB’s most consistent starting rotation" "Despite a relative lack of top-line success, (Anderson, Abreu and Moncada),...The best news for White Sox fans is that there’s still time for those original expectations to pay off. Plain bad luck explains part of Abreu’s disappointing follow-up to his MVP campaign...." They currently give the sox an 8% chance of winning the WS. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-white-sox-are-good-but-can-they-be-great/

Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Chicago. The flight is about 12 hours. So you arrive in Chicago earlier in the day than when you left Tokyo! For example there's a plane that leaves Tokyo at 5:00 pm; it gets into Chicago at 3:00 pm. The b**** is going there. You leave at noon and get there at 3:00 pm the next day (27 hours on the clock)

The most import parts of catching aren't in the box score: game planning, working with pitchers before and during games, calling, framing, monitoring defensive positioning, saving wild pitches. How the pitchers feel about throwing to him or Collins is a big part of the decision process. If everyone is back and healthy, then the line-up can afford a lesser hitting catcher.

Sheets can be sent down; Lamb would have to be DFA. It becomes better to send down Sheets in case you need someone later on.