VAfan

Right! But you said this quite simply.

Criticism is fine -- I shared mine -- but it's pretty easy to tell when it goes over the top. Here's how to tell the difference. Ask any of the posters on here -- why are you still a White Sox fan? What is the response? If they can't say anything positive at that point, then it's whining. I mean, if the Sox DON'T win the World Series, is following or rooting for the Sox a complete waste of time? Not for me. I enjoyed the hell out of the 2020 season but I didn't think the Sox had a shot at a title. The Dodgers have had amazing teams year after year, and spend money out the wazoo, but have only won 1 World Series recently. It's possible to make a point without thinking Rick Hahn is a moron, Jerry Reinsdorf is a cheapskate, and TLR is an over-the-hill drunk. Just have a little perspective, and some HUMILTY. Because if any of the posters on here tried to do any of those jobs, including me, we'd fail completely. We're all such know-it-alls when NONE of us have ever done any of the jobs we trash people for. This is why I stood up for TLR last offseason. Sure, he's not a perfect manager. But I know he knows a whole lot more and has been through a whole lot more than any of his critics. Most of us don't have the first clue what the job of managing is. It certainly isn't making out the lineup card. I believe it's a people job as much as it is a strategy job. So, I'm an armchair critic as well (not a water carrier, btw). But I have some respect for the people who put the White Sox together, and the players and coaches we already have. And I'm going to enjoy this season regardless of where we end up.

In favor of whom, exactly? Everyone above him on the chart will also be in most games against right handers.

You ran 3-year numbers for them. I only ran last year. In 2019, Harrison had a TERRIBLE year for Detroit, but he was also apparently hurt. So why include that? Meanwhile, Garcia was league average against righties last year, and Harrison just a tick below. Either way, they are likely our 9th place hitters. If the Sox get league average out of the 9th slot in the lineup, I can certainly live with that. The way for the Sox to improve this year against righties is to get a full year out of Sheets and a full year out of Eloy, who has hit righties better than lefties over his career. And if Engel shows his numbers are not just a factor of sample size, he should get plenty of ABs there as well.

This is finally a realistic post about Michael Conforto. It notes his massive flaws -- draft pick compensation, unvaxxed status, and even how late he would be coming to a team right now. And that's not even getting into his pedestrian offensive numbers from last year. He's not in a very good position at the moment to dictate terms.

I said last year I thought Burger could end up being just as good of a hitter as Andrew Vaughn, but perhaps without the dramatic splits Vaughn has at the moment. He's certainly got much more potential than Harrison or Garcia. So where to put him? 1. 2B? The comp I was thinking of was DJ LeMahieu, who is 6-4, 220 to Burger's 6-3, 230. But who knows how heavy Burger is now?. Lot's of reports of him losing weight. I don't know about his ability to pivot, but as a 3B, he has more than enough arm, and should have the glove ability given the ball takes longer to arrive at 2B than it does to 3B. If he's got the speed, perhaps his range would be good enough? The Sox have tried him there already. Still, it would probably take an injury to Harrison or Garcia for them to give him enough ABs to see if he sticks. Best chance to play 2B would be to go to AAA and play there regularly to start the season. 2. DH platoon with Sheets? If he's only facing lefties, this would mean Vaughn would move to RF. Vaughn crushes lefties. so Burger isn't taking those ABs away from Vaughn. But that means using Burger rather than Engel. Not the best move if Engel is healthy. Engel gives you the best fielding lineup, and may end up hitting lefties better than Burger. 3. 3B with Moncada moving to 2B? I floated this idea myself for a while. But it's not happening. Moncada is a better 3B than he was at 2B, and we need him to not worry about fielding and get his bat back to 2019 levels. 4. Depth hitter instead of Danny Mendick. This may be the most likely option. When the rosters come back down to 26 and the Sox have 13 pitchers, their 13 position players will include Moncada, TA, Harrison, Abreu, Grandal, Eloy, Robert, Engel, Sheets (DH), with reserves Garcia, Collins or Seby, and Vaughn. There's room for 1 more guy. It could be Burger. Conclusion: Burger's offense isn't polished enough yet to force out Harrison/Garcia at 2B, so he's almost certainly headed to AAA to get regular playing time. But if anyone is hurt, he would likely get tapped as their best minor league bat at the moment.

I wouldn't say I'm satisfied with the White Sox offseason. I posted multiple times why I thought the Sox should re-sign Carlos Rodon. Without him, our rotation is thin and it's also missing a potential TOR ace. I'm guessing they didn't not as much for the money, but because they are still worried about his arm not lasting a whole season. The Sox can likely win the AL Central without Rodon. But how far will they get in the playoffs without him, if he were still in top form at the end of the year? It's also odd that the team didn't extent a qualifying offer to pick up an extra draft pick. I also hear the complaints about paying too much for "utility" players Harrison and Garcia, though I never thought it realistic for the Sox to pay $175M to Semien when he's 32, or for the other high-priced middle infielders on the market. Kimbrel? It's easy to trash this move given his production since he joined the Sox. In hindsight, it was a bad trade, but Madrigal wasn't helping last year and if Kimbrel had pitched like he did for the Cubs, it would have fortified the back end of the Sox pen which looked very shaky at times last year outside of Hendrix. And even he blew 6 saves. So I can see why they did it. Now? The Sox had to pick up the option before a trade market for him might have developed. Or they could have just let him go. But at that point we didn't have Graveman or Kelly signed. So that covers SP, 2B, and Kimbrel. It leaves RF. Perhaps this is the area of the most whining, but it strikes me as irrational and I've written a few posts about it. If you sign Conforto to a multi year deal, you block the potential arrival of Oscar Colas or Yoenis Cespedes. And you end up taking away ABs from the Sheets/Vaughn platoon when Grandal is the DH, assuming Abreu and Jimenez are not yielding their spots in that situation. And if Conforto is giving way to a Sheets/Vaughn platoon when they are in the field, then why would you sign Conforto in the first place? (They hit much better than he did last year, and cost pennies comparatively.) While I've quickly rehashed some of the major bones of contention, I wrote this post to just say that the whining from many Sox fans is over the top. I'm not satisfied by the Sox offseason, but I still think they have an awesome team, will get better as the season progresses, and can still make moves to help the club up through the trading deadline. I've been a Sox fan since 1970 -- 52 years. I've known only 1 World Series victory in that time. I want the Sox to win again, but I think doing so is going to have more to do with the performance of the players we have on the team now than any additions or tweaks we might have made. Houston embarrassed our entire pitching staff last year, and our offense wasn't capable of responding, except for one game. So, while so many fans are whining about what we don't have, why not enjoy what we DO have, and see if these guys can put it together and win?

This ranking only includes players who are still on the Sox. So no Hamilton, Lamb, Eaton, Hernandez, or Goodwin. I also didn't include Mercedes or Burger or Romy. Against lefties. Plate appearances in parentheses. Robert (68) 231 Grandal (96) 184 Abreu (153) 161 Vaughn (141) 156 Anderson (143) 125 Harrison (141) 114 Moncada (135) 99 Garcia (139) 91 Engel (49) 76 Zavala (30) 74 Eloy (59) 60 Collins (57) 57 Sheets (19) - 26 Against righties. Engel (91) 154 Grandal (279) 150 Sheets (160) 143 Robert (228) 135 Moncada (462) 129 Anderson (408) 118 Abreu (506) 116 Eloy (172) 116 Garcia (335) 101 Collins (172) 101 Harrison (359) 99 Vaughn (328) 68 Zavala (74) 63 Aside from the small samples for several of these players, what would I draw from this? 1. Sheets/Vaughn are a tremendous platoon pairing, whether it's DH, 1B, or RF (or LF). 2. Sheets should get full-time duty against right handed pitching, as the 3rd best hitter against them on the team. 3. Andrew Vaughn will need to be eased in against right handed pitching. At the moment, he's only hitting them better than Seby Zavala. Yet he crushes lefties at the 4th best rate on the team, so sending him to AAA doesn't make much sense. 4. Adam Engel might be a better hitter than we give him credit for. He had reverse splits last year, but has hit lefties better in the past. If he can stay healthy and put up the kind of offensive numbers he has put up the last two years (121 and 127 wRC+), he should get a lot of time in RF. 5. Harrison and Garcia are pretty well matched as a platoon as well. But it's close enough that Harrison could be the primary 2B. 6. Garcia shouldn't get as many ABs as he had last year. But he probably will come close, given TLRs preferences. 7. Eloy isn't going to hit this bad or rank this low. If he does, our offense will be in trouble. 8. The Sox need 2019 Moncada back. His wRC+ numbers were 121 against lefties and 147 against righties. 9. The numbers for Luis Robert are artifically low because they include the first half. In the second half, his overall blended wRC+ was 173 compared to 125 in the first half. 10. Jose Abreu is still crushing lefties.

The overwhelming negativity on this site gets horribly tiresome for at least some of us. I enjoy having a reputation of being optimistic about the Sox, since it clearly stands out. It's so easy to be a naysayer. And how many Conforto threads do there have to be before you say -- ENOUGH!!! There is a lot RIGHT about this Sox team. Why not celebrate it at least SOME of the time??

Don't forget Engel. He's hit well in limited duty the last 2 years. Better than Vaughn against righties. Much better defensively. I think he'll be the starter, with Vaughn worked in to get opptys. Engel just has to keep him hammys healthy and not make any hero plays in spring training.

Why would the Sox be looking for a mult-year deal for a RF? Oscar Colas or Yoenis Cespedes are the players they expect to compete for RF soon. Not this year, but very possibly as soon as 2023. The Sox have to be looking for some inexpensive starters to balance the roster. The only way I think they'd consider signing Conforto would be on a 1-year prove it deal to see if he can regain his form.

We're spending so much time talking about adding or not adding players ... Why not talk a bit more about the players we have? One of the most intriguing things I've read since the Sox returned to the field is what Lucas Giolito did to bulk up his lower body. Here's what James Fegan of the Athletic wrote today: Ethan Katz said a bulked up Lucas Giolito was sitting 96-97 mph in his live BP yesterday. That seems like a few ticks up from last year, when Giolito fell to 3rd in the Sox starting rotation behind Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon. Is Giolito ready to regain his role at top dog in the Sox rotation, not by decline from anyone else, but by leapfrogging Lynn and keeping Cease and Kopech at bay? One the reasons I argued all offseason for the Sox to keep Rodon is because he offered quality when healthy that the Sox could not replace, and left-handed quality no less. Well, the pain of him leaving would be lessened a great deal if Lucas Giolito took a few steps forward and became an ACE who could match up against any opponent. What do people think? I guess we'll have to see it to know.

As someone who has argued endlessly for going with what we have in RF, I think if Conforto was fine with a 1 year deal, the Sox might be interested.

Because he's worlds better as a hitter against right handers at the moment. Sheets against righties - 143 wRC+. 160 PA. Second best on the Sox, behind only Grandal. Vaughn against righties - 68 wRC+. 328 PA. Anyone who picked the second option over the first would be dumb. Vaughn might/should get better, but he's not there yet. And when he does, it doesn't mean you have to bench Sheets. It really comes down to whether you play Vaughn or Engel against some right handers. Engel has the better defense, so Vaughn has to outhit Engel too. And last year, he didn't. Engel against righties in 2021 - 154 wRC+. Granted, this was only 91 PAs. Vaughn may have hit a HR in today's game. That's great. But he's going to have to earn his PAs against right handers over time.

Sheets is a much better hitter against right handed pitching right now than Andrew Vaughn. That's not manipulation; that's just common sense. Vaughn, meanwhile, crushes lefties. They are a natural platoon. Sure, you want to find some ABs for Vaughn against righties, but it shouldn't come by benching Sheets, who was the Sox' second best hitter last year against right handers. Yes, even better than Luis Robert.

James Fegan of the Athletic likely put this best when he said it raises the floor for the White Sox at 2B, even if it doesn't raise the ceiling. Since Leury Garcia is going to get used all over the place by Tony LaRussa, having someone you can plug and play at 2B who hits better than Romy Gonzalez or Danny Mendick definitely improves the team. And Harrison isn't always bad. He was above league average last year with the Nats, and higher than Garcia. Plus, he can be a LIDP for Jimenez in left field, or for Sheets/Vaughn in RF. Of course Engel is better, but Engel may not always be available. As the 9th place hitter, what do you really want? Would Nick Madrigal be better and cheaper? Sure. Would he stay healthier? Maybe, maybe not. But that ship has sailed. Plus, even if the Sox find a better 2B, Harrison is a lot like Garcia being able to play multiple positions. Leury also covers SS and CF, so he's better. But having a guy like that has value because you still have flexibility if one of them is out. Harrison to me is not someone to get excited about, but he still strengthens the team.

What's crazy is that Robert is likely to keep improving, so who knows what kind of numbers he's going to post. What if they enlarge the bags? How many bases will he steal, even if maybe he shouldn't to save wear and tear? And he's not even near the top guy that people talk about when they talk about the White Sox. Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, Lucas Giolito, even Lance Lynn get more hype than Robert. He's like our "secret" weapon. I think that's going to start to change this year. He may still have the language barrier that prevents him from getting a lot of interviews, but commentators are going to be clued in.

Robert hit 2nd more than any other position in the lineup last year. Moncada hit 3rd more than any other spot. But Moncada hit best slotted 5th or 6th. If you go that route, the top of the lineup becomes very right handed. And the bottom has all the lefties or switch hitters. I believe Tony will try Anderson, Moncada, Robert, Abreu, Grandal, Jimenez, Sheets/Vaughn, Engel, Garcia/Harrison, and if it works, he might stay with that more often than not. But having Tony LaRussa stick with a single lineup is not going to happen. Not in his nature. The real point is that Robert is almost certainly going to hit at the top of the lineup because he's clearly the best player on the team.

Enough about RF, bullpen, starting pitching depth, backup catcher, etc.... Let's talk about Luis Robert. Here's how the Sox' center fielder's second half numbers stacked up against the field if he had been able to do that for a season. Batting average - .350. 1st OBP - .389 6th SLG - .622 1st OPS - 1.011 2nd OPS+ - 170 3rd If he posts this for a season, he's going to be the 2022 AL MVP.

Right field for the White Sox. It's the topic that never stops being talked about. Conforto, Castellanos, Suzuki ... add one of them, please, exhort many on Soxtalk. I've been of the view since the offseason that the Sox should give the ABs to their young players instead. In 2020, RF was Nomar Mazara and Adam Engel. Engel was the better player, but Mazara got most of the ABs. In 2021, it was Eaton for 55 games (76 OPS+), Goodwin for 43 games (90 OPS+), Garcia 34 games (96 OPS+), Vaughn 18 games (92 OPS+), Sheets 13 games (123 OPS+), Engel 10 games (124 OPS+), Lamb 9 games (94 OPS+), Mendick 8 games (64 OPS+), Romy Gonzalez 3 games (64 OPS+), Bill Hamilton 2 games (67 OPS+). In 2022, if RF is manned by Adam Engel, Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets, Leury Garcia, and Josh Harrison. - Engel is clearly the best fielder of the group. He's also put up very good hitting numbers the last two years, albeit in limited ABs because of injuries. - Vaughn played 120 games in the outfield last year, so he showed durability. He just ran out of gas at the end of the year. - Sheets is the lefty power bat the Sox have craved, and was the best hitter of this group. He should get most of his ABs at DH, but the Sox have a lot of other players they can rotate through DH, so Sheets will need to play 1B and the OF to stay in the lineup against all righties. - Garcia will get used by LaRussa a lot, so expect him to play a fair amount in RF. - Harrison will be the primary 2B, but also plays RF and LF and 3B, so expect him to get some time out there as well. As hitters, all 5 of these guys produced better than most of the guys the Sox played in RF the last two years -- Mazara in 2021, and Eaton, Goodwin, Lamb, and Mendick in 2022. Granted, Vaughn and Sheets are not the best defenders, but this is where having Engel, Garcia and Harrison help, because they can not only cover late in games in RF, but also in LF for Jimenez. This group is also dirt cheap, with Sheets and Vaughn both pre-Arb players, and Engel making just over $2M. If the Sox need to save money somewhere, this is the place. The Sox may not have the best RFs in baseball, but it's clearly a stronger offensive group than it was the last two years.

Do you know how teams often have their A relievers and their B relievers? The A guys are used in close games with leads, and the B guys get used when we're getting shelled and aren't likely to rally, or when we have big leads. If you tried to divide the current White Sox pen, who would be an A, and who would be a B? There aren't many Bs on this squad.

You have to get over the "draft pedigree" argument, and go with who is producing. Vaughn hit righties terribly last year, but crushed lefties. He's a perfect platoon partner with Sheets for the moment. I would agree that Vaughn should also get some ABs against right handers to allow him to develop and improve. That's one reason I've been against the Sox signing a RF who will just block ABs for Sheets/Vaughn. The last thing I'll say here is that the Sox absolutely need to give time to the productive CHEAP players on their roster. People complain about giving Harrison and Garcia semi-expensive contracts to play 2B and utility roles, but are ready to trade away cost-controlled highly productive players like Sheets and Vaughn, and even Engel for that matter. Check out the Tampa Bay model. They make use of young, cost controlled guys and win. The young guys are also trying to make a name for themselves, are highly energized, and great additions to the team. I believe Gavin Sheets is already a stud and is only going to get better. He damn well better do so with the Sox.

My guess is that they'll start the season with 14 pitchers, whether or not MLB decides to temporarily expand rosters to start the year. Lynn, Giolito, Cease, Keuchel, Kopech, Lopez, Hendrix, Bummer, Crochet, Kelly, Graveman, Rios, Velasquez, Kimbrel. Trading Kimbrel would actually leave their pen a bit light and force the Sox to use the kind of RPs who didn't pitch very well last year. Velasquez is a head scratcher for me given his track record. They must believe they can fix him.

Sheets was a 143 wRC+ hitter against right handers. The Sox have only one player who hits right handers better - Grandal. He hit one of our few postseason HRs. He is just coming into his own. I saw a stat showing his numbers the first time against a pitcher, and the second, and it was a massive leap. This tells me he's making the adjustments and will only get better. He should play ALL THE TIME against right handers, whether that's DH, RF, 1B, or LF.

Very good catch. I'll admit I was optimistic last year about the pen, but I was obviously wrong, as I've said above. (And I wasn't the only one who liked last year's pen.) Heuer, Marshall, and Foster were all much worse. The difference this time is that Graveman and Kelly are higher quality replacements. More like Tepera, who was a good addition last year. The wild card is Kimbrel, but while he's unlikely to be as good as he was for the Cubs in 2021, he's very likely to be better than he was for the Sox last year. What do you think? Is the bullpen better this year, or not?