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Especially the fact he is left-handed. Guy definitely needs to DH to open next year. Delmonico can play LF (for like 2 weeks) until Eloy comes up and then he can move into a bench role spelling the corner IF spots and LF every once in a while.

no

so many offers for a guy that has spent a majority of the season on the DL, lemme tell ya

Add more pictures and comments for this crazy chain,

Let's just all be thankful they didn't hand him an extension after one good year. Thank God.

I don't have the same Fangraphs drawn trendlines for Lopez, but his numbers in August do look genuinely different. First half: 6.6 SO/9, 1.73 SO/BB (Both about as bad as anyone else in the league and down there with Giolito) August: 8.0 SO/9, 2.73 SO/BB. That's not Chris Sale, but now both of those would be in the middle of the pack for starters around the league, so it's heading in a positive direction based on August.

It's the fact that Lopez and Giolito specifically have been pitching much better lately. I don't care about Rodon's peripherals because he still doesn't have his best stuff and is still allowing weak contact and missing barrels. Those stats you referenced don't really care about quality of contact, and Rodon has been terrific at getting weak outs while not missing bats. I also don't consider FIP to be a predictive stat but that's a debate for another time.

Yeah I mean if we are going to say that the White Sox should have... can we at least make it something rooted in reality? I mean I should have dated a supermodel at some point, but then look at me and um, sure.

I haven't really posted on the board as much this year, but when did we stop liking Abreu? The sentiment has seemed to really change. Three players have hit 25HR+ and had 100RBI+ in their first 4 seasons in the MLB... Pujols DiMaggio Abreu This year he has 22HR and 78RBI while being out for a month and playing on a god awful team with no protection behind him. (as was the case in many of the years). Now I get that he is old, and he is in a position where you have to get that power production that may fall off in the coming years. However talk about a guy who puts on his hard hat and does things the right way.. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. Let him play out his contract, explore FA if he'd like and then match the offers if it makes sense. Guys like him don't grow on trees. Let's just run the career stats: Player A: .296ba, .354obp, .873ops, averaging 30HR's and 35 doubles a year Player B: .230ba, .299obp, .755ops, 23HR's and 20 doubles a year. Oh and 140K's in 417AB's this year. 165 in 443AB last year. More K's in either year than player A has ever had in his career in a full season (668AB) Complaining about Abreu and trying to act like Davidson is anything is the reason we don't deserve nice things as Sox fans. Davidson is a BUM. sorry. If he's playing significant time for us other than a backup 1b,3b,dh, lf then we're not winning anything. Go ahead and find me a starting spot for Davidson on the Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, Braves, Yankees, BoSox, Astros, Indians roster right now.. those are teams going for it all -- find me his spot. You won't find a spot for a player of his caliber. Or Engel. Or for that matter (and it hurts cause he's a fan favorite) Palka. The best case is either for Engel as 4OF (he likely wont be) or Palka as DH/PH - it's not Davidson and not by a long shot. These type of players are nice for 2018 ChiSox -- but they are NOT parts of actual teams winning championships. The best they'll be is part of teams trying to compete for WC spots. As long as Davidsion, Engel and Palka are part of the conversation I can guarantee you won't be winning a World Series.

I do believe we are a year early. I don't see the point of a deal that isn't either for a long term superstar or a spacefiller in the 18/19 off season. If they aren't, you should let the group we have in the system show you what your next moves should be. I don't want to see a 50 million or 100 million dollar type of deal this year. If you can get MM or BH do it. If not, sign some space holders to make the 25 man work (maybe a 5th starter, pen arm, or position player filler if needed). Keep scouring the waiver wire and moving international cap space for interesting young kids. We did our best work last year with guys like Palka and Ruiz, plus ones like Burr and Frare. Past that play 2019 and let the players in the organization tell you who is worth keeping and dumping to dictate your next big moves.

Not relying on free agency at all. I think the Sox believe two of Robert, Basabe, Gonzalez, Rutherford, Adolfo will become the future CF and RF so the Sox allow them to continue to develop. I do believe they will make an offer to Harper but if he signs elsewhere I think the Sox stick with what they have for one more season and not sign any second tier players under Harper. Like I said, if the Sox see 2019 as a contending season they would have called up Eloy to start getting acclimated now instead of waiting until mid-April 2019. It hasn't changed a thing. They promoted Kopech because he wasn't going to build up enough innings in the minors without the promotion. Currently Rodon is at 99.2IP, Lopez 162.2IP, Giolito 151IP, Kopech 137.1IP ( includes minors and majors). None of them will be stretched out enough for October baseball in 2019. I think the Sox will surprise and be better than expected but won't be a playoff team. Then there's the very young bullpen they will have next year. Those pitchers will need time to develop as well. 2019 is too soon to expect them to contend. Rebuilding teams don't acquire this much talent to turn around and sign free agent players. The Sox need one more season to see what they truly have in the major and minor league levels. We'll have a much better idea by this time next year.

It's usually some kind of groin injury but can also happen with something as simple as sleeping when people roll over. Its mostly with people who are born with a genetic abnormality, I cant remember the name, where the testicles move more freely than most. The testicle actually spins and cuts off the blood supply, which is what causes the pain.

I'm in agreement see my "the path to 81 wins is 15 WAR between ______ post upthread". SS2K laid out a realistic (if optimistic) path to 15 from those guys as well. I mean if Eloy comes up and is fucking hitting 300/350/560 in June and is on pace for 6 WAR that path gets a lot clearer...

This needs to be a promotional day. And I definitely NEED this chain.

Have you watched the games? Because the team I’ve watched since late July isn’t the same team I watched pre ASB.

Man I want a t-shirt version of this.

At least for Luca$, you can draw solid trendlines where the things that go into FIP - strikeouts, walks, and heck while we're at it even velocity, he's getting better on them as the year goes on. His total season numbers are dominated by time where he wasn't the pitcher he hopefully is turning into right now

Off-topic, but replace "NFL" with "MLB", "Mack" with "Machado", and "pass rusher" with "middle of the order bat", and that's exactly why I think we're planning a huge run at Machado this offseason.

I do. I get the $10 million-ish expected salary isn't that big of a deal right now, but two things stand out. #1, we actually have OFs and will need yet another spot for Eloy Jimenez #2, Even if we look at Avi as a potential tradeable asset, we shouldn't. Even after his breakout 2017 year, nobody came after the guy on the trade market. People either didn't believe he was really that good, or his lack of defense hurt him enough to where he had not much trade value. If #2 is at least mostly true, what does bringing back Avi do for us? At worst we know it crowds up the OF as we are looking to for sure add Eloy to the mix. Once you give CF to a real CF, and LF (probably) to Eloy, that means we have zero spots left for Palka, Delmonico, and probably Leury. I honestly don't see how Avi fits in for 2019 without making things worse.

Those kind of articles always drive me crazy for one reason. They called his "floor" a LOOGY. That is absurd. He is a guy who doesn't throw 100, is already a reliever, and has nothing that is a super plus tool about him. To call his floor as a major league reliever specialist is nuts. His floor is as a guy who struggles with control in the minors and doesn't make to to the upper levels of the minors, not as a major league reliever. I appreciate the feature and the information, but that kind of writing drives me crazy.

Yes. I have no doubt if the White Sox were in playoff contention, Eloy would have been up. But the stars aligned to do what they are doing. That's why I have always said every team in their position would do what they are doing.

No doubt. Each team, each situation is unique. You can't apply the general ideas to all situations. The Jimenez situation is rare, where a player is performing at such a high level and has been outspoken at the handling of the situation. The team situation also plays a role.

Can Abreu, Davidson, Palka and Delmonico all co-exist on the roster? I think the answer to that is definitively no. Especially if the Sox make any sort of splash in FA. Delmonico probably gets the LF job for like 10 games next year until Eloy comes up. He'll have an option left, so I think he goes to Charlotte at that point for everyday at bats. Davidson is out of options. Does Palka have one still? Palka is my DH next season. He mashes RH pitching, and Davidson matches LH, so a platoon does make some sense. Just not sure there is really room on the roster for Davidson as a part time DH unless the Sox basically stand pat offensively this offseason. Any signing of a CF or 3B pushes Davidson off the roster IMO because your bench is going to be made up of some mixture of Castillo/Narvaez, Leury, Engel, and Yolmer. Rondon definitely has an option left so he probably stays in Charlotte. There is an awesome website that tracks options/contract status that was passed around here earlier this season and can't recall what it was. Anyone have that handy?

I like Matt Davidson. I cheer hard for him every time he comes up. When he gets a hold of one, it will go a long way. But he hasn't shown he is a consistent major league hitter. And he still has not shown that he is a dependable RBI man. I can't see how the team can make any major plans that center around Davidson. It's too bad because injuries has hurt his development.

The first guy said six months, the second guy didn't give a date... but you might be on to something. It is great to see the shows starting to roll up into each other.

Thats fine if you arent concerned about retaining your good players. Welcome to the Chicago Pirates.

I did a deep dive on Jose Ruiz in my first article for Sox On 35th here for anyone that is interested: https://soxon35th.com/2018/08/16/deeper-dive-on-the-under-the-radar-rhp-jose-ruiz/

Would a player of Eloy's status given the opportunity to write something, actually say he wasn't ready? Of course he thinks he's ready. So do I. That's not the point. The point is there is a business side to this.

Rahm will not seek re-election. Good, he sucks.

The 2 most angry White Sox since JR took over IMO were Carlton Fisk and Jack McDowell. Fisk played until he was 45, and McDowell comes back here all the time, and would have come back to pitch for the White Sox had his body cooperated. This is part of the game, just like all rookie contracts. Again, you are for holding down guys so they don't get to Super 2. How is that not limiting their income and something that shouldn't piss them off? It's taking advantage of the loopholes provided, just like these players and their agents do whenever they get the chance. I think anyone who really thinks Eloy now has a grudge against the team is just speculating. I am of the believe he knew, and his agents are just being agents.

lmao

Even besides me being a Packers fan. I think the Packers will be pretty good this year, but the Vikings have a scary team. They are the favorites to win the division and this idea that the Bears are just going to jump three teams, one of which might be the best team in the NFL is crazy to me. Not saying they won't be better, but they have a lot of ground to cover. People keep comparing them to the Rams, but the Rams were in a awful division with the better teams(Seahawks and Cardinals) at the end of their windows.

It was the exact same talk when they traded for Cutler. But the difference is, this guy is legit. Cutty right now is the best QB in team history, but a turnover machine. He was what many thought he was, Jeff George 2. Health and Trubisky. That's what still matters. But now, Trubisky doesn't have to be a Pro Bowler. If they stay healthy, a huge if, the defense is nasty, and Mack is exactly the guy they needed, that never would have been available to draft or sign as a free agent. The price was high, but they did what they had to do. It was the only way.

Abreu is absolutely fine - this year. Next year? He will be older... And two years from now, during the beginning of our likely window of competitiveness, he will be even older on the wrong side of 30. I think if he were two years younger, everyone would be fine with extending Abreu and keeping him around throughout this run. However, it’s not clear how much value a player like him has at 34,35,36 when he’s at best average defensively and as a 1st baseman doesn’t have a ton of value above replacement

Vlad's age is not a reason to keep him down. He slashed .381/.437/.636 this year across A+/AA/AAA. Daniel Palka could develop defense in the majors but I guess Vlad Guerrero can not. Frankly I think this stems from an attitude that no player deserves to be paid millions for baseball, and any curtailing of that salary, no matter how unfair or no matter how much it's just profiting owners, is justified. Major League Baseball, constantly fighting off detractors that it's old and stale, should not be in the business of preventing the game's best players from playing in the league. Yes, it's also the right of NBA teams to sit their best players when tanking, or stars for rest. But the league doesn't cheer that on, and there's no reason for me to be going around saying "yayyy, save jerry that money! Chop that year of Eloy's career off! He should have never written that article and kept his mouth shut like I woulda in that situation cause i'd just be happy to be there!" This shouldn't just be the players' cause to improve the product of baseball.

When do the other teams start copying this idea?

What were the offers the Sox turned down for Avi?

Sure take the discussion to ad absurdum when confronted with differing opinions.

The White Sox are mean. They trade guys and make them move. They release guys, make them get other jobs. Sign guys to team friendly contracts, just ripping them off. Now don't call up a guy because the rules make it not so smart to actually call him up at this point. Just worthless. It's amazing there are enough guys willing to take their money they are able to field a team with that kind of history.

Even with his “hot” streak, Davidson is like a .225 / .730 hitter since May 1 with just 11 HR. I would rather take my chances with Palka.

I'm on board with this plan. I think we can trade off our minor league pieces to compliment our guys now. If we can just put some people around Engel, Palka and Davidson I think we can really compete for a World Series. I think we trade away Robert and the likes and go with the true core we have now. We need to stop getting caught up in 3 week stretches. Davidson, Engel & Palka are fringe pieces. It'd be nice for one or two to stick in a role on the team. But don't forget from May-August when Davidson was god awful. Or Engel too. I'm enjoying this stretch too, but I think we have to keep in mind who these guys really are.

If you read anything about him, Chicago apparently has long had a special significance for Eloy. But instead of rewarding this young man for a fantastic display since joining this organization, and having confidence that we could retain him in 2025 by simply developing a positive relationship with him and offering a competitive amount of money when the time comes, we decide to play technicalities to trap him here for the extra time. I’ll be sure to bump this post going into 2026 when we’re not even considered for Eloy’s next contract. Or when we wonder why other big names never seem to want to play for us.

My perspective is that, as long as the top two thirds of the lineup is productive, a team can well afford to have below average offensive players, in the bottom third of the order, as long as they provide plus defense, particularly at the key positions of SS, CF and catcher. Anderson's offense is more than acceptable at SS, given his improving defensive prowess. Moreover, while his OBP is disappointing, the power and speed, which he provides are big positives. I suspect that Anderson's role as the team's SS will not represent a hole, which the organization needs to fill. He seems to be getting better and it won't take much for him to become one of the better all around short stops, in the League. He could very well become a 25 home run and 25+ steal player, with well above average defense. I'm sure that most teams would take that, in a heart beat. And that is not his ceiling. The affordable contract, also helps.

The real shame of it all is that there is real human rights disasters going in the world right now. Genocide in Myanmar, genocide in Saudi Arabia(with our help) and ethnic cleansing in Palestine. I guess the people being killed aren't white, so it doesn't matter.

it's good that we elected a dumb racist conspiracy nut as president

See, this is why I have a problem with the conservative mindset. It completely ignores reality. I'm not playing the victim card. I take what I have done and accomplished with great pride. I'm only trying to educate people about autism. Do I live off disablity? Yeah. Do I want to? Absolutely not. I'd much rather be working, independent and living on my own than living at home. I still work side jobs to make extra money. I believe that a great pool of talent is being largely ignored by society and that it is society in general's responsiblity to have a place for everyone. The true test of a society's greatness is not how they treat the strong and wealthy, but how they treat the weak and poor. I don't believe in a "market value" on people when it comes to participation in everyday society. Have I made mistakes in my life? Yeah,who hasn't? If saying that being born with a disadvantageous condition and pointing out that fact in order to educate other people about it to make life better for everyone in my situation, how would you like a world where you got into a car accident, are in the hospital for three weeks, and are fired because of your misfortune. I surely don't want to live in a world like that. Do you?I was frustrated because I know I have skills and I'm struggling to fit in. Again, my point is only about education and nothing more. Do I think it sucks, yes. Adaptation is a two way street. I'm willing to give way more to be allowed to be a part of mainstream society. I ask for minimal accommodations. I'm not looking to whine and complain anymore, I'm looking for solutions. Did I whine and complain a few times? Sure, out of frustration. All I was asking was the following: What do I have to do to fit in? Interviewing is a sales job and I suck at it. I'm trying my best. Not to mention some other physical limitations I have that I've been dealing with for 20+ years, that are more detrimental to me maintaining employment than my autism is. This whole "pull yourself out of the gutter" ideology is a complete myth. The reason why the US economy was so strong post WWII was because of the continuation of New Deal policies. As soon as Reagan pulled back those protections, things got worse for everyone. My politics are nuanced, I just don't like right wing whackjobs. The only reason why I don't like the GOP right now is because they've hijacked the entire political system and dragged it so far to the right than anything left of center is considered radical. They have zero integrity whatsoever. There are regulations that exist on companies that are stupid. I've heard them, I know and there are. There has tobe a balance between public and consumer protection from greed and actual functioning business. There also has to be a balance between management and labor. Common sense should be used there. The free market isn't a spontaneous thing. Someone sets the rules for the market, and that is the government. The rules have to be set for what is best for everyone, not what is best for those with capital.(which is what is going on right now) If you can't follow the rules, don't play the game. The only way the common citizen can get ahead and have upward mobility in society is if the rules allow for it. Otherwise, you have Gilded Age levels of wealth distribution, which is very similar to feudalism. If the government sets the rules of the marketplace in the best interest of the entirety of the country, which they did for a while. Then the market can take care of itself. You are only able to "pull yourself out of the gutter" when the rules of the economy are set such that it is possible. It is exponentially harder to do so when the rules are such that it is extremely difficult to attain societal upward mobility.