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What in the fuck are you talking about?

Back in the day, men would be working 12 hour shifts if the coal mines. They'd be breathing in coal dust with a smidge of oxygen. The specimen who looks like Thor can't pitch for hundreds of thousands?

Don't ever stop over-exaggerating Jack definitely a lot of armchair psychology going on for a guy making a sound decision in the name of health. Would I like him to play? Yes. Am I mad? Absolutely not. This is a completely unique situation and year, unlike anything we have seen in over 100 years.

He doesn’t owe us an explanation, but we certainly have a right to wonder why he isn’t playing. This is a White Sox message board filled with diehard fans, of course we are going to wonder what’s going on with a key member of our organization and how it might impact our future. I really don’t get why you are thread policing over this.

Trade him

I will say Lopez is the real winner in all of this. Giolito, Cease, & Keuchel are rotation locks. I think Lopez would have no doubt started the season in the rotation but now has a lot more breathing room with one less threat to his spot. Hopefully he takes advantage of this opportunity.

Really appreciate you being the conscience of Sox talk but this is what you do on a message board. Stuff happens to an important player and we speculate because there is nothing definitive . Sucks we all sound like a bunch of gossipy old hens but if we don't do it here we're going to do it with our friends so might as well do it here too.

I wish Kopech would have put this to bed by at least sharing what category his reasons were for sitting out this season. "Personal reasons" leaves too much to the imagination. and has created this unnecessary speculation. He doesn't owe us a thing but I hope he comes forward and makes some statement about this.

He must be messed up or angry because the fans get the shaft with no explanation. We deserve at least a warmed-over dis translated by Gio or the Rick's. We've been following losing seasons since 2013 and all we have so far is a virus and an experimental season. I feel disrespected for my loyalty. Don't take me for granted.

Im actually happy he is doing this. I actually wish Giolito, Lopez, and Cease would as well. Pitchers only have so many years on their arms and why waste one on a season that likely will never be completed (and never regarded as legit by 95% of fans if it does finish). This season never should happen and is only being started because of greed. Props to you Michael for making the best decision for you and your family.

Starting Monday, these intrasquad scrimmages are going to be aired on NBC Sports Chicago and streamed lived on MyTeams App https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/white-sox-intrasquad-scrimmages-stream-live-myteams-app-tv-watch

I have watched this at least 30 times already The DVS tweet is not quite as punchy, but the Rodon glove flip is excellent

Off Rodon

No

Incredibly insensitive. We have no idea what he is going through . You cannot judge a book by its cover. It could end up being the best decision for him when all is said and done.

I think Hamilton is close to a lock given he’s on the 40 man roster already. Not sure who the other pitcher might be though. Fegan predicted Dunning and that was before Kopech opted out, and I could then including him (if healthy) until rosters get called down to 28. I think Cuthbert is the one guy not on the 40 man who is very likely to be given a spot (assuming they wait a week to call up Madrigal). And I think Collins gets that catcher spot so they have a left-handed bat off the bench.

Collins will definitely make it. If they are gonna squeeze 60 games into like 61 days that's rough, they will need a third catcher who can work a 1B/DH rotation with Abreu and Encarnacion esp since the division is filled with righties.

Perspective.

I was going to say, no team is going to offer 2 top 100 prospects right now for him.

Depends on the prospects, although I’d definitely lean towards no. That being said, why would any team trade for him right now?

Quote from the Athletic:

Positive test ratio does tell you what type of shape you're in. If 20% of a specific geographic area are testing positive (as some parts of the South are) vs. 2-4% (as Illinois has for the past few weeks), that is indicative of the spread (or lack of) of the virus. Number of cases is often reported by the media and while the numbers show increases (from 20K to now over 60K) that grab headlines, that number wouldn't be as meaningful if the % of positive cases was much lower than where it is in several parts of the country. Most states have not not implemented robust contact tracing and are still lacking enough to keep up with the spread and hired enough to keep up with the early demand that resulted from the initial shelters in place. As recently as a few weeks back, Illinois was still behind, but most of the country was (and is). The CDC has issues guidelines around this prior to re-opening, and many states are still behind and/or catching up now to the demands from re-opening that were not considered. Nationwide, there needs to be at least 200K+. In order to keep up with the spread, there needs to be high % of new cases traced within 24 hours. Some of that is due to privacy concerns, etc. around the technology. NY has more contact tracing, but in many cases, aren't able to get cooperation from people. Now that the disease is spreading in many area's though, while contact tracing can be helpful for new(er) outbreaks, it's not enough to keep up with the spread. The Defense Production Act should be more widely used for more PPE . The increased cases and re-opening of the country are both conflicting and increasing the shortages that we're seeing in specific parts of the country right now. We continue to be at the mercy of other countries for our supplies without invoking more domestic production. I have no disagreement. The federal government has allowed the states to deal with their own situations (outside of the CARES act). More money will be coming if politics can be removed from the situation, but unfortunately that ship sailed a long time ago. I appreciate your post. Thoughtful and legitimate criticism.

I'm not even mad. I don't blame anyone for sitting out. Hell if you read my posts I don't even think they should be playing. That's the intellectual side. It's why I qualified it with the "meathead fan's perspective" I was speaking strictly as a meathead fan there and nothing else. It will have been 700+ days since Kopech last pitched the next time he takes the mound. Who says he's even able to contribute to the MLB club in 2021? He's had issues with command/walks in the past so.....

Kopech is a flake. He Dawgs reality TV babes. He needs a mentor with enforcement authority. We don't need him this year but he needs to clear out his head going forward.

From a fan's perspective, he's completely unreliable like Rodon at this point. Anything you get is gravy. I don't blame him at all for sitting out from an intellectual perspective. From a meathead fan perspective, he's unreliable.

If I was a ditch digger: no If I was a professional baseball player: yes You're on record for not buying it.

They're not playing in a Nursing Home.

No one is castigating Kopech. People are looking at it through the lens of a White Sox fan. That's probably what White Sox fans should do. As a White Sox fan, this is objectively a bad thing. This hurts the team this year and it increases the odds of Kopech of being able to contribute meaningfully next year.

Bummed. But mostly because this means Sox have to win a world series this year with Cease as their #3 starter... Honestly with the reports of rodon really being healthy this time...Kopech was gonna have to really scrape for a spot on the rotation. Is it safe to say: Gio Keuchel Cease Rodon Gio Lopez long man and is injury replacement? That rotation can still win the division with 35 wins

This thread is getting into some seriously weird territory. None of these guys opting out owe anyone shit

I just hope this is a baseball decision and all is well with him and his family.

Not to mention that Wells hurt his back and missed a great deal of the season himself. Wells came here thinking he was a godsend before he threw even one pitch for the team. Maybe he wouldn't have hurt his back if he wasn't such a out-of-shape fat ass. Even with the Sirotka stuff, this was a horrible trade for a horrible individual.

I remember the slogan for 1999 and into the 2000 season was "The Kids can Play". The 2000 season was a surprising, fun team to watch after the disappointing seasons of 1994 (strike) through 1999. All the young talent started to come together- Carlos Lee, Magglio, Chris Singleton, Konerko, Buehrle, etc. Some of that group would comprise the core of the 2005 Championship team Frank Thomas had an MVP season but was robbed of the award by steroid boy Giambi. I also remember Lou Pinella, Seattle Manager, absolutely schooling Jerry Manuel in the playoffs. It was like a man fighting a boy.

I actually liked watching Parque and Sirotka pitch. Neither one had a ton of physical talent, but they both knew how to pitch. Both guys would jam anybody at any time.