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I keep hearing this narrative that "if you can't spot your fastball you have no chance..." Dylan Cease at 24 is averaging 5 walks and 9 strikeouts per 9 and has pitched 131 innings. Randy Johnson at 25 averaged 5 walks and 7 strikeouts in 190 innings. At 24 Nolan Ryan averaged 6 walks and 8 strikeouts with 400 innings pitched. Curt Schilling at 24 averaged 5 walks and 8 strikeouts. At 23 Giolito had 5 walks and 7 strikeouts after a couple of hundred innnings pitched. Jack he's JUST getting started. He has GREAT stuff. Kopech and Crochett and Kelly are going to frustrate you too...kids with big arms sometimes take time to control it.

Exactly...Reylo's about to turn 27 and has 500 MLB innings. I'm ok saying that one didn't work out. They don't all work out. But we are so quick to give up on people...we don't ever talk about Stiever on here anymore...he of the 10 K's and 2 BB's per 9 in the minors, our number 5 prospect...after his MLB debut people were saying they wouldn't trade him straight up for Lance Lynn...and then he got shelled against Cincinnati and now we want to throw him in as the third piece in a trade for Darvish. Soxtalk needs therapy.

Then we DFA you for not being loyal.

Everyone keeps saying the pitchers love McCann. That’s cool and all but I want to point out that Keuchel literally said that one of the reasons he signed here was to pitch to Grandal.

Are we still supposed to be waiting for the rest of the sentence?

The article is about the Phillies and the failed rebuild. The No. 1 reason Sam Miller gives in this article is "The Prospects they developed didn't develop all the way." Your point was, and has been for quite some time "The Sox shouldn't spend big on a free agent because it could really hurt the team, we have a great core already!" Specifically, you used the line "Guys like Bauer and Springer would be great if we can afford them...but if they fail...we are the Phillies." That's not what happened with the Phillies at all. In fact, as Sam Miller notes, their FA additions have worked out quite well all things considered. If you don't want the Sox to spend big in free agency, that's fine. But you're somehow using this article to try and back up the point you've been trying to make in other threads, and if anything this article speaks to the opposite. Signing big name free agents didn't take down the Phillies rebuild. And even if those FA's would have failed for the Phillies, it still wouldn't have been the thinking taking down the Phillies rebuild. It was the lack of their core developing the way they believed it would. That's the not the case on the South Side thus far.

Harold’s Leg Lift is Tony La Russa, confirmed.

Anyone who still says Grandal is a top 2 catcher. I would have to assume they read stats, but rarely actually watch baseball games.

I'm not sure what the Mets are doing. I'd much rather give JT Realmuto 5/100 than James McCann something like 4/40. McCann is going to be a huge disappointment playing full time.

What good is pulling in a couple extra strikes when pitchers overall perform more poorly with him behind the plate. Framing, vastly overrated component of the catchers game, primarily because it is vastly more measurable than the others.

Examples of hall of fame pitchers that at a young age "cant spot their fastball so they have no chance"...seems relavent.

And the kid has less than a full seasons worth of starts, most coming in the most messed season in 5 generations. It's one thing to pronounce someone like ReyLo as a finished product, but it is way too early for Cease.

Heard Kasper last night talk about why he did this, and the guy sounded like he was having a midlife crisis like me - but 17 years later lol. He said he had goals and dreams in his life and that as he got older, he realized he should pursue them now; screw money and etc because he already made enough. He basically used the example that he didn't get to call a world Series game and it killed him; it was his dream. He said in order to pursue dreams - I believe he even just started a band he's losing his mind so much lol - sometimes you need to do things that others wouldn't understand. To be honest, that made a ton of sense to me. If I was rich enough and happy in my life, who cares if I take a 50% paycut if I'm fulfilling life long dreams and goals. This actually made me like Kasper a lot more.

Yet I bet you almost every other fan base b****es that their front office can’t compete with the Sox in terms of signing Cubans

There is zero chance he fires him. Tony will have to be the one to leave after what happened 35 years ago with Hawks. That is the worst part of it all. We have to wait for Tony to do the right thing, and we all know what the odds of that are.

You guys are really mad that cubs fans got excited about a hitter that came up and performed great in big playoff games.

Yeah, not a chance I'd move Kopech OR Madrigal for Gray, let alone both AND Heuer.

Why this thread tho

Pitchers love throwing to JT Realmuto. I understand the arguments for McCann over Grandal even though I’ll never agree. I don’t think McCann is a guy that should be playing 120+ times per year though.

It's hard to put a price tag on a happy pitching staff.

The cubs again huh

This. I'll have to follow more of your posts. I like posts like this that reference FIP and spin rates and usage. my hope is he can have that Giolito "aha!" moment and turn into a #2 type starter, otherwise I think we're likley to see him flounder like a Reynaldo Lopez in #5 category/bullpen/ultimately let go and picked up by a bad team type player. Aka Carlos Rodon. Ultimately we will need that #3 guy soon, who can step into Keuchel's #2 spot in the next year or two while Keuchel maybe takes a step back. Right now I feel like Kopech has the best chance followed by Cease.

We did the part the Phillies didn't - prospects succeeding. The Sox were the specific example used to differentiate from the Phillies. This is why I'm hesitant whenever someone wants to unload someone like Thompson or Kelley - the Phillies and, much more pertinently, the Cubs show you need that second wave badly.

Did you even read the article?

Sox and Phil’s to me were in same place in 2018 offseason. Luckily in 2019, Giolito, Moncada established themselves as stars and Robert put himself on the map. The Phil’s never had that

People are obsessed with The Cub.

But you are a Cubs fan now.

If this is your approach, then you better be the gold standard for player development, which isn't the White Sox. Jose had an outstanding 2020, but Springer would make more than Jose because overall, he's a better (and slightly younger) baseball player that plays more valuable positions. I don't think the players would view it as a slight if their club brought in one of the better OFers on the market and in the game to help fortify their roster for their playoff aspirations.

Mercedes might be at higher readiness level to DH at start of '21 than Vaughn. I'd certainly give him a chance.

What, I'm supposed to be impressed because he hit a homerun that stayed on the scoreboard? Fuck that guy. Once a Cub, always a Cub. I don't want him anywhere near my team.

Kopech as the centerpiece of a deal has the potential to haunt us for 10 years. He just might be better than Snell this year. Vaughn might be very good but DH/1st. basemen are rather plentiful. I've said it before...Snell is good...but not as good as Sale. Free agents only cost money. Need to make trades very carefully IMO.

Remember 2019 when James McCann was an All-Star... look at his 2nd half numbers. James is a great person, excellent defensive C, works great with Giolito. However, he is not a long term solution as a starting C. If the Mets sign him for 4 years, they will regret it. He's the perfect compliment. He does best when he's playing sparingly, he proved that in 2019. 1st half 2019: .316/.371/.502 2nd half 2019: .226/.281/.413 Having him at C and Calhoun in RF, we would all be saying we need to improve in both of those areas right now. I don't like Grandal's defense behind the plate, which is why I would like to sign Tyler Flowers as a back up, but his bat is good and hopefully with Tony, he won't be smelling the 2,3,4, or 5 spots in the batting order!

We coulda had James McCann for 3 more years or so and Kole Calhoun out in RF for like $20 million less than Grandal.

It's doubtful that James McCann wants to return. He's going to go be the starter somewhere.

But Trump didn't have a half a brain. He saw the pandemic as a political liability, and so he went into a denial mode. And once he got in that mode, there was no way out. Additionally, even after four years, Trump didn't know how to govern. If he had used the power of the federal government to battle the virus, things would have been much better. We still would have been in a crisis, but things would have better than they are now. Instead, the deaths mounted and he lost by 7 million. His refusing to concede won't change that.

I agree. Expecting Katz to make these guys reliable immediately wouldn’t be fair. Last they played, the team had 2 starters they deemed reliable. You have to expect Keuchel to regress a bit as well.

The Sox have to get someone near the TOR. Bauer is probably going to be a tough one with the Mets out there wanting to spend gobs of money. I have a hard time imagining Jerry outbidding them. But I hope we somehow do land him. That would make the Sox among the World Series favorites for sure. Otherwise, give Jed a call and see if they are interested in moving Hendricks or Darvish. I know the rumor is they are aren't doing a full rebuild, but you never know.

Silly Cubsession. Here's a few Cubs who later played well for the White Sox. Eloy Jimenez Oscar Gamble Dennis Lamp Steve Stone Jon Garland

Bowden has no idea who Andrew Vaughn is. Not only did he say the Rays wouldn't have any interest in Vaughn (uhhh??), but today on The Athletic he did a piece on "1 winter meeting move for all teams" where he not only mocked a trade of Vaughn for Lynn straight up (lol no), but he also mocked Snell to the Angels for OF Brandon Marsh and SP Reid Detmers. Those are 2 backend top 100 guys. There is no way the Rays aren't getting at least a top 50 prospect back in a trade and probably at least one more top 100 guy plus lottery tickets. That trade is barely better than a White Sox package of Crochet + Dunning for Snell, at least using mlb.com's rankings. Now if you jump over to Fangraph's rankings, they are much higher on Marsh (#30), but don't have Detmers ranked in their top 115 at all. Either way, Bowden clearly has no idea how good or how valuable Andrew Vaughn actually is, so while I think his optimism that the Sox might get Snell is interesting, that's where the value in his comments ends.

That's such a great song. thanks for posting. I'd pay to see that band, I'd pay even more to be able to see this year, really miss being out and about. Spiegel is one of the few I like on the Score, Laurence Holmes the other. I like his Sunday in season show better than the Saturday show, 1. Because it doesn't compete against WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback and 2. There is no Bruce Levine. The more I learn about Len, the more I like. Since I am radio only during the game, I am really looking forward to the broadcasts next season. Nothing against Andy, who did a good job under doubly trying circumstances (COVID Broadcasts with road games broadcast off of a monitor and following Ed Farmer), but this is a significant upgrade. Jason Benetti joined Len Kasper on the Score interview at five (linked below): https://www.radio.com/670thescore/podcasts/parkins-show-63/parkins-spiegel-len-kasper-jason-benetti-interviews-hour-4-351559748

I don't think Schumer is that hot, but to each their own

I honestly couldn't believe I was actually watching what I was watching, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Seeing "his" ship back on screen after all these years, one of the coolest ships in the entire SW Universe was crazy.....along with many other instances of the episode. It's such a fun weekly show to consume.

Had the white Sox not traded him, a Semien, Tatis, Anderson infield could have dominated 2019 and 2020. Too late for that, and now he’s a terrible fit for us. I have no idea whatsoever what he’s worth this offseason. Between a bad 8 week 2020 season and the revenue drop, he seems in a spot to be massively hurt this year. If owners are being honest about their losses he will get a 1 year deal, but if he is still a 5 win shortstop and you sign him for a couple years he’s a potential huge bargain. But it may be no one has the money for that gamble.

Are we sure this is official? I don't see A. J. Hinch's signature on the press release picture.

I’m indifferent on Kasper, but it sure is fun seeing all the media attention we’re getting over it and I love when Cubs fans get salty.

Up in the world? Where is there to go up from calling games for the team that you've been a fan for all your life and is a defending back to back world series winner!! Circa 2024. Benetti is our Vin Scully!!!

DJ is awful

This is garbage

I have zero problems with adding another starter up front in free agency, adding a depth starter, and then letting Lopez, Cease, Kopech and Dunning battle it out for the last spot or two. You own all of these guys rights for 4 to 7 years still, why waste that ownership? The need to act rashly just isn't prudent here. You have all of these assets, why not try to maximize them as the cheapest possible options for your own team? What I don't want to do is start giving these guys away after a minimal amount of major league struggles and then needing them down the line after they break out when the guy who you got in the deal has left in free agency.

Pitchers struggle every year, sometimes even really good ones. How quickly do we quit on each pitcher? Dylan Cease still has yet to pitch an entire season's worth of games. Lucas Giolito was a complete failure after his first year. Were you trading him away for a pitcher with one year of control? Greg Maddux's first year and a half in MLB were Cease-esque. Randy Johnson didn't start to get it until 26, but was still leading the world in walks at ages 26-28. Carlos Carrasco struggled in parts of 4 different major league seasons before breaking out at age 27. Trevor Bauer didn't put up an ERA+ of over 100 until his 3rd full season in the majors, plus two more partial ones. Lance Lynn himself is two seasons removed from an 84 ERA+ season with his career world BB/9 stat. I could go on and on here, but hopefully the point is clear by now.