Leaderboard

There are some forum addicted know-it-all posters that seemingly relish in oneupmanship. It is too bad that they dominate the forum at times and try to grind down and embarass posters for sport. Anyway, I respect all Sox fans including those who have different opinions. In fact, I like hearing different opinions which is why I read this forum. My own opinion is that signing Leury was a reasonable move. He provides flexibility for TLR to use him at various positions and against RH or LH pitching since he is a switch hitter. He has shown surprising power and while he has had injuries, he is relatively durable. I don't know this for a fact, but Leury must be an affable player that players and management respect and like having on the team.

There's lots of conflicting information right now. I stand by what I wrote because I trust the people who told me a significant addition was likely coming. I've heard that Hahn/Haber may have misjudged this market. I've also heard that Jerry Reinsdorf didn't want a major expenditure pre-lockout. I'm not sure what's true at this point. THey've added a utility player and an 8th inning guy for like $13.5 million so far. They'll have a record high payroll. Michael Conforto is still a realistic option and there's no way second base is solved. THey'll add at least one starter too. They were priced out of the Scherzer and Semien markets. That's pretty obvious at this point. If they don't do very much, I'll be as critical as everyone else. For me though, it's imperative to wait until the off-season is over. I need to see what the 2022 team actually looks like. Sorry for disappointing you Ray.

Yes, Leury is a good player to have on the roster. Nice to have, trust the process, etc. I believe that the White Sox intend to get a better second baseman still. Here's the problem, as I see it: When you're operating on a limited budget and prices are not fixed or determinable, it makes NO sense to buy things you DON'T need before you buy things you DO need. This deal (years/dollars) is fine in a vacuum, but it's only fine in context if it comes on the heels of having your necessities covered. This is a deal that should have come at the end of the offseason IF the Sox found themselves with budget remaining. Everyone pretty much agrees that the Sox have three substantial roster holes to fill: (1) RF, (2) 2B, (3) SP. As it stands the White Sox have now committed (conservatively) at least a third of their likely budget space (~$12.5m to Graveman/Garcia) and filled NONE of those holes. This reduces their leverage for filling those holes, and if they fail, it will be at the expense of the major pieces for the benefit of covering the minor "nice to haves." If Sox ended up having to overpay for a starting caliber RF/2B and it left them "scrambling" for a bench piece, they would be in drastically better position than if the opposite were true. To me, to make this deal on this date is yet another inexplicably inefficient application of limited resources. They may very well fully intend to acquire real solutions for their problems this offseason, but they've put themselves in a great position to fail at doing so. Maybe the CBA will shake things up and make this a good move, or maybe they'll pull the right deals off anyway. but it won't be because it was "smart," it'll be because it was lucky. It's finally looking clear to me why this team seems to miss on its targets so frequently. They're getting in their own way and I can't understand why.

I really don't get what's so hard about just scrolling past tweets you deem not legit. Besides, the foodie/rando tweets provide about as much useful information to me as Jon Heyman saying the Marlins and Nationals among others have checked in on Chris Taylor.

Sheets headlining a deal for Sonny Gray would be a massive W.

Yep. I like Gavin and I think he has a role on this team. We definitely need lefties. Its unfortunate he can't field a position. I sincerely worry that Gavin's presence will hamper Vaughn's development. Worse yet, I worry that Gavin's presense will result in the Sox trading a franchise cornerstone in Vaughn. They can all co-exist - namely, Gavin being a bench player or AAA insurance. But if you can turn 26 year old Gavin Sheets who was basically a non-prospect a year ago (Sox didn't even invite him to alt site) into Sonny Gray in the midst of your contention window, you do it all day long.

Conforto technically still there, but I found it funny that half of Soxtalk was asking why anyone was dumb enough to think the Sox would be in on Scherzer or Semien.... "Max Scherzer and Marcus Semien should be realistic targets of the club" Maybe because people like Jimmy, and other "insiders", were saying just that? Then Jimmy comes by the forum after those guys and half the other FA's sign and complains that Sox fans expectations were too high and they'll never be satisfied. LOL you honestly can't make that shit up..

This coming from a guy who can’t go a post with throwing in a “fucking” or “shitty” Those really help hammer home your point as well…

The point is that they'll be better off without someone like Leury than they will be without someone like Chris Taylor. So if signing Leury might prevent you from signing Chris Taylor, you're doing it wrong. If signing Chris Taylor turns out to prevent you from signing Leury, you're in a better position. You can find SOME version of Leury Garcia if you HAVE to, on a minor league or one year MLB deal when spring training starts, even if he's inferior to Leury. But you can't find an extra $10m a year to win the bidding for the starter you need. Having a good bench replacement is definitely important, but it isn't more important than having the starter that he might need to replace. EDIT: But point taken on bench still being a legitimate "need." I probably should have characterized is a significantly SMALLER need, such that it belongs in a lower tier.

Stroman won’t play for La Russa, but he will accept money/create revenue from/for the Rickett’s family. Cool.

Good deal, that is a very club friendly AAV. Frankly I think he could have gotten another 5-6 million total on the open market. Seems like he took a little discount to come back to familiar grounds.

This argument is so damn tired and pointless I don't really know what to say anymore. The White Sox have more contracts committed than pretty much every other team too. That's why their payroll is higher in November. November payrolls are completely meaningless; people who cite it as a reason the Sox aren't cheap are exhausting. And yes the figure you cite IS taking into account the expected Arb raises for players like Giolito.

This board has gotta stop sharing these unofficial tweets. This is nonsense.

I'm over here outspending all these teams on pizza alone. Kudos to me and my front office.

One signing affecting future signings seems like a pretty straight forward concept and not something in need of 14 paragraphs, but maybe that's just me.

Time to send in Roman to seal the deal...

In what line of business do you go to the guy who is doing a great job (Hendriks) and tell him that this other guy (KImbrel) can't do his job so we are giving him your job? I for one do not want Kimbrel as the White Sox closer....I want to see his ass traded. That is Rich Hahn's job.

When you 97 million, is that in reference to how many times you've posted the same bullshit in every post? We get it, we know where you stand. Give the rest of us a break.

He had Dane Dunning being traded. Passan told him he could break the news since he had it first, but NSC never did because he had no idea they were getting Lynn. Passan ended up breaking the news. NSC didn't break the Lynn trade as you stated. NSC lists literally every player and a trade candidate or trade target, lol. He steals info from other sources as well. He hopes that suckers will look past the countless times he is wrong or all the shit he throws at the wall. It works apparently.

This is a great deal for the WSox. I'm sure they prefer Leury isn't their every day 2B and he's their utility guy as he's been....but I don't mind him being in the mix in case all of the other clearly better options go sour. Welcome back, Leury.

Honestly, these guys like notCishek who acts like he has RH,KW and JR phones all bugged, has all of these tidbits, but when they actually sign someone, like Graveman, nothing, and if Leury signed, it would be after the lockout. Yet people still want to see what he tweets. It amazes me.

I deleted the post. Will you stop complaining now? ffs.

This. If he's the headliner, you do it 8 days a week. Sheets is a platoon lefty that didn't do anything special in the minors and quite frankly sucked at every defensive position he played, including 1st base. He's got a sweet swing and hit some timely bombs, but you sell high on him if you can.

I don’t understand the opinion that the Sox were unprepared or misread the market. We have young Allstar-caliber players at almost every position. I still expect them to supplement this team in a bigger-than-needed way, but in no way am I pissed they didn’t shell out 40M/Yr to Max or $325M to Seager. As currently constructed, I see this team winning close to 100 games, even in a tougher AL. We have that much talent.

Marcus Stroman has proven to be a racist hypocrite. He can stay off the team.

I think this is a useful exercise. The White Sox acquire a RF and a 2B. The bench is Vaughn, Leury, Engel. Romy is in the minors but comes up any time there is an IL trip, and breaks camp with the team because of Anderson’s suspension. The White Sox acquire a RF but no 2b. The bench is Vaughn, Engel, Romy. Is is unclear what happens if they need another IF - Burger probably breaks camp with the team, but maybe Yolbert is the primary guy if there is a long term infield injury? The White Sox acquire a 2b but no RF. The bench is Leury, Romy, Engel. Generally this is tolerable, Burger probably breaks camp with the team due to Anderson’s suspension. Bench is pretty flexible but not clear who comes up if there is a long term injury other than Burger. The White Sox acquire neither. The bench is Romy, Engel, and Burger I guess? Not clear who the backup SS is for the first games during Anderson’s suspension. Moncada to 2b, Burger in at 3b probably, with the survivor of Romy/Leury to SS. Anyone gets hurt and team will immediately be looking to sign someone off the scrap heap. All of these assume 1 bench spot goes to a catcher not discussed here. Anything I missed?

I’ve been browsing Twitter less than 24 hours… my quality of life is already worse but I can whole heartedly say that these two Tweets are the best related to the Sox that will occur all year:

I like it. He's as good or better than the guy we got from Cleveland last year who stopped hitting in Chicago.

I'm calling shenanigans on this. While I would like to lay claim to this title, our guy @ChiSox59 has been driving the Conforto train longer than anybody here. We will get Conforto and it will be glorious. It makes too much damn sense.

Where are we, the orphanage from The Queen's Gambit?

So glad I can finally unfollow Stroman, one of the worst player Twitter follows around.

Yeah...when a guy as talented as Leury can only get paid 5.5 million they obviously need a work stoppage.

I have a feeling I'm going to nail this offseason.

I get what you are trying to say here, but I disagree with the idea that someone like Leury isn't needed on this team. With the injury history we have with some of our biggest players, having someone who can step into those spots in a pinch, and give them days off otherwise, is a necessity. It's not like the team can sign up 7 major league starter ready OFs, so this is about as close as you can come to it by getting plug in level guys, and insulating the system against needing to dip into the minors when these injuries happen.

Lol I see no lie.

Agreed. I watch baseball for entertainment. The Twitter portion, even the burners, add to the entertainment. It's a long dark cold winter.

I don't look at the tweets as anything definitive, but they do at least spark some conversation.

The Sox ranked 29th in baseball in payroll in 2018 at 72 million. 24th in 2017 26th in 2019 "Their payrolls were somewhat high."

Dude has a God-complex, keep him far away from the Sox. I see people still up in arms...there is still a day and the Sox didn't lose out on anyone they targeted (could say Escobar,but not even sold they were in too much on him). I still say they upgrade in Right, Leury isn't the starter at 2B, and there will be another Starter. They lose out on RF and get stuck with Kimbrel, all angst is earned. Next couple months are gonna blow, but the sky didn't fall here.

Let's just put the Danny Duffy talk to rest https://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-news-danny-duffy-heading-for-surgery-or-retirement/2021/09/22/

This is fair I suppose. My biggest gripe is the assumption that they're done. There are lots of options available still.

That’s not the point, it’s simply showing how quickly this payroll will be approaching $200M and the luxury tax.

I think he should be the near everyday LF myself. But I’d mix him in around the Diamond a day or two a week while he’s young. Sitting on the bench isn’t an option IMO.

Thats a W for the good guys. For those concerned, I think 5.5M a year falls into the supersub category of spending. But it's a nice chunk of change for a guy who had made 11 Million over the past 9 years in the bigs.

The question "what the fuck?" Remains unanswered

I wish Cesar the best of luck. His defense was really good and unfortunately he got into a major rut that he couldn't get out of after that hot start. He's a quality player and a good move for the Nats and I'm sure he will bounce back.

Here’s one that isn’t paywalled https://fansided.com/2021/11/30/mlb-rob-manfred-2-different-baseballs-report/amp/ Will be juicey to read the athletic article once it comes out

12 Angry Men: The SoxTalk Docudrama continues after the break, with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage never revealed publicly until now.

What? It wasn't even the worst trade Hahn made that week. 07/29/21 Cleveland Indians traded 2B Cesar Hernandez to Chicago White Sox for LHP Konnor Pilkington. 07/30/21 Chicago Cubs traded RHP Craig Kimbrel to Chicago White Sox for 2B Nick Madrigal and RHP Codi Heuer.