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Yeah, what moron started that thread.

1.) injuries 2.) TLR 3.) bad stretch of baseball, period. 4.) injuries 5.) TLR oops, I’m repeating myself… 6.) Check back in with me mid May.

Tony fucking sucks. He’s killed this team.

Even the guys Soxtalk wanted are getting seriously hurt. I think it's all our fault.

He should. Larussa is done. Too bad dumb fuck Jerry doesn't see it

Sox are not a team in the sense model organizations (Cardinals, Rays, Astros, others) are. The Sox are a collection of individual contributors, each with enough talent to tease a bit of optimism but each with flaws to their game. Be it mental/physical toughness, lack of range, poor plate discipline, poor pitch recognition or just weak in fundamentals, this bunch is lacking throughout the lineup. There appears to be no 'team culture' , no veteran leadership, no camaraderie and no sense of playing for one another. For periods of time, you can mask team flaws with pitching excellence. When Gio, Lynn, Cease and Kopech are 'right' Sox have a better than fighting chance at a W but not signing Rodon changed the calculus and shines the spotlight back on the position players...a group of individuals who show up and collect paychecks.

More serious is the thought that the 'years of success' promised during the rebuild appear to be over, the squad was not good enough to advance in the post season last 2 years and if anything looks worse this season, the farm system is empty so no possible trade chips there and there is no possibility of more money from Jerry, and there are too many underperforming players on big fat contracts who no one else would want, so I'm not sure where any improvement would come from. I know injuries are crippling the squad but the complete lack of depth was an issue for most on here but not the FO, and even if they were all fit that only puts us back where we were last season when the post season lasted one dismal series.

I think we need to be real here. If Eloy was gonna go through the motions and be what he was in 2021, he is extremely replaceable. He doesn't play defense. If he doesn't post an OPS above .850, his value really isn't anything to write home about. Him getting injured again really sucks and it really hinders his development. But until he takes the next step and proves himself to be the hitter he was touted as, he is a bust and I don't think we can rely on him to be a part of the core in the future. Eloy was always gonna need to be a .900+ OPS guy to be considered a star. He simply just does not do anything else well. Him turning into a huge ground ball hitter really neglects his ability to hit the ball hard. Until he can fix that and stay healthy, you really can't count on him.

Thanks Mr Obvious, you're a lifesaver.

If this loss happened the last two years, I would have been so upset. Now, screw this team.

Good. He never should have been hired to begin with. He belongs in a retirement center.

Ozzie openly campaigning for La Russas job lol

That’s stupid

1. TLR - It was a horrible decision from the start to hire him and it's looking even more like a colossal blunder. Smart and logical owners do not hire their managers. Thank you Jerry! Once and for all we have to get off this rationalizing that TLR is this genius manager. This is 2022 and yes he is in the HOF! However the fact is, he is a shell of the manager that won with the 80's Sox, 90's A's and Cardinals. He is a 77 yr old early dementia manager who talks, acts and thinks like a 87 yr old manager. Personally I think TLR has taken the energy, enthusiasm, "playing loose" and having fun ability away from this team. Why has Tim Anderson made 6 errors in 14 games, when he only made 10 errors all last season? 2. Major flaw in their off season and in season strength, exercise and stretching program/daily routine! - Hahn, TLR, coaches, medical, strength & conditioning staff, along with the players, did not learn from last season on the importance of proper off-season and in-season conditioning. Eloy and Robert are injured running out ground balls! Pollack on a routine base hit! Moncada injured before the season even starts. Btw, it documented by him and videos seen on You Tube, that Yoan worked out with some professional trainer in the off-season to be able to come to spring training in the best shape ever and be able to make it though an entire season consistently healthy! 3. Large team payroll (7th) 195 million but not spent effectively! - 18 million to Keuchel is a joke! Other teams didn't spend the money we did, and have better records than the Sox thus far: Oakland, 29th - 52 million, Cleveland, 27th - 71 million, and Tampa Bay, 25th - 87 million. It begs the question, do we have the right Scouts and Coaches in the minors to recommend to Hahn to draft the right pitchers and develop them effectively in the minors? It's amazing how Cleveland, Oakland and Tampa to name a few, always find and develop good pitchers and never spend the money. Finally when they can't afford to pay them, they just trade them away for future pitching prospects and develop new ones all over again. We all agreed after the season, the Sox needed another quality starter, second baseman and right fielder. There were quality FA starters, 2B's and RF's out there and JR refused to spend the money and go get them. 4. The lack of pitching depth for both starters and relievers - Keuchel is over the hill and not fixable. Regretfully we are suck with him. Oh good news though Sox fans; if Kuechel pitches a 160 innings this year, he is guaranteed 20 million more for 2023! Furthermore, continuing to keep starting Velazquez and thinking he will turn it around, is the pure definition of insanity! Velazquez was a huge mistake to sign in the first place. Go look at his lifetime numbers pitching in the NL minus the DH! Finally, the pitching talent down in the minors is really bad with nothing immediate to bring up. If you don't believe me, just go google the prospect rankings in the minors for all 30 teams, or go check the stats for all four Sox teams in the minors. Hence why we are praying that a 36 yr old Cueto can help us. Sadly Cueto did get hit fairly hard last night at Charlotte. Hopefully his next outing will be good. I am a die hard Sox fan like all of you and always will be. This is extremely painful and depressing to watch this great potential team implode like it is. I know many of you will say, I'm panicking and it's only 14 games in and we play 162. However I see flaws in the structure of this team as stated in my points above. I sincerely hope I am wrong though, because I have bets on the Sox winning the AL pennant and WS! LOL!

Disliking this team more and more each day. It's not because they're nasty creeps, there are other reasons. I have been a White Sox fan for a LONG time, and I've never seen a more injury-prone group of players in all those years. They're like delicate porcelain figurines. Couple that with a mediocre to poor defense, questionable starters, a shaky bullpen and a badly unbalanced lineup of right handed hitting DH types. I've never liked TLR even back in the 1980's. He's arrogant and out of touch. I still want this team to succeed, but it's difficult watching this mess day-to-day.

In reality, the manager looks like he has lost this team. Abreu is talking about leaving after being a guy who was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Tim Anderson looks absolutely lost in the field like he has never been in his career and is frustrated and angry. All of MLB is laughing and mocking the Leury slotting. Our most consistent hitter in Vaughn keeps getting benched as a weak side platoon player. The pitching staff has regressed and the guys who aren't good has slid into moments of self destruction on the mound while being left out there to die to cover up for the mountains of injuries. They get to see move after move that isn't emphasizing winning, but some obtuse plan preconceived before the game. Weak hitters left in games in clutch situations with actual star hitters available, instead of trying to steal wins. If only we had some sort of Hall of Famer guy in our organization who could get through to these guys.

As a life long Sox fan, I gotta say this is the first time I can remember being so uninvested in a regular season. Maybe it's due to the high expectations of postseason baseball, and now with all the injuries piling up. Plenty of time to right the ship but being a Sox fan it feels like the glass is always half empty

This is what is wrong with this team: Everything else was caused by this.

Is it bad that I believed he actually said this before I realized that it was an Onion-type account?

I don't really care what some think of Eloy or his injuries.. Without him in the line-up, this team is less interesting to some fans (including those who go to a lot of games, like me) , and more importantly, Eloy will be missed by certain WSox players including Abreu, Moncada, and Robert.

If Jerry would hire anyone right now, it would be Ozzie. It is a matter of personal comfort. JR will not bring in someone from outside the organization if he would bring on anyone at all. Normally, I wiuld say no to Ozzie but these are not ordinary times.

Not with Reinsdorf as the owner. He says his worst mistake was letting Hawk fire TLR. I vehemently disagree. His biggest baseball mistake was turning down Mayor Washington's offer to anchor the up and coming South Loop. His second biggest baseball mistake was overruling his own management team with a sentimental and foolish managerial hire. He"s made an ocean of mistakes on the basketball side.

If freaking Jay Cuda can see this, why the hell hasn't he corrected it?

YOU CAN'T LET BUXTON BEAT YOU THERE. If Arraez does, so be it. But with 1B open, that is just assinine.

There no accountability. Tony will just shrug it off. As will Hahn and Kenny and JR

Old people will defend old people because any question of their capabilities is questioning their own capabilities.

I am no fan of Ozzie, but give him the damn job already. And find a real closer. At this rate, should have kept Kimbrel.

So sick of 1B playing OF for the Sox

When and if Eloy comes back, still no guarantees even if he becomes the DH unless someone can act as his designated runner to the bases. This guy is not fundamentally sound in any aspect of the game other than hitting a baseball. He would be a first-ballot HOF player for batting cage excellence. Reinsdorf doesn't pay for top notch scouting. As a result they end up with a team of flawed players.

Literally the only thing I am holding on to right now, is you never know what is going to happen in this game. It's a long season. That said, the injuries need to stop. This team doesn't have the depth to overcome it. Without the players that are currently injured, we might as well be the twins, the Indians, the Tigers or the royals. I was so excited for this season to start. Now...this latest Eloy injury is the straw and camel for me. I'm about ready to focus my energy on other things. It's literally getting to the point where someone is hurt every day. And... didn't they replace the training staff already last offseason? These guys are just glass houses.

Thanks for asking, feeling the same way. This is the worst I’ve felt about the Sox in a long time.

As has become clear in recent days, the Soxtalk banner is cursed and is quickly taking out all our key players. Changes are needed ASAP to save Jose & Tim from certain injury. However, as @CaliSoxFanViaSWside alluded to, perhaps we can use it’s immense power for good by replacing the current six players with various guys across the organization who have contributed to this rough stretch. As such, I see six clear favorites to be sacrificed to the banner: Uncle Jerry - The primary culprit. He forced a manager on his GM and may have created chaos within the organization. Additionally, his insane aversion to risk may have prevented Hahn from procuring true impact talent this offseason. Rick Hahn - While likely handcuffed by Jerry & Tony to some extent, Rick still failed in many areas this offseason. Most notably, he failed to add a much needed SP and did nothing improve our weakness against tough RHP. Much of this rests on him. La Russa - An aging, old-school manager stuck in his ways. It’s clear his best days are behind him and his poor decision-making is quickly becoming more & more costly. His recent lineup decisions have pointed at conflict between him and the front office. Leury Legend - A very average, but versatile player, Legend is the victim of a manager all too fond of him. Being overused and recently high in the lineup has sparked much outrage and has added credibility to conspiracy theories of organizational in-fighting.. Velesquez - He was the “pitching depth” that Hahn mentioned prioritizing coming out of the lockout. His struggles are not surprising in the least given his track record and fact he was DFAed last season. If he survives the All-Star break color me surprised. Keuchel - Last is the “crafty” lefty. Two years removed from a strong season, Dallas has watched his stuff regress and become cannon fodder. With an $18M salary and habit of blaming teammates, Keuchel is one of the more unliable guys on the roster. Who would you like to see sacrificed to the banner? Am I missing anyone of note? Post your ideas below and please voice your support for this petition! Time is of the essence.

Serious question.

How bad does this season need to get for Tony to decide to just step down?

THIS is the best post I have ever read on this site. The brute honesty which REAL fans bring to the table.

He pulled up and cost the Sox 1 and 2 with 2 out instead of out of the inning. A body should be able to hold up running hard to first or there really is no sense playing the player. You are going to have to run hard sometime. The Sox have led the league in hammy injuries the last 3 years. It cost Allen Thomas his job. I'm sure they are doing something different. Hopefully they stop. I can't stand LaRussa, but if asking a guy to run hard down the line is wrong, they should just cancel the sport.

Let's start with the Reinsdorfian school of thought that "organizations win championships" and run with that.... Addendum: And from what I have read, the posters to this thread did exactly that. Well Done. These posts are excellent.

TLR gets blamed for a lot of things but Eloy injuring himself running in a straight line probably shouldn't be one of them.

Look losing streaks happen. This is baseball. But this looks different. We will find out soon enough what reality is.

Right now all of baseball is average. Only Cincinnati sucks. In one week , just about any team can go from 1st to last with a winning or losing streak. It will probably take 30 games before we start to see some trends.

This team is just horrible on the road. It's why I wanted the HFA last year so badly. I have no idea why a team could be so different on the road than at home but at this point maybe they need a hypnotist. Their heads are so screwed up. I never would have thought that Abreu musing about his retirement could actually make the whole team act as if they were ready to retire and get as many injuries as if they were old people running around out there. I'm not saying Abreu set some kind of tone with his comments because each player is responsible for their own attitude, but it has made me wonder. Other than that I will now join the chorus. Fuck Tony La LA LA LA LA Russa-land

The Steinbrenner, Martin, Munson, Jackson 1977 Yankees clubhouse/dugout wasn't exactly a 'Let's All Sing Kumbayah' atmosphere - in fact, most would think that it was a toxic set-up. However, for that team, at that time - they had a winning chemistry. They were a team - just not in a traditional sense. OTH the 1979 Pirates were literally singing 'We Are Family' and rode that momentum to a World Series win. The Pirates ballpark was an intimidating place to play when the crowd got into that groove with the team itself. Obviously, Willie Stargell going all Big Daddy didn't hurt. The point being, these were *teams*, regardless of differences in tone and character. I don't see that so far this year. Abreu's early spring training statement was almost negating, it wasn't far from declaring a non-commital position. Pito has been the leader of the Sox for awhile and getting a not necessarily all-in signal from him is puzzling. The center hasn't held. Maybe we need to bring Billy Hamilton back into the dugout and get some rock-paper-scissors going again.

Obviously one bad week and one losing streak will not define a season. And, yes, it's early. But I don't think it's too early to be concerned. What we have seen is some real bad baseball. Additionally, the offense, except for one game against the Tigers, hasn't really been there. Not to mention an old manager who says and does weird things. In cases like this, most organizations would at least think of firing the manager. A change at manager sometimes motivates a team. But I don't think the FO will fire LaRussa. Not Tony LaRussa. The division is not going to get away from the Sox, at least not yet. But I don't think this last week can be rationalized or laughed off. If the FO has no urgency, I would hope the players would have some. The Sox have just lost five straight to division rivals.

See, reading comprehension problems… At least 50% of the posters on this board know who he is or are at least familiar with his name and the story about his son turning into one of the better prospects in baseball. Even interns who work in the front offices of Tampa Bay, Oakland, Milwaukee, Houston, LAD, Cleveland, Atlanta, etc., READ and RESEARCH a lot. Obviously, in retrospect, Thomas was the scapegoat for more endemic organizational and player personnel/evaluation issues that are as of today unresolved.

I wrote about the additions to the international class and their strategy: https://soxmachine.com/futuresox/latest-international-class-comes-into-focus-for-the-white-sox/

Not sure where you're getting this info from. From everything I've heard this is a tight knit group.

And once again we are in lock step. I sent a PM to @fathom a while ago explaining my theory on Eloy. If I remember right I always thought it would be his back that gave him problems and that he would never consistently pull the ball.

I saw Vlad Jr run hard from first to home on a double last night and was so jealous that he didn’t even wince afterwards.