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Is anyone actually surprised here? Predictions in the mid 80s seem on the generous side after the offseason they had.

I also saw the under/over on threads about the under/over win totals was also at 83.5.

Chances are any trade they might have made wouldn’t have worked out anyway. The problem with the White Sox front office is they blame anything and everything other than themselves for their failures. It may be fluke injuries that happen to every team. It may be fans who don’t pay to watch a shitty product. To Rick, Kenny, and Jerry, it’s always on someone or something else other than them, so they will continue to do things wrong. Maybe every 40 or so years, the stars align and everything goes their way, and they can say We told you so. But that’s what we are stuck with. Its why LaRussa was so beloved by JR. He was never wrong. After The second guy he put on with a 1-2 count last year, the Sox got out of the inning. Tony pointed out that proved he was right. That’s like being out totally chewed and not wanting to spend the money on an Uber, so you drive home. You make it without killing anyone or getting pulled over so of course you made the right decision. It’s nuts. Thinking these guys were going to change their stripes was nuts. JR prints money with the Bulls. He had , at least at the time, the worst 5 year record in NBA history after Jordan left. Yet they continued to sell our. His gift to the fans was to never go into luxury tax territory which will eliminate any chance of the Bulls ever going on a run where they could win for multiple years. If he’s that way when he’s printing money, think how it is for the White Sox.

Overall pitching is so weak and so much uncertainty with catching, right field, third base and second base I’m thinking this team will be lucky to hit 75 wins

It’s not true.

There are lots of ways to improve the roster. One would have been actually spending the international bonus pool money and maybe hitting on a lesser known. When you’re in a rebuild, it may be throwing money away but less than giving Manny Machado’s friends 8 figures combined. And he was letting everyone know how trades were going to happen and he’s being hearing interesting ideas, blah, blah, blah…who knew Franklin German would be his only trade. The whole thing was a bill of goods. Teams with sustained winning always get more expensive and usually quite quickly. Winning means playing well. Playing well means getting paid. If they aren’t willing to cover their recent mistakes with a little more payout, they were never serious about sustained winning and multiple LOL championships. As to KW, I think he has only a year or two left . His wife retired from NBC 5 last year, and he has said he’s on his last contract. So hopefully his leaving will spur some real change because the verdict is in, they don’t have the right people building the team under JRs restrictions. I do think Hahn could possibly build a sustained contender if Steve Cohen was his owner. A few others are far more successful under these conditions. It might not be win a WS, but have fun team that wins most of the time with multiple playoff appearances will do. It’s not like White Sox fans are conditioned for World Series win or bust.

I just think they don’t want to trade the prospects that people want. The system isn’t in great shape and we all know who the top 11 guys are. The payroll issue is on the front office for sure but there were so many moves influenced by La Russa. Ownership needed to spend like $225 million this year to throw money at the problem. It’s the only thing that made sense but Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t give a s%*# about that.

What, did he fart? Let it go man… everyone does it.

84-85 wins seems somewhat optimistic if Hendriks and Clevinger are out of the equation.

Right and for hockey fans, we saw the false accusations that Patrick Kane had to deal with. We need to let this process play itself out.

I think our big hope is the hitting coach changes produce some results in all these underachievers on the team. We'll see. I could see anywhere from high 70's in wins to over 100 if everything clicks.

85 wins leaves you right at the division or at least final playoff spot late into September.

I can only tell you that is what I was hearing from sources in my "State of the Sox" story. It was from individuals who would know about such things. I found it hard to believe but I trust the people I spoke with.

One maniac on a website said in the power rankings the Sox should be ranked #1. I belive our bench and 2nd base is why the predictions are so low. I believe though if by some miracle we stay healthy, and that’s a long shot we can win 87 to 90 games and sneak into the playoffs. But the odds of staying healthy are incredibly low with the porcelain dolls on this team. These idiots get hurt running to 1st base.

"Window of contention...Talk to me after the parade..." - ?

Last year we were projected AL favorites.

Exactly, this isn’t a merit/performance driven organization. It’s a cockeyed family run business that pretends to be sophisticated.

Yup. I would also sign Payne and Powers as well. CB isn't a huge need, but I love Ringo and couldn't pass on him at 54. Bears secondary could be one of the best in the NFL.

Kenny and Rick both have their jobs for life. *Maybe* if this season is a disaster they find a way to shift Getz into more of a public facing role, but nothing will fundamentally change until there's new ownership.

I’m pretty sure you told me this 7 seasons ago.

And IMO, Hahn should be relieved of his duties if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. La Russa is long gone and Rick is the guy entering the season with a $180M payroll relying on multiple rookies and with little depth. Tony’s impact may have been massive, but that doesn’t excuse Hahn from not improving the roster.

Those weren't Benetti quotes. They were anonymous insider sources without names attributed for quite obvious reasons. The Benetti story is getting mixed up with the Liptak/WSI one.

The benefit of the seasons is that if the forecast looks like s%*# a couple days ahead of when you're supposed to go you can swap that Tix for a different date. I'm a big secondary market guy as well, use it quite often for snagging additional Tix in our area. Our group specifically just loves our location and doesn't want to give that up.

I have my own trauma that I'm dealing with in regards to this subject. But the fact remains is that due to labor rules established within the MLBPA, they can't do anything until the investigation is concluded and if they tried, it would be a nightmare.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/02/kodai-senga-had-iffy-physical-before-mets-carlos-correa-saga/ (Heyman).

You didn’t think about s%*#. You read this somewhere and posted it here. I wish there was a jerk-off emoji.

After the parade!

Rick Hahn has owned the off season. I misunderstood before. This had to be one the interesting trade ideas he was sharing with teams in San Diego.

Thought we traded for Domingo German and we were cornering the market on domestic abusers. * *I should add alleged. My pal rabbit gets mad when you don't assume the woman is lying.

Print the playoff tickets now!! .....but, decent enough move, considering Boston had to move him in the next 2-3 days no matter what.

It may not be missed time but it's 100% going to be an excuse for slow starts or wearing down.

Honestly? My read is the Sox had an option on Benetti and he was likely asking for more freedom to not do his main job AND still get paid, possibly even a raise. I hate the organization as much as the next guy, but the Sox had an option, they exercised it, and Jason wants time off from his original agreement, to go work for another company. I'm sure that won't be simple for any club to sort through. You don't need to be a #SoxMath wiz to do the math here.

Isn't he married to the girl he dated in high school? At this point you'd think the millions of dollars he has earned would outweigh the shrinkage.

And she'll like it too....unless it goes wrong.

Don’t know anything about this, but I had to miss some work when I got my reduction.

I don't think there's any harm in slow playing a prospect and having them show you they're ready to advance beyond on a given level. Colas' plate discipline was pretty alarming in AA given the caliber of prospect he's supposed to be. It's entirely possible there would be an adjustment period for him once he gets beyond AA anyways so it'd be better for him to experience that in Charlotte than Chicago. The Sox would also be in a much healthier position from a roster standpoint if Colas were penciled to enter the season in a depth role or Charlotte but of course we know this front office doesn't place any value whatsoever on depth. How many actual contenders would be comfortable with plan A for RF being the ~60th-130th best prospect in baseball with 0 depth whatsoever behind him in case he fails?

If the Bears leave Chicago, the Sox are going to be able to do whatever they want to hold the City of Chicago hostage for any of their whims to do with a stadium. Losing two teams in like 5 years just can't happen.

Since they had the LaRussa Lounge after the DUI, I fully expect the Clevinger Day Care Center to be next

One-way traffic only on the concourse. No exceptions.

Think how much money they could make for charities if the had a JR, KW and RH dunk tank. All sitting together. I'd pay a lot per toss, and show up at a 35 degree game vs the Tigers in April if I had a shot of getting them wet.

Field a competent team?

Every bartender is a Tony impersonator.

Dunk tank on centerfield concourse featuring Jerry Reinsdorf. All proceeds go to the Sign All of the Relievers fund.

Lucking into Michael Jordan did a lot to pad that resume. I'd much rather have an owner that will put this team in position to actually sign top free agents when it is a competitive team. JR has shown time and again that will never be him.

Or you could get Eddie DeBartolo or Steve Cohen. I think as fans we're hoping for that scenario.

As of right now they are projected to be 13th in payroll. So close, but still inaccurate. Saying they are in the top half of baseball in payroll in their prime contention years would be accurate. In terms of attendance, maybe if the owner didn't hire his drunken friends to coach the team it would be better?

I’d rather spend $5 towards this than $25/30 for parking at the stadium lots.

No one thinks it will. This is simply a way to tell Jerry to go f*** himself and embarrass him publicly.

I donated $5. I think it’s great. I don’t even live in Illinois but f*** Jerry. I’ve spent $5 on much dumber s%*# in my life.