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He had almost equal splits last year and a 121 wRC+ against RHP before fatigue set in September.

It wouldn't be spring training without outlandish absurd desperate hot takes. Mid season form already. Bravo.

You're crazy.

i've made my irrational point and i stand by it

Knowing that the top line is Vaughn, all you've shown me is that one guy playing out of position almost out produced two guys who were getting more favorable matchups. So you can spend one roster spot on Vaughn playing his actual position, or two on Sheets / Burger.

I just heard about this tonight and have put together a story for another site that the write for: Sadly, another member of those terrific White Sox teams of the mid-1960’s has passed away as outfielder Dave Nicholson died Saturday, February 25th at the age of 84. Nicholson came to the White Sox in that huge deal with the Orioles on January 14, 1963. The Sox got Nicholson, Hoyt Wilhelm, Ron Hansen and Pete Ward for Luis Aparicio and Al Smith. The deal completely transformed a club that was getting older and more removed from its “Go-Go” days of the 1950’s. Nicholson had incredible raw power and strength but always had trouble harnessing it. At a time when players simply didn’t strike out that often “Big Nick” was prone to doing so. He struck out 175 times in 1963 to lead the league and followed that up by striking out 126 more times in 1964. But when he connected the baseball went a very long way. That 63’ season Dave slugged 22 home runs, walked 63 times and drove in 70 RBI’s for a White Sox team that won 94 games. He also blasted what may have been the longest home run ever hit in Major League Baseball history. On May 6 in the first game of a double header in the fifth inning, versus the A’s, Nicholson blasted a shot off future Sox pitcher Moe Drabowsky that went over the roof and was found across the street in Armour Square. Some Sox fans claimed they heard the ball hit the top of the roof but White Sox officials said when they found the ball it had no signs of tar on it nor was it scuffed. Long time Chicago baseball reporter Jerome Holtzman was at the game and claimed he saw the ball bounce back up after hitting the roof and then go back out of sight. Nicholson’s shot went over the roof around the 375-foot sign in left center field. It was found 135 feet from the base of the wall. Plus, you have to add in the elevation needed to get the ball over the roof, approximately 70 feet. Hitting a ball on to the roof or over it required a ground-to-ground distance of at least 474 feet. Unofficial estimates place the drive as traveling 573 feet eclipsing Mickey Mantle’s shot at Griffith Stadium in Washington in 1956. That shot went an unofficial 565 feet. For the night Dave would hammer three home runs and drive in five RBI’s in the twin bill as the Sox swept both games, 6-4 and 11-4. So how strong was he? Teammate Jim Landis confirmed a story I had heard that after a particularly frustrating game for Dave, he went into the showers and twisted the knobs for the hot and cold faucets so tight that no other player could get them loose to clean up after the game. The Sox had to call in plumbers to repair things. Dave was involved in another odd episode in that same 1963 season in (where else?) Baltimore. On May 19, 13 days after his titanic home run, Sox starter Ray Herbert’s consecutive scoreless inning streak ended controversially in Memorial Stadium. Herbert, a 20-game winner in 1962 and who passed away this past December, had thrown 38 straight scoreless innings when he faced the Orioles Johnny Orsino in the third inning. Orsino then hit what appeared to be a home run to left field...or did he? Both manager Al Lopez and Nicholson argued that the ball Orsino hit passed between the top of the wall and an iron railing mounted on top of it with support posts to help keep fans from falling over on to the field of play. By going through the gap, it should have been ruled a ground rule double. They lost the argument; Herbert lost his scoreless streak but the Sox won the game 4-3 in 10 innings to get a double header split. In 1964 Nicholson started to see his playing time reduced and he only hit 13 home runs with 52 walks and 39 RBI’s. In 1965 his playing time was cut even more only seeing action in 54 games with two home runs and 12 runs driven in. He was traded that off season to Houston. Landis summed up Nicholson perfectly when I asked him about his former teammate. "Dave fought it too hard. He was a young kid who had high expectations and he just couldn’t handle it. He had tremendous power. I was in awe when he hit that one over the roof.” The White Sox from 1963 through 1965 won a total of 287 games and Nicholson despite his limitations played a part in that success.

It would never happen but I don't think a Burger/Sheets 1B platoon out producing Vaughn is really that outlandish, absurd, or desperate to be honest with you. One of these is Vaughn last year, the other is Sheets/Burger 510 ABs - 28 2B - 17 HR - 76 RBI 545 ABs - 28 2B - 23 HR - 79 RBI

I remember Dave Nicholson in 63-64. Monster swing

You’re crazy.

Call me crazy but a Sheets/Burger 1B platoon>Vaughn imo.

Lineup is giving big "battle for a benchspot" vibes.

SP depth is dreadful.

2023 Chicago White Sox Prospect Rankings Rank Name Position Previous Rank Level Age 1 Oscar Colas CF/RF 3 AAA 24 2 Colson Montgomery SS 1 AA 20 3 Noah Schultz SP 9 N/A 19 4 Lenyn Sosa INF 4 Majors 23 5 Bryan Ramos 3B 13 AA 20 6 Norge Vera SP 2 AA 22 7 Cristian Mena SP 6 AA 20 8 Peyton Pallette SP 14 N/A 21 9 Luis Mieses OF 10 AA 22 10 Jose Rodriguez INF 7 AA 21 11 Dario Borrero 1B 12 Rookie 19 12 Tanner McDougal SP 15 Rookie 19 13 Wilfred Veras 1B/3B 17 AA 20 14 Jonathan Cannon SP 18 A 22 15 Abraham Nunez Jr. OF NR N/A 16 16 Jordan Sprinkle SS NR A 21 17 Sean Burke SP 19 AAA 23 18 Wes Kath 3B 5 AA 20 19 Kohl Simas SP 20 AA 23 20 Carlos Perez C 8 Majors 26 21 Yoelqui Cespedes CF 16 AA 25 22 DJ Gladney 1B 21 AA 21 23 Loidel Chapelli INF/OF 21 DSL 25 24 Luis Reyes SP NR N/A 17 25 Yolbert Sanchez INF 22 AAA 25 26 Victor Quezada 3B 23 Rookie 19 27 Erik Hernandez OF 24 DSL 18 28 Leandro Alsinois OF 26 DSL 18 29 Matthew Thompson SP 27 AA 22 30 Jared Kelley SP 28 AA 21 31 Andrew Dalquist SP 30 AA 22 32 Carlos Jimenez 1B/OF 32 DSL 21 33 Arxy Hernandez SS/3B 33 DSL 19 34 Godwin Bennett OF 34 DSL 20 35 Arnold Prado OF 35 DSL 18 36 Rafael Alvarez OF NR N/A 17 37 Ryan Burrowes INF/OF NR DSL 18 38 Chase Krogman OF NR A 21 39 Randel Mondesi OF 30 DSL 20 40 Gregory Santos RP NR Majors 23 1. Oscar Colas, CF/RF Colas made his stateside debut this past season at A+. He was able to shake off the rust quite quickly after not playing for over 2 years. Colas showed the Sox he was ready for a challenge after he hit 0.311 with 7 HR's and 42 RBI's in 59 games. AA was not much a challenge either as he hit 0.306 with 14 HR's and 33 RBI's in 51 games. At both levels Colas ended with a wRC+ of 129 and 139 respectively. Colas has shown quick hands and hips. The hole up and in for most lefty power hitters has not really shown itself yet which gives hope that he can get around on pitches up and in once he gets his shot in the bigs. He does have a pretty wide strike zone and loves to swing the bat like most Latin American players. What I love is he can barrel it up on the sweet spot a ton, it almost doesn't matter where it is pitched. However, Colas does strikeout at a decent rate but manages to keep it down for the most part. 20% at A+ and 24% at AA (AAA was 36% but only 7 games and he did hit .390). I believe he is destined to begin the season as the starting RF for the White Sox. That all said, I would expect Colas to settle in around a .270 hitter, with good enough splits to avoid being a platoon bat and crushing 23-28 HR's per year. 2. Colson Montgomery, SS Montgomery came out on fire at A ball hitting 0.324 with nearly a 13% BB rate and a wRC+ of 152. It is no wonder the White Sox got aggressive with Montgomery's assignments late in the season with a callup to A+ and then part of Project Birmingham at AA. Montgomery held his own, albeit to a lesser skill level at A+ with a wRC+ of 125 but a BB rate of almost 16%. At AA Montgomery was definitely overmatched but it was a great learning experience for him to be part of Project Birmingham. Montgomery has shown a great eye at the plate which leads to getting pitching he can drive and also lead to an insane on base streak of 50 games this past season. At AA, Montgomery got a blueprint of what he needs to do to succeed and move towards major league stardom, now it is on him to work at it. 3. Noah Schultz, SP A lot of us grew up with the most dominant pitcher in baseball standing 6'10" with a mean fastball and devastating back foot slider. Well we can all dream that Schultz is going to be this generation's version of Randy Johnson. Schultz has a mean fastball from a lower arm slot that the Sox have already tinkered with to improve it. They switched Schultz from a four-seam fastball to a two-seam fastball, giving him a 4th pitch to his arsenal and making him a more dominant pitcher with the extra movement he gains by throwing the two seamer from the lower arm slot. Schultz's out pitch looks to be a devastating slider, reminiscent of the Big Unit's. The sky's the limit for Schultz and it begins in 2023 for him. Schultz is definitely my favorite prospect for the Six heading into the 2023 season and someone that I believe will have the highest ceiling of anyone in the organization. 4. Lenyn Sosa, INF Sosa made it briefly to the bigs last year. Unfortunately he was not given a chance to play much by TLR, only getting into 11 games. However in the minors, Sosa blew up in the minors hitting .315 with 23 HR's over stints at AA and AAA. One aspect that Sosa will need to keep as he gets the chance to compete for the 2B job in Spring Training is keeping the K% down like last season (15% in the minors). Sosa has great bat skills and will definitely be looking to break camp with the team heading north, but could also use a little more time at AAA to solidify himself as a legit everyday player for the Sox. 5. Bryan Ramos, 3B Ramos had a real power surge in 2022 compared to his previous season (22 HR vs 13 HR). If he can continue to improve as he progresses through the system, Ramos can easily see the power numbers grow even more. Ramos is similar to Sosa in that he doesn't strike out much with a 16.6% K rate at A+ and AA last year. If he can keep the K's in check and tap even more into the power, the Sox might have a viable 3B replacement for Moncada in a couple of years. 6. Norge Vera, SP Vera made his stateside debut at A where he made 8 starts, followed by a couple of starts each at A+ and AA. At A, Vera was dominant despite his short outings (obvious monitoring by the Sox higher-ups). Unfortunately things unraveled at A+ and AA, Vera went from a 1.88 ERA at A and 5.63 and 8.10 at the higher levels respectively. Vera's issues stemmed mostly from control, even while at A ball (15.15% walk rate). While at A+ and AA the walk rates were atrocious ~30%. Vera has the skills to be a good SP, however he is going to have to really reign in the walks and pitch deeper than 3 innings in a game to start showing the Sox he can start and not be destined for the bullpen. 7. Cristian Mena, SP Mena broke through in a big way in 2022, he went from a relatively unknown prospect, to cracking the top 10 for the Sox in a rapid rise that has not been seen around here in a long time. Mena made quick work of A ball, despite being only 19 years old. 5 games of 4+IP and 0 ER earned him a jump to A+ by mid June where he continued to flash his potential with some mediocre outings mixed in. Late in the season Mena was aggressively challenged by the Sox player development with a promotion to AA as part of Project Birmingham. Unless the Sox are continuing with Project Birmingham, I'd expect to see Mena back at A+ where with more seasons he could progress to AA later in the year. If Mena can continue to improve his command and control, he could have SP3 upside for the Sox. 8. Peyton Pallette, SP Pallette missed his final season at Arkansas. He possesses an upper 90s fastball and was looking like a first round draft pick before his injury. If the Sox can dial him in he could be a sneaky good SP in the bigs. Unfortunately given age, missed time, and makeup I see Pallette more as a back of the bullpen guy than a SP. Look for him to start at A+ and move quicker if he is showing the stuff the Sox believe he can. 9. Luis Mieses, OF Mieses has been one of my under the radar guys for a season or two now. He has a great swing that leads to doubles upon doubles. In 2022 Mieses ended just 3 doubles shy from leading the minors in doubles. With a little more seasoning and work on his swing Mieses could tap into some more power and turn those doubles into homeruns and get more national prospect attention. 10. Jose Rodriguez, INF Rodriguez had a great 2022 season playing entirely at AA. His calling card appears to be his speed and his bat, stealing 40 bases and hitting .280. There doesn't appear to be much more projection for him with regards to body or skills. Time will tell if his bat is good enough to be a starter or prototypical utility guy. If Rodriguez can get to some more power and be more patient at the plate, he can definitely become a starter in the bigs with SB's as his calling card. 11. Dario Borrero, 1B Borrero has been in my top 15 for going on 2 years now I believe, after 2022 I even moved him up to 11. This is definitely a leap and nowhere near where others will rank him but I see so much potential that I have to reward it. Borrero missed almost all of his pro debut in the DSL in 2021. He came stateside with missing a year of development and needing to show something to himself and the Sox organization and that he did. At Rookie ball, Borrero hit .313 in 46 games with hits in 37 of 46. He had 3 or more hits in 5 games. I was very impressed with his showing, but this offseason and upcoming season is where Borrero needs to take that hit tool and start elevating the ball to tap into his projected power frame (6'5") and get more extra base hits and homeruns. If he can do that while maintaining his average then he could be a breakout prospect for the Sox, only time and games will tell. No video 12. Tanner McDougal McDougal missed 2022 after having TJS at the end of 2021. He has plus stuff that really plays well as he struck out 17 in 9 and ⅔ innings at Rookie ball in his pro debut after being drafted in 2021. The fastball seems to be back to pre-injury levels (mid 90s) and his breaking ball is one of my favorite pitches in the Sox organization with wiffleball movement stemming from elite spin rates. If the Sox have been able to get McDougal back on track, look for a big breakout from him. 13. Wilfred Veras, 1B/3B Veras is another young player for the Sox that had a big breakout last season. He hit .267 with 20 HR and 22 doubles between A ball and AA (part of Project Birmingham). Veras has an upright stance and uses quick hands and hips to produce some good looking exit velocities. If he can get his lower half working some more he could potentially tap into the power more this upcoming season. 14. Jonathan Cannon, SP Cannon wasn't great in 2022 at Georgia but he was getting experience in the SEC so that is always a plus. He is pretty raw for a college pitcher and could definitely use an uptick on the fastball and more break on the slider. Time will tell if he is destined for the Pen or if the Sox can work their magic. 15. Abraham Nunez Jr., SS/OF Nunez Jr. is definitely someone you are not going to see on other lists. He just signed with the Sox as a 16 year old out of the Dominican Republic. Marco Paddy said they expect Nunez Jr. to get up to about 6'4" which gives him a ton of projectable power. He has a smooth lefty swing and a great bat flip game already, the swag here is enough to jump him over some of the more questionable prospects in the organization. Once the DSL starts up this summer, Nunez Jr. is definitely someone to keep an eye on and see if he can develop into a prospect worthy of this ranking. No video

What would the chance then be of the Sox winning the world series? I mean, this has all got to be part of JR's rebuilding plan right? Just eliminate half the competition?

It’s time to ride or die with the core guys, Vaughn included. Let’s at least find out how good these guys are by them staying on the field. If they fail, at least we found out by seeing them play. Vaughn, Moncada, Anderson, Robert, Eloy, Benintendi…they all play 150+ if they’re on the active roster.

It wouldn't be unlike Marcus Semien if the White Sox for whatever reason gave up on Vaughn early (partly due to Semien never finding a true defensive "home" and partly due to the lack of exceptional infield instructors)... The White Sox inevitably learn that short-term thinking (the potentially marginal improvement in 2023 performance, at best) leading to Sheets/Burger instead as a platoon combo doesn't override having the youngest player who doesn't have to be platooned. You simply don't platoon Top 5 draft picks when they haven't even had an opportunity to play their natural position for one full season, and missed so much developmental time due to Covid as well.

You mean you don't like un-athletic 1B with "meh" power and no real stand out tools?

Dread it, run from it. Leury Garcia arrives all the same.

Just a reminder, tonight a *PM Chicago time, part I of the documentary is available on You Tube. Part II will be on March 9 and Part III on March 16. Enjoy!

If she made the whole thing up, I apologize profusely. The thing is, it's probably pretty slim she made it all up. But its a he said/she said, so it's pretty tough to prove unless there is a witness. Odds are overwhelming he did something. Something so bad, the mother was willing to risk her child's portion of his millions of baseball earningsl to make public, and be held accountable.

This could potentially make it up to Judge Judy.

These were the years I started learning about the game courtesy of Jack Brickhouse and Ernie Harwell. Nicholson was worse than Daniel Palka. The Sox had everything but hitting and usually beat the Tigers who had hitting and not much else. At age 9 I understood that Nicholson was barely a one-tool guy. Dave Kingman lite.

Yes, making the playoffs is a big deal. Yes, it should be celebrated, commensurate with its acheivement - you're in the top 20% of teams. Great. Good for the White Sox that they are in the upper tier. Here's the problem though: we haven't been sold the line that this is a contending team with budget constraints that will compete in the playoffs and may or may not win. We've been sold the line that this is a "multiple championship" window of contention - which is complete bullshit given the way the White Sox have run their budget with their eyes wide open to how the rest of the league wins. They sold us this line expecting every good prospect to hit the top of their projections and stay healthy, and as usual they have not complimented their team with high flying FA in the prime of their career who can delver 6-8 WAR on demand. Because the White Sox are cheapskates. That the system is broken and only rewards the big spending teams willing to take luxury tax hits and disregard budget constraints is an unfortunate reality, but it's been an unfortunate reality for 3 decades now since the Yankees started buying championships and the Red Sox and Cardinals followed suit. You want to win in this league? Stop wringing your hands over "the largest contract ever offered by the Sox" and wonder why we aren't dumping $300 million on the pavement and actually trying to win. It would be nice if for once in my lifetime I could say that the White Sox wasted a ton of money compared to all other teams in an effort to actually win.

The idea was ahead of its time. But forcing people into a pay model in a time many houses weren’t even wired for cable wasn’t. It was short-sited and stupid, like much of JR’s tenure.

No. I’m sorry but this can’t keep happening. They can’t keep letting you get away with this.