Leaderboard

Gotta love Abreu beating up on the Twins.

They can't be anymore unlikeable of a group. Gotta try anything at this point.

Twins have regressed from “actual playoff team” to “AL Central winner” today.

His RF numbers were fine, yet I just can't bet on a soon-to-be 35 year old who was tried for 100+ innings at first base.

Nothing other than the risk of having no starting SS on the roster if Anderson gets a better offer somewhere else (or frankly, if he wants to leave and is willing to take less money to do so - and for a reminder this has happened to a White Sox player recently). This could lead them to having to sign a different SS, perhaps one they can't necessarily say "allows them to compete next year".

For Vaughn, yeah I don't believe there's a strong justification for moving him. His value right now is "backup 1b", you might as well wait to see if he does anything next year before we talk about non-tendering him after 2024. For Eloy, there is some potential benefit in clearing out the contract, and I do believe his contract is still movable.

Where is this new culture coming from?

This scenario gets brought up a lot and here is my take on it 1. It's frankly too early to be talking about this. It's still October and there's still a wide range of things that could happen with this team. 2. That said the scenario is kind of fun to think about because if it did happen then it means virtually every card fell the Bears' way: Justin Fields reaches the full potential everyone thought he had Because Fields is good, the Bears have a lower draft pick - we don't know exactly where that is but we know they don't have #1 overall ...but the Panthers do Eberflus and Getsy demonstrate enough competence to keep their jobs 3. This is literally the Holy Grail of rebuilding scenarios, a coup with luck that even Howie Roseman didn't get with the Eagles from the Wentz trade. If you're a Bears fan you're not worried about what happens from here, all your options are good ones. You either trade out of the #1 pick and get a huge haul due to the bidding wars that'll result or you trade Fields (who, in this scenario, is now probably worth at least two first round picks). I do think people are overrating how rare of a prospect Williams is, but that's a separate topic 4. The argument for re-setting the clock on a rookie contract is that once you have to pay him it's more difficult to maintain the rest of the roster, but if you're paying Fields, this is offset by the sheer amount of draft capital you're getting back. You now have (at least) two firsts in '24, two firsts (and the Panthers 2) in '25, and two firsts in '26. At this point you can absorb $40 million, and you don't really have to start worry about roster atrophy from the salary cap for at least 4-5 years.

Can’t it be both?

Same fans, same owners. I will never root for them again. You could put every player I hate on a team, and I’d root for them against the Astros. They cheated and were then allowed to get away with it when discovered. They were even protected from in-game retribution from other teams. MLB basically punished everyone else in order not to punish the cheaters. I can’t stress it enough. f*** that team straight to hell.

I'm expecting either 6IP/10K or 3.1IP/6ER with basically no in between.

onward.

Glendale made the finals last year, and I was kind of hoping for a repeat so that Colson, Ramos, and crew could get some “playoff” experience…but after a 1-5 start in week 1, they would have a lot of catching up to do. The pitching has been the best in AFL (2.92 team ERA, over a run better than second place) and Sox guys have done their part with that: Jake Eder had 3 scoreless/hitless innings in his one start and made BA’s hot sheet for the first week. Jordan Leasure has made 2 appearances: 2IP, 1R (0ER), 1H 1BB, 3K Fraser Ellard has also thrown twice: 2IP, 0ER, 1H, 1K Adisyn Coffey: 1IP, 1ER, 1H, 1BB, 1K Josimar Cousin got roughed up by the undefeated best offense (and his own defense): 2IP, 4R (3ER), BB The Glendale offense has really struggled (.192 team AVG, .559 OPS, both league worst), and the Sox bats haven’t been much of an exception to that either. Hopefully they can pick it up this week when not up against the Jobes and Robys of the world. The Week Ahead Another 6 game slate for the week. Jake Eder starts again tomorrow (10/10). Only one Glendale stream this week, for tonight’s game: Game 1: GDD vs. MSS (Gameday | Live Stream) Burke, Montgomery, Ramos at the top of the lineup again.

Well, their first baseman will likely have his number retired in Chicago. And Correa and Keuchel are on the Twins. Keuchel may not have been a hitter for the Trashtros, but he was an All-Star that season with a 9-0 record in the first half - and he pitched way better when he had more run support that season. He benefited all the same. So yeah, Altuve and Bregman suck. But unless I'm misreading Baseball-Reference, each team has two members from that team and one has a former White Sox MVP. f*** Jim Crane as well, but if I have to start digging into why I should or shouldn't root for individual owners, Jerry might suddenly end up in a positive light.

You can say this all you want but in the end the right decision was to turn down Kimbrel’s option and look elsewhere. That was true in November 2021, March 2022, and September 2022. You’d be complaining louder if the White Sox’s organization wasn’t so awful that Pollock turned down money to leave, too.

I thought I remember seeing that Hahn nearly moved Tim right before KW traded Burger. We had real smoke around Cease right up to the end too. But considering the two guys that were responsible for this years deadline are gone, I think it's too soon to really know what this new FO are planning on doing. I'd guess Tim is for sure gone. And I think they'd like to jettison Moncada and Eloy too just based on their lack of work ethic.

Abreu slugs two homers, five RBIs even though RBIs don't matter in the analytics era. Ha. Way to let him go, White Sox. Your locker room by all accounts was a mess this season and Jose clutch as usual. Never smart business to let go a fan favorite for no reason. Sox really replaced him well, lol. 101 losses. Hope Astros win a title for Jose.

So happy for Jose, I’m sure he’s in heaven right now after the season he had

Abreu 3 run dinger up 5-0 on Twinks.

Out: Eloy, T/A, Vaughn In: Chapman, Duvall, Heyward, Rizzo, DeJong, Ahmed, Hedges LF: Benintendi/Duvall CF: Robert Jr RF: Heyward/Duvall 3B: Chapman SS: Ahmed/DeJong/Montgomery 2B: Moncada 1B: Rizzo C: Hedges/Lee

The other part where it probably matters is later in October. Last year, having the Phillies pitchers do the extra round while the Astros pitchers were fresher was absolutely, 100% certainly key in that World Series. Both the starters and the bullpen for the Phillies were simply worn out by the time they got there.

Maybe so in terms of rest, but the advantage of getting to skip the first round of the playoffs should more than make up for whatever "rust" narratives are being thrown out there.

I also don't think there's much evidence that proves being off the field for almost a week is the reason why these teams are losing. This could be the results regardless. Baseball gonna baseball.

Shoot me in the face…?

Same. Though him leaving won’t change my Astros disdain much.

So they're quoting a guy talking about cheating who actually made Josh Donaldson correct when he yelled "it's not sticky any more" at him?

I will be watching tonight. Forgive me as I bandwagon back into the nhl thread.

For real. If a good portion of the roster is coming back, that's not good.

Hitting a baseball at the major league level is really hard, especially when you were not given the chance to develop in the minors. AV has been very disappointing (especially in 23), but I am not ready to just write him off as he is what he is. I think there is more in there, and I do eventually think he'll become a more well rounded offensive player, but I can understand folks losing faith in him becoming anything more than a slightly above average bat. That being said, there is really no option but to stick with him at this point. He's worth more to the Sox than what they'd get for him via trade.

Vaughn and Eloy have more value to us than anything someone else is going to give us. I am hoping for another year of development, and a new culture brings out the best in both of them. We have much bigger problems than DH and 1st base.

Hes maxed out physically is what I meant but since you brought it up, we have 3 seasons of data now that are all practically identical. My money says Vaughn is what he is.

Not really on topic, but I hope the Sox take a run at Mark Canha this offseason. He is not a sexy name by any means, but he seems like he'd be a great fit on a shorter term deal. He gets on base, and is a grinder type this club badly needs. Can take the RF job until Colas earns his reps back (whenever that may be), and then becomes a great platoon partner for him (and Beni) against LHP. Can play RF and LF (CF and corner IFs in a pinch). I just really like the fit. 2/$25M should get it done. Might even be able to get him on a 1 year deal.

I can't imagine any offer for Vaughn would be worth doing. Vaughn is a 1B only player with no speed, no standout defensive skills, middling power for the position. Hes maxed out. At this point you roll the dice and hope something clicks for him next season.

Yes, and Sox will no doubt get some offers for Vaughn. He actually hits the ball hard on occasion. Plus, he actually hustles. Those two attributes cover a multitude of sins.

I think we have the makings of a soxtalk meet-up theme at the ol' ballgame next year. Can we also tie an onion to our belts?

I think re-setting the clock on a rookie contract is very valuable, and if Fields plays well enough to even consider not drafting Williams if in a position to do so, he will bring a ton back in a trade. You might have some growing pains with Williams but the Bears could get dominant very quickly.

Normally Montgomery maintains a good approach even when the hits aren't falling, but he was really pressing tonight. 4K's in a row including a couple in big spots, very visibly frustrated after each one. He has never had a 4K game before at any level, even during his 2022 cup of coffee in Birmingham. He got a solid line drive single in his last AB though, so hopefully that gets him going. It was followed by a Ramos swinging bunt IF single and a walk to load the bases. A's reliever Jack Weisenburger had to be helped off the field after landing funny on his last pitch and the guy that replaced him stranded the runners. Montgomery and Burke were both 1-5. Burke was 1-3 with 2 walks. No Sox arms today, but Glendale's pitching remains incredible and they win a 2-0 shutout. The pitching coach is a Dodgers guy, so I definitely don't mind having our guys getting his insights for the next few weeks.

As long as Altuve is on the Astros, I will root against them.

The more the Sox piss me off, the less energy I have to hate the twins in that rivalry way. Dare I say I’m even enjoying their playoff run? Correa is a postseason cheat code and Pablo López is a stud and seems like an excellent dude. It’s kinda fun to watch ?‍♂️

God help us all if they don't sell the White Sox. 43 years and counting has been brutal enough.

Id pick up the option on TA. I don’t think he’s nearly the clubhouse issue some insinuate and there’s no where to go but up after his 2023 season. Sox have all sorts of $ to spend and no one better to take his spot right now. But I admit it’s no longer a no brainer and definitely interested to see what Getz does. If he moves another direction, I understand and wish TA the best. I suspect he’ll have a solid bounce back 2024 no matter where he is.

Eloy is one of a few hitters that gives the Sox a chance to get an RBI or get an extra base hit late in games. His batting average and other stats compared to the rest of the line-up bear that out. His positive demeanor is an asset to clubhouse chemistry and fan support and his friendship with Robert decrease the likelihood he will be traded. Player trades are not made to satisfy personal preferences of certain fans who have their own little agendas. So sorry.

Eloy is a flawed player, no doubt about it. But he has a career OPS of .811, OPS+ and wRC+ of 118. His bat is plenty good enough to be an effective DH.

I fully accept my admitted Cub hatred makes me a biased source...but am I the only one who has felt like he's on crazy pills throughout this oddly celebrated Cubs season? They went out and signed a bunch of free agents; I figured they'd be around .500. They ended up a couple games over in a shitty division and fell apart down the stretch, not unlike last season for the Sox. In other words, who cares? But there's this exuberant feeling around the team -- even after the choke. I just don't get it. It reminds me of the Bears offseason. It was conventional wisdom that things were "going really well" even though an unbiased outsider would have a hard time finding an objective basis for optimism. The cool thing to say was "the White Sox should just let Ryan Poles run the team" ...like the architect of the 3-14 Bears was this proven winner. Probably the same set of fans driving each phenomenon, now that I think about it -- I am hit hard every Fall by the realization that I'm now sharing a team with Cub fans. OK, rant over.

Tim is too much of a distraction and part of the problem in that clubhouse. The sooner the White Sox part ways with him, the better.

The team lost 101 games and was difficult to watch. Is anybody surprised at the low TV ratings? In my opinion there are worse situations. The Tampa Bay Rays won more games than the White Sox and the White Sox had better attendance. The Rays played the Rangers today in the playoffs and had thousands of empty seats. They only sold over 19,000 tickets for the playoff game today. I think alot of people were surprised when the Rays announced that their new stadium is going to be in the same location as the present one.

They were in the bottom 1/3 of the league in ratings last year. That's a 40% drop off from already below average.

I watched about 41% their games, and they should feel lucky it was that high...

In my entire life - this was the absolute least I have watched the Sox play.