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I don't understand this quote from you at all. If Fletcher and Horn are both on the 2026 Sox wouldn't that mean they both had somewhat successful 24 and 25 seasons ? Wouldn't it also mean that the Sox could have good players they successfully traded for for another 4 years after 2025 ? How would that translate into any type of failure ?

He's not slow nor plodding.

You can't stop this lineup.

It's a depiction of an action shot from 2022.

“Our current ballpark will never be profitable. We need one billion to fund our new ballpark. Damn cheap Sox fans…”

Is that the new announcer Schriffen on Eloy’s home run? Whomever said he was going to have calls that sound like he is still announcing SlamBall was spot on.

Yes

Sounded like the MC at a strip club trying a little too hard to rustle up applause.

Spring training. Scheduled to throw a certain amount of pitches. Beni just dropped a high fly deep into to LF corner.

It's like a man and a high school kid. At the end, Konerko asks Vaughn what year he's in. Then Konerko tells him, yeah, this is your make or break year, basically.

I'd imagine Kong made Vaughn look like a little person. Andrew is not tall, and he's not particularly thick either. Get him on the "vitamins".

I like annoying offense but I also like home runs

At some point shouldn't a "Nicky" go by "Nick?"

Kopech being Kopech a mix of good and bad. 2.2 inning 3 runs ,3 walks , 3?K, HBP, wildish pitch . Yamamoto for Dodgers didn't look like he had his nasty splitter. Sox were patient putting bat on the ball, running well . 3 infield hits ow with Eloy just getting one.

Two K for Kopech to end outing. Only one hard hit ball, just needs to get more fastball command.

Two walks, no K's, no easy first pitch outs, and smart baserunning put them in a position to benefit from BABIP luck in the first place. Taking advantage of the opportunities presented to you is good strategy.

All three outs were hit well. All 8 guys who batted looked good.

The simple truth is that JR doesn't want to pay his fair share. He wants to socialize any potential losses and risk, but he sure as hell isn't gonna share any profits. Also, you won't have to pay more than a few bucks to get into the stadium soon anyway. There ain't much demand for what JR is selling these days.

I'm a simpleton but I don't know why I should have to pay for the venue to be built and then pay again to get into it. If the thing makes money, shouldn't it pay for itself?

I could care less if players are happy, sad, pensive, combative, reclusive or any adjective you want to name. I want players who produce and win.

I'd trade some happiness for strike zone judgement, or maybe not striking out 40% of the time on wild flails will make him happy. Just fucking hit, eh?

Colas can be as happy as he wants. There is no victory unless Colas hits in the majors like he hit in the minors. Otherwise, he’s just another failed Cuban player.

I do agree that the "Profit-taking" teams in MLB is a problem - the teams that have lower payrolls than they receive during revenue sharing. This does hurt the whole league as it leaves those markets under-served, with little chance at a multi-year run of competitive baseball. I think that what the Dodgers did this year - backloading a $550 million contract and relying on revenue growth to deal with it - is a potential new threat to competition, as most markets won't be able to do that. I don't know whether that will make a huge difference until we see the results. I think that baseball has an impressive degree of parity despite these couple of problems. The teams that make the playoffs nearly every year - one of them has a lot of resources (The Dodgers) but they also have a front office that is as good as any in the league and regularly develops their own talent. Other franchises that regularly make the playoffs get there because they have skilled employees. The Rays, the Astros, the Braves, the Guardians - they have front offices that are doing their job. With a few financial exceptions (Pittsburgh, Florida), the teams that are always at the bottom of their division are there because their front offices are poor. The Rockies, the White Sox, the Mariners, the Royals - they can't compete because they can't identify or develop talent, so they make the playoffs once every decade or so. I think it's especially impressive in baseball that teams like the Yankees and the 2023 Mets cannot buy their way to the playoffs. That tells me the financial difference between teams still is less importance than the skill of the front office. Teams like the Rangers make the playoffs by spending money, but who was key to the Rangers last year - Adolis Garcia in the playoffs, for example, was a guy they picked up and developed. The Diamondbacks made the playoffs last year. The Rays overcame a key player seemingly having his career ended early in their biggest contract. Aside from the teams where the owner is a parasite just taking in money, parity in MLB is mostly fine, hire good people, have them do a good job, and your team will have a competitive run soon enough. Finally, I see no problem with the cycle of competing and tanking. That is absolutely normal in most sports. Normal behavior in sports should involve a team developing a lot of players, peaking for a couple of years, trying to win a title, then backing off to rebuild, get younger, and restructure their financial situation. The Golden State Warriors drafted and developed an incredible team, but it seems like their guys have gotten old and there's only so far they can push them. The Buffalo Bills couldn't get past Mahomes in their best chances, now they're losing a lot of their players to free agency. The teams that manage to shortcut these cycles tend to be ones that have elite front offices regularly developing players - the Chiefs and 49ers in the NFL, the Rays and Dodgers in MLB. The NBA, because of the dominance of a few stars and the way their max contracts work, has in many ways been the least competitive, lowest parity league, but even with them we're now seeing teams go through cycles. The Bucks weren't that great, but built a great team and won a title. The Heat are seemingly an elite coaching and front office combination. The Spurs fall apart, get a #1 draft pick, then build championship teams around them. The Thunder sold off Durant, Harden, and Westbrook, piled up tons of draft picks, now those draft picks are growing up and they're back to a #2 seed. This is normal, it's how leagues should work.

I liked Gio as a person and as a pitcher. Loved that high change-up and his competitive demeanor. I join with all other White Sox fans in wishing Gio the best.

Not looking likely

Touki is Toast this Spring Training.

He did a puff interview and was like "I'm finally in good shape". JFC.

It's a good sign that Eloy hustled down the line with no hammy issues.

Hey at least Kopech ended on a bright note after a weird 2 innings.

Even if Burger is a .280 hitter with 20-25 HR's hes another slow plodding big man who is bat only. Ive had enough of that here, would rather have the potential for a starting rotation option.

Really nice offensive inning.

Kopech’s mechanics still suck. He has no command of his fastball.

I remember that start of his.

Not this period but ?

In addition to the main game today, Sox and Dodgers are also playing each other on the backfields: Glasnow carved up the prospects through 3, but they tagged him for a couple runs in the 4th. DeLoach is making some good contact.

I wouldn’t single out Colas for these comments, as he was one of many last year who didn’t seem to put in the work or be happy. He and a couple of other rookies were called out publicly by Pedro, whereas he didn’t do the same for his veterans doing the same or worse. Would love to see this rotation (prior to IL stints) to see what they have in Colas, Fletcher and Sosa to see who is useful in 2025 and beyond. 150 Robert (140 CF, 10 DH) 150 Vaughn (145 1B, 5 DH) 145 Moncada (140 3B, 5 DH) 142 Jimenez (142 DH) 130 Benintendi (130 LF) 126 Sosa (52 2B, 52 SS, 22 3B) 116 Fletcher (62 RF, 32 LF, 22 CF) 107 Colas (90 RF, 17 1B) 100 DeJong (100 SS) 100 Lopez (100 2B) 90 Stassi (90 C) 72 Maldonado (72 C) 30 Mendick (10 2B, 10 SS, 10 RF) Don’t want to see Moustakas, Phillips, Pillar, Remillard or Sheets beyond a unexpected long term / season ending injury.

Curious to see if Stassi looks healthy.

I would also consider an Oscar Colas that was eager to work on his fielding, strike-zone judgement and even take reps at 1B to be a victory for this team. Seems like he was not happy last year. I want happy players.

You are going overboard. If the Sox won the division this year or any year, Sox fans would be ecstatic, including the negative fans. The reason there are so many negative Sox fans is because the Sox have only won their mediocre division 3 times in the last 20+ years. Is that good enough for you?

Ask and ye shall receive

We don’t want this to devolve into a political discussion. But, let’s be honest. Illinois in general - and Chicago in particular - tax the hell out of everyone. Residents, tourists, passersby… We may as well have a cool stadium complex to show for it.

In that division, they'll finish last and I don't think it will be remotely close.

I’d be all for relegation - I’m so over this “tank for 3 years” thing.

Sure sounds like they’re content with fake trying

We aren’t ranking him on stats alone. DSL guys are really difficult to rank though.

I know it is a radical solution but could the AL and NL have 2 divisions each? With only the top division in each being eligable for the playoffs. Then you could have promotion and relegation between the divisions, and even a relegation playoff. I know relegation and promotion are not a popular concept in American sports, but as a Brit it keeps things interesting in football (soccer), especially as teams want to avoid relegation.

Pipeline noted he (Mogollon) had a max EV of 105 and Ben Badler wrote that he already had a knack for pulling balls hard and in the air. BA also said above average raw power and EVs for his age group. Hating on a short king for no reason other than that is silly.

You could have literally included John Q Fakename in your list of reasons why you’re aren’t concerned about the bullpen and I’d totally have believed he was a real person.