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I mean so is judging a guys career by only their batting average

Welcome, Jeff. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Replies like, "And if Jeff Bolker states it in a thread named after himself, it has to be true." illustrate why so many lurkers don't bother to post very often. Good luck to you if you want to fight the good fight. If not, though, this is still the place that often has White Sox news first.

Crochet was on the team last year and we were the worst team in baseball history. Adding Dylan Cease to it doesn’t suddenly make us competitive. The damage Jerry, KW, & Hahn have done to the org is practically unfathomable and that’s not an understatement. The key to being successful in Major League baseball is having a continuous pipeline of controllable, young talent. Under this past regime, we basically decided we wouldn’t be serious about adding talent from the Dominican Republic and instead would overpay for whatever Cuban talent became available and sign what we could out of less impactful countries like Venezuela and Panama. This has essentially left us with a lack of young LatAm talent coming into our farm, which is a massive disadvantage. Beyond that, we have under-invested in key functional areas like Player Development and Analytics. For years, we have been so far behind the times in using technology and data to develop our prospects and it shows with our hit rates. The vast majority of players drafted come in and make little progress before eventually flaming out. The really high end prospects may reach the show but usually come up ill prepared for the major league game. When you combine this with an empty LatAm pipeline you end up with a consistently bad farm system. All that being said, the single biggest way to improve our long-term outlook is to destroy the insular nature of the org. I am not a big Getz fan, but to his credit, he is going outside to bring many key people and those additions will come with fresh ideas and best practices. And when your foundation is rotten to its core, there is so much low hanging fruit that even an unqualified GM hire can make material improvements. However, those changes will take some time to bare fruit and we can’t rush that process. What that means is accepting defeat these couple seasons and running out a really bad product. Spending a bunch of money right now would be an exercise in futility and would in another failed outcome. A year or two from now is when you start being serious in free agency and add some win now prices. Until then enjoy a bad team lose a lot of games and hope we can identify a few surprises who can be a part of the next core.

Yep, so it wasn’t bad enough that he was a terrible player… the dude had an ego and thought he was the s%*#. What a tool… Madrigal would have to have a 50 year career to finish with 3,000 hits.

Not sure I believe the source, but would rather have three years of Benintendi than 3 games of Taijuan Walker. Not a believer.

Not sure I saw a worse pitcher than Walker last year.

So his look is a 157 plate appearances after being traded from the eventual World Series winner to the worst team in baseball history?

You came here to say “Getz dumpster diving again!” or something along those lines. Admit it.

Definitely thought Jeff Bolker was another minor league signing before clicking into the thread.

I'm more upset about the Sox total complete dysfunction than I am with Kopech's comments. Not to say what he said doesn't bother me, but that's more reflective of what has happened to this franchise.

Mayer is very talented but his BABIP fueled performance last year and injuries are scary. Still....I bet we wouldn't say no to Mayer and Montgomery, unless PHI offered Miller and Crawford.

As in Kjerstad? I kinda hope that ship has sailed. Kjerstad has 5 years of control left and also turns 26 before next season begins. He has almost aged out to be a truly preferable trade target for the White Sox with where their timeline is at to be competitive again.

I don't think you know what 'Nuff said means since you say things like this all of the time in every thread.

Exactly. Both sunk costs. One ends sooner.

I mean, you have said this like 20 times over the past couple of weeks. You seem to be implying there is something wrong with sticking to the bargain bin at the very beginning of a rebuild.

What would be the point of signing a free agent like this right now?

I have been a White Sox fan since I was 4 years old. I am now 68. It is clear to me that the way to have a team that is a permanent winner would involve ownership who 1) Covers the cost of high quality players who are in their system. This would mean keeping players like: Robert, Vaughn and Crochet and others. Pay them what ever it takes to maintain them. 2) Then pay what it takes to obtain the best free agents. For example this would mean paying the price to obtain Juan Soto. When a percentage of the players that you purchase do not work out, purchase more players. Eat the cost of your mistake. 3) Accumulate and maintain the best minor league talent. 4) Build a great indoor stadium. The cost cannot be an obstacle. A winning organization cannot be a penny pinching organization. When a team make budgetary excuses they are a losing organization. If an owner cannot manage the expense, they must sell the team to an owner who is willing to afford the expense. Some may say: Well that is not realistic. Well make it realistic.

I saw the thread title and thought "who the hell did Getzy sign this time." Luckily it is a new Soxtalk member and to that I say welcome.... while I wait for the next milb free agent signing with an invite to Spring Training who I have never heard of.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s awesome how guys like Acuna, Soto, Carroll, Merrill, etc became stars almost instantly. But man, that has completely warped our expectations and timelines of all other prospects.

I appreciate his honesty. I put it more on the White Sox management and ownership for allowing this culture of 'going through the motions' to infect the majority of the clubhouse. Bad, bad, bad.

And upon sign Bieber was quoted as saying "Baby, baby, baby, ohhhhh"

And if Jeff Bolker states it in a thread named after himself, it has to be true.

Those were such a good time to spend big money. Teams were nervous over big deals and Sox had space and it was time they could have legit won a deal or two. Im hoping we see that window come up again soon but it still takes a new owner too.

Fully agree. Montgomery is obviously a nice prospect and you never want to give those up if you can avoid it, but he doesn’t really impact their near-term roadmap. I fully expect him included in any major trade, whether Crochet or for someone else. Anthony & Campbell seem like their two untouchables IMO and I think they’d be hard pressed to give up Teal just due long-term need. That makes Mayer the most expendable of their big 4 and with Merkin saying that we are targeting a SS in a Crochet trade it just makes too much for him to be the centerpiece.

Agreed. They could still deal Montgomery though. Anthony is the guy they are keeping fo sho.

I don’t see Redsox including Campbell in a deal for Crochet even though that would be fantastic. Would guess something like Mayer, Montgomery and a 3rd slightly lesser flyer maybe? Maybe someone like Cespedes. Would prefer guys with no ST.

I don’t think Soto is going to Boston unfortunately. Mets or Yankees appear to be the leaders.

Yeah if Soto goes to BOS they will have an OF glut for sure and Braden Montgomery will be a trade piece.

Far from it but know Nick Madrigal sucks at baseball.

Love that

You would take Madrigal over a lot of guys so not sure your opinion holds a lot of weight.

Agreed. Makes sense to me. Also makes an opening in LF for a younger outfielder (Colas, DeLoach, etc.).

He was the closest deal I could find in a bad contract swap for Benintendi when I looked last year. I wouldn’t hate it if there was no money exchanged. Get out a year sooner and make him a 5th starter innings eater.

I looked up his numbers for 24, and then figured out he was out OPSd by Jacob Gonzalez.

I hope he’s right. It would be nice to have an above average CF once Robert is traded for peanuts.

Where did I ever say that this signing would make sense for the Sox? Jerry and Getz will be sticking with the bargain bin regardless of the situation.

Look beyond errors. Gunnar Henderson had 25 errors last year — would you want him? Also, a .766 OPS from a SS is good, especially one that provides both power and good defense. He’s put up 21.5 WAR in his career. Some people thought Tim Anderson was a star and he has a lifetime .718 OPS. But I’m sure Jerry would agree with your thoughts on free agent spending.

He’s averaged 4 WAR each year throughout his career. But yes, the money is bonkers. Jerry and Getz will be sticking with the bargain bin.

If Soto signs tomorrow, I think there is a good chance Crochet gets dealt at the Winter Meetings this week.

I don’t think this true. Those Harper / Machado contracts were absolute steals at the time and large part due to market conditions. Literally none of the heavy hitters were involved that offseason and that greatly suppressed bidding. I also don’t think this Soto contract will ever be viewed as a steal. $730M is a fuckton of money and I’m not sure a cool billion will be seen as cheap when you look at the valuations of major league post the recent regional TV collapse for many clubs. Just my opinion though. I do agree that Jerry needs to go 🤜🏼🤛🏿

Comparing the White Sox to the Yankees is a bit disingenuous. The Yankees will actually spend money on free agents which can cover for many drafting and developing failures they may have. Jerry refuses to do so. So when the Sox fail at drafting and development, the only way they can acquire talent is by trading established players for prospects that hit or the once every few years good cheap signing of a guy like Fedde, considering whomever the White Sox GM is at the time is mostly dumpster diving each and every offseason. It’s simply not enough for any success, much less sustained success.

I wonder why Walker stunk last year after being pretty good the previous two seasons. He's 32 now. 7.10 ERA last season. Beni actually is one of the Sox better hitters with 20 homers a year ago. I've never liked him of course but he actually would be missed in this pathetic everyday lineup.

The problem as always been JR weighing in on first round draft picks. It's not a shocker that one of our recent Top 15 picks in Jacob Gonzalez is nowhere to be found on the BA top prospects list. That pick was second guessed from the very beginning by nearly everyone.

You sound like an insider. You should start an X account. I suggest “Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish” as your profile name. I don’t think that one has been taken yet.

The fact the Sox couldn't get one run in 9 innings that day to force an automatic Game Five victory with Hoyt is one of the most disappointing days the White Sox have experienced. That team was built to win a WS and should have won a World Series. Disgusting to waste BB's performance. Also the biggest baserunning blunder in Sox history if not all of MLB history.

I'm in my mid 60s now and don't really get excited over sports figures or athletes anymore. But when I see clips of Dick Allen, it brings back that same thrill as when I was a kid. He was my baseball hero, and to me he will always be the greatest White Sox player of all time. Dick Allen belongs in the Hall of Fame.

I am a Sox fan today because of Bill Melton and the group he came up with. I will always think of Bill along with the changing of the guard with young guns coming onboard, Bart Johnson Terry Forster, Ed Herrmann, Carlos May, and Rich Gossage a year or so later I had the pleasure of meeting Bill in person at Camelback when I took my dad to Spring Training. What a great guy, heaven just got better.

RIP Bill. Growing up in my neck of the woods, most boys on my baseball team were admiring Ron Santo. Not me. Belton Melton all the way

Excellent point

It’s embarrassing that this is a thread topic.