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They're picking up the option. I didn't believe it before but they will.

I said it elsewhere, but the devastating thing to me is that my entire life I've been surrounded by Sox fans -- friends and family. The vast majority of those people are no longer watching White Sox baseball, aren't talking about it, and aren't attending games. I just don't think people realize how the vast majority of fans view this team, and it's one thing that can/could really kill the future of this organization. These are people who have been through miserable White Sox baseball, but this stretch has broken them. Heck, I post here around trade deadline and other periods because my circle doesn't want to talk about the team. They've moved on to other hobbies and interests. That's a scary thing as these were season ticket holding fans watching 100+ games a year.

Please explain how I am “setting myself up for disappointment”. This quality of than site has plummeted because half the posts are nothing but valueless drive-by’s or various iterations of “everything sucks so nothing can be good”. Maybe try contributing something of value using some data driven counterparts instead of this type of crap. White Sox record by month: April: 7-23 (.233) - 38 win pace May: 11-17 (.393) - 64 win pace June: 10-16 (.385) - 62 win pace July: 12-13 (.480) - 78 win pace YTD: 40-69 (.367) - 59 win pace Since May 33-46 (.418) - 68 win pace Weird how they have been much better since May. It’s almost like the talent level got better when we called up three former top 100 prospects and a kid who put up a 132 wRC+ last year in AAA. And despite your belief that Luis Robert is the worst player in all of baseball and should rot in hell for all eternity, his expected stats always suggested significant improvement was coming (something you refuse to accept to this day). Add in us getting rid of negative win players like Vaughn and Amaya and it’s not that hard to see this is a much better positional group than the one the season started with. So yeah, I think someone taking our YTD winning percentage and multiplying it by 162 and saying we are going to win 59 games is both lazy & stupid. As someone who tries to be balanced in their views, I would not assume this is a 78 win type team moving forward because of one really good month. There is a reason to believe some of the young starters will wear down and there will be some more cold streaks amongst the bats. But this looks like a ~70 win type team moving forward if Perez can come in and give us 75% of what Houser was doing.

Beni bomb incoming

This board admittedly just stays in a vicious "loop of disagreement" when it comes to the positive vs. negative takes on the overall health of the organization. As I've always said, I won't fault or get in the way of anyone trying to be positive. Where I chime in is when the "positive" group will take shots at those being "negative' And here is why. Since 2013, the Sox have played 13 seasons. Out of those 13 seasons, the Sox have had a team above .500 twice. 2 times. 1 Division win, 0 playoff series victories. As everyone knows, it's been 20 years since the last playoff series win. I agree with a lot of what you wrote. The team does look improve and there are players in the organization that look like they could be quality major league players for the foreseeable future. The organization has a LONG way to go, we know all too well about the issues with ownership. So if you want to be bullish about the future of the organization, you absolutely can. But that positivity, objectively, is built off hope & faith. That's cool, but you can't blame people for taking a more negative approach to things after the last decade+ of futility for this organization. It's been an absolutely dreadful 15+ years on the South Side, and no one should begrudge a fan for taking a "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude around the White Sox.

Moncada rubbing off on the rest of the Angels

Another fun stat for Lenyn: as of late, his contact rate on pitches outside the zone is about equal to the league average rate on pitches inside the zone For the season overall, Lenyn is one of three Sox in MLB's top 30 best chase contact rates (Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas)

This team really doesn't deserve so many passionate fans. Speaks to how popular the team would be if they ever have some sustained success.

Nor should it be. I personally hate echo chambers. We are all here because we are Sox fans, but I love the variety of information, opinions and humor provided.

The Orioles going from the next great dynasty to last place in the span of 2 seasons has been a joy to watch. I always wonder what Sports Guy is up to these days.

The fact we have a chance to match our 2024 win total on August 1st is absolutely insane. I think last years team took 5 years off my life

I agree that if we leave out all of the bad parts, the Sox have been an OK team.

Man oh man do I hope this guy pushes Rojas out. In this lineup the new guys all have life, but Rojas feels like a holdover from last season, just never swinging at the right time or at the right pitches

I'm fine with keeping Robert, especially based on what type of packages were traded for other outfielders. I would imagine the Sox will pick up his option, and that's probably more certain if he continues to play like he has over the past month. He does seem to be re-energized and is having fun. Maybe the young guys playing well is having an effect on the clubhouse. As far as Getz's comment on spending over the winter, I think we can agree they will. The question is, how much and on what? Will it be another $20M on 5-6 trash heap veterans and schlubs? Granted, the Slater and Tauchman signings worked out, but let's not talk about the likes of Rojas. Or, will this team actually go out and get a big, or even fairly big, name free agent? The day they sign someone like Schwarber or Tucker is the day I believe they're going to be serious. They have a great young core that is exciting and has a lot of promise. Wasting that by continuing to operate like they have would be a great disservice to the fans and to the players. I suppose time will tell...

Sox win the Cease trade

I'm on-board with team try Sosa in LF. Tbh, him hitting .202 in Birmingham after not playing baseball for a decade is an absurd athletic feat.

Yea it's kinda crazy. I feel so much better about the hitting development versus pitching at the moment.

Still far more aggressive than the average MLB'er, Lenyn has brought his chase rate down to a playable level since the early part of this season

26 ABs without a K for Sosa, second longest active streak after Arraez I believe

I stand corrected. Ramos is playing LF tonight.

Those that hate on Edgar quero as a catcher can go eat a banana

Ok, this place was fun for a couple of days leading up to the deadline (and with the couple weeks worth of decent ball-playing), but now the negative nellys are back to tell us all repeatedly how awful this team will be for the next few months, so I’ll dip back out. I’ll watch the games and enjoy as long as the passable play continues. My expectations are low, so I’ll be glad for any wins and even hard-fought losses. It’s still light years better than last season.

The Twins have 5 starting pitcher who are better than every starter the White Sox are currently pitching. The White Sox are projected, with their current group, to accumulate 7.9 WAR the rest of the season. That's the second worst in baseball ahead of the Rockies. If you read this place only, you'd think the Sox are surging towards the middle of the pack because of two weeks of baseball. Remarkable stuff. Some people have forgotten that even bad teams have good stretches and months. We're too busy comparing this team to the worst team in MLB history and screaming "progress!" Last May, the 61 win Rockies were 14-13. The 62 win Marlins were 14-13 in May. Neither of them went on to play close to 500 ball the rest of the way. Bad teams have winning months. It happens every single year to the worst teams in baseball. The White Sox were simply so bad last year that they didn't achieve that.

Again, get Lenyn Sosa a LF glove and make room for this dude on the IF.

NVM I was wrong

HR Ramos. He’s been heating up. Sox may actually have some depth at 2b/3b. Would be nice if any of them could play outfield.

After tonight he's going to have 1 WAR in 17 games with MIL after having -0.5 in 610 with us.

lol his hitch has turned into a huge japan style leg kick, love that for him.

That’s not really the right attitude, though. Luis Robert is very likely the best CF “available” for the Sox the next two years. Meaning outside of trading real assets to acquire a CF better than Robert, or signing an FA who is better..Luis Robert is the best CF they have. If the trade market is light for Robert…there really isn’t a downside to keeping him. The money quite frankly is irrelevant. It’s not ours, and if there is one thing history has shown us, specifically on both sides of town…just because a team sheds the salary of a high priced player doesn’t mean they’ll magically replace that salary with something different. According to Kenny/Rick, the Sox offered Machado somewhere around a $250 million dollar contract. When he didn’t sign, that money wasn’t given out to 3-4 other players, Jerry simply sat on that cash. With no cap, I’m sick of talking about “getting players off the books” or a “bad” contract…until there is an actual hard cap, none of it matters.

Yeah Bob doesn't really give any useful info there. People might not like dealing with a GM for more than one reason. If Getz is a liar or something, that's one thing. If it's just that he states a price and doesn't change his mind because he says what he means, that's something different. I also think it's a fallacy to say that Robert not being traded proves he has no value (and, ergo, picking up his option would be absurd). We don't know what was offered for him, first of all. Also, trades are about surplus value. Robert has become increasingly highly paid. No doubt his performance for the last two seasons has left plenty to be desired. That doesn't scream "I want to pay him a lot *and* give up talented players for the right to do it." The Sox are the one team that, for now, doesn't have to pay both the money and prospects for his services. I also think his market value in general and his trade market value at the deadline are rather different. Teams looking for bats to put them over the top for a playoff push likely are seeking players who they feel will perform predictably. Robert is much more clearly a gamble and that may not be the kind of gamble teams want to do with a couple months left in the season.

Other GMs hate Chris Getz was not on my bingo card. Would have been worth explaining why a bit if you are going to say it out loud

I really don't understand why MLB has a lottery. Tanking is just not a thing. It really isn't. Don't get me wrong - there is an advantage to having the #1 vs. #5 pick - but the reality is - the MLB draft is so much different than football and/or basketball where the impact being all the way at the top in the right draft just isn't the same as it is in other sports - especially the NBA.

I'm actually not entirely doom-and-gloom about the future of this team (2~3 years from now), based on this core. Not nearly the hopes that I had going into 2019~2020, but definitely a "get a couple of these guys to click, a reclamation project to work out, and we're in the thick of it" situation. Let's not mortgage what decent future we have by "going for" 63 wins.

This 100% changes the dynamic around everything, and have said in the past I'll be hopeful when he eventually fully takes control. Slate is clean for the White Sox once Jerry is gone. Ishbia will also have to prove it from a performance standpoint, but more than willing to give him a fair shot.

I ended my Reinsdorf exile in July. I probably watched more Sox games than I did the past 2 seasons.

Baseball is supposed to be entertainment and for the most part, since the All Star break, this team has been entertaining to watch. I got a month of CHSN at the beginning of the Cubby series and have enjoyed watching some Sox baseball again. Will I keep it more than that month? Maybe not, but I am looking forward to staying up a little later to watch them blow a late lead on the West Coast....it's tradition.

Maybe the Pope can do a prayer during the lottery so we can get 1st

This team isn't that bad though. They had an awful start but if you remove that, they are basically close to or a little under .500. Nobody is doing cartwheels but it is progress. They are much better than they were last year. To be honest, the team wasn't that bad last year but they were so poorly managed that it obviously looks much worse on paper. Getting to 60-65 wins is a big deal. Let's say that get to 66 wins, which I think, quite frankly is a very reasonable goal. That's a 23 win improvement, and that comes just from dumping out the last excess of toxicity and getting better coaching. You invest smartly in the team and they could become a playoff contender next year. Especially in an American League that is just much weaker than the NL. 86 wins could probably get you a wild card spot. So yes, this team is no World Series contender right now. However there is merserable progress. As someone who is a footy fan, they are essentially a mid to lower level premier league team that is tough to beat and fun to watch. Eventually, some of those teams vie for the equivalent of our playoffs, which is Europe. Some of those teams make it into the conference league. Actually Crystal Palace, if people are attuned to what is happening over there is a good shout. You had a team underachieving and hanging around relegation due to a bad fit at manager. They replaced him with a new manager and the difference is night and day.

People aren't negative for citing stats, evidence and facts. Toxic positivity is a thing. The fact that you state your expectations are low yet call people negative Nellys for having low expectations is also really odd.

Can I interest any other MLB team in a slightly used Josh Rojas/

The White Sox are the worst team of every team you listed, yet you call two of them AAA teams. 😂

My guess is Martin, Cannon and Smith in rotation. Burke, Vasil and Taylor in some capacity. Schultz early in the season. Hopefully Smith at some point. Plus returns from Adams, Thorpe, Bush etc at some point. I’m guessing they add at least one veteran starter too.

You love setting yourself up for disappointment

I've had a cigarette this morning and decided I'm fine with this.

Cue Schiffren swing change comments on Curtis Lake Mead whenever he comes up…

I’m fine with the trade, but don’t know why they immediately optioned Mead to AAA. He should take Josh Rojas spot.