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Zavala in August: .296/.408/.438 with 11 walks to 6Ks. Jeral Perez in August: .400/.456/.643 with 8 walks to 7Ks, plus 4 HR (8 XBH total). BMont in August: .358/.456/.552 with 10 walks and 10 doubles in 19 games.

Underrated positive tonight was Tyler Alexander with a nice 3IP to save the pen. Pitching to a solid 3.40 ERA/1.17 WHIP here compared to 6+ ERA/1.49 WHIP in Milwaukee. If the team splits were swapped it might get credited to coaching, but alas.

I'd be shocked if Ishbia is spending around $2B to buy a franchise only to keep a bunch of incompetent clowns in charge of operating the team. He's not an idiot - he knows the Sox are losing market share and have struggled with anemic attendance and waning interest for years. He's also not going to starting throwing money at high priced free agents when the team's management is incapable of evaluating and developing talent.

I don't think that exists in modern baseball anymore

Aww, the handshake is improving 🥰

You can also catch the handshake after Colson's HR if you watch closely bottom right They've got some chemistry.

I watched this Jomboy video the other day...wasn't really about the White Sox, but he showed some interesting stats that suggest the coaches are getting the most out of the players, at least on the base paths in terms of 'limiting mistakes'. Sox stuff starts at about the 7 minute mark.

Yeah, players don't generally rack up 500 PAs in spring training.

Colson!!

True, he'll take over long before that and then fire him in my opinion.

Seriously? You’re hyping Sammy bleeping Sosa?!

Why would anyone defend Getz? Ishbia will not be promoting from within a failing organization. That I am certain. I'm also certain no one will ever be clamoring for Getz to run their baseball team in my life.

Random, but does anyone else kinda miss the days teams could call up more guys in September?

Keep the politics out of this.

Narrator: "Alas...it was not to be."

Jimmy Butler was just here in Wuhan a couple of weeks ago promoting his shoe brand. Was traveling together with Spencer Dinwiddie. Ant-Man Edwards doing a promotional/educational tour as well...Beijing Shanghai and Chengdu/pandas.

Gordon Beckham sorry for 'gay' joke What a loser

Assess ➡️Adjust➡️Boom 💣

Scoring has been a little off in this series, quite a few missed plays that have been corrected later. Both free runners are unearned now.

Rikuu with back to back walkoff RBIs, Barons win 2-1 in 11. Both walkoffs against RHP Kenyon Yovan who happens to be a fellow Oregon alum.

Montgomery needs to get the OBP up, but he can whack it We know Charlotte is terror on pitchers, but it doesn't seem that we learn much about hitters there either - Montgomery couldn't hit a lick there, Raze that stadium or relocate the Knights.

"Pitching clinic" in Birmingham tonight. 0-0 going into the 11th. Nice showings from McDougal (put him on the top 100 list) and Schweitzer has been lights out since the demotion, 0 earned runs in 36.2 innings, absolutely nuts. Why does Coffey get tagged with the ER from the ghost runner? Same thing with the Trash Panda pitcher Yovan -- do they score it different in MILB? Or is the scorekeeper confused? Braden extends his hitting streak on an infield single (that probably should've been ruled an error). Nishida walk-off single! Missed the excitement in the MLB game, but this was a fun few innings to watch.

If anyone has a chance to post the video Brooke Fletcher tweeted out after Luis's HR. You can tell that he really likes playing with Colson. Maybe Colson saves Roberts career haha.

Won a game. Right on!

Leasure has been half decent lately. 62ks in 43 innings is nothing to scoff at

This ump sucks

Wow Vargas got screwed in that AB

Cannon 6.1IP, 1 ER (solo shot), 5H, 5K, 1BB. Good progress.

Ok the Sox might have something in Montgomery.

If he can hit those pitches, he will hit 35 a year

Story today quotes the manager as saying there may have been a "communication problem" between the 3rd base coach and Vargas on the foul pop DP. Vargas to his credit took complete responsibility. Just another day at the office for this dysfunctional team/organization that can't get out of their own way.

Benintendi ended up being less expensive than both Teoscar and Bellinger after their one year deals ended. Kyle Tucker has a much stronger track record of 850-875 ops production btw…while AB had “solid” seasons in 2019/22, but the rest of it, 2018-20-21, was pretty much crap.

Brand Store Count (Mainland China) Additional Context MLB 800+ Operated by South Korean retailer F&F New Era 52 (Hong Kong) / Unknown Mainland New Era Hong Kong's website lists 52 stores in Hong Kong Mainland China numbers are less clear. Context MLB has experienced significant growth in China, with the number of stores increasing from 500 at the start of 2022 to over 800 by 2023. MLB has expanded its market reach in China through both brick-and-mortar stores and an omnichannel e-commerce strategy, utilizing platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu. New Era, while having a strong presence in other Asian markets like South Korea, also has a presence in China, but exact numbers for mainland China are not as readily available in the search results. The popularity of MLB in China extends beyond baseball fans, as its team logos and apparel have become a significant part of the streetwear and fashion scene 1) Fashion and merchandising in Asia directed 75% at females…hats and shoes, shirts, jackets, etc. 2) Elaborate dance teams in Korea/cheerleaders in stands and on dugouts 3) “Fighting” back and forth with supporters of both teams, waving huge flags and beating on drums, thunder sticks, etc. 4) Most popular sport for men to attend, so bring wives and girlfriends, socializing aspect 5) Kpop stars constantly throwing out first pitch in sexy outfits Went to a Doosan Bears game on a free evening during a business trip in April of last year, and will always recommend it. One of my favorite baseball experiences. Outfield tickets were super cheap right before game time. The seating is divided between home and away supporters and it was super fun seeing the different chants from the outfield as an outsider. Same here. First ever baseball game (from the UK) and it was an amazing experience. The crowd got really involved and I even got a free Swallows hat. Fan for life! "Rise of baseball?" KBO has been the most popular sports league in Korea for several decades now. The popularity fell for three years with Covid, and it's just recovering now. In fact, the popularity of their baseball league far exceeds that of their soccer league. But minor point aside, yeah, definitely attend a KBO game. It's a lot of fun. I've also attended a semi-final of the CPBL (Taiwan) last year. Asian baseball games are so festive, and I've never had a bad one so far. https://v.redd.it/ctrofu2ruz9f1 [JTBC News] 4 out of 10 people attending pro Baseball games in South Korea are women in their age 20s and 30s. This year, the percentage of female fans among the spectators who visited KBO stadiums is now 38.3%, the highest ever in league history.Video (v.redd.it)

None. I wouldn't extend any young player as long as the arbitration system exists (look how well it's working out for ATL and previously the Hahn Sox) unless they're Juan Soto. We'll see how it goes for Basallo, Anthony, Chourio, whoever else. Doesn't seem worth the risk. I wouldn't extend Colson at this point. I'm not sure extensions was the discussion anyway, but rather free agency. I'm simply replying to the percentage of payroll point. I think one just looks at the flat amount in this case. $3.5mil is practically nothing for a free agent. It's obviously an overpay for Rojas, it's double what Tauchman is making, but it's not like it hamstrings the team in the same way a Benintendi-esque contract does. SFG is clearly keen on spending money and look how it's working for them. Adames is not a bad player, but the Sox would be totally screwed if they signed him to that contract when you can pay Meidroth, Montgomery, Billy Carlson combined 1.2% of the price. Nobody is going to be thinking about Rojas next year. Maldonado signed for more money than Rojas did and it's dubious to think that affected JR's intention to spend money. Sure didn't stop 'em spending on Rojas...who was probably worth the risk if he could've produced 2-3 WAR (as he has in the past) at that price. The Pirates, a notoriously cheap team, paid considerably more (roughly x1.5) than we did on Rojas for Tommy Pham, and they didn't trade him despite being better, or roughly the same, this season as he was with the Sox. Is that gonna change the Nutting logic? No money was being spent regardless and they'll probably spend next year on a bunch of $2-5mil guys who may or may not produce. Slater returned something, Fedde returned a lot more than he's actually worth (which MLB teams clearly noticed). All in all, the Getz position player free agents have not generated any trade interest while the pitchers have, but signing them also did not cripple the team in any meaningful way. I think we're getting past the point of trying to sign guys to trade for prospects and we should start building a winning team. At the same time, what other teams are signing position players for that amount and then trading them for great players/prospects after half a season? I'm trying to find some examples and not seeing any. I'm thinking about Tommy Edman vs Miguel Vargas. one guy is 30-years-old, OPSing .677 and is being paid $74mil dollars; the other guy is 25, making $770k (more if you extend it out 5 years as with Edman, obviously...maybe it's more like $17mil vs $770k) and is OPSing .704. Both are exactly the same bWAR and one guy is getting old and the other is just starting his career. Erick Fedde doesn't even look like he belongs in the MLB once again, he has an even worse ERA (7.11) than he did with the team who DFA'd him. Sox also got some prospects in return. It's clear who won that trade. To your other point, it's a good point but we'll see. More revenue is generated if the team is actually good in the case of the Sox. If there's a free agent who fits a need on a winning team, they might sign him, and it likely produces more revenue than whatever the expenditure is. It totally depends on the talent evaluation. They signed Benintendi, didn't they, when a cheaper option like Teoscar Hernandez or Cody Bellinger was available and both are simply better at baseball. It was an issue of player evaluation, not money. Not expecting them to spend this coming free agency, I'm also not sure who they would spend it on...outside of Tucker who fills a need but could very well turn into Benny. As I said in a different post, Getz will actually be put to the test in 2027 and I dunno how to speculate on that.

He's also not, at age 89, going to suddenly start hiring competent people over loyalists to run this organization after decades of not doing so.

We have like maybe 4 guys in the entire 26 man roster pitching wise that might be worth anything long term. I know you don't sign bullpen arms in rebuild years but goodness man, we got a long way to go. Most teams that hit on guys like Crochet aren't trading them until their walk year (if even) for reasons. Our org however is constantly needing to get anything they can for them.

Pitching is in awful shape going forward due to uncertainty

Barons win Game 2 of the DH 4-3. Braden at DH went 1-3 with a walk, August slash at .358/.456/.552 Antonacci 1-2 with a double, a walk, and 3 (!) stolen bases. Could be joining Braden in the .900 OPS club soon, he's at .895. Murphy went 5 IP with 1 unearned run.

team's still horrific

It's called fundamentals, something the Sox completely suck at and yet nothing is done to correct the stupidity. Ever. There's no way in hell this group doesn't lose 100+ games. Have now lost 14 of their last 17. 🤡

sure, but $72mil is payroll on a rebuilding team that was obviously not going to compete. 2022 Sox payroll was $203,205,326 (according to Spotrac), so the contract is less than 2%. In terms of free agent acquisitions and not pre-arb players, it's nothing. Although, I'm of the opinion that teams should be mostly arb/pre-arb guys and a handful of inefficient, big money contracts for actual good players that fit a need. Bryce Harper's $/WAR is not efficient like, say, Roman Anthony.

This actually allows them to play both Quero and Teel without worrying about an injury costing them the DH position. It leaves them an extra catcher to catch, even if the other guy is DHing.

Never forget though: Jerry Reinsdorf really loves baseball.

Beckham wrote "Getz is g-y." Hopefully Bama Rush or SEC football is their next topic of the day if it's not the LLWS.

Beckham seemed very taken aback when Schiffren offered to share that giant hot dog ala Lady and The Tramp. I did a bit of a memory dump...was it Beckham who wrote the slur in the dirt to Getz or was it the other way around?

Most of this is just blue sky hopes and dreams, but this part... Stearns and Getz are nothing alike. Stearns made hay in a small market maximizing everything he touched in Milwaukee, and was stolen away by the Mets after an exhaustive search. Getz failed upwards, had terrible results in his previous role, and was the result of no search at all. They couldn't be more different.

Remember buying a John Paul II comic book...but it disappeared in the annals of time, unfortunately. On a positive note, those old baseball cards were not thrown out at least.