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Just once Id like to be a fan of a team that spends money recklessly.

When he talked about cleaning s%*# up, who knew it was so literal.

Mune joined by Rikuu for some IF practice ☺️ Rikuu spent a lot of time this offseason running camps meant to help players who want to follow his college > draft route from Japan. Along with Mune's presence and the increased investment in scouting there, there's an opportunity to make some inroads with the next wave of Japanese talent. Sharing Camelback with the Dodgers should also help a little due to the proximity of Japanese media for Shohei, Sasaki, etc. And once the season starts, there's a similar proximity benefit from coverage of Imanaga and Suzuki in Chicago.

Nothing to do with the draft. Just happy tomorrow football is over. NFL sucks the life out of everything when it's going on. For me, baseball season begins the day after the Superbowl.

This will make the conversation better.

Yeah, I might have made it too busy. Fixed. Thank you.

Probably the future board. We can name it: RochTalk, or Roch’sTalk to make it rhyme better

Mune has arrived at Camelback

I have no idea why any Sox fan would cradle Jerry’s balls as he is thankfully leaving us for ever. I’m sure @tray could explain.

Right now I’m more interested in what the Sox are spending on infrastructure and scouting etc. from what I understand, departments have expanded in size. How they are doing relative to the league I don’t know. But that was encouraging in the moment of reading. Building the pipeline has always been the biggest problem imo.

Winning the draft lottery is probably the best thing that has happened for the team since 2005. Maybe drafting Sale was just as good, but they did nothing with it. When Roche is in his prime, JR won't be around to f*** it op.

This guy deserves his own thread to track how he does throughout the season. First series is five days away against UC San Diego. Credit goes to @Bob Sacamano for the thread title.

It seriously wouldn't surprise me to see a K-pop or J-pop halftime show in the next few years. The NFL is about expanding their audience. I'd go for this:

Drake Maye is just seeing ghosts

Less football, more halftime show.

It’s incredible how bad this organization is at everything.

MLBTR takes an in depth look at the Jordan Hicks conundrum. While results were not good in Boston, his "stuff" was still there. Key quote: Examining Jordan Hicks' Future With The White Sox - MLB Trade Rumors Interesting read.

You rabbitholed me, but if Fernando Mendozas NIL deal was a White Sox contract, he would be paid more than around 18 players on the Sox roster.

I talked to a couple of the workers who were knocking Comiskey Park down. They claimed it was in such bad shape that it could have possibly collapsed in a few more years.

Eisert and Murphy both have options

I am because I follow college football.

Ishbia has proven to be a savvy investor. No way is he going to do anything foolish, like move the WSox away from their historic home on 35th St. and risk losing attendance, knowing that many fans loved the original Comiskey and now the current generation enjoy going to games at the Rate. When a new stadium might be needed 10+ years down the road it would make perfect sense to build it where Comiskey stood. What a golden opportunity to design a new ballpark and make it into something truly special (as opposed to the abomination behind the Soccer stadium that Auchi/Related depicted in their insulting, provocative, and laughable conceptual rendering). Of course the historic location on 35th as well as the architectural history should be honored with a new stadium. The White Sox first started on 39th Street in 1900. Both Comiskey (1910) and a revamped Wrigley Field (1923) were designed by architect Zachary Taylor Davis. Beautiful red brick archwork and details at both original ballparks. Then there is the discussion of the Bears relocating from historic Soldier Field into a Dome. Halas family....Are you kidding us? Again, no idea about of the importance of Chicago architecture, which is renowned world-wide and no respect for the history and culture of Bear fans who bundle up, tailgate, and enjoy the outdoor stadium. The Bears owners may be hot for the additional revenue a new domed stadium might bring and nothing fans can do to stop them. OK, but over time, that might prove to be unfortunate. Just think of a future NFL season where Lambeau Field is the only outdoor venue becoming more unique and beloved season after season. And think of the risk of moving the WSox behind a possible future rectangular warehouse style soccer stadium with all of the known limitations of that site including those that caused many prior suitors (a Casino, Amazon, U of I...) to buck out. There isn't a reason in hell to relocate to that sh1thole which makes one wonder why anyone would want to promote it. Really foolish.

Living in the south suburbs bithe comiskey and soldier field are easy to get to. It will suck when they each move. Luckily I should be out of here by then

Looks like he'll still get some work at 3rd

RochTalk is sufficient

Yea, I wouldn’t dump Gilbert for Banda. Prefer Eisert to both as he is a lot younger, Ks more batters, and showed he could handle closing. Eisert’s stats are a bit behind, but he could become more than the last guy in the pen.

The Sox have essentially been in the same spot since 1910, and have one of the smallest fan bases in MLB in terms of showing up. I cannot accept the idea that being in Bridgeport is some sort of a benefit to the White Sox.

The park lacks character and charm, both inside and in the surrounding area. It’s just unremarkable. It’s a perfectly functional and passable place to watch a game, but that’s waaaay too low of a bar for a MLB stadium these days. And because it’s so void of personality and buzz, it has to rely almost entirely on the game itself and/or the significance of it. What it’s lacking matters less when there’s a built-in excitement, like on Opening Day (as you mentioned) or if the team is a contender. But a good stadium doesn’t have to rely on those rare types of occasions to generate excitement.

It isn’t the teachers’ faults that Illinois has $141 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, a clause that can’t reduce pensions and the fact that there don’t seem to be any politicians who want to do anything about it like Rhode Island did. Given those obligations, there’s no guarantee that teachers will get their pensions in 20 years. And this is coming from someone who wants reform on this issue that is fair to the taxpayers, retirees, my teacher friends and family members and to the nice lady who teaches math sleeping next to me.

There's also a chance that pigs will fly, that the Bulls will win an NBA title this year and that zombies will attack humanity. But I wouldn't bet your life on it. Everything indication including based on his own comments says ishbia ownership will be 180 degrees different from JR when it comes to spending and acquiring talent.

Yes, we’ll have an owner that won’t make his GM trade our best talent away for prospects the minute they near free agency.

But Baldwin you project for some kind of offensive and defensive breakout so dont you think some of his OF time comes in CF to add to the cumulative WAR total ?

No surgery is "routine".

Wow. RIP. Awful…

Not sure I have ever encountered annoyance at the idea of a bidet before

Good point. There's a big teacher shortage. Plenty of opportunities for you if we have it so great.

I pay into it bi-weekly. Hopefully Illinois politicians don't spend it all before I retire.

Was Murakami wetbutt all along?

You bet your ass I do.

This is the camp I reside in.

Given that Detroit’s number was silly-low, I wonder if Detroit intentionally bid low to let Skubal win, knowing in that in winner-take-all arb, his ask would not be absurdly high. As for JR, his failure to build infrastructure (i.e. farm and development system), given his reluctance to spend at the top of market, is one of his 2 biggest failings. Some of that may be on Williams and Hahn….holding onto those 2, is the other.

At the start of the teardown the following players were under control for the following returns or lack their of: Jose Abreu: MVPito was kept through the deadline. Ultimately the Sox kept a fan favorite and made the wise decision to let the Astros pay him. Excellent move Dylan Cease: Cease was under Arb control until this offseason where he was paid. Knowing now that Cease likely wasn’t going to extend and that he got the deal. He was traded with 2 years of cheap control after the 2023 season. Hindsight says his value would’ve been highest after his breakout 2022 campaign. The Sox dealt him for Iriarte, Wilson, Zavala, and Thorpe. Both Iriarte and Thorpe have had cups of coffee. I think Thorpe has the best chance of saving this deal. He had a nasty 2024 before TJ ended his 2025 season. Overall this was a missed opportunity for the Sox although there is hope yet. Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez: after a let down 2022 season, Giolito didn’t has as much value. I have no issue with the Sox running it back with him. At the 2023 deadline he was flipped to the Angels along with Reynaldo Lopez for Edgar Quiero and Ky Bush. Lopez eventually found success after leaving as a starter in free agency although he was hurt last year. Not sure about the long term viability of him as a starter but ultimate ly I’m not holding it against the Sox. This was a BRUTAL trade from the Angels perspective. They gave up on both for money issues and gave up a great catching prospect in Quero and a possible rotation depth piece in Bush. Bush is now 26 and hit a wall in AAA, but is still a legitimate prospect. It was a great trade at the time and aged well even with Lopez’s emergence. Tim Anderson: fell off a cliff by the time it was okay to give up on a guy that was a fan favorite. In another universe he doesn’t get punch by Jram and is still a star. yoan Moncada: Moncada was another guy with a big 2021 that fell off before it was time to get value for him. Not sure it wouldve been palatable to trade him after his 4 win 2021 season. Garrett Crochet: this is the most controversial IMO. Crochet was traded after proving himself as a starter in 2024. He had two years of control left when the Sox traded him for Teel, Montgomery, and Meidroth. At the time of the trade it was a strong return and all 3 had excellent first years with the Sox. Teel and Meidroth look like multi win big leaguers and Montgomery gives the Sox a high potential outfielder that fills a huge system need. The “controversy” is from the Red Sox side of the trade. They extended Crochet with a 6 year 170M that buys 4 years of free agency for 115M. At this point he’ll almost definitely opt out for the last 2. It was a risky extension at the time and it seems like the Sox didn’t want to give it, but now is one of the better deals in baseball. Crochet was a 6 WAR pitcher and Cy runner up that threw 200+ innings. Would have been a great extension to have made, but given the risk the return has made it palatable to very solid. The alternative is that he got hurt and you missed out on 3 cost controlled big leaguers 2 with legit star upside and another with a multi win floor. Lance Lynn: The Sox moved him in a contract year. He was another guy that fell off after 2021 not allowing the Sox to extract value. He went from Cy-3 to a high 3 ERA pitcher worth 0.7 war in 2022. That may have been the time to trade him as he had a disasterous 2023. He was still able to be moved with Joe Kelly for Nastrini (disappointment) and Leasure who is a solid back end bullpen piece. Given his value at the time it was a solid return but just tough to get so little for him. Robert: Fresh in the memory. We’ll see what value Acuna has. It seems like he has the inside track to the everyday CF role. Probably the most obvious case of holding someone too long as the Sox were clearly rebuilding during his breakout year. Still, it was understandable to keep a core piece. The cards just fell poorly. Vaughn and Madrigal: madrigal was flipped at the perfect time, Kimbrel just didn’t work out. Vaughn seems to be a missed development opportunity but I’m not going to fault the Sox for anything other than the outfield experiment. Gregory Santos: cost controlled stud reliever. He has been hit with injuries since he was traded so it’s hard to remember that he was a a big trade chip at the time. The return was Prelander Berroa and Zach Deloach. Berroa was the main return and even through he was hurt last year has shown upside as a reliever. Kimbrel and bummer: 2 relievers that appear to have yielded no usable return long term. Soroka still has upside but not for the Sox. Collins: a lot of promise but ultimately flipped for Reese McGuire. burger: top pick, hasn’t quite burned the Sox but Eder didn’t work out So in total you have: lynn, Robert, cease, crochet, bummer, santos, Kimbrel, Vaughn, giolito, and Lopez out and let Pito, Tim Anderson, and Moncada walk. Other losses include Kelly, Burger and Collins. in return: Teel, Acuna Montgomery, Meidroth, Berroa, Leasure, Nastrini, Iriarte, Thorpe, Quero, and Bush. Teel, Meidroth, Quero Acuna and Leasure are big league contributors. Montgomery is a high upside prospect. of the group of pitchers, Thorpe has the most upside and could be a contributor this year . Berroa has a very good shot at being a bullpen contributor. Nistrini, Bush, and Irarte have something to prove. The Sox added talent through the draft and Rule V which I consider to be part of the rebuild and not the teardown. The Crochet Return (+Quero) does a lot of heavy lifting. Thorpe picking up where he left off would be a huge help, because it would be rough to not get a single cost controlled above average starter for Crochet, Cease, Lynn and Giolito. If Hagen and Schultz work out it’ll be less of an issue it’s just expensive to get good innings in free agency.

I have the impression he values loyalty over competence.

I disagree. I love mine. Have for 38 years. Plus, many of the people I know past and present enjoy working for Reinsdorf. He treats them well.