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He’s really slowed his delivery way down

Let’s be honest, the best day will be when we lose all 185 pounds of Benintendi.

He does seem like a fun guy ☺️ Some notes from (various translations of) his media session: He's getting along well and having fun with teammates and staff despite being nervous at first. He says everyone has been really nice. Answered "every day" when asked what has been the most fun so far Says the added attention doesn't bother him since he experienced it in Japan too. He wants to keep improving his English, and has to improvise with gestures at times. Has taught teammates some Japanese phrases. He talks with Imanaga, Suzuki, Yoshida, and Ohtani regularly. Ohtani has been encouraging. They haven't decided yet exactly how many ST games/innings he'll play before leaving for the WBC. Looking forward to facing Skenes and Skubal in the WBC since they are reigning Cy winners. Still working on getting more comfortable at 1B, is committed to improving as a defender. The swing change has been in progress since November, and is aimed at adjusting to higher velo in MLB. His goal is to be a big home run hitter here as well. Yes, he got asked about bidets (from both US and Japanese media) and he wasn't shy at all in answering. Has told teammates about the many benefits, including being better for the environment by using less TP Likes to go before a game, and likes to feel clean when he plays At one point he was talking so positively about bidets that a press member joked it sounded like promotion. Mune suggested a bidet sponsorship and when he got laughter in response clarified that he'd be seriously open to it.

I’m expecting Aldrin Batista in the AA rotation as well.

He may get picked for the All Star game HR Derby.

Flora was very intriguing yesterday. Flukey didn't look great from what I saw. Also I hate that we have a thread dedicated to Roch. The superstitious side of me makes me feel like it's super bad juju.

Dad strength Sosa? 👀

Sox machine had a much longer conversation with Keith Law a couple of days ago. This shorter video talks about White Sox player development.

It's funny, when Beni added weight it was good news because it meant he could maybe hit homers again. Now losing said weight is good news because perhaps he can stay in the line up again. I cannot wait for his contract to expire. Maybe next year they will just eat it.

More live ABs for Mune after morning 1B reps and cage work

I hope that was a slo mo camera joke and not an actual thing otherwise I laughed for nothing. 😉

Sox starter depth makes me suspect Hagen Smith and some other prospects may be headed to AA, where the rotation is also a little crowded. All I care about is Oppor at Birmingham. He already dominated A+, no need to repeat.

2/15/2026: Jerry Reinsdorf demotes Chris Getz to assistant GM and hires Jeremy Zoll as new GM.

Jerry: GET ME GETZ RIGHT NOW!!!

"I Want That To Be The Standard:" Omaha Looms Large Over Alabama's 2026 Season Alabama baseball looks to redeem its regional failures and end a 27-year College World Series drought this spring. Theodore Fernandez|Feb 13, 2026 "Lebron is arguably the best defensive player in the nation, a projected top-five MLB Draft pick in July who could leave campus as the most decorated player to ever call Sewell-Thomas Stadium home. "He just does stuff that other people can't do," Lebron's roommate and teammate Zane Adams said. "You see it in practice, you see in the scrimmages, you'll see in the games coming up, he's just gifted, he's special." The dominance Lebron has displayed on the diamond made him one of the most valuable players in the transfer portal over the summer. Despite having the ability to start at just about any program in the country, the junior did not even consider a move." https://www.si.com/college/alabama/baseball/i-want-standard-omaha-looms-large-over-alabama-2026-season

I will try to find out.

69-93 sounds about right...compromise position between optimists and pessimists.

Motor skills and consciousness probably cut off around 89 wins.

For anyone wondering if the Sox are on the bcutting edge here, I learned recently that there are only 2 other MLB clubhouses with bidets. The Red Sox, who were first when they installed them for Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the Dodgers. Not for Shohei (or Yamamoto) surprisingly, but for Sasaki who hinted in negotiations that it would make his signing decision easier.

I’m joining you. I will await your 80+ win prediction later tonight… 🍻 🍻 🍻

I’m going to predict 78 wins while I have a few beers in me. Why not. Done being down on team. Everyone is having a career year like the Mercedes era, but Tony’s not around to traumatize anyone

Losing weight is good news if his leg injuries have been affecting his defense. His glove is a far bigger problem than his bat right now. None of this probably makes a difference, but for spring training fluff I’ll take it over the alternative doing nothing different.

The Athletic's Spring Training Survey came out today. Some notes: White Sox made the top 6 for Most Improved AL Team with 8 votes. Tigers were 5th with 14. The top 3 were all East teams (O's, Red Sox, Jays). ...but they were also T-3 (8 votes) with the Rays for "Least Recognizable Team" due to the lack of big names. Marlins were 2nd with 10, Rockies first by far with 29. Mune got 2 votes for best FA bargain, tied with 5 others (Bichette, Bader, Arraez, Bleday, Ponce, Matz). Naylor and Suarez led with 4 each. Twins and Guards tied for least improved in the AL, comfortably leading the pack. Mune T-5 with Justin Crawford for rookies/prospects to watch in spring https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7042048/2026/02/13/2026-spring-training-survey-mlb-insiders-on-the-players-teams-and-storylines-to-watch/

Getz is a genius. Don't question him.

Acuna is so screwed if they ask him if he’s a switch hitter

I AI'd it and it said NPB max bat speed for him through 2025 was 85.7 which, if correct ,probably puts him way higher than 70th percentile from what little I know about bat speed. Highest average bat speed in MLB is O'Neil Cruz at 78.8 MPH but thats an average total for the majority of your hard swings. So even if Mune averages out to high 70s he'll be in the 95th percentile maybe around the same as Schwarber 5th) at 77.3. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/bat-tracking

FWIW Venable has said that Hagen is likely to be in Charlotte

Why is Vasil Batman and what Benintendi told Vasil after he robbed a HR with Vasil on the mound.

I assume that Schultz, Sandlin, Cannon, & Davitt are locks for the AAA rotation to start the season (assuming Burke & Fedde grab the last two spots with Sox). After that, there are a lot of possibilities. I could see Smith and McDougal starting the season at either AAA or AA. Candidly, I don’t see a lot of value in rushing our top pitching prospects to Charlotte. Just feels like AAA is far less important for pitchers in general and Charlotte specifically is very tough obviously. I think McDougal probably deserves to be in AAA and maybe even Smith after his AFL stint, but I could see the Sox protecting them a bit and letting the lower tier prospects like Schweitzer, Murphy, & Riley get the first crack at the remaining starts in AAA.

All I want is for him to field that position and stay healthy to do it. I first hated that trade but they got a CF hopeful instead of the farm system nopeful

Boras just trying to save face after he turned down the QO for the same amount.

Hence why he said “fine”…..

At a conference and a presentation on pitching analytics. What teams are doing with in the last couple years is crazy. A couple of significant takeaways. 1. The data collected from start to start is really expanding. An example used was looking at the weather during a previous start and weight loss down to the ounce after showed issues. So the pitch count for the next game was decreased due to that extra stress and nutrition from the recovery. Pitch count is more than just gameday. 2. An issue with data and analytics is still that technology can't accurately measure pitching. The arm moves at 7000 degrees per second. Cameras and wearable just cant measure it accurately. 3. Best way to keep a pitcher deathly is to really train the body physically. This takes up to eight months. Only way to do this is they aren't pitching which pitchers cant do. Unless they are out due to an injury. Cited the way the White Sox rehabbed Crochet as the new way all organizations are approaching the pitcher body during rehab. 4. During predraft camp, 95% showed rotator cuff pathology, 85% showed abnormalities in the UCL. Especially , pitchers from SEC and old PAC 10. Pitchers come to the MLB preinjured.

That's this years ST cap with Cactus flowers. All cactus league teams have the same design. Anywhete that usuall carries spring training caps may have them soon if not already.

Mune is scheduled to speak to the media tomorrow per Sanspo. 6 HR in 30 BP swings today ( @Eminor3rd was very right about their consistency in reporting these results lol) Live ABs against Newcomb (broken bat single to right) and Shane Smith (grounder to 2B).

The 20th rounder that wasn't

The innovative part for Crochet was the not focusing only on the injury rehab, it was the redirecting the workload and workload tolerance through the entire body. It wasn't the decrease workload, it was an increased workload to be able to tolerate more pitching. But have it individually directed to his imbalances. I was one that thought they were crazy to increase his workload from one year to the next, until I saw the protocol they had for him. Of course he had to buy in but it was an innovative protocol by medical and conditioning standards. Bannister does like "funky deliveries." This could lead to higher injuries. But its not anything they do to the pitcher, its the pitchers they like. If they cant pay for velocity like other, the funky pitch shapes and tunnels can be another approach.

Article in today's Trib about Cholowsky. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/13/chicago-white-sox-roch-cholowsky-ucla/ This is what his UCLA coach says about him: “He’s an exceptional clubhouse guy,” Savage said. “His makeup, his leadership, his body of work in terms of his work ethic in the weight room, drills, practice, meetings … it’s all about winning with him. “Whenever you have your best player as one of the best workers, that’s giving the right message day in and day out and makes life much easier.”

I think most of Getz's early trades were unremarkable. Whether that was because of poor scouting information, or whatever, I feel that the difference between the Bummer and Cease trades, then the Vargas and Crochet trades, targeting Shane Smith and Vasil - he found a weakness, and got better at it. If this is some sort of issue (which I don't believe is), I trust the guy to identify and correct a serious flaw. If he actually thought for two(?) years that he was targeting and pursuing a switch-hitter, I think they'll fix that. Again, I think it's ridiculous to think that for two years (or however long they had been after Acuña) NOBODY thought it important to find out which way he batted - is a level of stupid I find insulting and feel no responsibility to take on and be outraged over. My take on this is that scouting and R&D worked together to put together a list of targets that were probably either post- or beneath hype they could work with. They got the guys they wanted and Getz either mixed him up, or as he said, got overly excited and said a wrong thing. It's already been a thing he misuses words (Overstate vs. Understate). I fully encourage everyone to be concerned and see this as a red flag. I'm not, and I don't. And - I don't mean that like I think you're insulting me. There's a level of outrage here that just grows to the point where I'm expected to take on somebody's outrage because "this time, it's really concerning", when they turn every single gaffe or slump into evidence of tragic incompetence.