WestEddy

I'm looking forward to serious hires for an organizational hitting program, stats department, international and pro scouting. I don't expect them to catch up to Tampa or the Dodgers in one offseason. Their health and conditioning issues seemed to only apply to 3 guys, but addressing the training staff would be nice. I would like Getz to get respectable returns for Crochet and Robert. I can't imagine they need to save space for Jacob Amaya, Chuckie, Gavin Sheets, or Braden Shewmake. Justin Anderson and EDLS are in arbitration, so unless they have a magical elixir that turns them into supermen, that's elbow room. I don't expect any FA signings of note. Maybe a better targeted version of the Brebbia/Leonne experience in the bullpen. Fedde/Flexen/Soroka produced a Cy Young competitor, an innings eater, and a bullpen arm. I can stomach another whack at that to supplement Cannon/Thorpe/Burke/Davis. If the Aug/Sept output of Benintendi and Vaughn is real, they can anchor this team, and play to be traded next deadline. I'd imagine a June 1 infield looks like Ramos-Monty-Sosa-Vaughn/Elko. Elko has some work to unlock Matt Davidson level but, like Sosa, he's struggled then hit at every level. If Colas isn't traded/released, he's part of the 6-headed CF hydra of Fletcher/Colas/DeLoach/Julks/Brooks Baldwin/amazing new prospect(!). I could see the Sox picking up a RF and a SS at the same AmVets dollar sale they shopped last year. Maybe their managerial hire drags a couple of 10-year pensioners along. Max Stassi wasn't a bad idea, and I could see a veteran catcher to challenge Quero for co-catcher. I have a weird fascination with Buck Showalter as a manager, but see a more realistic choice of 4th-best-young-managerial-prospect, followed closely by "Grady Sizemore checks all the boxes(!!)" tl;dr - slightly better same old.

I know it's a common phrase. Used by idiot bro-dudes to shame fans of a team. Fun fact: It doesn't work if you don't feel a deep need for validation from strangers.

Yes, you should put more effort into "being more specific". LOL. That's a good goal.

"Face the music". "Be put on the spot". "Expected to answer any questions". Terrifying. The funny thing about the "baghdad bob" and water carrying BS is that you guys trot it out for me disagreeing about anything with you. I'm not sure why you and your other account need my validation. You can't make this up.

I would consider a 50 win team an improvement over a 41 win team if there's advancement in key areas. I don't use the word "laughingstock" unless I'm describing some dude trying to make me feel ashamed over a sports team. Nothing will change with new ownership, either. Please point out the billionaire who is waiting to throw hundreds of millions of his fortune away so that you can finally feel "pride".

Detroit was still playing for a higher seed. And certainly to keep a little momentum going into the playoffs. Almost as bad?!? You and others have made it your summer's work to drill into everybody's heads that the White Sox left spring training without a prayer for 63 wins. That's why nobody puts any stock in what the "I hate Chris Getz" guy posts multiple times a day across the entire site.

I don't know why you're angry in your post. Maybe talk to a professional about that. Maybe ask about being able to take cues from others, even online. Winning 5 of 6 is a positive. I wish they would have done it more.

Well, that season's over. It's good thing they ended on a positive. I look forward to them being better next season.

Dude, I'm guessing you have some issue where you can't tell if somebody is telling a joke, or just referencing something that everybody has made fun of (.490 baseball). You seem really angry that somebody is posting something you don't agree with 100%. Maybe you should calm down a little.

Why? Is a journalist going to hit him? Ask a real "hard hitting" question? Rudely cut him short if he resorts to off the shelf answers? LOL. It's funny that everybody derides pretty much every sports journalist as a hack. Why do you think that Bruce Levine, or Bob Nightengale is going to ask that "gotcha" question that will make everything come tumbling down? Maybe Jay Mariotti?

They played .490 ball from September 9th on.

The Mets were able to pluck players from every other team. We had to use our own players to trade for them. Huge advantage, 62 Mets.

If they finish on a 5-1 run, and blur the "worst ever" records, I consider it a successful season. Onward!!

Sosa homered. Reinsdorf's letter was not about these last 2 series.

I think everybody's looking for a Todd Stottlemyre reaction, unable to speak 3 words without an expletive, and reasoning that "this is how I eat!!" Most of the reactions, here, are probably a reporter asking a player, personally, "Hey, how you doing with all of this?", and the player gives an honest, personal answer. Any musing that the players need an on-field brawl to get angry about is smothered in scolding. But everyone wants players to not be able to sleep, or even function, they feel so ashamed. Part of being a pro is being able to compartmentalize their emotions. This is what that looks like.

I'd be happy for JR to "save money" by plowing half of what he'd pay the Chris Flexen version of a shortstop into a Trajekt machine, or to invest the $3 million Joey Gallo might need to play half a season - into their stats department and scouting. Katz seems to be able to do a lot with a little. I just wonder if Marcus Thames is the same, and that process is just slower with hitters.

Sure he would be. We pried Brian Bannister away from the Giants pretty easily. There's hundreds of guys who are 2nd in command, or run college hitting programs who are tapped into the latest thinking and tech. There's only 30 of those jobs in the bigs. Even the Sox are a huge stepping stone to burnishing one's resume.

I'm really curious what you think the speech the Captain of the Titanic should be giving as it disappears into the water - looks like.

Robert's 26, Moncada's 29. Robert's yet to hit his prime. Luis Robert just set a career high in stolen bases. It's his approach.

If Robert could be parked in the 6-slot of a good lineup, he could rework his approach and rebuild his confidence. That can't happen here during his contract period. He will be the man for the next 2 years, here, and he'll feel compelled to "produce".

All of the anger started getting burned up in December when they signed DeJong, or whatever. About a dozen people screamed or misquoted everybody who wasn't mad multiple times a day. The adults got over it back in April. I wish they didn't set the loss record. I won't be thinking about it in 3 weeks.

They left spring training a bad team, and losing what were supposed to be their top 3 hitters made them worse. The article clearly states this, as I have. We can agree that not being on course to set the all-time loss record would be significantly different from a 115 loss season.

That's all I've ever said. I don't know why this concept makes people dig in and fight against it. Nobody ever suggested anybody was surprised by it, or that Yoan, Eloy and Robert were the 3 best hitters in the game. The article points out that the the 3 guys who were supposed to be the three best hitters on the team were gone within the first two weeks, and that made the team worse than they left spring training.

Who on this team was seen as better, offensively, than Eloy and Yoan? Nicky Lopez?

I don't know. I was trolled by admins for a while for stating these very facts. Maybe look in your admin handbook and tell me why it's wrong to say that the 3 top offensive players being injured in the first 2 weeks might make a team worse.