WestEddy

Dave Dombrowski took over the Tigers 4/8/2002, and the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

Why? The Sox control Colas' rights to fill a need, if it arises. It's ugly, but that's Capitalism. They're not there for him. He's there for them.

It's a good thing the Sox picked him up to be the weak side of a platoon, and you agree that he looks pretty good for that.

But it happened. I'm not sure what your argument has ever been. That because they have an injury history, they didn't get injured? Or was Getz supposed to cut them, pay them, and then sign somebody else? On a reduced budget.

Sure, that would be preferable. And it may still happen.

Why am I not surprised that you would argue about something for a full hour without even realizing what you were arguing?

This year's OF makeup is probably a direct reaction to last year's foibles. Tauchman can cover CF for a few days. He can't be your CF for 6 weeks if Robert gets injured or traded.

I'm sure players don't worry about "4+ losing seasons". It's about the situation they're walking into. If a team has an established starting rotation, a good bullpen and a solid lineup, all in a weak division that's wide open, that's a good situation to hitch up to. Sure, money matters. But why overpay for players? It wasn't Chris Getz' choice to sign Robles, or not. If Getz wanted to overpay for a guy who still hadn't established himself as a reliable offensive producer 7 years into his career, then maybe he could have coaxed Robles away from Seattle. Overpaying on dollars and years is how we got Benintendi's contract.

Who is being DFAed? I think they might try to sneak a couple guys through during the flurry of roster moves next week. If they pass through waivers, they get to assign them. I could see them trying to sneak Colas and Amaya through waivers. Neither would be a big loss if claimed. Amaya's probably a better fielder than Tristan Gray, but Gray hits some. They seem to be hanging onto Colas on the off chance he starts hitting, and that hasn't happened in a while. They're not going to cut Carella or Nastrini. Also, they're paying Benintendi, so you have to keep him. Robert will be traded at some point. Tauchman and Slater shore up a position they have no one of value to play. Taylor is CF insurance to have a competent CF to rest Robert, or he's traded.

Seeing as Robles was a free agent, he had the choice of signing with the first place Seattle Mariners for a guaranteed starting position, or the 15-46 White Sox, who were weathering an 11-game losing streak at that point. So, maybe money wasn't a problem, but one situation seemed much more attractive than the other.

Are you even following the conversation? That .736 OPS was better than the MLB average. Can you please explain how you're "hoping and praying" to have a team of hitters who don't hit as well as .736 makes a better rebuild?

Slater and Taylor don't have to "do us good in the long term". Baseball games need to be played, and a guys like Taylor and Slater give the younger guys a chance at learning how to win. And as far as trade returns, no, you're not going to get the #1 prospect in baseball for your platoon RF. But the crowd who wants the Sox to play failed OFs on the long shot chance they change and become All-Stars - suddenly lose that hope when it comes to that A-ball second baseman who can play SS and hits. I'm getting confused. Are we supposed to make players "earn" their spots on the roster, or are we just supposed to hand rookies starting slots because they're young? Taylor and Slater aren't blocking anyone worthwhile.

Joey Bart is a guy that Getz should have pursued. We don't know he didn't. Bart was traded to Pittsburgh for an 8th round bullpen arm who never threw a pitch for the Pirates. It's been well established here that you never let that kind of prospect gold leave the organization. Robles was a free agent who may have already been out of our price range. We don't know. Also, Robles is older than Fletcher, and I thought being 27 years old was a deal killer for you?

Hmmm. Something changed for Vargas in 2024, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's almost like, if you look at his stats, they're actually separated into his time on the Dodgers and his time on the White Sox. One stat set has him producing (albeit in a small sample size) at an above average rate, and the other has his production cratering. I'm sure that if his coaches were working with him, they might have said something like, "let's look at some tape of WHEN YOU WERE PRODUCING and see if something changed." They wouldn't shrug their shoulders and say, well, looking at your entire career, you suck, so there's nothing to work on. LOL. I can't imagine how somebody is so broken that they become afraid of themself making fun of themself under a different login for accepting reality.

If Colson Montgomery is this much of a clubhouse cancer, then it's good to find out as soon as possible. Seriously, how are the Sox going to "pay" for "it"? Is Colson going to play badly when his opportunity arrives because he was dissed? And then he'll be demoted, then he'll cry? Just assume every player is going to switch their agency to Scott Boras in their 5th year and shoot for the moon in free agency.

Dude, you don't get to disallow all arguments for why a player deserves a spot on the roster. Slater has proven over 8 seasons that he's a reliable baseball player, who has put up average to much better than average offensive production in most of those seasons, while providing cromulent defense at all 3 OF positions. We know what we have in Oscar Colas. Colas has proven to be a bonehead in the field. Two glaring misplays happened in spring training, once in LF when he got hit in the face with a fly ball, and once in RF, charging a single with the thought of throwing out a guy halfway home already, and he let the ball get passed him to advance all runners. Colas has not distinguished himself with the bat, while playing in a bandbox of a ballpark. He also seems to be a clubhouse problem, or at least have attitudinal problems that likely make him uncoachable. I'd imagine that for 4 years, his coaches have been telling him that on a single to RF, make sure to pick up the ball, and understand you're not going to throw out a guy halfway home, already. We also pretty much know what we have in Fletcher, DeLoach, Julks and Cal Mitchell. I mean, you screamed for a solid year about what bums the first three were, how those trades were complete disasters, oh, and they're all old. So what is it you didn't see in 2024 you think you're going to see this year? And playing a 31-year-old veteran in baseball games isn't "wasting at bats". The games have to be played, and who better to play them than capable baseball players? Everybody here is screaming about "watchable" baseball. Why do you want to see players you've already dismissed as subhuman trash kick the ball around the outfield and pop out in the rare moments they get runners on base? I mean, if losses don't matter, I look forward to never hearing about this 41-121 2024 record again.

Crochet threw 15 games where he lasted 5+ innings. The White Sox won 7 of those games. 3 of those wins were decided by 1or 2 runs. I believe the 2025 team will do better than last year's at scoring runs. I also believe this year's bullpen will be better constructed than last year's.

The entire PR department seems to be dancing as fast as they can

I was ready for an Elko/Colas timeshare. It seems Getz has bigger ideas for this season than we would have thought.

I think he's just a bone-head in the field, so he's a first baseman. And Drury hits much better than him to back up Vaughn. Yes, I would have much rather they non-tendered Vaughn, but that would have been without the knowledge of Drury finding his old self at the plate.

Kopech & Soroka's production will easily be replaced. Crochet pitched 5 full innings 15 times, and they won 7 of those games.

It's been reported that Vargas just wore down as the season went on. That's where the whole "20 lbs heavier" thing comes from.

Some might say the Crochet trade was the biggest headline, but maybe the English-language papers in China have a specific editorial slant.