WestEddy

One thing the Sox have done which is cool is they've partnered with area artists to create posters for each series.

Jeez, the narrative was that GMs are waiting for the draft to be over until they pivot to the TDL. Will everything hold off until all the picks are signed? So we might really be looking at a 4-5 day TDL period. I guess that will be an exciting 4-5 days.

I'm here. This ain't the dad, Mike Ilych, spending his money to see a world series champ once before he leaves the Earth. It's his kids trying to hang onto their inheritance.

Because, depending on what a team is looking to spend, maybe they can shift them over to Flaherty. And maybe to gauge Skubal's perceived value ahead of the off-season and perhaps next year's TDL, if the team doesn't make a run.

I took it that way, and I'm sorry for my reaction.

I think that if the Sox don't trade him, he'll probably get 10 more 'starts' of 1-2 innings each, then get shut down. That gives him about 120+ innings. If they trade him, we can all argue about how the prospects are being brought along.

Well, down playing Crochet's half year seemed silly and argumentative. And yes, it is respectful.

I started out thinking they can extend him, but that would be something like 3/50, and we still might not be competitive in that window. In which case, I think they should trade him ASAP, get those prospects in our system and start working with them.

Just from what I've read in other places about injury recovery and work load recovery is that this might all hit him next season, where he loses a tick off his fastball, or whatnot. And maybe it won't. You keep asking the question, yes, it's all worth the risk, for the White Sox and for Crochet. Even slightly diminished for part of a season, Crochet is a rare talent, and the trading team has 2 more seasons to evaluate giving him a contract. If he's intact, and doing anything like his current results, I guess that teams will line up to throw their money at him.

And I think I've been pretty respectful, and have just offered counter arguments. To downplay a dominant half season is silly. Dude made the All-Star team.

...And Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game was just a single game. Big whoop. A half season of dominance is still wondrous to watch. We don't have to pretend that what Crochet is doing is really no big deal, just to be obstinate and win an argument. It's a silly look.

Or they have a trade that's a day away, and they're just stalling until they can make moves and announcements.

They're already ramping him down, which I believe is appropriate. I think the Sox or another team can pitch him in the regular rotation, going 1-2 innings an outing, then ramping him up in September for a playoff run. I think he's proven his durability by doubling his lifetime pro innings this season without a hiccup.

Correct. But he went an entire season without pitching, and they all had a chance to fully heal.

I'm not sure if you're agreeing or not. He didn't have a 2022 season. My guess is he got injured in college, pitched through it in 2020 and 2021, finally succumbed to injury in the playoffs, got TJS, healed, had a minor inflammation setback, and is now at full strength - carrying the same risk as any other pitcher.

This is all like an essay proving that bumble bees can't fly. Yet, he's over 100 IP, and not exhibiting any issues.

And he's never had time to fully recover until TJS. Now he has, and doesn't look frail at all. If he was such an injury risk, one would think that he would have a problem somewhere before 100 innings.

Yeah, some keep portraying Crochet as frail, dude's a tree. Insider guys have talked about how he finally looks healthy for the first time in his pro career. If there was going to be a problem, it probably would have happened where it did in the past - somewhere between 10-20 IP.

Nice article offering an overview of the Cards' system and what we could hope for in trade. https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-white-sox/building-an-erick-fedde-trade-with-the-st-louis-cardinals/

Well, he's a LF, and I don't think Benintendi's going anywhere. I go back and forth between Sheets and Vaughn being gone, and both making the OD roster next year.

Julio Rodriguez has an OPS+ of 102. Robert is 122. That means Luis Robert's OPS is 22% better than the league average. He's an exceptional player having a less than average (for him) year. He is cheap, going forward. He will bring back a haul.

If the Sox clean house, I can see them taking viable players for the 2025 back. Not as headliners, of course, but a reliever or somebody's SS who is squeezed out as a 4th piece. Do the same thing as this year, just with better players. Then flip everybody at the deadline, again.

That was an amazing trade. Tom Bradley is a forgotten name, but for 2 years, he was so great.