WestEddy

I always liked those mid-70s Phillies teams. But always wound up with way too many Denny Doyle baseball cards.

Jim Croce said it's the baddest part of town.

SoxMachine on Cannon's focus at Charlotte: https://soxmachine.com/2024/06/pregame-notes-garrett-crochet-ventures-into-uncharted-territory/

And Murphy gives up 6 in the first.

Birmingham and Kannapolis. Straight winning percentage.

I can't imagine Murphy is sticking in Charlotte. He was a nice 14th round find, and should find himself in Birmingham this summer. Maybe it's just a spot start to cover Cannon's slot until they really start moving guys around. Very psyched on Davis Martin beginning rehab, and Sean Burke progressing along in AAA.

Most of this. Sheets is a good lefty bench bat. I think he's getting PAs to get him scouted, maybe even foster a bit of a breakout, if there's one left in there. Judge is a slightly better than average CF. Shouldn't he be able to play left?

10 days is an off-day. Maybe they'll fire him in Arizona, and make him get home on his own.

Calling Grandal and Hendriks "tier 3" is stupid. I'm sure you can make a point without looking like a circus clown.

There is a new FO and set of decision makers. We'll see how they do when the time comes.

In hindsight, yes, most of those were terrible signings. I think most long term contracts are terrible signings. Hahn was not a good GM. Add to that the friction between him and his boss, and there were a lot of reactionary moves. Grandal was thought to be a coup at the time. He was coming off of 4 very good seasons in LA and Milwaukee. Hit for an .814 OPS in those 4. That wasn't seen as wasted money at the time. We are the fans? You are A fan. Because the previous FO made bad decisions, that doesn't mean that a new FO will also make bad decisions. If you want to fall back on the "same people" canard, TLR and Getz are the guys in Reinsdorf's ear, not KW and Hahn. Similar? Maybe. Getz is already illustrating a clear difference in his decision making from the previous FO's. And cut the "parody account" BS. We can't all be angry man-babies screaming about a bad baseball team.

And at the culmination of that last rebuild, they signed Grandal, Keuchel, Hendriks, Kelly, Graveman and Benintendi. They traded for Lynn and Kimbrel. Grandal was the sweetheart of the "framing metrics" crowd. Keuchel put up 2 WAR in 60 games in 2020. Hendriks and Kimbrel were top of the game closers. And they still get to draft, sign and develop players during this time period you're talking about.

I'll let you in on a secret: A rebuild kind of depends on it. Don't tell anyone.

There's an entire string where I explain how Getz made our minor league development better, and you guys hid it because it blew your narrative out of the water. I believe you guys even named it "String Which WestEddy Ruined by Being Smarter Than Us". You're going to play the game of pretending that the minor league director is responsible for every single move the organization made in the last 7 years, but somehow, any successes that actually happened have nothing to do with him? Give us all a break. Had the White Sox drafted better in the 5 years before Mike Shirley, had they not rushed every 1st rounder, had the previous GM and VP been more forceful in embracing statistical analysis and the skills lab concept, had the previous GM and VP relied on better scouting at the major league, international and amateur levels, then, yes, maybe we're not in a rebuild right now.

It's funny how he hasn't developed anything, but as soon as he's put in charge, 2 of our minor league teams are ranked in the top 5 of all affiliated minor league teams in organized baseball. And our pitching development is beginning to be recognized by national guys. I guess it's fun to flog a meme. Paying attention to reality developing right before your eyes is a little harder.

Oh, okay. Sorry. You and your sockpuppet, 2023.

The mob smugly assuring us we're 8-10 years away from anything are the same people screaming that signing Michael A. Taylor, Amed Rosario, Frankie Montas and a couple better relievers would have had this team "competitive" this season.

Two of our minor league teams are ranked top five of all affiliated minor league teams in organized baseball. Drafting, scouting and development has gotten better. We'll see what Reinsdorf's philosophy on signing top free agents is with TLR and Getz in his ear instead of KW/Hahn.

Were you drunk? Your post was good. Thanks for it. Greg Maddux talked a lot about the grueling nature of that extra couple of weeks tacked onto the end of a season. It really wears on these guys. Statistical reporting often pointed out the White Sox' propensity to keep their starters on the field, which is a good thing. That didn't seem to end careers of the stars, prematurely. Crede crashed and burned, and Rowand fell of the table abruptly. I look at the drafts of the late 90s/early aughts. They were terrible, and the first rounders were snake-bitten. Stumm, Ginter, Honel. They made such a big deal about Kip Wells, and he was...just okay. They just weren't able to establish any reliable wave of talent.

Illinois has a flat tax. While a bit high for the poor and middle class, it's great for rich people. Texas and Florida don't have income tax. Georgia, Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts - they all have a higher top rate.

It's fun when the other team makes outs. A long journey starts with the first step.

My guess is there's gotta be a purge, soon. Drohan, Barlow, Toussant, Wilson coming up, maybe a few going out.