SoxBlanco

I figured it would be nice to have a place to discuss who makes the 26 man, as well as what we think the opening day lineup will be. If Engel is healthy, Vaughn is still out, and we face a lefty (Rodriguez), this is my guess at the opening day lineup: Leury SS Robert CF Abreu 1B Grandal C Eloy LF Moncada 3B Harrison 2B Engel RF Burger DH

Great call on that one. Your firsthand knowledge of what that feels like gave me optimism.

Probably a very unpopular opinion by me, but I think the White Sox were better than the Astros last year, and I think they are still better this year. Yes, the Astros destroyed us in the playoffs, but I'm not going to let one series completely determine my opinion. Going into that series, many people thought we were the better team. The one thing we were severely lacking in was playoff experience.

You have absolutely loved using WAR projections over the past several weeks on this message board. But now the Kopech projection gets a snicker? I never saw you once say that Rodon's projection was questionable because of his injury history and potential innings pitched amount.

I would guess Leury plays SS and Burger is the DH (with Adolfo/Sheets in RF, depending on who we are facing and whether we keep Adolfo on the 25 man). Leury SS Robert CF Abreu 1B Grandal C Eloy LF Moncada 3B Sheets RF Burger DH Harrison 2B

The wording of this gives me more optimism. Sounds like he was sore yesterday, and they told him to get some rest and come back tomorrow to get looked at again. But I also don't know what the hell I'm talking about, so don't get your hopes up.

I YouTubed the career altering Bo Jackson injury yesterday right after Vaughn got hurt. He immediately got up after the injury, and then went back down. Then he actually walked off the field (with some help). Was he just a tough son of b*tch?

Yeah, the crazy thing after all this speculation is that it could be all just a precaution, where he's just sore and then completely fine in a day or two.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I just wasn't sure if there was a scenario where a rehab stint turns into an option. And while the extra year would be great, I'm not a fan of manipulating the system to make it happen. I tend to lean more toward Ray Ray's point of view on that topic.

If Vaughn is only out for a few weeks, could this end up being a blessing in disguise? Send him to AAA once he is healthy and get a year of control back?

I think people just like blaming the front office at every opportunity. If Kimbrel would have gotten in a car accident on the way to the fields today, people would blame it on Hahn for picking up his option.

Our instruction very well might be horrible, but in this specific case, I think it’s just bad luck. Vaughn played a solid LF all year last year without getting hurt. There are no teams teaching guys how to properly dive without injuring their hips. Fingers crossed this is a very minor injury.

And I agree with you on that. But would Vaughn be less likely to get hurt if the other corner outfielder was a great defender? Absolutely not. It’s using the butterfly effect to place blame in a misguided way.

I’m confused as to why people had no problem with Vaughn playing LF last year and some even wish he would play there this year instead of Eloy, but then blame the injury on being out of position. The same injury could have happened in LF. If the criticism is that we should be getting a real RF (like Conforto) because we don’t want Eloy and Vaughn in the corners at the same time, then I completely agree. But that’s a totally separate issue. To put it another way: Let’s say we signed Conforto and he was playing RF today with Vaughn in LF (Eloy with the day off or DH). In that scenario, the blame for the injury would not be the same as it is right now.

I think that was a torn labrum.

I hope it’s just that and not the Bo Jackson injury. Seems much more likely to be a hip pointer.

I was trying to say that I agreed with you. My scenario would be the only chance it might be close, but I still think we pull it out.

What if we manage to trade Keuchel and then face him…and you pitch for the Sox in that game?

Agreed. James, how confident are you that Kimbrel gets moved before April 8?

Based on things you’ve heard, or based on your gut feeling because he’s still unsigned at this point?

Not if that means we are dumping most/all of Kimbrel's salary and then signing Conforto. I think the Kimbrel return and how much money we shed will determine whether we make another move after that.

I heard that Seattle is NOT in on Kimbrel. Dodgers, Cardinals, and possibly one other team. @Y2Jimmy0 or @Harold's Leg Lift, have you heard anything similar?

Does anybody know if Wil Meyers stands on the right side of home plate when he's batting? (if you are facing home plate from the pitcher's mound)

Conforto to the Sox confirmed!!

Vaughn in RF. Conforto going elsewhere confirmed! Can't wait for football season to start.