South Side Hit Men

Hahn is the greatest GM in the history of the game never to have won 80 games. Elite. #It’sKenny’sFault #It’sRicky’sFault #It’sJerry’sFault

Abreu now under .500 OPS in June, should have had tonight off.

40 pitches, 5 outs. No bueno.

Jerry is pleased with his $4 investment.

Well, it's possible we see another owner lockout and significant number of games lost in 2022, so it could be deja vu all over again. This will continue to suppress salaries based on reduced playing time performance, an added incentive for the owners to impose another significant lockout. I don't get the blaming of Sox personnel, this is a leaguewide phenomenon. Herb Schneider is still around as an emeritus, I doubt there were any significant changes in how the club operates, as all three working trainers have been with the organization for decades.

Vaughn has improved throughout the month: Last 7 days OPS .717 Last 14 days OPS .643 Last 28 days OPS .564 I'm more concerned about Abreu, since he needs to be a top 3 producer for the Sox to go far in October, though still confident he can regain his timing and begin being able to hit the heat soon. Just needs to lay off of the bad outside pitches. Abreu June OPS .502 Vaughn June OPS .604 Abreu April OPS .690 Vaughn April OPS .725 Vaughn May OPS .733 Abreu May OPS 1.053

I always use the National Weather Service site, they have hour by hour graphs and solid radar projections over the following hour, but slow to load. Was nice when Meigs Field had a station for downtown/Sox weather, but after Daley destroyed that option, so I use Midway for Sox games and beyond Lake Effect wind/rain/temp drops works well. https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=41.88403000000005&lon=-87.69657999999998 Accuweather's radar is easier to load on the phone. goes 1 1/2 hours into the future for projected rain, so I use this on the go. https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/chicago/60608/weather-radar/348308

The Giants can hold on but not sure they will. Dodgers have a lot of depth, and as the only truly competitive team not worrying about "luxury tax" bullshit, the resources to pick up anything at the trade deadline. Their one major weakness currently is the depth of quality bullpen arms, so I expect plenty of action on that front.

And I have the opposite view. Benetti shouts and screams at anything, and his style is more suited for basketball (he even slipped in the word basketball instead of baseball mistake during the podcast), MMA or the WWF. Len Kasper is a professional baseball announcer, and calls a great game, so glad he was added to the radio broadcast. He works really well with DJ, and I hope he remains on radio for a very long time, isn't switched to TV when Jason and/or Stone leave. Even Hahn was as entertaining as a Rick Hahn can be. I listened to Locked Sox after the May 5th TLR debacle, and it was a good show. Have to tune in again after something interesting happens to get their take. Just don't have time to listen every day. Both do a great job on the Score, which I try to catch online for Sox segments (to weed out all the other content and commercials). The only podcast I listen to regularly is the Beer Temple Podcast (weekly), but will try to watch more of Len and Jason's podcasts since they are weekly, and not very long. @caulfield12 - I do agree, KW would be a more entertaining guest. I wish they asked Hahn more probing questions, primarily his working and personal relationship with TLR, but that may have been "off-limits". Rick did mention his love of 90's hip hop, and Ricky blasting Jay Z on his boombox during team charter flights, which he would always call out Rick and say, "This is for you, boss", which I found amusing, Would also like to know what Kenny does these days for the club, beyond being a sounding board for Hahn and JR, at least when it comes to player acquisitions / roster management.

Four Cub pitchers combined for a no-hitter last night, defeating Walker Buehler and the Dodgers 4-0 at Chavez Ravine. Far from a perfect game, all four Cubs pitchers walked at least one batter, with starter Zach Davies walking 5 in his 6 innings of work. Alec Mills pitched the last Cubs no-hitter in Milwaukee last year. Perhaps this defeat will be the difference in home field advantage between the White Sox and Dodgers come October. The Cubs remain atop the NL Central with a 42-33 record.

Yes and no. There are ZERO MLB restrictions for team broadcasters of teams which have crossed the 85% threshold. This threshold, mind you is solely at the discretion of owners, the same owners who have no issue allowing maximum fans into the stands under local laws. For teams under the 85% threshold, there remain restrictions on travel including broadcast teams. Broadcast entities NOT owned by MLB owners, i.e. Radio Stations and Fox National, are paying for their broadcasts to travel. Disney, owner of ESPN, is broadcasting from their studios for I believe most sports, including their Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, but they ARE able to send their announcers if they wanted to. RSNs, by and large owned by MLB owners, are NOT sending their broadcasters on road trips, though they are permitted to do so if their teams are at the 85% threshold. The White Sox are not prohibited from sending Jason and Steve, since they are above the 85% threshold, but as of now Jerry's RSN has decided to continue having them broadcast from the NBC studios downtown. The Score has been open about their process to do everything possible to send their radio broadcast team, who are vaccinated, with the Cubs, who are not currently above the 85% threshold. Since local broadcasters (radio / tv) ride team charters, being under the 85% threshold and restricting flights to essential personal seems reasonable, at least to start the season. If all team broadcasters are able to travel after the ASB, and most / all choose to do so, than it would be a significant improvement. There would be no justification to continue this method of broadcasting indefinitely, with or without COVID, in a country with little to no current restrictions (public travel still remains through mid September, though there is significant pressure to end that as well).

It should be the biggest crowd of the season, but the outfield sections are the only ones showing a near sellout. People want to join in on the beer snake action! Tickets left throughout the remainder of the lower bowl (upper portion of sections, and a few entire sections in the corners), club seats and a shit load of tickets available in the upper deck tickets for those interested in attending the game tonight. https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/tickets Happy for those choosing and able to attend.

What I used, is each player's career annualized totals, for each distinct position. This allows to compare players over mulitple years like Hamilton, to players like Goodwin with about a year at each of the two positions, and Vaughn annualized, so that his less than half year can be compared on equal footing. Each is over an entire career, the longest available time span, which is what you were getting at when discussing "small sample sizes". It's why I didn't throw Jake Lamb into the discussion (played less than a dozen games at any position, not used currently or expected ever to be a regular at either LF or RF). Since there is no indication Vaughn will no longer continue to play LF as long as he is here and Eloy is out, it's safe to assume he will continue to play. The Sox have been coy as to whether Eloy will ever attempt to pretend to field again (this year, next year, or ever).

Yes, Jerry Reinsdorf's NBCSN cannot afford to pay for the hotel room and meals for Stone and Jason to travel. ESPN 1000, which generates a small fraction of the revenue of television broadcasts, is able to pay for Len Kasper and Darrin Jackson's hotel and out of town meals. Has Jerry's NBCSN refunded the fees for the non broadcasts (102 game player lock out in 2020) and or lowered the fees for his substandard broadcasts since these draconian coverage cuts occurred? Asking for a friend.

Really enjoyed watching and listening to the podcast with Rick Hahn, their first episode, think many here will enjoy it, perhaps tonight with the off day. Later episodes will include both baseball and non baseball related subjects.

Had to laugh at the exchange regarding Nick Madrigal's "floor" in the Keith Law article I posted praising the White Sox prospect list. Wonder if someone drops the two AAs on this site. AARON S. Feb 13 2 likes 2 Keith failed to mention that Nick Madrigal has the highest floor of any White Sox prospect and among the best of any in all of MLB. High average/contact bat with plus speed and defense at 2B. Madrigal is a "soft" regular who will be a perennial contender for the AL Batting Title and a Gold Glove at 2B. His floor is that of HOF 2B Nellie Fox with more pop along with the added potential of 30+ SB's. Madrigal is the prototypical traditional #2 hitter who just might return that profile to a game that has become far too reliant on exit velocity and launch angle resulting in a boring contests of SO's, HR's and shifts. Keith Law STAFF Feb 13 13 likes @AARON S. "His floor is that of HOF 2B Nellie Fox" I am laughing so hard at this rn. Putting a player's floor on a HoF level is some MC Escher-level stuff.

Busy on Twitter (unverified account, cause well his consistently poor behavior on twitter), stating Jason could make Shrek look like a great analyst, countering his "Big Frank's job well done" statement.

I clearly stated the stats are from Baseball Reference, not Baseball Prospectus. You make assumptions about the methodology that just aren’t true. If you look at fan graphs, Brian Goodwin also has very poor defensive metrics at CF and LF each and every season. Poor routes, poor decisions, poor throws. It all adds up to a poor OFer. The only reason he exists is the Sox are on their 9th OFer. He gawn as soon as an everyday (Robert or Engel) or semi regular (Hamilton or Eaton) outfielder returns.

The same narrative "source" that opines Jose Abreu is a bust. https://theathletic.com/2376031/2021/02/12/keith-law-prospect-rankings-white-sox/

I like the fact he can play 3B, as Leury is the only other backup Tony trusts (doesn’t trust Lamb), and maybe can handle 2B. Give him reps through the weekend and it goes well both physically and performance wise, bring him up next week. You can always rotate players through the DH role based on matchups, rest factors, including Burger, if he can handle 2B. Worth a shot for at least a few weeks, will allow Leury some days off as well so he can mend. Tony needs to play Burger here regularly so he needs to come to agreement with Hahn on that front.

Baseball Reference paints a different picture, and takes in account aspects beyond "sprint speed", such as fielding accuracy, range, arm strength and accuracy. By these metrics, Brian Goodwin is the worst alternative among the current (and injured but on the roster) options. Defensive Runs Saved Above (Below) Average Per Year (1,200 Innings Played / Approximately 135 games as calculated by Baseball Reference): Center Field Luis Robert 15 Billy Hamilton 13 Adam Engel 6 Leury Garcia -5 Brian Goodwin -13 <= Worst option Left Field Leury Garcia 0 Andrew Vaughn -11 Eloy Jimenez -11 Brian Goodwin -13 <= Worst option Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Saved Above (Below) Average Per Year (same annualization): Center Field Billy Hamilton 11 Luis Robert 7 Adam Engel 5 Leury Garcia -18 Brian Goodwin -19 <= Worst option Left Field Andrew Vaughn 12 Leury Garcia 5 Eloy Jimenez 5 Brian Goodwin -11 <= Worst Option

Until performance dictates a change: Burr 7th Bummer 8th Hendriks 9th High Leverage Kopech 2-3 IP (Foster down) Crochet 1-2 IP Blowout / Low Leverage: The Rest

Jerry has other plans.

Scary, but Abreu’s .108 for a nearly completed June is really scary since we have been able to take his power for granted. I’d like to see Abreu get Friday off for two days of rest, with Grandal at 1B and Collins catching Rodon. At minimum let him DH. Still has to be banged up from all the injury bad luck he’s had like bats thrown at him, a few days may clear his head a bit and come back with a better approach for outside pitches. Was encouraged he walked on a bad pitch today, when he has been trying to force the issue trying too hard.