Chimpton

Whilst it is good to hear that he is being more professional this off-season it just highlights how even after 7 years (and lots of wages) at the White Sox he is only just being more professional. Also most of what he says he is doing aren't 'more professional' they are just simply acting like a professional. Equally it highlights how poor the Sox trainers have been that after 7 years he is only just beginning to act like a professional.

Could MLB introduce a runner on 2nd every innings to help the Whites Sox?

A few players on this team could be called 'The Big Hurt' but only for the amount of time they spend injured.

Are they?

It could be worse! or Mediocrity is the new winning!

That will only work if those same underachievers can stay fit a bit more often.

They are only circumstantial because unless they show him doing the injuries then they do not prove he did them. Amber Heard had photos but that didn't help her in the appeal.

Whilst those things can be used as evidence, they are often not enough to get a conviction, unless there is more evidence, hence the low conviction rate that allows abusers to go free. And I know the MLB can punish without a legal conviction but what I was attempting to say is that their evidential bar will be higher than public opinion or social media. I am by no means defending Clevinger and believe the accusations but getting a conviction is hard.

All of the things you list are a collection of circumstantial evidence that any half competent defence lawyer would undermine, hence the fact that unless I have missed something he has yet to face any criminal charges where something has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The MLB will also have to apply a legal approach. There is no doubt that he is a nasty piece of work and no doubt the allegations contain a huge amount of accuracy, but whether the evidence is enough to 'convict' him in a real court or MLB hearing is a doubt, in the court of social media and public opinion he is guilty as charged but unless the White Sox FO have more moral compass than I think they will not sack him unless the MLB find him guilty.

Since this team is a dumpster fire… they will probably be in first place until September before somehow throwing it away.

Was that before or after he was announced?

Maybe telling Eloy to get some RF practice is just a way of getting him to train a bit over the winter and lose some timber.

As a UK Sox fan and a keen cricket fan, the ball tracking technology in cricket has only improved the game and helps the on field umpires. It has actually helped change the game for some bowlers who weren't getting marginal lbw decisions given before that are now being given using the video technology. In the same way in baseball it will help those pitchers who can hit the corners of the zone but with human umpires would not always get the call. It may lead to an increase increase strike outs until hitters adjust but that is up to them to do and those who can't will suffer. So overall, as long as the technology works consistently it will only improve the game.

As an emergency cover I have no issue with Eloy getting a few appearances in OF, but his bat is his primary tool not his fielding and with his injury history the less opportunity for injuring himself in the OF the better. The way he hit last backend when primarily DHing is too valuable to the team to have him miss half a season, again, on some silly injury picked up in the OF (I know he was injured base running last season but that can't be avoided!).

You do realise that they played a rookie 1b Vaughan in the outfield and Gavin Sheets, so anything is possible.

You know Hahn's motto "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again"

They may have won 93 games but then went out tamely in the first round of the post season, like they did the year before. This team has a ceiling of qualifying for the post season (last season excepted) and then the inherent weaknesses that are constantly ignored or created by the FO are exposed when they come up against better teams.

Well you know Hahn believes you can never have enough 1B/DH types!

Funny that none of the so called insiders on Twitter predicted this!

Leury can play anywhere according to TLR!

When you consider the highest total for a White Sox player was 17 in 2022 then 13-15 would be fine!

So right up Hahn's street.

Exactly, if a club came up for sale there would be no shortage of bidders, equally it explains why many owners don't want to sell, owners of MLB teams don't lose money even when offering big contracts, they expect to reap the revenue of increased crowds, advertising and merchandising that big signings generate, let alone the potential increases from a successful team.

As a UK Sox fan and also a football (soccer) fan, wages have kept on rising and have never reverted to sane levels. There are 17 year olds who have never made a first team appearance on £20,000 a week, and the good players are on £250,000 or more a week, and the world class players on as much as £500,000 a week or more. Admittedly contracts are shorter, 3 to 5 years, but often clubs have to pay transfer fees as well, and these are ridiculous for an international player you are looking at £40- 100 million. The only big difference in football is that there is no salary cap or luxury tax and even the attempts at limiting clubs spends by Financial Fair Play rules don't stop spending. The length of the FA contracts in baseball is surprising but it is just a way of spreading the cost and reducing the annual outlay to make the team wages keep within (or nearly within) the luxury tax. But the wages for good or better FAs will likely keep on rising if the example of football (soccer) is anything to go by.

For a start the Sox would have to create 41 save opportunities!