JoeC

Either that, or he's so devoted to family that he's setting up his kids to look good by comparison... like Bill --> Rocky Wirtz.

The nice thing is that if the Sox stay the course and don't do anything with Ng, the Getz hire looks as horrible as it is. If the Sox decide to go for Ng, they have gone back on their word about Getz being the "sole decision maker," and they look horrible in doing so. Way to go, Jerry.

Eloy has loads of talent, but that talent hasn't been developed properly. You can have a shitload of talent and be a shitty player. The big leagues are full of those players - whether due to a shitty attitude, coming up through a shitty system, or being struck down by bad luck... I would absolutely describe Eloy a being a "special talent" who hasn't been able to live up to that talent at the big league level, whether by his own doing or not.

Normal people will look at that poll and think, "wow - we suck." The Sox FO would look at that poll and think, "see? Hiring from the Royals' Front Office makes sense, and here's the evidence to prove it."

If true, good on her. Also, if true, I'm sure she's smart enough to stay away from the Sox.

You can't make this s%*# up. Like, we ALLLLLL saw this one coming. I wouldn't mind Merrifield, but Perez?

I'd question the motivation of any middle-of-the-road or high-end FA that signs here at this point.... "I would never join a club that would have someone like me as a member" kind of thing.

I stand corrected. Thank you.

Also known as “Chris Sale Appreciation Night”

I'm inclined to agree that no competetent org would send him to AAA, but stranger things have happened. My point is that the "sink or swim" school of development is outdated and will continue to set us back. Competent organizations have strategies in mind, and they deliberately seek out players who they see can benefit the most from their pipelines. Development doesn't stop once you hit the big leagues, either. With the Sox, it's just a "sink or swim" school of thought, and it seems like we see the results time and again of players (especially hitters) languishing with the Sox but thriving once they leave.

That is probably the organization's philosophy, and that's my exact issue with this org that I unfortunately love. Sox attitude: "let's give this guy time to prove himself." Competent org attitude: "let's give ourselves a year or so to work out these specific holes in their game, whether it's at the big league level or minor league level, at which point we can figure out he's a good everyday player or if we should sell before his value declines too much"

That's never stopped us before.

The problem with Vaughn and Eloy, like with any other Sox prospect, is that the organization just relies on the innate abilities of players to figure thing out on their own. They don't seem to have a strategy to actually develop players. The coaches at different levels of the minors may offer insight / input, but, as we've heard from former players (like Carson Fulmer), a lot of times they receive conflicting instruction. Look at organizations like Cleveland and Tampa who consistently take "okay" prospects and crank out serviceable big leaguers out of them, then look at us. AJ had it right in his rant against the Chris Getz hire - when's the last time this org has produced a serviceable everyday big leaguer out of a non-blue chip minor leaguer? Vaughn and Eloy are symptoms (and victims) of organizational incompetence. IMO, trading them away for actual prospects is still possible (maybe less so with Eloy) - if the minor league development system could be overhauled, my preference would be to trade them (and others) and start from scratch.

Ok.

The big change this time is that there appeared to be an actual plan this time with an intentional rebuild. We got good results for two half-years… then the bottom fell out. The fall from hope was fast, persistent, and painful. That’s the biggest thing about this round.

Worth a pickup. If he doesn't work out, he doesn't work out. Big whoop. So we're out what...? An extended stay apartment and a meal stipend in spring training? Hotel rooms / apartment rentals in Glendale / Surprise are super expensive, I suppose.

Most of the games had good baseball, depending on your perspective.

Salvy Perez as player-coach?

I stand mildly corrected - I canceled my auto-renewal during the lockout, then re-upped once the new deal was reached. I have zero intention of renewing for 2024 unless the Sox are somehow in first place after the Bud Billiken parade.

For the first time since like '07 I will not be an MLB.TV subscriber next year.

Yeah. At least I'm putting my hope in a different spot than in the past.

Yeah, I'd LIKE to think that they're going to do something intelligent with the prospects. On that, I'm willing to give Getz some benefit of the doubt. I hope he has a plan for prospects. That's the extent of my hope for 2024, is that they figure out what to do in the minors. (yes, that's bleak)

…so I guess you can put me in the “full rebuild” camp, I guess. sucks, but that’s what’s needed to get out of mediocrity.

What prospects? Nobody worth a damn on a contending team is close to being ready to come up to a big league club next year. There are no big league ready prospects to screw up, unless you're looking to flip some mid-level prospects. My vision for 2024 is to get a collection of veteran cast-offs on "show me" contracts. Focus resources on putting together an actual farm system with a development plan, and let the kids develop at an appropriate level... not just rushing guys to the big league level just because we have nobody else at that position.