Autumn Dreamin

In CST, from a guy who has seen him at various points on this ride: “He’s still Luis Robert, man,” starting pitcher Davis Martin said. “He’s still the best player I’ve ever played with. It’s fun to see him loosen up and be a focal point.” I do think there's something to it. He went from the pressure of living up to the early extension, to the pressure of trying to "save" the last core, to the pressure of constant trade chatter. Been a while since it's been solely "just go play your best baseball" for him. I know the assumption has been that he'd instantly take off on another team, but maybe that just introduces a new set of headaches. Trying to fit in/impress in a new place, worrying about the option, having to find a new deal if the option is declined...and that deal would probably be a short term prove it situation, so it's the same cycle. If Luis (and Boras) would entertain it, I'd at least inquire about a reasonably priced extension. The worst of his injury concerns seem behind him, there's no glut of high ceiling OF prospects knocking down the door, and maybe he responds well to feeling more secure and settled in without having to be "the guy" for this core. And as a side note, I really, really like Davis Martin. Smart, hard worker, seems great in the clubhouse.

Wonder if a Perez promotion follows soon.

Fun tidbit from Twins radio: Colson became the 3rd player this season to homer in three straight games in a series vs. the Twins. The other two are Cal Raleigh (who hit #48 and #49 today to set the single season catcher HR record) and Shohei (who hit #45 today).

Wonder if it's a slightly easier adjustment for Carson with the Rays in a AAA park. Hitting that first HR at Steinbrenner helped get Colson going.

Colson in this series: 8 RBI PCA since July 24: 8 RBI Same amount of RBI on one swing yesterday as PCA has in all of August...

He seems to have a 90 pitch limit, and he was at 89 after Buxton reached

Every Sox run so far has been knocked in by a rookie

.871 OPS for Lodise so far

Erick Fedde has accumulated 5.2 career bWAR over 8 years in MLB, and 4.6 of that was in 5 months with the White Sox.

You know you're in decent company when everyone on the list is recognizable with a mononym

Getting a lot of handshake practice this series

Not sure any player has ever vindicated my faith in them quite like Colson Montgomery lol

3 rookie catcher RBIs, very cool. Rough starts for Abel and Bradley adding insult to those deadline injuries for Twins fans.

Today specifically wasn't confirmed until last night, but a late August return was always the timeline.

As someone who got accused of "gaslighting" in spring training threads for suggesting they weren't evidence of another 120 loss season being imminent, it's kind of funny to see a sort of "well, progress was inevitable" take. The team was obviously set to break their own record, until they weren't, at which point it became apparently obvious that they were never going to I guess. And in a sense I actually agree that they were never going to! Last year required so many things to go wrong that it would be hard to repeat that outcome if you tried. But also saying that a few months ago got you accused of shilling for Getz' dumpster dive signings or whatever. Regardless, even though improvement was necessary, or even inevitable, the nature, magnitude, and source of that improvement is still relevant. Not because of what they say about the low bar of last season but because of how they might project going forward. It matters if they can convert MiLB success to the majors, or change approaches to hit for more power, or identify swing/stuff tweaks to reclaim past talent from their acquisitions, or build a cohesive clubhouse atmosphere, or otherwise improve in any number of ways. We know they need all of these improvements, we want them to happen, but apparently don't want them talked about until it's all done I guess? I don't know. My last paycheck didn't make me a millionaire or even get me measurably closer, but I'm not upset when the bank tells me how much it was just because previously being a broke college student set a low water mark.

What an interesting scenario for Taj Bradley. Sent down after a bad start against the Sox, traded, and then called back up to face the Sox again.

This sucks

Assess ➡️Adjust➡️Boom 💣

Scoring has been a little off in this series, quite a few missed plays that have been corrected later. Both free runners are unearned now.

Rikuu with back to back walkoff RBIs, Barons win 2-1 in 11. Both walkoffs against RHP Kenyon Yovan who happens to be a fellow Oregon alum.

You can also catch the handshake after Colson's HR if you watch closely bottom right They've got some chemistry.

Feel like you rarely hear people talk about this as a reason for players to resist coaching.