Autumn Dreamin

I'm sincerely not trying to lecture or gaslight anyone? I just want to occasionally talk about players and prospects and White Sox baseball in a way that's a bit deeper than "worst team in history" even if many of those things are still bad in their own way. But like I said, I get it, not the place. I'll just stick to posting news and highlights until MiLB gets going, no big deal.

She, for the record. And I guess I will never for the life of me understand why, if you know they're all bad and it doesn't matter what they're working on anyway, anyone would bother tuning in to a radio/gameday feed of a Justin Anderson inning vs. the Rockies in February in the first place? Like I'm tuning in to ST because I do think it matters what the players relevant for the future are working on, but there's literally no room to have that conversation. Until his velo is down a tick or he gives up an RBI to Machado and we're back to the same sky is falling song and dance. But yeah, clearly my point is being lost here so I'll just drop it. Waste of time. Sox suck, woo!

I would welcome discussions about particular concerns over particular players! I want nothing more than to actually talk about guys' pitch mixes and whether they will play in the majors, or if a hitter needs to make swing changes and how that's working out. A single spring appearance is not informative of anyone's ultimate career trajectory, but it definitely can add to an existing portfolio of concerns. My issue is that rather than contextualizing the singular performance (ex. "Iriarte lost his command in his second inning") or even the broader concern (ex. "Iriarte might not make it be a starter if he can't stay in the zone"), folks will immediately extrapolate to "Iriarte will never be a starter, everyone on the roster is atrocious, the White Sox may never win again." The White Sox suck. Cool. I'm not "gaslighting" you about that. I'm just interested in what the problems actually are (and maybe how/if they can fix it) instead of responding to every inning of spring training with "Sox suck" like it's news. It's lazy and uninteresting and leaves no room for actual conversation.

Barons broadcasts won't be the same. Big shoes to fill for whoever takes over.

I'm not "shitting on people who are pissed off." Let's just be pissed off at the 101 actual real things worth being pissed off about! This is the problem with discussion here. If you're not pissed off 100% of the time at 100% of things that happen, you're accused of water carrying for the org or saying there's nothing worth being pissed about. There's a ton! So talk about that, and not the freaking Cactus League standings.

Do we have to do this thing where we pretend not to understand that process > results in spring? Process: Colson punishes a low fastball. Result: Inning ending out for a hitless day. Which piece is more predictive? You can have a bad process and get bad results, like the 2024 Sox. You can also have a good process and still get bad results, like the Dodgers 1-4 spring record this year. The Rockies had a .586 win% in spring last year, and then had a 101 loss season. The process is the informative piece rather than the record itself. The Sox being bad at both doesn't magically make the record matter. I don't care about Cactus League standings, I care about the process improving. But of course, everyone here knows that already, because none of you would be infused with optimism by a bunch of spring wins driven by errors from opposing AA defenders or lighting up camp invite reclamation projects (though, of course, when OUR #96 filler from the backfields gets lit up, it's totally predictive of the season to come...) Judge the process. Or don't, I admit that it's a pain with inconsistent broadcasts and data. But then also don't be a spring training box score watcher declaring that you know they'll be bad because Colson went 0-3 and a pitcher working on a new FB shape gave up contact that got misplayed into runs by a MiLB deal guy who won't make the team. So much server space here is wasted performatively complaining about silly fake things when there are actual real things to complain about and it makes it so discouraging to try to have actual baseball conversations.

I am literally 100% confident that if the Sox acquired Canario and he continued to be what he has been, there'd be no shortage of complaints about how the Sox have learned nothing about falling in love with guys with limited contact skills, and how "typical White Sox" it is to give up on [whoever they DFA'd/traded] for a 30 hit tool profile, and how every other team passed on him for a reason and "only the Sox" would be stupid enough to give something up for him. Did the same thing last spring with guys like Peyton Burdick and Canaan Smith-Njigba who oscillated between being stupid to claim/not claim based almost entirely upon the assumption that whatever the Sox did was "obviously" wrong, as if players like these aren't running through a new team's waiver wire every week in spring for a reason.

Seems like some of these changeups were miscategorized sinkers. New pitch for Martin.

Sosa works a 7 pitch full count walk, nice to see.

3U/3D for Iriate's first inning with 1K. 11/15 for strikes.

Solid 2IP for the Dart. Gave up a double, but nothing else. 2K on 18 pitches, including 7 changeups. Hard hit 109mph single to lead off the 3rd for Korey Lee, who then stole 2B.

Better angle of Teel vs. Sasaki

Sox v. Sasaki in some sim game action...

Casual 63% CSW for my guy Mason

Nastrini's velo seems up a tick. Also he's changed up his pitch mix/shapes some.

He had a ~1 WHIP last season in AA/AAA. It's possible that one spring inning is not reflective of his skillset.

ICYMI:

115 EV, 430 ft for Cags, that's a big guy.

Braden easy walk in his first spring AB.

Dalbec walk, Julks HR for the lead.

Eder throwing a new pitch. Whatever Statcast was labeling as a cutter today is nothing like his cutter from last year. Maybe a sweeper? Carela on the bump, Braden in CF now.

Taylor and Quero in, so no luck for you there.

Eder sitting 94 this early in spring seems like a good sign. Also wondering if Lee has made a jump in his framing? Sox have gotten quite a few pitcher friendly calls, and all 5 K's have been looking. Salvy got one overturned on a challenge.