nrockway

I'll listen to this this tonight but the headline is sending me. To where? I'm not sure. I think society has a "big data" problem. I have a "big data" problem. It's not interesting. I keep hoping it might be, but it never is. I think it would be interesting if I could have access to everyone's google maps data. But I don't. There are probably a few interesting (as in novel, recent, not publicly available) "big" baseball sets but I sort of think they only apply to pitching. Like, teams definitely have the x,y,z coordinate positions of millions of pitches and the batter's response to it, the spin rate, the count, a bunch of other columns. You could definitely take advantage of that to learn something about pitch sequencing...but then how do you translate it into practice? Some egghead tells the coaching staff what she's found, the coach relays it to the player, and the player perfectly absorbs the information and nothing gets lost in translation? what if Jairo has some questions, is Ethan Katz going to be able to explain it? And when he can't, don't the coach-player just default to whatever they were doing before? It might be too big to be practical or useful in any way. Maybe it's useful solely on the organizational level when it comes to evaluating talent -- but again you still have to communicate your findings to a bunch of people who might not be math savvy. And what if you made a mistake in your weights matrix and Chris Getz doesn't remember that much from his linear algebra course and then your terrible, wrong ideas get made real and hurt the team? Maybe it's useful for distilling players' tendencies, but if you abstract too much is it even useful anymore? "That guy throws a bunch of pitches that are hard to hit, be mindful up there".

For a bunch of guys who all love sitting around on their computer typing to strangers about a team that nobody has ever heard of, you sure don't seem to like each other very much. It's a pretty specific interest I say reserve the bad blood for Cubs and Orioles fans talking about their teams on tiktok or reddit. Especially reddit.

What metrics? I don’t understand metrics. He has, like, a honing beam for the ball. The ball comes off the bat and he’s already there. He’s stealing balls from the other guys, whatever, but what a brain for the position.

That seems unfair. I don’t think it’s either. I think we are all confused about the status of Luis Robert. I want him to be a Sox for life. I assume management must feel a way about that. Was the going rate for Luis Robert much better in 2023 than it is now? Yes. But what was the value? Worth trading him? I’m not so sure. He’s excellent at his position and occasionally hits the ball.

For someone seeking to depict the White Sox as up-to-date and even forward-thinking, it was a moment to demur, rather than to embrace nostalgia, or reveal if he has a “What Would Roland Hemond Do?” poster in his office. very clever. what button do I press to block quote?

This guy is too good for sports. Write speeches for rich people, man.

greg, you say some awesome s%*#. I don’t agree with many of the remarks, including this one, but keep up the good work. I think your perspective is an aged one. I think older fans are less keen on “writing off seasons” so to speak. I think you have to write off a season to produce success. Maybe I’m wrong. I wish the bulls would rebuild.

See, my memory of Dom in CF is him “oops”ing that easy catch into a home run with crochet pitching. Affected the era and maybe his trade value. He’s too slow and short. Good mind for the position. Not the athletic talent. No Luis. Not even Taylor.

Martin said. “You look at team control from a GM side of things, all these guys, we could be together for a while. I think we have a great camaraderie, we have a great competition within ourselves. The best thing is we want the best for each other. It’s not a toxic environment.” pretty interesting quote too. I like this guy. I hope we don’t trade him.

Great article. Fegan is an excellent writer. I canceled my nyt subscription when they canned him. He should pick a new game honestly. So much money in sports but not for the writers.

This is my commentary on the signing. I’d only add: “Awesome. Fucking awesome bro”. I might even add “sick dawg”.

Love this signing, even if it doesn't move the needle, this guy is one of my favorite players. He can actually play CF, I suspect he can still play the position well in his "advanced" age. Can he hit the ball anymore? Doesn't seem like it. Thought we should've signed him as a fourth outfielder last year. He still put up 0.9 WAR last season, that's probably our best position player right? I think he could still ops for .700ish and he's not going to make a fool out of himself on the defensive end. Was halfway interested to see if Fletcher could figure it out...but I doubt it so I'm not mad about it. I'm always skeptical of signing minor league/low value contracts for the "potential trade value" (see robbie grossman) but I think Taylor is a guy who could actually still turn it on and be a useful piece to a team trying to make the playoffs, otherwise I'm happy to watch him play CF after a Luis trade. I'm also back on the 'keep Luis' bandwagon.

that sucks. thought he had a chance at making the starting 5. good to have depth I guess, maybe he comes back with higher velo....that happens sometimes, right?

You're probably right but I'm sure there's precedent in guys stinking it up at AAA and then doing fine in MLB the next year. I think this was discussed on this board before...definitely was because Jackson Merrill is the comp in a lot of ways...only Jackson stunk it up in AA and A+. Also think there's value in him being around the new manager and just, in general, being in Chicago. Again, you can always send him down. I might have a different opinion after Spring Training. I guess that's the true test. But he'll have to be pretty bad. He makes the team on vibes alone and I'm sticking to that.

maybe it'll come out that he was gambling. just kidding but this makes me think of popeye

just my opinions. I think it's demoralizing to everyone, team and fanbase, if he doesn't get the job. I feel like he earned it simply by playing his way into his prospect status and already having done a year at Charlotte. You shouldn't make him start the year in Charlotte (though the weather is probably better). The team is bad anyway, he can learn against MLB pitching with the revamped MLB coaching staff. to your second point, I'm exaggerating, just talking about all the pitcher signings. yeah that's largely my point but I don't know why that's the classic Rick Hahn thing. you can't say Colson is being rushed. He's been around a long time. I don't know that he clearly needs more time in the minors, I know he has to improve, but why will he improve in Charlotte but not Chicago? you can always send him down. are we trying to win games? don't you want to go to opening day and see Colson and not, I dunno, some guy? if so, why isn't that guy ha-seong kim? edit: actually I feel like the classic Rick Hahn move would be to ignore the human element entirely. that guy's a robot.

It's Colson and it's not up for debate. Is he good enough? I dunno, unlikely. Did he earn it? Absolutely he did. You're stunting his development by not making him the opening day SS. You're giving a middle finger to every prospect in the system (they're already doing that to the pitchers). This is the worst team of all time, right, and you have a "shortstop" who a lot of people consider to be one of the top young players yet to play in the MLB...so why would you play "some guy" over him? To help him develop? He doesn't need any more time in the minors. He was Rule 5 eligible, that's a sign it's time to join the major league roster. Starting him in Charlotte is just a vibe killer for the entire organization.

Sorry I meant last season with the Marlins after leaving the Sox. I actually forgot he signed with the Angels!

Tim signed for $5m right? Moncada is potentially worth much more than $5m, but realistically is likely a minor league player. I hope he stays healthy and plays well, overperforms that deal, i think he’s a guy you want to see succeed. But the probability of that seems….unlikely

I love how they picked the most unflattering picture of the mayor they could find. nipples protruding in his rays jersey, very disrespectful.

Anyone just think about all these other sites over the city that are supposedly these wonderful opportunities for a megadevelopment? Old US steel site. South Deering. Lincoln Yards. Feel like I’m forgetting some. Only no one is interested. Related Morons keep blowing it. Sterling Bae. The City of Chicago. You know what’s a great site for development? 35th and Shields. Great transit connections. Median household income increasing rapidly nearby. Adjacent to one of the most important central business districts in the hemisphere. The developer could even get a bunch of state and city grants to build there. They already have a ballpark there, even! 🤑 Something I love about JR is how bad he is at making money. The nerd had one good idea.

Me too. Am I expected to watch the NBA? Pirated winter league games have been fun.

I voted Dodgers but it's Los Angeles teams and LA sports fans generally. Bring USC fans into it too. I'm not so crazy about CSU Northridge either. Don't even talk to me about Pierce College athletics. I can't hate the Chiefs, they're still a Midwestern, small market dominating the league. You kinda like to see it. The 'sportwashing' thing is probably the correct vote but it isn't just the Saudis, it's people like Henry and Rubenstein and Cohen and Ricketts too. Money in sport has always been a problem to me but now the sheer amount of it stands to destroy professional sports.

Gonna miss Zach. I almost thought we got De'Aaron Fox back. That guy is dope. I would go to games. This trade is awesome for the Spurs. The Bulls are such a sorry franchise that I don't even care anymore. We got some guys. The "pick back" shouldn't count, it's AK "reversing" a failure. He needs to be out of a job. Maybe Zach and DeRozan can cook up some magic, plus all those picks.

It's just like incredibly stupid GM logic. Pseudo Getz would do this deal. And I like AD. Is there an MLB equivalent? "Hey, we really like Bryce Harper, let's trade you Bobby Witt Jr." Except Bryce is better than AD. You trade a superstar in his prime for an old guy and no picks....it makes no sense to me. You want to pair the old flat earther with another old guy? Why? People are telling me Luka is an alcoholic. Whatever. He's great at basketball. It's such a bizarre trade.