Chisoxfn

Pretty cool concept they had using the river vs a track for the opening ceremony.

Bbq at the community pool after getting home. Guess I won’t put this on iPad while kids and wife swim and I cook haha

This is a big deal and something I am very curious to see happen. I am curious to see if Getz makes a move on Paddy. I'm kind of expecting it.

Well he did say - he doesn't want to be used as a reliever or opener or stuff like that. Part of me wonders is part of this him very upset that the Sox used him as an opener in that role. Its interesting because I Just assumed when Sox had him go short that one game and manage him to 75 that was in conjunction and alignment with Crochet but maybe it hasn't been and this is part of him kind of sending a message.

What do you mean - he said he won't pitch in the playoffs - we are not going to lose another game from here on out....LOL. I really wonder if Crochet is doing all of this to try and navigate a transaction to a team he wants to go to. So basically scare off the masses so his agency and him can try and get him to a preferred spot...whatever that is. Maybe he wants to end up on a team like Dodgers or Yankees (or has some other preference) but I could very well see this as a creative strategy to try and make sure he doesn't end up on the Pirates or something.

Whoever said it above - they brought up a real interesting point. If Sox wanted to play hard ball, they really could send him to the minors and start to mess with his arb clock while they manage his arm. I don't think the PR / benefit of doing it is worth it - cause other clubs and players notice those things, but than again, Sox aren't already a lost cause there.

Kopech and Robert. I will caveat I also like the Phils for Robert so I hope both teams are in cause that would be 2 aggressive GM's in the bidding for Robert (and teams with some high end talent I like).

Why is everyone so shocked. I don't get it. Strasburg did this year(s) ago. I'm not saying he is Strasburg but at some point you need to monitor innings and load. I think the bigger piece here is he is making clear he doesn't want to pitch out of the pen. In his mind (whether he is right or wrong) - he believes pitching out of the pen causes all of his injury issues and he wants to continue pitching on 5 days rest. Its unfortunate for the White Sox - and my hope is there is still a team that will pay very high value to get him and can work with him on that plan. The key is - Sox need to kind of get those parameters dialed in enough so he can have that dialogue. It could be starting every 7 days from here on out or some other approach - I don't know. Everything is experimental and that was always the concern all of us had around Crochet. The real hope was - teams would look the other way a bit given how cheap he is for the next few years, how thin the overall pitching market is at the deadline, and how elite he has been thus far. Basically put - hoping the premium for the lack of supply would make up for the other concerns. If it doesn't happen - than the Sox absolutely need to be careful how they handle him so that they can ideally do right by Crochet and have him in a spot where they can deal him in the off-season. I still think he gets traded because of the lack of supply -> but this absolutely throws a wrench but I don't blame him for trying to be careful (I do think it is interesting how this came out - and I suspect it is driven by a few high market teams trying to push some leaks that try to remove some of the smaller market teams from the bidding). So I think there are some angles in the equation.

I've long argued if I were Crochet - knowing I have had a bunch of injuries, the opportunity to get a big bite at the apple is worth it. Make sure you get that generational money. The risk of your arm falling off is not small -> so why take that risk that you have your arm fall off between now and your free agent time and than you are going 1 year at a time, etc. If he were to do a deal where he say buy outs 2 years of arb - so kind of a 4yr extension (2 years of real extension) and were to secure say $80-$100M guaranteed - that is a big deal. Sure, he could wait until free agency and get individual increases and than if all goes right hit FA healthy and than go sign some 5yr 150M deal (plus bank another $30M over next few years with arb raises)...but the downside of it going bad is not so great.

The hope on Colson is - the back injury is just something he has been dealing with and he needs a full off-season to get himself kind of fully right (and that it isn't actually a long-term issue).

Than trade Robert to Phillies for Painter, Crawford, and Caba. Fine if Miller is in and my ideal would have been Painter, Crawford and Miller but Robert has played himself to me hoping we get 2 of the 3 plus a solid third prospect. Trade Fedde for one of Orioles top 50 positional prospect - looking at Orioles - who outbid rival Yankees and Red Sox. Pirates also make a play.

I don’t mind the Dodgers - Crochet for Ryan River, Jackson Ferris, Depaula, and Rushing. Maybe add Kopech or a reliever - If you do add an Outman or one of guys I listed below). Quality and quantity but lacking the sure fire top 25 guy. Also balancing guys near major league ready with a couple pretty young guys. I don’t love Rushing - but he has some power tools. Other names I like in Dodgers system are Kyle Hurt (maybe Bannister can get him to be a starter - worse case he’s a quality cost controlled power arm in the pen). Vargas and Freeland are also intriguing. Vargas super raw but toolsy - kind of like Depaula.

This tnt thing will be interesting. They are clearly going to fight the NBA.

Interesting enough - some of the best teams in baseball right there with the Sox on this one.

The point I would add here - would be if Getz had the mindset that he knows going into this, that JR is NOT going to pony up free agent dollars for pitching or any long term $ to pitching (other than that within the cost controlled window)...than I could at least see the thought process in saying, I need to stack up starting pitching depth first and foremost....I still need positional depth, that is important, but maybe he has a view point that when he needs to, he can get JR to go there a bit as it relates to spending money on positional players. Quite frankly - we know in general the strategy has to be more muted around spending big - but I do think if Getz thought through it from that lens, I'd be happier. I think Hahn viewed everything from - I'm going to get JR to spend like he has never done and than ended up having funds (JR wasn't opposed to giving him money) but JR wasn't just going to let him spend it on whatever he could....than what happened was Hahn was left with funds but told you can't go 4 years on a pitcher or more than x and than instead he said well I got money and he burned that money down by horribly spending it.