hogan873

As well as this team is playing and surprising many, I'm not sure they will be in a position to consider adding at the deadline. Nor do I think they'll be sellers. I could see a few minor trades, maybe to add a starting pitcher. But I'd hate to see them trade some of the future for a moderate upgrade for the near future.

Well, Robert isn't playing...but Acuna is putting up a negative WAR. So, neither?

My standard is watching fun baseball. The past few years, there wasn't much fun to watch. This team is fun and much better than expected. Sure, they're in a shitty division and realistically wouldn't be within striking distance of first place in any other division, but being in the hunt makes it even more fun.

Man, how could I forget Martin. He's one of the best pitchers in the league right now, quietly. Hopefully Smith can get some of that magic back and make it to the big league team again.

I'm in the camp of enjoying this team because they are so much better than the teams of the past few years. I recognize they are still not a great team, but they are getting close to not bad. This team is actually exciting to watch with the energy and the (at least perceived) closeness of the guys. They seem to be having fun and playing their asses off. I think it's wild to see the team playing as well as they do with so many non-household names. Tristan Peters, Sam Antonacci, Derek Hill, Drew Romo, Bryan Hudson... That is what is making me believe. This team is probably another bat or two and some starting pitching away from being solidly good. And, yes, I know who owns the team; and yes, I know Getz isn't qualified to be a GM. So maybe they don't get that hitter or that pitching. But, damn, these guys are easy to like and root for, and a lot of fun to watch.

If we were to cull out all posts that have nothing to do with the signing of Grichuk, this thread would be one page. Every damn thread devolves into this crap. About the Grichuk signing, it's fine. Not exciting, but if it keeps a few others from getting playing time and allows Hays to heal up, it's fine.

There HAS to be scenarios where the Sox extend him. It's early, but as each day goes by, I think the league is realizing Mune was a risk worth taking. Some teams are kicking themselves, I'm sure. This is a very rare occurrence for the Sox - taking a chance on a player, and that chance paying off. Trading him at the deadline or even this coming off season would be a huge PR disaster, especially if he keeps hitting the way he is. If the Sox want the fans to believe that they are building to a competing team, extending Mune to be a part of that team is a no-brainer.

A ballpark village like they have in St. Louis would be awesome. Restaurants, bars, activities, fan shops. Inside, just make it unique and functional. Don't have a huge upper level that will never fill up. A club level with more rows would be nice, maybe 10 instead of 6. A cool section in the outfield like the Miller Landing but with more seats and less SRO. A lower outfield section where balls could exit the stadium, maybe into the river, would be perfect. I haven't been to a lot of stadiums, but something like PNC Park with a ballpark village like St. Louis would be ideal. Sightlines with the city behind the outfield. As far as concessions, the Sox do a pretty good job with food and drinks. Don't sacrifice that for anything else. And make sure there are plenty of options for buying souvenirs and gear.

At least a back injury is something new for him. I thought for sure he'd blow a hamstring. It's too bad. He has (had) tons of potential and has looked amazing at times, but he just can't stay healthy.

For the first time in quite a few seasons, pretty much the entire team is likeable. And they all seem to like each other. This still isn't a competing team, but they are a much more enjoyable team to watch.

I thought winner threads were not allowed, and celebrating improvement was banned. Anyway, solid win. Martin looked really good, and the bullpen didn't collapse. Specifically, Newcomb and Dominguez did what they are supposed to do. Drew Romo is already much better than McGuire, and his three RBIs were the difference. Nice to see Colson hit a bomb off a really good pitcher. And props to Antonacci for taking one for the team.

Not quite. He hasn't gotten hurt yet.

If the Sox win two series in a row, but Soxtalk doesn't acknowledge, did they actually win? Nice win yesterday with Benintendi being the unlikely hero. Great pitching from start to finish. Martin continues to look good, Taylor was firing, and Dominguez didn't screw up.

We've probably seen enough of Colson to admit he'll never have a high batting average, but we've also seen enough to know he has insane power. So far, he's shown that last year was not a fluke. He's on pace for about 40 HRs, and that's giving him 550 plate appearances. The biggest question mark is still health. He's stayed relatively healthy since coming up, but the back injuries prior are concerning. I like the Seager comparison (with a lower batting average) as a complete package since he plays pretty good defense.

It's very early, but to look at their record and say that'll be their winning percentage for the season is short-sighted. Since the 1-5 start, they're playing almost .500 baseball. There will be plenty of ups and downs, winning streaks and losing streaks, and they most likely won't play .500 ball down the stretch. But 70+ wins is looking more likely than another 100 loss season. The Sox are doing something they haven't done in quite a while - hitting a lot of home runs. They're 6th in the league, powered by Mune and Colson. On the flip side, they're 23rd in runs. And to remember that they've hit three grand slams means they need to score more runs in other ways. The starting pitching has been surprisingly decent. Adding Schultz was nice, and to see him pitch well is refreshing. Both Kay and Fedde have been serviceable. The bullpen stinks. On paper, this was one part of the team that didn't look terrible, and they've been...bad. I expect to see a lot of shuffling of deck chairs as the season progresses. So, no I don't expect this team to contend or even finish at .500. I do think they're better than last year, possibly much better. They are definitely more fun to watch, and they should be more fun as other young guys are added.

Murakami has pretty much been as advertised. Huge power along with lower batting average and decent defense at 1B. His eye at the plate is really good, probably better than expected. That has kept his strikeouts lower and his OBP pretty high. If he can keep this up, the Sox could have their first 40+ HR guy in a while. And if that's the case, he will be getting a lot of attention from other teams in the off season and next season. I would love to see the Sox extend him, but as others have mentioned, as long as JR is involved, it's a long shot.

Doubtful. There would be arguments about Harper's hair (is it perfectly quaffed under that helmet?) that leak to Harper, and his performance plummets as he focuses only on his hair. Wheeler would pitch well, but his wife leaves him to move to the east coast. Soxtalk implodes when Wheeler has one bad outing. He quits baseball, and inexplicably sends a shoutout to Drake LaRoche on his way out the door.

Right. There was a lot of money spent on the wrong players in the past (remember the friends and family plan to woo Machado?). But in the past few years, the purse strings have been very tight.

The Sox could have hired one of the best GM candidates or a schlub from the street, and the overall results would be the same. There is almost no money afforded a GM to do anything meaningful. From what we've read, JR had to be convinced signing Mune was a good idea, and they signed him for a bargain. Granted, an experienced GM would have done better with some trades, but the Sox just didn't have much to offer aside from Cease and Crochet. The Cease deal was really bad, but the Crochet deal looks better, with the true value still to be seen. No one really liked the Vargas deal when it happened, but he's turning into a solid piece. Regardless, I would be beyond surprised if Getz has a job once Ishbia takes over.

Surprising but not necessarily unexpected. I think it's a good move to let him go down and work on his command. He's lost something with his fastball, and he needs to find it.

The worst part about the nickname offered by Schriffen was the lead up to it and then Beckham's "Wow!" If he had just busted out the (lame) nickname without the minutes-long diatribe beforehand, it still would have sucked but not as much.

Nice game for Vargas. It will be very nice if he can continue to improve. With Vargas at 3rd, Montgomery at SS, and Mune at 1st, the White Sox infield could hit 80+ home runs. Which is good considering the outfield will not hit many. Martin pitched okay. Some control issues, but he battled through five innings. Newcomb looked as advertised. He'll be a nice middle reliever who can eat a few innings. Let's just hope he isn't overused. First win feels good. Hopefully it'll be the first of more than 62...

Dominguez walked into a difficult, but not impossible, situation and threw a bad pitch to one of the better hitters in the league. As soon as I saw Yelich pinch hitting, I knew it was going to be bad. Bullpen looks mighty terrible so far, and the starters don't look so hot either. Kay actually didn't pitch poorly, which is at least somewhat encouraging. Offense came to life a bit, and the homers are nice to see. But, man, if you score 7 runs and are leading by 5 late in the game, you can't blow it like that.

My wife and I were going to be in Milwaukee this week anyway (a quick drinking getaway) and decided to grab tickets to Thursday's game. I've only been to one other away Sox game (in Milwaukee), and they lost in dramatic fashion after allowing Justin Anderson to pitch in the bottom of the 8th in a one run game. But Benintendi did homer...before somehow hurting himself. Hopefully my presence will bring them luck. If not, there's always beer. But, yeah, if could be a tough first couple series.

Who do we believe is in right field? Hays, or does he play LF? 1B - Mune 2B - Meidroth 3B - Vargas SS - Montgomery LF - Benintendi/Hays? CF - Acuna RF - Hays/Hill/Peters/Pereira? C - Quero (until Teel returns) DH - Benintendi (for now?) Bench - McGuire, Sosa, Mead?, an OF or two... I assume we'll get news on the last cuts and players being sent to the minors today or tomorrow. I may have missed some moves, but I think all these guys are still around.