CaliSoxFanViaSWside

Good vibes at home in 3 of the last 4 games could easily vanish against a hot team you're playing as the visitor. I might get overly impressed if they can somehow split the series when they have been terrible on the road and against division opponents.

You could be right but Sosa had more hits in April than anyone on the team. Unfortunately we don't get a lot of media coverage delving into if the Sox worked with him or Vaughn on their walk rates and out of zone swings the way we've heard about the success stories like Elko and Robert or the biomechanics guy who thought Vargas swing needed some tweaking to optimize bat to ball impact.

While trying to resist the urge to give a lot of credence to Tyler Osik , I can't help but wonder if Vaughn has gone golfing with Getz on more than a few occasions. They could be country club bros.😉

You're using such a backwards argument to support management's thinking here. Have you not seen the list of AAAA bums the Sox have given shots too in 2024 and 2025 already who did not even come close to hitting as well as using batting average, power, total based,OBP, slugging, HR park adjusted wRC+ as Elko has in his brief minor league career. Just because he turned 26 in late December and has a 29% K rate does not make him a career minor leaguer. He's actually only had 2 full seasons in the minors He played 5 years in college through the height of the COVID years and all the turmoil that brought to a few seasons. 2022 was his draft year so he played 24 games.(ACL & A ball) 2023 (A, A+, AA) and 2024 ( AA , AAA) were full seasons where he started in A ball and advanced to AAA. He was 23 when he started his pro career so he's currently entering the 2nd quarter of his 26th year on the planet and is 28 games into starting his 3rd season on opening day. He was given instructions and goals to cut down on his out of zone swings and concentrate on swinging more at good pitches. That's pretty much the same assignment they gave Robert. While Robert has struggled to make the adjustment, he actually has stated he feels good about the process and the "just relax and have fun" message he's also got from Marcus Thames and Co. It's hard to break old habits and establish new ones especially at a time of year when you usually don't hit well. But he's slowing gotten hot and things are looking up. Elko took his assignment and adjusted very quickly. He's done everything they have asked of him and the results have been pretty damn good unless you focus entirely on his K rate or don't really do the research on why he's already 26.

Palacios, Dalbec, Jankowski,Amaya, Julks,DeLoach,Fletcher, Maton, Rojas, Slater, Tauchman, Thaiss, Taylor,Narvaez, Colas, Workman, Jones, Lopez, Dejong, Pham, Maldonado, Mendick, Grossman, Robinson, Ramos, Shewmake, Remillard, Sheets, Senzel, Ortega,Pillar, Ellis. That's 32 AAAA or cheap veterans players that the Sox have given PA between this year and 2024. Yet the mighty Andrew Vaughn and his unlucky 36 wRC+ is somehow blocking our most productive minor leaguer and frankly one of the top producing MiLB players of the last 3 years to never have had 1 MLB PA. Yet while those 32 others guys have been given a shot (not all of them a real shot) to net the Sox a MiLB player who could perform like Tim Elko, the actual Tim Elko is basically told wait for Andrew Vaughn and Tauchman, Rojas ,Lee and maybe Slater all to come back from their injuries while we also work in Sosa and Vargas at 1st base and DH or we trade them and Robert maybe then we'll give you at shot in August when we are getting outhomered badly for 4 months already . Oh wait we might get some guys in trade who could also get a shot before you too. Hell, if Teel doesn't replace Benintendi as our LFer he could play 1st, catcher and DH. Yeah you can be our weak side 1st baseman ,DH IF you have a good Spring training in 2026 or some of those guys from the Robert trade don't pass you. Don't forget about Colson he might still be fighting to be a 1st baseman by then. Aww hell you're not even in our top 30 yet, nevermind.

Elko's K rate is about 29 %. His walk rate is up to around 10% . He's making much better swing decisions and zoning in on more hittable pitches. His wRC+ is 182. Andrew Vaughn's wRC+ is 36. Let's not pretend that anyone can hit at Charlotte. Their are a lot of hitters paradises in the minors. There's a lot bad hitters in the organization contributing to 41 wins last season and the 2nd lowest win total in MLB this season despite winning 3 of their last 4. They are in no position to pretend they are the smartest people in the room when discussing Vaughn or Elko. Besides Ryan Fuller was recently praising Elko for what a great job he's doing with the plan they gave him to get better. https://www.mlb.com/news/tim-elko-named-white-sox-minor-league-player-of-the-month So they are seeing it and I didn't read a single word from Fuller about his K rate. I honestly have no idea what else it takes to get called up. At 26 yrs old, with a team full of castoffs , most of whom are struggling to even get close to 100 wRC+ there's no good reason not to give him a shot. Vaughn's had nearly 2400 chances and they're still making excuses for him. Why does he get so many while Elko isn't good enough to get even 1 yet ? It's not really even about Elko if you are building a system based on rewarding excellence. I'm sick of the double talk, two faced preferential BS and the myth of culture and accountabilty . Coddle Colson Montgomery all you want as part of development but let's not pretend poor Vaughn is just unlucky to justify treating him like he's so important to the future of this team. He's proven he wasn't even important to the past or present teams . He needs a dose of humble pie. Give him 28 games in Charlotte and see if he can produce 182 wRC+.

The Osik story has certainly added fuel to the fire . Questioning anyone's work ethic or suggesting he's a prima donna is a serious accusation, however it wasn't needed for most of us to know we had seen enough of Vaughn by the end of last season. It's just perplexing that his leash has been so long .His blue ribbon status as top dog has faded but Getz is putting on a top notch Dog and Pony Show for him while Elko gets the mutt treatment. Bottom dwellers shouldn't be putting on airs that their nouveau riche R & D attitudes are long standing infallible monoliths.

I might've went with too low a percentage for July 3rd if Harold says Nightingale said Memorial Day , which is May 26th, which seems really early to me. I've gone against Nightingale's insider info/guesses before on Robert or Crochet stuff so beating the insider is nothing new. Some time in June or July 3rd seems more realistic. Opposing GMs are not going to make it that easy on Getz is my thinking on a lower percent for earlier trade dates. They know Roberts injury history. They know just a few weeks ago Robert was taking walks,stealing and fielding but hitting poorly. He usually starts slow and isn't much of a cold weather hitter and when you're talking about prime time night games which are usually cold in October you may not get the same guy as you get in warmer weather. So at least it's good that Robert has started to heat up even if the weather hasn't yet. Here on Soxtalk patience was starting to crumble and the proverbial bag of balls was starting to be invoked. So if it's Memorial Day, Father's Day or the 4th of July, Robert's impending Independence Day has to be preceded by continuing to create more 🎇🎆 fireworks . GMs may decide to take his awakening from his 5 month, 400 AB slumber since returning from injury last June and his new found batting eye with a grain of salt until its got some hair on its chest. They are going to play hardball with Mr. Getz. You saw how it was with Crochet. Boston wouldn't part with their 1st 3 top position player prospects .

By July 3rd ? I'd give it more like 45% for various reasons. Injury Performance Underwhelming offers. Lack of offers. Normal GM shenanigans applying pressure to Getz by waiting . I hope they are prepared to move multiple players without Getz being overwhelmed. Robert is the priority.

May the 4th Be With You ! Chicken dinner winner !

Nice .Pulled a Norman Rockwell out.

Some highlights of today's game. All 5 RBI were with 2 outs. 4 for 13 with RISP. 2 stolen bases. Robert stole second just ahead of the Quero single to give the Sox their 5th run . Wilson picked a runner off 2nd . Vasil 2.1 hitless relief lowering ERA to 0.92. 6 walks and 5 K from the hitters. O errors One DP turned. Quero now batting .340 with an OBP around .450 . Meidroth 2 walks and a SB. Robert 2 for 3 ,2 R, RBI, BB, SB Sosa 2 RBI hit + a BB.

Call the game .

That'll work ! Rack 'em up !

Nice inning. Still a way to go. Another good inning by Vasil will go a long way .Astro announcers blaming weather for Astro pitcher's ineffectiveness. Saying worst conditions in 2 years .

The New Q !

Very nice Luis. Brand new ball game.

Nice DP fellas !

Paredes is on a hot streak.

3-1

Good job Vaughn. I've been ragging on you all morning. 🫶

Wait are you saying Baldwin is in CF ? Robert better be DHing if true.

The plan for Vaughn has already played out. The present has become the past and Vaughn is not the future . We have lots of proof of that already. We have zero proof that Elko is not the future . There is no harm in swapping them out right now. Vaughn might be more valuable if he can put up Elko type numbers in AAA but I don't think he can. It's foolhardy at this point. Resigning him this year was a stretch. You gave him 30 games at the top level after 4 years of it already. Give him special attention in the minors. Reward players who earned it. Unless JR has mandated Vaughn stay on the 26 , it's Getz's call and he's been talking out of both sides of his mouth way too much. You either mean it when you talk about merit and accountability or you're full of s%*# and that talk means nothing when a high draft pick who has failed in over 2000 MLB PA over 4+ years is favored over a low draft pick who has shown he can rise above his perceived level of ability.

You can't have preconceived notions though. What if he actually adjusts to MLB and does well ? He's the type of guy you love as a GM . Look how far he has risen above expectations already. Fans love an underdog. Mark Buerhle was beloved. Fans loved Palka and Yermin Mercedes and Carlos Quentin. Producing from humble beginnings is what Murica is all about.

All true but you are saying what he was in 2022 while maintaining his character points since those are good traits built into who you are. But now he is also among the best hitters in minor league baseball. Isn't this exactly what you hope to happen especially when he plays the position of a guy who is failing so miserably ? I don't have a clue as to how he'd do once called up but LFG !!! Stop handing out attendance rewards for Vaughn . He's already earned a good enough pension and has $5.8M - minus taxes to cope with being demoted.