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The biggest adjustment for Vaughn will be learning to handle being a primary DH. He’s a solid defensive first baseman, but first base belongs to reigning MVP Jose Abreu. The hope is for Vaughn to play in the field around two days a week, and he has also worked out this spring in the outfield and at third base. “It’s always a concern because you look at a lot of veteran guys from the National League that go into that DH role in the American League,’’ (Kenny) Williams said, “and struggle with it. We are aware of that. Tony is very aware of that. So we’re fortunate we have a team guy like Jose Abreu that understands that and says, 'Hey, this guy is pretty good over at first base.' " Vaughn said he’s preparing himself for any role, and working every day with Hall of Famer Jim Thome, a White Sox assistant, is a privilege, helping him understand the nuances of life as a DH.https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2021/03/24/mlb-rosters-white-sox-dont-plan-hold-back-prospect-andrew-vaughn/4801933001/ AS you can see here if you bother to read it , the plan never was to play him every day and Vaughn himself said he is preparing for any role. The plan was to play him a couple days a week at DH but that belongs to Mercedes now. But please continue to be amused that backups need to play and that you might be asking too much in expecting Vaughn to make an impact right away. I don't want him to fail but I'm also not expecting him to do things he may not yet be ready to do. If that's funny to you then continue on thinking your OPINION is any more relevant then mine while I will continue to respect your OPINION . I just won't agree with it.

I never said an extended look . A few games to see if you could catch lightning in a bottle while guys are injured and teams are bunched at or near .500 . If Vaughn had produced from the get go we aren't even having this conversation. I think it's unreasonable to expect him to hit MLB pitching well at this point in his career and I think those expecting him in the lineup everyday expect too much from him right away. It's no great sin to sit him down and watch a few games and let things slow down a bit. But of course because I said play Williams over him against RHP it has to mean I meant do it all the time against RHP when it does not . It also doesn't mean I hate Vaughn . He's got a great approach . I want him to produce against MLB pitching right away too but it's a lot to ask . I wouldn't throw my child in the deep end of the pool either to see if he sinks of swims without some swimming lessons first.

Even if the ball bounces before it hits you it is still a HBP.

Because LaRussa put him in the lineup and I am thrilled about it unlike children who don't understand that you have to give your bench some playing time early in the season when decisions have to be made soon on who to keep when guys come back from injuries. Do try to remember that there weren't a whole lot of people wanting Mercedes or Rodon around either. Scrubs can and do produce sometimes. The more production you get from scrubs the better your team is. And what better time to see if you can catch a little lightning in a bottle when a bunch of teams are hovering around .500. You have evidence that scrubs can produce right in front of your eyes with Yermin and our unwanted, often injured, 5th starter. There were also a lot of people here upset when we signed Eaton and thought he was a scrub and he is also doing pretty well. Everyone knew McCann sucked until he didn't. So please try to contain yourself when Vaughn gets a hit against a pitcher who had nothing today. Also look at the Dodgers who have constantly found diamonds in the rough with guys like Max Muncy who was 27 when he started hitting with the Dodgers, Justin Turner who was 29 when he broke out, Chris Taylor had 3 nothing seasons before he broke out and now some 33rd round draft 2016 draft pick named Zach McKinstry along with all those other guys are helping the Dodgers win while Bellinger is out. Granted there are differences between the Dodgers and the White Sox . The Dodger's managed to find all these guys while still fielding good teams. The Sox during a rebuild didn't find anyone they could keep for contending years unless Mercedes is the real thing. Also the Dodgers guys are all pretty damn versatile except for Turner . The Dodgers also make a habit of picking up guys like that who are in their mid 20's who they could keep around for years. Williams fits that bill but Lamb and Hamilton do not. They also wouldn't find themselves in a position to play a rookie who has no time beyond A ball and force feed him MLB pitching. They found their diamonds among experienced minor league players who had various limited time in the Majors who had versatility.

He could do that and will do that. But the best time to play others is early in the season when you have a lot of injuries and no one team is running away with the division, so when your good players do come back you can have a well informed opinion on who stays and who goes. There's also the chance that one of the scrubs steps up and makes your job easier on who to keep. Remember Yermin wasn't exactly a household name at the beginning of the season , yet with that example right in front of our eyes, most of Sox fandom goes apeshit because LaRussa plays a couple of scrubs against one of the best pitchers in baseball. Could the Sox have won that game with Mercedes, Collins, Madrigal and Vaughn in the lineup ? We will never know but I was thrilled with Giolito's pitching which gets lost in the mob mentality of calling LaRussa a senile old drunk. It's pretty shameful behavior over 1 thrilling game in a long season when decisions have to be made soon on who to keep on your bench. Every managerial decision on who to play has more than 1 game implications. People here talk like the last 2 or 3 men on the bench should never play. Stop throwing tantrums and think beyond the moment once in a while. Show some maturity and realize before you turn 55 that experience matters and you realize how impetuous and reactionary you were when you were young. Edit : And now another scrub, who most didn't want ,is stepping up to be a very good pitcher so far and has contributed to 2 wins and today was a NO Hitter. Where would this team be now without the scrubs Mercedes and Rodon stepping up ?

I'm happy they were all here and didn't form the lynch mob. I took a lot of abuse and so did LaRussa. Me for suggesting Williams gets starts over Vaughn against RHP and LaRussa for actually doing it and then of course the Sox get shut out with a few scrubs in the lineup and everyone goes bonkers. So early in the season is exactly the time you have to play some of your guys at the end of the bench. You have to find out once in a while if you can catch lightning in a bottle. They have to play sometime. After Anderson and Engel get back the Sox have some roster moves to make . You'd like to at least let Lamb and Williams be able to say they were given a small opportunity to contribute before they get sent down or DFA'd. There's also the fact that early in the season a bunch of teams are all bunched together in the standings. It worked with Mercedes, Mendick came up and played well right away. Collins had early season success and he just caught the no hitter. One short season and now too many think every game is life and death and have no perspective at all. There was a lot of good happening on the team before the no hitter, just have to be willing to see past the short sighted rage and preconceived notions about how they are smarter than a Hall of Fame manager.

I'm so happy for the fandom here who were on the ledge after a tough loss last night. I thought half of them might be gone for either killing themselves or forming a lynch mob to string up LaRussa. A little perspective on the rigors of a long season always helps. Baseball is a lot like life in that way.

If I had to choose between the guys currently on the roster to play left field more than the others I would choose Engel over Williams, Vaughn and Hamilton without hesitation.

I usually crave outstanding defense along with a guy who at this point can be viewed as an offensive upgrade also for those willing to believe he has become a better hitter over the last few years.

So do I.

I am offended because you insulted those who have religious view by saying Jews and Catholics spiritual leaders pull stuff out of their ass. You can be believe anything you want to believe. You can believe in Tarot, be Agnostic, or an Athiest but do not pretend what you said isn't insulting to others .

Yes and I can see that you think it is all pulled out of your ass so you have certainly enlightened me and yet at the same time managed to insult those religions that have a Priest , Pastor or Rabbi.

This board has very few rules and while Tarot card reading and the self help gurus and positives energy people have their place for those seeking help it is not a religion. Just as no race should be disparaged neither should any religion. I'm not a mod so I don't know all the rules but if we want to see threads closed keep it up.

Can we keep our personal spiritual beliefs out of this by not bashing any particular religious sects ?

I meant for the board. There's an awful lot of negative vibing around here after yesterdays game, which was actually a close intense game that we knew from the get go was going to be a close low scoring game. 2 great pitchers going toe to toe. The Sox are still close to the others in their division while playing bad baseball and having a lot of injuries. Lot's of the teams we consider to be the have's and have nots are all bunched together. I'm encouraged by the pitching. Playing guys we consider terrible over other guys is just LaRussa looking to see who can provide an instant spark early in the season. You can't have guys on the bench you never ever play . You have to find out if they can contribute and if not move on while you still have plenty of games left and injured players come back so you can decide who to get rid of. We found one of those instant sparks in Mercedes and only did that through injury. Mendick stepped up some. Eaton is not the disaster just yet some were projecting. Collins isn't as terrible as many thought. Kopech and the starting pitchers have been pretty good. The Sox have been in every game they lost. It's not such a terrible idea to try to find another spark if even for just a few games when no one else is hitting that well . Keep the faith . We're going to get some guys back soon and April Abreu will disappear and become MVPito . We can find plenty of positives with a bit of glass half full thinking. # life coach

“I had some sage spray I spritzed around my locker,” said Hendriks, who saged a few other players on the team who were “a little bit more open to it.” “Things like that that are able to, in theory, remove negative energy and put a positive spin back on everything. “It’s just something that I’ve known. It seems to change the way I perceive things. That’s one of the hardest things to do is just change your perception on certain things, whether it be to get you out of that negative funk, focus on positivity, focus on this one thing that can push your forward. For whatever reason it seems to work for me. It takes that edge off and all of a sudden I’m able to flip that switch a little bit quicker than I would by myself.” Well then seems like we need a lot of spritzing around here lately !

Ahh thought u meant the usual lineup since you didn't say tonight's lineup.

Mercedes ?

You already said u wouldn't have minded the Sox resigning him didn't you? You say it you probably get a pass. i say hit and I'm arguing with people all day. You don't bother with doing that. So that makes you smarter than me.

With Moncada it was a rebuild so no. Robert didn't have early struggles he had late struggles and he played in AA and AAA as did Moncada.

That's a good answer. I can't answer the question since I think Vaughn will be in the minors when the Sox face most of the tough RHP during the season .

You tell me how do you think Vaughn would fare against the RHP ace of Cleveland's staff Justin Bieber. Then tell me how his defense helps Giolito in LF.

Yes he would. I missed that he wasn't in the Lineup. But Williams and Lamb aren't slap hitters either but yes Collins could've DH'd in Lambs place. And contrary to popular belief I wouldn't care if Vaughn gets to play over Williams against Bieber or any other RHP . I just want wins and w/e happens to get them is what's best. If Vaughn contributes to a win I cheer and if Williams does the same I cheer.

I didn't notice Collins was missing from the lineup . I figured I must ve missed someone beside Leury.

I will say that you were right. A few injuries and the lineup would look like shit .Only now it's most of the lineup . My only answer is that he's going with as many left handed power bats as possible with the hope that someone can run into a mistake with a few guys on like Eaton did. and hopes Giolito can hold down the Tribe and we can eek out a low scoring win. The only lefty he didn't put in there was Leury and even LaRussa has seen enough of Leury from the left side.It's not really LaRussa's fault the Sox didn't provide any depth. How often do you use Lamb and Williams ? No matter how they are used ,be it starting or pinch hitting, no one wants to see them playing in any capacity. Lamb, Williams, Hamilton that's 3 guys no one wants to play at all but they do have to play unless you want to run all the regulars out there every day. Bieber is one tough SOB.