CaliSoxFanViaSWside

I think I know where you are coming from. What exactly are the odds of even finishing a season and crowning a World Champ ? Is it 50/50 ? What does everyone think ? If there is no World Series it does make sense to rid yourself of guys you aren't going to have next year especially if you start the season poorly such as 7 or more games under .500 after 20-25 games. Too short of a season to expect to make up ground. Trouble is you have to play to win. We all wanted to see the off season acquisitions Grandal, Keuchel .Mazara, Cishek, Encarnacion and Gio Gonzalez, combine with our prospects like Kopech. Robert and Madrigal ,combine with guys on the rise (or not) like Anderson, Giolito, Lopez, Cease, Moncada and Eloy. This season was going to be wonderful to behold if it had been normal. Now will be still fun because guys like Dunning and Rodon might pitch from the start of the season. Play for the trophy if you are going to play.Besides there's no guarantee that 2021 is going to be any better .

Someone will always be in a slump . You play the best you got and hope for the best. That's what I would do In a short season. What would constitute a slump anyway ? If someone goes 0 for 10 or 15 they get benched ? The Sox didnt get the services of Encarnacion or Mazara to sit them. Just play match ups as best you can and do more pinch hitting according to match ups especially in situations where pitchers are forced to face hitters. The majority of Sox starters will be playing no matter who they face. Just about every position has some decent to good power except 2nd base. Some bombs come in real handy in late innings when you might be behind. If someone in the 3 hole starts slow you could move him down in the lineup rather than bench him. I might never take Robert out of the lineup even if he is struggling. There's no way I rather see Engel in CF or in the lineup over Robert. Sign Yasiel Puig !

Excuse me I was out of work 4 months due to a herniated disc in my back that affected my legs so severely I couldn't perform regular duties . I also have COPD , RA and cataracts in my right eye which means my immune system and lungs are also affected. I am also 62 years old. All those things combined puts me at high risk. Then my parent company finally found me work at the start of the pandemic. With all that's wrong with me what job did I get offered ? Custodial work. That's right cleaning up after everyone and being among my coworkers and the public . When everyone was at home and even the Los Angeles freeways were pretty empty I was on the front lines from the beginning. My first day on the job I got conjunctivitis in the same eye as the cataracts. SO don't you dare say I am living in a different world. I cannot live off past earnings. Even with all those things wrong with me, my age and being a custodial worker my health plan said I wasn't eligible for a Covid test. I only got a test after the hospital called me to say they had an opening to do my cataract surgery in 2 days so I had to get a test right away meaning I missed more work doing that then more after the surgery than a normal person would miss because the doctor knew the nature of my job and gave me more time off. Yes I and many common folks certainly are guinea pigs more so than the players. But if I die i'll just be a statistic . If some famous or even not so famous players dies it's big headlines and everyone questions why they didn't cancel the season and their methods to protect players. If I was a player good enough to live off past earnings I would opt out. Guess we will see if there really is a season that can be started and sustained without many casualties . Everyone is a lab rat. But only high profile people and companies get put under the microscope. I am now out of work again after 5 months doing that job because they filled the position i had with healthy person and I am still waiting for Workers Comp. to pay me for the 4 months i was off before that job offer.

I'm torn. Selfishly happy there's apparently going to be a season. However baseball players are no different than other humans except that they are much better paid. Playing makes them guinea pigs or lab rats. Players could get the disease and die . The country can manage without any sport , Being bored at home isn't the worst thing in the world. Players and staff getting seriously ill or dying would be terrible. Would love to talk just baseball. I haven't chimed in much on the pandemic or negotiations because it all just sucks. It also sucks to pretend just because baseball is back that I can discuss baseball normally. It's impossible.

This thread should be on page 10 by now. Having a Field of Dreams game this year would be ridiculous . There was no world wide pandemic making attendance ( if you build it they will come ) practically impossible nor threatening the health and safety of everyone involved during baseball when the movie was made , The title "Field of Dreams" itself becomes a cruel joke on the current state of baseball this year. It's more a nightmare than a dream .

Can someone change the title to reflect that he is signed now ? We didn't need a signing tracker this year due to the low amount of draft picks but the Sox Talk populus should probably be made aware of the signing in a headline.

That's certainly possible, Catcher,DH and 1st base among Abreu, McCann, Grandal ,Encarnacion Collins and Mercedes . I suppose Vaughn isn't in serious consideration. So if it's 30, 3 spots go to pitchers ? Madrigal gets a spot ? Who is most likely of the 5 extra spots assuming it is 5 which might not be the case when you talk about owners paying 5 more guys.

So where did he play college ball ?

Not sure if you're being facetious or flippant but you can say good things about him without comparing him to Sale even if there are a few similarities between them. I'm sure Coop was a part of the process that resulted in the Sox taking him. Taking one quote from Cooper where he is trying to take pressure off the kid from those comparison doesn't strike me as a shit attitude. I'm sure he has many good things to say about Crochet. It seems pretty odd to form an opinion based on that quote which leads me to believe you are just being facetious about it.

So those are the 2 choices ? Either compare him to Sale or say he's not Sale to protect the kid from unfair and often misconstrued comparisons and it becomes showing no confidence in the kid ?

I think an expanded roster makes the most sense since there will be no minor league seasons That way you give some of your higher ranked prospects a chance to play especially guys like Mercedes,Collins, and pitchers since we have no idea if Rodon and Dunning can now pitch. Nice choice to have between Gio Gonzales and Kopech for the starting or bullpen roles. I'm sure Gio didn't come here to pitch in the bullpen. Who knows how it all that works out . Besides Giolito and Keuchel you could realistically start or bullpen Cease,Lopez, Kopech, Gonzales, Rodon and Dunning since it's doubtful pitcher go that many innings in their starts then as the season progresses the guys that do best in their roles become the starters. Hell you could even take a long look at Crochet.

There were 160 players drafted this year. Previous years 1200+. That leaves a lot of guys out there. I suppose one would have to look at the good players in the majors today and see how many were drafted after the 5th round to realize there are some All Stars who were not drafted. Who finds them? What do the Sox do ? If they plan on going heavy into IFA do they make a token effort to sign the UDFA's out there fora a pittance ? If you can sign 50 guys that's only $1M isn't it ? Sox need to go full bore after the best UDFA's unless since they are actually free agents and 2 or more clubs want the same player can they actually negotiate for higher than the 20K ? Seems like they should be able to otherwise it's not free agency . There isn't a cap on what you can spend on UDFA 's ? Isn't it that you can sign an unlimited number of guys at 20K ?

Yes it's better than fine . It's mighty fine ! 2 high upside pitchers, one college, one High School , one lefty, one righty . Both considered among the best Meyer , Lacy, Hancock, Detmers, Abel, Crochet ,Kelley those might be the best pitchers to be drafted. 7 names and we got 2 of them. Sure some will fail and others not listed here will step up, but going into the draft those 7 stood out most. Kelley should eventually pitch in the halfway to St. Patrick's Day game.

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Can't imagine not playing at least a week and a half worth of games. Can't get to game speed/competitive juices flowing without practice games. It just doesn't work intra-squad.

I lived to see the Bears win a Super Bowl and lose a Super Bowl. I saw all 6 Bulls championships. I saw all 3 Blackhawks Stanley Cups . I saw a White Sox and a Cubs World Series win. I played more organized basketball than any other sport but now the NBA bores me . it's like nothing but 3 point attempts and foul shots. Hockey is a fast paced hard hitting game where players block hard rubber pucks coming at them make fancy passes to rival anything I see in basketball and the speed and grace of the game is often mesmerizing I think football is a great game but why anyone would play it is beyond me because it's the one sport that has a very high risk of severe injury. The athleticism is amazing. Need more kids trying baseball instead of football , In my mind basketball just isn't a team sport anymore. It has the least amount of players who can play it at one time so the reliance of the highly skilled is way too high. Bye bye Bulls.

Thank you and good luck to you both .

This for sure. We are heavily invested in our team and players as most diehards are. Robert is our minds has been a White Sox since he accepted the offer.He could turn out to be the GOAT. Keep the Panther GOAT.

I was out of work for 4 months and on Workers Comp until the Post Office finally offered me a job doing custodial work at the beginning of the pandemic. I was a letter carrier for 30 years until I had a 2nd herniated disc in my back . I also have COPD and RA so lung and immune system problems so naturally I get hired back to be a janitor cleaning toilets and sticking my face in other peoples garbage and being among the public despite being high risk for catching it and you can also throw in being over 60 years old yet I still don't qualify according to my health plan to get tested. Fun times. Have to have symptoms which I don't luckily. Don't understand the policy of waiting til you're sick to get tested since you can have it for a week or 2 and spread it without exhibiting symptoms . Doesn't seem to be the brightest way to stop the spread. Baseball would be a welcome enjoyment.

Johnny Mostil, great fielder, real high OBP. 5 really strong years in the 1920's, 6 if you count 1921with only 378 plate appearances . Legend has it that he once caught a foul ball while playing CF in a ST game I think. An interesting character, had life difficulties.

Ha what's up with this sim? 5 games with the Yanks White Sox outscored 76-14. Yankees average a little over 15 runs per game. So much for my 2nd half surge prediction . The Sox must have the worst team ERA in the whole sim maybe by a lot too. If it wasn't a sim this year would be a total disaster.

I have news ! I am using my Official 2005 World Series White Sox shot glasses a little more without baseball.

The extensions loom even larger now that this could be a lost season. A lost year of developing and learning isn't good for a team dependent on youth. But then again it's not good at all for anyone.

Actually that sounds about right. If there is some kind of vaccine. It won't even be before 2021 most likely with all the steps they have to go through. Hopefully something helpful, some way of dealing with it becomes the norm before then that can save lives.

I'd like to think Eddie loved baseball so much , he couldn't live without it. RIP true Chicagoan !