CaliSoxFanViaSWside

All true but not possible atm . I take more of a coach or parent perspective than I do as a fan. I cannot pour a lot or hate into a team I profess to love. Winning is great and we root for those who conquer their opponents . I understand the dynamic. I just rather pretend I'm a coach patting them on the back more than crying that their performances hurt me. I realize that makes me an oddball fan because I don't call players mental midgets or hate on the people under JRs management for sucking at development but then turning around and not giving coaches credit for actually giving players the tools to reach their potetial. Most of these guys can point to people or coaches in their development that made a difference. I'm hoping now with some recent examples that the Sox have more modern processes in place to maximize development. As fans were not going to remember the behind the scenes things or even be aware of most of it But to be aware of it to a degree and deny its existence seems like you prefer misery to hope. Or that winning is the only thing that matters. I like the good human interest stories too.

Are those rhetorical questions at the end ? Those are impossible question to answer. That's why there are multiple ways to acquire new young players every year and why there are multiple levels of the minor leagues and lots and lots of coaches, scouts, development people, Analytics people to try to enhance and develop their skills. Is every team supposed to stop trying to find bargains ? Again it sucks not to just have to wave money around to snap up the best and the brightest but even those deemed the best and brightest among the top prospects fail over and over. The object is always to teach and develop for every team. Bargains become superstars . International players signed for way below the top players do succeed too.

If Baldwin shows a big improvement in the OF since he's a switchhitter keep him in the OF as much as possible. l know plenty of guys need a lot of looks in ST but I'd be playing Baldwin every day out there. Getting off to a good start is pretty crucial this year and I'd like some of these young guys to know where they stand and hit the ground running, especially Acuna and Baldwin.

Wikelman Gonzalez ?

I know you can't see this because you blocked me but this more a reminder to what we have been witnessing. If you looked at the Sox and the mathematical chances of doing worse objectively you would have concluded, like many did, that it was close to impossible. In 2025 some of the highest ranked Sox rookies would be arriving, no one was ready in 2024. I don't honestly think Getz was ready either . A big job was ahead and he needed time to settle in and formulate what he could do and what he couldn't do. Budget restricted getting much 26 man roster help but likely didnt restrict hiring people he thought could be assets and help him restructure how things were done and promise new people they would have a voice. Maybe this was formulated by his time as Director of Player Development and Asst. GM if he didnt feel he had a voice or there wasn't enough information in the organization to operate as effectively as other teams did. Mathematically there were plenty here looking at the Pythagorean evidence that suggested the Sox had underachieved. Also if it took 125 years to be that bad , an even worse record the very next year seemed to have pretty long odds. Also you lose a lot of objectivity when you are embarassed, hurt and angry. Bookmakers orginally had the 2025 win total originally at 49.5 if I remember right and it gradually increased as many flocked to the over. In 2024 the Sox had a lot of bad players and a lot of bad luck. In 2025 with a new manager, new players and some processes in player development started to take shape. Meidroth and Teel arrived from the Crochet trade. Edgar Quero and other young hitters like Vargas and Sosa out of options and perhaps on their last chances with the Sox started to hit. We all make fun of the Vargas swing change now but it represented adevelopment that we weren't used to seeing and we were afraid to think it meant anything just as we were very resistant to coaches actually making a difference with Crochet .They identified Shane Smith from the Rule 5 draft. And later Mike Vasil. They used a new coach in a private environment and pulled a struggling Colson Montgomery out of game action and got his mind right and then after he was called up said our analytics show you might benefit from the torpedo bat . And fans who had called him a bust suddenly had to cling to the notion that it might not last and because their negative world was crumbling in the face of some pretty strong evidence in the development of young players in the new GM's vision of the modernized White Sox front office and behind the scenes analytics. All the luck was not good. Many pitching prospects were hit with injuries. Some hurt and frustrated fans started making up narratives that the pitching coaches were to blame. Yet Garrett Crochet who had previously also been injured came back with a vengeance and managed to somehow increase his workload tremendously when very few thought he could remain healthy and he also dominated hitters . He hit a rough patch at some point but more evidence turned up that the coaches helped him with his cutter and sinker and he was challenged to be more efficient and worked with him on eliminating "cross-firing" tendencies so that he could improve command by tunneling his slider and fastball from the same arm slot. If there are fans unwilling to trust the new regime because JR is still the boss that's understandable but there's no need to belittle the people doing their best, in restrictive circumstances to give you something to cheer for eventually. It doesn't mean I'm an empty headed cheerleader falling for White Sox propaganda. There's been actual scouting and development evidence all over the place plus the opportunistic signing of an actual Japanese superstar. Im not expecting miracles and perhaps its for the best that Getz's on the job training was done with a tight budget so he couldnt make any major mistakes while he learned. But even the most experienced GMs make decisions that don't pan out. Who knows, maybe in a few years the Sox might actually develop a Dominican Republic International signee. That has never happened while JR's been here when DR stars were all over baseball for his whole tenure. Now a New Sox Academy in the DR is being build and maybe the Sox will field 2 teams eventually to give those players a chance to develop like other organizations do.

Might as well nickname him Deadline Dominguez.

Seranthony Dominguez has been traded at the Deadline each of the past 2 years. The Orioles traded 3 RP at the 2025 TDL , Dominguez among them. They got the Blue Jays #10 prospect. Full details. https://www.mlb.com/news/orioles-trade-seranthony-dominguez-to-blue-jays-for-juaron-watts-brown

He did say when it comes to a successful winning team but that is the narrowest avenue to take but usually the only thing that matters to fans which is why you can't go to most fan forums without finding a lot of displeasure. That brass ring is the only thing that matters to most fans. JR has made investors, employees , White Sox Charities enjoy their time with him . Inner city youths also benefit through the RBI program which also stresses life goals much like good parents would and offers scholarships. So while there's a lot to dislike about JR as a fan he's not evil incarnate. Perspective beyond fandom keeps us more grounded.

Tony how long are you thinking JR's lifespan is ? My positivity is not solely based on the relatively simple but effective moves Getz has made to modernize the franchise and build a power structure in the front office to enhance communication and empower those he has hired to do what they do best. It's also based on the inevitable march of time that JR has prepared for by bringing in the Ishbia's to become new owners and to be frank I have no idea if I will be alive the next time the Sox make the playoffs. Since watching my favorite teams play is my favorite form of entertainment I'd like think it can be done without affecting my objectivity but also without bumming me out too much since I also know there is only one true winner every year. Being a Bears, Bulls and Hawks fans has certainly helped in the last 40 years . I'm blessed to have seen 11 championships from my favorite teams and another one from the Cubs who do not fall into my favorites category .But it made a lot of Chicagoans happy so it balances things. I truly think that if we all can be patient enough to wait for the new regime that it may usher in a new era of ownership that the Sox have never had before in their entire history. How that translates to Championships is a lot trickery. But if one is not truly happy unless you win championships we will be skeptical a lot more than hopeful. I post about my thought process as a forward looking fan and as a skeptic in the rest of the Reinsdorf regime. I just let that forward looking part of me be King because I think its a healthier outlook on life in general to enjoy fandom rather than let it negatively affect my nature.

My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek .Hopefully anyone who read it recognized that by the winking emoji.

You are now signed up Mike 🙂

And that explains everything I guess. 🤣 Im just a fan trying to support the team the best way I can when I know I have to be patient because JR is preparing himself to leave his body and the Sox to be sold . We could get learned men with Doctorates and wealthy ruthless businessmen all screaming at each other in a debate about how to run baseball and it wouldnt solve anything. Youre not right, they wouldnt be right and I'm not even in that argument. I'm not qualified. If you want to pretend you are qualified to tell everyone how baseball should be run and be dictator over owners, players and fans and writers embarassment because your trolling is entertaining and because Soxtalk allows you to do so then be my guest. My current way of fanning in our current state is to support the players and staff since they are underdogs in this mess. Starring Jerry Reinsdorf as Simon Bar Sinister

What's that have to do with baseball or you thinking you have all the answers and telling people how to feel. You are a very dangerous man to freedom if you had any power.

Yea that floor was raised a few floors in that guy's argument. I'm glad you saved me the trouble of looking those things up and pointing it out to him.

Fandom is a hamster wheel. Only one team wins it all every year . The rest try to find a path in our minds to momentary joy while knowing the despair will come again. Hopefully our hamster wheel becomes well oiled and surrounded by a much nicer cage.

I think you and ptatc are talking about 2 different people. Getz is doing his job under the restrctions of the owner but he still has to do the job of a GM which will be on a much smaller scale due to those. restrictions. You ate questioning the owner which I have no problem with. Makes no sense to pretend this is JR trying to compete. Even in his best days the money he put into the team was all about the 25 man roster and how much he spent was based on attendence. and TV money and not on spending his or investors money. He never was a spend money to make money guy. He decided long ago that players were too expensive and building a good strong supportive infrastructure that invested in youth and development were places to not spend anything but the bare minimum on. He's not even the best version of himself anymore which wasnt very good to begin with . He's preparing for his sons to make as much money as possible by selling the team after he dies. That's it . It suck it really does but I don't have to be embarassed about looking forward to the day the Ishbia's become the new owners. In the meantime I will hope the team can make progress until that day comes and I will praise that progress since it comes with management and coaches staying positive under the duress of JR's diminished ownership.

Guess you should be Commisioner then and Run the players union too and all will be well. I dont think theres enough gazillionaires out there to have 30 teams all throwing money around like it's confetti. There is only a few franchises that are appealing because they do that. The rest have to find a balance between profit and winning. Every owner has the right to run their franchise the way they see fit in accordance with the CBA.

That was then this is now. Nothing says itll end the same way . We have a choice to be fatalistic about it or hopeful. I choose hopeful. It's better for our souls and better for those around us to envision hope and light in the midst of darkness.

We will see. The Ishbia family is quite rich and they may treat the franchise better than those who own franchises like Tampa, Cleveland, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and on and on. We could end up like Philly, Boston, Toronto, Yankees. And there are other franchises like San Diego. & SF, who arent afraid of $100M -$300M contracts. Im not expecting Mets or Dodger type spending. The Ishbia's own other sports franchises so there is some history to go on.

Youre awfully good at telling all kinds of people they should be embarassed to praise others. Not every teams does business the same way. We shouldnt have preface every sentence about the Sox with I'm still angry, hurt embarassed and weep and gnash my teeth often over being in baseball hell as a fan however... Some of us just like to look ahead and find solace in the fact that there are good things happening with a new owner out there waiting patiently. I'm glad he's not embarassed to buy such a historically weak franchise.

Just thought I'd take this opportunity to say with the guidance of the Pope working through the Sox front office we now have a Jedi (Jedixson Paez) , an Angel ( Luisangel Acuna) and a Knight ( Seranthony). Any player names out there that are synonymous with things like faith, hope, love, kindness, forgiveness the Sox can get ?

Exactly it's how you approach a rebuild. Its like evolution. Enviromental adaptation changes your DNA. There will be strengths along with weaknesses while the guy at the top loses his power. The environment will change again when ownership changes and then the approach will maintain its foundational base while having more money.

Teams only pay huge price for proven huge talent. Unproven or faded talent in the majors that never had much of a top prospect profile like Taylor is not in the huge category. Right now he's just in development to see if he can be effective in multiple innings to see if he can start one day ,like Crochet ,once his body gets stronger. If that development path doesnt work out he then becomes a single inning high leverage reliever or closer where he can build a proven resume.

Passan said its the right direction and it is . No one is dancing a jig and envisioning playoffs. But maybe a path to a few more prospects and a bit more consistent winning while the foundational base thickens and prepares to one day be good enough to help the new owner be happy about what he's getting.

Shut up Jeff ! Winning the off season means squat ! We lost Luis Robert out of our great OF and now it's pitiful ! 😜