chitownsportsfan

An uplifting spring was seeing Jose Abreu and Adam Eaton freshly minted. I mean, didn't work out well but I'm not seeing much "uplifting" news around our guys right now.

Are you sure that's not Hawk Harrelson's writing?

Yea for sure. As I said, there's a million other things that go into making consistent contact other than just a perfect hands to ball mechanism. I'll say in that swing he does a great job keeping his lower body coiled on off speed and not flying open.

I watched it like 100 times and I went back and forth but to me he seems to drop his hands before he loads. Of course there's a million other variables that matter otherwise Vaughn would hit 400. If his bat speed and pitch recognition are above average he'll hit plenty.

That is a looooooooooooooooooooooong swing from Colas. Hopefully he can generate enough power to make up for swing and miss issues.

If nothing else Grifol seems more willing to push back against what I'd consider FO driven narratives -- at least in public. Wonder if come July the team is 40-48 and he starts calling out the guy that built his roster. That would be fun.

Yea I think he was probably over rated initially (given what we know about defensive stats now, say compared to 2014) and he's just followed a normal non PED aging curve.

I mean he's been out of his defensive prime for about half a decade now. We'll see what Tim looks like post 28. There's a lot of wear and tear on the body playing up the middle and even if you don't suffer a major injury little ones add up with age.

I am extremely skeptical given this is apparently the best he could do. Usually when the Sox dumpster dive the only thing left to pull out is everyone else's trash. That said, it's good to have a real backup SS on the roster.

AJ is an asshole on the field. Zero issues off. Big difference.

I don't care if he's guilty or suspended he's a fucking ass hat. His words scream "ignorant asshole", without a shred of self awareness. Who can root for someone like that? We've had plenty of jerks on the Southside but this guy rises to the level of ass hat in a way Swisher or Belle or even Laroche did not.

I hate that we fans have to discuss this right as the new season kicks off. Our one "big" signing too. FFS.

Jack between the two of us let's try and limit our "I'm not paying attention I'm apathetic" meta posts to one per month. We can do it.

Could also just be maturing as professional and learning from prior offseasons. Regardless, Moncada, like half a dozen other guys or so, is purely in "show me" mode at this point in their career. Nothing will matter except their stats at end of the season.

He should strictly be an area scout at this point, far away from any sort of decision making. But I suspect he is still the original "JR whisperer" and influences decisions about team building and budget.

Kelly should focus on finding the strike zone.

This spot is one of the best italian restaurants not only in AZ, but maybe the US, certainly some of the best I've had. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g31377-d861176-Reviews-Vincitorio_s_Restaurant-Tempe_Arizona.html

Pretty much. He hasn't had the desire forever. Probably the last time he was really engaged was like '08 or so imo. Since he replaced KW with Hahn the org as a whole has just been stuck in neutral.

For sure. Dodgers fans are fun. They will come in numbers and will have some colorful signs and outfits. Camelback as a stadium is fine, it's been surpassed by others, but parking is super convenient there which makes up for it being in the middle of nowhere. You will def want to rent a car, otherwise ride shares fees will add up.

Peddler bar in Tempe is a nice chill beer spot. Tempe in general is nice, good mix of crowds and ages although last time I was there I could still claim early 30s. Not so much 4 years later. I would try and hit up talking stick field it's like a mini Camden yards. Some of the drink and food packages are enticing around the venues but personally I always just bought general area seats and bought concessions. At camel back the ushers are very relaxed buy lawn tix and move around as you like. This year with the WBC most regulars will play more the first week of games so keep that in mind if you are trying to see Eloy or other guys with national team schedules.

Yea big time cold air over most of the west right now. Florida camps will be much warmer, at least at the start of spring.

Cold start to spring training. Most of the west coast is running 10-20 below average highs. Christ. Hopefully none of our guys pull a hammy, we're an injury prone club already.

Can't the team just tell him to f*** off until the investigation is over? Or is that against CBA rules?

It would awesome to have a star on our hands for once right away.

I'm actually thinking of going down to spring training, but it's at least partially driven by the WBC and chance to see the games in Phoenix. If I did go to a Sox game I'd boo the piss out of Hahn if I saw him on a back field.