southsider2k5

So they are betting the future of the franchise on two guys with 3 ACL surgeries between them. I mean are you serious?

I totally agree with this. We have all kinds of evidence to suggest that the Sox coaching staff is telling Moncada to adjust his approach. If he won't do it, that isn't on them.

Technically they were fished, but the effect is the same.

I am struggling to see what these have to do with off of the field focus problems, or even what #2 is.

Such as?

Of course, it is every one else who is stupid and didn't get it... because the phrase The Short Bus has all of those other meanings.

They tell me he has taken an insane amount of 3rd strikes

Of course you don't. You are the kind who tried to hide it instead, by implying it with the "short bus" implied connotation instead of just coming out and saying it.

He needs to play and he needs to swing the bat enough to keep umps and pitchers honest.

I really hope this is the case.

Welcome to rebuilding.

Wat?

That is a really narrow window to fit into, and really unrealistic. Covey, Rodon, Giolito, and Lopez we want to do well. We want Shields to do well so we can trade him. After that, we want Kopech or Stephens to do well if/when they are called up. The pen is more of a crapshoot, but even then, you should start to see guys like Hamilton, Vieira, Bummer etc start to come in once other guys get dealt. You also want to see Nate Jones come back healthy to be dealable in the off-season.

My bad. I thought that was in regards to the Cubs blowing away the best offer. Carry on.

Hahn sure said it. And I have yet to see anyone say differently.

It isn't about "winning" per se. It is about Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Tim Anderson showing some sustained signs of stardom, or at least big leaps forward in looking like cornerstones of a title team. If those 4 take meaningful steps forward, so will the teams record. It is also about wanting to see Jose Abreu get healthy and start hitting again. It is about James Shields pitching well enough to become a trade piece. It is about Nate Jones and Avi Garcia being healthy and playing well enough to give themselves value on the trade market. It is about the secondary group of guys having some guys step forward and join guys like Yolmer Sanchez and Leury Garcia as guys who could be on our next title team. It is that we might see Kopech and Jimenez, along with a couple of other pieces in September, and we want them to succeed. The more of those things that start to happen, the better of the health of the rebuild is. If this team utterly collapses in the second half, it means the vast majority of those guys have not grown, or worse they have created more questions than answers. If you are getting good performances from key players, teams tend to win. The good play will lead to wins. That is what I want to see. If that means a worse pick, so be it. The Sox do not benefit by guys like Giolito and Moncada continuing to struggle.

I am not sure I understand this deal. What did this do for us that wasn't done before? I get the 5 million freed up, but with free agency already started, what does that do for the Hawks?

All reports are that the Cubs blew away the next leading offer, so it probably wasn't as big as we are speculating here.

Hossa, Hino and Osterlie to AZ. Haven't seen what is coming back.

Yes, this was an obvious attempt to insult someone by caging it up in a less obvious insult which everyone is going to get the cultural reference to. This is using something like "thug" when you really want to use the N word, but know you can't.

Don't we all

This. I want to see the cornerstones bust out and have big second halves more than I want them to keep flailing and get the first pick instead of say the 5th.

This. It was a cute way of trying to call the front office by the R word, without actually having the guts to just say it. The intent of the phrase is crystal clear.