southsider2k5

And so far, Sheets hasn't proven he can be one.

I'm so old, I remember when the Cubs were going spend big in free agency last year.

Not really, no. The kid is a DH in waiting who hasn't been able to consistently hit. What's the attraction?

Since Tony left... Aj Pollock .268/.312/.479/.791 Yoan .333./359/.569/.927 Eloy .348./397/.710/1.108 (in 19 games played for the record) Grandal .205.294.364.658 Abreu .316.369.434.803 Vaughn .269.329.463.792 Harrison .333.385.417.801 Sheets .160.259.360.619 Out of the guys who have been starting essentially most games during this stretch, literally only Gavin Sheets is hitting at a level that is appreciably below their season performance. Almost everyone is above their season marks (6 of the 8), and Vaughn is right about at his averages. Sheets is significantly down.

FWIW, since Tony left, AJ is .268/.312/.479/.791 with the bat. No idea how to get a split on his defensive numbers.

I have ran the clock and scoreboard for about a decade for my local HS football games. Due to a nice recommendation from the AD I work with, I am actually going to get to run it now for a D1 football game this weekend, so that should be fun.

The Sox took the 1st step when Tony had to bow out. I don't think it was a World Series favorite team, but seeing the rebound in key guys tells me that more is there.

And it isn't any coincidence that his longest stretch of the year healty has been with him playing DH so he can't hurt himself in LF.

It figures after an entire season of just a garbage division, when the Sox finally rid themselves of the anchor around their necks, the only team in baseball hotter than them is Cleveland.

Banners fly forever. There would be no better middle finger to Tony than to win it all without him.

Here's my perspective: Maybe I am not quite as perfect as you are, but I can say with 100% certainty that I have had loads of days where I didn't work to my 100% for one reason or another. Most of them were related to places or situations I didn't want to be in, but didn't really have a choice because I didn't have a better option. I am not programmed to give 100% all of the time, in every single situation, nor do I believe that the vast majority of people are. Bad working conditions, crappy racist bosses, unrealistic expectations, out of touch companies, profit over health and safety, hangovers, bad home life, money stress, and a million other things can happen at a job which can down productivity. Hell we are living in the era of the "Great Resignation" and "Quiet Quitting" amongst everything else. So while I appreciate the lecture on "effort" and "pride", I believe the reality is far short of that. Keep in mind, being a boss is just as much of a job as any of the other jobs out there. They have responsibilities and things they need to do, and they need to realize if their actions aren't working, that THEY might have to change to get the most out of this particular group of employees. It is easy to paint a picture of this all being lazy players, but that isn't reality. Don't underestimate the value of mutual respect for your employees, or even understanding their quirks, style, or even language and culture at a deep level, and then being able to relate to them. Champions aren't perfect every moment of every day, they are just at a higher level more often than almost everyone else on the right days.

Which is why companies don't have bosses for their employees. And they definitely don't have layer after layer of management.

If it keeps him out of the dugout...

Giolito v Manning

Like I said, I am hoping for a 2012 situation where we play the spoiler.

Hopefully the boys were still pissed about how Cleveland screwed us out of playing this game on time and forcing them to take an offday to fly back to Cleveland for this BS.

I mean we don't have to go into desperation mode where these guys pitch every day, but the Cleveland games need to be played like playoff games.

in 99% of games, yeah, there is a reason you have 8 guys out in the pen. In this situation, with the desperation this team has, you HAVE to put away Cleveland, and not even give them a positive to feel good about as you leave.

You absolutely cannot under any circumstances allow Cleveland to get back into this game. This game is worth 2 standings games, versus any non-Cleveland game. At five runs, I would even consider using Hendriks at the end.

https://deadspin.com/tony-la-russa-was-every-bit-the-human-gallstone-you-tho-1849530676?utm_campaign=Deadspin&utm_content=1663095614&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=facebook