southsider2k5

This was really cool to see. A piece of history for sure.

The DH rule is only for this season, at least officially. It would need to be a part of the next CBA to last past 21.

I think with still fighting the pandemic, they want the extra time knowing there will be a ton of these worked into the schedule. Every sport has seen cancellations, and if we build this much into the schedule, and then add to it? That's brutal for the players.

I think the rough part is even if you get most of these guys to take a minor league deal, they are going to want an OK amount of money if they make the team, and they are also going to want a pretty firm opt out if they don't make the team. You won't be able to keep a Rich Hill or Jake Arrieta around for months in Charlotte on a MiLB deal.

Here's the thing. I know everyone is hung up on depth, but let's not pretend that the Sox record last year was all based on everyone being healthy and having career years. The Sox rotation past Giolito and Dallas, was god awful. Nine starting pitchers in 60 games isn't something where the Sox were going with Plan A most nights, and they still found a way to win almost 60% of their games. They saw complete failures out of 3 offensive positions in 3B, DH, and RF, and yet were still one of the top offensive teams in all of baseball. The pen also went through a ton of pitchers, and still has a ton of depth both in top notch relieving prospects, as well as potential failed starters would could be added out there. In no way can you argue that the Sox had an ideal year last year. There is still a ton of room for growth, plus the have some margin for error. Granted, this could have been the off-season where they addressed adding to depth, but they didn't. But 83 wins? As a median result? I still can't see it. The computers don't like one off's, and this Sox team is full of those. They also have trouble projecting kids with no history into spots, and we are loaded with those as well.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/02/09/super-bowl-viewership-drops-to-lowest-level-since-2007/

Even the Super Bowl saw its worst ratings in 13 years, down almost 10%

To be fair, Kyle never threatened to become a fan of another team because the White Sox didn't sign a free agent.

Honestly I think the universal DH would have happened if the players had been willing to deal a bit more on the type and style of season we had, but the owners weren't going to let a bargaining chip go without getting something for it. Both camps already seem to be pre-negotiating for the next CBA, so there is definitely some heeling digging going on.

PECOTA doesn't have enough complexities to really understand what happened last year, while the human mind has a much better ability to understand one offs. PECOTA has no idea about mental illness, COVID, depressions, or how one little change can unlock or lock up a pitcher or hitter. I can speak for a lot of teams, but the Sox are loaded with a ton of weird one offs.

Fan Duel doesn't have win totals up as of yet, but they have the Sox at -150, Twins at +165, and Indians at +750 for the AL Central. Sox are 2nd best odds in AL at +380 to Yankees +210. Sox World Series odds are 4th best at +850. So while that isn't a true projection, it does tell you where people are putting their money. The betters have the Sox as a clear AL Central favorite, and secondary favorite in the AL.

100% agree there. And probably going nationwide as the Super Bowl crowd probably wasn't very local.

Really it is about a week too early to be measureable.