Pants Rowland

Let's sign him, too.

Classic underpromise, over deliver strategy. They'll come out with some comments saying despite prior announcements, they saw an opportunity to get better so they pushed the budget and hopefully the fans reward them via attendance. Blah blah blah.

Agreed. Although I thought the same thing about Jerry Manuel way back when.

With absolutely ZERO support beyond his DUI history, I strongly suspect it is related to some level of alcoholism and/or mental health issues. I see no other reason to be so cagey about his medical condition. The fact that he looked and sounded so much better in his farewell press conference makes me think he has been focused on some program to get cleaned up. Again, I have no sources nor any expertise in any of this stuff. Just a dummy on a message board speculating.

A family friend son is in the Cleveland organization, known for being better than most franchises at the player development side of things. He says that even there you're still very much on your own when it comes to developing your craft. The bonus babies get a bit more attention but to this day a lot of franchises think you either got it or you don't. They draft the big body, power guys and ignore the Altuves of the world. I believe the only thing saving the Sox from even worse seasons is the fact so many other teams in baseball aren't much better at development, scouting, and drafting.

Do you take this as a good house cleaning, or more of a concerning exodus of most remaining integrity and talent?

Was there more beyond the multiple "allegations" of infidelity? Just seems that stuff is not uncommon for young star athletes so I am curious if only that would have such an impact on Tim and the entire team.

Thanks for sharing. Great tidbits and not much of a surprise on most levels. I am curious if you can elaborate on why Anderson is deemed such a problem. He's clearly still got defensive issues but the statement about driving the car off a cliff is pretty damning. Thanks again for all this insight.

I think it would have been Larry Himes, right? I believe the Sox brought up Thomas before they hired Ron Schueler.

I just keep thinking of Dick Cheney's search for W's VP running mate. So, I'll believe it when I see it.

I read that as loose stool.

They haven't contacted me yet, but they haven't not contacted me either.

I luuuuvvvv when you analyze.

Just watching the Tony portion now. Dang if you ain't right in your assessment. He looks leaner, his complexion is clearer, his speech pattern less halting, and his thought process way more lucid. Night and day from so many of his post game press conferences the past 2 seasons.

Who's gonna be the manager? I was thinking of Lou Brown.

I agree with a lot of your points in theory, but for the most part, MLB players are a bunch of oversized kids still figuring out life. There are many major leaguers that work their tails off and have an internal drive toward greatness, but there are also plenty who have always been promoted due to size, power/speed, and hand-eye coordination but lack the mental and emotional intangibles you allude to. That is something that can be developed, but it takes guidance to build the brain and heart as much as it does to perfect a swing, and it's something young physical specimens have never had to consider. Many of these players have coasted to these levels on their genetic lottery chip, but never received seasoned intelligent guidance to get them to realize their potential. I continue to believe that the difference between the White Sox and every top tier MLB franchise is they fail to understand and preach the importance of providing that guidance for every aspect of the game at every level. When combined with their consistent failure to assess the mental/emotional side when assembling player personnel (again, at every level), it is a recipe for decades of mediocrity. In my opinion, Tony LaRussa is not entirely to blame, but he has not provided that consistent nudge that players need, at least not with this group of players.

Everyone feels safer when Tony isn't driving.

I seriously have come to the conclusion that the Chicago White Sox are just a bad organization. It's really not one thing but a combination of ineptitude in so many directions and their free agent additions are just one part of the big picture. Hahn did a nice job getting quality talent for a handful of trade chips a few years ago, and some signings out of Cuba have been a bright spot, but overall I do not think this organization provides the support their players need to have any sustained level of success or overcome any hint of adversity.

Was at Fenway the past two days. That place is as big a dump as you'll find. Makes post-renovation Wrigley look like a modern ballpark. Fun time watching our Sox sweep, though.

Pretty excited to say I'm going to the game today unless the plane crashes or United pulls their typical delay tactics. We've pulled away from the gate and the engines appear to be getting revved up though, so fingers crossed for a safe landing and fun game. Go White Sox!

Too early to know for sure, but if the Sox fail to get over the hump in 2022 due to again being too RH power dependent and weak defensively, I see a major trade coming (think Carlos Lee for Pods etc.) where one of Vaughn or Eloy are moved to better balance the ML squad. I agree that this offseason is bad timing, but I also do believe Vaughn will be more of a Konerko type that the fans love while people are going to tire of Eloy's constant ailments and boneheaded tendencies. With that said, I also think Eloy will be the more attractive piece to dangle to other GMs and boost trade return.

I agree as well. I also agree with other responders that Boras is not going to do anything to compromise a max value contract for his clients. However, brokers always have the opportunity to steer their clients when all financial matters are equal, and/or tip off a GM when they are inches away from a target player at the end of a process.

This may sound naive, but is it possible that Rodon/Boras had an off the record conversation with Hahn advising they would reject the QO? Meanwhile, there is at least one other Boras client the Sox are pursuing, and as a show of good will, Hahn decided not to exercise the QO on Rodon? It allows Rodon to negotiate unencumbered, still possibly returning to Chicago if the numbers are right, and maybe gets the Sox last look favors on a hotly sought after Boras FA. I suspect such horse trading has diminished in MLB over the years, but that type of stuff still goes on in the business world even at some of the highest levels.

I see two plausible scenarios: Players like/love him and he is a good clubhouse manager Players do not like/love him but we all need to protect our careers so they toe the company line I think the overall clubhouse tends toward the former, less because they spoke positively about TLR, but more because of the enthusiasm of their comments. We all have worked with people who bend over backwards to please the boss and shower him/her with compliments and flowery language. I doubt that is TA, and I doubt even Burr would be so emphatic about running through walls if he didn't mean it. What I saw in the failures against Houston was that TLR is not a great strategist. I think the knocks we read here about pitching decisions and shifts are merited even if he sometimes makes sound choices (ie Game 3). However, the bigger failure I saw though was organizational (and possibly just indicative of a talented but inexperienced team). Houston seems to produce smarter ballplayers. They hold runners on better. They take every extra base. They play tighter defense, stealing a hit or two (and likely runs) every game. They know how to spoil off pitches and wear out your starters until they tire or give in and throw a hittable pitch. I assume a lot of this is taught by their staff from low A ball on up. I am not sure the same goes for the Sox.

I don't care how the Astros feel but I do think the comments and chants strengthen their resolve if it does anything. The point I was making is you can frequently spot the team that lost or is destined to lose once they start whining about things that don't go their way. To me championship teams make plays, not excuses.