caulfield12

The crazy part was STILL taking on a significant amount of Shields' salary after he was basically forced off the team by then SD ownership comments (had just given up something like 9-11 earned runs in a single start)...and Erik Johnson at the time of the trade still had pretty decent value, although there were certainly mounting (mystery) health concerns.

Well, one thing's for sure, the Padres had 4 individual scouts in on him, and Preller himself. (For the record, I think SD never should have added either Clevinger or Soto, in terms of their long run financial sustainability, and that their starting pitching and bullpen as currently constituted is going to coming up short in the playoffs...barring significant changes. Also, James Wood, involved in the Soto trade, is getting rave reviews nearly across the board. That said, an .847 in High A isn't quite destroying the league, at least not yet.)

I'd like to see the list of everyone in on Tatis before Keith Law was saying he was going to debut quite high on his Top 100 list... he just skyrocketed from that moment on. the scouting radar, like this 16 year old Salas kid (catcher) that Law also pointed out in recent weeks is going to be one of the best prospects in the game, eventually.

3 more games from the worst team in baseball... unless it's the A's... who are deliberately trying to alienate their fanbase in order to leave.

Just goes to show hard it is to erase 2021 for Grandal...just like Sox memories of Dunn post 2011. He was actually fairly decent for the most part that following season.

The game's going longer so KC can sell more concessions and souvenirs?

Cuban Curse, same thing happened to Moncada... Vaughn having an RBI/HR season like 1985 Tommy Herr with the Cardinals.

Then SoxTalk would also be mired in mediocrity. Can't have that.

Throw in all the rumors we were in on signing Soto and Vladdy Jr. and Acuna...at least one of the three, but came up short financially. Or throw Machado/Wheeler into the mix as well...

What did Harry S. Truman famously say? The buck stop here. There's just no here, here. But it's the way of the modern world to foist off responsibility on underlings in order to protect those at the very top. I would at least sort of respect Hahn for saying we simply have to better after embarrassing breakdowns in fundamentals. Hahn set the tone and tolerated this situation for so long that someone attempting to put a new system in place doesn't even stand a chance of successfully implementing it... the players all know things will revert to mean and that it's far easier to replace a coaching staff than half the active roster. Not to mention we don't have a farm system in place to produce viable replacement options. So the coaching staff has no choice but to ignore such mistakes because those players still provide them the best opportunity to win on a given day. For example, Luis Robert might be fixed for now... but there will be a point where similar situations occur (lack of hustle), nothing is done to address it and everyone just kind of shrugs their collective shoulders.

Bargaining stage... or denial? Contending for a World Series is no longer something that even front office execs can say with a straight face... I mean, 2/3 against what was supposed to be one of the 3-5 worst teams in baseball is something... but the Tigers are playing their best baseball in years and they have been the only divisional rival the Sox have dominated. KC, not so much unless you go back to 2000's, and even down the stretch in 2005 a royal pain in the ass.

CJ Abrams was a Top 5 MiLB prospect two years ago but everyone believes Wood is the real prize of the bunch, and Gore. Pretty sure it's Hassell. Clevinger trade fair massive giveaway as well. Quantrill Naylor Arias Hedges Miller etc.

Worst GM or not, why in God's name would he be allowed yet another shot to rebuild when he failed in that endeavor as well as failing to compete on the fly from 2013-2016? What exactly can he do well... besides trade very favorable controlled contracts for those three younger Sox players? Let's not forget when he traded Frazier Kahnle Robertson etc., to the Yankees, he got ripped off. And the Tatis trade, when all is said and done, will cost how much in lost fWAR?

His name is Wil Myers...and he's a really bad outfielder.

Just cutting payroll incrementally at the margins while pretending to have the veneer of a younger/cheaper/competitive team if everything goes exactly right. More Nestor Molina, Zach Stewart and Dylan Axelrod types to pick up starts rather than established, pricier veteran names.

Adam Engel back at the big league level after rehabbing an injury for most of the last month.

I know, I know...we should be happy just to have a major league franchise and a jersey/laundry to cheer for. Just like politics, there's the majority of fans in the middle who don't even take the time to discuss their teams online, like ever...and then there's the extreme examples here at SoxTalk of fans that follow the team on a daily basis, with 90-95% of them being absolutely furious with the direction of the franchise. Many simply can't believe what they're watching on an everyday basis. It's just one thing after another. If it was the Cubs, it would be the curse of the Billy Goat or Steve Bartman all over again. Invoking the Black Sox scandal from over a century ago just doesn't cut it anymore. Not when Hahn and JR make themselves such easy targets. Recently, I do spend at least 60-75% of a game day watching other interesting teams just because watching a Sox game all the way through will cut years off one's lifespan. Everyone has their own coping mechanisms. Cheering for the Rays against the Yankees, or Padres against the Dodgers/Giants...might be enough for some.

I didn't pick it out after the game. Obviously they miraculously went on to win the game and score miraculous numbers of runs after Kopech almost came apart in the first mechanically... but how often can we expect a repeat of that with Eloy Moncada and Burger out of the lineup? Weren't we promised a fundamentally sounder club? I guess we're only trailing Minny by like seven games so all in? Despite trailing three Central teams and not the usual 1-2? Trade off more young players for a genie in a bottle?

You want to say another series victory but Kopech looked pretty horrible and still 24 outs to go. Reds bailed him out. And Yankees already blew a six run lead today against Tampa.

Can't trade The Franchise.

Uh oh. Now Robert hurt.

Myers is just terrible out there now.

Benintendi getting the back in his hometown bounce...

Cubs and Sox spending almost same amount on payroll this year...#12/13 in majors.

Sheets now just 5/32 after Sox PR machine hyped him as solution to Colas in RF, lol.