caulfield12

If you can read slice or pull...spin on the ball, under or over, would agree because the perspective is straight into the plate and you also need to be more aggressive since you should be the best outfielder covering gaps for the corners. That said, Pollock doesn't have the sprint speed to run down balls like a Buxton.

Ummm...pretty sure she doesn't make those decisions. Did you buy that stock too high? Isn't it Alibaba or Soft Bank with controlling interest now?

Pollock looks better than Engel in CF. Never thought I'd say that this year.

We are still helping Semien's career getting him out of Chicago and playing guys out of position ... which Marcus knows about having been typecast as a utility guy early in his Sox career.

What now? I can't stand them so always try to get more variety from opposing broadcasts.

Fathom is finally scoreboard watching in August? Verlander has only give up one run in some crazy run of innings. Almost gave up an oppo that would have been a homer during daytime.

Of course first pitch swinging. Got himself out. Should have let Vaughn swing 3-0.

Gut check time for Moncada...

That's why Texsox can't follow them...well, that and they have been terrible. First reference this year to TLR being meticulous and well prepared...well in the mid 2000's according to Lance Berkman.

Ragans has some Cole Hamels to him.

Menechino hit.. almost thankful the ball didn't skip past so Luis would have to go for a triple or inside the parker.

That the real reason the Padres are where they're at now in terms of talent is willingness to spend $80 million one year in int'l, blow through those tax penalties...swing for the fences in the June draft, and stockpile so much depth that it takes six years to blow through 80-85% of it. And then being on the right side of the Machado negotiations...which makes it so much easier to attract additional talent when you have a young star in the prime of his career to build upon. The reality is you have that unique situation of an owner in a bottom 5 media market willing to blow through spending limits...creative development projects like the Cubs that complement the team and feed indirectly back into it...and then having already lost two professional sports franchises, being the only show in town makes a ton if difference. The willingness (andcrisk tolerance) to sign massive seemingly risky contracts and to not mess around until you get the right manager to steer the ship calmly. Almost like Nebraska football in the 80s 90s early 2000s, except the opposite weather.

Soto's already made one terrible defensive play. Froze on a ball, lost this momentum then got tutned around twice as it went over his head. Also obliterated a ball but it went right to 1B for a double play stepping on bag. Btw, Jose Iglesias having a really nice season offensively but might end up hitting just .220-.230 on the Sox. Then again already has the patented Menechino oppo approach down pat. Drury would have had homers in consecutive games but Hilliard made one of the 10-15 best defensive plays in the OF this season. Finally, Musgrove fantasy owners won't be pleased with 6 ER. Two poor starts in a row now ... extension talks might be affecting him.

I will just state it like this. Even though I try to watch every White Sox fan, and have since the 1980's, the Rick Hahn Era has driven me crazy. First, I became a Puig fan individually in 2013, after the 2012 Sox collapse down the stretch. Having lived in KC nearly a decade and witnessed the worst of their fan suffering...they were an easy team to root for and appreciate in 2014/15, just like Harrelson did. Those teams were the opposite of today's Sox. Then there was selling off Tatis and Eric Johnson because JR prioritized saving $31 million in payroll (Shields' remaining salary on June 4th that year) over keeping his talent in house. Should have been a clue we thought someone we weren't even willing to pay more than half his salary was going to save 2016. Then the travesty of signing Machado three different times... according to ESPN headlines. Friends & Family with Jay and Alonso forced me into having a favorite NL team once again as I did in the 80's and 90's growing up listening to Jack Buck/Mike Shannon Cardinals' broadcasts on KMOX affiliates close to the Quad Cities. I really couldn't let go of the fantasy of Robert Moncada Tatis and Jimenez all playing together, so SD became the closest proxy, sealed by losing Machado to them as well. If one team wasn't going to succeed, maybe the other would. And they rarely play head to head...of course, the Padres and White Sox will meet this year that final week sandwiched by two series with the Twins.

This was written after they missed the post season last year and basically imploded. "In that time, Preller traded away 18 minor leaguers who were among the team’s top 30 prospects, as ranked by Baseball America. That includes six who were ranked in the top 12. With all those machinations, the Padres believed they were building a perennial playoff team. Instead, they will be watching the postseason again, for the 14th time in 15 years and the 47th time in their 53 years of existence. ..... Every one of the 12 position players who had at least 185 plate appearances for the Padres this season was acquired via trade or free agency, half of them since November 2019. Of the 16 pitchers who appeared in at least 20 games this season, 11 were added since February 2020. The Padres’ 18 trades since the start of the 2019-20 offseason that resulted in them acquiring major league talent are most by any team, as are the 23 players with major league experience the team acquired in those trades." https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2021-09-27/padres-aj-preller-trades-free-agents-roster-process-timeline-machado-tatis-hosmer

In the Sox system, something like Erick Hernandez…can also throw in Adolfo. But the Reds were apparently prioritizing multi-position infield talent, which leaves Sosa or Rodriguez. Jury is still out on Ramos sticking at 3B. Guess Hahn wanted to hold onto all three.

Obvious tie-in opportunities with movie out this year. They have done Elvis nights before … at least pretty sure. Bobbleheads and Bark at the Park and discounted beer like Two for Tuesday and Thirsty Thursdays. A-lot of teams did Top Gun/military or US Navy inspired hats.

Dunk (not Drunk) Tank with shots at entire coaching staff. Plus, as an added bonus, Hahn $50 for one throw, KW $100 and JR make it $1000 for Sox charities.

Well, they can’t even fit that many into GRF, but at least 30-32500ish?

Almost outdrawn by AZ @ CLE and Minnesota hosting Detroit at the same time won by 5000 plus. You can explain 1-2000 away because of inclement weather, but that was surprising. None of those opponents were interesting…the main difference being first place and a fanbase excited/energized by an injection of talent.

Yet they were able to afford a $140 million extension for Jose Ramirez, almost twice Grandal's money...with 2-3 more hitters, they're going to be a bear to deal with even at an $80-90 million payroll.

Not sure how CLE is tanking...or God help the Sox when they are actually trying to compete. Baltimore might be the positive surprise of year, along with Seattle. Even Pitt and Miami are trending upwards.

SF doesn't care that much about money as talent return. Detroit more complicated, but the Guardians dealt Sandy Leon to their rival the Twins so anything is possible with a mutual interest/benefit in mind.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/ Look at the Top 13 payrolls, higher than MLB overall league average. All of those teams are in solid playoff position except Red Sox White Sox and Angels. Angels already fired Maddon, Phillies did the same with Girardi. The other online is Cardinals right there for the division and final WC spot. Red Sox already started to prepare for transition phase losing Bogaerts Eovaldi Martinez but still added more than the Sox because Hosmer is an improvement over Dalbec and their other 1B. Yes, they'be been that bad. Angels already making plans around Trout's health and Ohtani's future. Those three teams are the closest to stuck, with the Cardinals at least possessing a much strong farm system and more payroll flexibility. They just didn't think trading the entire farm and Carlson/Gorman made sense for Soto. With Diekman, they added even more bullpen salary commitments for 2023. All they can do is trade Jimenez or Vaughn, but that results in a very similar team next year.

Very obvious that criticism of Hahn will be lighter if the team continues to underperform, Robert stays injured and then there’s the TLR excuse. If he did try to fix them and all the trades went awry like last year...goodbye Hahn. Almost wrote "Goodbye Lenin" because Hahn is stuck in a 1989 mentality and can't move into or adjust to modern times. The fact is that the Guardians have the best farm system in the division now and are already utilizing eleven rookies this year. The average age of their offensive core other than Ramirez and Reyes must be somewhere around 2-3 years younger than the Sox, and that's closer to five considering how few even make it to their mid 30s anymore, outside of mostly relievers and just a handful of position players.