caulfield12

Let's ask this simplistic question... When's the White Sox even did something good/positive, with the possible exceptions of being overly generous with Benintendi and HOPING that Grifol has the same impact on the team (even if it turns out to be an anomalous blip like 2012 for the Chicago White Sox under Ventura, and later evaporates) ???

Andrus averaged (4.4/4 seasons) 1.1 fWAR the last four seasons, prior to 2023's anomaly. He's another year older, too. We have seen this show, dating all the way back to Adam Dunn through Hahn's "regime" and the currently albatross Grandal transaction. We've seen the same exact regression from the likes of AJ Pollock, LaRoche, Melky Cabrera, Leury Garcia and more than likely Andrew Benintendi as he ages and gets away from the protection of that NYY line-up. His track record over the last 4-5 years definitely doesn't warrant a $75 million "buy high" deal, in the same way that offering Alex Gordon (yet another Royal) almost that same exact amount would have been ruinous had he signed. (The only Royal we could/should have even considered in the slightest was/is Sal Perez, fwiw. An actual clubhouse leader, that would be nice...I guess?) We will see the same exact regression from Seby Zavala, for example (Sox wouldn't know a catching prospect if Tim Anderson walked in off the community college basketball court and threw a bullet 93 MPH from home to 2nd base)...the Mets certainly experienced it with McCann with the overly-generous contract they rewarded him with. We're hoping for fool's gold from 2-4 middle infielders who have proven exactly NOTHING in the major leagues...almost making me rue the loss of Danny Mendick. ALMOST. We offer all the wrong contracts to everyone under the sun, but can't even make a token effort to retain Carlos Rodon or offer him a QO, then watch him become the most highly-desired LHP starting pitcher in the entire FA market one year later. BRILLIANT STUFF. Oh, and we misdiagnosed Escobar to bring in one of the worst, most non-inspired deadline acquisitions in all of White Sox history, Cesar Hernandez. And let's not even start on Kimbrel's woeful series of events that acquisition triggered....and Hahn was miraculously saved because Pollock was willing to take away less money to get out of Dodge and plant himself in a clubhouse with a genuine winning culture that wasn't already poisoned by almost neglectful levels of supervision and intervention over the last two years from a VETERAN coaching staff.

All starts with Moncada, Grandal and TA7... they set the tone for absolutely everyone in the organization, but especially Robert and Jimenez

Hi5? No poop analogies...

You need to send that over to Brooks Boyer and the season ticket sales agents/associates to work into their script. Twins and Guardians fans would empathize with their traditionally "cheap" ownership groups too, the Pohlads and Dolans. Total "job creator/disruptor" is JR, seriously.

What are the odds they hit the Powerball again like 2004-2005 series of 8-10 perfect transactions all breaking their way...starting with the dumping of Loiaza, Maggs, C Lee and Valentin? Cotts, El Duque, Contreras, Jenks, Everett, Pods, Politte, AJ, Dye, Vizcaino, Hermanson, Iguchi, F.Garcia for a boatload of "can't miss" prospects...??? We can't even get one fucking deal right on the button at the moment...except by totally sheer accident, like Rodon, McCann, Andrus and Cueto.

DeShaun Watson situation also comes to mind...multiples of victims, but the seriousness here as it relates to potential child abuse is a huge black eye for baseball regardless. To MLB braintrust, must be thinking luckily he's not on a high profile team in a hyper critical media market like Philly, Boston, NYC. Expect Jeff Passan to weigh in soon.

Ship has probably sailed until mid-May....

See Belle, Joey Albert Or Machado to a lesser extent. A Rod, when he went to Texas and Sox were supposedly a distant second as a stalking horse in the Boras race.

Then I will just defer to what Dick Allen said on this same subject...

Haber and Hahn with their Stanford, HLS, NW, Michigan educations can't figure all of this out? So much for their so-called "risk mitigation."

See Carl Everett, especially first half of career. Or the Raiders and Cowboys, largely to their detriment in many cases over the last 2-3 decades.

Thay's the Harvard lawyer in him talking...Bill Clintonesque answer/non-answer that came to drive so many crazy in frustration. Because in the end it's just obfuscation and covering his own ass. His one really elite "skill" as an exec, but tone deaf to the fan base simultaneously.

Notice they weren’t willing to pay Clevinger and brought in Wacha instead…? We shall see the respective fWAR for both guys with their new teams these next two years,

Obviously a 50% increase sounds dramatic. Gameday Audio is probably one of the best deals available in sports media, particularly for those outside the US.

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https://sports.yahoo.com/another-nfl-head-coaching-cycle-sadly-ends-without-eric-bieniemy-landing-a-job-010743794.html

Were they in the game Sunday? It was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer castoffs and missfit toys...

MLB plans to emphasize enforcement of balks as changes kick in...slow news day. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35660530/mlb-plans-emphasize-enforcement-balks-changes-kick-in

Bienemy's got the best nickname (Sleeping With the Bienemy), had to totally rebuild his receiving corps over the last couple of seasons, went through 3-4 different running backs before settling with 7th rounder Pacheco and was facing one of the best defenses in recent NFL memory. Meanwhile, KC has a strong defensive line (Jones was ill), but are not exactly brimming with All-Pros across the linebacker group and secondary. They do have a LOT of younger/athletic players with potential...but it's apples and oranges to compare the two. See what happens if you give Mahomes AJ Brown and Davonta Smith, to go along with Kelce. The NFL would be totally wrecked.

Benintendi must be the quietest, most unremarkable "biggest contract in team history" in recent memory. I thought about including the Astros and Braves with the Dodgers and Rays as the two best franchises, but too much water under the bridge, especially with Houston. The Guardians are nudging closer to that Top 5 spot if they can just hold onto their arbitration years talent, but that's not on the GM as much as the ownership group.

We might want to actually find legit catchers and 2B...but there's always the end of ST waiver wire to go dumpster diving in. Brujan would be a start. Rick Brunson, maybe not. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=brunso001lar Or this former 1st rounder for DET in the 90's...9th in first round.

But you couldn't really hate the Royals, right? If it was that easy to be a fair weather fan, I would just denounce/renounce my allegiance (as an alum) to Iowa fb and bb, because the odds of winning a national championship in either revenue sport are much lower than that of the White Sox winning the World Series. Probably below zero with James Ferentz around. In fact, one of my best friends from high school (orthodontist now) sent both of his kids for free on SAT-based scholarships to Alabama and adopted them as his favorite team even though he went to Northwestern and Iowa Dental School. So that's even more sacrilegious. Like being a Warriors' fan the last decade. The Sox simply need to start over with a clean slate...across the board. That's the only way fans will really come back. Everyone used Epstein as a counterexample in the past when I made this argument (backed up by Liptak's piece), but Hahn not being able to ever play baseball well or truly understand the sport from a player's perspective has handicapped him greatly...especially on the talent evaluation side. The only way to overcome that is to run a Top 2-3 payroll.

Sports are very simple. As a fan, are you satisfied your team did everything it possibly could to compete? The Eagles just experienced a terribly bitter loss, but they put the best team out on the field they possibly could all season...totally rebuilding (and fast!) after their last Super Bowl win. They simply got out coached by a master...who was highly motivated (along with his tremendously loyal players) in a match-up with the organization that infamously gave up on him. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-rumors-padres-sign-top-international-prospect-ethan-salas-orioles-interested-in-michael-wacha/ Just freaking try to compete. The White Sox haven't had a legit All-Star catching prospect (not accepting Collins here) of their own in decades...so go out and get one. Luis Robert is the only occasion other than Abreu in the last decade plus where they were the aggressors and successfully signed a potentially great player. But you have to consistently go after great players with the conviction you can sign them and the willingness to back it up with real money and not just loophole contracts that create the illusion you've got a seat at the table.

If that's the case, why are the White Sox seeing a 25-30% fall off in season ticket sales...and the Padres sold out all their available season ticket packages by January 25th? What is the equivalent of the White Sox beating the Mets, Dodgers and Cardinals in the post-season? The Yankees/Astros, Cubs, Red Sox, etc.? And by the lack of playoff success metric, the Dodgers and Rays have been terrible the last decade...yet they are universally regarded by most as the two best franchises for various reasons. The only WS championship for LA since 1988 was in the tainted strike-shortened year. Zero for the Rays. And the Braves went to the postseason constantly in the 90's and 2000's and only recorded a single title. Indians also zero, etc. Would the Chiefs be considered a disappointment too if they only had one title (instead of two) after five consecutive AFC Championship appearances (all home games)??? Context counts. If the White Sox beat two teams that significantly outspent them in the post season...let alone their own division...it would be considered a minor miracle.