caulfield12

Nossek the best opposing team’s sign pilferer in history, Harrelson always argued....

Well, one way to look at baseball now is that the 24th team in CLE still has a 20%+ shot at the playoffs...Miami at #25 just under 10% and the bottom five teams basically no shot at all. Are teams #25-27 similar in the not??? The big problem with MLB is there's no parity at all among the top 3-5 teams. It's so darned top heavy right now. Not just LAD vs. the rest of the West but also Detroit in the Central despite not really having that one superstar hitter.

It's what the Nationals are going through right now. Except they didn't even get the two playoff seasons like the Sox before rebuilding/retooling yet again. Snake bitten franchise since 2019 WS with Soto leaving and Rendon/Strasburg falling off the face of the earth.

https://www.espn.co.uk/mlb/story/_/id/47561030/2026-free-agency-mlb-30-teams-stock-watch-midwinter-progress-report This was before the offseason. Same author has run these Stock Watch reports for a number of years. Sox were projected at 60-102. So have moved up one win based on the offseason. Seems like it's quite similar to FG and the old 538.com/Nate Silver projection models that provide playoff odds updated after every single result during the season. Author remains optimistic generally despite 28th/29th rankings for the Sox. Catching Minnesota won't be as easy as previously thought last trade deadline...unless Ryan/Lopez/Buxton get traded.

Especially when 2023 was a disaster...and ESPN is now predicting yet another 100+ loss season despite all the seeming optimism surrounding the team (Colson/Mune/Cholowsky).

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47909756/mlb-2026-most-surprising-offseason-decision-all-30-teams White Sox predicted at 61-101 and 28th. Very informative piece that provides some key insiderish insights on most teams and their offseasons. Most have the Sox at 65-67 wins...and all the recent optimism has pushed others into the 70s for win totals, but this is kind of a wake up call that much heavy lifting still remains in Year 3.25 of the rebuild.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47827626/mlb-offseason-2026-lessons-olney-passan-dodgers-mets-yankees-phillies-skubal

Except 2006-2008 and 2021-2023...

Increasing existing payroll $120 million for the White Sox can't be done from more equitable shared RSN rights alone. The national baseball contractsbad day up to only around $550 million total. Let's say the bottom ten markets are currently generating $15-20 million through MLB/ESPN, the middle ten are around $30-40 million. That’s a total and average of $525/20 or $26.25 million for the bottom 20 teams. Nonody has the exact numbers for these MLB subscription based models vs. RSN's, but I actually might be on the low side. For example, the Sox used to be at $70 million five years ago or so and that was roughly league average back then. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/each-teams-local-broadcasting-arrangement.html So you're looking at even lower numbers due to subscribers not wanting to pay additional ESPN+/Disney fees and the lookout potentially angering fans if not resolved in a way that gives those bottom 20 fanbases some significant hope. LAD $196 officially NYY $143 million Toronto is a black box/Rogers $150??? Angels/Phillies $125 million Rangers $111 million Braves/Mariners $100 million Cubs $99 million Red Sox $97 million Mets $88 million 11 teams=$1.334 billion If you split that in half, you'd have $650 million roughly to share with approximately 19 teams, you could raise about $34 million per team. The White Sox would be able to spend $114 million instead of $80, let's say. That's not going to get you anywhere near $200. If you split those 11 "unfair big market" packages up 100% across 30 teams...you'd be at $68 million and the Sox could spend $148 million, but still well/way short of $200. And that massive penalty is largely coming down on the heads of those top five teams/big markets. At any rate, the number would be in a range between $114-148 for the Sox. Maybe $130, if you split the difference??? Success and fairness/equity is going to be based on getting those other 15 teams away from advantageous RSN deals/own privately owned networks like Marquee/YES and into the full thirty team package Manfred really wants to sell...finally having leverage over those bigger fanbases to force them all into becoming ESPN+/Disney customers. That's going to be a process that takes at least 3-5 years to unwind (ending all RSN's)...quite optimistically. So maybe something like $150 million floors and $300-325 million ceilings? And dealing directly with the issue of deferred contracts as well.

Because the majority of top flight GMs wouldn’t accept trying to compete with a limited, bottom 3 payroll. One supposes that it could get back to $100+ million by 2028…but that’s still a long 4 1/3rd years (already) and will really be six total years of the Sox not being close to competitive barring a miracle in 2027.

Incite riots / protests Insight n. Maybe it was Bruce that confused Getzie with another senior moment?

https://www.si.com/college/ucla/bruins-cholowsky-welcomes-pressure-big-dreams

Ouch. Boras has already (quickly) forgotten 2020-2021, Rodon not getting the QO while Kimbrel did after 2021, and all the crappy/last chance clients he tried to dump on the White Sox over the years. We’ll probably have to deal with his 1-1 and second round guy as well in the upcoming draft. And Francisco Lindor’s the real heart of that Mets’ team, not Soto.

Interesting they put this out there through the team-friendly Merkin in an attempt to move on...with all the speculation surrounding Acuna's impending camp arrival. "On the other hand, it would be polite to call this a bad look for Getz. An MLB general manager is supposed to have deep knowledge of not just every player on their team, but also every player in the minor-league organization. If a no-name outfielder suddenly hits a homer over the batter's eye in Low-A or a teenage pitcher reaches 100 mph in the Dominican complex, the GM is supposed to know about it That applies to players outside the organization, too. A move such as the Robert trade should be coming after hours of legwork evaluating every interested team's minor-league system for under-appreciated talents. Getz acquiring Acuña is a bet that a guy who was Baseball America's No. 66 prospect in 2024 can still be an impact talent, despite slashing .248/.299/.341 in 233 MLB plate appearances, and you don't make those calls unless your staff has pored through reams of data and scouting reports." https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/white-sox-gm-admits-he-erroneously-thought-trade-acquisition-luisangel-acuna-is-a-switch-hitter-014243904.html

Getz ordered the Code Red. "You're g-damned right I ordered it."

The White Sox have a noted habit of grabbing every Top 100 MiLB that has struggled/failed at least once or twice. SoxTalk could probably track and database all those players. It's a pretty limited list of names and 50% repeat from year to year. 20-25% are not realistic trade/acquisition targets for the Sox, the Top 15-20 guys. Acuna was most recently #66 on the list before losing eligibility.

https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/team/front-office Holden/Salinger Bot lol You have Silverio (intl-DR), Jin Wong (KC contracts guy), Dan Fabian has been there forever in analytics. Director of Minor League Scouting but no Director of Pro/Advanced Scouting listed. Should be Keller here as the point person with his Mets'/scouting background. "It will be interesting to see what further moves are on the horizon with Keller now at the helm. Nightengale reports the well-respected scout will be “one of GM Chris Getz’s top confidants,” so he will likely have some input on the staff moving forward." https://www.soxon35th.com/white-sox-hire-david-keller-to-run-international-scouting-department/ Based on a tweet from MLB insider Jon Heyman, it appears Keller was hired back by the Mets in 2017. He is currently listed as a “Special Assignment Scout” on New York’s staff directory.

They really tried to hype Molina/Venezuelan connections for awhile like they did with Norge Vera before he too was exposed. Think it was Paddy and KW tag teaming. Jon Adkins had a ridiculously high ERA in AAA at that point despite the supposed 98-100 mph fb, at a time when that really meant something special in terms of arm talent. Of course, they also hyped Felix Diaz and Lorenzo Barcelo the same way. Also, what's the chain of command now? Who does this pro scouting work now (head of a diminishing dept) or perhaps they did background as well on him in 2017 before he originally signed with Atlanta. Was that info lost with the departures of Paddy Hahn KW Haber? Carlos Rodriguez Gene Watson Josh Barfield...should have an electronic paper trail starting with one of those three dept. heads before it went to the research/analytics side??? What about Keller and his Mets' tenure before coming over?

*Had blogs existed in 2001, the James Baldwin trade might have scored a bit lower, because Kenny Williams traded for the wrong guy. From a Chicago Tribune story on July 27 of that year:

I'm not sure about the nerd part, lol, but being "usually kind" and patient and mostly tolerant doesn't get one rewarded much in society today, though. I'm also not sure it's a Gen X or Millenials/Gen Z thing...the moderating group at times has changed in participation levels and "humor" as people got older and had families. I miss Balta, actually...even though I never met him and his political correctness was the canary in the coal mine for disruptive social divides emerging. And the White Sox did produce a DR star in Tatis Jr. His father practically forced him on Paddy and KW.

For nearly every summer month or even week from 2022-2024...something came out to embarrass the franchise on a national basis. But ever since Mune and Cholowsky...finally there was light at the end of the tunnel for fans. (even the Ishbia-led Suns are smartly turning things around!) A reason for optimism. Reasons, in fact. This incident just brings all that back again. Being the brunt of jokes from the media and even Cubs' fans. But at least we're not the Rockies or Twins, I guess.

(The first 2-3 paragraphs/parallel sounded like the plot of Jim Cavieziel's controversial "Sound of Freedom," the anti trafficking movie. Expected Adam LaRoche and his son to bust into the thread from the jungles of Thailand.) At any rate 1) We'll never know unless Getz does the public "self-reflection/mea culpa" with collected media that Rick Hahn was eventually forced into with Tatis, Jr. exploding onto the scene. 2) It's going to stick with him like KW's Barry/Berry faxed fiasco with the Dodgers' trade, for Baldwin I think. Or the Chad Bradford Moneyball chapter which the Sox eventually WON by using some of those pieces like Cotts and Olivo via trade for F.Garcia to win a WS. But not a nothing burger either. Not with how the Bears and Cubs are dominating the Chicago sports conversation.

Maybe we'd prefer to go over the Cease and G.Santos trades because they were so much more "important."

Counterpoint: Revisionism Acuna is likely a starter on this team.

You obviously don't know Cali all that well...or at least for so long. He has stood up for other posters on here more than most over time. He kind of flipped his posting outlook and became something of an unofficial board mediator. Why?...only he could explain it. Probably because the board was getting too reactionary after years of being told to worship Hahn. It went the total opposite direction because of how Getz came into the job and his general lack of qualifications compared to let’s say Carlos Rodriguez and 85-90% of other teams' GMs. Too much disillusionment after the unrelenting hype of 2017-2019.