caulfield12

The answer to that lies with the 1962 Mets, I guess...it was an expansion team, after all, but they actually drew quite well, comparatively. I guess that fascination/morbid curiosity with how much worse can things really get is why White Sox attendance is actually up by 2% through 1/4th of the home dates (worst weather of the year behind them), rather than falling an additional 15% like most of us expected/predicted. There's also this whole "underdog" thing going on with guys like Elko, Shane Smith, Vasil, Booser, Palacios, Amaya, Maton, they're players that almost everyone can identify with, having been knocked down or knocked back so many times in life, they're hard NOT to root for in many ways. (Well, maybe very few of us have 95-98 MPH fastballs, I topped out at around 76-78 mph on our gun in Augusta, lol, or about what Amaya threw in relief the other day, actually, I think he was mostly in the 60's.) It's also the same reason there's so much national attention now for the Rockies....firing hitting coaches, then firing Bud Black, they've done everything but fire the GM and owner, lol. Then their owner Monfort has gone after the Dodgers instead of the real culprit, their OWN poor spending, starting with guys like Kris Bryant as well as the Arenado contract, then dumping it for pennies on the dollar.

Greg Jones...who jumped from THE worst team in modern baseball history...to maybe the second or third worst team in baseball history, lol. Encouraging... In fact, jumped to quickly he didn't have time to get his new Sox gear before he was sent packing again, not unlike Gage Workman.

Well, at least our carried debt levels are a lot better than the Twins and Royals!!! Is Canario now the only player in baseball, lol? Is there anyone in Pittsburgh who would prefer Fletcher Colas DeLoach or Julks in trade for him? I mean, we already took their "junk" in Josh Palacios, right?

No. 1: Dallas Mavericks No. 2: San Antonio Spurs No. 3: Philadelphia 76ers No. 4: Charlotte Hornets No. 5: Utah Jazz No. 6: Washington Wizards No. 7: New Orleans Pelicans No. 8: Brooklyn Nets No. 9: Toronto Raptors No. 10: Houston Rockets (from Suns, via Nets) No. 11: Portland Trail Blazers No. 12: Chicago Bulls No. 13: Atlanta Hawks (from Kings) No. 14: San Antonio Spurs (from Hawks) Don't forget Giannis to the Spurs, lol...you have everything but Popovich heroically returning from a massive stroke to lead them to another title. Oh, and Harper/Bailey to the Spurs as well.

.188 .556 Burger back up this week with the Rangers...desperately searching for offense, ANYWHERE.

Not so fast. Alcala, MRF R - - - - - HoganLF L - - - - - Adrian A. Gil1B R - - - - - McCantsCF L - - - - - FloresC R - - - - - WillitsDH L - - - - - ProfarSS R - - - - - Dinesen3B R - - - - - Smith2B R - - - - -

POTENTIAL POTENTIAL POTENTIAL...but do we really want to put that kind of pressure on the kid? Colson's already folded mentally, so let's hope this Montgomery can handle all the hype and expectations, he's already up to #38 at MLB Pipeline and continuing to rise. From all accounts, he seems like a pretty even-keeled young adult who's quite grounded for his early 20's.

Where else is he going to come from? A Luis Robert trade? #10 draft pick...maybe, if they get REALLY REALLY REALLY fortunate. Which hasn't happened with a Sox position prospect since Tim Anderson a decade ago. Right now, Braden Montgomery's the best shot at it, trailed by Kyle Teel and Bonemer.

When all is said and done, you're not going ANYWHERE without a star position player...and Jac Caglianone (now the #10 prospect in baseball) was our last/best shot at that, at a time when Vaughn needed to be pushed out anyway. As good as Shane Smith has pitched (Top 10 MLB era), the team's still just 1-7 in his starts due to the offense and bullpen. Very similar to what Crochet and Fedde suffered through last season, rinse and repeat.

What could you get from the Orioles, lol? We need to bring all their prospect "over-hypers" back into play, albeit somewhat chastened. They're probably regretting the production of Kyle Stowers right about now. Alcantara (former Cy Young but struggling to get back to form after TJS) Framber Valdez (what will Astros do?) Pablo Lopez (what will Twins do?) Chris Bassitt (what will Jays do?) Starting pitching market is VERY VERY thin at the moment.

And this was the problem from 2017-2019...they had to bring in scores of veterans because none of the "non top" players granted playing time amounted to much of anything. Same thing, the minors didn't provide high upside bullpen guys, so they ended up paying through the teeth for Graveman, Kelly, Hendriks, Kimbrel, etc. The problem also isn't the higher levels...it's basically there's nothing in the MIDDLE between Teel and Braden Montgomery, other than the 3 young starting pitchers in Birmingham.

I'm honestly almost ready for more Fletcher Julks DeLoach Colas...at this point. Unfortunately Taylor is the insurance plan for Robert in CF since Fletcher is on the outs and is already stretched at that spot. Taylor did help win them a game the other day...(just like Jankowski did for the Rays.)

Any assumptions as needed in order to fit the Getz as budding Branch Rickey narrative. Probably better to stick with touting Smith and Vasil as major wins so far...

new mlb pipeline list Top 15: 1. Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox 2. Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates 3. Leo De Vries, SS, Padres 4. Jordan Lawlar, INF, D-backs 5. Andrew Painter, RHP, Phillies 6. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins 7. Max Clark, OF, Tigers 8. Marcelo Mayer, SS, Red Sox 9. Sebastian Walcott, SS/3B, Rangers 10. Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Royals 11. Chase Burns, RHP, Reds 12. Travis Bazzana, 2B, Guardians 13. Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox 14. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics 15. Dalton Rushing, C/OF, Dodgers Highest risers +49 George Lombard Jr., SS, Yankees (93 to 44) +26 Jesús Made, SS, Brewers (49 to 23) +21 Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers (66 to 45) +19 Arjun Nimmala, SS, Blue Jays (78 to 59) +19 Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers (91 to 72) +18 Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (32 to 14) +15 Alex Freeland, SS, Dodgers (63 to 48) +11 Leo De Vries, SS, Padres (14 to 3) +10 Chase Burns, RHP, Reds (21 to 11) +10 Dalton Rushing, C/OF, Dodgers (25 to 15) +10 Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs (45 to 35) +10 Braden Montgomery, OF, White Sox (48 to 38) +10 Franklin Arias, SS/2B, Red Sox (67 to 57) +10 Jefferson Rojas, SS/2B, Cubs (88 to 78)

Fedde...too. Just like Vaughn and Amaya are cancelling out this year's positive contributions, most notably from Matt Thaiss. Without a bullpen, power, hitting with RISP fundamentals/execution defense or team speed other than Robert and Baldwin...not shocking Sox have only 3 wins all season in 1-2 run games.

It's consistently playing veterans over young players with at least some limited potential that is really the heart of the problem. Nobody wants to watch guys like Maton Palacios and Amaya. And who's the best prospect from all of the trades acquired this last year other than Crochet? Might be William Bergolla...who probably ends up as a utility infielder at the big league level.

There's really no better option than Jacob Amaya available in the entire world? Some have been screaming until blue in the face that SS was going to be an issue for this team...yet here we are, still. I guess Jose Iglesias was unwilling to sign with the Sox if any playoff contender would still give him a shot.

Shane Smith and Vasil? Palacios was at one point a Rule 5 minor league selection... The real problem is if none of these 50-75 players cycled through are worth anything 2-3 years from now. And that's not always true...the Dodgers in 1955 had nowhere to play Clemente because of Amoros Furrillo and Snider so they attempted to literally hide him on the bench in Montreal so scouts wouldn't be able to see him play.

https://www.mlb.com/marlins/tickets/specials/barbie

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/cnbcs-official-mlb-team-valuations-2025.html Teams with highest debt loads to net valuation... 1. Marlins 38% 2. Nationals 27% 3. Rangers 25% 4. Twins 24% 5. Royals 19% 6. Padres 17% White Sox 9% Cleveland 6% Detroit 10% Rockies 7% Pirates 10%

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6228151/2025/03/24/minnesota-twins-sale-pohlads-valuation-debt/ The Twins, in talks with one interested group, deemed a $1.5 billion valuation a non-starter. Any professional team sale is complicated but Minnesota’s presents specific challenges because of market size, questions about future profitability, and the team’s current debt. The Twins have accrued in excess of $425 million of debt, according to multiple people briefed on the sale process, which is one of the highest figures among MLB’s 30 teams. Though nearly every team operates with debt, the Pohlad family — which has owned the team for 40 years — is motivated to ask for a higher sale price as a result, potentially limiting interest. A considerable portion of the team’s debt has been added since the start of the 2020 season, according to a club source, which coincided with both the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.

The Mets' minor leagues also offer an abundance of options, though none of the players are ready now. MLB Pipeline lists nine players in the Mets’ top 30 who can play outfield, from Jett Williams (No. 2) and Ryan Clifford (No. 4), whose primary positions are in the infield, to Drew Gilbert (No. 10) and speedster Nick Morabito (No. 17). None of those players are ready now.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&type=8&season=2025&month=0&season1=2025&ind=0&team=4&qual=50 Thaiss is far and away the most valuable Sox position player so far. And Vaughn/Amaya alone almost cancel out all the positives by themselves.

"But there’s one last wrinkle in the DK Pittsburgh Sports story. It noted that the Pirates were at their most profitable in 2013-2015, when the team was spending the most it has spent to this day on payroll. That’s the last time the Pirates had a winning record, and winning brings with it the reward of more fans and more revenue. This is the conundrum these (small market) owners face. If you want to understand another reason why commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB's plan to remake TV/streaming contracts in the late 2020s involves pooling the local TV rights together, this helps explain it. In part, there is a belief for MLB that they can get larger TV contracts (and potentially more advertising revenue) by pooling the rights. The ability to pay on a monthly basis makes teams even more dependent on fan sentiment. If a significant portion of a team’s monthly subscribers cancel in the middle of a disappointing season, that’s millions of dollars in expected revenues that will have disappeared. But if local TV revenues are pooled, owners don’t have to worry about that nearly as much..."