caulfield12

Didn't realize Cabrera was only 34, had a 1.9 fWAR, projected at 1.6. Not sure if he's going to be willing to sign the same contract Yolmer would have received to be a back-up...but we have options there and the positive is we should be able to find the right fit for a player/agent that really want to join the White Sox, rather than us having to "market/upsell" joining the team. That's a sea change for the organization.

Holt or Gennett...? We're just one position (2B) away from having an all Latin-American/African-American starting line-up. And actually, if you put Leury there for OD... Anderson Moncada Abreu Grandal (or EE) EE (or Grandal) Jimenez Mazara Robert L.Garcia (guess the last two are pretty interchangeable) Broke up Grandal, Mazara, Leury and Moncada...that would be against RHP. We could obviously move up Jimenez to 4/5 or move Abreu down depending on how they're hitting. That gives you Top 5-10% MLB speed at 4 positions, as well as the power side of the equation from the sluggers (of course, Moncada, Robert and Anderson can also slug.)

Guess he doesn't eat as many Twinkies...

More insurance for Mazara than as 2b/Madrigal to start the year, but we already have that in the form of Leury. Just depends on numbers and option year. You'd have to think he would be better off on a Bottom Ten team playing everyday...awaiting a midseason deal or going into FA with a solid season behind him.

We’ve quickly moved on to Renteria and Cooper as the main villains holding us back, haha. Hard to criticize first year hitting coaches THAT much. You just know they would just love for Renteria to succeed in light of how the Cubs so unceremoniously dumped him.

Back to Gennett? Did he sign already?

This also highlights the dilemma the Twins have with both Berrios and Buxton, as we’ve previously discussed how long to hold onto Moncada and Giolito in a “worst-case“ scenario. Both have adamantly refused to sign extensions, and have just two years left before free agency, at least according to FG. (Buxton, fwiw, perhaps is the worst-case scenario, 7.6 fWAR...but the White Sox would save $36 million on the back-end of the Robert deal, so they’re protected in both scenarios.)

The good thing is we don't really have to push either Moncada or Robert on the basepaths too much with this type of offensive firepower. We’re not going to be a manufactured run offense, although Anderson and Madrigal can still play that gane at the top or bottom. Just taking the extra base on every occasion, rather than compiling 30-50 steals, hopefully that’s what Renteria preaches to them this spring. Too much wear and tear on the body for the risk.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/mike-cameron/1070/stats?position=OF Here’s to hoping Mike Cameron is the floor. 34+ fWAR his first eight big league seasons. How ‘bout them apples? That guy legit put up some really big numbers but was mostly appreciated by the average MLB fan.

And the White Sox and Angels were actually pretty similar until Moreno bought them and started going all Ilitch on their budget.

I can objectively say they have a better stadium, if for no other reason than the retractable roof...and definitely not for the more overpriced/trendy food. Based on having spent many games at OldComiskey, Kauffman (which was the original model and has a very similar upper deck) and GRF...and a handful in Seattle at Safeco. I guess the best argument for Chicago now is that it's more of a home field advantage with the lower bowl full than a sparsely attended Mariners game in that bigger facility. The problem is that the history of the M's goes back only until, what, 1977? If you chop off 75+ years of White Sox history to make it an equivalent comparison in term of player comps, any list over time becomes much less impressive. Just like if you only considered Griffey's rookie year through around the 2003 season for the Mariners...of course, you can do the same for the White Sox from 1990-2008 and argue they even had the 3rd or 4th or 5th best overall MLB record (behind the Braves, Yankees, Cardinals or Red Sox) over a nearly two decade-long stretch. Of course, the obviously problem for the White Sox is that, other than 2005 and the last 2-3 weeks of 2008, they've been completely overshadowed by the Cubs in the city of Chicago, so we'll always have that stigma of being the second team in the market, like the Mets and A's.

B12 really sucks. Oregon saved the Pac 12 from total embarrassment, but Utah looked terrible. OU also just lost a top QB commitment...the way things are going (Lamb going pro), they'll lose Riley as well. Georgia/Bama (take your pick), with what we know now, clearly should have been the 4th team included in the CFP. 3 of top five teams in one conference. The rich continue to get richer.

However, if you put it in terms of playoff appearances over number of opportunities...since the inception of the franchise...we're dead last. Sure, we can look the records from the 1950's to 1967 season and retroactively count those high 80's and 90+ win teams as "playoff-like" teams, but it still doesn't change the overall narrative. And there's arguably more baseball fans who still fondly remember Griffey, Jr., A-Rod, Big Unit, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro and those late 90's/early 2000's teams...due to the sheer number of HofF players, compared to the White Sox with "stars" like Buehrle, Konerko, Ordonez, C-Lee, Dye and AJ (the Big Hurt being the one exception in terms of star power). And they have a nicer stadium, as well. All that said, the Mariners are in a terrible position right now.

You'll always have the passionate defense of Giolito. Wish you could do that for Kopech/Cease/Rodon/Lopez!

Sure, but more often that not, we’ve misjudged or not developed the talent we had in our organization before moving them elsewhere. It’s one thing KW was really good at in the mid to late 2000’s. Players like Quentin, Floyd, Danks, Ramirez, deAza, Eaton, Santos and Quintana that were undervalued by other organizations. Abreu would be the last one, as that was more a transaction pushed by KW and Paddy. The crazy thing is we might end up as #1-5 on Latin America talent as well because of Tatis, Ramirez, Abreu and Robert...but we’ve been terrible overall in that area and still don’t have even a solid operation in the Dominican after a decade. Every plus comes with a “well/and/but/asterisk.”

Last line should read “abomination“...sounds like previous arguments about Crede and Uribe being ultra-clutch.

Wonder what happens to DePodesta now...back to baseball? Guess not! Step One: Hire a general manager who will vibe with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, who has earned responsibility from within the organization and is reportedly running the head coaching search. My vote is for Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry, who is bright and highly regarded and is believed to be in the running for the position. If Berry doesn’t work out, the key here is to hire someone smart that DePodesta can be tied to at the hip. yahoo.com/sports

Viciedo and Borchard perhaps the two best examples from 2000’s...

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28400906/john-dorsey-browns-general-manager

Well, that’s probably true about the majority of Economics and AP Lit teachers who also love baseball. But the last time I was this hyped about a season like now was following the 2009 Birmingham Barons. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/minors/teams/stats.asp?Y=2009&T=10110 Honestly, can hardly believe over a decade has passed since then...

They also have Duran, Severino and Balazovic...OSU’s Larnach, Lewis, Kiriloff, Rooker. Pretty darned impressive system but top heavy like ours. Definitely could trade Romero, Kepler, Larnach or Rooker to fill in holes.

They have only won that one series against the A’s since they last won the WS in 1991. Seventeen consecutive playoff losses, fifteen against NYY. http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/hayes-twins-to-sign-rich-hill-homer-bailey-r8781?st=75#commentsStart Here’s the take of Twins’ fans, some spinning Bailey as better than Bumgarner and Fanny Pack Hill as an improvement on Keuchel...when he won’t pitch until June/July. Both deals without club options. Hill can earn up to $9.5 million with some pretty realistic half season incentives in terms of starts and IP.

Wow, all the posters from the past are beginning to show up again... The big question, though, how do you follow up a post like this? Seems to be all downhill from here.

Jose Martinez didn’t make the cut due to the 2000’s cutoff, but he had a nice little career renaissance as well. Eduardo Escobar similarly falls into that category...where all their impact has been in 2000’s. It’s also not counting Montas, Junior Guerra...players that slipped through our fingers. Of course, conversely, the Mets get credit for Jose Quintana.

When I first joined over a decade ago, after all the skirmishes with Ncorgbl at chisox.com MLB boards, Chisoxfn, Southsider2k5 and Balta were probably the three best posters. Fathom was always the most reliable/faithful gameday poster, and his Cubs' obsession was amusing, although that obviously changed to an extent after 2016. Dick Allen and I were sworn enemies, and then that transformed, probably or likely as a result of the infamous FILIBUSTER. Now there is only KyLle Ren and occasional Rabbit appearances. There's a couple of posters who departed that I miss (along with Scenario on the minor league side), but it was probably the best thing for the board. I suppose the vitriol of political arguments in some ways got refocused into "whose side are you on?" arguments over the last three plus years of rebuilding, and your personal beliefs about the contributions of Hahn, KW and Reinsdorf to that malaise. Thankfully, that's OVER, at least until Opening Day. The last time there was this much shared excitement in the fanbase was the Cabrera/LaRoche/Robertson off-season or early August, 2012. It's long overdue that MOSTLY everyone can be optimistic/hopeful/positive.