caulfield12

LaRussa, Leyland and Francona...

Sure, as long as it’s not JR, KW or Hahn. Renteria and/or Cooper will be next on the chopping block if they disappoint in 2020 (see Ventura post 2016). And the concept of both Abreu and Renteria having earned lifetime contracts is baffling, at best. Lisle being pushed out so quickly is yet another sign the analytics side isn’t making much real progress...especially in light of the rants by Renteria and Cooper as the season wound down (Stone as well.)

Hell, at this point, I’d roll the dice with Jirschele...because the Renteria/Vizquel style doesn’t work for any team but the 2014-15 Royals. Certainly not MLB Version 2019. We don’t have more than a couple of capable bunters or situational hitters (Madrigal is pretty much it), and two of the best stolen base threats in Moncada and Robert are largely in a “no fly zone” due to fear of potential injury.

Outside of the obvious four youngsters, where is the talent on the big league roster? McCann and Leury were the 5th/6th best hitters. The Astros have more talent just at their infield/DH positions than our entire positional player roster. Fwiw, I guess they want a new coach to work with Madrigal and Robert, but what the heck was it that Steverson was supposedly inculcating on a system wide basis?

We’re great at finding scapegoats, not so great at identifying talent. Now we have to be stubborn and prove that Renteria can win at the big league level, or that Cooper hasn’t lost it. Who suffers? The fans, of course.

They traded away Reyes because they already had Renfroe, Myers, Margot, Naylor, Jankowski, Cordero, etc. Now they have Trammell as well. If Urias and Mejia are for real, they’ll be fine with all that pitching...when it starts to turn the corner. And Gore is going to be a monster, as long as he stays healthy.

I thought everyone was ecstatic about the progress from Anderson, Moncada, Jimenez, McCann, etc.??? I guess they still need someone to fix Collins, because it’s hard to imagine doing much better with the Palka’s, Cordell’s, Tilson’s, Engel’s and Yolmer Sanchez’s of MLB. Not to mention Jay, Alonso and Castillo. I guess they’re going to somehow transform all those guys into high OBP, high walk profiles...will believe they can change those guys when I see it. And they better not remake Moncada into the timid/passive 2018 version again.

Myers isn’t a huge deal, they will trade him for 50 cents on the dollar by the trade deadline next year if he doesn’t rebound. Hosmer and Machado are the keys. That said, they have so much more pitching depth than the White Sox, especially at the minor league level and this year’s rookie class. As the playoffs demonstrate each year, it’s 75% about pitching and defense in the postseason. If you stacked up Tatis, Machado, Hosmer, Mejia, Renfroe, pre-2019 Myers, Urias, Naylor and Taylor Trammell (http://thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=203939 had a ROUGH start to his career with SD after trade)...you’d find a lot of things to like, if the pitching lives up to its billing. A lot will obviously come down to whether Trammell becomes Mike Cameron or Kenny Williams in CF. Margot finally proved he was better suited as a fourth OF this year. CJ Abrams also had a very impressive debut, but of course will ultimately need to prove himself in full season ball.(http://thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=222138)

Signing LUIS Robert was the main change, and that’s a KW Special. All these “refined” college bats like Collins, Burger, Alex Call, Fisher, Gonzalez, Sheets, Walker and Madrigal...and the last player is the only one likely to make an impact on the next White Sox playoff team.

I’m sure the Jose Abreu contract for three years that nobody wants signed will eclipse $16 million, likely a similar number for just one season. That’s still roughly half our “new” wasted spending this year on Alonso, Jay, Herrera, Santana and Nova. We wasted $18 million on Herrera alone, which is probably worse than Olivera because he will block Hahn from spending on the pen while they wait on a “bounce back” year out of him.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2826984-why-the-2019-dodgers-are-paying-over-40-million-to-players-not-on-the-roster The Dodgers are paying Olivera $4.67 million this season.

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/nl-west/san-diego-padres/

Ian Kinsler?

Paddack and Tatis, Jr., established themselves, similar to Giolito and Moncada. The Padres still have a ton of minor league capital to utilize in making trades to go for another frontline pitcher to pair with Paddack, Gore (everyone in baseball would gladly take him as their top pitching prospect) and Richards. The White Sox have money, sure, but a limited number of really difference-making players to spend it on outside the Top 10-15 due to the plethora of extensions signed in the last calendar year. The big difference is the Dodgers vs. presence of small/mid-market teams.

JR: Best owner in professional sports, period! Seven titles don’t lie.

Not to mention Turner and Chris Taylor... seems they pull a new guy out of the hat every season.

Because he’s the closest thing to Dustin Pedroia out there. Devers, Bogaerts, Madrigal, Betts and Benintendi...that’s a solid enough core if they jettison JDM’s salary and inject it back into the pitching staff. They can always plug someone like Chavis, Smoak, Adams, etc., into the DH spot.

They need a 2B in the Pedroia mode, and Madrigal is the perfect match there. It would be something like Madrigal, Lopez and Walker. Thats too much capital to run the risk of losing him at the end of the year when they’re probably not competing without a DH, two more solid starting pitchers and some major additions in the pen (thanks for nothing, Herrera.)

Ironic we ended up behind Padres and Angels again...

Why are we trading Vaughn when we haven't been able to come up with a single acceptable 1B/DH other than Abreu in the last five years??? Are we REALLY betting on Collins, Sheets or Adolfo at that spot?

I can't tell you how many arguments I've read in the last 4-5 years here at SoxTalk that that deal wasn't bad at all for the White Sox...that it was a "coup" for Rick Hahn, even (except against the Royals).

The only thing that would have been better would be Gordon Beckham doing that with 2 outs. Alas. Still would be shocked if Verlander doesn't end up with his 21st victory of the season against LAA, down just 1-0.

Cue Balta's Omar Narvaez will end up creating more value for the Mariners (three more years on his contract) than Alex Colome does for the Chicago White Sox argument of the last 9 months. Padres, surprisingly, in Garrett Richard's third comeback start, beating Robbie Ray and the D-Backs in the desert.

Tank loss, supreme!!! Otoh, Colome's second half leaves a lot to be desired, and there's not a plethora of solid closers on the FA market...and JR never likes to overspend on relief pitchers, not after Dotel, Linebrink and Robertson.

Drama/intrigue!!!