caulfield12

We traded away our versions of Rizzo/Baez...and did the reverse of adding Lester, which was missing on Harper and Machado and completely deflating the morale of the fanbase, rather than elevating it.

He can mentor López....and Giolito.

Are we now to “Major League” movie territory where the overall badness becomes the rallying cry of an underestimated ragtag band of underdogs against Rachel Phelps...err, Jerry Reinsdorf?

Former Padre Spangenberg...competing with Saladino for last spot, blasts a 3 run homer. 7-0. Cain blasts a hit, at .450. Hit batter. Still nobody out, lol. But it’s just spring training! Now Corey Ray, a reminder of our scouting failures with local Chicago area players...

And they all eventually had to hit on the right GM, coaching/talent development and scouting staffs. Since Moneyball, we have lost our two niches...keeping players healthy and Cooper. I guess now it’s Renteria/Vizquel and so many Cuban/Latin players.

4-0. Every single hit is a rocket...on the radio, and through the announcers’ description. All that’s missing is Eucker’s voice so far.

I can just imagine the counterargument...Royals and Pirates and even the Braves in 80’s we’re rebuilding for multiple decades before achieving success.

But at least our $2.5 million catcher has hit the ball hard hard twice. We can trade him for....something.

If they don’t make any big free agent moves, they’re essentially stuck with a 2-3 year window like the Royals had (also due to unexpected rash of injuries to key players in 2016 and the inability to keep their bullpen intact as it became more and more expensive).

Braun just homered. 3-0. Jimenez now 3/24, .125. 6 hits already by the Brewers, Moustakas just hit a rocket right at Garcia. High 7’s ERA for the irreplaceable Ivan Nova. Sox don’t even belong on the same field against a playoff team with Chacin starting. No hit so far. Oh, well...not unexpected, right? Well, maybe not Jimenez struggling out of the gate.

Yes, except for Soler, who helped them acquire an excellent closer in Davis. You can argue that Russell, Almora, Happ and Schwarber have been different levels of disappointing, but they all made it. Of course, Baez and Rizzo from the previous regime were gifts as well, the pre-existing connection of Epstein to Lester, not to mention the willingness to spend top dollar on coaching staff and scouting. Imagine the Cubs today with Gleyber Torres, Jimenez and Cease...?

That’s like saying the Eaton and Sale trades were good, except for the fact those acquired players are underperforming expectations. If you don’t execute the plan, identify the wrong players to target...or put the apple cart before the horse (could have waited until after Machado signed to go out and get Alonso, Jay and Kimbrel instead of Colome/Herrera), then it’s still a failure. In the end when those players contribute to a 68-72 win team, fans won’t remember. Baseball is about entertainment. Without a star, and the belief your team can legitimately compete, fans won’t turn out for most MLB markets. In lieu of that, you need exciting/dynamic young position players to rally around, not Fulmer/Collins/Burger.

Jimenez, Mendick and Robert in lineup today... https://www.mlb.com/gameday/white-sox-vs-brewers/2019/03/11/567544#game_state=preview,game_tab=videos,game=567544

Profitability is much higher at $90 million unless they can sign a superstar who will actually move the needle.

LFer’s reaction is hilarious... https://www.mlb.com/video/garcia-s-solo-tater-c2523508783

Best Fans in America/Cardinals’ Nation believes it.

I just meant any type of pitcher who flies through the system as a starter or reliever. Boone Logan and Radinsky come to mind. Or McCarthy/Hudson. Lambert, potentially...Hansen as a reliever, but that’s an iffy proposition. Flores doesn’t really have dominant stuff.

Take back that last sentence!!! Color everyone skeptical about Collins and Zavala behind the plate. For Hahn and Hostetler’s sake, they need to be right about one of these guys in the 8-12 range of the 1st round eventually.

McCann has looked good so far...actually just 28, throws quite well...but many still would have preferred Maldonado. Detroit let him go at that age for a reason. Of course, we did the same with Tyler Flowers.

Not giving up...but not counting on until he puts up a 15-18 homer season, at a minimum...over 140 games.

Too much seems to be predicated on Burdi. Other than Hamilton, maybe...who else has the ability in their minors to make that jump up 2-3 stops in one year? Fry, if his elbow holds together? Burr, not likely. Veira? Ruiz? Seems like a bunch of optimistic suppositions so far.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/st.-louis-cardinals/matt-carpenter-8735/ Carpenter will be 34 next year and StL has an $18.5 million option for 2020. If they lose Goldschmidt and Ozuna, they almost have to bring him back unless he totally falls apart, in which case he’d be the perfect White Sox signing.

Color most of us skeptical that we won’t end up wasting another $45 on riff raft that not one single ticket buyer is motivated to attend a game due to their ongoing presence. It’s like we signed the equivalent of five Jeff Keppingers as far as the fanbase is concerned.

Which puts his return to real game action mid to late June...and probably not really clicking until mid July due to the missed spring training time and (April/May also toast) in order to get his offensive rhythm back. Robert never really found himself last year until the AFL for that very same reason.

Balta already made the point that Abreu, Alonso, Colome, Herrera, Rodon, Leury/Yolmer, Anderson, etc., gets you fairly close to $75 million before you even blink.