caulfield12

Have Tucker already for fantasy but regret not riding PCA wave...our league has no points for stolen bases though

This one will be over in the first 3-4 innings...

No reason not to DH Quero if you're going to start Thaiss instead. Maton isn't a middle of the order hitter by any stretch of the imagination...

As reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune, "Merrill has a partial no-trade clause that excludes the Padres from sending him to eight teams, all of them in the American League Central and National League Central. According to two people close to him, he said he did not need full protection. He wanted to get a deal done." One would have to assume the Cubs and Cardinals are the ONLY exceptions...

That was probably Love to Watch Ray Run...by definition, if anything, there's much more competition in this market segment now than 10-15 years ago. Any type of monopoly argument would have been more relevant in the 80s or 90s. Basically the White Sox are in the entertainment business, but are not providing a compelling product. Business 101. Same reasons the Astros famously had a 0.0 local share in the early 2000s...but then went on an almost dynastic run for a decade following that when they put playoff team after playoff team on the field. Why would market forces do them the favor of bailing them out of that decision to not put a competitive product on the field? For that matter...why would local or state government help them out with public financing for a new stadium? Do better. Be better. You have to spend money and invest in your product to make money and build trust in the community.

Why would Comcast give in when the White Sox are simultaneously trying to give their product away for free? Let's just argue viewership at CHSN is down 70% from what was already a terrible base or foundation in 2024 to start off with...for Comcast and/or advertisers you're not getting much bang for your buck. And you can make a lot more money off a surging Cubs' team that fans will (at least for now) much more willingly pay another $20 per month on the plus tier. No more leverage from Bulls or hockey fans either.

Except the A's are definitely on the upswing...ascendant...with that young offensive core.

https://www.mlb.com/news/reasons-cubs-look-like-postseason-lock-2025 Ate the Cubs the best team in the NL now?

If you squint at 2027-28 and say okay...maybe Quero Teel B.Montgomery and Bonemer (still a LONG ways to go, 2 or 2 1/2 seasons of continuous development and good health required). But Montgomery and for now Bonemer are the only truly "dynamic" or impactful hitters there, as catchers break down so quickly from a physical standpoint post steroids era.

Having watched a ton of Colorado games...I question a lot of the same things, escapability and elusiveness at the next level, holding on to the ball way too long and taking an inordinate amount of sacks (2023 the OL was horrific though)...he doesn't have the plus plus arm strength to make amazing throws across hiis body but relied so much on Hunter's dynamic play-making skills on broken plays...just throwing up 50/50 balls into the air and bring bailed out. Jaden Milroe is pretty much out polar opposite model...more like Justin Fields, run first in 2023 and attempted to evolve into more of a drop back passer last year to mixed results with deBoer. Amazing arm and almost Vick or Jackson-esque running skills. Factoring in father's interference factor, I'd bet on Milroe...

https://talksox.com/news-rumors/boston-red-sox/the-power-of-scott-boras-team-friendly-extensions-the-changing-dynamics-of-baseball-business-r2438/ Long long article but worth a read...thought the stuff on trying to block the Merrill extension and partial vs. full non trade clause vwas was interesting. How and if the Boras model is evolving...

https://nypost.com/2025/04/25/sports/watch-deion-sanders-reaction-during-crushing-shedeur-2025-nfl-draft-moment/ Ofc the QB the Titans are now replacing was one of those rare second rounders due to the rookie contract/4th and 5th year control issues. One almost has to think Sanders goes to CLE, since that front office and ownership group remains a circus as well.

https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/24/white-sox-broadcasts-chsn-ratings If Blackhawks are down 80% and Bulls 63%, one would hate to see the Sox numbers. Ofc Cubs conversely are now taking off at the exact perfect time to cushion the move to a higher tier pricing model at Comcast.

https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runs-per-game Shockingly...not really...Twins Royals and White Sox are all at the bottom here. Rangers and Rockies (stadium environment, but historically inept) are the only anomalies. Cubs and White Sox couldn't be any more diametrically opposed...

Seemingly no faith in Elko. Seemingly no faith in Baldwin or Sosa to play SS well enough. Just don't see how learning everything at the big league level is going to make Baldwin a positive fWAR contributor when he makes so many fundamental mistakes...isn't going to steal you 30-50 bags and isn't going to hit much more than 10-12 maybe 15 homers in a stadium that relies on pop to win during the summer months. We pretty much had that player in Romy Gonzalez...minus the higher grade speed.

DeJong and Pham were two of the better hitters for most of last season. None of the vets other than Benintendi are hitting a lick now. And still might need to rely on Drury coming up if they can't hit for any more pop. (Note all Royals are hitting a combined .569 ops except Witt Jr. in mid 800s, somehow generating less offense than even the putrid White Sox.)

Well that all depends on the quality or pitchability of those guys...Gilbert could keep them all off balance to start the game or get his brains beaten because you're spending up their bats on mistake pitcher. It worked for the Rays historically and the Tigers specifically last year. Otoh the Tigers seem to be excellent this year particularly due to Flaherty Mize Olson and Jobe all pitching lights out (supplementing Skubal) and giving the pen more of a breather to last the entire season after being overused down the stretch last year.

Also have to dump Benintendi as well...someday. When his remaining money owned is less onerous.

SoxMachine mock draft pick for Sox The highest-rated college players on my Watch Board are Oklahoma RHP Kyson Witherspoon and Tennessee 2B Gavin Kilen. While I’m tempted to favor my feelings, we're trying to guess which direction Mike Shirley and Chris Getz will pull the White Sox with their first-round selection. My gut says that it’s Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill. Summerhill checks off many boxes that Getz and assistant GM Josh Barfield have stressed since starting Rebuild III. Defensive versatility allows Summerhill to play all three outfield positions, possibly providing an answer to who plays center field once Luis Robert Jr. is gone. At the plate, Summerhill has more contact over power and is tough to strike out (11.8 percent K-rate this season). With six triples, Summerhill has good speed out of the batter’s box. The downside is a lack of home run power (probably a 40 grade at best), and base stealing technique is poor for Summerhill’s athleticism (16-for-28 in his college career). Plus, Summerhill fractured his right hand against West Virginia in late March and has almost missed a month of games. Weigh the pros against the cons, then note that he's a local product (Whitney Young High) who hit pretty well in the Cape Cod League last summer (.286/.358/.441 in 24 games). Summerhill feels like a White Sox pick. https://soxmachine.com/2025/04/2025-mlb-draft-report-mock-draft-1-0#coral_thread Just believe they need more impactful power in the minors... Wolkow and Zapata are both struggling right now. Reading this write-up, he feels more like a slightly lesser version of Andrew Benintendi coming out of the Univ of Arkansas. Plus any hitter who's dealt with an injury in his draft year can be a bit scary...although obviously Braden's off to a fast start in Low A. Being a local product makes it even more likely the Sox take him for the "feel good/marketing" angle as well.

Caleb Williams: If Williams doesn't have a big season, there should be alarms going off in Chicago. The Bears keep setting up Williams to succeed. They didn't get it all done last season, not putting enough resources into the offensive line and making a poor decision to stick with head coach Matt Eberflus one year too long. But this offseason the Bears built up the offensive line in free agency and trades. They hired Ben Johnson, a coveted offensive guru who had a great run as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator. And to make it even better, they grabbed tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th pick of the draft. The Bears passed on Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and other good prospects at receiver and running back — not to mention plenty of help for the defense or offensive line — which is an indication of how excited they are about the versatile Loveland in the offense. It's hard to say any second-year quarterback is facing a make-or-break season. But Williams, last year's No. 1 overall draft pick, doesn't have any excuses this year. yahoo.com/sports

No, this is NOT part of the game thread!!! FRI Tyler Gilbert, then Burke vs. Luis Severino SAT J.Cannon vs. Sean Springs SUN Martin vs. Bido Now hitting a much tougher stretch of the schedule... Brewers Astros @ Royals Marlins @ Reds @ Cubs Mariners Rangers @ Mets @ Orioles

fWAR standings... 122. Vargas (positive fWAR defensively) 136. Luis Robert, Jr. 145. Marcus Semien 149. Tommy Pham 153. Andrew Vaughn Sosa the only qualified hitter not in negative numbers at 0.0, Thaiss 0.4 leads the team and Benintendi at 0.2 Amaya at -0.5 has JUST 50 at-bats or so, but is ONLY ahead of Jeimer Candelario, A.Vaughn, Nick Massey and Michael Toglia (Rockies). He BARELY has a positive defensive rating at +1.2. Amaya behind all of the following SS's defensively (12th in majors), when his offense makes him the worst overall... (List from fangraphs formatted correctly on my phone and didn't look the same one hour later.)

No chance against Miller.

"Dart of the Deal" lol at that NYpost headline Poor Sanders family...not feeling too bad for them, maybe he'll be better off it he goes to a team where he can learn for a year or two in a system that fits his talent set.

Really like Golden if you're a Packers fan, which obviously most here are decidedly not. Kind of less exciting having no Iowa picks, last year at least it was Cooper DeJean and T.Taylor. Kaleb Johnson will be the first Hawkeye picked this year, likely late 2nd or early 3rd round.