caulfield12

Finally got Outman to the AL Central... 342 .935 Bring back the great Keaschall debate

That toe injury killed his season...could never get it back offensively, if he still had it after 2024 Seattle.

Months ago, Teel/Quero was billed as their niche advantage over other teams, having two strong catchers coming up together... And Sosa's essentially their best young player, unless you're still buying into Colson Montgomery as an everyday SS. But let's say you traded Sosa and Quero for the 2024 version of Wilyer Abreu...a 3 fWAR RF, does that really make the team better? Maybe? Maybe not?

At one point his fWAR was +1.7 with MIL in just about a month when he's way under 0.0 career-wise with the Sox...

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/orioles-rookie-samuel-basallo-reportedly-agrees-to-8-year-67-million-extension-with-team-days-after-mlb-debut-132901274.html Samuel Basallo getting 8 years, $67 million extension from Baltimore. Wow.

I blame this on Chris Getz and Rick Hahn as well. Going to Sox games is apparently too dangerous...at least according to some news reporting. Have been hearing this since the late 1970s as a fan. "Chicago will be the next city that his administration targets for a federal crackdown on crime and suggested a longer and more intense campaign in the nation’s capital. “We’ll straighten that one out, probably next, that will be our next one after this,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York.” cnn.com

But he was on EVERY single Top 100 list but one entering the season...or at least after the first half. And to rank Bonemer so far ahead...just crazy. Meanwhile, Wolkow has had at best mixed results. Most would argue disappointing overall.

And Marlins won two AS in 1997/2003 (first decade as a franchise)...and just forty years in existence, while it took the White Sox 88 years (a lifetime as a fan) to match the same accomplishment. They did get 1959 in the middle. Yay?

El Paso 67-55 San Antonio 57-60 Ft. Wayne 57-63 (de Vries, Top 5 guy) pythagorean 50-66 Lake Elsinore 52-65 -7 games overall By far the worst minor league system in baseball, 29th or 30th by every rating system....maybe it was closer to .500 and above three weeks ago when a slew of top prospects were traded, but the correlation level between minor league winning percentage and success of producing ready-made major league prospects isn't a slam dunk. It's just an obvious thing for fans to look at first. You could also for example look at total runs scored and allowed....but 75-80% of that production will never end up represented on a major league roster. But 11 of their already in SD have been traded away this season already...just like a number of Top 30 in the Sox system graduated to the big league team. Charlotte 57-65 Birmingham 70-46 Winston Salem 47-68 Kannapolis 53-64 -16 games under .500 From the #3/4 system at start of the year to #15-18 right now...all that indicates is Birmingham is a much stronger team today than April 1st or May 1st or even June 1st. Just like WestEddy argues about the White Sox record being poisoned largely by journeymen/veterans leading to a 7-23 start.

He's still going to be on the list of main reasons for 30 or 45 days the Brewers surged past the Cubs when the story of the season is written. Or will only Kyle Tucker's mysterious hitting slump be remembered most?

Wasn't Babe Ruth really the first hot dog? Or was it Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell?

But for the majority of the season...Bergolla was the best hitting prospect. Who were the starting outfielders in April May June?

Minor league development people and scout don't look at team minor league win totals as being a highly correlated indicator of much at all. Birmingham has the best record but least amount of future big league talent other than Braden...who was just recently added. They do start to look at team records when you have 4-6 really highly ranked prospects together and they're still not making the playoffs...but if the rest of the roster is crap or injured like the 2013-2016 White Sox, then you're still not going very far with stars and scrubs. And if all your minor league affiliates were in last place...that probably wouldn't bode vey well at all lol.

7th team since 2021…might have made HoF had he retired then. Now there’s no shot.

From The Athletic: In addition to that, ESPN would obtain the rights to every out-of-network MLB game. That's essentially what MLB.TV already provides to customers, as the service offers out-of-network games to fans. But it would also presumably allow ESPN to sell rights for certain out-of-network games to other networks or subscription services. https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/mlb-espn-reportedly-reach-agreement-for-network-to-obtain-rights-to-sell-out-of-market-games-ability-to-offer-mlbtv-171316101.html Uh-oh. Found a sampling of various comments online. I can't speak to in-market costs but for out-of-market it's going to be way more. So now we'll have to pay $30/month for ESPN just for the right to pay $150/year for MLB.TV. I already sub during the hockey season and it’s got a sweet multi-channel NHL feature. It’s bundled with disney and hulu and would be cheaper than stand alone Padres.tv (assuming they don’t raise rates which i’m sure they will). ESPN has the most downtime of the streamers, lowest quality picture & bitrates, and I personally hate their landing pages as it never accounts for my favorite teams and just pushes content ESPN wants you to watch. Also going to annoy those who rely on T-Mobile or ATT for free access to mlb.tv. Since they will now have to pay additional money to ESPN/Disney. Twins’ fans after this season are going to super-pissed. Teams carried through MLB were down to $15 million per team for local media rights…not sure if this will raise that compensation or not.

"The in-market rights ESPN is set to acquire — to the Guardians, Padres, Twins, Diamondbacks and Rockies — are also expected to be distributed through the new app." 2026-2028, 3 years. Looks like the new deals combined will end up being more than $550 million previously from ESPN alone...but the "average" rights fees coming down overall. Home Run Derby to Netflix, Sunday Night Baseball to NBC/Universal, wild card games still up for grabs. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/08/mlb-media-rights-fee-expected-increase-combined-nbc-netflix-espn/ ESPN's direct-to-consumer service features an unlimited plan for $29.99 per month or $299 per year, or a select plan for $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. Twins fans would then need an MLB.TV subscription that could have a similar price in the region of $29.99 a month, which could put the monthly bill around $40-$60 per month for Minnesota fans. Twins.TV currently costs $19.99 per month or $99.99 per season, so being required to pay for both ESPN new's service and MLB.TV could get quite expensive. It's unclear if fans who subscribe to a TV provider that includes ESPN will be able to simply add Twins games for an additional price. si.com

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/red-sox-calling-up-outfielder-jhostynxon-garcia-nicknamed-the-password-teams-no-3-prospect-220656670.html The Password called up by Boston. Best nickname in sports.

WestEddy is half right and half wrong. Or 1/3rd right...lol. The changes started in Chicago and Dodgers' GM Gomes noticed the improvement/s. But to credit Getz/coaches too much is pushing it, at that point it was just a flier on Kopech instead of maximizing the return by fixing him...let's say in mid May. https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/michael-kopech-dodgers-what-changed/ "In actuality, there are two differences that can be found going back to the changes he first implemented in Chicago before the trade. The first is a difference in pitch mix. Kopech has reduced the use of his four-seam fastball and increased the use of his cutter, helping to keep hitters off balance in the box. These changes have also been accompanied by increased spin rates, particularly on his cutter. More spin has helped his cutter gain almost four inches of vertical movement. The pitch has been absolutely devastating, as it now has above-average horizontal and vertical movement. Kopech has posted video game-type numbers with the pitch, getting an absurd 62.5% whiff percentage on his cutter since August 1. Over that same stretch, opposing hitters have not recorded a single hit off of the pitch. In other words, it has been one of the most dominant secondary offerings in baseball. Meanwhile, increased spin has slightly reduced movement on his four-seam fastball, which actually makes it a more effective offering."

SoxTalk 2025: A Site for Wrong People

Dodgers? Cubs? Mets?

Price tag? $550 million last time...let's see how much lower it goes.

Just beat the Dodgers 2 out of 3...including a walk off win on Monday night.

Gavin Sheets, who hardly even plays anymore, is tied with Lenyn Sosa with 17 homers and four ahead in RBIs, 58 to 54. Holy Sheets!!! Charts break out Vaughn already has his own t-shirt giveaway in Milwaukee

Don't forget the high quality CHSN broadcasting effort...and the reversal of free access via antenna.

Since Branch Rickey even...