caulfield12

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-offseason-grades-grading-every-teams-winter-from-an-a-for-the-dodgers-to-fs-for-the-mariners-and-padres-221333389.html Notice the joke in Marlins’ the section about the White Sox being the only other active team TRYING to lose. Lots of teams coming under criticism for not doing enough. Pitt, Minnesota, Rockies seem to stand out. Bregman and Alonso signings are going to mark major shifts for two teams. Enjoyed the Blue Jays’ write-up. Someone with a sense of humor.

Even that wasn’t a philosophical change. He was simply the last guy left standing among the so-called upper tier guys at the time…and Hahn had missed on all the other targets.

Athletics? No SAC or LV designation…

You would think the White Sox were 26-30th ranked going by all these comments. If the Red Sox system is so great, you have to be excited about Teel and Braden at least.

Does SwR OR Matthews, Larnach and Willi Castro beat the Cease deal? Or Paddack with $$$ back to SD, Larnach and Castro?

"That group also includes Brock Stewart, Michael Tonkin, and Ronny Henriquez. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s four hurlers who cannot be sent down. They make it, or they’re probably cut. There’s also Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano. If the Twins want to retain his services, he has to stay on the big-league roster or injured list all year (and even if he spends time on the IL, he needs to be on the active roster for at least 90 days)." https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/the-twins-bullpen-is-already-full-how-does-danny-coulombe-fit-r17707/ Twins will likely DFA Henriquez and send Castellano back...

9:49am: It’s a one-year major league deal that comes with a $3MM guarantee, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Minnesota has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move when the signing is finalized. 8:07am: The Twins have agreed to a deal with free agent left-hander Danny Coulombe, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The ALIGND Sports client’s contract is pending the completion of a physical. It’ll be the veteran reliever’s second stint in Minnesota. Twins now all-in this season...bringing Coulombe back home from Baltimore.

Some prognosticators have already picked the A's as their sleeper team...if they adjust to constant 95 degree summer heat in Sacramento and make it a true home field advantage. Rockies fans similar to Bulls' fans...keep supporting their hopeless team for reasons, like Arenado and Kris Bryant deals.

Did Montgomery run over his cat or dog? Geez...like he is on a personal mission to destroy him and staking his reputation on being right while nearly everyone else still has him ranked in the 30s and 40's.

To be fair, when's the last time the White Sox added a player anywhere close to the value of AD? I guess it's the equivalent of trading Albert Belle in 1997-98 for Omar Vizquel or Ken Caminiti...but then that trade would be more about contracts and less about defensive first philosophy and "player value" in terms of chasing a championship.

Doncic's father furious with Mavs for trying to make him a scapegoat...

"On the other hand, it also can’t envision a scenario where the White Sox finish .500. In 1,000 simulated 2025 seasons, PECOTA has the Sox topping out at 78 wins. When you scroll back up to the standings, it seems like the hopes of returning to the land of normal terrible teams lies in the run column. PECOTA has the 2025 White Sox scoring 631 runs, which is the worst in the American League, yet a spectacular improvement from 2024, when they scored just 507 runs and underperformed even the most ridiculous imagined set of circumstances." https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/pecota-once-again-hates-the-white-sox-less-than-you-do/

https://soxmachine.com/2025/02/the-white-sox-have-prospects-in-2025-but-do-they-have-a-system/ Already posted...but definitely goes together. A collection of talent...or cohesive system?

What's the average tenure of a Raiders' coach since Gruden? More likely a situation like TLR...to me, NFL head coaching is just 5-10x more demanding if you're micromanager/control freak. We will see how well Carroll reacts with his coordinators when they struggle out of the gate.

Shaddeur drafted as QB with 6th pick...Ward #3 to NYG. Deion to LVR for 2026 season.

https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43682593/pitcher-tim-mayza-pittsburgh-pirates-agree-1-year-contract Could have signed LHP Mayza, traded for DFA'ed Tigers' RHP Alex Faedo, former first rounder. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/rays-to-acquire-alex-faedo.html

https://global.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/43611665/mlb-2025-free-agency-alex-bregman-contract-prediction-astros-tigers-red-sox-dodgers Already turned down 6/$156 million from Astros in Dec. Dodgers can't possibly be interested...

I had that card in close to mint condition and sold too early in the 1990s...don't remind me lol.

https://www.mlb.com/news/most-improved-mlb-team-entering-2025 Mets really "won the offseason" over Dodgers in terms of fWAR added...but LA still way out ahead overall. Guardians Twins Tigers Royals all bunched up together as well...

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Team Are the White Sox actually ahead? Accounting error? The hitting is really going to improve that much? One can understand subtracting Fedde and Crochet I guess on the pitching side. And yet Colorado is listed on top of Sox...with 46+ fWAR still available from remaining FAs like Bregman and Alonso.

What's going to be really hard to swallow is if Anthony and Campbell are complete studs in Boston and Mayer at least ends up as a 3-4 fWAR SS for 6-7 seasons. I'm thinking with Quero already in place...Raffaela might have been the more interesting choice, since we still don't have a plus SS, while Boston has two plus Story...who is more of a 2B at this point. Meidroth looks good on paper...BUT maybe like Madrigal, the reality of him will come up short at the big league level. Or simply Mayer and Montgomery/Abreu with no third piece. But you have to roll the dive on Braden's potential, ceiling not reached and the 2027-28 start of theoretically competitive window. Raffaela Duran Abreu all moves for "win now" teams https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jarren-duran/24617/stats?position=OF Duran had 2.0 fWAR combined for three years and then exploded to 6.7. 2.5 previous year...weren't going to trade him unless even the Red Sox didn't buy into a repeat. Raffaela is 24 and closer to Sox timeline but God knows if his offense ever matches the defensive profile. He will start season in CF apparently. David Hamilton (too old for White Sox) will start at 2B and quickly get pushed out by Campbell...Trevor Story hasn't been healthy for three years but will start season at short.

Would the Titans really take Abdul Carter over Ward (looking at latest ESPN mock)? ThE NFL is such a QB-centric league now...and everyone now knows Levis isn't the guy, except for soup commercials. Also, Deion Sanders' son and Raiders/Brady (#6) will be quite interesting to watch lol. Probably will end up leaving Colorado for Vegas after this upcoming NCAAF season. Depends what type of offense he has without his son, transfer QB and no Travis Hunter.

With a tv deal generating under $10 million compared to $67-72 million previously...maybe if they weren't classified as a large market team and getting an additional $75-100 million from the league like the Pirates or A's. They were only at $277 million in Forbes revenues...right there with the A's at the bottom. Obviously season tickets and corporate sponsorships/promotional partners must be way way down...so the only offset is the national media contract split and controlling all their own parking concessions souvenirs, especially Sox hat sales around the world.

They treated Doncic like he was coming out of the White Sox organization and totally out of control in terms of personal life, not taking coaching advice, unwilling to play defense since Kyrie has never been especially declined to defend. Or like he was Sean Kemp and uber talented but completely toxic. That's a huge risk that nobody in a new organization like a Pat Riley will be able to get him to toe the company line.

The argument last year is that nobody was giving out the type of Top 50 trade packages in position prospects...certainly at the deadline. Other than LAD and Boston, who has/had the requisite 2 studs on the position player side that trade would have entailed...with a lighter third piece? It doesn't work with MN because they still would have held onto Jenkins since the financial consequences of the Robert deal are/were harder for them to digest. E.Rodriguez and Keachsall weren't quite there yet as stud prospects. You'd have to look at the Top 100 a year ago...but hindsight is always 20/20. Mariners wouldn't have needed him for CF. Reds? Rays too cash-strapped...although they gave Kim their biggest deal weeks ago. Campbell didn't exist a year ago for Boston...Anthony and Mayer? Of course they didn't know the seasons Duran and Raffaela would have at that point. Cubs/Sox deals always complicated...and a year ago they had Bellinger coming off an MVP votes season.