caulfield12

You left out the Royals, who had a two year run before they had to start tearing everything apart. That was certainly not sustainable success because they had to move on from everyone but Gordon (who famously almost went to the Sox for $72 million, which would have been a disaster) and Sal Perez. Hosmer and Moustakas got too expensive, Cain same thing (old and expensive), Shields/Cueto/Zobrist moved on, Yordano Ventura died and then the bullpen quickly got too old and expensive as well (Davis, Holland, Herrera). But here’s why their run ended, at least 50% of it…Michael Paul Montgomery (born July 1, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft, and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2015. The Mariners traded him to the Chicago Cubs in 2016. Montgomery recorded the final out in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, earning the save and sealing the Cubs' first World Series title since 1908. 2010 Christian Colon '15 Shortstop California State University, Fullerton (Fullerton, California) 4 [54] 2011 Bubba Starling Outfielder Gardner Edgerton High School (Gardner, Kansas) 5 [55] 2012 Kyle Zimmer Right-handed pitcher University of San Francisco (San Francisco, California) 5 [56] 2013 Hunter Dozier Shortstop Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Texas) 8 [57] 2013 Sean Manaea Left-handed pitcher Indiana State University (Terre Haute, Indiana) 34§[o] [57] 2014 Brandon Finnegan Left-handed pitcher Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX) 17 [58] 2014 Foster Griffin Left-handed pitcher The First Academy (Orlando, Florida) 28§ [58] 2014 Chase Vallot catcher St. Thomas More High School (Lafayette, Louisiana) 40§ [58] 2015 Ashe Russell Right-handed pitcher Cathedral High School (Indianapolis, Indiana) 21 [59] 2015 Nolan Watson Right-handed pitcher Lawrence North High School (Indianapolis, Indiana) 33§ [59] 2016 no first-round pick[o] N/A

2024’s 1-7-8-9 definitely the equivalent of Royce Clayton and Mark Johnson… That’s a lot of pressure on Fletcher, but, then again, nobody really is going to care all that much about this season’s Sox results other than the net from the Cease trade and any other deadline deals.

Record ticket prices for Michigan vs Iowa Thursday night. According to @TickPick, this is the *2nd most expensive women’s basketball game of all-time (college or WNBA). The average purchase price is $521. The cheapest ticket sold for this game before the news of Caitlin Clark nearing the record was $110; the current “get-in” price is $454. Remaining courtside seats at @StubHub are $9,844. *note: TickPick updated its information to 2nd, not first. TickPick originally had it listed as most expensive, but has updated to second. The first is now Iowa and Clark’s regular season finale against Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Current average ticket price: $517. The record holder before that was the 2022 WNBA All-Star game, with $150 face value tickets but not sure how many actually paid that vs. comped/corporate/charitable write offs.

Didn't realize Fletcher had nearly an 840 Milb ops with over 200 RBI's and 40ish homers. That and he went to the same school as Benintendi...Arkansas. Only two years from overlapping even though it seems Benintendi has been around forever and a day...so they/Getz (or another former Royals' staffer) definitely would have touched base with him on the acquisition regarding his character, work habits, etc. Obviously Barfield and his asst as well were quote familiar with him.

Still think the Giants are well short off the Dodgers, but just have to wait and see. This is the first time SF has spent significant money on external free agents in many many years. Always finishing second or third on their preferred targets.

Lineup: Gunnar Henderson, SS Adley Rutschman, C Anthony Santander, RF Ryan Mountcastle, 1B Ryan O'Hearn, DH Austin Hays, LF Cedric Mullins, CF Jackson Holliday, 2B Jordan Westburg, 3B If Holliday (MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect) makes the team -- a “very strong possibility,” per GM Mike Elias -- then the 20-year-old could see a good bit of time at second. If he doesn’t, Westburg could play more second and versatile infielder Ramón Urías would get more starts. Btw, Ortiz (2B) and DJ Hall (5th spot) both starting for MIL. Basallo, Mayo, Cowser, Kjerstad…that’s still quite the depth chart. Along with Bradfield, everything well timed for the next wave to eventually replace those five vets in the lineup.

WHITE SOX Lineup: Andrew Benintendi, LF Yoán Moncada, 3B Luis Robert Jr., CF Eloy Jiménez, DH Andrew Vaughn, 1B Dominic Fletcher, RF Paul DeJong, SS Nicky Lopez, 2B Martín Maldonado, C This group should be much better defensively, but the question remains as to how much they can produce together with the bats. Robert Jr. is one of the best all-around players in the game, and Moncada, Jiménez and Vaughn have the talent for strong years. Rotation: Dylan Cease, RHP Michael Kopech, RHP Erick Fedde, RHP Michael Soroka, RHP Chris Flexen, RHP There’s plenty of starting depth within the White Sox system, as young hurlers such as Nick Nastrini and Jake Eder aren’t far from Major League action. Garrett Crochet will be viewed as a starter for ‘24, but with 73 innings total on his resume, the left-hander might have to go to Triple-A Charlotte to build up for that new role. It’s also a big season for Kopech as part of the rotation. https://www.mlb.com/news/projected-lineups-rotations-for-every-2024-mlb-team

We still don’t know exactly why JR chose to go with KW on the Burger trade…or what we were going to receive in Hahn’s reported Tim Anderson deal. Maybe Reinsdorf still thought he was salvageable from a marketing/PR standpoint at that exact moment in time. That’s going to remain a mystery for years to come unless Eder somehow blows up and becomes a stud.

But is he part of their next playoff team? Does he have any remaining trade value? Compare to the number of at-bats Joe Borchard received with the White Sox as a Top 5-10 overall prospect in the game...

Or the importance of having a dynamic rusher up the middle like Jones?

Something different to discuss...especially guys like Witt and Elly De la Cruz, obviously Steamer seriously undersells any rookies before they have established a baseline. https://www.mlb.com/news/fantasy-baseball-player-rankings-2024-drafts 30. Robert 108. Cease 151. Eloy 161. Burger 223. Vaughn 224. Giolito 246. J.Abreu 260. Whit Merrifield

Pure speed wise...Williams has Mahomes beat. Judgement and decision-making that made that game one of his first interceptions surrendered in ages...that's the kind of thing that only comes from repeated experiences on the biggest stages, enabling his weakest team to win away from Arrowhead 3 consecutive as slight underdogs. Williams tends to force things...and running so much in the NFL gets you injured eventually. There were 3-4 risks that Mahomes took running with the ball that he hardly ever does in the regular season...well, minus the time he got his helmet cracked open.

Playing for one of the three worst teams in baseball versus one of the best at one year older ... and where he might feel he's just as important if not more of a clubhouse leader than Grifol?

Friends and family hasn't gone well for the Sox so far...that said, maybe Profar will prove to be an exception. In his prime (before injuries) Jurickson was the quintessential type of dynamic athlete they seem to now be targeting...

You can say all you want about the third team possessing the ball having a guaranteed shot to win the game outright…but that discounts all the permutations of deal with Mahomes knowing exactly what he needs to do (like going on 4th and 1 deep in own territory, or setting every drive up with punting never an option)…not to mention Greenlaw was out by that point, and how huge he was for their defense. And then how much the Chiefs possessed the ball in the second half and finally started to wear down the SF defense. And it’s Patrick Mahomes, lol. The lead specifically mad a rule to thwart him, Tyreek Hill and Kelce because they were so deadly automatic.

https://soxmachine.com/2023/09/white-sox-international-approach-in-need-of-overhaul/ https://www.futuresox.net/2023/10/06/2023-white-sox-affiliate-review-dominican-summer-league/ But now the White Sox’ operations in the D.R. are coming back. From Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com, who spoke with assistant GM Buddy Bell about Marco Paddy and the White Sox revitalized Dominican operations: “You need scouts to find the talent and Marco has done a very good job since his hire last year,” Bell said in an email. “Our players at our Dominican academy look a lot different. This is the first time I can say we have some guys that have a chance to be impactful major leaguers. Very athletic looking kids.” November 29th, 2012 NBCSports.com Coincides with first year of Hahn as GM, of course.

What dynamic contributors that can play across the diamond have been added, exactly? It’s kind of amusing that the two players who most fit that billing, Moncada (affixed to 3B) and Tim Anderson are on their way out or already gone…seemingly. We’ve already traded our 3B who lacked some of those qualities (despite outsprinting the majority of position players on the roster). Amed Rosario would sort of fit…but not with his inconsistent/erratic defense up the middle and his age/timeline. HaSeong Kim is the pending free agent who most represents that type of contributor, but still lacks overwhelming speed. Age/timeline again. Jazz Chisholm? We keep adding players, but none are dynamic nor are they under 25-26ish.

White Sox: Are they rebuilding? Ah, yes. It’s the question that's been hovering around the South Siders since early last August: rebuild or retool? This is a rebuild, and a necessary one after the previous rebuild ended in two total playoff wins and the 2023 debacle. But it’s not a rebuild in the sense of tearing the organization all the way down. General manager Chris Getz is looking for a certain style of play -- better defense, faster paced and with dynamic contributors who can play across the diamond. He’s building depth and building an overall winning culture, not even giving up '24 if many, many factors work in the team’s favor within the AL Central. -- Scott Merkin https://www.mlb.com/news/spring-training-2024-storylines

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/40294-the-next-big-mlb-scandal-dominican-signings-and-buscones Is there anything officially from MLB on this mystery? Related to the Wander Franco case or more underage signings/buscones/private academies? For those who haven't watched, highly recommend this documentary on the 2012 DR signing class headlined by Miguel Sano and former Sox Michael Ynoa. "Ballplayer: Pelotero" https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18900471/the-complicated-state-haitian-dominicans-mlb

Back to the team that really originated the pitch framing craze.

According to Aaron Schatz and his DVOA metric, the Chiefs faced the toughest postseason run of all time toward a Super Bowl title. They did this while playing musical chairs all season before figuring out a clean rotation that worked for the postseason. They did this while dealing with some terrible losses during the regular season against inferior teams. And ultimately, they did this because they have Patrick Mahomes. Everyone saw how flawed this Chiefs team was during the regular season — and they still won the Super Bowl. What happens if they go out and add a big name wide receiver in the draft or free agency? Does the rest of the AFC cry? Laugh? Call the mob and kidnap Mahomes? https://sports.yahoo.com/this-was-patrick-mahomes-masterpiece-of-a-season-and-he-saved-the-chiefs-super-bowl-on-a-vintage-play-081144861.html https://sports.yahoo.com/how-kyle-shanahan-lost-the-super-bowl-after-winning-the-ot-coin-flip-061238455.html

2. Kansas City Chiefs 2023 record: 11-6 Offseason in three words: Goodbye, Chris Jones? The Chiefs wouldn't give Jones, a potential unrestricted free agent, the money he wanted on a long-term contract last season when he was holding out, so it wouldn't make sense for them to give it to him this time around. It also isn't logical for them to make him the franchise player, so it's possible Jones will be moving on. The Chiefs tried to prepare for that eventuality over the past two years, drafting George Karlaftisand Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the first round, but losing Jones would still be immense. -- Adam Teicher Ravens 1, Chiefs, 49ers, Lions, Bills, Dolphins, Dallas, Philly, Houston, GB Bears 21 (all about Fields, Williams or trade picks) https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39479402/nfl-way-too-early-power-rankings-poll-2024-plus-offseason-three-words https://heavy.com/sports/kansas-city-chiefs/chris-jones-jonathan-allen-trade-rumors/

We know what Campbell would have done...should have used McCaffrey more to grind down the Chiefs' defense in the second quarter, but you have to get be credit to KC secondary for keeping the lead within striking distance.

Matt Nagy with some redemption. Muffed punt off the leg/foot changed the entire game. Plus Mahomes' escapability and toughness.

Benetti doing Iowa women's BB game today on Fox...seems Gus Johnson must have some responsibilities with the Super Bowl.