caulfield12

Part of the Astros' makeup draft after the Aiken year with Bregman at 2, Kyle Tucker at 5 and Cameron at 37 before going to Detroit for Verlander...son of Mike.

Almost the kind of move you'd expect for Davis Martin if the Sox weren't cutting payroll and trying to foist Fletcher on fans as an everyday OF option.

Trades....Robert was the major Cuban signing after Abreu.

No no no Tobias Myers. 2.2 fWAR in partial season…top 3 playoff starter for Brewers. See 2022. 15.92 era in Charlotte. 1-15 in total that year across AAA stops. https://www.mlb.com/news/tobias-myers-becoming-brewers-breakout-rookie-in-2024 https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/203989/

That will give his good UCLA friend Trevor Bauer something to chirp about for awhile...

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/tobias-myers/22191/stats?position=P We briefly controlled his rights too, but he pitched like crap in the minors and has now been transformed into a front line playoff starter by the Brewers...shocking, right?

It's also that the skipper, as usual, folded in rookies such as outfielder Andy Pages, Landon Knack, Casparius and even Yamamoto, not a traditional rookie but a rookie nonetheless. It's also that when the Dodgers splurged at the trade deadline, adding Flaherty, Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech, they all fit so seamlessly on and off the field that it's easy to forget they didn't join the team until the end of July... In the NLCS, when the big three went a combined 1-for-10 but four relievers backed Yamamoto on a two-hit shutout and Teoscar Hernandez and Enrique Hernandez hit solo homers for the game's only runs. "He lets you be the player that you'll always be," Teoscar said of Roberts. "He lets you have fun. His communication with his players is one of the best that I've had in my career. I think that's why he's so special for this team and the players." https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42065023/2024-world-series-los-angeles-dodgers-champions-mlb-best-team

Much closer to NBA though...especially in terms of internationalization and high schoolers to the pros (almost never directly in MLB fwiw.)

Who is leading SoxTalk in "Internet credit" these days exactly? Balta or Look at Ray Run...? Can this be converted to Bitcoin? "The Dodgers excel at turning other teams' excesses into gold, with journeymen such as Ryan Brasier, Brent Honeywell and Anthony Banda becoming crucial contributors to the bullpen. Every bit as much attention is paid to the bottom 10 slots on the 40-man roster as it is to the top three. "It's about getting the right players, the right people," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Talent is a lot, but it's not everything. You still have to be cohesive. I just think we do a great job of getting the right players in our clubhouse." The Dodgers have as much star power as any team we've seen in recent years, but they could never be accused of taking a stars-and-scrubs approach, or constructing a top-heavy roster. Depth or stars? We'll have both, thank you. "We have a culture here at the big league level," Roberts said. "But the scouting and player development is second to none." Bradley Doolitle, espn.com

The Dodgers’ biggest bullpen dilemmas start in the ninth inning. The team could continue to share that responsibility, or it could look to Michael Kopech, who thrived after arriving from the White Sox at the trade deadline. Alternatively, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes could provide stability by adding an experienced closer. https://sports.yahoo.com/los-angeles-dodgers-2024-offseason-preview-will-shohei-ohtani-and-co-be-even-better-in-2025-035328294.html Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Walker Buehler are free agents.

Just shocked he was even willing to pay Pedro Grifol $1 million per season, let along guarantee three years.

So no correlation whatsoever with the Dodgers and Yankees having roughly half their bullpens comprised of former Sox pitchers, while the actual real-life White Sox, suffering from SEVERE VOLATILITY APPARENTLY and not just poor personnel choices, went through the worst collective bullpen year in over a century of professional baseball...just random chance, bad luck, all landing unfairly on the head of payroll-cutter extraordinaire Chris Getz. Okay, sure. And when we had highly-paid bullpen guys like Kelly and Graveman, they couldn't even stand being in the same room with each other (well, at least Liam Hendriks and his wife)...failing to allow even cancer to get in the way of righteous indignation. But I guess we just picked the wrong bullpen guys as well to invest JR's FA $$$ in...

Kahnle goes down as one of the primary causes of the loss, along with Cole. Treinen and Buehler the heroes. No Freeman homer but he probably wins MVP...or Betts.

Referring more to 2022-24...but we also have to consider the Astros just didn't lose during that stretch of eight consecutive until the ALCS or World Series.

Needed to score 2 runs there...best LAD reliever Treinen inserted early.

Source? That's shocking for JR...unless it was Francona or Bochy.

5 runs on just four hits...all unearned. Flaherty continues to lower his FA payout by the game.

Let's say by some minor miracle we struggled through the last three seasons around .500. Back to "mired in mediocrity." And then we wouldn't be in a position to have the 1-1 draft pick in 2026. Maybe not the embarrassing crash landing/bottoming out that generated national headlines, but still not sure the franchise's future actually looks THAT MUCH rosier. Attendance still would have been 22nd through 26th as a .500ish team. They still likely would have had similarly abysmal t.v. ratings as well. You're talking marginal differences in ratings points, like maybe 0.1 or 0.2 but well under 1.0.

It's just kind of ironic when you look at 2 of the biggest budget teams in baseball and half their bullpens are comprised of ex-Sox pitchers. And the White Sox had inarguably one of the worst pens in the entire 120 year history of baseball. What exactly are the odds of THAT? And that's not including the likes of Tommy Kahnle, Ian Hamilton and Daniel Hudson.

Seems like an entire bullpen right there, maybe not 25-26 relievers...only around 10. Aaron Bummer Atl dubious 5/1 trade of guys Atlanta needed off their payroll Tim Hill Yankees/released Jake Cousins NYY cash considerations J.Chavez Atl released in spring training M.Kopech LAD now one of best high leverage relievers in baseball Tanner Banks Phillies Brent Honeywell LAD released Declan Cronin Marlins waived, ends up with Houston, becomes solid contributor in Miami Bailey Horn to Boston for cash...not to mention Rome Gonzalez would have led the White Sox in OPS Brebbia released, to Braves, SSS

TV revenues down will be excuse...

The closest we had to dumping players when they actually became "good" was Burger and a whole slew of relievers turned over...that magically improved upon leaving the organization. (Then you have the unique circumstances with Crochet's career...much like Rodon's 2021 season. Or Gio's union representation. Or Lopez and Kopech not being much more than clay with "potential" upon leaving. Lots and lots of excuses why we won't ever pay pitching...) But you're pretty much doomed if you avoid all bigger pitching contracts out of fear... and can't time the newest pitching core and a hitting core coming together simultaneously. One major injury and the whole thing goes up in smoke.

Someone should ask JR if he regrets taking Ohtani off the FA board still... (He would probably argue that the Sox still wouldn't be profitable at their current location even on Shohei's original deal with the Angels...)

Venable chose to attend Princeton University, not for its academics, but for its tradition of basketball excellence. He respected their tradition of qualifying to participate in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament.[12] During his time at the university, he was a part of two teams that qualified for postseason play: 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and 2002 National Invitation Tournament).[12] Princeton recruited him as a basketball player. He did not play baseball as a freshman, but his father had directed him to Scott Bradley (former Mariners/big league catcher), Princeton's baseball coach, during his recruiting visit.[13] Venable, who was a member of the class of 2005 at Princeton University, was the second athlete in Ivy League history (after his Padres teammate Chris Young) to be first-team All-Ivy in both basketball and baseball and he played on Ivy League Champion National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament participants in both sports.[12] He played in two NCAA Championship tournaments in both sports and earned a B.A. in anthropology.[12] In basketball, he averaged over 10 points and over 30 minutes per game in his 2002–03 sophomore season through his 2004–05 senior season.[14] Bradley had left the door open for Venable to come take batting practice if he ever had the urge. As a sophomore, at the suggestion of his mother, Venable resumed baseball. He posted modest numbers in his first season, but in 2004, he hit for a .344 batting average, earned All-Ivy honorable mention,[12] and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round of the draft (439th overall).[15] Bradley felt that Major League Baseball scouts undervalued Venable because he did not participate in the Cape Cod League for college baseball players. Thus, instead of signing and giving up his amateur status, Venable returned for his senior season and posted a league leading 9 home runs and runner-up .385 batting average while earning All-League honors.[13][16] Subsequently, the Padres drafted him in the seventh round (215th overall); he was signed by the Padres' Northeast Scouting Director, Jim Bretz.[13][15] He finished among the top 10 in the National League in triples four times and in stolen bases twice. He has the most MLB career hits and home runs of any Princeton alumnus. His brother Winston Venable briefly played in the NFL. "Wow, Getz actually followed through on hiring an external candidate that was in uniform this past season, and a pretty good candidate at that. I thought they would go full Reinsdorf lazy and hire Sizemore for the manager spot. This way they can retain Sizemore in other coaching roles and further his development alongside a more experienced staff that Venable hopefully brings from outside the organization. I just hope Reinsdorf stays out of this and all baseball ops decisions. He has already meddled his team to the very bottom of the league." Josh Nelson Admin Reply to IndySox 3 hours ago Sources: Jerry Reinsdorf was part of the interview process, but not deeply. Few questions he had for interviewees, and offered them to ask him questions about the org. www.soxmachine.com

Cleveland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and Texas Rangers associate manager Will Venable HAD emerged as finalists for the Marlins managerial job, sources told The Miami Herald. Both candidates are flying into South Florida this week for in-person interviews with Marlins president/baseball operations and owner Bruce Sherman. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article294672179.html#storylink=cpy Venable, who impressed the Marlins in his Zoom interview, has been the Rangers’ associate manager the past two seasons. Venable, 41, was the Cubs’ first base coach in 2018 and 2019 and then served as their third base coach in 2020. After that 2020 season, he left to become the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox. On May 29, 2021, Venable managed his first MLB game, filling in for Alex Cora in a 3-1 win against the Marlins. Boston went 1-5 when Venable filled in as Red Sox manager in April 2022, when Cora was sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19. Venable hit .249, with 81 homers and 307 RBI in a nine-year career, spending the first 7 1/2 of those seasons with the Padres. He also played for the Rangers and Dodgers. In 2005, the Padres selected Venable in the seventh round out of Princeton, where he became the second person ever named All Ivy League first team in both baseball and basketball. He made his major league debut in 2008. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article294672179.html#storylink=cpy Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article294672179.html#storylink=cpy