caulfield12

Carson Fulmer out for revenge against his original organization. Still throwing 92-94.

Anderson is excellent at not holding late inning leads. Vaughn climbing towards 20 homers exactly.

Kopech as closer is about the most unproven concept there is...Elias certainly isn't going to take that risk in the post season..

And more fountains...plus the Little K.

Biggest surprise Last year, the Kansas City Royals lost 106 games. Over the winter, they guaranteed around $100 million to sign seven free agents: right-handed starters Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, utilitymen Garrett Hampson and Adam Frazier and relievers Will Smith and Chris Stratton. Today, the Royals are 82-70. They are firmly in possession of the second wild card in the AL and have an outside shot at overtaking Cleveland atop the Central division. They will play in the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015. They are the perfect example of what can happen when a team -- regardless of its market size -- has an owner commit to winning and backs it up with savvy front-office maneuvering. In addition to urging general manager J.J. Picollo to add via free agency, Royals owner John Sherman greenlit the $288 million contract extension for Witt over the winter as well as a midseason budget expansion to acquire more talent at the trade deadline and via the waiver wire. The Royals have operated with a sense of urgency rarely seen among lower-revenue teams. And their targets have hit. Lugo was among the best signings of the winter and Wacha not far behind. Cole Ragans, acquired for Aroldis Chapman in June 2023, is a top-of-the-rotation starter. Witt is a superstar, Salvador Perez is bolstering his Hall of Fame case by the year and Vinnie Pasquantino is a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat (who they very much miss). And with the work Matt Quatraro is doing in the dugout, the Royals could pull off the rare Manager of the Year/Executive of the Year double. The Royals might be a surprise, but they're certainly not a fluke. espn.com

Well, Eder managed to start his career with a 9.00 ERA. Ones across the board on his stat line, IP run walk hit ER, etc.

They'll probably sign at least 1-2 Flexen-like vets. Cannon and Martin seem like pretty sure bets. Thorpe will be there if he's healthy enough. Burke would be another front-runner at the moment, SSS. I think you mean Hagen Smith later in 2025, but they will probably/undoubtedly play the service time game and hold him back until May 2026. That way they can promote the additions of Montgomery and Schultz for 2025, Smith and ????? for 2026...if they even decide to hold SoxFests.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?stats=bat&lg=all&type=8&season=2024&month=0&season1=2024&ind=0&pos=rf&qual=250 Santander, Teoscar, McCarthy, Robles, Tyler O'Neill, Bellinger...would have been typical RF targets in normal years

You can get away with that...Luis Arraez actually has one of the slower bat speeds in the majors, but then you absolutely HAVE to make contact with the ball. 3-0 lead....not looking very promising at the moment.

That works well because you have the 3 rivers and then all the bridges, but especially the Clemente Pedestrian Bridge.

Lopez Fletcher and Mr. 167 Vargas the only three hits so far, all measly singles.

Pretty similar to how last year ended, except he's staked a claim to the starting catcher job as a placeholder for Quero right now. Just have to hope those concerning back issues are resolved over the off-season for both C.Montgomery and our future #1 catcher.

https://www.mlb.com/player/albert-suarez-544150?stats=splits-r-pitching-mlb&year=2024 July and September bad, but he's still in the mid 3's for season results...April May June and August very impressive https://www.si.com/mlb/orioles/news/baltimore-orioles-pitcher-has-saved-the-year-amid-injuries Albert Suarez signed a 1 year , $740,000 contract with the Baltimore Orioles, including $740,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $740,000. Seems like a bargain to me.

This is … interesting, with full understanding that interesting has little nutritional value as a standalone adjective. This emphasis on Mahler reframes Getz’s role as the single decision-maker, because while he may be the one calling all the baseball shots, it suggests that he’s enlisted help in trying to get Reinsdorf to break self-defeating habits. It also potentially invites dysfunction, because giving an outsider with impressive credentials a vague title and a disproportionate amount of sway is a familiar headache for a lot of businesses, and for a sports-specific example, it’s been been listed as one of the reasons the Padres’ performance seldom matched the levels of investment. Late last season, Ken Rosenthal wrote about how A.J. Preller hired Don Tricker from the All Blacks New Zealand rugby team to ostensibly oversee medical departments, but his presence grew into something a lot more amorphous and controversial. https://soxmachine.com/2024/09/white-sox-wont-grow-by-cutting-but-theyre-trying-to-change-without-spending/#google_vignette

Assistant General Manager Josh Barfield Assistant General Manager Jin Wong (first of two ex Royals, contracts guy) Director of Player Personnel Gene Watson Special Assistant to the Chairman Dennis Gilbert (been associated with the White Sox basically forever) Senior Director of Baseball Operations Dan Fabian (Notre Damer, been around forever, first one in charge of implementing analytics) Senior Director of Sports Performance Geoff Head Director of Baseball Analytics Matt Koenig Director of Baseball Operations Daniel Zien Director of Leadership, Culture, and Continuing Education Brian Mahler (Continuing Ed sounds like something associated with a JUCO) Director of Team Travel Ed Cassin Senior Advisor to Pitching Brian Bannister (ex Royal) Special Assistants to the Senior VP/GM Nick Hostetler (ex Brave/Dayton Moore connection), Bill Scherrer (wasn't he just let go?), Jim Thome Special Advisor to the Executive Vice President Tony La Russa (no comment)

With about two weeks left in the 2024 MLB regular season, the Chicago White Sox are on pace to break the record for most losses ever in a 162-game season. For all intents and purposes, they are one of the worst professional baseball teams ever. They are dreadful, and they are hopeless. Full stop. So, what’s the White Sox’s big plan to pull themselves out of the dark, dank cellar they’re currently trapped in? (For the record, they’re not doing anything in free agency.) They’ve hired Brian Mahler, an ex-Navy SEAL … with no baseball experience … to overhaul their organizational ladder. Yeah, that tracks. The White Sox are probably comfortable hiring someone with no major baseball experience because the people already running them make it seem like they’ve never been around baseball, too. It’s a match made in heaven. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2024/09/white-sox-navy-seal-brian-mahler-no-experience-reaction

One of the most overlooked moves of the offseason was Elias picking up swingman pitcher Suarez from the KBO. They're probably still in the playoffs without him, but he has been one of their most indispensable pitchers this entire season that's pretty much off the radar even in fantasy leagues.

DeJong Kopech Burger and others have done just fine...most better than their Sox performance/s except Eloy. Pham would still be second best OPS behind Vaughn etc. Fedde result will and should have nothing to do with Crochet trade value.

Batters CWS B HR RBI SB AVG OPS Lopez, NSS L 1 21 5 .245 .615 Robert Jr.CF R 14 35 22 .228 .670 BenintendiLF L 19 59 3 .228 .692 VaughnDH R 18 66 2 .248 .711 Sheets1B L 10 45 1 .242 .685 Sosa, L2B R 5 26 3 .242 .594 Fletcher, DoRF L 1 15 0 .209 .523 Lee, KC R 10 32 5 .205 .568 Vargas, M3B R 4 14 2 .162 .526

"The Dodgers acquired Tommy Edman from the Cardinals in a three-team deal at the trade deadline, and after taking awhile to adjust to his new surroundings, he seems to be hitting his stride. Over his last 14 games, Edman has been arguably their best hitter, slashing .315/.362/.648 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and two steals. Since coming over from St. Louis, he’s played 18 games in center field and nine games at shortstop for the Dodgers. His versatility and ability to steal bases have really lengthened their lineup down the stretch. GM Brandon Gomes: “Edman has the ability to seamlessly bounce back and forth between center field and shortstop and play those positions at an incredibly high level as well as adding another element of speed and bat-to-ball (skills) to complement our lineup. (It’s) been integral to our recent success.” Most indispensable players...long write up on Jake McCarthy as well GM Mike Hazen: “Jake has taken over center field for us and played really well defensively along with creating a lot of offense for us in different ways with his speed and athleticism.” https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5772020/2024/09/17/mlb-playoff-contenders-2024-analysis/?source=freedailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=310262

Is Mahler the new boogeyman for the Vargas trade? Reading that article...feels like wholesale changes are NOT on the way. Not even expecting a move on the catching front after two imported vets blew up in their faces. One can only hope that they can figure out a way to improve the outfield and bullpen somehow.

"Skip Schumaker's contract is set to expire at the end of this season, and he is leaving the Miami Marlins. Schumaker's reputation has been enhanced over his two years with the Marlins, and there is a lot of industry speculation that he might prefer to oversee a West Coast team in his next managerial gig. But he doesn't have the career longevity of someone like Bruce Bochy, A.J. Hinch or Cora, so his name could pop up with any opening that develops." espn.com

"Skip Schumaker's contract is set to expire at the end of this season, and he is leaving the Miami Marlins. Schumaker's reputation has been enhanced over his two years with the Marlins, and there is a lot of industry speculation that he might prefer to oversee a West Coast team in his next managerial gig. But he doesn't have the career longevity of someone like Bruce Bochy, A.J. Hinch or Cora, so his name could pop up with any opening that develops." espn.com

Like JaMarr Chase taking out a $50 million insurance policy to protect himself...from injury without an extension signed.

Too early. There have been these mini streaks before. Probably the biggest fear is we end up sticking with Sizemore for another year. The only thing that has really changed are the Burke start, and Benintendi and Vaughn looking like halfway decent big league ballplayers.