caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/commentary-dave-roberts-dodgers-front-120018694.html Disconnect between Dodgers’ front office and manager Dave Roberts on reported Ohtani meeting, Betts in RF or second base for 2024?

But people are just apathetic about him…it’s like trying to hate Beckham or Connor McKnight. Well, maybe Lawrence Holmes or Zack what’s his name. They need a true villain/boogeyman like Mariotti or Cowley from the good ol' days.

But still keep the Bulls? And his sports media empire...with just Bulls and Blackhawks and parking lots?

Caligula lol? Valley of the Blow Up Dolls...courtesy of Ozzie and Swisher.

Lee would get booed to death going into May/June with those same numbers again. There has to be a whipping boy to symbolize the complete ineptitude. Somehow Romy and Sosa and Remillard could’t quite pull it off, nor our Cuban RFer who was shockingly overhyped.

One more $20+ million per year pitcher off the boards…who flirted with but ultimately eschewed the mighty Dodgers.

Except none of those guys were going to make the Atlanta roster at their projected salaries…25-33% Soroka.

Top 15 in the AL or majors, lol? Expecting way too much out of rookies…and that’s assuming Eloy is gone, too.

With the front office personnel employed in Chicago...doomed in the AL East. Definitely below Baltimore for a decent percentage of that time...but spending twice as much for the privilege of finishing fourth in that daunting division. Which in Jerry's eyes might still be a productive/profitable season depending on attendance and payroll. Maybe the White Sox can move to Milwaukee and Brewers can move their entire front office operation and major/minor league roster to 35th and Shields.

See Marlins Rockies Rays…at this point, I believe 75-80%+ or more would follow a new expansion team in Chicago over the White Sox brand being relocated to another market like Nashville…especially if Luis Robert is also dealt away.

They are focusing more on Dave Stewart and the analogies between Oakland and Tennessee, fwiw…

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/juan-soto-trade-scouting-reports-on-every-yankees-padres-player-involved/ Padres going to end up somewhere between the 5th and 8th rated farm system after all this maneuvering…Jasson Dominguez would have been the icing on cake but not for just one year of control at a $33-34 million pricetag. Didn’t need Volpe with five shortstops on the roster…Bogaerts, Kim, Machado, Tatis, Cronenworth.

“It’s very difficult to make a deal where you’re trading a player the caliber of Juan Soto,” Preller said. “But if we did that, we wanted to make sure we shored up a bunch of needs. We were able to get some depth with quality. ... The ability to add to four arms to the pitching staff — pitchers that we think have both (a high) ceiling and also will be able to pitch for us this year and compete for time this year in our rotation — and adding a catcher that goes with (Luis) Campusano and goes with (Brett) Sullivan and shores up a position for us, at the end of the day, the combination of those two things really added up for us.” The Padres’ imperative of acquiring starting pitching makes King the immediate centerpiece of their haul. The 28-year-old right-hander had a 2.75 ERA over 104⅔ innings last season. He filled a hybrid role for the Yankees but will certainly be slotted into the Padres’ rotation, which before Wednesday consisted of just Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. ….. King projects as the most expensive of the new Padres, at an estimated $2.5 million or so in his second season of arbitration eligibility. Higashioka is set to make approximately $2.3 million. Brito and Vásquez will earn less than $1 million apiece, as they are not yet arbitration eligible. The Padres, who are in violation of MLB rules regarding debt service ratio and aimed to get their 2024 payroll below $200 million, have current commitments of less than $150 million for next season — with more cuts possible and more additions certain. “The exercise always is you have a budget, you’re trying to make the team work within the budget,” Preller said. “(The trade) definitely gives us two things — some flexibility and then also just some clarity on what the rest of the offseason looks like.” The Padres will still seek to add at least one starter and one reliever to work late innings, as well as two outfielders https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2023-12-06/padres-juan-soto-yankees-trade-michael-king

Not even Top Ten…unless you also trade Robert.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/a-happy-warrior-mellody-hobson-on-mentorship-diversity-and-feedback Put together Hobson, the Obamas (both women with Princeton backgrounds), George Lucas…you’re going to blow Jerry Reinsdorf out of the freakin’ water. Unfortunately it might have to happen in Nashville and not Chicago…

Hinz notes the White Sox lease on their home ballpark — Guaranteed Rate Field — expires in six years and that the team's 87-year-old owner, Jerry Reinsdorf may consider selling his ownership of the baseball team to focus on his controlling interest in the NBA's Chicago Bulls. Going by the past and current connections of Dombrowski, Stewart and TLR…one could imagine JR selling a majority stake to Mellody Hobson/George Lucas and then Nashville also taking on a Star Wars museum project next to a new Sox ballpark or hundreds of millions in improvements to improve the existing minor league facility. https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/10/01/potential-nashville-mlb-ballpark-renderings-

“I've been reading about I've been threatening to move to Nashville,” Reinsdorf said, according to Scott Merkin, who covers the team for mlb.com. “That article didn't come from me. But if we have six years left, we've got to decide what's the future going to be? We'll get to it, but I never threatened to move out." ..... Representatives from Music City Baseball, including Dave Stewart and Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa, were on hand at the Winter Meetings. The group's vision, according to its website is "to secure Major League Baseball approval of an expansion franchise in Nashville, although relocation and rebranding of an existing franchise would also be considered. “I'm optimistic that 2024 is going to be the year that (MLB) expansion is going to be discussed and moved forward,” said John Loar, managing director of Music City Baseball. " ... I think 2024 is a big year for that conversation. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/this-is-why-nashville-mayor-freddie-oconnell-met-with-white-sox-owner-jerry-reinsdorf/ar-AA1l6J98 https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2023/12/04/mlb-winter-meetings-nashville-stars-dave-stewart/71795830007/

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/baseball/2023/12/03/major-league-baseball-expansion-nashville-stars-music-city-mlb-john-loar/71759818007/

https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/12/06/white-sox-jerry-reinsdorf-nashville-mayor-freddie-oconnell Music City Baseball is the group attempting to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Nashville, either through relocation or expansion. (Phillies executive Dave Dombrowski was previously a consultant with the group, White Sox ties!!!!!.) Hosting the winter meetings, with executives and decision-makers throughout the sport in town, would appear to be an ideal opportunity to explore the viability of Nashville getting a team. The four-day event also allows the city to present itself as a viable destination. Merkin reported that the White Sox weren’t disclosing what Reinsdorf and O’Connell discussed, but connecting dots seems rather reasonable. Perhaps Reinsdorf wanted to see what Nashville had to offer, and the mayor may have made an initial pitch. Crain’s Chicago Business also reported in August that Reinsdorf, 87, might be considering selling his ownership stake in the team. How much could he cash in from a move.

How often have the White Sox successfully flipped someone in a way that ended up with a 3+ fWAR player or pitcher in their long-term stable or core group of players? (Q doesn't count because they had him in-house for so long. What I mean is acquired from elsewhere and then successfully traded within under a one year timeframe???

White Sox should be all over Trent Grisham for RF or CF. Definitely over Merrifield. No idea what Yankees will do with him, but 90% a salary dump for SD because of his underachievement in 2022/23 (exception being 2022 postseason). Gold Glove defender, lots of pop but terribly inconsistent offense with a ton of K's. Yankees hold onto Jeter Jr. in Volpe and Jasson Dominguez (Cease trade???) Padres' 2024 rotation Musgrove/King/Darvish/????????)/two from Yankees' trade (Matt Waldron, Pedro Avila, Jay Groome, Adrian Morejon)

Michael King was “key” to the deal, according to Kevin Acee. He posted a 2.75 ERA last season, which included posting a 2.02 ERA and 2.41 FIP in his last seven games as starter. New York didn’t want to give him up because he was going to be in their rotation for the next two years but if they wanted Soto, that was the price of doing business. Clarke Schmidt was viewed as the lesser of the two between him and King so good for Preller for standing his ground when it came to him and Thorpe. Trading Soto hurts the Padres so Brian Cashman was going to have to feel it too for a deal to get done. Drew Thorpe was the guy the Padres wanted more than Chase Hampton and New York was reluctant to give him up. He posted a 2.52 ERA in his first minor league season with a great WHIP under 1. Hampton, on the other hand, posted a 3.63 ERA with over 30 fewer innings than Thorpe (1.14 WHIP). Brito and Vasquez (NYY #13 prospect), who both debuted last season, figure to slot into the bullpen but they have the ability to start games if needed (or should I say when they’re needed to). Brito went 5+ innings seven times in 2023 with Vasquez starting five of his 11 appearances in pinstripes last season. When you have a Hall of Fame talent in Soto on your club like Preller had, he needed to maximize the return. The Padres haven’t been able to develop great pitching in the Preller era but now here’s another huge opportunity to do that with Thorpe, Robby Snelling, Dylan Lesko, Jairo Iriarte and Adam Mazur all in the system. Higashioka is one of the more solid backup catchers you’re going to find in Major League Baseball. He’s not going to hit for average or power but really how many backups do? In the both of the last two seasons, he’s been able to catch over 80 games including for stretches like May of 2023 injuries occurred. gaslampball.com

And you can't be ALL that certain about Rodon and Cortes after how they ended 2023...Cortes needs at least one more year of a track record, to say that he's a "given" in reality.

Both overly expensive salaries and ONLY one one-year deals, so not really directly in competition with Cease as much as the FA guys...would obviously be even more appealing to mid and small-market teams, which one can't say about the top of the free agency market. Plus at best quite uncertain injury histories. The one who's closest to competing would be Logan Gilbert, but it's far from certain SEA would move him...especially based on their recent series of moves to open up an additional $40 million of payroll space.

Las Vegas odds of Bummer being under a 3 ERA or over 6? I would DEFINITELY take the under on that bet...even with Riley not being a great defender at 3B.