caulfield12

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/42892243/los-angeles-chargers-coach-jim-harbaugh-san-diego-toreros-first-job-2004 Solid story about Harbaugh's first three years back in college football over 20 years ago, with the University of San Diego Toreros

https://sports.yahoo.com/cubs-publicly-reuniting-with-slugger-sammy-sosa-at-fan-convention-after-he-released-apology-statement-204636247.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zcG9ydHMueWFob28uY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFrmvlQb7gUaEhVvjBPFSeJEJV2lGkGexEWKs-eZGNc1m3mgA3I3T0ylP9imNL50mPfWJrVRNwzQtbhKpqV9OX9pycy7jyKq9vaYz8UUNnlcn_cYGetpvxZsYoTkvQzCYVfdehW8pv5jCp8i2DFYjZHQ9lz_lixduiS8t1VYdUq6 In response to that apology letter, team owner Tom Ricketts released a statement thanking Sosa for his apology and inviting him to the 2025 Cubs Convention, which takes place in January, for the first time.

If there was no Benetti doing highest level (Fox #2 team for CFB) work in TWO other sports, while basketball might actually be his strongest...50% of the Schiffren stuff would quiet down. Not to mention constantly being too much of a cheerleader and overly optimistic/rose-colored glasses...the juxtaposition with DJ/Kasper as the second half of the season approached an all-time horrific finish was just too jarring. Perhaps the most pathetic thing last year was Schiffren losing some of his professionalism and getting too close to some of the veteran guys on the team like Sizemore, Pham and Sheets. I remember the complaints about his constant presence around the clubhouse, on the team plane trying to "hang out with the guys and be part of the cool/in group," Pham really laid into him about that as he departed for KC and told his side of things. Benetti was never ever in a million years the cool guy in the room...thus there was never any attempt for him to pretend to be something he wasn't/never was.

I wanted DESPERATELY to believe in Norge Vera, he made all the Top 10 lists for a couple of years, but just never put it together. Then there was that odd Yosimar Cousin Cuban FA signing. Was not in the least bit surprised by Cespedes, Yogurt Sanchez and all of the LA position players disappearing into the ether. Tatis' brother was a spectacular disaster and still pretty skeptical about Juan Uribe, Jr.,(https://www.milb.com/player/juan-uribe-808322, he's already out of the organization, it seems) basically anyone related to a famous MLB father or former White Sox player/front office official. Also seems the shine is already off that big Venezuelan 3B they signed for $2.5 million or whatever in the last couple of cycles.

Grifol was honestly the worst manager to promote the organization too...can't imagine one person in North America with his Sox jersey unless they were family members. Comparatively, Joe Maddon used to outsell every member of the Sox around 2014-2016 except Jose Abreu.

Cease would have been one of the best hitters on last year's team...

Who would ever have thought that being the worst team in baseball history would be the most effective way to drive national media interest in the Sox? Great job by JR Boyer and Getz.

https://sports.yahoo.com/jets-owner-woody-johnson-reportedly-nixed-jerry-jeudy-trade-due-to-madden-rating-allows-teen-sons-to-influence-decisions-144949206.html

Cost savings award to Getz/JR...odds of him recording a 1+ fWAR? Smarter move than Lopez Maldonado or Clevinger for sure.

We might as well compare him to the value of Victor Robles right now... But some GM will eventually bet on the dynamic 2020/2023 versions returning, away from the negative influence of the Sox organization. That is if they can afford to take on a "value added" salary.

Hopefully more Crochet/Sale/Rodon than Jim Parque.

Shades of Matt Davidson?

More expensive than Fedde...White Sox will never compete under JR with their fear of long-term starting pitching contracts. Along with Witt Jr., it's the main reason the Royals became competitive again. But it seems they're now tapping out around the $120 million payroll level.

How many games did the bullpen blow leads?

We've all seen this before. Randa Fields Viciedo Vaughn Sheets Palka...

Hopefully he has a better career with the Sox than Steven Wilson at least...if anything, he should be good enough to log some "swingman" garbage innings, he did that to a -0.2 result last year (over 100 IP) with the Brewers and has an overall 0.2 fWAR for his career, which is better than 70-75% of the 2024 pitching staff.

I bet Getz was more concerned that the money would be spent on signing Sasaki...which we never realistically had a shot at, anyway, but it would look pretty bad if we facilitated him signing elsewhere unless another team was convinced that parting with a product and upping their bid by $740,000 was really going to be worth it in the end.

So we've got Meidroth, Vargas, Baldwin, Sosa, Jacob Gonzalez and now this guy who all profile best at 2B...although some can obviously play 3rd base as well. First one to put up an OPS of 725-750 in the majors wins. Brayan Ramos is looking like he's going to get crowded out of the picture quickly unless he can successfully convert to 1B/DH.

If the proposed stadium isn't opening until 2029, could the Rays just play at Steinbrenner Field until then? Highly unlikely. The Rays are treating Steinbrenner as a stopover, not unlike how the Athletics are using another minor league stadium, Sutter Health Park, to set up shop before their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028. It's not just the weather concerns -- the combination of extreme heat and rain in the summer that, accordingly, have the Rays on the road for 35 of 48 games between July 4 and the end of August. Deposing a minor league affiliate of an organization in the same division is simply something that's not likely to be agreed upon for an extended period of time. Where would the Rays play, then? Good question. Would MLB give them permission to moonlight in a potential expansion city? Could they find somewhere to play in Pinellas County for three more years? Is Omaha, which the Wall Street Journal reported could host the Rays, really a possibility? It's all unknown. Just as important as the next few years is what comes after that. The goal is for the Rays to know where they're going to be in 2028 and 2029 as early as 2026. Though as the A's showed this year, those sorts of timelines tend to be more fluid than the "deadlines" suggest. https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43039285/mlb-2024-tampa-bay-rays-st-petersburg-new-stadium-future-tropicana-field-faq

Who the hell are they going to pass, exactly? The Twins and Tigers are spending money, the Guardians are the champions and the Twins are the favorites via a number of projection systems. They'd be lucky to be within 10-15 games of 4th place, at least where things stand currently.

Duber was the consummate professional and too objective...but packing the rhetoric flourishes or panache of Fegan. Seems like "school/CEO shootings expert" would be a more promising area for journalists. Pretty sure Chris Rongey has a morning radio show with a female co-host in StL, even that might have more longevity.

Nice timing right before Christmas. Hopefully they had a head's up here.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/12/18/white-sox-sign-righty-bryse-wilson-to-one-year-1-05m-deal 1 year/$1.05 million Is that the league minimum or did we just have to break the piggy bank to sign him?

“Not a single Astros pitcher, and we remain 2nd in least affected ball clubs (Royals I believe are #1). America’s favorite team would never be caught in a million years cheating! /s”

Kevan Smith was definitely drafted by the Sox. Maldonado was beyond terrible. Soto was asked to almost be a DH moreso than a regular catcher and Burke was run over/flattened by Torii Hunter as the 2003 late race with the Twins permanently shifted against the Sox and Loiaza.