caulfield12

Hard to forget with it plastered over their batting helmets...that was a new one for me. Like if the Cubs had Ameritrade or whatever...as long as they don't start promoting political candidates in August/September.

Are they really going to start Toussaint and give Sheets significant playing time? Sheesh. Talk about torturing a fan base.

Johnson didn't have a strong enough arm...unless you're going for defense in a Juan Pierre-like way. Should be ALL aspects of defense. Waiting for someone to mention Brian Anderson, haha.

Fedde...but the point stands. If they were trying to claw back $100+ million in losses since the Covid year (supposedly), there was zero reason to "waste" so much of it (roughly $30 million) on these veterans...and absolutely ZERO real Sox fans believe they're competing for the division with this motley crew of expendables.

Griffey Jr. first half of his career. Bo Jackson. Toolsiest. Cards fans would say Edmonds. Devon White.

Only if he can't stick at SS/3B. Lower...not low.

That seems so attendance based ... ignoring the falling impact of that single line revenue number vs. the combination of guaranteed national tv contracts as well as insulation provided from owning your own network vs. RSN collapses. SSHM keeps quoting that singular number of money in the coffers on the media side before even opening the gates. And certainly not spending on the front office, coaching or minor leagues (cutting teams/draft picks) and intl scouting or general operations.

Burnes? Haha The funny thing to me watching Glasnow and Yamamoto these last two nights has been that Tyler has not once pitched 120+ innings and Yamamoto really seems to be tipping not only his pitches but his preferred sequences. Part three is that hitters don't swing and miss outside the zone so much against what looked to be great but not overwhelming stuff. Then again...the eyes of three countries upon him, biggest contract for a pitcher without ever having thrown a single pitch and losing your interpreter all in one one day. That's a lot to process. Let's at least give this 3-4 months before declaring him a bust. If he pitches with that lack of control...placement in the zone and getting behind constantly, things will be tough for him in the US....where his raw stuff is Top 10-15% vs. Top 1-2%.

Jordan Montgomery...everyone assumed back to Texas.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cavs-hc-jb-bickerstaff-reveals-personal-threats-from-gamblers-says-sports-betting-has-gone-too-far-023345598.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-26-and-under-power-rankings-evaluating-all-30-teams-by-the-young-talent-in-their-organizations-from-the-rockies-to-no-1-155931913.html "If not for Luis Robert Jr. and Colson Montgomery, the White Sox would be dead last in our rankings. Those two in this organization are like that meme of a $2 million Bugatti in a raggedy driveway, though Andrew Vaughn probably doesn’t like that comparison. ... Montgomery is considered one of the best 15 or so prospects in the sport, an immensely talented left-handed bat with advanced plate discipline. He’s also a shortstop in name only, and most experts believe a move to third is inevitable. He leads an otherwise iffy system that was bolstered somewhat by the additions of Edgar Quero, Nick Nastrini and Jake Eder during last summer’s sell-off. Still, the infrastructure of this organization is so far behind the times that industry experts encouraged a general “rounding down” on most White Sox prospects who journey up the system. New GM Chris Getz has a ton of work to do." — J.M. https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-26-and-under-power-rankings-nos-10-6-reds-young-hitters-dodgers-young-pitchers-among-baseballs-best-153447432.html Still waiting #1-5, Orioles pretty obvious...Braves etc.

From a $100-140 million Boras Corp. client all the way down to just $4.5 million... According to a report on Wednesday night from Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic. The deal, which is pending a physical, includes $2.5 million in incentives and maxes out at $7 million. World Series winner in a newish stadium (drawing huge crowds) compared to the White Sox...? Not much of a choice there, really.

That's not even counting a bomb threat Wednesday to attack the dome they are playing in...Ohtani has had an interesting week, as well as his new wife getting so much media exposure.

Flexen is obviously one...Deivi Garcia's a good possibility for 5th, after Nastrini for now.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39768770/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-fired-theft This for now seems to clarify everything...

Phil Mickelson II. Now we know why he wanted to defer all that money...to keep everyone away from it. Joking. I hope, for baseball's sake. Embezzlement sounds about right...and Ohtani almost has that Tiger Woods-esque image before everything came crashing down from his hidden life.

Could have used him out of the bullpen last night...

One run on ten hits...sounds about right. Soroka pitched well at least.

Are you NOT entertained? Maximus

How many pitches for the no hitter against Detroit I think it was...really pretty cold weather that day as well. Still...pretty hard to imagine more than a handful of managers pulling him. And of course they pretty much knew that was going to be his final season with the Sox as well.

It's the same tune that can't help but mention having a 25th-30th ranked farm system for most of the last few years until recovering in the most recent calendar year. Let's put it this way. Ozzie always said you win with talent as a manager, first and foremost. And Don Cooper is undoubtedly the "best" pitching coach of most Sox fans' lifetimes. He had the greatest collection of young arms in baseball from 1998-2001 coming up through that system. Other than Buehrle (on the periphery of the Top 10 prospects lists back then) and Garland (for Karchner), he won a WS with Contreras, F.Garcia and the likes of Jenks/Politte/Cotts, etc. Was Cooper a failure with youngsters like #1 prospect Rauch, Kip Wells and then all those guys who got hurt...or were they all pretty much overrated...or was he a near-genius due to the Sox results from 2004-2012? Once again, somewhere closer to the middle than genius. Maybe it was Herm Schneider who was the real genius for keeping them all so healthy until Danks. Or was it Cooper who's equally to credit for teaching the pitchers not to go for max velocity...? Anyone watching the Sox from mid season 2021 through the end of 2023 would identify lack of talent as the #1 issue with this organization, especially on the pitching side as the veterans aged out or got injured and Cease (2022) and (previously) Giolito and Rodon (2021) had their runs at Cy Youngs.

After Kopech, who we can all agree was a "failure by committee, mostly himself" situation, what 2-3 pitchers would we even "blame" on Katz, though? Bummer...let's see how ATL does with him? Kelly...he's one of those guys like David Wells who will always pitch better when "inspired" for the Yankees (Dodgers/Cardinals), etc. Lynn...see Joe Kelly Keuchel...his results since 2020 would argue otherwise, Hahn was simply wrong to throw money at him when Dallas was the last guy standing in his tier at in that particular FA group

Other than the names mentioned...it feels like keeping Giolito together with baling wire and duct tape until he could really get paid (well, almost $40 million) is one of his most significant accomplishments. Because his Red Sox 2024-25 contract numbers certainly weren't based on his brief time with CLE and LAA. When all things are considered, one would say Katz pretty much deserves a "neutral" rating and that the next 2-3 seasons will be his truest test of all. Even then, other than Schultz, he's lacking a slew of "top" pitching prospects, so approximating the Guardians/Brewers/Braves in terms of major league development would be a massive crowning achievement. This "exercise" is not unlike trying to assign Marco Paddy a grade without taking into consideration JR's pocketbook controls, the supposed underage ban in the org and what actual resources were made available to him...you'd have a difficult time isolating exactly how much he's even responsible for the last 5 years or so of limited upside Cubans after the "Connection" had already worn out. Alexei Ramirez, Abreu, Robert, Jr., and Tatis, Jr., pretty much amounts to a lifetime contract/tenure. Plus, he's never been directly tasked with "fixing" the Dominican, and that's probably one of many reasons the Sox are still struggling there 15 years after Wilder. Yes, two wildly different debates, certainly...but the tentacle-like influence of JR, TLR, Hahn and KW touches nearly everyone, doesn't it? And it can't easily be separated in any easily quantifiable way.

And Gregory Santos could easily still end up in that category as well...

Bob Feller was something of a prick in real life (early teenage memory). He had a pretty bad reputation at autograph shows of being fairly surly and resentful of the money that modern athletes were making...whereas he was forced to hock his signature all over the country to make ends meet. Another reason that Mickey Mantle autographs (featured at ST recently, lol) aren't nearly as valuable as one would expect...way too many of them out there. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.