caulfield12

Won't watch with Estrellas/Stars out, lol.

“I just feel it,” Grifol said. “There is a good vibe. You’ll see it, you’ll feel it, and you’ll hear it from these guys when you talk to them. “They feel the same way. We’re all in this together. We have a really good staff we’ve assembled with a lot of experience and postseason experience as well. The group of players that we have are not going to let that slip away from us.” https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-goals-for-improving-in-2024 “It’s more so we know what we can do,” White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. “The potential in there is extremely high, and honestly, we are in a division that is pretty winnable for any team. It all comes down to staying healthy and playing to our potential. It’s one thing to say and another thing to do.” “Paul [DeJong] knows what he can be. I know Nicky [Lopez] knows what he can be. Myself included,” said White Sox starting pitcher Michael Soroka, who played for a consistently good Braves team but one still playing with a chip on its shoulder. “We have a lot of guys, I think, that have something to prove. We know what’s available in ourselves, and we want to pull that out on this team. “You could end up with a team that is very, very hard to play against because you are playing against a lot of guys playing for their careers. That’s sometimes how some of those teams start. I’m excited to do that. I hope that is this club.” “Everybody is counting us out,” said White Sox right fielder Gavin Sheets, “The only thing you can do is use that to fuel us. We go out every day trying to play hard and win games, and that doesn’t change what we are going to do. We all know we aren’t favored to do anything this year. That’s the first time since I’ve been here in the big leagues in three years. We can use that to help us and motivate us and see what we can do with it.”

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/1/31/24057625/caitlin-clark-becomes-ncaas-no-2-all-time-leading-scorer-in-front-of-historic-crowd On Wednesday night, they got more than they asked for. Clark’s 35 points in No. 3 Iowa’s 110-74 win were enough to move her past Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) into second place on the NCAA all-time women’s scoring list and into first on the Big Ten’s list. All of it in front of 7,039 fans, the first sellout in Northwestern women’s basketball history. @ Maryland, 7 p.m. Saturday February 3rd, Fox Sports Penn State, 8 p.m. Thursday, February 8th, BTN @ Nebraska, 12 p.m. Super Bowl Sunday, February 11th, Fox Sports Michigan, 7 p.m.,Thursday, Feb. 15th, Peacock @ Indiana, Thursday, February 22nd, Peacock Illinois, 12 p.m., Sunday, February 25th, FS1 @ Minnesota, 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 28th, Peacock Ohio State, 12 p.m. Sunday, March 3rd, Fox Sports

Or Chiefs/T.Swift/49ERS over Lions/Ravens...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2024/1/31/24057341/new-white-sox-stadium-meeting-state-democratic-leaders-the-78-related-midwest Developers did not ask for state money, but instead said they want the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) to be granted authority to “rearrange existing bonds.” They were also aware of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s disdain for using taxpayer funds for sports stadiums — which is viewed as politically unpopular despite its prevalence in other cities. Pritzker had not been briefed by Related Midwest, or the White Sox, as of Wednesday, according to the governor’s office. According to someone close to the talks, there have been no discussions about creating new revenue or tax increases to help fund the new stadium. The goal is to work creatively within the current system. Sources familiar with the plan say the development would include residences, offices, a hotel and dozens of restaurants and bars.

I meant more once the regular spring training schedule starts around the 22nd/23rd or whatever. Especially the televised ones...like against the Dodgers or Cubs.

Really banking the on the potential gambling and entertainment ties being more advantageous than what they would appear at first glance.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-01-31/dodgers-pitching-questions-walker-buehler-yoshinobu-yamamoto-tyler-glasnow James Paxton will be the team’s reclamation project of the year, a position that was occupied last year by $13-million bust Noah Syndergaard. Flamethrower Bobby Miller will return with a season of major league experience to his name. The staff is more talented than last year’s but is the group any more reliable? The Dodgers could have a rotation that is the best in baseball — or one that is no better than it was last year. At this point, can the Dodgers really say they’re a better team than the Atlanta Braves? .... Scenario 2: The 5-foot-10 Yamamoto wears down over the 162-game season. Glasnow breaks down yet again, and the 120 innings he pitched last year remain his career high. Buehler falls into the 45% to 50% of Tommy John revision patients who don’t return to their previous level of performance. The 35-year-old Paxton, who finished last season on the disabled list and pitched six games in the three previous seasons combined, has nothing left. Miller’s development stalls. The rotation is once again in a shambles in October and the Dodgers crash out in the first round. The two scenarios are equally plausible, which feels problematic. The $470-plus million the Dodgers spent to upgrade their rotation was basically spent on high-priced lottery tickets. In their defense, they have more lottery tickets than they did last year, which gives them a greater margin for error. If, say, Paxton doesn’t perform up to expectations, it won’t be as damaging to the team as Syndergaard’s failure was last season. Their depth, which includes a couple of second-year pitchers in Gavin Stone and Emmet Sheehan, will permit the Dodgers to carefully manage the workloads of their more delicate arms. There’s a chance Kershaw could still return to the Dodgers and provide them with help late in the season. Kershaw, a free agent, is expected to sit out at least the first half of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Dustin May is recovering from an elbow operation and could also pitch this season. The stakes are high. The Dodgers’ chances of winning a championship might be better in 2025 when Ohtani resumes pitching after recovering from his second major elbow operation, but that doesn’t mean they can afford to waste the opportunity in front of them this year.

His fastball velocities in ST would definitely be a THING. Which you have to worry about him ramping it up too quickly and getting hurt trying to impress all the scouts. More worried about that than the regular season, tbh.

Former NBAer Grant Hill (ties to area and Redskins/Commanders through father Calvin Hill), former mayor Kurt Schmoke and former NYC mayor/financier/billionaire Michael Bloomberg also involved with Orioles' investment group Potential involvement of Sports Guy and Rolle Tide still uncertain as of press time. Requests for comment were not responded to. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39431143/cal-ripken-jr-grant-hill-group-agreed-buy-orioles

Not so sure about that with the generally much improved defense (still don't know about RF) and almost complete turnover of the roster...not to mention renewed motivation for Dylan to pitch well enough to be traded to a contender.

They simply can't afford to go with Jose Azocar or Jakob Marsee... Heck, their fans were upset when Hicks ended up with the Angels, they're THAT desperate for MLB outfielders. (Were even looking at bringing back Profar after his season in Colorado.) They still need at least ONE more veteran signing to fill out the back end of the rotation...that's a given. Then a massive fight for #5 with internal options. Also need to strengthen their bench and find one more corner OF/DH/1B type. Carpenter and Cruz killed them last year at 1B/DH, fwiw, along with Cronenworth having a really down year after signing that $100+ million contract. Gary Sanchez filled in admirably but they're moving on with all the at-bats going to Campusano and Higashioka/Sullivan.

andorioles talk They're also LIKE ACTUALLY STILL DOING THINGS to compete with LA/SFG/AZ despite having to shed nearly $100 million in payroll coming off last season...of course that was all jump-started by the Soto trade and banking/reallocating his $30+ million salary for the Yankees.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/james-paxton-dodgers-lower-guarantee-221142300.html Reworked from $11 to $7 million

https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/nfl/chicago-bears/bears-select-quarterback-but-not-caleb-williams-in-new-mock-draft/536776/

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/orioles-sale-time-john-henry-175253764.html Now’s the time for John Henry to sell the Red Sox if they’re going to run the fourth highest payroll in the East and continue to finish in the basement… “As it is, their job is about to get a lot harder. The Orioles, incredibly, have not signed a single free agent to a multi-year contract since Mike Elias took over baseball operations in 2018. But what they have done is build a Death Star of a minor-league system that just keeps pumping out No. 1 overall prospects like TIE fighters, the latest being Jackson (son of former All-Star Matt) Holliday. The Orioles won 101 games last year without really acquiring anyone of note, and the prospect of them suddenly spending should send a shudder from Tampa to Toronto and points northeast. It also potentially pushes the Red Sox even further down the AL East pecking order, with the very real possibility that someday soon they could own the division's fourth-highest payroll, ahead of only the impoverished Rays. That they're doing so willingly remains borderline heartbreaking, and signals a change in philosophy that could doom them to second-division status for years, which raises the question: What's the point? Why own the Red Sox (valuation: $4.5 billion) if you're going to treat them like a mid-market team? What's the point of overseeing one of baseball's signature franchises if the goal is simply winning 85 games and hoping to pull a Diamondbacks in October? Why cycle through chief baseball officers if you're not going to let any of them try? It distinctly feels like Henry's heart isn't in it anymore, despite assurances from chairman Tom Werner that they plan to own the Red Sox for another 20 years. So what's the point?” https://www.yahoo.com/sports/alternate-offseason-red-sox-couldve-181656240.html No bridge year for Boston…what could have been?

He didn’t need it to restore his tarnished legacy as badly as he does now. Desperate times call for desperate measures, etc. Without the selling point of tanking for Top 3-5 picks…what else did they have to attempt to retain fan interest for this upcoming “wandering in the desert” time period?

The biggest benefit of this offseason is learning all the MLB minor league systems about as well or even better than KW or Haber…because of all the sharing of data points and diverse perspectives percolating.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2024/01/31/caitlin-clark-iowa-womens-basketball-team-fill-up-big-ten-arenas-sellout-crowds-season-tickets/72421974007/ Greg Mittelman just wanted to see Caitlin Clark play. As a University of Iowa alum living in Chicago, his best chance was the NCAA runner-up Hawkeyes’ Jan. 31 game at Northwestern. He tried to snag single-game tickets. But when they sold out in October – just days after becoming available – he found another option. “I am a season-ticket holder for Northwestern women’s basketball,” Mittelman said. He has yet to attend a game, but the investment was more than worth it. He purchased four season tickets for $150 total. For Wednesday’s game, general-admission seats like Mittelman’s were listed at an average price of $230 on SeatGeek. Each. .…. Vanderbush and her spouse, Rosalie Dominik – also a former Northwestern women’s basketball player – bought season tickets despite living thousands of miles away in North Carolina. “We had in mind that we wanted to see Caitlin Clark play basketball,” Vanderbush said. They bought season tickets along the sideline for $99 each. Seats in their section for Wednesday’s game are listed for a minimum of $600 on the secondary market, with some sellers asking for more than $2,000. “I would say we might continue buying season tickets now even though we can’t make it very often,” Dominik said.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/predictions-mlbs-top-remaining-2024-111429456.html Predictions on remaining free agents…lots of implications for the Cease market.

Not to mention Seager's suddenly shaky health status now.

That would kill the motivation of a lot of mom and pop investors that have invested in the Celtics or Green Bay Packers just from a sheer fan standpoint of supporting their team without looking at profit motivation or eventually selling their shares on a free market.

https://www.startribune.com/twins-trade-jorge-polanco-jim-souhan-seattle-mariners-brooks-lee-edouard-julien/600339629/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=twins

Middle name “Well”?

Brayan Ramos for Ortiz please