caulfield12

Junior Caminero.

Nastrini in quite limited action might be the biggest disappointment...but his stuff has apparently regressed a tick or two from most accounts.

We used to have great scouts...but the numbers are way down due to Covid and budget cuts the last two years...many of the most experienced and expensive vets are gone too. That's all going to trickle down and lead to lower efficiency. Up until 2007/08, they could ALWAYS find low budget but high leverage guys. Think of Marte Gordon Jenks Crain Foulke Howry Takatsu Hermanson Santos Cotts Politte Thornton, to name a few. Then they tried to buy Dotel and Linebrink and they also added a ton of experiments (all the lefties with big stuff/no control and Aardsma) at the end of that great 2003-2006 run. Really feel like other than Robertson and Hendriks...Hahn never picked guys who even earned their contracts. (Especially Kimbrel and Kelly.) And the best scouting finds/signings were on the starting pitcher side, inarguably Rodon Cueto and Clevinger. Basically, they started to rely too much on Hostetler and Haber's computer IMO. Yes lots of names lol.

Debut: June 5, 2021 Verdict: Staying within the Sox’s iconic black-and-white color scheme but adding a new twist to the look works great, as does putting Southside across the chest. The only problem is that now I have Tony LaRussa falling asleep in the dugout in these uniforms forever embedded into my brain. Grade: A https://sports.yahoo.com/ranking-all-mlb-city-connect-jerseys-from-the-dodgers-at-no-28-to-the-marlins-at-no-1-230450990.html Marlins #1 and Padres #3 with most vibrant color combos.

how many positional starters though, right now? Montgomery, likely. Not even sure the next guy in term of highest POTENTIAL...some lists say Ramos, but others might argue Zavala. Both are far from "pencil that name into the 2027-28 line-up" status. Gonzalez still looks as close to a plus utility guy without great speed or power than a frontline player. Quero would probably be #2 as he's a catcher. Wolkow based on power potential? Sosa, Colas, both seem far from being good enough, at least at the present moment.

Crochet and Fedde are the feathers in his cap, pretty clearly. Flexen, much better than last season. Did anyone expect miracles from Soroka or Shuster? Definitely not the pitching rich Braves, and Shuster has been better than expected. Cannon pitched very well last night. Nastrini has been a bit of a disappointment, but he might have been overhyped compared to the actually stuff we've seen this year. Clevinger is pitching about as expected for someone who got such a late start, and not nearly as well as 2023, but even outperforming wasn't enough to get him traded because of Hahn's unique contract for him. Thorpe has made HUGE progress moving up through the system. If you really want to blame something on Bannister/Katz, is it going to be Kopech or Leasure? Nah. We'll see how well Michael does on another team soon enough.

https://www.mlb.com/tigers/community/hits-and-giggles (Charity Comedy Show in Detroit hosted by Jason Benetti) Let’s chuckle for change! Join us for an exclusive comedy show hosted by Tigers announcer Jason Benetti at The Detroit House of Comedy. Tigers players and professional comedians will unite for an evening of laughs to support the Detroit Tigers Foundation and local nonprofits aiding youth mental health. Don't miss the chance to enjoy a great show and make a difference! Proceeds benefit the Detroit Tigers Foundation and The Children’s Center art therapy program. Event is restricted to guests ages 21+ Thursday, July 11, 2024 5:30-7 p.m. VIP Cocktail Hour at Hockeytown Café Rooftop 7 p.m. Show at The Detroit House of Comedy 9 p.m. Extra Innings event on Columbia Street After the show, guests can continue the party with dessert, drinks and entertainment on Columbia Street.

Basically the opposite of a 3-D player in basketball...lacking running ability or arm strength.

Whit Merrifield minus the speed, lol...

surprised they spelled Montoya's name wrong...Montoyo

Manaea has actually been one of the best (count me surprised) pitchers on the Mets this year, I probably would have only gone $10-12 million coming out of SD and SF, but whatever. Benintendi being literally the 2nd worst player in all of baseball out of hundreds (everyone but Maldonado) is borderline ridiculous. The odds of it being the worst contract in the game were probably 2-3% at best. But Hahn managed to pull it off.

This is what most Sox fans expected coming into this season...low scoring games with solid defense. Except we're not getting the defense, offense, fundamentals or bullpen performances to back it up.

And Nugenix.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2024/06/12/caitlin-clark-culture-war-us-olympic-basketball-team/74047837007/ Except there hasn't ever been a woman's player who could consistently hit from 30-35 feet like Steph Curry or Trae Young. Dunking was never all that excitement because there simply wasn't enough power or charisma involved on the women's side of that equation. Secondly, while there are still a lot of missed bunnies, lay-ups, tip-ins and simply wide open shots, the SPEED of the game, the overall pace, is definitely increasing from last year. That's why so many enjoy the Iowa style, the fast breaks, precision passing, team being stronger than the sum of its individual parts, etc. WNBA Attendance Is 105% Higher When Caitlin Clark Plays Key Highlights: Caitlin Clark has caused attendance figures to jump 87% compared to opponent’s average home attendance Clark has accounted for 33.5% of the total WNBA attendance in 2024 When Clark plays, WNBA games average 15,591 fans in attendance (+105%) compared to 7,645 fans when she is not in action Indiana Fever average 36% more fans on the road (15,142) than any other WNBA team At any rate, the next big 'cultural' debate will be when Clark is selected to the All-WNBA All-Star team to play against the US Olympic All-Stars. Undoubtedly, Clark (because the voting is skewed towards the fans, 50%) will finish either first or second out of those 12 players to play against the 12 Olympians (not sure if the Aces' PG will be ready or not).

You mean Haber...?

Schiffren?

What are the positives of DeLoach's game so far at the big league level...any insights? Anything stick out defensively, swing-wise or on the basepaths? We were told he was much better suited for LF, but he doesn't seem like a typical slugging/high OPS guy at that spot.

Braves +5 Padres +2 Giants -1 Cubs -2 Reds -2 Cards -2 Nats -3 DBacks -3 Pirates -3

Don't pay prices inside the park...they were really expensive even a decade ago the last time I was there.

And at least close to average fielding...not sure what his defensive fWAR or other metrics say. To me, that's got to be more valuable than someone like Cavan Biggio who has been struggling for the last 2-3 seasons on offense (ofc, could say same about Paul).

https://www.mlb.com/news/trade-deadline-rumors-targets-rising-stock-2024 Crochet listed as most valuable asset on the market (due to salary, partially), DeJong also on the "top ten rising trade targets" list.

Is it really $65 millon, though? Moncada's $24 and whatever Jimenez makes... By that argument, the Twins have had similar situations the last two years when both Buxton and Correa were out simultaneously.

Roughly $25-30 million if you add in Hendriks and Leury Garcia, pretty sure. + $5 million buyout for Moncada, that's obvious. Who knows what they will do with Jimenez.

How far would that money go in terms of modernizing the front office, though? Analytics, more scouts to replace the ones they had to let go (supposedly), computers/databases/AI/algorithms, etc.? A LONG WAY. Because there's so many in that area that would die to get into the field now, even willing to work for free in the case of interns whose families can subsidize them for a year or two (not that the Sox should use "cheap or free" labor compared to paying top dollar for the best. How can Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit and KC all be well ahead of the White Sox while running payrolls well under the Sox? Their money isn't all invested in major league payroll, obviously.

We actually could have had (well, after the 2022 season) a really excellent/top-flight manager simply from the money left over from Leury's deal they ate.