caulfield12

Just had a really fun AZ/Florida Atlantic game over the v weekend that went into 2OT.

We really should credit the leap in Yermin with his independent league play in Texas. The goal of any system is 2+ fWAR players being produced. None of those guys mentioned could consistently play at that level or we would have gotten something worthwhile back for them. McCann and Narvaez did quite well...but they gave up on Omar because of his defense. We saw that with Semien Burger Narvaez and numerous others. Or simply forcing guys into positions where they didn't belong, like Vaughn and Shields in the OF. Well we did try to play Avi Garcia in CF. Guess even he will counted as a success by some.

Not to mention Steele Walker and Adolfo. We couldn't even develop a single 1+ fWAR outfielder. Well, Alex Call was close at one point last year...but Sox take zero credit there. We simply have more Bassitts and Semiens that got away than the other way around.

The way most look at is who became significant contributors at the major League level that were not expected to on the day they were drafted or acquired via trade...? All of those guys who graduated to the bigs from 2017-19 were really elite prospects...enough to get the system ranked at the top of the sport. The best we can say is we had some influence on Cease and Dunning...but once again those were all high picks originally. Where the Guardians have destroyed the Sox is picks after the first round. The White Sox haven't even gotten much out of any of their second round and supplemental picks. Think of it like Iowa football turning multiple 2-3 star recruits into NFL stars. You almost never see it in the NBA...but the White Sox have just been abysmal at even getting the majority of first rounders to stick as permanent fixtures. Partly on JR, but partly on development too. We don't have a single player other than Montgomery you would confidently predict would be a $100+ million contract someday...well, Robert as well, but nobody has ever credited Chris Getz with developing Luis...it's more about not getting in the way of his raw talent and trying to change him. We just drafted another first rounder in June that nobody can seem to figure out how to fix his swing/approach/lack of pop with a wooden bat. Another example. Burger and his wife arguably had more to do with his success than the White Sox...who believed in him so much they let him play in a collegiate summer league without supervising him.

Except Getz wasn't in charge of the Sox minors then...

Some expect Rodriguez to end up in in the $40-45 million range. Way too expensive for the Sox, especially if they're not sure he can even be a starter in the majors. The Sox have done well with Rodon Cueto Scholtens Santos...but nothing sustainable long term.

How many of those players were actually ready for the big leagues and were actually legit prospects? Not a heckuva lot. Some would say it was the least talented if roster after the TDL moves of any team in modern Sox history.

Have you actually looked at Wacha's numbers last year or watched him?

Here’s our list of favorites from the non-marquee names from the free agent pool: Hyun-jin Ryu, James Paxton and Michael Lorenzen. Ryu, who only made 17 starts over the past two seasons because of injury, and Paxton, an oft-injured lefty, are risks. But they both have stuff upside. Lorenzen threw a no-hitter last year for the Phillies and had a 4.18 ERA over 29 games (25 starts) for the Tigers and Philadelphia. No bull on relief Jordan Hicks (81 strikeouts in 65.2 innings over two stops)? Old pal David Robertson is a free agent, too. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/whats-next-yankees-missing-yoshinobu-174000663.html

Just like Branch Rickey before him…

Don’t think you put together a championship-caliber organization by setting the bar at winning the Central. That’s the same mentality that has dragged down the Sox for decades now. Knowing they’ve had all the advantages in the world vis a vis their divisional rivals hasn’t forced them to innovate like the Rays and Orioles in the face of the big three AL East teams of the past 2-3 decades.

It wasn't just that though...misplays, bad reads, throwing to the wrong bases...fear of the walls, being too nonchalant or lackadaisical and allowing runners to take extra bases. Much like Pollock preceding him, he seemed for most of the season like he just would have preferred to be anywhere else but the Sox outfield. Coaching alone can't explain that...because his most logical motivation would be to play well enough to get traded out of a situation he didn't seem to enjoy very much.

The Royals were a play or two and Madison Bumgarner away from two WS titles… That would have put them only behind the Red Sox and Giants going back to 2000.

Zero reason not to. It’s just that he was coming off an injury and had only one start to go one and was also not cheap for a handful of starts down the stretch considering buyout and especially PR and clubhouse chemistry ramifications.

Padres have Cronenworth, Tatis, Musgrove, Machado, Bogaerts, Darvish…all over $100 million, HaSeong Kim would be the next over that amount with a repeat of 2023’s numbers. Will never know how long that would have been sustainable with Seidler’s death placing a cloud over the franchise.

Capture the momentum of 100 losses with zero benefits from that level of ineptitude?

Didn't work well getting anything for Clevinger despite his being the best pitcher.

Orioles 2X or 3x as deep at this same point in their respective windows. Sox used almost all vets relievers and bench players to get over the finish line and it was a total disaster. In the process, they traded or lost Rodon Anderson Hendriks Dunning Madrigal Heuer Giolito Burger, etc.

Brewers...at least until now.

Not hearing Imanata’s name much recently, but he is suddenly one to watch as he was expected to come in around $75 million before all this craziness…and he’s actually the third option currently in FA behind Snell and Montgomery.

Coverage of Ohtani and Yamamoto…about 50-60 Japanese writers will now be based out of Southern California, with 15-20 Korean writers already split between SFG and SD (unless HaSeong Kim is traded off at max value because they cant get enough back for eating the Cronenworth deal.) Then you have the Dodgers/Padres to open the season in Seoul. When the Dodgers are out of town, it only makes sense for some of those writers to be allocated to much closer games than the Cubs (Suzuki) and Red Sox (Yoshida). Also depends of course where those various teams are in the standings.

Looks like other West Coast teams now building around the Japanese and Korean markets except the A’s Mariners and of course the Angels. Looks like they believe they can take advantage of the spillover effect from LA. There’s your new Hader on the cheap lol. https://www.gaslampball.com/2023/12/19/24008210/padres-close-to-signing-reliever-yuki-matsui

And satellite providers. Right now...the majority of big streaming sites are losing money and will have to cut back, merge/consolidate or simply disappear from existence.

It's pretty amazing what the Brewers have done vis a vis the hifher-spending Cubs and Cardinals over the last decade or so. Even then, they inevitably lost Stearns to the Mets and Counsell to the Cubs...and are in the verge of rebuilding if they end up dealing Burnes.

Just have to wait for the trade because $150-175 million for Snell and $100-125 million for Montgomery is even more insane to all but the Top Ten or so franchises…for example, the Braves would never dare touch those two deals.