caulfield12

Trying to demonstrate how challenging it currently is to motivate Sox fans... at least the Royals have Witt Jr., Pasquantino and Sal Perez that their fans can cheer and get firmly behind.

Seems more like a case of everyone associated with the White Sox being nails and those outside the organization playing the roll of hammers...

On the White Sox roster or across their entire minor league system, if you could choose anyone after Robert and Burger? Debate/discuss.

“We started joking around in the cage one day, ‘They’re going to start selling jerseys that are split down the middle with half Sheets, half Burger on it,’” Burger said. “We thought ‘Shurger’ works, so that’s the name we’re running with. It made it seem like an actual last name that people would see and think ‘That could fly.’” “We considered some split T-shirts, but it’s just us embracing our roles and knowing what we’re going to do and doing it to the best of our ability,” Sheets said. “We don’t even think about competing against each other. It’s about buying in. We root for each other really hard. Especially in that situation where consider ourselves one person.” https://theathletic.com/4417940/2023/04/18/white-sox-gavin-sheets-jake-burger/ Have a feeling that Burger will stick around a long time...and Sheets until they can find an even younger/cheaper player who kills righties and can actually play solid defense at multiple positions around the field. Burger's the most emblematic of that blue collar/diligent worker style that used to define the SouthSide... like a Herb Milkman Perry or Joe Crede.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/oakland-as-reach-agreement-to-develop-tropicana-site-for-30000-seat-las-vegas-stadium-194403496.html Former Tropicana site... around 30,000 seat stadium $1.5 billion price tag, looking for $400 million in public funds

If only that same strategy would work for the rest of the team...

Avi at 10.4 for his entire career, with 4.7 coming in that one anomalously standout 2017 season. Should have sold high then... but hindsight always 20/20.

Royals are abysmal. Getting no hit by Wacha after 7 and Keller walked eight.

Easier than Salinger lol?

Pretty clearly Tim Anderson focused on batting average over home runs beginning in 2019...the question is whether he can go back to an average of that 12-18, touching 20 homer guy vs. now someone that's currently struggling to hit double digits accompanied by that low OBP. Or at least putting up big XB numbers from pulling line drives in the air to the left hand side of the field...? They said Ichiro could have hit 20-25 homers, even 30, had he so desired to play that style. Let's see how Anderson responds these next 2-3 months.

Any team in baseball had multiple shots at Rooker for a BIT less than $75 million.....we spent the entire offseason discussing how last year in NY was misleading compared to his fWARs from 2019-2021. To top it all off, coming off a seemingly debilitating hand injury the way it's sapped his XB power so obviously.

He always had the off day on Monday if he really wanted to face the media. He definitely didn't want to hear about KC taking 3/4. This was supposedly their stretch in the schedule to make up some ground... but they're falling further and further behind instead.

Winning organizations do tend to foster that culture. Every single Japanese team does. It's also why they play fundamentally sound baseball...for coming from the 2014-2015 Royals, Grifol didn't absorb all that much. Or he was the wrong coach for this specific set of players in terms of their skill sets. The Royals back then were essentially built on this model of emulating the Japanese league teams because of limited power but an overabundance of speed bat to ball contact skills and defense.

If the Sox want to keep their second best offensive player on the bench, on a team that struggles to put together big innings...because of the feelings of a basically outgoing dead contract in Moncada...god bless them.

Where did I write IN ANY SCENARIO? At any rate, the Rays are another perfect example here of organizations impressing upon players like Yandy Diaz and 10-15 plus others like the developing Cronenworth the value of positional flexibility. Mix and match.

Let's just put it this way. Winning teams... players will volunteer to do what's best for the team. Moncada's interest is now focused on where he will be traded and his next FA deal. It would behoove him to demonstrate some versataility if he's not going to be an 850-900 hitter ever again. Conversely, the White Sox will desperately need to continue developing the 3B skills of Burger, since the next 3-5 years will be all about young/cheap players and veteran retreads. They already have 1B and DH pretty much covered... to the good or bad, we shall see. At any rate...opportunity cost. No matter what Moncada does, the return for him will always be about any financial savings they can eke out. Making Burger into another Max Muncy provides more utility for the team and less for JR's wallet. (We also have already clearly demonstrated players like Narvaez and Semien can make dramatic defensive improvements away my from the Sox. Tyler Flowers would be yet another.)

Look where they played 2021 and 2020 compared to now. Lux a natural SS/2B and Muncy 1B DH and pretty sure C at one point. Look at the last two weeks for the Dodgers. Nobody in a million years thought Betts would be getting starts at SS this spring training. Cardinals obviously changed their plan within a week... but they were planning to DH and corner outfield Contreras for Burleson to create more offense. Already sent top prospect in baseball Walker down because he was struggling so much in RF and at third... despite pretty decent offensive numbers.

At this rate... the White Sox will never again retain a star player into their 30s. Konerko will go down as the last of his breed. Robert will just as likely price himself out of JR's comfortable, team-friendly extension range with all of his fellow Cubans no longer around. And the more Rodons, Andersons and Giolitos the franchise vontinues to shed...the closer they get to KC East as an organizational description and FA destination. It's going to be too late to rebuild around Cease/Kopech and Vaughn already has his own dedicated threads. Michael Kopech has transformed from future ace to afterthought/maybe high leverage relief with no replacements in the minors waiting behind him.

Progress/regression...for now and probably into 2024 due to controlling his rights, he can't move forward as the starting SS and future of the rebuild (along with Luis Robert) if he isn't able to take the field.

Guess we will find out how willing Hahn is to declare the rebuild dead. If Montgomery had continued on his 2021-2022 progression, it would be a much more viable PR strategy if he was going to be recalled as TA's replacement. Ultimately, he's the most identifiable Sox position player and it will be a changing of the old guard to Robert... But Hahn also is cognizant that trading yet another All-Star SS seven years later, three under 30 All Stars if you count Semien with Tatis Jr., makes him look even worse ultimately when Anderson transforms back into WBC form elsewhere.

Ultimately Sheets and Burger will both stay due to cheapness/affordability/fan recognition. Moncada, Jimenez, Benintendi and TA are all living on borrowed time right now. The only questions remaining are what to do with Cease, Kopech and Clevinger to a lesser extent. Vaughn as well. Don't see him getting traded until they have officially declared the rebuild dead.

When you look at Moncada's contract and realize having more versatility boosts his trade value... That and the fact that Burger suddenly has become a much more viable replacement option at third than he was at the end of 2022. Betts willingly moving to SS for the good of the team as a former MVP and even CF/RF Gold Glover while Moncada isn't even willing (seemingly) to consider it tells one a lot. Not only Betts, but Lux, Taylor and Muncy have been willing to move all over the diamond for the ultimate positional flexibility benefit of that franchise.

And one of only three teams at -60 or greater in RS/RA allowed differential with KC -60 and Sox at -71 and Oakland having at least Brent Rooker and a franchise relocation/new stadium to look forward to for some fans. Other than KC, there's no team with a bleaker immediate and then shorter term future....and that's certainly arguable with Witt, Pasquantino and a lot more financial flexibility. Would have said Pirates/Reds...but not now. Same with Detroit. Rockies...maybe? Angels if they trade both Trout and Ohtani have an immense injection of talent forthcoming and one of the better markets in baseball to draw upon.

Mookie Betts now playing SS pretty regularly this year for LA...his original/first position as a minor league prospect. Cardinals moved Contreras off catcher for OF/DH and one week later changed their minds.

What does Hahn know about good value? At the very least... you need to let Anderson get back up to a 725-750ish OPS first. His numbers look closer to 2006 Brian Anderson minus the occasional homer right streak now. Then you trade him...it better lead to something better than Andrus replacing him. You need to prove that Colson Montgomery is progressing again towards that starting SS spot... because the cost to replace him becomes even more expensive if you just turn right around and have to sign another Tier B MI in free agency. And Montgomery (instead) moving to third base means Burger/Moncada are worth even less to the organization... especially Burger at 1B/DH.