mmmmmbeeer

Saw Engel was moved to the IL for a hamstring? When did he get hurt? Haven't been following ST closely.

96 wins. Offense suffers a bit of regression but the pitching staff carries us to an AL Central championship.

Sox games are probably going to be a tough ticket to get this season with the hype of the team and people missing evenings at the ballpark. Not sure what the season ticket deal is this season, but if you've got them, you're going to probably make absolute BANK on the aftermarket sales this season.

The launch angle, coupled with average home run distance and average distance, definitely speaks volumes on untapped power potential. We've seen how streaky he can be with the long ball with the number of multi-HR games he has, likely due to a slight swing adjustment on particular nights that may be unidentifiable to him but is impacting his launch angle at times. Don't get me wrong. He's a hell of a hitter and I wouldn't change much. But I've got to think that the analytics people in the Sox org are seeing the same thing we're seeing in this thread which could lead to a very slight tweak to his swing resulting in an absolute MONSTER of a longball threat.

The absolute balls it takes to consistently throw near BP-speed pitches down the middle of the plate against MLB hitters is severely underrated. Not only could they easily go yard, but they could just as easily take the man's head off if they tee it up right back at Gio. It's just plain supreme confidence in a pitch coupled with an unflinching belief that he has the mental upperhand in every at-bat knowing he can fool them.

You're right, we know he's cheap. This is why we were willing to put up with this rebuild, knowing that we couldn't fill out our roster with big time FA signings and needed to develop and obtain young talent. We were told by the GM, guaranteed, in fact, that the money will be there during our competitive window. We were told that a young, talented roster would be buffeted by strong, veteran FA signings to bring at least one, and hopefully more, championships to Chicago. That language hadn't been used previously under JR's reign. We know the man is cheap, but his organization told us that he's going to be willing to go all in. He lied to us. Yes, the team will be good regardless. It would be a lot better if Jerry did what he said he was going to do. This roster with a Baeur? This roster with a Springer in RF? This roster with Cruz at DH? ENORMOUS upgrades made by any owner who wanted to push all his chips in. We can't even get freaking Wainright because of money? Seriously? I've been a fan for a long time. I can take "cheap". I've accepted cheap. I don't accept straight up lying.

You sure? How would a waived player count against luxury tax? This is kind of an unprecedented deal to say so definitively that this is the way it would work. Not that we're going to reach LT, but still interesting to understand.

Solid interview. He seems both very humble and coy. Seemed especially excited about what he can do with Dylan. I got the sense he was given a mandate from Rick because he seemed very nonplussed by working with Larussa or having to fit in with Larussa's strategies.

Agreed. I think this move to the Sox has much less to do with fulfilling a childhood dream than it does finding another announcing job in baseball that keeps he and his family in Chicago.

He'd been around for soooooo long...it was inevitable the game would move beyond him. This is especially true with an "old school" guy like Coop who never really committed to new technologies, strategies, and pitching theories. Ya know, kind of like the 93yo manager we just hired. I'm expecting Katz to reinvigorate a career or two in short order. He's hungry, is "new school", and has been empowered by the FO to do whatever needs to be done. Love it.

If there's one thing I've never met in my life, it's a silent Trump supporter. Fuckers will bring up politics and Trump no matter what the subject. "Pretty good salad, eh Bill?" "Yeah, enjoy it before AOC and the Green New Deal takes away our farms!" "I mean, I was just saying it was a good salad, Bill."

Do you forget that we're all die-hard fans on Soxtalk? Why are you trying to bullshit us with your contrarian soliloquies?

You think TA is going to be cool with his manager telling him he should just head back to the clubhouse if he dares to kneel for the anthem (as he did this season)? Or am I just someone who "hates conservatives"? Man, y'all are such fucking snowflakes.

I think you're underestimating the sea change that has occurred not only in baseball, but professional sports in general. Players don't want to play for people like MAGA-loving, old school, anti-stats people like Tony LaRussa. This will not only impact the clubhouse but every FA we pursue.

There's absolutely no way you make this post if you watched his presser the day he fired Ricky. Pay better attention, kid.

Rick Hahn. With the organization for many, many years. Worked his way up the ranks. Earns the GM job and is given the task of a rebuild. He makes the tough decisions, puts up with an absolute abomination of a team, makes some very impressive deals to obtain prospect capital, seemingly does very well with draft capital, has some encouraging international prospects....busts his damn ass. After 4 years of horseshit, HIS creation is finally ready to compete. Ready to make waves. Ready to perhaps win a chip. He sees Renteria as a roadblock and tactfully gets permission to can him. He has his pick of the litter on the next manager and coaching staff. Anyone active, anyone retired, anyone away from the game. He knows what he wants in a manager, as he explained during his presser the day he canned Ricky. Then comes Jerry. How humiliating, demeaning, and shameful that, after all he's done, he's been publicly neutered by Jerry Reinsdorf? Rick Hahn is not long for this organization. It will be interesting to see who says what during tomorrow's press conference.

TWTW. Awesome.

This hasn't turned out as you expected, Knights ?

I take it you haven't hung around many septuagenarians recently. They're all the same once they reach that age. Incorrigible assholes. Often very likable people, until you try to tell them how they're wrong about something.

I mean, this would just be a disastrous course for this team to take, giving the reins to a 76yo man who hasn't coached in over a decade. Old men are naturally incorrigible creatures. Think Hawk. Hawk literally blew off all sabremetrics and tried to boil it all down to TWTW. He was an old man and no one could tell him otherwise. He didn't give a damn that younger fans wanted to hear about advanced stats during the broadcast, he didn't want to hear them. He overvalued guys that he had close relationships with because he put trust over talent. How many times did we have to hear him defend the play of a guy who just wasn't good at baseball? We're getting Hawk when we get TLR. They're the same damn person. Old, incorrigible, reluctant to change, assholes. How does Rick Hahn work with him? Hell, how does Kenny work with him, for that matter? All three men know that JR will side with TLR. What hope do they have of convincing TLR of changes that need to be made, be it with personnel or roster construction? Will there be ANYONE on this coaching staff under 50yo that players can relate to? The days of hard-headed asshole managers who refuse to cater to players' feelings are looonnngggg gone. What FA wants to go play for an old grumpy motherfucker who will refuse to coddle them in any way whatsoever? None. No one. I'm livid this is anything more than a joke at this point. When it was first rumored he'd be interviewed, I thought that it was just a made up story. Now he's reached out to Dave Duncan? FFS. We've waited SO LONG for this rebuild to be over and to compete and JR does THIS to us? Seriously?! Just fucking shoot me in the head.

Someone mentioned in another thread that Stone went off on Ricky this morning on the radio. Anyone have a link or know which show he appeared on?

Thanks!

Where can we catch the presser if out of town? Isn't it starting now?

So incredibly happy to see this. Beyond an inevitable improvement in in-game moves, lineups, etc., this also tells us that Hahn has JR's ear and is following his lead. There was no doubt in my mind that Rick wanted to fire RR as he wouldn't want to put this rebuild, and his own credibility, in the hands of an incompetent manager. Where I did find doubt was figuring out if JR would go along with the plan. Well, he is....which bodes VERY well for any moves Hahn may want to make this offseason. JR is all in.

Hahn's future in this game depends on how this rebuild works out. I find it hard to believe he'd put his own future in the hands of Ricky Renteria after some of the bewildering decisions we all saw this season. Hahn has JR's ear. I believe we'll start the '21 season with a new manager and coaching staff.