tjp1684

Dejong. He’s hitting .256 with 3 HRs and 4 2Bs. Sadly, people aren’t getting on when he’s notching XBHs. He isn’t lighting the world on fire, but he was a .226 hitter last year with 14 HR.

Can it be “all of the above?” A manager who shouldn’t be leading this team. A front office that put together a poor, cheap, underperforming roster. Players who realize this is a bad team with some just cashing paychecks. An ultimately an owner who needs to sell the team.

Normally I would say this would be the time where we would clear the bases and then fall 7-3. Maybe he hits another single or draws a walk and keeps this going. Sadly, the odds of us winning this game are like 0.001%.

Sadly, that MLB line would be an improvement to our offense. At .242, he would be 5th on the team. Benintendi is only seeing ABs because of his massive contract. Vaughn may not be signed to another contract unless he can bolster his hitting. He’s sitting at 50 points under the Mendoza line. Either of these guys could make an adjustment and hit a hot streak, but they’re lucky we’re so bad that they can try to hit their way out of it. 4 of our top 5 yesterday we’re hitting .170 or less. Let that sink in. Our 1, 2, 4, and 5 hitters were hitting between .153 and .170 with a combined 1 HR and 8 RBIs.

We’re averaging 2 runs a game, and even 30 points under last year, Pham would be one of the top hitters on this team. Grossman is at least getting on via walking. If he can walk at a decent clip, it at least gives us a chance to have someone on when our guys smack a double. So we’ll have to figure out who fits where best if we’re “trying to compete.”

Perhaps it’s time to beef up our rotation of plumbing sponsors. We could find 7, and they could each sponsor a flush of the week.

I watch the games if my kids want to or for background noise. They now ask questions like: “Why don’t the Sox spend money?” Or “Will they score any runs when we go?” They asked why we are so bad, and I was brutally honest with them.

As long as that $30 can also buy parking or an ice cream, we’re in. I just won’t spend $80-100 to get there and park to watch us lose 7-1 or 8-2 and see ~17-20 guys who won’t be on the roster in 2 years. We can watch on TV until we’re getting blown out, then shoot hoops or practice baseball outside. I can also drive 30 minutes, see MiLB for 10-15% of the cost, and it is more likely to be a competitive game.

Is there any benefit to him selling the Sox or his share of the Sox now? I remember in the past him wanting to keep the Bulls in the family but sell the Sox. I also wonder how the ownership agreement works with all the Sox partners if JR isn’t the managing partner. I would guess there would be no shortage of potential owners who would buy the team and be willing to spend more.

Normally I would say, “Oh crap! Sorry for ruining that.” However, you might find more excitement pulling weeds or cleaning out a fridge. My son put on the Sox jersey he got for his birthday and wanted to watch a few innings before bed. He looked at the score and said, “The Sox aren’t good at scoring runs, but the teams we play are.” Someone asked why I got the jersey blank. I said it was like $30 cheaper, and I wasn’t confident any of the actual options we could get would be on the team for the entire year or into the future.

I wonder if they’re being told not to over-use Kopech because he 1.) could be traded or 2.) is a likely future piece versus several of the current players. This is the type of year where we need to identify a reliever who is not afraid to toss up 2-3 innings and then come back to toss 2-3 innings 2 days later. It may be more of a soft-tosser/rubber arm, but that is one person who saves the pen. Maybe a guy later in his career who wants to play in the Show. You also could see why position player could eat an inning or two in a game like we’re currently in, down 9-1…make that 11-1.

Good to pick up a win. Our relief pitching, especially Kopech, and our doubles hitting tonight were positives. Perhaps Kopech in this relief role like this is where he can add the most value. What concerns me: the strikeouts. I see a lot of pitchers having double-digit Ks against us, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see us on the receiving end up having a game with 15 or 18 Ks. Also, playing Maldonado when he’s batting under .100 and striking out 30% of the time. Does Maldonado really give us that much of an upgrade on defense and development to let him add nearly nothing to the lineup?

We’re definitely on the same page. It’s possible Virginia McCaskey could put a winning Bears’ team on the field next year, even at 101.

I am guessing that you’re talking about JR’s prime in terms of spending money? I don’t care if our owner is 110 as long as they are willing to give the team some semblance of resources. I still haven’t found much of a reason to make some of the signings we did, rather than spend less and give innings to guys who will actually be here. That was also surprising.

There will be positive individual impacts to this season. Hopefully we see we have 2-3 guys who can start in the future. Two of our better offensive guys on a likely 50-60 win club are now injured at the start of the year. I would guess they aren’t going to be rushed back. That may not cost us a ton of wins or matter in the scheme of things, but it could cost us a few.

This was my argument. If we aren’t serious about competing and JR wants to save money, have Lee be the everyday starter with a veteran back-up. It gives a year tryout to see what is there with him. The slogan, “We’re seeing if these kids can play.”

I’m trying to explain to my kids how the team is so bad. After a lot of conversation, they seem to understand 1.) how bad this ownership group is at giving resources to bring in enough MLB talent to compete and 2.) how the guys we have aren’t hitting 3.) injuries although that doesn’t seem to have had a major impact yet. While it has been an interesting exercise to get it to their level, boy does it make you feel like we have no shot until ownership and administration is gone. When asked, “Well, how can we win?” I had to explain that we need a lot of young guys to develop better than they are and some older players to have the best years of their career.

Kopech is showing an UFA in 2026, so we have 2 years including this one. It’s possible we could add a year or two for him, but he only has 1 year that we would be buying out of arbitration, and it’s one he would already be looking at a raise from this year’s $3 million salary. That would put him over $10 million in career earnings.

Over/under on hearing this during the season +/- 20? We could hear some version of this quite often.

Would a team that is in the playoff hunt but down a starter or two to injury want him? I think that situation for a performing Clevinger could net something. It may not be much, but it could be “something.” The Sox aren’t likely to be competing in July, and we could see a historically bad start. So, I could see him being one of the first starters dealt.

I have to wonder if we’re talking $10k or $25k. I guess every bit helps offset the lost ticket revenue. It will be interesting when we start trading some of the guys we just signed.

I would venture unless we’re sitting at say 5-25 to start the year that we won’t see a change. With how they constructed this roster, they know 110 losses is possible. Grifol will be dumped at some point as the scapegoat. That said, he shouldn’t be the manager.

I’m a huge Illinois State fan, so having him on the Sox is nice. I will probably try to get something game-used from him. It is more hope that he turns it around. I don’t expect this out of him, but I would love to see good defense, .240 average, and 15-20 HRs.

The publicity picture looks great. I look forward to the actual “what’s served” pictures. I can’t say I would be thrilled about dropping $30 on getting them for the kids, but they love a good helmet sundae.

My older son is into baseball now, so we watched a couple innings together. At 6, he was calling out why none of those hitters were putting the ball in play. It was interesting trying to explain what this season will probably look like, but I told him it may give us the opportunity to go to an extra game or two because they’ll be so cheap and without many people around.