tjp1684

I have two young sons who were asking if we were going to get to go to more Sox games this year. My answer was yes, and we would likely be able to sit close, because the tickets probably will not be very expensive. It is moves like having an Opening Day starter with 73 IP in his career. Don’t get me wrong, Crochet is talented, but going with multiple starters who are likely to go 3-4 innings vs 5-7 is going to require a revolving door from Charlotte to get through the season. This is where a guy who can throw 3 IP in relief twice over a 5-6 day span could be helpful. This is a serious question: what non-pitcher on our roster has enough in his arm to throw strikes for a couple innings a couple times throughout the year? If we’re down huge with an inning or two to go, does losing 10-1 or 13-1 having someone eat an inning or two really matter? Fans may have more fun if Paul DeJong or Nicky Lopez (making up guys here) comes in and fans a guy.

This made me laugh! Having a bevy of guys we can throw out there for 2-3-4 innings of relief is likely a necessity if we have guys like Kopech getting pulled after giving up 4-5 (or more) runs in 4-5 (or fewer) innings. Maybe out of all these guys were signing, someone turns it around. By DFA, trade, release or whatever means, I think we all know most of these guys aren’t around next year.

This is exactly my thought. We need guys we can put in the rotation, and this gives us two options. We lost a SS in Anderson, but we pick up an option at middle IF. If any part of this deal works out for us, we could be looking at a pretty good deal. If we get multiple guys to contribute somehow, this could be a steal of a deal. It’s not looking like we will seriously compete in 2024 without a whole lot of guys emerging/having career years. We will have plenty of innings to give guys to show us what they have.

A FA is going to come here if we’re the highest deal and believes we can compete in a year. They know they’ll get PT. People who already have rings may not be as worried about being in a playoff hunt right away. The problem is how often have the Sox shown they’ll sign top guys to the deals they need to get them here. Bringing in a couple impactful players now for 2025+ could help not having a big group of guys needing to gel and having a slow start. Find who your 2025+ leaders are going to be.

I would agree with that. One thing for sure with Grifol managing this squad: it will be easy to get tickets. I feel bad for the ticket sales/renewals team going into this offseason. What do they have to point to for 2024?

With our pitching staff, I’m not sure I’d bother with this. Give these MILB pitchers more MLB innings.

I do not believe this is a move that will benefit the Sox. I really hope I eat my words, but there needs to be significant organizational change to have the best change of success. Naming a top lieutenant of the guys who failed does not scream success. This also is not like having a really good offensive or defensive coordinator and making them head coach because they are probably better than the current head coach.

The more I hear about Getz or any combination of internal guys as the single voice shows me that person in that role won’t actually be the decision-maker. Anyone from the outside we would want isn’t going to come in here and be handcuffed. They will want their successes to be with their own decisions, their own lieutenants, and their own manager. They’ll also want to know there is a checkbook to bring in FAs. if it’s Getz, then there appears to be no serious commitment to change and Williams/Hahn were sacrificed to make it look like change will happen. I don’t care who JR wants to keep on the payroll in whatever ambassador or advisor role as long as those people know they aren’t calling the shots and that they are not taking away from resources to scout/develop/coach talent.

I was excited to catch this game because we had an off night for the family. Got tied up helping my in-laws but saw the lead off HR. At least that caused me to miss the wheels falling off. Kopech needs to throw another inning, at least experience more pitching. Then go to relief. I guess we still have, according to ESPN, a 0.4% chance to win.

It’s utilized most of the year due to the long baseball stadium. The problem is that big-time entertainers want to go to Wrigley, and if they don’t play there, Soldier Field will host bigger events. I would have to look the last major concert hosted by the Sox. The concert itself at Wrigley is nice but the amenities and just super cramped feeling is awful. As far as the stadium itself, it seems solid the way it is. The concourses aren’t anything special but into the ballpark is nice. It just needs to see good baseball because a few bad season takes a lot to come back from.

I don’t think you’ll see most managers admit that they’re doing anything but trying to win games. The same with an NFL HC playing the 3rd string QB, sitting its best wideout, and playing a back-up OL after the GM trades the teams’ best guys, but you know what their actual stance is. Grifol’s future is likely tied into what happens with KW and Hahn. I can’t see a good GM coming in if that person has really no control.

If we are not able to bring in FAs who can produce, it doesn’t matter who we would have traded away and received in return. It will probably take new ownership to do that though because our current ownership/front office has shown no serious efforts to do so. We may have made record offers for the Sox, but the key there is “for the Sox.” Perhaps we could get the personnel to compete in the Central, but we are a long way from competing beyond the Central with our approach.

I should have defined someone as “can’t miss” as consensus being they’ll be in the big leagues and not just a call-up for a cup of coffee. For my definition, I see the guys you mentioned as can’t-miss prospects because they all made it to and stuck on the MLB roster. I personally view their performance once they make it to be separate from “can’t-miss” prospect status. Ultimately, this was a huge payroll dump. It gives AA and AAA guys a chance to get MLB experience so we can see what we have going into 2024 because either these guys or veterans we bring in at cheap salaries are going to be needed to fill out the roster.

There are a lot of innings to eat next year, both as a starter and middle reliever. He gives us an option, along with other guys we picked up. If we aren’t going to sign guys to give us a roster to compete in 2024, there is going to be plenty of opportunities of all of these AA and AAA-level pitchers to get tried out. There is very little risk in claiming Honeywell, so we’ll see what he could do for us.

I think a few of the prospects we got in return are decent and will play for us on the MLB roster soon, but I view the moves made to pare payroll. The hope is that a few of these guys could end up on the MLB roster soon. We weren’t dealing anyone that would return a can’t-miss prospect.

I like Burger as part of the clubhouse, but I struggle to find a place he can play long-term on defense. He can hit home runs, but slugging 30-35 of those won’t be a net positive with an OBP under .300, a BA in the 2-teens, and striking out more than 1 time per 3 AB. He’ll be 28 next year and has a history of injuries.

I liked the production from the middle of our line-up, but we have to hope for 2024+ that more guys come around. Kopech threw a lot better than his last time out vs the Indians. With our pitching line-up for next year, he’ll likely be a starter, but he just seems off.

Softball..it's amazing to see some of the players my team has played against over the years in one of the biggest softball stages of them all. It also has the best in the game playing in it. Basketball has gotten more competitive over the years, so you aren't watching 120-52 blowouts by the U.S. every game. Will be interesting to see how they do this year. Can't argue with those watching women's beach volleyball though...

Congrats on the selection! Would be nice to get something for around the neck to go with something for the finger.

Would be great if we could get all 3: Beckham, Danks, and Long. It would be tough to pick one, but out of all of them, I would be most excited to hear that Beckham signed.

Rosati's...that's some good pizza!

Have relatives in Alaska that I'm planning to visit soon, so luckily they aren't that much across the state. Stepbrothers seems like it will be a hilarious movie. It's on the list to watch when it comes out.

Nice legs Alexei

Not a bad add. You have him for $600,000, so not a huge financial loss (in comparison to what NFL players are making) and only for one year. The only downside is if he produces really well then he's a free-agent the next year. However, maybe he would give the Bears a break because they "gave him a chance". Would have been interesting to see what his other offers were, if any.

I don't blame him for not accepting it and wish him the best in the future, except when he plays us. Thanks for your contributions the last couple years!