Y2Jimmy0

Lol man. Nobody knows if he’s any good or how much he’ll even cost

It’s a big year for Vera. They’ll run him out as a starter but he could fast track in relief if it doesn’t work.

Would you be fine losing Zavala for nothing to accommodate?

I just think they don’t want to trade the prospects that people want. The system isn’t in great shape and we all know who the top 11 guys are. The payroll issue is on the front office for sure but there were so many moves influenced by La Russa. Ownership needed to spend like $225 million this year to throw money at the problem. It’s the only thing that made sense but Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t give a s%*# about that.

A lot of it was related to Tony La Russa and injuries. I don’t think it’s a mediocre baseball team depending on health but we’ll see. They clearly didn’t do enough but it’s tough to upgrade the team without using money in their situation. That trade was horrible. I’d always heard that they needed the savings to pay the Luis Robert bonus. Mom and pop shop organization. How would you have suggested that he improve the roster? Spending $16 million on Benintendi and Clevinger is a decent use of resources in my opinion. If there’s a “change”, this is likely it and that wouldn’t constitute a change at all. It’s why I always laugh at the suggestion of just firing Rick Hahn. They don’t need to fire Rick Hahn. They need to completely clean house. As long as Ken Williams is employed, you aren’t a great GM to come work under him. And Jerry doesn’t want someone else at the top of the org because it would require somehow finding qualified replacements and then listening to them tell him how shitty is organization is run.

I disagree. I just wouldn’t want Sanchez catching my pitching staff.

Oh it’s definitely on them. They know who they work for.

It’s true but the budget fluctuates from year to year depending on attendance and other factors. And the owner wasted the last two years on Tony La Russa

A front office that was essentially given $16 million to spend that needed two starting outfielders and a starting pitcher.

I just think he’d still destroy AAA pitching while exposing his flaws at the same time. I believe that he’ll have the same issues 5 weeks into the season that he’d have if he broke camp with the club. I just think spring training stats are meaningless. How he preps, gets his work in, follows coaching directions is far more important in my opinion.

What does earning his way entail?

I hope not. Nicky Lopez stinks. Just play Lenyn Sosa

I don’t think it is. He’s 24 years old. Many evaluators just won’t have him ranked that highly because of it.

Noah Schultz, Cristian Mena and Bryan Ramos could be more likely than that pick too. If some of the things I’ve heard from instructs on Schultz are accurate, I’d imagine he’ll crack a list in the next 6-12 months

They aren’t allowed to while the investigation is going. Fegan just wrote about it this week. They very likely aren’t releasing him and handing over the $12 million even if it were allowed though.

What if spring training starts without any update from the league? I’m not sure they can keep him away from the team without the PA filing a grievance

They did vet him. Ethan Katz wanted him. They knew that he was an asshole. The whole industry did. They didn’t know that he might’ve physically abused his kid or the mother of his child though reportedly. I trust that he wouldn’t have been signed if they knew about that allegation. They clearly didn’t care about the other stuff and honestly, when you have $8 million to spend on a starting pitcher because you also have other holes to fill without the ability to spend more money, these types of signings happen. If he’s not suspended by the league by then, I’m not sure what happens as spring training opens

They aren’t going to willingly do something that would cause the players association to file a grievance. Nobody cares about Jerry Reinsdorf’s money. I especially don’t. The thought of Clevinger getting $12 million right now is gross though. They don’t have any money

They do. Not interested at that price apparently.

What these guys do in their personal lives is none of our business and many of them do it. They should completely clean house. They won't though.

They very likely knew he was a philandering asshole. They very likely didn't know that he might've done the things he's being accused of. They couldn't give him $12 million this year because they needed the money for Benintendi. Somehow, you wrote this entire post without mentioning Jerry Reinsdorf

as long as Ken Williams is at the top, I just don’t believe anything really changes and I highly doubt Jerry Reinsdorf goes outside the organization for a hire. It’s just shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic

How differently would things be if Rick Hahn were fired and Chris Getz took over with KW staying in his current capacity?

The biggest issue is still that they had $8 million to spend on a starting pitcher so that they could also sign an outfielder. When you are forced to bargain bin hunt so the owners grand kids don't miss a meal, sometimes you end up signing turds.

Everyone wants Montgomery and the top guys. Sox aren’t going to do that for marginal upgrades. They needed to keep spending but Jerry lives to draw arbitrary lines in the sand