Chicago White Sox

The Bears are in a pretty good spot theoretically. They just need to hire the right fucking coach and go all in on the trenches in both the draft and free agency. Do those things and this team is a legit threat in the NFC. Unfortunately, we destined to make a bad coaching hire ref every single time.

He played in 37 games bro.

Yeah, I would love that deal.

Could just be Sons of Sam Horn then.

Just scrolled through a Red Sox message board. Their general consensus is Crochet should be attainable for something like Abreu and “flotsam”. All I know is if a trade eventually goes down with the Rex Sox, one of the fanbases will be incredibly disappointed because we are so part on what Garrett is worth.

The Dodgers can do more than any other team because their insane TV deal and candidly speaking it’s bullshit. The parity in the NFL is incredible and it’s much more enjoyable sport as a result.

100%. At least there is some being a White Sox fan if/when Jerry passes. Imagine trying to be a Pirates fan or some other small market team competing against the likes of Dodgers.

Which four?

All teams definitely don’t receive $200M. You’re confusing multiple concepts. The $100M of local revenue sharing only benefits team that contribute less than that amount. The other money you’re referring is national TV money which is additional to what each team takes in locally or regionally.

I still think he ends up on the Phillies. With the Dodgers being a legit super team, other NL contenders need to go big or go home. Miller, Crawford, and a solid third piece gets it done.

Mystery team!

Just because you don’t like advanced statistics doesn’t mean they don’t have value or meaning. BABIP is definitely a stat that can be misused because it’s so dependent on each player’s profile, but the reality is when someone’s BABIP is so far off from a normalized level it’s very clearly luck / SSS driven. The results you were citing for Thorpe were 100% not sustainable. Doesn’t mean it was all luck, but clearly he is nowhere near that good of a pitcher.

I agree, but I think it will change this coming season with all the additions to the org. Not suggesting it will be perfect, but better than just telling guys to “swing at strikes” and “f*** the home run”.

This is exactly it.

A new hitting coach or coordinator armed with much better analytics and pro scouting reports will be able to tell and show him when and where to swing. It’s not about the message, but how you develop a game plan for each player to execute. I have wasted countless hours of my pathetic life watching this s%*# show of a team and I can say with full confidence that our hitters rarely have a plan when they go up to bat. That should hopefully change under this new regime, at least enough so to see actual tangible improvements.

The lack of protection is a concern, but mostly because he wasn’t being pitched to and he was too aggressive. That is a correctable with the right coaching. I’m not really worried about his defense as the speed is still there. And yes, he looked disinterested at times (he wasn’t the only one). These guys aren’t robots and playing for a historically bad team will wear you down. And if you have a weak manager, then it’s much easier for that to happen. I also think he wasn’t fully healthy even when playing. I really think you are taking one bad year and trying to make a trend out of it because a bias you have against the player.

In a deadline deal you’re asking?

The difference is that Robert has historically been a good player. He doesn’t need reinvention, but rather just adjustments. I do think new voices will help, especially if paired with real analytics and better pro scouting. I can’t stress enough the amount of low hanging fruit that can be quickly fixed by bringing in outside people and ideas. I’m not a Getz fan by any stretch, but I think he is making real structural changes that will bare immediate fruit.

Why? He’s literally exceeded 1.5 fWAR every single season but last year despite all his injuries. You seem to be overreacting to a bad 2024 season and ignoring his broader track record which is great player with a bad injury history.

While all that’s true, at some point luck has to be on our side. And perhaps with a new manager, a new hitting coach, a new hitting coordinator, and an actual analytics department there is a reason to bet on some good luck with Robert. The physical talent is still there unlike with Moncada who lost a ton of ability post Covid. And most of Robert’s injuries have been major one off things and not reoccurring soft tissue injuries. We just need four healthy months of Luis to cash in substantially on that $15M bet.

Oh s%*#, is this really happening?! Maybe Getz was big braining us all along with the Vargas trade? Get Soto’s best friend and have an automatic tiebreaker when the offers are close. This could be just like the Alonso/Jay situation but actually work this time because that nerd Hahn ain’t leading negotiations. And it would explain why we are so desperate to clear payroll…need that cash to land a fucking whale!

But if he’s healthy and returns to his 2021 to 2023 form (10.6 fWAR over 311 games or a 5.1 win pace) he’s an incredibly attractive asset. And honestly, we’re talking about $15M in salary for next year. We literally just burned $15M+ to the ground last year by acquiring and giving playing time to Maldonado, Lopez, Clevinger, & Brebbia. Holding onto Robert and betting on a return to form is the best possible way to utilize that money on potential flip candidates even if there is some chance you end up with nothing in the end.

I do wonder if a bigger reason they could be slashing revenue next year beyond the “Jerry is preparing to sell the team” theory is the fact that Chicago Sports Network is not yet being carried by multiple companies (Comcast, YouTube TV, etc.) and therefore revenue will be greatly impacted during this transition year. In a normal year it would be nearly impossible for the Sox to lose money with a $75M payroll, but perhaps that’s not the case in 2025 because of lower than usual local TV money.

I’m not sure what you mean by “in the green with revenue” as a team can’t have negative revenue. That being said, when you have a middle of the pack payroll (amongst other expenses) and the second lowest revenue in all of baseball you can easily have negative operating profit. And yes, the dude cuts payroll when revenue is projected to be down. That’s not all that unreasonable and most teams reduce spending considerably when rebuilding. The main issue beyond just his poor resource allocation is he won’t spend big up front to try and build a best in class product that will actually draw fans. He gradually ramps up payroll with fan attendance to help prevent large losses in any given year, but this can cap the potential upside and excitement around a young & upcoming team. And when you pair that with his refusal to swing big in free agency you end up with a very average product unless literally everything goes right. It’s a bad approach to business and one that wouldn’t work in other industries. https://www.forbes.com/teams/chicago-white-sox/

Where is this idea that Jerry is just caking off the Sox coming from? Forbes estimates we lost ~$130M over the past four years. The issue with Jerry isn’t that he won’t spend, it’s that he allocates his resources poorly because he’s stubborn, old-school, risk-adverse b****.