Chicago White Sox

Between fathom’s unwavering negativity & Parkman’s hot takes, I figured Lopez must of given up about 10 runs or so with 0 K’s. Then I check the box score and see he had a respectable start. And I get the box score doesn’t tell the whole story, but my god these game threads are brutal, way worse than usual IMO. It’s really apparent some people can’t deal with the highs & lows that come with developing young talent.

Vizquel has to platoon key prospects for those minor league wins!

I really hate how much they sit Rutherford.

That giant text is an update from Renteria on Dunning per Fegan. Maybe there is some reason for optimism?

Renteria said they considered it “a moderate strain,” and said they’re not too concerned but acknowledged Dunning needs to be re-evaluated

I did answer back with my opinion, which is that his opinion is unjust & ridiculous. If someone wants to argue that Moncada might not ever become a star then that’s fine. But calling him Dustin Ackley this early into career when he’s already flashed elite talent and has like a 3 WAR floor is just plain stupid. And no offense, you of all people should not tell people to take this too serious. You literally get worked up over everything.

Can we pin this post? Just want to make sure a few years from now we all remember the time someone said Moncada reminded them of Dustin Ackley because the kid hit a rough patch as a 23 year old before he even reached the 600 plate appearance mark.

This team is pressing right now and could really use a win right now.

I’m sure he felt awesome (relatively speaking) all night and I seriously doubt the bullpen allowing two inherited runners to score will change that.

Clarkin?

You’re reaching here bud ?

I assume that means it would have been him over Rutherford if true. Not sure if I would have preferred that or not pre injury. He was definitely an ascending talent at the time while Rutherford was cooling down a bit. Tough call.

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Haven’t been able to watch, but did Giolito actually hit 96 MPH this game? I just checked the box score and saw that and couldn’t believe my eyes. That to me is super promising if true.

I’m glad that Rutherford & Adolfo will both get a full year in High A. The old development staff would have promoted these guys at the first sign of success, but I think we should be patient with them. Given their age, there is no reason to rush their timelines.

Good for him. As bad as this team is (and it’s really bad), they’re still playing like absolute shit. It’s a mix of sloppiness & guys pressing and that falls onto to Ricky. He’s got to keep this team both loose & focused and he’s failed in that regard.

What’s awesome is that list doesn’t include our last two first round picks. Madrigal will be on there as soon as he signs and Burger could crack the list pretty quickly if he can come at near full strength.

That dude is a fucking diehard!

Shields is really bad at baseball.

Which is completely rational, but also represents a huge black mark for our front office. LaVine was a key piece of the Butler trade and to lose him for nothing makes the return pretty fucking disasterous. In fact, I’d argue that he was perhaps the centerpiece of the deal despite being injured and only having one year of control. Our front office deemed him worthy of those risks so cutting bait on him now would suggest they are terrible at player evaluations.

The fact that this is even up for debate shows you just how bad the Jimmy Butler trade was. Obviously we should not resign LaVine to make the trade look better, but if all we end up with is a serviceable point guard and a pick swap then good fucking god that's beyond terrible.

See, that’s a plan I could get behind. But unfortunately that’s not the plan. We are going for it with this core and one free agent signing next offseason. That is how GarPax work. And the problem is that free agent signing will likely be a Carlos Boozer tier free agent because history has shown elite free agents don’t come to Chicago. The Carter pick may be fine in isolation, but it’s what it represents in the larger scheme of things that’s the problem. This organization has no balls and only cares about being good enough to keep the house packed. Carter helps get us closer to fringe contender and that’s all that Michael Reinsdorf & GarPax care about.

Look, I can’t tell you what they should have done because I don’t know what options were out there. But I know I would have been active. I would have explored trading up to #4, I would have looked into trading down for multiple bites at the apple, and I would have strongly considered trading out of the draft for future assets. I would have done anything to maximize my chances of landing a future star. But it doesn’t really matter, because the Bulls don’t plan on tanking next year. This is the core they are going with. I don’t know how anyone can look at our roster and find a path forward that allows us to beat the Celtics or 76ers in a playoff series anytime in the near future. And that’s what we deserve, because unlike those two teams, we weren’t patient and focused on asset accumulation and instead tried to compete a rebuild as quickly as possible. I think it’s utter insanity to think we can build a championship caliber team without a single top 4 pick or an attractive free agent, but that is somehow our plan.

But we need multiple stars. If we trade Markkanen for a legit star, we will be better no doubt but it won’t move the needle enough. The other problem is GarPax has a history of loving their own talent and not being willing to move it until it’s too late. Part of my frustration is knowing that our front office will only make landing a star one way or the other that much more difficult.

Bamba is a potential star. And no one here has said Carter is a nothing. He’s a very safe pick with the upside of being a good (not great) starting center. You continue to evaluate the pick in insolation and ignore the broader consequences. We now have a core that should be good enough to draft in the teens. Our only realistic way to get a star now is through free agency. I hope Benny’s got those balloons ready, because we now have to pull off a free agency miracle to avoid NBA hell.