Chicago White Sox

Let’s say we sign EE, here are the 2019 wRC+ against RHP for our projected regulars along with their wRC+ against LHP in parentheses: Moncada = 148 (122) Anderson = 132 (124) Encarnacion = 121 (152) Jimenez = 120 (107) Grandal = 114 (138) Mazara = 110 (55) Abreu = 99 (168) Throw in Robert & Madrigal and that’s the making of a very good, balanced lineup. Everyone but Mazara and to a lesser extent Abreu should play everyday. Nomar clearly needs a platoon partner against LHP and Abreu could use some rest against tough righties. IMO, the addition of EE would make Collins a much better fit from an offensive perspective than McCann as he’d allow us to spell Abreu far more frequently with a left-handed bat. And come next year Vaughn slides into EE’s spot and hopefully you don’t miss a beat. To me, that’s a superior plan than going out and adding Castellanos on what will likely be a four year deal.

I really don’t buy this rumor. I still think EE will be our big bat addition plus someone who can start at 2B.

If we signed Castellanos, he and Mazara would split time at RF & DH. If Nomar failed, Collins or Mercedes would become the interim DH with Nick the regular RF.

Why don’t you like EE?

I don’t see that happening. I think it’s pretty clear that we’re adding at least one bat that can help at DH and/or RF.

He had a 130 wRC+ in 2018.

Are you talking about Castellanos? If so, he doesn’t cost a pick because he was traded mid-season.

His attitude is not overstated whatsoever. Seems like you care more about getting brand names than the White Sox sinning baseball games.

Y2Jimmy doesn’t fuck around and pretend to play insider. He only shares info when he has high confidence in it.

They’re only buying out one free agent year and like two extra weeks.

They were far too ambitious for their time and it really shows in the first two. That being said, there are certain elements that still look great today.

Wheeler had TJS and then a setback, but has otherwise been healthy. Ryu has had numerous injuries. Yeah, pretty much this.

I really like Revenge of the Sith. So many great moments and the emotional payoff at the end feels warranted because characters & relationships were built up over three films.

The prequel trilogy gets way too much hate. No doubt the writing was terrible at times, all the romance stuff was hard to stomach, and it occasionally lost its sense of adventure in exchange for world building. However, when viewed in aggregate they told a comprehensive origin story that led to a very satisfying conclusion even if we knew what was coming. I know it will be an unpopular opinion, but I probably like them more than the sequel trilogy, warts and all.

100% yes.

I think Bob missed the memo that we signed Keuchel.

?

I just meant I think they will lean towards an arm. Obviously BPA should hold unless the difference between two guys is fairly narrow.

Lol...instead of having an actual debate, you double down on dumb generalizations! Good work bud!

You are really drawing some serious conclusions based on a 30 at-bat sample that involved a .400 BABIP.

Sorry, but I’m not going to be civil when you make sweeping generalizations and lump me in with them. You accused me of not liking Collins because of his cold stretch with the Sox during the summer, despite the fact I’ve been arguing in support of him most of the winter. But our roster construction has changed and there is no clear path for him to become a regular anytime soon. So if I can get a guy who was as good as EE last year and take some pressure off the rest of the young guys I’m going do it. And you’re right, a 37 year old can fall off a cliff and if that were to happen we’d have Collins ready for his opportunity. If he doesn’t fall off a cliff, we suddenly have a high end hitter to help anchor our lineup and have an interesting guy in Collins who provides great depth.

I thought this was a super interesting quote about Keuchel & Gonzalez and the potential pairing with Grandal: https://www.soxmachine.com/2019/12/22/white-sox-a-serious-team-with-dallas-keuchel-if-not-a-contender/

I honestly think Eckstein is Madrigal’s floor in all honestly.

He had one really good seasons and a couple above average ones. Otherwise he was a 1.5 to 2 win player, which is a slightly below average starter. He wasn’t a bad player by any means, just not sure I’d call him “very good”.

Eckstein was not a very good player.