Chicago White Sox

Adolfo played half a season in 2018 and at least got 20 games at AA this year, that’s exponentially more playing time than Burger. Also, like I said he’ll be playing in the Arizona Fall League to help make up for lost time. And yes, we're getting an additional option for him. Writing off a guy who will be 23 years old at the AA is pretty nuts IMO.

I smell a hot streak coming Jose’s way now!! Thanks Ron!!

Adolfo had a recurring issue with his elbow that’s finally been corrected. He’s going to play OF in the Arizona Fall League to help make up for lost time. For now he’s behind Walker, but even with the injury uncertainty he’s well above Gonzalez & Rutherford IMO. Micker’s upside is crazy good if the arm returns to form. Also, I have no idea why Blake has so many supporters around here, because his numbers are bad this year and he’s shown little to know signs of improvement as the season has progressed (outside of his BABIP). Yes he’s young and there’s hope for him, but he’s done nothing to warrant the praise he gets around here.

Honestly if Collins made some adjustments, then I’m fine with him getting everyday at-bats in Charlotte for a few weeks.

What’s crazy is there’s plenty to rip them for them without actually having to make shit up. Just crazy how things have gotten around here.

Basabe > Walker > Adolfo > Gonzalez > Rutherford

Like where do you guys come up with these conspiracies?

Lol...you actually think Kenny Williams got fired?

Hostetler got a promotion.

Walker: 9.0% BB rate, 15.1% K rate, .152 ISO, .294 BABIP, .760 OPS, 119 wRC+ Rutherford: 7.0% BB rate, 18.5% K rate, .143 ISO, .351 BABIP, .781 OPS, 120 wRC+ Not sure how you’re saying Blake outproduced Steele, especially when acknowledge Walker’s numbers are impacted by some BABIP regression carrying over from Low A. And remember that Walker’s adjustment period carries a bigger weight on his overall numbers than Blake’s because he’s spent much less time in Winston-Salem.

Without question Walker.

Walker has been on fire these last few days...keep it up kid.

I’m sure the Machado sweepstakes helped them sell a few tickets, but the long-term damage of failing to deliver on their “the money will be spent” promise will far outweigh those extra tickets in 2019. The one thing I can say with certainty is the front office really wanted to land Machado. Whether they were incompetent in terms of valuation or they simply botched the process and got outplayed at the end, they actually thought they would land him. There was no con here and Reisndorf isn’t this boogeyman whose sole goal it to make rebuilding profits. They simply fucked up at the end and let a small market competitor jump in and steal their guy at what ended up being a reasonable price point. It’s really that simple.

What would this elaborate con actually accomplish? I mean, all it takes is about five minutes on this website to see how enraged the fanbase over us botching the signing. Was their end game just to piss off their fans?

That’s who they’re promoting?!?

So you actually think our months long pursuit of Machado and $250M offer were all part of some extensive con?

The fact anyone could think this is honestly incredible.

Lol...absolutely no goodwill came out of the Machado miss. All it did is make our fanbase question their inability to spend even more-so. The reality is our front office actually thought $250M with options could get it done. Now, either they’re completely incompetent to act that cocky all offseason knowing that was their cap or they thought Lozano was bluffing at the end with SD and botched it completely. I lean towards the latter because it’s almost impossible to think Hahn would swing his dick around so much if he knew they were capped at $250M. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter because they didn’t get it done in an incredibly friendly market for a club of our stature.

But what about $80M or less for Wheeler, Ozuna, or Grandal?

And the best part is it’s all because we didn’t sign Manny Machado to one of the five largest deals in baseball history. Despite the fact we offered him $31M+ per over eight years, many believe the White Sox will never sign a quality free agent in the future. If people actually believe that, then they are simply not being rational anymore. All but two or three free agents will get deals for under $100M. For those citing history, we’ve spent $60M on Abreu, $50M on Robert, & $65M on a Danks extension. To think we won’t go up to $100M for a player when we’re sitting on $45M in payroll commitments next year is insanity.

Moncada not an untouchable...WTF

I’ve never once said we would sign Cole or even said I was even optimistic about signing him. I have simply said that we should sign him (as he would be the perfect addition for us) and that we have the financial resources to do so. And there’s zero reason we can’t sign Ozuna if we so choose. I’ll keep saying this but the Machado miss wasn’t due to money (i.e. AAV) but rather years and the corresponding risk that comes with them (in Jerry’s eyes at least). We should be fair game for anyone commanding a five year or less deal and that will be pretty much everyone but Rendon & Cole. I would have included Ozuna in my plan, but my feeling is the Sox want a left-handed bat in that spot. It has nothing to do with reduced expectations.

Lol...I’m definitely going to lose the motivation at some point. In terms of reinvigorating the fanbase, winning is ultimately what matters. We have a ton of exciting young star caliber talents, but don’t have the depth to plug the holes around them. I think people underestimate how much going from 0 to 3+ WAR across multiple spots would help our team next year. It may not be as sexy as adding Cole to headline our young staff, but it can still be effective. As for Gennett, the arm is a legit question, but he’s already expressed a willingness to play OF (at least for the Reds prior to being traded). I highly doubt he’ll be garnering much of a premium to play the OF, more likely he goes to whoever offers the most money period.

This post is ridiculous but par for the course. Grandal is a consistent 5 win player. Wheeler is a 4 win guy when healthy. Wood & Gennett are probably 3 win guys. Betances is a nasty backend bullpen piece. Adding those five guys would radically improve our team...just look at the production we’ve gotten out of those spots. Would I prefer Cole or Rendon? Sure I would, but the path to contention doesn’t require them.

Yup, down to ~4.5 on the season, still not bad for a closer. Too bad other front offices are still calculating WAR incorrectly and missed out on this opportunity.