MiddleCoastBias

If the Phillies are serious, then they're going after Mason Miller in Oakland. Kopech doesn't move the needle much (and won't cost even a fraction of what Miller will command). Maybe they kick the tires on Miller and deem the cost too much and come back to Kopech, but I would bet on Philadelphia coughing up the necessary prospects to get a Miller trade done. My guess is that Kopech is moved after Miller and we settle for scraps from someone that missed out.

We call that the Jim Cramer Effect, shorting all of Cramer's stock advice.

I feel like your Cleveland example makes the opposite point, or at least arrives at the same point from another angle - Cleveland is successful because they can develop random jamokes into real ballplayers and we can't. We depend on high-end pedigree, basically hitters who can succeed DESPITE our efforts to develop them. Seeing Cleveland's success without a whole bunch of stars makes what the Sox have done even MORE disheartening and bleak looking forward.

I'm not suggesting everyone turns from a frog into a prince, just that the perception exists and that there is precedent for other GMs to believe in their own staffs to fix something that we can't. And this is purely focused on young, talented players that didn't pan out here. I agree with your list, not everyone turns into a stud, but it's also straying afield from my point - we either give up on young guys too early or fail to develop them properly. Ex: Chris Bassitt, Marcus Semien, Eduardo Escobar, Jake Burger (TBD). A better counterpoint would be Madrigal, he sucks out loud no matter where he is.

I disagree on this. I think other GMs have seen the success that former Sox have had with other teams once they're out of our org. They can take talented players and unlock their potential. Take Reynaldo Lopez: 4.38 ERA through 7 seasons with the Sox, 4.29 ERA in his last season with us. Every year we kept saying "maybe this is the year he figures it out!". And every year, he didn't. An actual professional organization like the Braves get their hands on him and suddenly he's put up 2.2 WAR through less than half a season, and a 1.85 ERA and 223 ERA+ WE'RE the problem, not players like Kopech. I don't think last night's game has any impact on that.

Never sitting down again, boys!

Are we eligible for a top-10 pick after next year, or how long does that anti-tanking thing last? I know we're going to pick #10 next year, but we're also not getting any next year - can we get #1 the following year? It's sad that I'm now looking forward to the draft in two years because that's the best thing we have going for us.

Game will be on MLB Network tonight, for us out of towners. We're getting top billing as the marquee game. *taps earpiece* I'm being told that the Orioles and Gunnar Henderson are getting top billing, and we're just along for the ride. https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c3abd0ae-5af4-490b-9b80-db61fdefed8a

I really want to pry Lazaro Montes from them as a supporting piece. He sounds like he could be monster. Definitely a guy to follow this summer. https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2023/mariners/

That's a worst-case scenario for this franchise.

Guy sounds like he should be a defensive back at Southern Cal. 80-grade name.

I'd like to see Portland, yeah. I do agree that it has to be West Coast, so Montreal is going to be the odd man out after Nashville presumably gets one. Salt Lake City is getting the Coyotes, so see what they can do with that before we do baseball. I'm not convinced that market is there for baseball yet.

Yep. And I think most of us here saw through their bullshit and were offended that they couldn't just talk straight with us. We know what this is. They either look incompetent for thinking it WASN'T a rebuild, or liars for trying to convince us.

"We're definitely not going to do that." Nuh unh, super seriously.

Hawk's actual words cut deep, but I prefer this AI-generated response as if he was still calling the game. Would LOVE to hear what he would actually be like if he were still announcing but I'll settle for this accurate representation of how we feel. https://www.reddit.com/r/whitesox/s/XFOw3maoZ4

Go full Savannah Bananas at this point.

We are nothing if not consistent.

Remember when Sammy Sosa was chasing the single season HR record and there were a bunch of "HR tracker" boards around town and hanging off apartment balconies, etc? I propose the banner is used as our shutout tracker on our march into the record books.

Thank you for some perspective. It's "fun" to watch the new levels of futility we're sinking to every day and setting new records of *bad*, but that only goes so far. We need something to look forward to, even if we have to squint to see the positives coming a in a few years.

He made his money. He had a fine career. He got an extra shot to play in the bigs that he made not have had otherwise. You say poor Shaw, I say poor us. https://youtu.be/lZxI7JKvNn0?si=zCRTNuCm4jhVh2HH

Update: White Sox 16, Mookie Betts 17.

Follow-up factoid related to the White Sox team having scored 16 runs as a team... Mookie Betts has also scored 16 runs thus far this season.

Personally, I'd rather just call up Brett Phillips. Sure, he swings a wet noodle of a bat, but so does everyone else on this team. The guy is FUN. He's a fan favorite in every other city, he plays great defense, and seems like a fun teammate for others to be around. We aren't winning games. We aren't going to score runs. You want veteran leadership to change the culture of this team? Brett Phillips can have a much bigger impact on this team than any other journeyman we think can be a bandaid for this team.

Before I can say it'll be 20 years, we have to see what happens with the next ownership group. I agree that this is going to be a long seven years or so until the new stadium gets built (assuming that happens!), and then I feel like 2030 will have a wide-open outlook. Not saying 2030+ will be great, just that we're definitely going to see different people running it, so at least we have that to look forward to.