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VAfan

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Everything posted by VAfan

  1. I've been a sports fan nearly all of my life. I was born in Indiana, but after my mother divorced and remarried, we moved to Evanston where I started school. I think the first team I rooted for was the Cubs. But I gave them up after the 1969 collapse to the Mets and became a White Sox fan in 1970. My first baseball game was at Wrigley, but I went to many more Sox games. So for 53 years I have been a Sox fan. 2005 was a magical year for the Sox, and totally unexpected. I wrote, and have posted the link on Sox Talk, a 17-page tribute to that 2005 Sox team. There's no question that was an exciting year. I don't live in the Chicago area anymore, but I sought out Sox fans to watch the World Series together and had a blast. In around 1966, I started rooting for the Dallas Cowboys, so I've been a Cowboys fan even longer. And, unlike the Sox, they had tremendous success under Tom Landry. But that lasted only until 1995 and since then, they haven't even made an NFC Championship game. Now almost 30 years of falling short. I was also once a big NBA fan. First of the Bulls of the era with Chet Love, before MJ. Then, after moving to Seattle, of the Supersonics, who won a title in the late 1970s. I never got too much into hockey, though I recall listening to the Blackhawks on the radio. But I never really had a team. At some point, I started to break my infatuation with sports teams. First to go was the NBA, which I stopped liking because the NBA finalists could be easily picked before the season even began. The Supersonics were no more, and I never picked up another team. I liked the MJ Bulls, but didn't live in Chicago, so I never got too close. My mother, on the other hand, was a bit of a fanatic. I don't remember the year, but it was when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers. That was it for me. The Dallas Cowboys were next, but the 58 year hold they have had on me isn't easy to break. Still, I haven't paid any attention to them since they lost again in the playoffs. Will I pick it up again in the fall? I hope not. I want to keep my resolve and let them go. Now it's the Chicago White Sox. Last year really broke my connection with the team. And this year? Well, it's the same old same old. What I find is that it's mostly pain and stress to follow a team that isn't doing well. All you tend to see is the disappointment, mistakes, and failures. And who needs that in their lives? There's really no pleasure in rooting for a particular team any more for me. And if you can free yourself from that, then it's fine to watch sports for what it is. Take the concern about the outcome out of the equation and you can see the agony and ecstasy as just part of what makes us human beings. So I just thought I would pen this to see if other people are feeling this way. And also to strengthen my resolve to be done rooting for any particular teams any more. I'm too old to want to carry around the stress that comes up from rooting. The highs no longer come anywhere close to making it worthwhile to stress about the outcome. I believe I'll be happier this way. Anyone else? *************** P.S. The other topic I thought about writing was whether the Sox need to start over again. But that would just be filled with a lot of angst. Instead, I'd rather just let go.
  2. It's only a few games, but already Pedro Grifol has left Michael Kopech and Lance Lynn in as starters while they got shelled. Why does that remind me of Ozzie? Because Ozzie's philosophy was to make his starters give him 100 pitches regardless of whether they had their stuff that day or not. Today, nobody gets to 100 pitches, but making a starter who doesn't have it go 80-90 pitches or more is essentially the same thing. I recall a story about Ozzie and Jon Garland. Garland was skittish. If he got into trouble, he would start looking into the dugout expecting the hook. The story I recall is that Ozzie came out and said "why are you looking into the dugout? Are you expecting me to take you off the hook? This is your mess. Clean it up." (Something like that.) He made Garland realize he wasn't going to get relieved just because he got into trouble. He had to learn how to get out of it. Made him a much better pitcher. Plus it saved the bullpen. I think Grifol might think the same way. Game's out of hand anyway. As long as the starter isn't hurting themselves, make them learn how to get out of trouble, and save a thin bullpen that hasn't pitched very well itself. Not much of a track record to go on, but I'm okay with that approach. In 2005, it allowed White Sox starters to post something no team is ever going to come close to matching ever again. 4 complete games in a row in the ALCS. Won't happen at any point in any season ever again. And in the 5th game, the bullpen pitched 2/3 of an inning. 5 games, 2/3 of an inning from the bullpen. Ozzie helped turn his starters into aces. We'll see how Grifol's approach works with this staff.
  3. I have not been in this topic. But it just occurred to me that Rick Hahn is probably the person most responsible for hiring Pedro Grifol. So if Grifol works out, Hahn will deserve a lot of the credit.
  4. I thought Moncada should have been in the #3 hole before the season started, based on what he showed in the WBC. He has a higher ceiling then Benintendi. I would go Anderson, Robert, Moncada, Eloy, Grandal, Vaughn, Benintendi, Andrus/Gonzalez, Colas. Robert will come around, and should steal a lot of bases. I leave him #2. I'm putting the 2 slowest guys together in Grandal and Vaughn. Grandal is hitting well enough to reprise his 2021 season. You could swap him with Benintendi if you wanted to. I just think his power and OBP will play better in the 5 spot. Colas deserves to hit higher, but I'm just splitting up the lefties and so I don't have 3 RHs in a row at 9, 1, 2. I wouldn't hesitate to hit Zavala in the same spot as Grandal. His bat has been amazing.
  5. I posted this over on the Athletic. Despite this point, I'm overall pleased with the series. The offense is so much better. Moncada should hit 3rd in this lineup. Seby should get more playing time. I'd like to see Romy in for Andrus a fair amount. *********** Sox definitely need to work on bases loaded no one out. I really wish the coaches would take the swing tendency away from young players in those situations sometimes. I sat watching Sheets and Colas both up against a righty with the bases loaded and no one out. Three balls low and inside, none hittable, all swung at. I said to my family before each pitch exactly where the ball was going. If you watch the game instead of the ball out of the pitchers' hands, you know he's not throwing a strike there. He gets you to chase once, twice, three times and you are done. Sox should be smarter. There are times the 3rd base coach should give the take sign. Force a young hitter like Colas or Sheets to just watch the ball. See the pitch. Watch it drop out of the zone. Ball one, ball two, and now the pitcher has to do something else. Who am I? I'm nobody. But it always gets me if I can call what's coming in certain situations, then the guys paid to do this ought to do it better. Hitters shouldn't just be evaluating the pitch to decide whether to swing. They should be evaluating the situation and how they expect to be pitched. It wasn't just Sheets and Colas. Vaughn was a victim too. Enticed to swing at balls with the bases loaded. In that situation, batters have to make the pitcher come to them. Be MORE selective. Like Grandal. Look for the pitch where you want it. If it's not there, take it. Get them to 3 ball counts with the bases loaded. My point is, this is a coaching issue as much as it is a player issue. Sox have some young hitters, and some impatient veterans. There is a lot of room to grow.
  6. This game hinged on 3 mistakes the Sox made. 1. Letting Lynn pitch to Tucker. He was over 90 pitches, had just given up a hit, and was borderline. Bring in Lambert there and the Sox likely finish the 6th up 3-0. 2. Graveman walking Maldonado. How do you walk him, he swings at everything. 3. Bringing in Diekman with the bases loaded. He's the worst reliever on the team. I would have brought in anyone else. Those 3 things led to 5 of the Astros 6 runs.
  7. I've gone from Mr. Optimism when this board was all negative, to Mr. Pessimism last year when I thought the team was unwatchable. It wasn't just Tony LaRussa either. None of the everyday hitters except Jose Abreu actually came to work everyday and played above average. Not a single one. But it's a new year, with a new manager and some new coaches, some new players, and no more Leury Garcia to whine about. I'm not going to sit here and project anything for the team. I have no idea if they will 1. Stay healthy 2. Play good defense 3. Stop chasing bad pitches 4. Become a HR team again (like 2020) 5. Pitch well But they might. I think the team has enough talent to win if they stay healthy and perform like they are capable of. They could also continue to get hurt too easily and too often, fall into bad habits, and lose. Here are the things I've liked this offseason. 1. Pedro Grifol as manager. Who had heard of him? Seems to say all the right things. We'll see how it plays out. 2. Benintendi addition. I think he will hit more HRs for the Sox than he has recently. Lefty. Good outfielder. On base guy. Maybe that will rub off on some others. 3. Yoan Moncada looking good at WBC. This guy was once the #1 prospect in baseball. Imagine the 2019 version of Moncada and what that could do for this offense. 4. Jose Castro as hitting coach. The Sox somehow morphed from the team that led the AL in HRs in the short covid season 2020 to a bottom dwelling singles hitting team last year. The Sox have plenty of players who can mash if they stay healthy. They need to do it. Grifol also has a role here. 5. Yasmani Grandal being healthy, and not facing the shift. Grandal went from the Sox best hitter in 2021 to one of its worst hitters in 2022. He's in a walk year on his contract. He should be motivated and ready to mash again. 6. Cutting Leury Garcia. Sends the right message. The team is better offensively and defensively without him. 7. Oscar Colas. Who knows how quickly he'll produce and fix his inevitable mistakes. But the Sox finally have a legitimate right fielder offensively and defensively, who is also a lefty. 8. Andrew Vaughn at 1B, not the OF. Should help him offensively, keep him healthier, and will vastly improve the Sox' outfield defense without him out there. He's not likely to ever be peak Abreu, but he might have years above Abreu's 134 OPS+ average. 9. Another reset for Lucas Giolito. As the middle guy in the Sox' rotation, the Sox need him to be his best version, not his worst. He ought to be motivated for contract reasons to do well. He's looked good so far. We'll see if it holds up. 10. Reynaldo Lopez out of the pen. I think Lopez will get a lot of closing opportunities with Hendriks out. And I think he will do well. 11. Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks should be back during the year. When they are, the pen might be great. 12. Lance Lynn healthy. He was a workhorse for several years before coming to the Sox. As the #2 guy, the Sox need him to stay solild. 13. Luis Robert healthy. He shouldn't be this far down the list. He is the best player the Sox have. He needs to play like it. There's my lucky 13. It will be interesting how the new bags and the lack of the shift will affect the Sox. In the past, we would expect other teams to take advantage of these changes more than the Sox. But Grifol and the way he thinks might change that. The Sox certainly have players who can steal. And they have some lefties who should benefit from the lack of a shift. They also have two shortstops on the infield to give them range. The pitch clock might also be interesting. Eloy always steps out and adjusts his gloves. We'll have to see how the new rules affect him and others. I hope the Sox win me back this year. I'm going to give them a chance.
  8. Zavala, Alberto, Sheets. Do we know who the 4th guy is yet?
  9. Nice thought, but I doubt Grifol is pinch hitting for Moncada or Vaughn. I think the more likely scenario is that Eloy, Moncada and Vaughn will get dinged up and need days off, but not long enough for a DL stint to bring up Burger from the minors. The problem is if Anderson or Andrus is hurt, we have no choice but to play Leury or a Alberto, and you can't really pinch hit for them because there's no defensive replacement. (You could maybe play Burger at 2B for an inning or two.)
  10. I was thinking this morning they need Burger Sheets and Seby because the guys often dinged up and unable to play are Eloy, Moncada, and Vaughn. You need a bat to replace them, not a utility guy, and Burger and Sheets are the only viable bats, although Grandal if he's hitting can also DH and cover 1B.
  11. Watched the video over and over again after seeing it live. I don't see how he could have hurt anything.
  12. No one here has any real idea how these guys are going to hit this year. Grandal went from the best hitter on the team in 2021 (155 OPS+) to its worst regular in 2022 (64 OPS+). Moncada went from a 116 OPS+ to a 76 OPS+ Luis Robert went from 154 OPS+ to 109 OPS+ Eloy went from 99 OPS+ to leading the team with 140 OPS+ Elvis Andrus was the Sox' 3rd best hitter while he was with the team at 116 OPS+ Andrew Vaughn elevated from 91 OPS to 111 OPS+. Tim Anderson only played 79 games. ********* That being said, if you project each player to be the best version of themselves, here's the order I would use: 1. Anderson. Still the sparkplug of the team. 2. Robert. Biggest upside of anyone. Speed should put him near the top. 3. Moncada. His best version is better than Benitendi. 4. Eloy. The HR masher. 5. Benintendi. Gets on base for Vaughn. 6. Vaughn. Key RBI spot 7. Colas. Lefty could move up if he mashes. 8. Grandal/Zavala. Grandal might deserve to be higher, but plays the least. 9. Andrus. Need him to reprise last year's numbers for the Sox
  13. Moncada has to prove it more than anyone else after last year. Frankly, Andrus was the Sox' third best hitter during his time on the team. What that means for the lineup I don't know. But I'm going to defer to Grifol. I'm sure he'll have his reasons for how he lines guys up, and we may not be privy to them. The only important thing about the lineup, really, is that the best players stay healthy and play. The order is much less significant.
  14. I'm not making any predictions. I went from being Mr. Optimistic on a board that hated the Sox to being Mr. Pessimistic, calling the team unwatchable. There are a lot of POTENTIAL improvements, but the only one that's for sure is the manager. The players still have to get away from their free-swinging tendencies and stay healthy for once. The one guy who showed up everyday and hit above league average is gone. Can the rest of them do it? I mean, can any of them do that? They've got to show me before I'm buying in.
  15. Let's assume this is the starting group C - Grandal SW 1B - Vaughn R 2B - Andrus R SS - Anderson R 3B - Moncada SW LF - Benitendi L CF - Robert R RF - Colas L DH - Jimenez That leaves 4 openings. C - Zavala is the only lock Who are the other 3, and why? 1. Utility. Someone who can back up all the infield and OF spots. Most likely Garcia. 2. OF depth. Jimenez can play LF or RF, as could Sheets in a pinch. But that leaves CF. Can Colas cover there? Seems like someone is needed here. 3. Platoon value? Sheets offers value against righties, but not paired with Colas. And Vaughn isn't likely to sit often. Burger offers value against lefties if Colas sits and Jimenez plays RF. 4. Defense and speed. Hamilton can cover CF, and offers speed, but who does he run for? Grandal? Vaughn? My guess is Zavala, Garcia, Sheets mostly because they've played the most, with the 4th player a defensive outfielder. But I'm not confident beyond Zavala. Who do you have?
  16. I'm among those who think this is a positive move for the Sox. The Sox were unwatchable last year for the most part, except for a few players, who came to play everyday and gave it their all. For position players, that list was very short. Jose Abreu and Elvis Andrus. Everyone else got hurt, just stunk it up, or had terrible splits. And most also sucked at fielding and baserunning. Andrus might regress, but I believe him when he says he found something in his swing. He was a breath of fresh air on a team filled with prima donnas who were all hype and no substance. He was a little like Johnny Cueto was for the starting staff. He can't turn the team around himself, but maybe he'll embarrass Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada into playing better.
  17. You might, since I was the exact opposite before the beginning of last year. Someone said last year's team "broke me." It's an apt description. Sox fan since 1970. Last year wasn't close to being the worst season. The Sox have had too many years of being awful. But it was up near the top in terms of disappointing seasons. I just find it very hard to root for guys who don't seem to even care about playing good baseball. Baseball should start in your head so that you maximize your talents instead of wasting them. I mean, WTF happened to Yoan Moncada? Why doesn't Tim Anderson learn that he could be so much better and healthier than he has been? Luis Robert is built like a god. Why can't he stay healthy? When is Eloy going to realize his potential for a full season? Why does Giolito's performance yoyo so drastically? Can Aaron Bummer finally harness his amazing stuff?
  18. I am. But what difference does that make? Seems like people latch on to my hot dogging comment. It's the least important thing I wrote. If they play well and stay healthy, they can hot dog all they want. But they seem to think they are good when in fact most of them are bad in multiple ways.
  19. The White Sox are a hopeless cause UNLESS their core players all change their fundamental ways. They need to: 1. Stay healthy. They can't help the Sox win games on the DL. 2. Become disciplined hitters. Way too many free swingers on this club, who get themselves out rather than build pressure on the pitchers. 3. Minimize the hot-dogging. Gotta win games before you can hot-dog. 4. Field their positions well. Way too many mental lapses in the field. We know who they are: Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Eloy Jiminez. The play of these 5 guys is the key to the Sox' season. All have been injured each of the last two years, vastly underachieved as a hitter, or both. Every other hitter is part of a supporting cast, led by Andrew Vaughn. Did Jose Abreu move on because of the money, or because he got tired of being the only hitter who actually showed up to play every day and worked on his craft. What's more is that these 5 guys should be leading the way for other players to teach them the right way to play baseball, instead of the wrong way, which most of them have exhibited. For example, Oscar Colas. Is he going to learn how to play the game right? Of course there is a pitching side to this too. Can Lucas Giolito get his act together? Can Aaron Bummer learn to harness his pitches so the manager can have some idea game-to-game what he's going to get out of him? Can Michael Kopech harness his amazing stuff? What are we going to get out of Clevinger and Lynn this year? It all seems to be on the shoulders of Pedrol Grifol, who is the main bright spot in the Sox' offseason. Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. And if they all bring it, I'll be surprised. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised.
  20. Young hungry players can often outplay veteran free agents. AJ Pollack is a perfect example. I have no doubt that Colas can and will outperform Pollack's 2022 numbers. You tell me who the Sox should sign (or should have signed) for 2B and RF this offseason, and how much it would have cost. Plus, how long would the contract have been for? You can't completely fill the team with older free agent vets. Youth has a lot of value to a team. Need to sprinkle it in where you can.
  21. Yes, the 2022 White Sox "broke" me. I've been a fan since 1970 - 52 years. I can't recall a team that was as unwatchable as last year's Sox team. Somehow they finished 81-81. Andrus helped immensely when he came over. But he wasn't part of the hype train that fell completely on their faces. The "core" guys should be embarrassed by how bad they were, and how they could not stay healthy. They chased pitches. Had no strategy. Poor fielding. It was just terrible baseball. Obviously there have been much worse Sox teams. But most of those teams weren't expected to be good. When you are expected to be good, and you suck, that's bad. I do think the Pedrol Grifol hire is the best thing the team has done in years. I don't know if he can keep these guys healthy, but I think he's going to show them what they need to do to succeed. He may actually wake them up. As for filling 2B and RF with veterans, I think that would be a mistake. This team needs the young energy of guys who are trying to make it in the big leagues. We have too many guys who think they have already made it and then put up putrid performances. Give me Colas for RF over the kind of mediocre veteran the Sox could afford -- like Pollard. If the rookie outhits Moncada and Grandal, maybe they'll be shamed into working on their own performance instead of just mailing it in. At 2B, it's not clear who might emerge among the young guys they have. I would just cut Leury as dead money. Give the roster spot to someone like Jake Burger who can actually hit the baseball. And would be another way to put pressure on Moncada. I still wonder if Burger could play some 2B. He's got the arm. Would his range be terrible? Plus, the Sox are not the Dodgers. They need some minimum salary guys to afford the higher paid players. Where they wasted their money was on guys like Garcia. And Moncada, who has an albatross contract.
  22. James Fegan's article over on the Athletic with his first take on the roster led to a lot of comments wailing about the Sox' inability to fill the RF and 2B slots with above average major leaguers. That's not the Sox' main problem. Here's the problem. This list is not any ranked order. 1. Tim Anderson, 79 games, .686 OPS against RHP 2. Yasmani Grandal, 99 games, 64 OPS+ 3. Luis Robert, 98 games, .702 OPS against RHP 4. Yoan Moncada, 104 games, 76 OPS+ 5. Eloy Jimenez, 84 games. 6. Lucas Giolito, 4.90 ERA over 161.2 innings. 82 ERA+ 7. Michael Kopech, 119.1 innings. 8. Lance Lynn, 121.2 innings, 99 ERA+ 9. No more Jose Abreu, who played 157 games at 133 OPS+ The core of the White Sox cannot stay healthy, and even when they are in the game, do not produce at superior levels. Only Eloy Jimenez produced an OPS+ above 110. Meanwhile, the starting staff had Dylan Cease and Johnny Cueto pitching when called upon at superior levels. Kopech didn't get to 120 innings, and Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito were sub par starters. They are also a bad fielding club, though taking Vaughn and Sheets and Jimenez out of the outfield should help. For the Sox to contend for anything, these 8 players all need to stay healthy and produce at superior levels. If they do, it won't really matter who plays 2b and RF, because they can carry a couple of weaker spots in the lineup. If they don't, it won't really matter who plays 2b and RF, because those positions cannot makeup for failures from the core of the team.
  23. Sorry, but this is a fantasy. Here are the games played by the Sox players in your lineup over the last 2 years, with 2022 first and 2021 second. Moncada - 104, 144 Anderson - 79, 123 Jimenez - 84, 55 Vaughn - 134, 127 Robert - 98, 68 Grandal - 99, 93 You just can't expect these guys to be full-time major league players. Vaughn is the only one in this group to not face a significant injury the last two years, and he wore down both seasons. Not to mention that Moncada and Grandal were far below replacement level players last year. It's not just the position players. Of the pitchers, Lynn and Kopech both missed a lot of time to injuries, as did Bummer and Kelly. Bummer is completely unreliable on a day to day basis because you never know if he can control his slider. Kelly was just bad in addition to being hurt. Diekman was a dumpster fire.
  24. My politics have not changed. What changed for me for the White Sox was 2 years in a row of the same. 2021 was a wild card year, coming off the shortened season. So you could project health and optimism for the core. And in 2021, even though Grandal was hurt, he had the best OPS+ on the team. But in 2022 the team became unwatchable. Always hurt. Chasing pitches. Terrible defense. Pathetic play from guys with big contracts. Luis Robert no longer being a player to be excited about, but one waiting for the next injury to hit. And Tim Anderson going from being an exciting leader, to an always hurt bad fielding SS who can't run because his legs won't stay healthy. There is not a single position player on the Sox I really like anymore. Jose Abreu was the ONLY guy who showed up every day and hit above average. And he's gone. People blamed LaRussa, who I also made a big mistake in backing. And he was bad. But the players are the ones who lost me. Most of the pitchers too. What happened to Lucas Giolito? Michael Kopech has awesome stuff. How can he lose most of his starts? Aaron Bummer can't stay healthy and can't control his pitches, so the manager has no idea whether he's getting the good or bad Bummer on any given night. Lance Lynn went from workhorse to injured horse. Only Dylan Cease was awesome. The team believed their own hype, and then stunk up the field. I don't know how they won 81 games. And then you have Cleveland, with half the resources, just crushing the Sox with a young team that's going to get better.
  25. I posted this over at the Athletic. Just want to chime in again to say the Sox cannot be fixed with this group of players. ************* Fixing these Sox is a fools errand. Here is the core of the offense: Jimenez, 140 OPS+, 84 games. Vaughn, 111 OPS+, 134 games Robert, 109 OPS+, 98 games Anderson, 108 OPS+, 79 games Moncada, 76 OPS+ 104 games Grandal, 64 OPS+, 99 games Meanwhile, here's who is gone: Abreu, 133 OPS+, 157 games Andrus, 116 OPS+, 43 games Harrison, 94 OPS+, 119 games Pollock, 91 OPS+, 138 games When you realize only one of your core offensive players exceeded 500 ABs, and your two lefties both performed far below replacement level, there isn't much hope of building around these guys. It's based on fantasy projections. These guys weren't just injured one season. All of the top 6 guys have missed time or faded miserably in the last 2 years. Moreover, the 2 worst hitters in your top 6 are your TWO HIGHEST PAID POSITION PLAYERS. So you really need to move both, as both were outhit in a major way by Jake Burger and Seby Zavala. But who would take their albatross contracts? If you move Jimenez to DH, as you should, and you don't want 1Bs playing in the outfield, as you should, then what do you do with the ONLY LEFTY ON THE TEAM who actually played and hit major league average, Gavin Sheets? 124 games, 98 OPS+ (108 OPS+ against righties). What do you do with these guys? Burger, 112 OPS+, 51 games. Mendick, 121 OPS+, 31 games Zavala, 107 OPS+, 61 games Engel, 64 OPS+, 119 games Garcia, 42 OPS+, 97 games!! The Sox have hired the right manager this time. But they do not have a team of players who can stay healthy, field the ball, hit right handers, and be above average. Meanwhile, look at Cleveland. (Or maybe not, ,unless you want to be depressed.) They have 6 regulars above 100 OPS+, all but Ramirez in their mid-20s, 4 of whom played more than 140 games. And hitting is supposed to be their weakness.
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