Tony

Billy Koch and Scott Linebrink are in the discussion, but this fucking guy is giving them a run for their money

There are a bunch of unknowns. The people inside the sport should know better than anyone the chances of a season next year, but even the people most in the know are still just making an educated guess. It's truly an unknown. But even with there being potential for a work stoppage, that fact has to enter into the equation when you are trying to put a certain value percentage on a guy being under control for 2027. How could it not? The other big unknown (in my eyes) is the track record (or lack thereof), of Getz. That's no fault of Getz, he doesn't have a long enough tenure to tell us what sort of aggression level or philosophy he has with a team on the rise. We've all followed the sport long enough to see different FO's have different philosophies when it comes to going "all-in" vs. taking a more conservative approach to asset management. Kenny was a guy that loved adding at the deadline, and viewed prospects more as ammunition for trades than future contributors to the White Sox. Being a GM during a rebuild vs. being a GM for a team in the hunt have some stark differences. Great GM's can navigate both, but some are good at one thing, and not so much at the other. And we're going to find out who Getz is in the coming years.

They need a closer lol Been a fantastic two series. Beating the Braves and Dodgers without Mune is wildly impressive

These are always the most fun teams to watch, and it’s true in every sport. It’s usually only a few ingredients needed: Team has been bad the last few seasons Get a group of prospects playing together Start winning games/show up a year early to the rebuild The “surprise” season is probably the best type of season there is from an enjoyment level standpoint. Because when the team gets legit “good”, then legit expectations follow. It’s not as fun when they are expected to win, and the loses are more frustrating when you lose to teams you shouldn’t. 2007-2008 Hawks were like that, as they didn’t make the playoffs but you knew that core was primed and ready to go. Cub fans still talk about 2015 being just as memorable as 2016. Year before they were 73-89, then in 2015 they won 97 games and made the NLCS. It’s why while I think the Sox are at least a year away from really being truly competitive, you’d be a fool not to enjoy what’s going on right now. It’s objectively a fun, likeable team with a core that is exciting to think about moving forward.

That was sick

They are still too far away on the pitching side. If Schultz came up and just took the league by storm, that would have changed the equation, but they just don't have the arms. Getz has a tricky rope to walk (assuming they are still playing competitive ball around the deadline) but I would not move assets for a one year rental. If there is a player available to bring into the "core", and it happens to be at the deadline, so be it.

Teams got some great mojo going. First time in years these games are becoming must watch. Been really fun to tune in again and actually expect a good ballgame.

It's May 15th. Let's see what everything looks like on July 15th. We're still pretty early into the season, and a lot can change in two months. Objectively, this has been the most exciting stretch of baseball for the Sox since 2021. I've started to watch more, and can't deny the good vibes. I think getting Robert off this team was important, to truly turn the page on the last era of White Sox baseball. Heard Jesse on 1000 yesterday, talking about how he was in the clubhouse on Wednesday night, and how different it felt in there having covered the previous years teams. Too many "hurt lockers" with Eloy, Moncada, Robert, Abreu in the corner by himself (who wasn't the leader everyone made him out to be). There were a lot of different outcomes possible for the Sox coming into the season. Mune could have been an absolute bust. Colson was really a wild card, does he get better, or does he turn into the guy that had to be sent to development complex in 2025 to basically start over? Is this staff going to be able to keep them in games at all? All of them have turned into huge positives, and it's great to see. Getting Teel back is also going to make an impact. That's a big missing piece and excited to see him back in the lineup. Other guys are going to come back to earth. Really don't think Davis Martin is going to win the Cy Young, which he's basically on pace for right now. But with a shitty AL Central, they should be good enough to hang around, after the last 3 years of putrid play, we'll all take that in 2026.

I agree with almost everything here. @caulfield12 that's when you know you're REALLY on the wrong side of things.

But that's the point. No one wanted to offer him a long term deal. And it would stand to reason that if you told executives that on May 5th of the 2026 season, Murakami would be leading the league in HR's, there would have been some much larger commitments on the table for him, just like we're talking about now with our team. Aside from Belle, The Sox have never won a bidding war for a top tier free agent. And Jerry's spending habits have gotten worse over the years, not better. And maybe I'm misremembering things, but it didn't seem like the Sox were in on Murakami right from the start...it started to pick up steam quickly once it seemed like the big dogs weren't going to be players, and his reps started to pivot to secondary options. That's when the Sox came into play, and when apparently Brooks had to convince Jerry to make the investment. Again, I think it's fair to say the Sox had a lot of things bounce their way, things that weren't totally in their control, for Murakami to end up on the Sox. All good, but now they have him, ideally they need to find a way to keep him. And that doesn't have to happen tomorrow. But if this is the real Murakami, letting him walk at age 28 would be a crime.

I don't think it's that crazy at all. It's clear a lot of people were wrong on Murakami. The Sox aren't signing Murakami if the Padres, Mets, Angles decide to go 4/100 last offseason on Murakami. No one wanted to make a serious commitment, and the Sox came in and (in theory) offered the best deal. And credit to the Sox for making the move. But they aren't in the discussion if other teams had better scouting departments. "Stumbled into" seems pretty accurate.

Really nice run these guys are on. First “fun” stretch in far too long.

So the worst outcome possible. It does sound very White Sox, so can't really argue there.

You didn't answer the question I asked to you. If Murakami continues on his current pace, and the Sox as a unit are showing signs of improvement, given his two year contract, do you expect the White Sox to try and resign him to a longer extension? Or are they trading a 27 year old power hitting LH bat to another team because they don't have any interest in giving him over $100 million dollars? What do you believe is the most likely outcome?