Tony

This is so stupid. " I actually have an idea of where my priorities should have been this season, but the chances of you hearing it is zero" What the f*** is that supposed to mean? What's the point here?

I'm sorry, what now? Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Zach Ertz, Kyle Pitts, Gronk, Dalton Schultz, Hunter Henry, Dallas Goedert, Mike Gesicki, Noah Fant, TJ Hockenson and Darren Waller would all like a word. I could add about 6 or 7 names to that list ahead of Kmet but the point is made.

Which is why the Sox don’t have a lot of flexibility or options this offseason. This is the core. The entire rebuild, like any rebuild, only works if you bet on the right players. Every rebuild has a core it’s built around. In any rebuild, certain pieces will always fail that you pegged for greatness, having a 100% hit rate is nearly impossible. But Moncada-Eloy-Robert-Anderson-Abreu-Giolito-Cease was always going to be the “core” that determined if this works or not. They went all-in on their younger players with extensions and right now it looks like they made more bad bets than good ones. They’ve still got a seat at the table, but the chip stack is getting low. The point is, if they want to “compete” the next two years it’s going to happen because the guys listed above produce at the level they expected them to to when they signed their long-term deals. You’re pot committed to these guys. And because of some really bad money in a lot of different areas, it would take WAY more money than Jerry is willing to spend to truly fix this thing for 2023 and beyond. Knowing this, they have to a very strategic off-season and hit on 2-3 important moves, and mostly rely on Moncada-Anderson-Eloy-Robert-Giolito playing at their career bests. I’m not holding my breath

Oh man, this has the makings of a classic.

There isn’t a manager the Sox could hire that would make me feel good about 2023. Can it help the team in 2023 and be a large upgrade over the staff they’ve had the last two years? For sure. But the manager is coaching the team built by the three headed monster that is currently on pace to have 8 of the last 10 seasons end with a below .500 record. The best coaching staff in the world isn’t overcoming that.

While it obviously makes a difference (as we clearly saw with this incredible failure) the bigger point is accurate. None of this matters with the FO in place.

I can’t believe this is a real discussion, but if he was injured, with the heightened potential of doing more damage, then I would absolutely want him on the IL until he’s healthy. What a WILD concept. This from MLB Trade Rumors: His right knee was the issue this time, and Kopech made to make an early exit from a start in June due to soreness in that same knee, with Kopech saying that he felt a small twinge or popping sensation. However, Kopech was on the mound seven days later, and while tests at the time didn’t reveal any structural problems, it is possible the tear developed as Kopech continued to pitch over the rest of the season. Now Kopech has to go through surgery and may alter his off-season training because of rehab and recovery. He literally wasn’t able to command the ball in August, yet was allowed to take the mound anyway because you and LaRussa hold the same views on player health, apparently. Not a side I’d want to be on, but good luck with that.

I’d say I’m incredibly happy you have absolutely no control over any roster decision or player health, but it sounds like you have the same view as a lot of the current coaching staff on the Sox, and we all saw how well that went. You’re also basing individual player health decisions on lack of depth that Michael Kopech or any other player has 0 to do with, which always seems like a super decision.

So Michael Kopech has a meniscus tear and in your eyes is expected to "pitch through it" because he has had other injuries before? I assume you have this same take on Robert, who saw literally having to swing with 1 hand and put up a stunning .087 OPS in the month of September before finally being shut down once the coffin was finally placed in this team. Maybe it's possible players want to push through most injuries (as we saw with Kopech taking the mound on August 22nd and was clearly hurt, but tried his best for the team) but the coaching staff and trainers need to actually do their jobs and you know, "manage" the athletes on the field.

This is a joke, right?

Peter Dinklage is 4'5 Warrick Davis is 3'6 One is taller than the other, but they're both really short.

WHY IS COMPETING FOR THE DIVISION GOOD ENOUGH? That was what the "rebuild" was for? To "compete" in the worst division in baseball?

I'm fucking exhausted of the offseason already and the Sox have 6 games left.

Yeah, keep giving the White Sox the benefit of the doubt. See how it works out for you. I also didn't say it was happening. You claimed it was "almost certain" until you edited your post. That's not true, and that's the point.

No it isn't.

The cancer is still VERY MUCH THERE

The answer is "It doesn't matter" If the fans had 1% of say in anything White Sox related, Rick, Kenny and Jerry would have been out of here literally decades ago. Fans will bend over and take what the White Sox choose to give them. Don't like it? Don't need ya. And you better stay out of White Sox business.

No, the Hamilton-Pujols-Upton signings were just a joke, and LAA has been famous for those, obviously the Sox don’t come anywhere close to those kind of contracts. But the general idea is still there and my bet is Jerry would be OK with contracts like those…the Angels would have one more team to deal with during negotiations for all those players because it’s clear the ML scouting department for the Sox has been an absolute joke.

Which makes a lot of sense. Both organizations get outshadowed by the other team in the market, they both try and grab headlines but it's usually for older, over-priced talent. Both organizations have found some great talent as well, but have no idea how to put it together into an actual team, and both spend their resources in the wrong areas.

Well said

No thanks

I know this sounds goofy, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world if Fields ain’t it. It’s a totally different situation than Mitch. The whole idea with Mitch was the team was pretty much ready to go and in order to make the cap work, you needed a QB on a rookie deal to make everything “fit” This team is obviously rebuilding and the new regime is figuring out who works and who doesn’t. If they decide Fields isn’t it, while it sucks having to spend more capital on ANOTHER QB, the timeline isn’t as impacted as it was with Mitch. Yes, Fields working out would make everything so much easier, but different situation than Mitch

I totally agree....and as we've seen him start to air it out a little bit...it's looking more and more like he has zero idea where the ball is going, and just isn't seeing the field.

The White Sox organization is the equivalent of someone spending a bunch of money to fix up an apartment that is in a bad building, and bad neighborhood. The end product might look nice on the surface, but when you look a little deeper, you realize the improvements were made to a place that had a bad foundation, and there isn't a ton of upside to your investment. The point is, it's very clear this organization isn't built to succeed in the current baseball landscape. They are behind the times, like always. Day to day coaching, analytics, support staff & training, as well as the minor league system and coaching. It's rotten at the core. It's not just TLR, it's not just Hahn, it's not just Kenny, it's not even just JR. It's ALL of it. Nothing changes until it's all flushed out.