Two-Gun Pete

I expect a 7-0 road trip, with Alonzo & Castillo in a 2-way battle for AL Player of the week. One will lead the league in HR during this road trip, while the other will lead the league in mound chargings. I also expect Covey to fall short of a perfect game, as he hits the last hitter with a pitch, leading him to be ejected. Ricky Renteria will then get a 5 year contract extension, based on general principle. Dallas Keuchel will then sign for the league minimum, & lead this team to the world series. Yolmer will be the WS MVP, but will have to hold off Carson Fulmer for the award. What?

Given that Eloy's in LF, and a rookie, and not exactly a plus defender, I could actually see where Leury's ability to speak Spanish could be helpful in the field. My impression on Tilson's personality is that he doesn't appear to be the type to be able to "take charge" when needed, as a CF must do a few times a game. For these reasons I'll actually give renteria a pass on this defensive alignment; I'll agree, however, that in a vacuum, Tilson is probably the better defender, while Garcia likely has the better arm. When it was Delmonico in LF, Tilson probably should have manned CF moreso than Garcia, IMO.

Charlotte is the most-favorable hitting environment in that league, & perhaps in all of MiLB. If Alonzo weren't here, sure. Kuechel isn't coming here; other teams that are in contention will be interested in him, so why would he sign here? Adding veterans to a middling squad is the thought process that got us into being "mired in mediocrity" in the first place. I don't want to go back to the bad old days of 2013-2016, in all honesty.

Well, to be fair/pick nits, it's true that Rick Hahn was [snicker] "trying to compete in 2013, 2014, and 2015. However: 1. The disasterous/ruinous/moronic/idiotic, and dumb trade for James Shields occurred on June 5, 2016. I mark this the penultimate move in the "attempt to compete" era of Rick Hahn's time as GM. 2. The famous "Mired in Mediocrity" presser was on July 20, 2016, or roughly 6 1/2 weeks after the dumbest trade that was never, ever going to make that shitty 2016 team compete. I mark the "Mired In Mediocrity" press conference as being the start of the rebuild, at least philosophically. So, by the end of this season, Rick Hahn will have had ~3-1/2 seasons [snicker] "trying to compete," and ~2-1/2 seasons of trying to rebuild. Is that fair?

Everything you posted is correct, and true. However, what has bothered me about this stupid move was that those mouth-breathing morons in the front office thought: 1. The shitty 2016 roster that they dropped on us, AND 2. the shitty, moronic manager who never wanted to be here, and wasn't even a HEAD coach in HS, 3. Collectively had a snowball's chance in hell of competing. In other words, KW/RH/JR are all collectively too stupid to tell the difference between a GOOD team, and a poor one. So set aside that anyone with a 3-digit IQ and working eyes could have seen that Shields was one of the suckiest sucks that ever sucked. Set aside that Shields could have/SHOULD have been gotten for mere money/salary relief/NO prospect equity. The people still running this org are simply too dumb to do their jobs. They were dumb in 2016, and I see little to suggest that they've gotten smarter since then. FFS, the squandering of resources on turds like Jay and Alonzo and others, and then whining about the price tag for Machado reinforces the idea that they don't know a good player from a poor one. THAT'S what truly hurts about this idiotic, moronic, and dumb trade. RH/KW/JR ALL deserve a verbal beating for being fucking morons. And yes, Tatis' likely ascension to stardom will be the constant reminder that we have imbeciles running this team [into the ground].

Not picking on you, but can we FUCKING pump the brakes on this? FFS, he's hitting .235/a measly wRC+ of 107 in Birmingham. [Yes, I know about SSS, and the ballpark factor.] He Doesn't Look Ready-Yet IMO, nothing about his numbers in AA suggest to me that he's anywhere near ready, just yet. Can we let him get back to DOMINANCE in AA before we call him up? Eloy DESTROYED AA, and before the injury, he wasn't exactly JDM at the dish in the Bigs.

For me, the frustrating thing with this crop of AAAA types was the stupid and uneven way they were handled. Engel has 1 MLB caliber tool, but his complete and utter lack of any sort of ability to hit made his 857 MLB PAs seem to be a waste of time. Him being scouted by the Doug Laumann Clown College, and [snicker] signed in the 19th round by a failed front office meant that he was likely never a prospect in the FIRST PLACE. Tilson was actually scouted, drafted, and developed by a [then] successful and intelligent front office in St. Louis. Him being drafted in the 2nd round, and then his relative prospect status in a decent organization makes me more interested in what he might do with more of a look. His injuries aside, I can't understand why he's only had 123 PA leading into this season. Cordell doesn't seem to have any PLUS tools, but then, he doesn't suffer from an abject and crippling LACK of any one tool that would prevent him from at least having more of a look. Though, again, his injury history has also sidetracked him hereto fore. I suppose on balance, Engel's utter shittiness at hitting, yet him having 9,999 lives in the MLB roster was typical of a stupid organization like this one. In a rebuild, a team HAS TO get lucky with the odd AAAA type becoming a cromulent piece of the 25 man. Yet, 857 PAs were squandered on a 19th round no-hoper who could never fucking hit, when other, less flawed options are/were available. Were they too stupid to figure out that Engel isn't MLB caliber, or was it simply Tilson's/Cordell's health? Who knows. And yes, I recognize that Tilson and Cordell and Delmonico are all probably AAAA nothing burgers. But, they have to find out if any of them can provide more value than Engel's one MLB caliber tool, rather than wasting PAs on players who don't have the requisite level of OVERALL ability.

OK, I'll bite. Exactly how is this "good news?" Is it "good news" reaffirming that this organization is dumb and incompetent? Is it "good news" that for a mere $5MM/year *10 years more than their stupid offer to MM, they could have signed an actual GOOD player, instead of the piles of crap they've signed? Or, is it "fuck the epic, ongoing failures in talent evaluation and the cavalcade of wasted resources, all I care is that a bad player who was stupidly given a contract is cut from my bad team?"

Moncada's start to the season is definitely promising. But, I doubt he'll enjoy the good fortune of a .429 BaBip all season long. Here's hoping that these numbers are somewhat real going forward.

The fact that either this FO couldn't see the bolded coming, OR that they couldn't convince JR to open the checkbook BECAUSE of this eventuality is a giant turd sandwich that this org will have to chew on for years to come. Well, that, AND the fact that they couldn't figure out a way to make Machado work is another turd sandwich. But hey, they've got the cash to lock up the as-yet to be vetted "core pieces," right?

Your back must hurt carrying the water for RH and the front office.

You might be right about the record, but you're wrong about "just" firing Hahn, Renteria, & Steverson. I pretty much believe that everyone on the MLB ops, scouting, player development, and MiLB side of things all need to be fired. Before he retired, I would have thought that Herm could be retained, but with the cavalcade of injuries among the youngsters, I'd be good with firing everyone in his old department as well. I suppose the gameday ops folks, the Sodfather, and ticketing folks can stay and help this turd of an organization turn it around, but fire everyone else. A "Red Wedding" style of firings is all it'll take to get this org moving the right direction, IMO. Or, a "Front Office enema," if you prefer. Just blow the baseball side of the front office up, and get competent people in to re-make the organization as a modern, competent operation. And no, this isn't a "two games into the season" overreaction. I've wanted everyone FIRED since those dumbasses had the moronic idea to even THINK that the 2016 team, with that manager, and that lack of MiLB depth had a prayer to compete, and then traded for James Shields. Carry on.

So we're generally in agreement.

No, Hahn should never state, "there will be no financial constraints," when there WERE CLEARLY financial constraints in pursuing a stud, THEN take a financial risk on an unproven player. In other words, a $43MM contract extension to a player with 0 PAs after screwing the pooch on Machado =/= "calling up a rookie."

No. But, if you don't like the front office to be criticized, there's always WSI if you want polyanna-ish white sox commentary. IMHO, there is room for the "In Kenny We Trust" types, inasmuch as there is room for those who want to give this org the beating they so richly deserve in this part of the interwebs. YMMV.

Is reactionary when you pay money to someone who hasn't faced an MLB pitch, especially after having promised the fans that there would be "no financial constraints" in pursuing a young star like Machado. We all agree that it is probably a lesser risk than most to extend Eloy, given Jimenez's MiLB record, but it is a risk nonetheless. For Hahn to state, "The money will be spent" after the Machado blunder, then giving a contract extension to Jimenez seems to be reactionary, IMO. 0 fWAR/= 30.3 fWAR

Well, I for one find it curious that this org couldn't find a way to make a highly-productive player like Machado work into their salary structure, but on the other hand, they're willing to take a chance on an unproven one like Jimenez. To me, it strikes me as a curious approach to risk management. In totality, it makes them look incompetent and reactionary. Carry on, then.

I disagree. The geniuses in the front office recently picked up a top prospect from another org with a ~31% k rate in AA. (In other words, this prospect K'ed 31% to Carson Fulmer-caliber opposition.) Instead of remediating this prospect at AA, those dumbasses promoted him to Charlotte, where he piled up the Ks, despite hitting in a band box. He also couldn't hit right-handed very well, despite reputedly being a "switch-hitter." His numbers overall @ Charlotte were middling for a talent with his tools. Still, the geniuses promoted Yoan Moncada to the Bigs, where he needed a miraculous Sept/Oct WRT BaBIP, & sat out some games to avoid breaking the record for Ks. He still hits right-handed like a stroke survivor, & had to be moved off 2nd base, as he piled on the errors. On balance, I would say that this FO rushed Moncada up, which has harmed his development, & placed this rebuild at risk. I see evidence of these dumbasses prepping rush jobs @ catcher, & @ 2nd base as well. We'll have to see.

The second I started hearing rumors about a Shields trade, I first thought it was a BS joke my cubs fans buddies were pulling. The second it happened was when I wanted every last one of those dumb fuckers fired. Some ~6 weeks later, Hahn had his "Mired in mediocrity" presser, and the man's been teflon, as is every other reinsdorf FO employee.

Sure. On Rodon, the health/his willingness to not show up to Camelback as a fat fuck is just part of the barriers between where he is NOW and what he could/should be. The other part of his issue to become a top performer is the same thing I've thought about him since 2015: He's inconsistent with his FB location, leading him to be unable to use the slider, making him predictable/hittable all to often, while he also walks the yard. When he has his annual ~5-10 game location renaissance, we all have to read how he's going to be a Cy Young award winner, then he goes back to walking the yard thereafter. Lamentably, its been the same old, inconsistent story for him since he's arrived here. Now, I hope he "finally puts it all together," but I think we've all seen this movie over and over and over and over again, unfortunately. I hope I'm wrong, and he becomes what we all hope he can be.

I kinda hope not. I hope that this FO is merely seeing a rare opportunity to add a young star to accelerate the process, and NOT them having the same stupid thought process that gave us the 2009 - 2016 turd festival we all got to enjoy. Adding Machado/Harper =/= trying to compete. But adding Machado/Harper, and then trying to piece it together with duct tape, smoke, mirrors, and hope are kinda where we were: With a studs 'n scrubs roster and little depth. As the roster Chicagowhitesox constructed showed, at some point you run out of money, and there's Adam Engel's craptacular bat taking a giant shit on the rest of the roster.

While this is a lively discussion, I think I agree that the 2019 White Sox are unlikely to be able to compete, regardless of what happens. The projections from your post I left inserted all seem a bit far-fetched: Moncada had to go on a miraculous BaBIP-driven Sept/Oct to get to 2.0 fWAR last year, and somehow NEXT year he'll be a better player than Zobrist? Jimenez won't have an adjustment period, as 99.99% of White Sox prospects seem to have? Castillo's best year in the past 4 was 2.7 fWAR with Baltimore, and likely on the juice. He's going to do 2.0 fWAR without the juice at 31 years old? On Palka, there isn't a 1.0 or higher fWAR in the league with a K rate above 27% among qualified DHs, and that was by Stanton in NY. Back of the envelope arithmetic, he'd have to cut ~7% off his K rate, add ~3-4% to his BB rate, hit >30 HR, and score ~70-80 runs to get to 1.0 fWAR or higher as a full time DH. On the pitching staff, I simply don't see Rodon being healthy/fit enough, nor being consistent enough with his FB location to get to 3.0 fWAR; Lopez's peripherals suggest he's probably closer to a 1.0 fWAR/due for serious regression in 2019. [Seriously, feast your eyes on his FIP this year.] On Corbin, the NL-to-AL thing, coupled with new money seem like a stretch for him to get to 5.0 fWAR. I wonder if he was on a contract year/career year performance in 2018, and will likely be due for a ton of regression in 2019. Overall, I like the optimism, but it was irrational exuberance that led to this org being mired in mediocrity for a decade. This is NOT to state that a whale shouldn't be landed, if possible. I just don't think that there's enough here to compete in 2019. And that's OK; we can cheer for Moncada to K less, Jimenez to fit in, and the younger pitchers to step up next season. YMMV.

Indeed. I'll try not to have any fun whatsoever. This is a SERIOUS White Sox board, after all.

Oh, we're in agreement that he wasn't a "can't miss guy," and nor was he a top prospect. Although, the front office was trying to sell us that he was. If you hadn't guessed it already, I was more mocking the stupid front office for the whole mini-Miggy bullshyte.

Hey, I stand corrected. Clearly, he was destined to be the next Jermaine Dye, given those mighty credentials. The Sox should have given him a 10 year, $400MM contract, with accelerator clauses, annual opt-outs, and incentives for every basis point of GB% BEFORE he took a single AB on the South Side.