tray

The very bad Matt Reynolds hit that oppo homerun, not Mendick. Another senior moment and I watched it.. Matt Reynolds second HR in the last few days.

Mendick blasted an oppo home run yesterday in the ninth.He has looked good on defense as well. I think Mendick or Collins would be fine but I would take Mendick since he would provide depth on the INF beyond just Leury. Moncada and Madrigal are great. but I am not that confident in their durability to have only one back up INF on the 26 man.

Kittle. I know, another senior moment.

Kopech could choose to be an elite Closer and prolong his career. It doesn't seem like Kopech ever wanted to do that though. Maybe Kopech gets to start after the rotation turns around 3 or 4 times. Today it looked like he had quite a bit of gas left after a short inning. Maybe next time they let him pitch 2 innings and then go from there. Kopech has to be the best news from Spring Training so far. He's baa-ack and he looked every bit like a top of rotation starter.

Stiever sucking

Stiever hung that curve to Maybin.

OK I have it. I had to deny seeing the advertisements on the You Tube pop up window.

I can't get the you tube stream. Anyone have a suggestion?

As far as evaluating catchers defense, some of it cannot be quantified with stats. For example, consider how comfortable each pitcher is with the game calling and receiving of a particular catcher. Because of that, I think the starting staff have some say in the matter, even though they might make their opinions known privately through the manager and coaches. Some pitchers like Giolito have not been shy about who they prefer to throw to. Unfortunately, McCann is gone.

Lucroy or Collins as Back-up and Vaughn as DH. I doubt 3 catchers plus Vaughn.

Who is pitching for the A's now?

Understood. I suspect a counterpoint might be that money spent on Hendricks could have been spent elsewhere since the Sox already have a few guys that could shut offenses down in late innings - Kopech, Crochet, Heuer, and Bummer.

The decision to interview Cooper at this juncture was an attempt to stir the pot for ratings. Glad I didn't listen to it. It is time to move on from Coop and focus on what Katz has been doing to help our pitchers.

I haven't seen or read anything about Cespedes that would lead me to believe that he s is worth extending. Maybe he is the Sox secret weapon for 2021, but I kind of doubt that.

The question presupposes that Cease proves to be better than Rodon and ReyLo. I don't count any of these guys out though. They are all a tweak or two away from being decent starters, and if they could achieve that, their trade value would be substantial.

Do you think our bench ( Lucroy (or Collins) ,Leury , Engel and and Mendick) might be improved upon via trade? If so, do you have any suggestions? I also thought Profar would have been a good idea.

I like Rich King. He is a treasure trove of Sox hsitory.,

That's one big dude.

You can definitely see how firing Coop and hiring Katz has focused this pitching staff.

I think the Sox should trade Collins to a team where he can eventually become the starting catcher.

Hard to tell from the webcast but Eloy looked to me like he is a few pounds heavier than he was last year.

I asked: "During the White Sox 2005 playoff run including the World Series, how many games did AJ not start? " The point of asking was that often a back-up catcher may not play a major role defensively in a protracted play-off series where a team has a premier starting catcher. Under those circumstances, a back-up catcher's ability to pinch hit, especially if he is a pinch hitter with power, could be of value. I value clutch pinch hitting especially in late innings. Some players are better suited to it then others. Vulture said: There’s no room for a pinch hitter like that in today’s game. I don't know about today's game, but there was room for Mercedes might in yesterday's game.

During the White Sox 2005 playoff run including the World Series, how many games did AJ not start in? I'm asking, because it seems to me that the primary value of a back-up catcher during the play-offs (absent some unexpected injury to the starting catcher) may well be as a pinch hitter. LaRussa would never start Collins or Mercedes or even Lucroy in a Wold Series game over Grandal, for example. But oif a situation came up where the Sox could use a blast to get back in the game. it would be great to have Mercedes step up to the plate for Poquito (Madrigal) or Eaton or Leury.

Back in the 60's the late 60's the White Sox had a short pudgy catcher named Smoky Burgess. (to digress, I recall Jack Brickhouse announcing him and Floyd Robinson). Anyway., by that time in his career (late 30's) Burgess was used by the White Sox almost exclusively as a pinch hitter (seldom as a catcher and no DH way back then). His role became so clearly defined that he always stayed in the pen to warm up pitchers unless and until he got called up in the late innings to pinch hit. Long story short, Smoky was known as one of the most clutch hitters in baseball. I I could see Mercedes in the role. a DH and Mr clutch pinch hitter. He was pretty clutch today when he came up with the bases loaded, nearly hit a grand slam, and racked up a three quick rbi. Collins and Lucroy can hit but they don't have the same pazzazz and presence that Mercedes does at the plate. Clutch hitting is a real thing and an important quality, at least from my perspective.

Crochet first pitch at 98 mph.