tray

Eloy already accepted being a DH with only occasional stints in RF . Burger was fine at 3rd base. We need HRs from players like that to win. We need more players that play the game with the joy that they bring on the field and in the clubhouse and of course the excitement of having a potential HR every time they step up to the plate. All of the emphasis on having multiple Closers, set-up men, and veteran starters ended up being a lost cause.

Generally, I see advanced stats as a potential problem withe talent evaluation and player/roster decision making. Burger lights up the crowd and draws fans to the park with 450 ft. bombs. Where is that in the advanced stats? For me the Burger decision should have been simple. He earned the 3rd base job so put him there and move Moncada to second. Don't remove an asset that you can't easily replace. I would say the same thing with Eloy. No reason to trade a guy that hits for average and has his power potential. Oh, he had 19 injuries..including surgery for appendicitis, elebrating after a game, and extending his hand over the fence to catch a home run ball. Eloy will be less susceptible to injury as a DH so you keep him unless you want a lineup that is really strapped for power and is unexciting for fans. In short, the trade game has to look at things beyond player stats in order to end up with a team that is good and exciting for fans to watch.

This was the most foolish Hahn trade and there have been some boners. As someone said, Sox should have simply made Moncada shift to second base and let Burger play third. Jake earned the starting 3rd base job and this is the reward he gets for it ? Jake's quick, sweeping home run swing, the bombs he hit, and his joy for the game will be missed. You can't trade that away for a pitcher. Hahn lost his mind.

Sox brass lack talent evaluation skills and common sense. That is why they traded Jake. What a bunch if streunses.

I watched the games and that is what I saw...late inning leads that the bullpen could not hold.

Sox are way down in the standings but many of the losses this season were due to very poor relief performances, especially when the Sox were ahead in middle to late innings. Plus we had no Closer and our set-up guys set up the other team with lead-off walks....No lead was ever safe. Bummer was famous for that. You don't need to blow up the entire team. Get a Closer and some reliable set-up guys. You can win some games with a mediocre starting rotation and a Manager that knows when to deploy a decent bullpen. Bullpen was bad but Grifol and Katz should have emphasized throwing strikes to get ahead instead of walking the tying run late in the game. And then there was the failure to hold men on base. A walk quickly became a double.

Many if not most of the close games we lost were due to bullpen failure in later innings. Glad to see the bullpen guys go and maybe Grifol and Katz should follow them out the door.

Bizzarro

Pressure is off so now so it is time to relax, hit the baseball hard, and yes, play the role of spoiler...maybe even nab a game or two against the cubs at wrigly as well. I want to see Burger, Eloy and Robert blast a few more bombs this year.

Bob Nightengale via Twitter: "The White Sox certainly could be major players in free agency this winter after shedding about $25 million in their three trades. Catcher Yasmani Grandal's $18.25 million salary is also coming off the books after the season." ----------------------- That is starting to look like it may be their plan.

Burger HAS to stay in the line-up. This guy can hit 40 HR .

I would rather have included Grandal with Gio (instead of ReyLo) in exchange for Logan O'Hoppe . In short, get one player that you are confident can play at the major league level. Also try to lose Grandals contract, even if you have to eat part of it. ReyLo is valuable to clean up losses the rest of the season or to become part of another trade. Now his chip, however small, is off the table.

I guess the alternative would be trading multiple players on the Sox roster to get a much better player or players This Quero is not going to be half the player that Carlton Fisk was. Bottom line: This trade makes the Sox worse next year than they were this year. It kicks the can down the road and absolves Hahn and Katz and Grifol . A few more trades like this and the Sox will have AA roster to put on the field next year.

I hate trading a top of rotation major league starter for a number 84 minor league prospect under any circumstances..including when Gio's contract was expiring. "Player development" is overrated. Talent evaluation is far more important. I don't get what they see in Quero.

Cody Cody ! Thank you

Do any Sox other than Eloy even give a flying one about this rivalry and more than that about winning at all ? Too many guys on this team are not team players and could give a s%*# about Sox fans. I guess one could say that about most professional sports teams to some extent but it bothers me to see it.

MLB is a fundamentally flawed league without revenue sharing AND a salary cap. All teams need to adhere to the same rules. Instead we have fans wanting billionaires with the deepest pockets to buy the local franchise and then spend like drunken sailors.

Eloy has a knack for delivering when the Sox need it. Not every time, but many times. I hope he rakes against the cubs. Eloy and Burger are the heart and soul of this team - joyful players that show their emotions on the field and are easy to root for.

Big Frank is a Hall of Famer, no one -to one comparison intended...buy Eloy is a very large man who nonetheless has a good eye at the plate... .276 batting average over five years.....276 is not good for the big man? I think it is and further that Andrew Vaughn's .252. BA is acceptable unless the Sox have an alternative....and it isn't Sheets. So I want to keep Eloy, Robert, Burger, and Vaughn, but not many others. Unlike some other fans, I do not fall in love with certain players or hold grudges against them. Trade any or all of them, but be careful what you wish for. Things could get worse next season....a lot worse.

Do you count the latest one day absence and the appendectomy this year against Eloy....or the injury celebrating a home run...or the injury and surgery because he reached over the fence to catch a home run? Give the kid a break. Al major league players sustain injuries. Eloy has been switched to DH and it appears that he is in better physical condition now. We need his bat in the line-up or we don't have a chance, this year or next year. You don't deal away superstar players or those who have that upside because they are not easy to replace.

Eloy is the type of bat we have not seen since Big Frank. He has a great eye at the plate and immense power to all fields.

If only we had a reliable bullpen and a legit Closer the Sox could be competitive the rest of the way.

Thankfully X Rays are negative on AV's foot for any fracture. We cannot afford to lose his bat if we are going to make a bit of a run. And my bad, I thought he did not start against Verlander because of the tough match-up. Maybe AV needs an even more substantial guard for his foot when he is at the plate.

Apparently obviously referring to his "Hi mom" routine. Parsing like that is such BS. Give it a break already man.

Eloy raking again. He has been great pretty much since recovering from an appendectomy. He's a great kid, apparently a good son, and a fan favorite. Love to see him put up numbers like he did in the second half last season and as always, torch the cubs.