FT35

This is exactly it. The fans who are angry were once the same ones who believed enough to actually emotionally attach to the point of getting burned for trusting so much. The frequent burn has now turned into anger. They were the die hards who stuck by the team through much more thick than thin. It’s their money that was wasted when they were the ones who received big fat middle finger after big fat middle finger from the owner. Now they get called out when a win puts their team at 5-22 as though those same people didn’t support them through all the losing seasons. Instead, the voice of the Sox essentially says, “We’re 5-22 now—you should have believed in us! You lost faith and got mad after getting burned by our lies for decades on end, now look at us flying high at 5-22—we don’t need you!”

IMO, calling out the fans after moving from 4-22 to 5-22 just further alienates them. They’re 5-22 and all of a sudden the angry fans get called out as though they’ve been wrong to be upset about this team who is nearly on track to be the worst team of all-time? Classic Jerry’s White Sox. It’s always good to see a win. But how about we save the call out for when they win at a 70+% clip from here on out and actually accomplish something—then continue that accomplishment year after year proving again that they care about winning and the fans. You can’t go 5-22 with a roster expected to do just that without making fans angry. Pretty reasonable.

Yes. The rate in which the bad decisions are happening would cost a High School Athletic Director a job. It’s completely stunning to see this happen at the Major League Baseball level (or any pro sports team).

Yep. They are conditioned to not only losing but justifying losing. They have devalued winning and become non-competitive as a result. Rewards are given (continued involvement/employment) despite habitual underachieving and habitual losing. Long leashes are on individuals who have zero history of success or even recent accomplishment. From a fan standpoint—what is left to buy or consume from the Chicago White Sox at this point? They have no product and can’t even sell “hope.” “Remember when we took things seriously 30 years ago” only gets you so far today.

Exactly. This is bigger than the team on the field—the brand has been completely destroyed beyond repair. This is a product of not a few bad decisions, but decades of bad decisions. The Sox logo—once endeared—literally angers people now. It’s a symbol of total betrayal as far as baseball and sports “fanship” goes. I do not believe ownership/upper management understands either. We’re still throwing the Nicky Lopez’s of the world at this problem. No one respects what this organization has become. It’s built on endless spins and elusive narratives that turn out to be blatantly false—straight lies. Because of this—any possibility of positive intent is met with disbelief. It will take decades of sustained success to rebuild what these people have done to the White Sox brand.

Best part of the Sox not being able to hit baseballs is we don’t have to watch much of the super dumb HR celebrations that teams do to desperately try to appeal to fans. Such a strange time for MLB—all those acts are ultra awkward. I don’t mind genuine emotion after a big moment & I understand a handful of people might find the grossly immature HR side shows amusing—for me it got old fast and the game is becoming unwatchable. I watch these same guys slobber all over each other after a HR skit then proceed to ineptly fiddle fart around defensively the following inning like a bunch of amateurs. Let’s have fun in a way that keeps focus. The moment this team accidentally connects on a long ball and tries some goofy adolescent mosh pit ritual in the dugout that’s only funny to them (as if HR’s are a regular thing)…I’m out.

I think it will ultimately hurt Getz if he doesn’t. By not firing him, he’s already communicating to the organization that results don’t matter. Not just losing, but performing poorly is “OK” now “in the big picture” way. That is why their culture has been in the tank for so long. Hahn and Williams justified SO MUCH LOSING, going through repeated tanks and rebuilds. Justifying losing for any reason—whether it’s to tank or save money, whatever it may be, is difficult to get back. The person who justifies it is usually the person who has to leave before winning matters to everyone again. To think a team conditioned to justify losing for someone for so long will just all of a sudden be able to win for that same person is nonsense.

A multi-BILLION dollar industry and they can’t get a working radar gun for Spring Training?

They might not get on base.

Had we signed Yonder Alonso we might have had a better shot at Whit.

I hope he gets another chance to pitch in some meaningful games. His competitiveness needs fed!

2036 is the year we get him.

We’re going to need designated hitters for most of our position players.

I just also hope this deal doesn’t lower the bar as far as returns are concerned. “Burnes only returned “x” so we’re not going as high on Cease…”

1. I would have been pissed if this was the return on Cease. 2. This might force NYY or BOS hand.

Probably right! Or it makes it easier to sell a team…”sell the rumor, buy the news.” Time will tell I’m sure.

Maybe they should build a team before they build a stadium?

Ok good. It was in this thread that I was instructed to believe that great players are NEVER blocked. Maybe that just meant great Orioles players are never blocked! 😂. It only happens to the other mortal teams!

I was once told that great players were never blocked. I’m looking forward to seeing the O’s start multiple players at certain positions on any given night.

Agreed. You want a young, cheap, team-controlled TOR starting pitcher with ace potential to step in THIS YEAR? That’s a big ask—who wouldn’t want that?? Converting some prospects that are stuck behind layers of MLB depth—who have about a 10% chance of becoming as good of an MLB contributor as Cease—is a no brainer. Deal should have been done in November. If the Sox were knocking on the door of a serious contending window—watched a division-rival team land another superstar player and SP depth this offseason, had a young player with major star potential at both left side infield positions and more infield strength in the system, were sitting on a starting pitching staff of 2 quality options and some big question marks a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting…who here wouldn’t be willing to keep Colson Montgomery and move a package led by a guy like Jacob Gonzalez to land a Spencer Strider/Zac Gallen for the next 2 years?

If the Sox were smart—they wouldn’t go after any players from Baltimore and instead try to acquire the guys in charge of drafting and developing Baltimore’s prospects. That would likely pay off more in the long run. Give a guy a fish/teach a guy to fish…

Yeah I mean not to over simplify it—but there are 2 paths to acquiring a TOR SP who can immediately step into your rotation. You can commit to a 9-figure contract to snag a top FA or you can throw a similar value in prospects at it instead. Either way—the cost to obtain what Cease is, is very high and there’s no way around that. It is what it is.

As I look at these dreadful signings, the one thing that keeps playing in my head is Jerry justifying the Getz hire as being the fastest path back to relevancy. Fedde, Flexen, Stassi…we have a literal “FFS” class of additions that give us a look into what Jerry considers “relevancy.”

If you “shouldn’t” trade them, how else would you handle great MILB prospects that are blocked at the MLB level for at least the next half-decade?

Quite honestly, every team should be willing to do this. If you can convert guys you hope will someday be good into quality, controllable MLB pitching—you do it. You can take the chance the unknowns become good or you can guarantee they translate into valuable assets.