FT35

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.

Wait, you know who the Sox are going to get in a few years for the bums we get for Cease now?

Those kinds of trades typically involve a MLer from a position of surplus for a MLer of a different position of need. This is definitely not one of those trades. This is a proven, elite, controllable MLB talent in exchange for guys we hope turn out to be as good as or better than Cease in a couple years. Essentially, you’re agreeing to get fleeced for the next couple years by giving up a top talent for nothing that will help you anytime soon. The hope is the return is worth waiting for.

Non Sox fans don’t understand how important it is for us to fleece someone in a Cease trade. For teams like us who don’t develop talent, this is our only path to any sort of success. And we will need to set the market high because we will want top dollar for all these guys we’re about to get for Cease when we burn it all to the ground in a few seasons.

Taking someone from good to great, yes! But making sure someone wants to try? Then I’d say hire a baby sitter for those guys! Once they’ve had their milk and a snack, send them out to the field to play major league baseball for Pedro. Pedro has his own issues, but making sure guys like Eloy feel like being a professional on any given day shouldn’t be one of those worries. Let another team spend their time and resources figuring out what combination of snacks, games and cartoons it takes to get their players to produce in the major leagues.

It shouldn’t take a manager or anyone else to get a professional baseball player being paid millions to give their best.

Yep. No one is doubting the talent in the least. The man can mash. But to this particular team, he’s a net negative. It’s too bad it didn’t work out. Maybe in a different clubhouse, he will thrive. He’s just made it really clear, he’s not willing to change to thrive in ours.

I used to think this stuff too. It’s obviously too much money…but I don’t mind it as much after watching how the Sox operate. It shows they care about their product. They make investments in the city of LA, MLB, the Dodgers brand, and baseball fans around the world. Sends a strong message to all that the game is worth it. But hey…good for the Sox on landing Erick Fedde. We believe.

Hopefully it’s KC so we have a chance someday.

Why is it that a player has to be completely awful for a year before we get interested in him?

I think this is why they are looking to trade him. Seeing as he’s never in the lineup makes it hard to get excited about Eloy.

I definitely respect that. I’m sure he’s a great person too—the on-air act just never landed with me. People do come across differently in other people’s eyes. He came across cheesy and corny to me. I think we should be giving people more reasons to take us seriously at a time like this rather than more reasons to write us off as the clown show the broadcasts often turned into. This is not going to be an easy fix. They keep putting more and more lipstick on the pig. They need a rebuild AND a rebrand IMO.

IMO, this is great news. Fun is great, but silly, goofy, fake, overly quirky, convincing everyone you’re the most “clever”—it all leads to disconnect and awkwardness and that gets old quick. Our broadcasts were unwatchable care of the team, and “unlistenable” because of this guy! We need someone real, identifiable and passionate to rebrand the Sox from the booth.

Before we get into the measurable successes of his tenure, I just want to state for the record, I have nothing against Chris Getz as a person. Like everyone else, I was hoping they would bring in a proven outside mega talent to come in and completely change everything as I believe wholesale change is needed in this moment. I doubted the hire because I’m conditioned to doubt everything coming out of this team. They have given me zero reason to trust anything. As far as Getz, I hope he is successful in every way. I hope that he can make a name for himself that will carry weight outside the White Sox circles and lay the groundwork for a long, successful front office career as long as he wants it. My expectations are very low, but this will always be my hope for him personally and this team.

Let’s hope he can develop them. Not many teams give up these types of players. Of course he has been in a position to develop them as well and hasn’t thus far.

What’s to clean up?!?!?

Ok important questions. I’ve been a Sox fan since childhood (1990). In this particular situation—say they hire Getz and the majority of us lifers basically give up…what’s the fan rule? Are we now considered band wagon fans if, someday, they make their way back to relevance and we begin rooting for them again? We’ve tolerated more than our fair share of grief. Does it count as “giving up” if there’s literally nothing to give up on? Does it count as giving up since the owner and the majority of the players have given up on us? Do we have to remain independently unaffiliated and not cheer for any other team to be able to return? Or do we have to at least commiserate with Sox fans while we sit out the actual games part of the season? Can we all agree that not supporting this owner’s team now is actually considered practicing strong mental health? We need some clarity on these things and a unified front on how we will fan rule our way through this.

Absolutely. I used to travel in from Indiana for games and there was a day (2018) I forgot to take my mini (2.5”?) Weatherman Swiss knife keychain off my keys before I got on the train into town. I pulled it off and handed it to the guy working the detectors and asked if I could pick it up somewhere on the way out of the game. He took the keychain, put it in the basket, and said “no, we don’t offer that kind of service here,” and took the keychain away. I never saw it again. (Honestly—my fault for forgetting, but that policy is straight up theft if they don’t return the items.) I can’t imagine a detector failure large enough for someone to get a gun into the game. There’s some major PR work to be done on this one.

A great person, a great player, an ambassador-like personality, a White Sox connection—that’s all wonderful. However, it’s time they place a preference on bringing someone on who has a proven track record of turning losing franchises into winning ones. Show me only the candidates who have experience in accomplishing the goal we’re seeking to accomplish. We’re not looking for a new best friend, a great player, a familiar face—it’s time for a big dog who’s successfully done this before.

This better not be a joke!

Surprised they are doing this survey in-season. The focus should most certainly not be on development now because it could compromise their chance to win tonight’s MLB game.

Anyone ever play in a scramble golf outing where you’re the best player on the foursome team and notice how it’s a guaranteed lock you’ll play one of the worst rounds of your life? Then when you’re the worst player on the foursome, you’re due to play way above your abilities? Probably has something to do with playing to the level of competition. It’s why winning culture is so important.

They seem to be trying to add value to him in different ways. Disappointing stats? No problem, we’ll just spin it— “this guy’s got intangibles that give him unseen value. You can’t put a price on leadership…Andrew is invaluable to our team…” In other words…“I’ll trade him this winter if that high price is met…”

Exactly. Its’s like, let us know when you’ve strung together 15-20 wins in a row to get into striking distance…of .500… if there’s one thing RH has gotten good at over the years, it’s wiggling out of the hot seat. Driving the same boat into the same ocean 3 times will teach you some tricks. 1st, he never even has the presser to address these issues if the Sox don’t win a couple games in a row—he’d stay safely in his basement if they lose those games. Now he can wave 2 games around like they are some sort of “turning point” after 10 failed YEARS. Give me a break.