Sambuca

Does anyone have Cease’s strike % with his curveball last year. I rarely remember him starting a curveball in the zone, let alone keeping one in the zone. His curveball was a complete non-factor last season. You’re not going to get too many major league hitters chasing a ball spinning like crazy that’s already a foot outside. This was even more true with two strikes. Hence his shockingly low SO numbers. I honestly couldn’t stand watching him pitch last season. Cooper might have something to do with less curveballs, but it’s safe to assume they started calling less curveballs because he wouldn’t/couldn’t throw it in the zone. The only effect it seemed to have was getting behind in the count, waking hitters, high pitch counts. It’s a shame because it’s an absolutely wipe out pitch if he starts it in the zone. I’m not nearly as high on him as I am on Kopech, but I’m not giving up that he could be a 2/3 who will completely dominate a good amount of starts a year. Very interested to see what Katz does with these guys.

I was just kind of thinking out loud about it. You seem to back up that it’s not feasible to have him do both. If we get him up to say 100 innings starting in the minors, do we really want him throwing high leverage situations out of the pen in a division race and playoffs? I’d love to keep him as a starter as long as possible, but if that’s the case, he shouldn’t really be helping the ML team in 2021 and possibly not even 2022.

Oh yeah?

There is not one good reason to start Kopech in the majors next season. I’m sure they have a plan for him, but he’s also going to dictate some of that plan based on his AAA performance. Even if they plan to bring him up in June, if he doesn’t find his command until July, he’s not coming up until July. I am extremely confident in Kopech next season though. Hopefully their plan keeps his arm fresh for the playoffs.

I doubt it, but good point.

If they do decide to begin the year with Crochet starting in the minors, how many innings is even safe for him to throw for the year? 65 inning is the most he’s ever thrown (only 6 starts) and that was 2 years ago. If the ideal plan is to have him build up arm strength and endurance starting in AA/AAA, then bring him up to pitch out of the bullpen mid-year, how many innings does that look like? Is it feasible to do both of these things or does it have to be one or the other?

You are an ignorant piece of shit.

Most important tweet shared in this thread.

I don’t think Stiever has that much value. I would guess the Cubs turn down that offer. Like it or not, Darvish is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now and despite his age, he seems to be getting better. His salary shouldn’t diminish his value. I think his contract might make him more valuable.

This is true. I read an article a while back from one of the co-founders of Lollapalooza saying he does not expect large festivals to come back until 2022, stating "infinite liability" as one of the main reasons. Who knows what kind of lawsuits are going to start happening due to mass Covid exposure/infections from specific places, events, etc.

Scary picture, bro.

You sound nice.

Not sure why you're so angry at me about this. I provided an article with possible solutions being explored to questions and issues being discussed in this thread.

I don't need to be lectured on how time works. I was simply providing you information on ideas being discussed for people who do not want to get vaccinated, which was your concern.

In the article I posted on the first page, it discusses the idea of having a negative test result within 72 hours if you were not vaccinated.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2020/11/18/tracking-your-vaccination-or-covid-19-status-may-be-way-to-attend-large-sporting-events-in-near-future/?sh=5b83b18b543d Interesting article on this subject, including a ticket agency monster like Ticketmaster already developing a process to accomplish this.

Hendriks isn’t happening. Do we ever win bidding wars after they go this public?

I don’t have enough energy to keep being upset about this, and it’s just not worth it. Nothing we can do about it now except take enjoyment out of something we love. We aren’t to blame, but directing blame elsewhere is a lost cause. They aren’t forgiven, but I’m moving on.

What a douche.

He’s striking out 13/9 over the last five years. What exactly is happening?

When the Sox signed Grandal, one of the big things we heard about was how much time and work he put into understanding and improving his pitchers and how much preparation he put into each start. Now I’m reading from people “in the know” on this site that one of his biggest issues is lack of preparedness and lack of general connection with his pitchers. If it’s somewhere in the middle, why are people speaking in extreme opposites on the matter? Not really sure if you have an answer to that, but I just find it odd.

Just tell us now. How big of a twist is it?

Players are going to sign the best deal given to them. If San Diego didn't make a better offer, Machado would have signed here and then the Sox interest would have been legitimate I guess? What you're saying is pretty much true for any team trying to sign a player. That doesn't mean what the Sox are willing to offer will not ever match what the player is willing to sign for. If that were the case, the Sox wouldn't have Keuchel, Grandal, and even Robert on the roster right now. The Sox have shown they will play at the top of the market for a closer, so I am not ruling out a Hendrik's signing because Bernstein claims to have a "source." Nor am I going to pout and act like the Sox will never sign a good free agent ever again because Machado. Not even sure why we are comparing 10/300mil to 3/40mil anyways. The Sox have proven to do the latter very recently. Jeez, you're making me sound like some kind of optimist. You're good, man.

What does that even mean? Do you think it's impossible for another team not to make a better offer? We aren't talking about a 300mil contract here. The Sox have successfully signed free agents before.

I would not put much stock into Bernstein's "segment." The Sox might not spend much more, but Bernstein doesn't know shit. What would be the point of waiting until the deadline to get a closer anyways? When the Cubs did that, they gave up Gleyber Torres for 2 months of a closer. So their plan is "let's see how many games we can lose without a closer, then after that happens, let's give up our best prospect for 20 innings of work." I know it's the White Sox we are talking about, but that doesn't make sense at all.