6 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

It's amazing how many people want to make a big deal out of this. It's going to ruin everything.....If you don't have a problem with someone opting out, you really shouldn't have a problem with anyone opting out. 

If the guy has anxiety, the lockdown could have done a number on him. Judging him by tweets or rumors will make you look like a fool. 

To be fair, it seemed like everyone was at peace with it until Cooper decided to escalate it.

Wondering if this will shift the prevailing mood of soxtalk fandom toward what I expected (annoyance that the most exciting piece of our rotation is now gone in an already disappointing season) and away from what it has seemed to be ("I just hope he finds love")

On 7/12/2020 at 10:53 AM, Tony said:

Right....but the issue (at least in my opinion) is the choice of words used by Cooper. Read the quote: 

“I don’t know what’s going on with Michael, but I know he deals with some anxiety and depression.”

If you take the quote at face value, then Cooper doesn’t know what the issue with Kopech is right now. Could be depression, could be COVID, could be family issues, it could be an irrational fear of penguins. He said he doesn’t know. So if he doesn’t know....don’t bring up the depression and anxiety stuff. Don’t speculate on someone’s mental state. Kopech has so far made the choice not to speak publicly about his issues right now, and I think his pitching coach should respect that, the way the Front Office and his teammates have thus far. 
 

And you’re right, Kopech has brought up mental health in previous interviews, and I applaud him for that. But I think quotes like Coop’s can make people dealing with those issues afraid to come out and speak openly on them. Every time an issue comes up, we now have to go right to depression because Kopech spoke about it before. 
 

I should also say Cooper is sort of saying what we are all thinking. I get it, believe me. I guess the point is we are fans on a message board, he’s the guys pitching coach. Different standards need apply.  

I want to add to this by saying, Kopech has brought a lot of his struggles to the public light in an effort to destigmatize them. While Cooper maybe sort of avoided it, the exact stigma Kopech is fighting is the leap people make from "Person x has mental health issues Y" to "Person X is unreliable/a timebomb/going to crack/weak/etc".

People fear to tell their work about their struggles precisely because they don't want their capabilities or loyalty or worth questioned every time they need to call out for a cold. 

It is important to remember that a huge reason that stigma exists is because of selection bias. Millions of people struggle with mental health issues of varying severity, but we often don't find out until someone's life falls apart from them. The mental health stigma prevents people who are coping just fine from coming forward, and it also prevents people who are not coping just fine from seeking help.  We only see the worst cases, so that is what we associate with mental health issues.

Again, Coop didn't quite explicitly say anything wrong. But the implications of his pitching coach saying he is concerned about Kopech's mental health to the media are certainly along the lines of the "unreliable" stigma that Kopech is trying to help fight.

 

 

Maybe he wants to be treated like an ace before he has become one. He did not get the guarantees he wanted. 

5 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

It's amazing how many people want to make a big deal out of this. It's going to ruin everything.....If you don't have a problem with someone opting out, you really shouldn't have a problem with anyone opting out. 

If the guy has anxiety, the lockdown could have done a number on him. Judging him by tweets or rumors will make you look like a fool. 

I have no beef with him opting out, I just hope the reason doesn’t poise risk for the 2021 season one way or the other.

I think he's snow flaking and probably pouting, but that's his right.

Hope he gets over himself next year. 

8 hours ago, fathom said:

Is it true Kopech isn’t returning calls from his teammates?  Wasn’t sure if this was reported by the Sun Times, as I have seen some tweets referencing this.

Couldn't be further from the truth. The entire club is behind him. Everybody. 

The speculation on his professional and personal safety concerns in the midst of a pandemic has been beyond unfair by the media and a large portion of this fanbase.

People need to get over it and let the guy live his life.  Unreal.  

Just now, macsandz said:

Couldn't be further from the truth. The entire club is behind him. Everybody. 

The speculation on his professional and personal safety concerns in the midst of a pandemic has been beyond unfair by the media and a large portion of this fanbase.

People need to get over it and let the guy live his life.  Unreal.  

When Bucket speaks, y'all listen.

33 minutes ago, Quin said:

When Bucket speaks, y'all listen.

Will you not talk?
Can you take pity?
I don't ask for much...
But won't you speak, please?

9 hours ago, fathom said:

To be fair, it seemed like everyone was at peace with it until Cooper decided to escalate it.

To be fair. Can there be no such thing as a spontaneous answer anymore without people saying he said the wrong thing ? Must everything be some kind of prepared statement any time you talk to the media because too many people stick their noses into things that don't concern them ?

Kopech could have 1 reason or 10 reasons why he opted out. What's he supposed to do give a damn dissertation on it so we can all get our voyeuristic rocks off on it ?

Move along , nothing to see here. This season is a clusterfuck. Try to enjoy what little baseball we are going to get.

12 hours ago, KrankinSox said:

From the article:

 

"According to multiple sources, the White Sox got a full presentation of Kopech’s concerns about playing in 2020 during a meeting in Chicago that included chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, general manager Rick Hahn and assistant general manager Jeremy Haber. On the same day of that meeting roughly two weeks ago, two sources indicate Kopech spoke over the phone with manager Rick Renteria for an hour. Kopech’s camp has been in regular contact with the Sox front office since.

Those parties involved have an understanding of the concerns that Kopech and his representatives presented, but will strive to respect his privacy until he personally decides to reveal his motivations. Sources close to Kopech indicate he was driven by a litany of concerns, not limited to a short ramp-up to action, an uncertain role, uncertainty over the fate of the 2020 season, caution in determining how and when to best return to action from Tommy John surgery, and despite not being medically deemed high-risk himself, concern over how playing amid the pandemic could threaten the health of those close to him."

As far as I'm concerned if an employee in any field is worried about coronavirus, he/she has the right to skip work and be paid. All of Kopech's concerns sound reasonable. It's his arm. He knows if he's ready to test it.

9 hours ago, gusguyman said:

I want to add to this by saying, Kopech has brought a lot of his struggles to the public light in an effort to destigmatize them. While Cooper maybe sort of avoided it, the exact stigma Kopech is fighting is the leap people make from "Person x has mental health issues Y" to "Person X is unreliable/a timebomb/going to crack/weak/etc".

People fear to tell their work about their struggles precisely because they don't want their capabilities or loyalty or worth questioned every time they need to call out for a cold. 

It is important to remember that a huge reason that stigma exists is because of selection bias. Millions of people struggle with mental health issues of varying severity, but we often don't find out until someone's life falls apart from them. The mental health stigma prevents people who are coping just fine from coming forward, and it also prevents people who are not coping just fine from seeking help.  We only see the worst cases, so that is what we associate with mental health issues.

Again, Coop didn't quite explicitly say anything wrong. But the implications of his pitching coach saying he is concerned about Kopech's mental health to the media are certainly along the lines of the "unreliable" stigma that Kopech is trying to help fight.

 

If he has mental health issues he should speak to Greinke who overcame mental health issues early on to excel.

4 starts with a 5 ERA before his 25th birthday. Looking forward to moving on to players that want to play this year. Should be fun without him. 

28 minutes ago, flavum said:

4 starts with a 5 ERA before his 25th birthday. Looking forward to moving on to players that want to play this year. Should be fun without him. 

I love how his MLB ERA is always used as some knock against him as if he didn't have a 0.82 ERA before his final start where he was visibly injured (my overall point being that ERA, or any stat, over such a small sample is meaningless)

4 hours ago, Jose Abreu said:

I love how his MLB ERA is always used as some knock against him as if he didn't have a 0.82 ERA before his final start where he was visibly injured (my overall point being that ERA, or any stat, over such a small sample is meaningless)

Once a guy does anything out of the ordinary  he is branded as a flake because he doesnt follow the wolfpack, It's the most idiotic group mentality bullshit ever. And the fact that its applied to Kopech during this pandemic is truly asinine.

5 hours ago, greg775 said:

If he has mental health issues he should speak to Greinke who overcame mental health issues early on to excel.

Greinke is definitely a good example of overcoming this anxiety issue stuff.

Greinke is a very different personality though, kopech is more of a social guy who is dating those celebrity girls while greinke is like this almost autistic, closed off guy so like almost the opposite of kopech in that regard.

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,
When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,
Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

14 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,
When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,
Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round.

1 minute ago, hi8is said:

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round.

I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go.

On 7/13/2020 at 10:17 PM, greg775 said:

As far as I'm concerned if an employee in any field is worried about coronavirus, he/she has the right to skip work and be paid. All of Kopech's concerns sound reasonable. It's his arm. He knows if he's ready to test it.

How old are you? Because there are probably zero professions right now where you can just "skip work" and be paid over coronavirus concerns. Everyone is concerned about the virus but unless you have a legit reason like being high-risk, good luck getting paid for just being worried about it.

I mean, you'd have zero people working if you could get paid and skip work over this. 

1 hour ago, CeaseAndExist said:

How old are you? Because there are probably zero professions right now where you can just "skip work" and be paid over coronavirus concerns. Everyone is concerned about the virus but unless you have a legit reason like being high-risk, good luck getting paid for just being worried about it.

I mean, you'd have zero people working if you could get paid and skip work over this. 

My employer has allowed employees to take the last 4 months off and still file and collect unemployment. $990 a week to stay home and know they have a job waiting for them whenever they wish to come back.

5 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

My employer has allowed employees to take the last 4 months off and still file and collect unemployment. $990 a week to stay home and know they have a job waiting for them whenever they wish to come back.

Damn, man. I’m broker than an old VCR, man. I need a job. Are they hiring at your job? I got a stack of red bills at my house.

Yeah, I can hardly blame him or anyone for opting out.

Especially Kopech. I really don't want to have my road back to baseball be in the middle of the absolute clusterf*ck that is this makeshift 2020 season. Rushed spring, rushed season. Not exactly an ideal situation for a pitcher returning from a long-rehab. 

19 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

My employer has allowed employees to take the last 4 months off and still file and collect unemployment. $990 a week to stay home and know they have a job waiting for them whenever they wish to come back.

Jesus, you guys make more while unemployed than I do while working (not accounting for housing allowance). 

To be fair, minus additional duties/training, I'm working on average about 28 hours a week.