Any optimism in the White Sox for next season has to be zapped at this point, right?

Getz says he does not like the team and then trades/signs players who will probably make the team worse under the guise of cutting payroll all the while why Reinsdorf says he wants to win in 2024. 

It's pretty depressing to have this type of leadership.

Onwards to last place!

I’d bet on the Tigers to win the division. Minnesota took some big steps backward meanwhile the Tigers looked like the team to beat in the second half of last season. They have the best manager in the division, added some useful pieces (one of whom was poached from the twins) and their young talent is a year older and primed for breakout seasons. I could see Skubal contending for Cy Young. Really like the Canha addition for them too. They’re just unfortunately stuck with Baez but I wouldn’t rule out him having a ~100 OPS+ season again. 
 

losing the division I dunno. I think the central will actually be close and entertaining next year. The easy answer is the Sox but I could also legitimately see us winning 80 or so games next season. I voted for the royals, I’m not impressed by anyone on their team outside of Witt, including Vinnie P and Ragans. 

I think we need to revisit this after spring training and rosters are finalized. My hunch is the Guardians will add some pieces and be the AL Central team that loses in the first round. 

Twins and Guardians definitely waiting to see exactly what their financial situations are going to be with the RSN/Bally's fallout...whether the Guardians will ultimately end up dumping Bieber or not seems pretty key to the race, and a 100% comeback from McKenzie.

On 1/2/2024 at 9:37 AM, Balta1701 said:

I don’t know that I buy this part. It still seems to me that the idea of the Central being always pathetic is a new, recent phenomenon.

Last year the Twins took an easy division, but they had the run differential of a 90 win team. They were held back by their poor performance in close games.

2022, the Guardians were a legit 90 win team. 2021 the White Sox were a legit 90 win team.

2019 you had a couple good years by the Twins. 2016-2017 was the peak of an Indians team that went to a WS game 7 and won 100 games the next year. Before that the Royals and Tigers had multi year runs including WS appearances for Detroit and a KC title.

Mostly the Central has behaved like a normal division, a team plays well and wins 90+ games. What we saw last year, where no team could do that, seems like an anomaly.

I don’t know which team it will be, but out of Cleveland, Minnesota, and Detroit, there are a couple teams that could definitely come together and push 90 wins.

Point well taken but I think its kind of a yes and no. The winner will likely come out with 90+ wins - but precisely because the division *is* pathetic. A 90 win team would get many those 90 wins against the awful teams in the division via the unbalanced schedule.

For trivia purposes, the 2022 Central overall record was 383-428 (an average of 77-86) and the 2021 overall was 397-413 (average 79-83). Not great.

Not only is the Central kind of putrid, the Sox are the major market team acting like a minor league market. 

It is conceivable that some of the top AAA teams could compete with the Sox this year. 

Absolutely pathetic Cubs and Cards would both be favored in the Central...by some instance.

Even the Reds and Brewers.  Who are still ruminating over a rebuild.