2 hours ago, Texsox said:

Historically this will be a slightly below average season with historically low expectations. I think they can avoid 100 losses.

They won't beat themselves and don't have anyone on the roster who has been arrested for that. 

McGuire....come on down (again).

7-9 is utterly depressing. I mean the rest isn’t great…but piling up 3 outs at the bottom like that is going to be a killer. Maybe in an alternate universe a young middle infielder actually steps up and earns a job? 

1 hour ago, Tnetennba said:

Same. While the pitching staff might end up near tops in homers allowed. Even with a better defense on paper this team will struggle to outscore the opposition on a daily basis.

I'm slightly curious if an improved overall defense will make the losses more bearable. I doubt it, but as with all of us diehards I'm willing to give it a shot for a month or so before checking out.

18 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

WHITE SOX

Lineup:

1. Andrew Benintendi, LF
2. Yoán Moncada, 3B
3. Luis Robert Jr., CF
4. Eloy Jiménez, DH
5. Andrew Vaughn, 1B
6. Dominic Fletcher, RF
7. Paul DeJong, SS
8. Nicky Lopez, 2B
9. Martín Maldonado, C

This group should be much better defensively, but the question remains as to how much they can produce together with the bats. Robert Jr. is one of the best all-around players in the game, and Moncada, Jiménez and Vaughn have the talent for strong years.

Rotation:

1. Dylan Cease, RHP
2. Michael Kopech, RHP
3. Erick Fedde, RHP
4. Michael Soroka, RHP
5. Chris Flexen, RHP

There’s plenty of starting depth within the White Sox system, as young hurlers such as Nick Nastrini and Jake Eder aren’t far from Major League action. Garrett Crochet will be viewed as a starter for ‘24, but with 73 innings total on his resume, the left-hander might have to go to Triple-A Charlotte to build up for that new role. It’s also a big season for Kopech as part of the rotation.

https://www.mlb.com/news/projected-lineups-rotations-for-every-2024-mlb-team

 

1. I don't hate Benintendi like many here, probably because I couldn't stand AJ "I don't want to be here" Pollock. Andrew hit well in the leadoff spot last year for a nice stretch. Hopefully his hand is fully healed and we will see more power.

2. Yoan is an elite defensive 3B. I just wish his sweet LH swing would return.

3. La Pantera is just an all around great player. Gold Glove D in CF and he does it all offensively.

4. Need to see Eloy tap into his easy power and of course he needs to stay healthy.

5. I have no problem rooting for Andrew, but he just hasn't shown the big league potential he showed in college.

6-8 Defense should at least be better.

9. Maldonado can't be worse than Grandal.

They may be an easier team to root for than last year, but can they score runs??

As far as the srarting pitching....I have no clue what we're gonna get outta that bunch, with or without Cease.

Bullpen could be solid or it could stink imo, but isn't that always the way with a bullpen?

The Central is not good....let's see how long this squad can stay in the race. Every year, there are teams that under and overachieve.

God help me....I will follow them no matter what. At least there is this support group known as Soxtalk that I can come to. Hi...I'm Wegner and I'm a White Sox fan.

1 minute ago, wegner said:

9. Maldonado can't be worse than Grandal.

I can't stress this enough...last year, Maldonado was literally, by basically every publication I have checked, the worst catcher in all of baseball. 

9 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I can't stress this enough...last year, Maldonado was literally, by basically every publication I have checked, the worst catcher in all of baseball. 

Well......darn

11 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

At first glance, the line up doesn't look half bad, then you realize, Beni10d is a punch and judy guy now, Moncada and Eloy are sure to get hurt, Vaughn usually spends half the season sucking, Fletcher has a little more than 100 career ABs, and Lopez, DeJong and Maldonado cannot hit.  I wouldn't throw Robert a strike until the others show they can put runs on the board.

I agree. First glance suggests, hmmm, not too bad. Good post DA. Sad to have automatic outs though in Lopez, Dejong and Maldo.

33 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

I'm slightly curious if an improved overall defense will make the losses more bearable. I doubt it, but as with all of us diehards I'm willing to give it a shot for a month or so before checking out.

Getting shutout or low scoring in any sport is really depressing and the quickest way to turn off fans. I can take losses , I'm used to that as a Sox fan. Decent offense while losing at least you have some reason to cheer.

Defense and pitching doesn't put butts in the seats unless you win.

43 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

I'm slightly curious if an improved overall defense will make the losses more bearable. I doubt it, but as with all of us diehards I'm willing to give it a shot for a month or so before checking out.

At least the losses will look cleaner, rather than the throwing the ball all over or just not making plays or not getting to balls.

34 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I can't stress this enough...last year, Maldonado was literally, by basically every publication I have checked, the worst catcher in all of baseball. 

Exactly why I have no idea Maldonado got $4.25 million and Grandal got $2.5 million.

10 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Getting shutout or low scoring in any sport is really depressing and the quickest way to turn off fans. I can take losses , I'm used to that as a Sox fan. Decent offense while losing at least you have some reason to cheer.

Defense and pitching doesn't put butts in the seats unless you win.

Good point. Is it better to lose 4-0 or 10-6? At least the 4-0 game is over under 3 hours I guess. To be fair, with this staff we might just be losing 10-0 a lot.

Edited February 14, 20242 yr by chitownsportsfan

18 minutes ago, wegner said:

Well......darn

There are a lot of ways to come to that conclusion. If all you look at is offensive and defensive metrics that's your likely conclusion.

However if you want Cease and the rest of the staff to pitch well enough to be traded for more than we expect, a veteran catcher calling a good game recognizing his pitcher's strengths and weaknesses and making adjustments on the fly may be a positive influence.

That to me is the main reason to play the season. Get as much as u can for Cease and others . For catchers his preparation , knowledge, intelligence might mean more to the Sox future than any other player. I guarantee he'll be catching Cease.

43 minutes ago, wegner said:

1. I don't hate Benintendi like many here, probably because I couldn't stand AJ "I don't want to be here" Pollock. Andrew hit well in the leadoff spot last year for a nice stretch. Hopefully his hand is fully healed and we will see more power.

2. Yoan is an elite defensive 3B. I just wish his sweet LH swing would return.

3. La Pantera is just an all around great player. Gold Glove D in CF and he does it all offensively.

4. Need to see Eloy tap into his easy power and of course he needs to stay healthy.

5. I have no problem rooting for Andrew, but he just hasn't shown the big league potential he showed in college.

6-8 Defense should at least be better.

9. Maldonado can't be worse than Grandal.

They may be an easier team to root for than last year, but can they score runs??

As far as the srarting pitching....I have no clue what we're gonna get outta that bunch, with or without Cease.

Bullpen could be solid or it could stink imo, but isn't that always the way with a bullpen?

The Central is not good....let's see how long this squad can stay in the race. Every year, there are teams that under and overachieve.

God help me....I will follow them no matter what. At least there is this support group known as Soxtalk that I can come to. Hi...I'm Wegner and I'm a White Sox fan.

Um, yeah, about that.

11 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

At least the losses will look cleaner, rather than the throwing the ball all over or just not making plays or not getting to balls.

Less out-of-control-clown-car would be a welcome change. Too bad it won't impact the win column.

14 minutes ago, WhiteSox2023 said:

Exactly why I have no idea Maldonado got $4.25 million and Grandal got $2.5 million.

Because Maldonado knows how to win. 

15 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

Um, yeah, about that.

Maldonado might have been worse but for the last 2 months of the 2023 season, if I was watching a game and Grandal came to the plate I would call out.....,"why is he still here???!!!"

31 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Getting shutout or low scoring in any sport is really depressing and the quickest way to turn off fans. I can take losses , I'm used to that as a Sox fan. Decent offense while losing at least you have some reason to cheer.

Defense and pitching doesn't put butts in the seats unless you win.

That’s why KW/JR always employed the offense >>> defense strategy in the 2000’s.

Aim for second or third place and at least entertain the fans.

Cleaner losses are still going to be losses, and then we will have to listen to Grifol-isms to top it off.

Nothing more demoralizing than a sub par offensive team that lacks the ability to come back in games…paired with a bullpen that consistently blows tight and late leads.

Feel much more confident somehow about the bullpen than the offense, though.

 

Still would have preferred fewer veterans and going out on a limb for veteran rehabbers like Hendriks or Woodruff on two year incentive-laden deals.

12 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

Because Maldonado knows how to win. 

But does he know how to win when he is surrounded by the talent of a 65 win team? 

5 minutes ago, wegner said:

Maldonado might have been worse but for the last 2 months of the 2023 season, if I was watching a game and Grandal came to the plate I would call out.....,"why is he still here???!!!"

Oh so did I. I can already seem myself loathing Maldonado with the same white hot disgust I had for Yas...

2 minutes ago, chw42 said:

But does he know how to win when he is surrounded by the talent of a 65 win team? 

When he's the talent "upgrade"...

I remember thinking about just how many things had to go right for the Sox last year for them to be competitive right before the start of the season...and that was kind of when I realized that we were screwed. This year is even worse for obvious reasons. Not only do we need just about everyone in the lineup sans Robert to bounce back or break out, we'd need at least 3 guys in the rotation to come back from major injuries or straight up terrible seasons. Don't even get me started on the bullpen. Even if we get some comeback years from Yoan or Eloy, I really can't see this team winning more than 70 games. 

4 minutes ago, chw42 said:

But does he know how to win when he is surrounded by the talent of a 65 win team? 

Does Luis Robert? We'll need a trout like 10 WAR from him just to get within shouting distance of .500. 

So if Robert plays 150 games, hits 290/340/550 and puts up 8 WAR he'll TWTW us to 78 wins. 

You know, I'd take that season if offered right now. At least we'd have someone to holler about on a nightly basis. 

4 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

Oh so did I. I can already seem myself loathing Maldonado with the same white hot disgust I had for Yas...

At least Yaz isn't a dick. Maldonado was extremely unlikeable on an Astros team that was unlikeable to begin with. 

47 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Good point. Is it better to lose 4-0 or 10-6? At least the 4-0 game is over under 3 hours I guess. To be fair, with this staff we might just be losing 10-0 a lot.

With that lineup, the white Sox are going to have an awful lot of short games this year.

4 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

With that lineup, the white Sox are going to have an awful lot of short games this year.

I'm sure JR will love the concessions drop. This season will feature a lot of short games, and also some great chances to rip the f*** out of JR and the org if things go even worse than worst case.

That said, as always this time of year? I hope they get hotter than s%*#. Give me like the 2016 squad or whatever that at least flashed for 40 games before collapsing.