Team Breakout Article

[oldsox]

I saw an article on my phone yesterday that was interesting. It listed the 5 teams most likely to have a breakout season, They were

 

Braves

Orioles

Pirates

Sox

Cubs

It didn't say anything we already didn't know, but it did predict a 10 game increase in Wins. The Pirates should be interesting this year.

[Bob Sacamano]

The Cubs? A team in the playoffs last year? Lol

[WhiteSox2023]

8 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

The Cubs? A team in the playoffs last year? Lol

Haha, strange.  They have won 83, 83, and 92 games the last three years.  Breakout city!

[Baron]

I'm assuming they mean World Series apperance for the Cubs as a "Breakout"? 

 

I'm hoping for 72 wins for the Sox this year...maybe 74. God if we don't add a starting pitcher it's going to be rough though. 

[Snopek]

Yeah I guess breakout is just relative to each team’s situation.

Braves and Orioles: Teams going back to being contenders after a down year

Sox and Pirates: Most improved losers

Cubs: World Series or bust

I buy the Pirates way more than the Sox on pitching alone, even though their lineup still looks a little sketchy.

 

[WBWSF]

I've said it before and i will say it again: The White  Sox are coming, Tra La, Tra La!!!!

[oldsox]

1 hour ago, Bob Sacamano said:

The Cubs? A team in the playoffs last year? Lol

They attribute it to Bregman and win total of 99.

[Kyyle23]

45 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I've said it before and i will say it again: The White  Sox are coming, Tra La, Tra La!!!!

You have said this every year since I have known you

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, WBWSF said:

I've said it before and i will say it again: The White  Sox are coming, Tra La, Tra La!!!!

[Snopek]

25 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

You have said this every year since I have known you

Made me think of this scene

 

Here's hoping it ends similarly with a 100 win season out of nowhere

[WBWSF]

29 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

You have said this every year since I have known you

I try to  be positive every year.

[poppysox]

12 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I try to  be positive every year.

It's better than wallowing in self-pity IMO.

[WhiteSox2023]

21 minutes ago, WBWSF said:

I try to  be positive every year.

That’s only because you know you are getting an interview with Jerry if Getz has another 100+ loss season.

[Falstaff]

I feel pretty good about 2026 knowing Josh Rojas is gone. 

[Lip Man 1]

3 hours ago, WBWSF said:

I've said it before and i will say it again: The White  Sox are coming, Tra La, Tra La!!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again you need another drink or six. 

[WhiteSox2023]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

[Kyyle23]

2 hours ago, poppysox said:

It's better than wallowing in self-pity IMO.

Living in reality doesn’t mean wallowing in self pity.  As it stands right now I don’t really see this team being appreciably better than it was last season.  I’m not wallowing in that, it’s just what I see. 

[poppysox]

32 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Living in reality doesn’t mean wallowing in self pity.  As it stands right now I don’t really see this team being appreciably better than it was last season.  I’m not wallowing in that, it’s just what I see. 

Let's just say you aren't trying real hard to see some of the positives.

[southsider2k5]

2 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Let's just say you aren't trying real hard to see some of the positives.

It's just as easy to say you are only seeing what you want to see.

Be positive, no one cares.  Don't tell me what to think.

[poppysox]

3 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

It's just as easy to say you are only seeing what you want to see.

Be positive, no one cares.  Don't tell me what to think.

I didn't tell you anything.

[tray]

2 hours ago, Kyyle23 said:

Living in reality doesn’t mean wallowing in self pity.  As it stands right now I don’t really see this team being appreciably better than it was last season.  I’m not wallowing in that, it’s just what I see. 

Not sure what you see but some fans see an improved team from last season for a number of reasons inc.,

-  a better, deeper bullpen with a possible legitimate Closer. 

-  possible improvements in hitting and power numbers from Colson Montgomery, Vargas and Lenyn Sosa.

-  Murakami

-  White Sox fan enthusiasm which was stoked with the Murakami signing. I know, positivity is not a metric that can be gleaned from this website.

[WestEddy]

6 minutes ago, tray said:

Not sure what you see but some fans see an improved team from last season for a number of reasons inc.,

-  a better, deeper bullpen with a possible legitimate Closer. 

-  possible improvements in hitting and power numbers from Colson Montgomery, Vargas and Lenyn Sosa.

-  Murakami

-  White Sox fan enthusiasm which was stoked with the Murakami signing. I know, positivity is not a metric that can be gleaned from this website.

I see a team with about 6 established, major league average positional starters (Monty, Teel, Vargas, Quero, Meidroth and Baldwin (a stretch, I know)), and interesting prospect experiments at 3 positions (Acuña, Pereira/Kelenic, Murakami). Starting pitching was at least serviceable last season, Shane Smith and Davis Martin may be primed to settle in or even progress a bit. The bullpen is more thought out. If there's any setbacks, you have Antonacci, Hagen Smith, Schultz, McDougal, Davitt, Tristan Peters, Dustin Harris and Braden Montgomery in the pipeline. 

We would be buried in laughing emojis if we suggested that this team was 3 solid moves away from being competitive. People are still talking like another 100-loss season is practically guaranteed because they don't recognize every name on the roster, yet, everybody in the front office failed for not giving them confidence by hiking the payroll to the top of the league, while also arguing that JR is a horrible businessman that hobbled himself with his short-sighted parsimony. 

There's an entire range of outcomes for the 2026 season that go from 80+ wins down to 50. Only the numbers above 62 are treated as fanciful.