2 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Twas a very fun season that vastly exceeded my expectations in numerous ways. Had you told me in February that they'd be in contention for the division until they very last series of the season, make the playoffs, win a round, and be on the brink of the ALCS I would've taken it 100 times out of 100....with that being said, going out how they did (to Cleveland of all teams) was certainly a gut punch and their weaknesses got very exposed in those losses. But for a team that wasn't supposed to be here at all, I'll take it.

I agree . I don't think that people are upset the went down to Cleveland it's more how they did and how they will be remembered now

Super bummed, pissed it was the Guardians and that f*** JRam, but still proud of this team doing the unexpected and pulling as all with them

51 minutes ago, JoshPR said:

I agree . I don't think that people are upset the went down to Cleveland it's more how they did and how they will be remembered now

I think they'll be remembered as a very fun team in a growth year who ran out of gas at the end and pressed.

I think that after crawling from the wreckage of the 2024 season, it's pretty amazing to consider that two years later, we're looking at a young core with playoff experience that is only going to improve. I believe there's 5 solid positional starters (Teel, Meidroth, Vargas, Ant-man, Peters), and 3 guys who need anywhere from tinkering to an overhaul of their approach (Monty, Braden, Mune). We have a bevy of #4-5 starters. Maybe they trade from Monty, Braden, Quero to get someone who can throw 5 innings in a playoff game.

Tremendously fun season, and the front office gives me confidence they'll address the shortcomings that were exposed in the last 3 games.

10 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

I think they'll be remembered as a very fun team in a growth year who ran out of gas at the end and pressed.

Yeah, when the dust settles I agree. The choke is just too fresh at the moment

1 minute ago, WestEddy said:

I think they'll be remembered as a very fun team in a growth year who ran out of gas at the end and pressed.

And as an increasingly one dimensional offense that wasn't good at advancing runners, driving in runners from third with less than two outs...situational hitting, changing one's approach to manufacture individual runs, etc.

The Guardians Rays Brewers all have better leveraging of their overall team speed, defense, base running and fundamentals.

This traditionally is much cheaper to buy in FA than power numbers.

Most importantly, look at the draft day origins for those pitching staffs. Mostly home grown and cheaper/inexpensive.

Or the Guardians stealing Cade Smith from MN, just as the Guards lost Caminero to TB because they already had Jose Ramirez. (yes WEddy, the Sox stole Tristan Peters from TB too)

To summarize:

Best scouting.

Similar aggresive contact oriented styles of play minus young stars in Caminero/Chourio.

Similar offensive approaches...Guards Ball/Small Ball/Piranhas 2014/15 Royals, call it whatever the hell you want.

It should also be noted how good that Guards' pen would be now with E.Clase today.

1 minute ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Yeah, when the dust settles I agree. The choke is just too fresh at the moment

The '77 South Side Hit Men was such a crazy great summer. I was 13, and it was the first time in my Sox-rooting life (2nd, really after 1972) that it felt like I was watching a real baseball team. I'm surprised every time I look it up to find they finished in 3rd place, 12 games out. The electricity of that summer always feels like they finished closer to the top, in retrospect. The final 3 games will be a blip. Hopefully, drowned out by greater successes.

2 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

And as an increasingly one dimensional offense that wasn't good at advancing runners, driving in runners from third with less than two outs...situational hitting, changing one's approach to manufacture individual runs, etc.

I believe they actually converted opportunities in this last series at a moderate clip. Bases loaded with one out would result in a run, when they couldn't do that earlier in the year. They just pressed and choked in an elimination game.

But again, talking about whether 2039 SoxTalk will still be ruminating over 21 strikeouts, or a fun team, I couldn't tell you what the shortcomings of the '77 team were without looking it up. But I can tell you about Zisk, Gamble, and Eric Soderholm.

I know we're supposed to kumbaya this s%*#, but this fucking sucks and I'm not interested.

19 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

And as an increasingly one dimensional offense that wasn't good at advancing runners, driving in runners from third with less than two outs...situational hitting, changing one's approach to manufacture individual runs, etc.

The Guardians Rays Brewers all have better leveraging of their overall team speed, defense, base running and fundamentals.

This traditionally is much cheaper to buy in FA than power numbers.

Most importantly, look at the draft day origins for those pitching staffs. Mostly home grown and cheaper/inexpensive.

Or the Guardians stealing Cade Smith from MN, just as the Guards lost Caminero to TB because they already had Jose Ramirez. (yes WEddy, the Sox stole Tristan Peters from TB too)

To summarize:

Best scouting.

Similar aggresive contact oriented styles of play minus young stars in Caminero/Chourio.

Similar offensive approaches...Guards Ball/Small Ball/Piranhas 2014/15 Royals, call it whatever the hell you want.

It should also be noted how good that Guards' pen would be now with E.Clase today.

Yeah they also get extra picks every year. Sox get an extra pick once and we saw how much flexibility it adds.

Ok here’s what I’m very grateful for. A bunch of “we’ll see” guys that cemented themselves as long term starters.

Star-

Vargas. No doubt captain of the team, ice cold and calm at the plate all series.

Starters:

Sean Burke - absolutely filthy in playoffs. Nobody would have put their chips on him as our top guy in April

Tristan Peter’s - incredible August we thought midnight struck. His at bats are always pitch perfect. Fantastic defense. An absolutely incredible find.

Antonnacci - in March many of us liked him but we also liked brooks Baldwin and Ramos and others who had high production compared to pedigree. Hes for real. We’ll always have to work a bit around his defense.

Meidroth - absolute starter long term, again, entering into season many thought he’d be a transition guy. He’s a great bat, big time gamer

Teel - whatever his offense struggled this year. My god is he a better catcher than what we threw out, and put many good at bats in the playoffs.

Hagen Smith - while we will still have to be wait and see if he’s a starter, which is painful, he is still a huge weapon. I wasn’t sure he’d be valuable in majors in June.

Taylor - obviously, just wish he’d have been developed differently.

Wait and sees -

Colson - I still think an offseason can help smooth out enough rough edges. Would be happy if he turned into a corner outfielder with power.

Mune - love him, no rush to sign him. When he walks it’s all fine, but he gave up all plate discipline in playoffs, makes it rough.

Braden - has to show he can be tougher right handed and start pulling the ball. Tremendous defensively tho and I think he is on team a long time.

Pitching staff - sure wish Shane smith didn’t shrivel up. Davis Martin has a spot but it’s iffy. There is a lot of work to do here, and with the exception of a guy I don’t believe in (drew thorpe) there isn’t a lot coming.

Thats an incredible year for the trajectory of the team. And Bonemer is on the way.

2 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I don't get this mindset at all.

Because the White Sox didird n't try this year (low payroll, zero investment at the deadline) setting a low bar of expectations, and because they've been historically bad the years prior, we should be happy with the year. It feels like a huge loser mindset.

Most even talk about this rebuild like it was better than the last because of this 84 win season in an AL that's the worst it's been in my life.

They choked the division, and then choked the playoff series. But sure, tell me how this is different and deserves admiration. It's legit disappointing to see so many people adjust their expectations just because the Sox became an embarrassment of an org.

I'll add, definitely some fun moments and the players deserved more.

dude you thought they were going to lose 100 games. this season was a massive turnaround that very few people anticipated happening. so what if the AL is bad this year, they still outplayed 80% of the league.

that being said, this year is pretty much what I expected would happen. I thought they'd play about .500 ball and they did. I'm not shocked they lost in the postseason. I'm annoyed they felt compelled to buy at the deadline and I'm annoyed that the 'young pitching' didn't work out like I thought it would. of course, I don't think Vargas would become the best third baseman in the league, Chase a top 2B, that a DFA'd Savannah Banana would be an all-star, that Mune-sama would even be on the team; pretty much anything we got out of this offense was shocking and entertained me for months. Past 5 years or so, I watched a ton of minor league Sox ball but hardly any this year. the MLB team was a watchable product all season for the first time since basically covid.

I dunno man, this was a pretty wonderful year of baseball even if the team nosedived the second half. There's a clear path to contending for a World Series for many years to come, but a team full of rookies couldn't get it done this year against a perennial veteran playoff team. It sucks and I wish we won last night, but if this team was a disappointment, then so is the entire league outside of 4 teams.

If you would have told me that our pitching would hold Cleveland to two runs, I would feel good about the Sox chance of winning. I’m shocked that Sox hitters had so much trouble making any contact.

1 hour ago, WestEddy said:

I think they'll be remembered as a very fun team in a growth year who ran out of gas at the end and pressed.

As they should be. I agree and I hope that's the case

13 minutes ago, nrockway said:

dude you thought they were going to lose 100 games. this season was a massive turnaround that very few people anticipated happening. so what if the AL is bad this year, they still outplayed 80% of the league.

that being said, this year is pretty much what I expected would happen. I thought they'd play about .500 ball and they did. I'm not shocked they lost in the postseason. I'm annoyed they felt compelled to buy at the deadline and I'm annoyed that the 'young pitching' didn't work out like I thought it would. of course, I don't think Vargas would become the best third baseman in the league, Chase a top 2B, that a DFA'd Savannah Banana would be an all-star, that Mune-sama would even be on the team; pretty much anything we got out of this offense was shocking and entertained me for months. Past 5 years or so, I watched a ton of minor league Sox ball but hardly any this year. the MLB team was a watchable product all season for the first time since basically covid.

I dunno man, this was a pretty wonderful year of baseball even if the team nosedived the second half. There's a clear path to contending for a World Series for many years to come, but a team full of rookies couldn't get it done this year against a perennial veteran playoff team. It sucks and I wish we won last night, but if this team was a disappointment, then so is the entire league outside of 4 teams.

This. Assuming we have baseball next year, there are three reasons why, like you said, this is sustainable compared with 2021:

1) Diveristy of offense: I know people are annoyed by the strikeouts but Rick Hahn tried to build a home run hitting team and failed miserably. That lineup was incredibly right handed heavy and filled with power hitters who had high ground ball rates and didn't walk. I don't think people understand just how valuable left handed slug is. Especially when most of the league is still right handed.

2) This team genuinely loves each other: That 20-21 team was talented but as soon as the going got tough, they turned on each other. This team loves each other. That is so profoundly powerful

3) We have a GM who knows the importance of building an organization: The numbers between the last regime and this regime, in terms of who is working in it is profoundly different. The Sox are now ahead of the curve when it comes to analytics, both in terms of playing but also clubhouse chemistry. We are starting to put together the same kind of organization that the Rays have.

Could go on but we are in such a much better place then last contention window.

Last night hurt - but Burke pitched outstanding and this team battled all season. I had a lot of fun watching the squad compete this year and it was first season in a while I could say that. This team brought back my passion for baseball.

While I am deeply hurting, it was a truly magical season and more fun than anytime since 2005. I am so proud of them and so grateful for this year, I'm just hurting right now.

12 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

While I am deeply hurting, it was a truly magical season and more fun than anytime since 2005. I am so proud of them and so grateful for this year, I'm just hurting right now.

This is exactly where im at. Did I expect them to make the ALCS. Yep. Did I expect them to win that, not really. So falling a game short isn't going to change my entire thoughts on the season. I was one of the few that had them at 80+ wins, and this should be the transition year to something better. Magical it was and don't let any of the pricks on this board take that away from you.

4 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I don't get this mindset at all.

Because the White Sox didn't try this year (low payroll, zero investment at the deadline) setting a low bar of expectations, and because they've been historically bad the years prior, we should be happy with the year. It feels like a huge loser mindset.

Most even talk about this rebuild like it was better than the last because of this 84 win season in an AL that's the worst it's been in my life.

They choked the division, and then choked the playoff series. But sure, tell me how this is different and deserves admiration. It's legit disappointing to see so many people adjust their expectations just because the Sox became an embarrassment of an org.

I'll add, definitely some fun moments and the players deserved more.

Sports are supposed to be fun, this season was fun, and the arrow for the team is pointing up.

I’m really not sure it’s any more complicated or serious than that.

2 hours ago, Bananarchy said:

I know we're supposed to kumbaya this s%*#, but this fucking sucks and I'm not interested.

You’re not “supposed to” do anything. You do you, my friend.