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Here is a quote from Kevin Long that supports a more modern approach to hitting: Here is a quote from Frank Menechino:

There is also the benefit that you may become a candidate for the Manager position in the future when it opens up again.

Eye balls

Regardless of who they hire, the only tip they should be giving Frank is how to find the door.

There are too many real candidates for it to be Getz, Ozzie, Willie, Thome. Hire one of them, Hahn (Jerry).

I feel like it's someone from Houston or Philly or else it would have been announced by now.

Yeah, especially the scouting director/player dev seminars. Very fun for nerds like me.

I think I'm 100% behind Kevin Long

This is from an interview with the Athletic on how Kevin prepared for joining the Phillies.

It's fun for kids, and something to do at a time of year when there aren't many other options. My kids mark the depth of winter by New Year's Day, Sox Fest, Auto Show. Get through those and you're home free

Insecure? Judgmental? This entire board that you have 170k posts on is 99% judgmental taeks on everything White Sox. I made the post because I think people here don't really understand what Soxfest is (lines for autographs) and are really upset that it was cancelled because they think the organization is ducking the fans. I strongly disagree that this was the reason.

.895 OPS against lefties, .947 against righties.

Not that it should be an every day thing, but watching the threat Schwarber is out of the lead-off spot and reading Long's quotes about it, that has me excited for the possibility of occasionally slotting Eloy in there. Particularly against lefties.

Sign Ozzie Guillen , Aaron Judge , Carlos Correra, Rodon, Andrus. Dump Pollock.

What is the point in making a post like this?

Kevin Long has them, sources say Joe Espada has them as well.

Well I'm sold.

And I think everyone knows what the White Sox will end up doing.

I’d be very pleased with Long given the rumored alternatives.

I won’t believe it until I see Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza tweet it.

I will now irrationally believe he is the hire if we hear nothing before the start of the World Series/until someone else is announced.

I have never been an autograph guy, but I always like Soxfest for the seminars. You could ask KW and RH their thought process. Sure there was a lot of fluff, but is was a nice event leading to spring training.

The scary part is the talk that he won't sell before he passes due to tax reasons. He easily could live another 10+ years. Virginia McCaskey for example, turns 100 soon and is still going. And I hope he does live a long life. I'm not going to wish bad things on someone over a sport. But we do badly need new ownership. This fanbase deserves so much better than we have gotten over the last 4+ decades. The short-sightedness of refusing to sign big free agents (among other things) has killed this franchise. Imagine if Bryce Harper was on the Sox. And you could tell from public comments that he would have come here. Jerry would have gotten his money back multiple times over. and maybe his leadership and example would have been infectious to some of these talented, underachieving bums that make up the bulk of our rebuild.

There were too many real candidates for it to be TLR last time, but that is still who we got, and it is the same clowns doing the hiring again so I wouldn't write off anyone no matter how unlikely.

I really cannot fathom the logic behind bringing Ozzie back, other than the fact that he won a series almost 2 decades ago. FFS, we literally just saw a retread crash and burn because the dude was out of touch after not managing for a decade and their solution is to bring in ANOTHER retread that hasn't managed in a decade? We're going with that over a guy who's been at the forefront of arguably the most consistent franchise of the last 4 years or a guy who's been part of 2 World Series titles and 4 pennant winners (Yanks in '09, Mets in '15, Nats in '19, Phils in '22)? Seriously, I'd argue it makes even less sense than TLR did. At least TLR was a consistently strong manager in St Louis and went out on top the last time he managed. Ozzie was out of touch back in 2010, much less now.

What a dumpster fire it will be if it ends up being him. I love Ozzie for what he did in 05, and I like listening to him on the postage show but I don't think he would fair too well in today's analytical game. It's pretty obvious 29 other teams feel the same way or he'd been given interviews with the Marlins, Rangers, Royals, etc.

McCauley has an advantage because I believe they're the only all girls school around. They're number 1 in volleyball for example, which would be the biggest girls sport. They don't have incentive to merge with Rice but I'm sure Rice would love too.

I’m not against gradually building him up, but just think money will be tight and Hahn may pass on further IF additions. Assuming we add an OF in free agency and call up Colas early on to start in the other corner, we’ll have Zavala, Pollock, & Leury as bench locks and with Mendick & Romy fighting for that last spot. I’d love to DFA Leury and sign a legit LH hitting infielder if Jerry were willing to stomach the cost.

If we get the 2021 Moncada back he should be the leadoff hitter.

Sounds like we have no choice but to sign Nimmo.

That's what she said.

I think I prefer Long because of the "supply side" theory. It's okay if your defense averages giving up two touchdowns every game as long as your offense averages three touchdowns and a field goal every game. Lots of runs. Longer games. More beer for all of us Sox fans enjoying the dubs. Long live Long.

Greg - You must stop this. You must really stop this.

Right now I think my two personal favorites are Washington and Long. Why? They both have histories of being really good at things we have been really bad at in recent years. Our baseball IQ is among the worst in baseball. Washington is a guy who is known for his teams playing smart, clean, and top notch defensive baseball. That alone could add a lot of wins to this team. I know Washington is dog s%*# as a person, but with the White Sox, that sure doesn't disqualify you. Long has been a top notch hitting coach for a long time, and this is a team who has had zero approach for a while now. Again, just getting guys back to their historic norms, and not even to their ceilings and potential adds a lot of wins to this roster. That isn't to say I am against a guy like Espada, but I don't know his track record the way the other two stand out.

I get the manager won’t be the hitting coach, but Long would certainly help us get back to a more power / OBP oriented approach. And never having to see someone like Leury bat lead-off again would be a dream come true. Also, if Long is the guy, I’d be good with Katz, Hasler, & Cairo returning. I think the former two have generally done a good job on the pitching side and Miguel might be worthwhile to keep around in something capacity (doesn’t have to be bench coach). I see zero reason to keep any of the rest of them around.

Ah. That makes sense.

One last quote from Long in the Athletic interview:

Pete Rose is only 81

He then followed it up with a tweet saying Espada is still in the mix. I do agree that if we don't hear anything by Friday, the hire will be someone from the Astros or Phillies.

Baseball ops data team typically works longer hours in the offseason than in-season, interestingly enough.

Imagine how many great minds you could hire for the cost of one Leury Garcia.

While obviously correct, I still don't understand your stance of "It was probably because they couldn't find space?" Where did that conclusion arrive from?

For years I was bored of Halloween as an adult but now it's fun again for me. We moved to St. Charles a year ago where they have a decorating competition and the level that these houses go to for decorations is unbelievable here. Several houses are better than paid attractions. I also enjoy giving parents jello shots and beer for their treat during trick or treating.

because teams have been blitzing the edge to force him in the pocket, so if you bring in help, you are rolling out with only one or so options.

I have not been to SoxFest in forever but I remember walking around one time and Kenny Williams was just there strolling among the fans and I went up to him and asked who he got back for Chad Bradford....he stopped for a minute and took the time to tell me that they got an exciting young catcher that he thought I'd like very much....which I did and I really liked when we flipped him for Freddy Garcia later. Anyways, I know it is a small thing but I always appreciated the fact that he did stop and talk for a moment. Another fond memory was talking to some of the old time Sox players who usually had lines that were very short....Moose Skowron was especially fun to talk to. Some of the current players would often be on the floor walking around and mingling with the fans and signing balls etc if you wanted. I had a joke with my nephews who loved to go to that if you came away from SoxFest without a Bob Howry autograph it was because you didn't want one.

Metrics like spin rate and exit velocity are pretty much useless on the amateur side because they answer the wrong question. When evaluating 18-21 year olds you're trying to figure out if the can hit, if they can pitch and what metics tell you is how they hit and how they pitch. A guy might have high spin rates but that doesn't mean he's a good pitcher. He may have a terrible delivery or arm action that will not allow him to have future avg command, he may be a big p**** that doesn't challenge hitters or he might be a non athlete who won't be able to make the necessary adjustments to advance to the next level. A hitter might have high exit velocities but he swings and misses 20 times in between, he may not be able to handle an inside fastball, recognize spin or he might be a non athlete with no position. Metrics have their place with the more advanced players but teams relying on metrics on the amateur side are making a lot of mistakes.

This is the most insecure and judgemental take on Soxfest I have ever seen. Why worry so much about what Sox fans find entertainment in?

I'd just like to point out that Soxfest sucks. There is no reason to subject our players to this. They don't need to fly kids from the DR into hell on earth (Chicago in January) to sign autographs for fat guys in fake Paul Konerko jerseys. It isn't good for business and is super awkward. Those great Q&A sessions where we get footage of a season ticket holder from Orland mispronouncing prospect names while yelling at Rick have like 50 people in attendance, 25 of which are lost. 99.8% of sox fest is weird people buying old bobbleheads and waiting 45 minutes for their third Harold Baines autograph because the Chicago winters are boring. I wish the Sox would have just said "Soxfest sucks, so do we, and we aren't doing it anymore".