WestEddy

I like lobster.

The industry's changing as MLB tries to condense minor league levels. They're proposing eliminating a minor league level in the next 5-10 years. Keith Law is saying that minor league depth is much worse than in the recent past. Prospects aren't given the leeway to suck for a couple of years while they learn the professional game. Somehow, that becomes a victory for the people who hate baseball, and criticize their teams relentlessly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_mill

But he didn't choose Vargas over Keaschall. You've already admitted that maybe Hayes didn't have all the information with the Tweet you're proclaiming was Bible. Fletcher vs. McCarthy was a coin flip at the time of the trade. Fangraphs has Fletcher as a much better defensive OF than McCarthy. Fletcher's offense just regressed. So, you're saying that we have a GM who won some trades and lost some others. WOW! How prescient. Do you have a fantasy blog? Is it called FantasySportsBabble.com?

He should have been one of those guys the pundits crowed about a team grabbing with the 25th pick. "OMG!! This guy was mocked in the top 5!!! What a steal for the Astros!!" I think Hahn and Hostetler spent too much time on the internet. addendum: It always disappointed me how dudes would become so impressed when they realized Beer and Burger were both food words, and it would be "the funniest thing in human history if Beer and Burger both played on the same team !!! woah!! High five me, dude!!" When, Sousa, Madrigal, Bilous and Troutwine were all taken by the Sox in the same draft, and one could have a roster announcing a Sousa Madrigal, Bil(i)ous on Troutwine. Oh, and Fry was an option, too. I hope nobody ever literally "died" laughing.

It was weird the Royals claimed him in the first place.

Because they don't have rotation anchor Erick Fedde on their team. Siberian peashrub (Caragana arborescens) | Minnesota DNR

They are rebuilding. They got enough attention last year to last a decade.

But you're talking about the Cubs/Dodgers Japan series. I'm not sure how the White Sox become relevant during a series that baseball clears the decks to highlight. And what does that quote have to do with anything in this conversation? Dodgers wreck pitchers. That's why they literally need to employ 3 times the amount of pitchers as any other team. Seven-year follow-up of white-finger symptoms and radiographic wrist findings in lumberjacks and referents - PubMed

Are you saying that the White Sox should rebel and schedule it's own regulation games in Japan, at the same time, right across the street to distract from the opening series?

Old foe alert:

I liked Moshe Dayan Viciedo

They've been able to take pitchers in rounds 2+ and turn them into major league starters. Once they're able to do that with hitters, they will have a bona fide minor league development system.

This is heartening, but it will be nice if they can get guys like Wolkow, Bonemer, and Saucke hitting like major leaguers.

Old friend alert:

I went to the last Angels' game at Comiskey, this year. The lady in the ticket booth sold us the cheapest tickets in the closed upper deck, and told us to sit where we wanted.

Yes, you can accuse anybody of anything. If you have no connection to the people you're accusing, like what you're alluding to by saying people here abuse their spouses, a police department wouldn't investigate, just based on your word, because you don't have standing, or any evidence that you have credible knowledge of an abusive situation. So, no, you can't just presume that everybody on Earth is guilty of spousal abuse until they prove otherwise. You can hold that nonsensical thought in your head, but nobody would act on or be influenced by it. You're trying to mix a real situation with nonsensical hypotheticals. If Mike Clevenger was so injured by her "false" accusation, that he's losing millions of dollars in earnings, he can certainly take her to court and sue her. Taylor Swift famously counter-sued a DJ claiming he lost his job over her accusation of groping. She counter sued for (and won) one dollar and cleared her own name from being called a liar. Clevenger can easily do that. He chooses not to. Probably because the details of his relationship would then become public, and we would know what MLB knows.

And throw in both Montys, just to get them to take our money.

Apparently, the Sox placed 5 more prospects on ESPN's follow-up, "just missed" list. Anybody pay for the Disney bundle? https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/43599024/top-100-mlb-prospects-2025-kiley-mcdaniel-101-200-rankings-superlatives

I keep reading the title of this thread as the Rays partnering with the Pixies' bassist Kim Deal to boost payroll.

Apparently, the Reds were talking Robert trade up until they signed Hays. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6098787/2025/01/30/reds-white-sox-luis-robert-pujols/?source=user_shared_article

Nobody's asking to trade places. The Sox have developed multiple ace-level pitchers in the recent past. Baltimore can't. They'll be trading places soon enough.

Return was fine. Could have been better.

I'm not sure where you're going with this, and I have a feeling you agree with me on that. Other teams having good farm systems doesn't negate the Sox stepping up and updating their methods. KC and Detroit have sucked for a decade. They better have good farm systems.

Guy barreled in, and basically said that any advancements the Sox are making, everybody's already been doing that. You can't win without good pitching. The Sox have been able to draft and develop good pitching. They've now decided to tighten their focus on developing good pitching. Baltimore hasn't developed an ace-level pitcher this century. As far as their depth chart, it's great to be able to draft top 5 for multiple years in a row. They made it work. After Kjerstad, Mayo and Basallo, they're pretty thin. In the 90's, Cleveland developed and seeded in Sandy Alomar, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Belle, Lofton, Manny. Then, when those guys started leaving, they had Brian Giles and Richie Sexson ready to step up. Then Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore. Baltimore seems to have one class, then 4th OFs. If you haven't realized it, yet, all baseball players grow old and retire. Some hit their prime and regress. It's not a bad thing to trade or let them walk if you have a steady stream of good pitching prospects. Lucas Giolito hasn't helped anybody make the post-season, post-Sox.

2023 was also kind of about that, too. Somebody here thinks Baltimore, and every other team are running circles around us on all fronts, and Baltimore hasn't even developed an ace level pitcher this century. Buehrle, Sale, Cease, Crochet vs. ...... Kevin Gausman???