South Side Hit Men

What have the Cubs done to win over the past several seasons? Sox have had a far better off-season to date. Cubs lost their best hitter and Stroman this offseason, signed an unproven Japanese pitcher. Both teams have won zero playoff series and a single legitimate division since 2016.

A 70 win team isn’t exactly the long term pinnacle I ultimately would like to see. That said, I am happy for: Current players + roster invitees. A new Front Office. Better fundamentals, defense and desire. Being closer to the next championship with Hahn gone; and Jerry + TLR another year closer to being gone. New FO and field management in the organization. It’s not realistic to clean up this toxic mess in a single offseason, especially after what Jerry, Hahn, Kenny and Boyer have done to decimate the fan base over the past 15 years.

This is already my fourth favorite White Sox team over the past 30 years behind in order 2005, 2020 and 2006. They are underrated, will win 70 plus games assuming Cease is here to start the season, and will be a lot more enjoyable to watch on the field and support on and off the field. Disappointed I haven’t found a sports book here to bet over White Sox wins (62-64), but am trying my final few days.

He was during the two periods I listed. I did not list WAR or years during his initial stint after he was acquired by Veeck and Hemond.

Will be heartbreaking for Sheffield if he misses by a few votes. http://www.bbhoftracker.com/2023/11/2024-bbhof-tracker-summary-and-leaderboard/

Hopefully this is a sign they have room to spend on an actual starting RF and perhaps a few other pitchers.

Pretty sure Jerry views that as his pocket money, same if Getz can dump Eloy or Moncada’s deal. Can envision Jerry authorizing a honey trap operation to void Benintendi’s contract. They may be on the road to an eight figure payroll in 2025.

Let’s face it, Benintendi would not have been in the “Benintendi market” if it wasn’t for Hahn’s incompetence.

I appreciate the new to me info on Suarez, and am very happy with Herrera. I am not worried about the second half of the article addressing the delay in announcements. What I believe most White Sox fans are more concerned with is to use all of the available slot money wisely, including young prospects, which has not happened in the past.

Also glad TB was not mentioned.

When I think of old player acquisitions, I think of the Cardinals. And under Hahn, sadly the White Sox.

This is what I’m getting at. Thinking long term vs. grabbing free nickels today and forgoing dollars tomorrow. The Ricketts will profit immensely based on the real estate acquired around the ballpark. Comiskey II is a junk stadium (better / acceptable for free after the significant restructure project) sounded by acres of blacktop.

Part of this is chalked up to having a large market team, but the handful of teams which completely own their own stadium are worth the most. Getting free or near free land plus infrastructure paid for your development of baseball and non baseball revenue generating real estate is the best long term value for a team. JR is too old to have a long term, but his kids would benefit if they owned and operated the stadium, team and TV network, vs. settling for what he can finagle out of politicians and settling for a less than ideal arrangement. MLB Teams which own their stadium (2023 Forbes Franchise Rank & Value) 2 $4.8B Los Angeles Dodgers 3 $4.5B Boston Red Sox 4 $4.1B Chicago Cubs 6 $2.9B New York Mets 10 $2.6B Saint Louis Cardinals 12 $2.2B Texas Rangers 14 $2.0B Toronto Blue Jays 20 $1.5B Colorado Rockies Colorado is the outlier (Toronto dragged down a bit due to the value of the Canadian dollar), and would chalk that up more to inept ownership and management of the team. Steve Cohen purchased both the Mets and the publicly owned stadium in 2020 for $2.4B. The team value is up a half billion per Forbes, and he is planning a $8B development investment around the complex he owns. This is the way to maximize long term value.

Pretty much sums up my view on the two. The two know cases happened immediately before and after Dodgers Fest 2017. One involved choking & biting. Puig paid both off. MLB didn’t suspend him for even a day. The Dodgers wanted to keep Puig’s contract, wanted to dump Bauer’s contract. That is the primary basis of MLB’s decisions in these matters. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/12/13/yasiel-puig-mlb-dodgers-sexual-assault-allegations/ Consistent with Rocky Wirtz’ recollections of his team’s sexual assaults, Stan Kasten feigned amnesia when asked about the situation a few years later.

What the Sox (or any team) should shoot for is to look something like Pirates Stadium, bringing fans closer to the field, especially the Upper Deck seats. You can’t get the same intimate feel as say upper deck seats at the OG Comiskey Park or Tigers Stadium (or Chicago Stadium), but you can do a lot better than even the reconfigured UD at Comiskey Park II. The new Rangers stadium looks terrible, at least on TV, but what they did get right was bringing seating closer to the field. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mlbs-newest-ballpark-is-a-shift-away-from-retro-era-stadiums/

https://www.soxon35th.com/5-free-agent-right-fielders-for-the-white-sox-to-consider/ Still hopeful they pick up a RF with ST approaching. They should be able to get one of the first four listed candidates to provide at least cromulent defense. I do admit being scared Merrifield is still available, though hoping some faux contender like the Mariners find him potentially useful. Article mentions 2B, but I don’t see them adding anything else beyond RF and a potential bench piece, plus more potential bounce back starters and relievers.

Perhaps he’ll win the Michigan award in 2024. Also, James Fegan was robbed, though the New York Times / Athletic pulling gig mid year may have played a role. Still crickets on who will replace Jason.

Bulletproof vests are a must for every dedicated Sox fan heading to Comiskey Park considering Jerry’s security crew.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/mariners-add-danny-farquhar-to-coaching-staff.html Danny spent the three of the past four seasons as Pitching Coach for the White Sox Winston-Salem affiliate, and was promoted last season in the same role for Birmingham. The move to Seattle is a promotion to the Major League level, where he will serve as pitching strategist and assistant pitching coach. Most Sox fans probably remember him for sniffing out the Astros trash can scheme on September 22, 2017, and then having a brain hemorrhage on April 20, 2018. He missed the remainder of the season but returned to baseball for a Yankees affiliate the following season, making two appearances before being released and retiring August 1, 2019 as a player.

A little more information in this piece. https://www.soxon35th.com/report-white-sox-sign-pitcher-jake-woodford-to-milb-deal/

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/white-sox-to-sign-jake-woodford-to-minor-league-deal.html

Remillard passed through waivers and has been assigned to Charlotte. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/white-sox-outright-zach-remillard.html Hope he gets a chance to return if there is a July Deadline fire sale. He is useful since he can cover five positions.

I just don’t think $325M is a smart move even for the Dodgers, whereas if I were a Cubs fan I would be happy with this signing based on the risk reward. If he stays healthy, he will get $15M-$30M more, perhaps up to $50M. That’s where the 5 - 10 Xs comes into play. If the fWAR difference is 1-1.5 per year over the next 2-4 years, the Cubs win out and aren’t stuck, whereas 10 years for a pitching contract rarely if ever is a wise move. Its the same with the Cease trade. The marginal performance difference between acquiring a similar starter in FA is far better than pissing away 2-4 top prospects. The “savings” from Cease’s combined $20M arb years is far less than the contract savings from the six years X the number of prospects you give away. It’s why smart teams trade for prospects and dumb ones like the Sox have consistently traded them for pitchers in their early to mid 30s. Hoping Getz reverses course on this strategery.

in a perfect world on 9/1 Bench Coach or Manager: Maldonado Starting Catcher: Quero Back Up Catchers: Stassi & Lee

Yes, this sounds like 1/3 of what was expected. It’s a low risk savvy deal for the Cubs. Yamamoto is better, but not 5 - 10 Xs better, even factoring for age.