South Side Hit Men

What is silly is the flaming bags of dog poo flung this week by many of the who supported the high priced morbidly obese s%*# Hahn signed throughout ten years, spending less that what Hahn paid for a season of Parrot. Well that and the Assclowns who praised Rick Hahn for the Carriesque like GM of the Year Award for finishing third in the AL Central and signing the aforementioned on their last MLB contracts.

For me it was before 2020 when they pissed away $145M on Grandal, Keuchel and Parrot, which I knew would end in tragedy and handcuff any legitimate additions in the future. Tony La Russa plus the Kimbrel and Steak Dinner deals plus extension put a fork in any White Sox “multi championship window”.

It’s $1.75M plus up to a potential $1M in performance bonuses. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/white-sox-agree-to-one-year-deal-with-chris-flexen.html I remember him as a Mets prospect. He was a rotation piece / end starter for the Mariners last year but flamed out and then Colorado picked him up for the league minimum. He had a 3.4 bWAR in 2021, and 1.2 bWAR in 2022, so there has been recent success. Perhaps Bannister saw something in him. I’m five with these type of gambles and hope a few blossom next season. Ironically Brian Bannister is third in terms of similarity scores with Chris Flexen. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/flexech01.shtml

There is also a third year option if he opts in for 2025: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/red-sox-in-agreement-with-lucas-giolito.html I’m still somewhat patiently waiting for the vesting option details included in the Maldonado deal.

I believe they will bring a few more bullpen guys in, hopefully one more SP and a playable starting RFer before Spring Training. They can’t credibly preach defense and go to Sheets as the starting RFer, so I believe they will get someone fungible who can at least catch baseballs and not injure Robert like Eloy could/would. I ignore the manager like most of the players do. I’m thinking he is gone by Memorial Day if they have a similar start to 2023. They only kept him because Jerry does not want to pay three guys to stay at home all year. I believe strongly there will be a new manager in 2025 unless there is a miraculous turnaround for both Pedro personally and as a team (75+ wins).

Damn, I hate Boston the most but will be pulling for Lucas to have a great year and then leave.

If they do not receive a viable OF in a Cease trade, I would be OK with Michael A. Taylor, Joey Gallo or Adam Duvall for a 1 year deal, perhaps an option / buyout for 2025. Assuming one of these may take a deal here without an overpay if the Sox are the only team able to offer them a starting gig on Opening Day. I like Taylor best because he can best cover CF, Duvall can as well, though not sure if he can cover 100 games at this stage. They also need a 4th OF capable of covering both CF and RF. For the bench they can go Remillard to cover 3B and OF, and perhaps go with Jonathan Davis or Billy Hamilton for their ability to cover defensively CF and RF. Obviously the above is what a team trying to survive, not thrive, over 162 would do. Teoscar for a 1 year prove it deal or Gallo would be the best two options for a starter, covering a CF backup in a separate transaction. Sox may go for the two for one option to save $ like Celozzi-Ettleson.

The latest details: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39198087/rays-wander-franco-no-shows-agency-summons-dr

My take on how I interpret, but not saying this is universal. I believe the first four are straight forward for most, and the final three can be open for interpretation. Perhaps a pinned explanation post for how these are meant to be taken would help everyone be on the same page. Thank you Thank you in general, perhaps for a complement or other message directed toward you / response to your quote. I also use as a "Thank You" concurrence agreeing with the view point. Laughing Meant to reward a funny post. Some may use sarcastically, but I rarely if never used it in this manner. Love Complete acceptance / appreciation / agreement / love of a post. Fire Signifying the post or poster is on fire - used to praise. Also denotes a hot take. Hawk Signifying Sox to the nth degree. Hawk would take a bullet for the Sox. Your emoji nods your head in respect for this post. Also see additional uses such as indicating the post is an example of Hawk's viewpoint regarding the game of baseball (TWTW, Baseball Card Stats, Bitching at Umpires) and also for a post with shade thrown at his at times nemesis Steve Stone. I stretch the boundaries concurring with a meatball take from a Sox perspective against an A. L. Central opponent, or the Yankees, hated by all of mankind. Tony This emoji can be the most critical of a post or thought. Indicates a post containing a 19th or 20th century mindset about baseball or the world we live in. A Tony emoji indicates you may have posted something wrong and perhaps you should consider editing, deleting, and changing your way of thought. However, I have also used it to concur with posts critical of Tony - Damn straight that was a Tony thing that just happened. Paperbag To be this could be a dual use, but I am not sure if there was prior use here for better context. I see at as noting embarrassment as a fellow Sox fan for the latest dumb thing the Sox did (performance, transaction, statement, etc) called out in the post.

WTF? Hal was 12 when Jerry purchased the White Sox. George stepped down in 2007. Jerry Reinsdorf has owned the White Sox longer than any current MLB, NHL, NBA or NFL owner except the Bruins owner (Jeremy jacobs). Jerry outlasted three generations of Wirtz since his purchase (Arthur, Bill and Rocky).

Was saying Zavala at 30 has little to no upside in terms of improvement. Will like to see what they have to say about the signing and which catcher (or other player) they drop. Wonder if they discussed a coaching role, which I would be open for Maldonado to learn the ropes. Just not going to fret about stopgaps until Quero arrives. If he is ready and blocked beyond brief start of season service time manipulation, I will be critical. Lee will be destroyed if he was one of 2-3 options, and cannot become even a marginal bench player. Granted small sample size, but his OPS (.323 96 PA) is lower than Cease (.875 8 PA), Giolito (.333 20 PA) and many other pitchers when that was a thing. Will end with fun with numbers: Home Runs 2022-2023 34 Eloy Jimenez (748 AB) 30 Martin Maldonado (786 AB) 23 Yoan Moncada (790 AB) 13 Yasmani Grandal (690 AB) 10 Andrew Benintendi (1,023 AB) 7 Tim Anderson (825 AB)

It’s possible, but I don’t think Lee will ever be a viable MLB hitter. I liked how Zavala developed defensively the past few years, but he is 30 with a .622 OPS. One could argue you keep him with One of the two guys they acquired for 2024, but obviously Getz wanted him gone as he was one of the first DFAs after he took charge. Quero will be working with a few pitchers coming up. Butera and the Charlotte coaches need to spend significant time preparing Quero. Also should have a solid smart backup catcher in place for 60 starts a year once Quero is up.

I’m fine with Stassi, Lee, Maldonado as a transition 1-2 seasons until the standards can be raised. I’m not fine if this is the threshold / bar until Jerry is dead. The only way out of this mess is years of quality drafts, intl’ signings, future trades and a vast improvement in how players are developed throughout the roster. The only way out is for Edgar Quero to develop well over the next two years, and for the Sox to continue to acquire and develop quality catcher internally so we have an internal pipeline and not rely on washed up catchers in their 30s like the Sox have the past three seasons. Can this happen under Jerry / Getz? I have slim hope, but will give it a chance. Could this happen under Jerry / Hahn? Zero point zero chance. That is where I am at as a Sox fan heading into 2024.

Yes, and teams with revenue sharing get near this amount before counting a penny of local broadcast, stadium or other revenue. CWS’s comments as disingenuous as Peter Angelos and the kids fighting over his soon to be corpse claiming they can’t afford to field a legitimate contending team. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mlb-insider-calls-out-orioles-owner-over-recent-revenue-comments/ar-AA1fWNJ3 That point remains that teams have the financial resources to field WS in most seasons, but many rather book guaranteed massive profits, no matter how much fans like him through a tantrum and whine life is unfair and there is no parity in MLB, which is completely absurd.

Stealth signing of another one. In all fairness, the Sox had no viable catchers in their system until the July trades with Anaheim and Houston. Glad they returned the role of catching coach this season after a one year hiatus after Jerry Narron left when Tony stepped down as manager.

White Sox season ticket holders will mingle with Jerry Reinsdorf, Tony La Russa and other dinosaurs at the Field Museum. Carl Everett is not expected to attend.

Dominican Republic laws are stricter in this area, with 18 the age of consent with no “Romeo & Juliet” exemption. https://www.ageofconsent.net/world/dominican-republic Wander would have been exempt under Florida law if the reported victims were 16 or 17, but not for at least one of the victims who was 14. Glad societal acceptance of this has started to wane starting in 1950s - 1970s, though 40 of 50 states still allow minors to get married.

Congratulations on the big news! What a way to end the year.

He was ordered to report for questioning tomorrow morning.

Will be interesting what Hoskins gets. The Phillies passed on a QO for him. Bellinger would be a significant add, though if any other teams are in on him the final deal will likely end up an albatross beyond a few seasons. The Angels, possibly SF, are the only other teams possibly in on him at this point, so they have a good chance on reclaiming him if he wants to return. The QO also doesn’t help his options, nor the Yankees and Blue Jays going with other alternatives.

It has been a tough start to the offseason a few miles north. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/free-agent-tracker?&nteam=CHC

Sox fans would be far more happy if they ignore every single word Chuck Garfein says or thinks. Nobody else here or in the real world is discussing that. And tanking in the other two sports means losing on purpose for a top pick. When most people talk about tanking in MLB, they mean pulling the plug on spending, not trying to get a higher draft pick. The other two sports have a somewhat tight league minimum spend floor so it’s not as relevant.

You still need to field some type of roster, and $4M per guy over six isn’t a big outley. They hopefully will add a few more players. Still an improvement depth wise vs. Hahn spending $55M on Welington Castillo ($16M), Kelvin Herrera ($18M), Yonder Alonso ($17M) and John Jay ($4M) during tanking in 2017-2019.

I’m expecting about a 1/3, perhaps a few more pan out at varying levels of competency. Just stating the starting point after Getz took over. There are a few other players I left off because I don’t think they’ll amount to much if they reach the majors, hoping one or two can surprise. The key is pitching, can the current minor league group form a #1-3 or #2-4 portion of a good, not great, rotation, and can a Cease trade and/or others bolster those odds, plus anyone else they acquire internationally or the next two drafts. I’m hoping the organization can also better develop younger pitchers over the next few years than what we have witnessed the past few.