South Side Hit Men

Never underestimate Tony's influence, or Jerry's desire to bring in legit Hall of Famers, regardless of whether they can still contribute. 1/20/84: Chose Tom Seaver (Age 39) from the New York Mets as a free agent compensation pick. 8/12/86: Signed Steve Carlton (Age 41) as a free agent.

If Anaheim eats enough $, I can see this happening. It would be Tony's final bow on his 2021 off-season. How can anyone argue against signing yet another legit Hall of Famer?

He can be an asshat, and whether the writers hold him to it on the ballot is not consistent with the HOF rules. The ballot rules relate to his time as a player, not his post retirement comments or internet postings / blogs. I personally don't believe the BBWAA should be involved in the election process, but sadly it remains a more selective / better process than the garbage Veterans and other committees who have elected nearly all of the poorly qualified inductees. Hell, Jessie Haines has the 306th ranked SP JAWS, behind #305 Gio Fucking HOFer Gonzalez. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/rules/bbwaa-rules-for-election 5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played. Schilling was a borderline hall of famer, Bonds and Clemens the only clear cut based on performance. Bonds and Clemens were HOFers with or without steroids.

I'd say Kent has a much more valid argument than McGriff. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_1B.shtml 54.8 is the average 1B JAWS, lowered by several selections who never should have been inducted (Kelly 24.3; Bottomley 32.0; Chance 40.6; Cepeda 42.3; Perez 45.3; Beckley 45.8). McGriff ranks 31st in JAWS with 44.3. Players ranked ahead of McGriff not in the HOF include the following players: A. Pujols (2) M. Cabrera (10) R. Palmeiro (12) J. Votto (14) T. Helton (15) M. McGwire (17) K. Hernandez (19) J. Olerud (23) J. Giambi (25) W. Clark (26) D. Ortiz (29) M. Teixeira (30) https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_2B.shtml Jeff Kent is 21st in JAWS. Cano and Grich, Utley and Whitaker have better arguments. Kinsler and Pedroia are also ranked ahead of Kent. I wouldn't vote for any of the three, but based on the current watered down standards of the HOF, and several much weaker inductees, Kent does have an argument. This is why I am firmly against the slippery slope. With guys like Harold Baines inducted, you can make a case for hundreds of players who were clearly better.

Schilling told the HOF to take him off next year's ballot, he'll wait for the Veterans Committee to elect him. The three which would have been on my ballot if I had one (Bonds, Clemens and Schilling) were the top three vote recipients. Not sure how they are kept out, yet other Steroids users are already in, and others like Ortiz and ARod will likely be elected. Glad to see Vizquel's votes decline, he is not a HOFer. Buehrle, Hunter and Hudson the only three first year ballot names to make it to year two.

https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-election-results-2021

I disagree with either 2005 or 2020 September slumps being a "choke job". Some fans were fretting on WSI, in 2005 but it wasn't a majority. I didn't think Mariotti was still around in 2005. 2005 was only the third year I felt the Sox had a great shot at winning the World Series (1977 and 1983, when I was young, were the others). I never thought they would lose the Division, and didn't fear any of their playoff opponents (thought Boston would be the most challenging based on their experience coming back against the Yankees and winning the WS. I had disagreements with some of Ricky's calls late last season, but ultimately would blame the late season slide and one and done playoff on lack of starting pitching. Ricky/Rick came up with the Game 3 bullpen game because they literally had no better options for the elimination game. Stone, Ozzie and Frank, among others, blamed it all on Renteria, but it was beyond overboard or accurate, IMO. if Keuchel pitched even halfway decent in Game 2, they advance and have time to prepare Cease and Dunning for at least a 3-4 inning start in the ALDS. I'm still new here, so not sure if game threads in September are representative of how they typically go in a close game, but the threads were painful, win or lose. I hope they turn out better in 2021.

MLB: A Whole Different Ballgame: The Inside Story of the Baseball Revolution, written by Marvin Miller, a Legit Hall of Famer. NHL: Career Misconduct: The Story of Bill Wirtz's Greed Corruption and the Betrayal of Blackhawks' Fans, written by Mark Weinberg I'm waiting for a sequel covering Jerry Reinsdorf by Weinberg.

Yep J. T. Realmuto $23.1M per year James McCann $10,1M per year

He's wrong on pizza (Chicago is the best, but Giordano's or Lo Malnati's are not the best options). Will Tony sign Edwin Jackson if Wainright falls through?

Matt Spiegel had a good segment Hour 3 today (should be up to listen online shortly) worth a listen regarding both the DH/Playoff "negotiations" and the what very well have been a letter drafted by Rob Manfred's office signed by the Arizona mayors, the same mayors who are hosting indoor NBA and NHL games with fans. The NBA, NHL and NFL sought to maximize games played, regardless of fan attendance. MLB for a second straight season is attempting to minimize games played, except of course for playoff games where they keep nearly every penny and players are paid a pittance. The NBA, NHL and NFL implements rule and roster changes to enhance fan enjoyment and protect player safety. MLB owners prefer putting a weaker product on the field (pitchers hitting) which makes for a weaker product and also exposes highly paid pitchers to injury when the bat and run the bases. Ode to MLB and those who are running it into the ground.

Yes, and I'm pointing out why the Sox have had one window where they were consistently competitive, whereas the Cardinals are typically competitive year in and out, despite similar payrolls. Chicago White Sox Average Drafted fWAR (Total fWAR drafted / # of GM seasons) 1971-1985 (Roland Hemond): 12.9 1986 (Hawk Harrelson): 2.2 1987-1990 (Larry Himes): 63.4 1991-2000 (Ron Schueler): 13.3 2001-2012 (Kenny Williams): 15.6 2013-2020 (Rick Hahn): Drafted 15 total fWAR over first four drafts (2013-2016). Saint Louis Cardinals Average Drafted fWAR (Total fWAR drafted / # of GM seasons) 1985-1994 Dal Maxvill 22.5 1995-2007 Walt Jocketty 33.5 2008-2012 John Mozeliak 23.4 (Same cutoff as Hahn - John drafted 49.4 total fWAR and counting (2013-2016). Between the Cubans and improvements since Hahn's revamp of the scouting the past few seasons, there is reason for optimism the White Sox can compete consistently. They still need to improve with developing catchers / position players. I'm hopeful Katz will pay significant dividends on the pitching side. Giolito is the primary success story the past decade, and he had to reach outside of the organization to do so.

It was the best of times It was the worst of times Thanks for the good memories Gordon!

The Bottom Line is Jerry really doesn't give a rats ass if there is a season or not in 2021, 2022, 2023 or beyond. If the White Sox "multi championship window" closes without a single game being played, Jerry does not care, and will not risk a single penny to make it happen. He and his fellow owners rather have no baseball (COVID and the CBA) than have baseball not strictly on their terms. He was perfectly fine cancelling 1994, and if Sonia Sotomayor didn't b****slap the owners in 1995, there may have been multiple additional cancelled seasons / World Series. Matt Spiegel stated the rumored date for allowing partial fan capacity into Chicago Stadiums is August 1st. Jerry Reinsdorf and Tom Rickets, and most other owners want zero baseball before then. They also don't care about the integrity of the season, which is why they continue to pimp a farcical 16 team playoffs and a 60 game regular season, when an 100-120 game season would have worked the same last year, and a 162 game season would work in 2021.

Not to mention the Phoenix Suns, offering single, partial or full season tickets for games going on right now. Indoor games with fans = Safe Outdoor games with or without fans = Unsafe

Bud Selig tops the world in terms of Steroid liars. "I never even heard about them [steroids] until 1998 or 1999. I ran a team and nobody was closer to their players and I never heard any comment from them. It wasn't until 1998 or '99 that I heard the discussion."

Himes / Goldis had excellent drafts. Of course Reinsdorf shittcanned them ASAP. The other years? It’s been mostly bad. https://mlbdraftanalyzer.wordpress.com/white-sox/

All inputs are known, disclosed and quantifiable for bWAR (Baseball Reference), fWAR (Fan Graphs) or WARP (Baseball Prospectus). There are no judgments used, no non quantifiable components. Also, trades are based on projected WAR, which are predictions based on prior stats. Teams have their own even more metrics and data they use to predict future player production. Typically, the 50th percentile projections are published for the public WAR projections, but there is a wide range of possible outcomes. Teams differ on whether a player will out-perform or under-perform projected WAR.

You forgot Cali Sox flipping his one inch long middle finger avatar in this montage.

Not complaining or trying to attack you. All I said was you were cherry picking a few weaknesses but overall the White Sox still have a ways to go to catch the Astros 2017 team. The reason I am stating they are a super team is the fact they won 107, 103 and 101 games the past three full seasons, and appeared in four straight league championship series. Consider the White Sox have never won 101 games in their entire history, and won two pennants in the past century. How rare is this accomplishment? MLB Teams with 3 Consecutive 100 Win Seasons (1901-2020) 2017-2019 Houston Astros (COVID snuffed out a chance at a four peat) 2002-2004 New York Yankees 1997-1999 Atlanta Braves 1969-1971 Baltimore Orioles (Expansion) 1942-1944 Saint Louis Cardinals (World War II) 1929-1931 Philadelphia Athletics MLB Teams with 4 or More Consecutive League Championship Appearances (1969-2020) 2017-2020 Houston Astros (1 World Series Championship, 1 AL Pennant) 2011-2014 Saint Louis Cardinals (1 World Series, 1 Pennant) 1998-2001 New York Yankees (3 World Series Championships, 1 AL Pennant) 1991-1999 Atlanta Braves (1 World Series, 3 NL Pennants) (1994 cancelled - thank you Jerry) 1971-1975 Oakland Athletics (3 World Series Championships) Note: The NY Giants (1921-1924) and NY Yankees (1936-1939; 1949-1953; 1955-1958 and 1960-1964) the two teams who reached four + consecutive WS pre LCS era. I'd call Houston's reaching both lists the result of being a Super Team.

The Pirates have won 77 more games than the White Sox since Rick Hahn was promoted to GM. However, the Sox should have the upper-hand the next 3-5 seasons. Long term, Pittsburgh won more World Series than the Sox (2-1) during my lifetime. Both teams are in desperate need of new ownership. At least Pittsburgh has two other well run professional teams to support.

What’s garbage is trash fact you can’t realize the fact the Astros were far more talented heading into the season, came into the season with far more depth to fill any holes at their disposal, and were willing to pick up players like a Verlander with $28M salaries to be a legitimate WS contender for years to come. The Dodgers are run the same way, the Padres and Mets are making efforts to compete at that level. They weren’t dumpster diving for one year rentals (Parrot, Eaton, Mazara), clipping coupons, and trading international bonus money to dump a few hundred thousand in player salary. There is ZERO possibility a Reinsdorf owned team would ever pick up an Ace option with a contract like Verlander’s. The entire world knows it, whether or not you choose to accept it.

Talk about cherry picking. Houston Astros 2017 fWAR https://www.fangraphs.com/teams/astros/stats?season=2017 Lineup fWAR (33.8): Altuve 7.6; Correa 5.1; Springer 4.5; Gonzalez 4.0; Bregman 3.5; Reddick 3.4; McCann 2.6; Gurriel 1.7; Marisnick 1.4 SP fWAR (12.2): Morton 3.1; Peacock 2.9; McCullers Jr. 2.8; Keuchel 2.3; McHugh 1.1 (Verlander 1.0 not counted) Chicago White Sox 2021 projected fWAR https://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&type=fangraphsdc&team=4&lg=all&players= Lineup fWAR (23.1): Grandal 4.2; Robert 3.5; Moncada 3.5; Jimenez 3.3; Anderson 2.6; Madrigal 2.4; Abreu 1.8; Eaton 1.5; Collins 0.3 SP fWAR (12.5): Giolito 4.2; Lynn 3.0; Keuchel 2.6; Cease 1.5; Kopech 1.2 Will some players exceed their projections? Likely, though some will also fall short. Astros staff bolstered by Verlander, a Cy Young pitcher. Don't see the White Sox ever swimming in those waters under current ownership, which is why realistic current speculation of a final piece revolves around 40 year old soft tosser who pitched for Tony decades ago, and the key 2021 acquisition after Hahn proclaimed "our team is on the floor" is a one year rental of a #2 SP. Hahn's playing with one man short Hoosers analogy is apt, at least when expectations go beyond possibly winning an extremely weak division and actually contending for a World Series. There is a reason all seven Central playoff teams were b****slapped in Round 1 last season upon facing legitimate MLB teams. let alone super teams like the 2017 Astros. Note - Updated total fWAR Lineup total for Astros.

Where is the money going to come from? Would you sign him and let Lucas and or Anderson walk? If Lynn is "super solid", or even just solid, he will get a significant bump in salary ($15M +,) at age 35. May also take 2-3 years as well. if Keuchel doesn't vest for 2023 (needs to reach 160 IP each of the next two seasons), it might work. I'm hoping Keuchel is down several weeks at some point to avoid vesting. If Keuchel vests, the Sox are near $60M in 2023 for mid 30s plus Grandal, Keuchel and Lynn alone, nearly half the current payroll. And the core (Eloy, Tim, Lucas. Luis, Yoan), the reason the team is actually considered a contender at this point, will be paid much more. The math doesn't work, just like the math never made sense to pursue Machado, Springer, Bauer, etc.. Unless there is a change in ownership (JR is 84, theoretically not immortal), or the Sox strike lightening like 16 years ago and win a WS and jack up subsequent ticket sales and payrolls (Sox were 5th in MLB 2006-2008), the Sox can't afford Lynn through 2023/24. It's the reason why I would have preferred they kept Dunning and signed a Quintana or other similarly priced FA. If they don't get Cease and/or Kopech to step up to be a #2 or #3, it's not likely they win a WS anyway.

Wainright pitched horrible on the road, was solid at Busch and against crappy Central Division teams. He will be exposed at Comiskey II, losing Molina's magic sticky juices, and by AL hitters. His K and HR rates are weak. There is a reason all teams including the Cardinals are not offering him much. Lester is a good comparison for where Wainright is at this point, and I wouldn't want him either.