South Side Hit Men

See, Jerry is spending money this offseason. Unfortunately, it is being spent on cronies and greasing the skids in the Arizona Criminal Justice System.

Well at least LaRussa was blocked at bring in his veterinarian friend to coordinate analytics.

https://www.mlb.com/news/james-mccann-free-agent-catcher-ranks Article goes into his free agent prospects, and specifics regarding improvements in pitch framing which resulted in him ranking among the top 2020 catchers in baseball. Wishes for continued success be it here or elsewhere in 2021 and beyond.

Per the Sun Times article, by Daryl Van Schouwen, it may be announced this week, and McEwing, who played for LaRussa for two seasons, could coach 3B again. BC Cairo 1B Boston 3B McEwing P Katz BP Hasler H Menechino H Asst ???

Well, you claimed ignorance about financial information, there is plenty of evidence for both record revenue and decreasing salaries, articles written the past 2-3 off-seasons. Non of my comments were about this offseason, but pre-COVID periods. Forbes is a good source for information regarding baseball finances. There are a few good articles on Baseball Prospectus (subscription based), Jeff Passan also covered the situation well last off-season. I'll link a couple below: January 2018 - Here's why baseball's economic system might be broken November 2019 - Union chief's rebuke of GM heats up baseball's cold war over free agency Also, we (the correct use of the word, unlike the "we" used by Sox fans as if they are players or front office employees) are here to discuss baseball. If you chalk up discussions to "spitting into the wind" not sure why you are here, or at least engaging in discussions you admittedly do not follow / have little knowledge.

Not. "Beyond a shadow of a doubt" is not the threshold for proving collusion, owners have lost their case multiple times in the past, and if Tony Clark was competent he would have filed a grievance for the past few off-seasons.

The answer is not much, see below. That's why I voted tender and yes, and TLR is a pathetic drunk. But would much rather sign someone next week if the Sox are looking to cut ties with Mazara. Boyer is the only one talking to media these days since the Tony LaRussa hostage crises began. Outfield Free Agents per MLB excluding players with a projected fWAR under 1.0. Nomar Mazara 2021 Projection: (Jake Cave ahead of him ha ha). Also, 22 HRs (fWAR = ha ha ha ha) Name Team G PA AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI BB SO HBP SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS wOBA Fld BsR WAR Jake Cave Twins 122 470 426 109 25 5 17 60 62 34 141 6 3 2 .256 .318 .458 .775 .325 -6.9 -0.5 1.1 Nomar Mazara White Sox 129 523 475 120 23 2 22 62 70 38 126 5 3 1 .253 .312 .448 .760 .318 -1.6 -0.1 1.0 Bold is 2021 fWAR projection MLB Free Agent List WAR Projections Left Field: Michael Brantley (34 years old, 5.5 2020 MLB WAR) 2.0; Jackson Profar (28, 2.7) 1.9; Brett Gardner (37, 4.2) 1.1 Center Field: Jackie Bradley Jr. (31, 2.8) 1.4 Right Field: Adam Eaton (32, 1.9) 2.0; Hunter Renfroe (29, 1.5) 1.7; Yasiel Puig (30, 1.2) 1.6 From this list, don't like Brantley/Gardner (old) or Eaton (assclown). Profar, Bradley Jr. and Renfroe are left among possibilities, Puig is a wild card gamble and can also be seen as disruptive. Bradley Jr. would be my primary target for his defense and ability to play CF.

There have been several seasons of collusion through last year. It's why Reinsdorf squealed like he was Ned Beatty in Deliverance during the Cohen ownership vote, in a desperate attempt to keep out any owner who would actually have the audacity to put a competitive team on the field. It's the same reason he successfully blocked Mark Cuban's ownership bid. Thankfully, Reinsdorf is among the dying breed who no longer hold majority sway in the game, just as his kind was phased out of the majority view in the NBA a decade earlier.

If he's non tendered, worth a shot for the White Sox, and a chance for Kris to reclaim some of his value entering next year. Think injuries played a big role, coupled with a short sample size. Also like he can back up Moncada and play RF. Much rather have Bryant than Pederson or Springer, the latter due to the large $s and years likely required to sign.

I don’t want any players who played for LaRussa in Saint Louis (Lynn, Pujols, Molina or Wainwright).

Nice thread @CaliSoxFanViaSWside ! Wishing everyone here a Happy Thanksgiving full of food, family, friends and fun. Also, thanks to the Staff and Owners, who operate the site. I'm new here, was a long time poster on WSI, looking forward to hopefully the best decade of White Sox baseball!

The bottom line, not just for Kopech, but for the entire off-season is this. If the Sox plug a couple holes by trading away their top 2-3 prospects, they are not being serious enough to legitimately compete for a World Series. Not saying they need to sign Bauer or Springer, but if they don't bring in 2-4 solid players this off-season, the same depth issues that plagued them last year will again this year.

Never Robert Jiminez Child Please Giolito Anderson Moncada Abreu Needs to be a top 10 player package Kopech Vaughn Crochet

That's silly, that would never happen. Oh wait, it already happened. https://www.mlb.com/news/welington-castillo-suspended-for-positive-test-c278113032 Wasn't on this board for this signing and suspension, didn't understand at the time why he was signed when they were "tanking", especially with a contract higher than McCann will likely see this off-season during the COVID plus Collusion 6.0 free agent period.

I just find it amusing his numbers are similar to Kenny Williams. Times were so tough last year, fans were begging for Engel over Mazara. Don't get me wrong, he is a valuable reserve player and love his defense, just not an everyday player. Would love for Robert and Jimenez to match their Jones/Belle comps. Tim Anderson was the hardest to match, if you back out Desmond's last few years his average oWAR would be similar. I believe Tim Anderson will age better / put up better numbers in his late 20s and early 30s than Desmond. So glad the Sox kept him at short, never ever wanted Machado based on the Sox' roster.

Can someone more familiar with Fan Graphs explain why Morton wasn't listed as a Top 50 Free Agent, or have a projected contract value, despite the fact his projected 2021 Projected WAR is 12th among free agents? https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/free-agent-tracker Wonder if they will update their tracker and add projections after non-tenders are announced, assuming players with significant WAR projections may be dropped this year in significant numbers for the first time. Specific comment for this signing, it is $3.9M less than qualifying offers for Stroman (29) and Gausman (30), both with similar projected 2021 WAR. Assuming a somewhat reasonable market for Top 20 talent, it's a reasonable bargain for the Braves.

Hahn would work for more stable ownership (expected duration and operationally), would have a significantly higher long term payroll to work with post COVID, and have no owner interference regarding the day to day within the set baseball ops budget. Hahn has a chance to grow beyond what he was allowed to oversee with the White Sox. Tony LaRussa is not formally above Hahn on the org chart, but likely has a higher influence with Jerry on any major decision. Also, a new ownership group will bring their own people within a year of taking ownership, and Jerry is a few years from 90. I expect Hahn to stay at this point, since he did not step down last month, likely for the opportunity to see things through despite what occurred. I also don't see Jerry granting Hahn permission to interview with the Cubs. COVID & industry job cuts slows down a front office mass exodus in spite of the disgust Jerry sowed across the entire organization.

Hoyer stated the Cubs GM position remains open, they are considering outside candidates. Could be a solid long term spot for Hahn after what has transpired this off-season.

Stats & WAR based on 162 Game Averages per season. C Yasmani Grandal (26/2 HR/SB; .240/.348/.445; 3.4 oWAR; 0.6 dWAR) vs. Mickey Tettleton (27/3 HR/SB; .241/.369/.449; 3.8 oWAR; -0.4 dWAR) 1B Jose Abreu (33/2 HR/SB; .294/.350/.520; 4.3 oWAR; -1.3 dWAR) vs. Travis Hafner (29/2 HR/SB; .273/.376/.498; 3.5 oWAR; -1.3 dWAR) 2B Nick Madrigal (0/11 HR/SB; .340/.376/.369; 1.7 oWAR; 1.1 dWAR) vs. Placido Polanco (9/7 HR/SB; .297/.343/.397; 2.3 oWAR; 1.7 dWAR) SS Tim Anderson (21/21 HR/SB; .281/.308/.443; 3.7 oWAR; 0.4 dWAR) vs. Ian Desmond (20/20 HR/SB; .263/.315/.427; 2.3 oWAR; -0.2 dWAR) 3B Yoan Moncada (23/10 HR/SB; .260/.335/.448; 3.6 oWAR 0.0 dWAR) vs. Howard Johnson (24/24 HR/SB; .249/.340/.446; 3.4 oWAR; -0.8 dWAR) RF Adam Engel (9/12 HR/SB; .222/.276/.343; 0.3 oWAR 0.5 dWAR) vs. GM Kenny Williams (10/18 HR/SB; .218/.269/.339; -0.8 oWAR; 0.5 dWAR) CF Luis Robert (32/26 HR/SB; .233/.302/.436; 2.3 oWAR 2.9 dWAR) vs. Andruw Jones (32/11 HR/SB; .254/.337/.486; 2.9 oWAR 1.8 dWAR) LF Eloy Jimenez (41/0 HR/SB; .276/.321/.527; 3.5 oWAR -1.8 dWAR) vs. Albert Belle (40/9 HR/SB; .295/.369/.564; 4.9 oWAR; -1.3 dWAR)

Paul Sullivan was on with Laurence Holmes and shared my opinion that Jerry was going to hire "his guy" regardless of what the Sox did in Oakland, and that it was made before the Cleveland series. I don't think Rick or Kenny had a say in the firing or hiring, and think Rick Renteria would have returned in 2021 if Jerry didn't intercede. 32:45-35:25 mark for discussion regarding the entire debacle. https://www.radio.com/670thescore/podcasts/laurence-holmes-on-670-the-score-61/holmes-paul-sullivan-interview-hour-1-350531224

It would depend on what was given up for Musgrove. Would personally prefer Bradley Jr for his defense / ability to play CF as needed. Quintana the only FA in this class less likely to come with Cooper gone. I don't see the White Sox signing any top tier FAs, perhaps Colome and a SP and/or RF at a Collusion 4.0 / COVID market discount. Jerry is more concerned with COVID and crushing the Players Union / CBA than winning anything.. An additional component is whether fans can even attend, or if the owners I planning to knock off 80-100 games off the schedule once again. I don't pay attention to what Portillo's, Al's Beef, SuperDawg, Maxwell Street Polish, Au Cheval, Mr. Beef, Tastee-Freez, Maxwell Street Polish, Red Hot Ranch or Wiener Circle are tweeting. .

Didn't matter, because the Sox haven't done much with the draft during that period. The Cubs picked directly behind the Sox in 2015 and 2016, when the Sox were "trying" but sucking anyway. The Sox picked Rodon and Fulmer, the Cubs following took Schwarber and Happ. The changes in the scouting / drafting area have improved the last three years (Madrigal, Vaughn and Crochet), not sure the White Sox would have done better finishing any worse than they did, Not sure if they will regress once again with the scouting cuts Jerry implemented.

Bill Veeck owned the White Sox for seven years, winning the AL Pennant (one of the two they have won in the past 100 years), and saving the team from moving to Seattle. He also loved fans and players, and left the White Sox with a great young core and excellent management with his hire of Roland Hemond. In forty years, Jerry Reinsdorf won a single pennant and threatened to move to Tampa if he didn't get hundreds of millions of dollars for his capital costs, and he detests fans and most players. Jerry Reinsdorf fired Roland Hemond, despite his 1983 Division title, with "his guy" Hawk Harrelson. Hawk's season was a complete mess. The one move Hawk did that was correct, shit-canning Tony LaRussa, was undone by Jerry this off-season. He was the main reason 1994 was cancelled, the White Sox' second best team in 40 years.

Baseball Prospectus Scouting Report: Arizona Fall League Scouting Report from October 2019. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/article/54685/notes-from-the-field-still-live-in-arizona-spencer-howard-more/ Emilio Vargas, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks Vargas’ slider looked a lot more polished than it did when I last saw him at Visalia over the summer. Shifting shapes from 77 to 84, the pitch fooled many hitters, and he messed with timing with impressive finesse. His command has improved, as well, and he threw a 92-93 fastball mostly for strikes. The way the fastball leaves his hand is deceptive to hitters, as it has a lot of life to it and it moves more than it looks like it’s going to. Encouraging look. – Jen Mac Ramos

It's been a long time since long suffering Mets fans like myself (the Montreal Expos are my second favorite team, Mets third) can say that. While Paul Konerko is one of Jerry Reinsdorf's favorite players, his all time favorite, and the reason Jerry celebrates March 15th more than his birthday, is Adam LaRoche.