South Side Hit Men

Cues 52nd Street. Side One, Track Two, 1978.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/cardinals-kyle-gibson-agree-to-deal.html 1 Year / $10M, so at least $1M less than Lynn since Lynn has a $1M buyout ($12M 2025 club option) and also up to $3M of performance incentives. Cardinals at about $170M, or only several million under 2023 payroll, an amount President John Mozeliak stated "will not rise substantially".

6 of 10 general viewers and over 2/3 of younger viewers use streaming and over the air broadcast to watch TV, and these numbers will continue to increase while cable will continue to decrease. If MLB wants to stop the bleeding and perhaps start attracting young sports viewers, eliminating blackouts needs to be the number one accomplishment within the next couple of years while there is still a viewership to salvage. Put at least a subset of your broadcasts on over the air. Do not keep future generations of fans out of sight / out of mind for a few crumbs today like Jerry and Eddie did 40 years ago, turning a Chicago 50/50 split into 67/33 today.

The White Sox have been serving Jive Turkeys for Thanksgiving since 1981 r Th

Moncada, DeJong, Lopez & Vaughn. How about Moustakas, DeJong, Lopez & Sheets from left to right?

Gallo would have made sense when they were trying to compete, though he could be flipped in July. Merrifield makes zero sense under any circumstances (tank, rebuild, compete) at any position, really hope that doesn’t happen. The Sox shouldn’t acquire players over 30 beyond pitching inning eaters to get them through their upcoming tanking seasons, and a defensive / game managing catcher because pitchers they cobble together will really need help the next few years and they don’t have adequate catchers on the roster. Still rather have them play their young infielders and not acquire guys like Nicky Lopez, Paul DeJong and certainly not Whit Merrifield or Salvador Perez.

Also hates rookies: Hall of Fame Baseball Person and now White Sox Senior Consultant / Jerry Whisperer until death (Tony’s or Jerry’s).

“You are going to like this guy.” - TLR 1.0 12/8/20 Lance Lynn (Saint Louis 2011-2017) 2.0 1/15/21 Liam Hendriks (TLR Animal Shelter) - OK, he was right on this one, but no TLR baseball connection) 3.0 3/30/21 Jake Lamb (Arizona 2014-2020) 4.0 6/10/21 Brian Goodwin (Los Angeles Angels 2019-2020) 5.0 7/10/21 Lance Lynn (Saint Louis 2011-2017) 6.0 12/1/21 Leury Garcia (White Sox 2021) 7.0 3/14/22 Joe Kelly (Saint Louis 2012-2014) 8.0 4/12/22 A. J. Pollock (Arizona 2012-2018) 9.0 11/??/23 Paul DeJong (Saint Louis 2014-2023)

Tony La Russa is still the boss, and always gets his guys. Getz focuses on Royals. Together, they are an impressive duo.

Just finished this podcast, pretty much encapsulates what I feel at this point. Nothing necessarily new covered, but a solid synopsis of the past month, three months and three years. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/house-of-l-podcast/id1392670680?i=1000634554284 Please return baseball to its rightful place in Montreal!

The Braves have a solid front office. I agree with you Bummer should be good or better, defended him last year here, one of the few here. Cardinals have a solid farm system, their FA signings have been mixed. Part of that is they spend mid market, though like all but a couple clubs roll go big on the right guy. Seems like a “get a lower cost guy who will eat innings, hope he can be salvaged” type of deal. Would have looked elsewhere, but he brings them cost certainty why they pursue actual players who can help in the playoffs like Nola.

Outfielders can't catch most home runs without a trampoline or jet pack. SP Allowing 1.5 + HR per 9 innings (Qualified Pitchers) 2.16 Lance Lynn 2.00 Lucas Giolito 1.98 Jordan Lyles 1.78 JP Sears 1.65 Patrick Corbin Bottom 5 xERA (Qualified Pitchers) 6.16 Patrick Corbin 5.41 Miles Mikolas 5.03 Jordan Lyles 4.96 Dean Kremer 4.86 Lance Lynn

My Ballots: BBWAA Carlos Beltran Adrian Beltre Todd Helton Andruw Jones Joe Mauer Alex Rodriguez Contemporary Era Davey Johnson Ed Montague Ford Frick Gary Cohen Jacques Doucet

28 players met the criteria, 26 players listed on the 2024 ballot. Baseball Writers HOF Ballot 2023 Vote % Primary Position Player Ballot # (JAWS) Games Played by Club Average HOF JAWS: C (16) 44.2; 1B (24) 53.4; 2B (20) 57.0; 3B (16) 55.8; SS (23) 55.4; LF (21) 53.4; CF (19) 58.1; RF (28) 56.7; SP (66) 61.4; RP (8) 29.7 72.2% 1B Todd Helton 6th (54.2 15th) Colorado 2,247 68.1% RP Billy Wagner 9th (24.9 6th) Houston 464; New York N. L. 183; Philadelphia 120; Atlanta 71; Boston 15. 58.1% CF Andruw Jones 7th (54.6 11th) Atlanta 1,761; New York A. L. 171; Chicago A. L. 107; Texas 82; Los Angeles N. L. 75 55.0% RF Gary Sheffield 10th (49.3 24th) Florida 558; Los Angeles N. L. 526; New York A. L. 347; Milwaukee 294; Atlanta 290; Detroit 247; San Diego 214; New York N. L 100. 46.5% CF Carlos Beltran 2nd (57.3 9th) New York N. L. 839; Kansas City 795; New York A. L. 341; Saint Louis 296; Houston 219; Texas 52; San Francisco 44. 35.7% SS Alex Rodriguez 3rd (90.9 2nd) New York A. L. 1,509; Seattle 790; Texas 485 33.2% LF Manny Ramirez 8th (54.6 10th) Boston 1,083; Cleveland 967; Los Angeles N. L. 223; Chicago A. L. 24; Tampa Bay 5. 19.5% SS Omar Vizquel 7th (36.2 46th) Cleveland 1,478; Seattle 660; San Francisco 542; Chicago A. L. 166; Texas 62; Toronto 60 17.0% SP Andy Petitte 6th (47.2 81st) New York A. L. 557; Houston 84. 15.4% RF Bobby Abreu 5th (50.9 21st) Philadelphia 1,353; Los Angeles A. L. 456; New York A. L. 372; Los Angeles N. L. 92; New York N. L. 78; Houston 74. 12.9% SS Jimmy Rollins 3rd (40.1 34th) Philadelphia 2,090; Los Angeles N. L. 144; Chicago A. L. 41. 10.8% SP Mark Buehrle 4th (47.4 78th) Chicago A. L. 390; Toronto 97; Miami 31. 10.8% RP Francisco Rodriguez 2nd (21.1 12th) Los Angeles A. L. 408; Milwaukee 263; New York N. L. 165; Detroit 89; Baltimore 23. 6.9% CF Torii Hunter 4th (40.7 35th) Minnesota 1,373; Los Angeles A. L. 713; Detroit 286. 2024 RF Jose Bautista 1st (37.5 50th) Toronto 1,235; Pittsburgh 400; New York N. L. 83; Philadelphia 27; Baltimore 16; Kansas City 13; Tampa Bay 12; Atlanta 12. 2024 3B Adrian Beltre 1st (71.1 4th) Texas 1,098; Los Angeles N. L. 966; Seattle 715; Boston 154. 2024 SP Bartolo Colon 1st (40.9 130th) Cleveland 162; New York N. L. 98; Los Angeles A. L. 96; Oakland 54; Chicago A. L. 46; New York A. L. 29; Texas 28; Montreal 17; Minnesota 13; Atlanta 13; Boston 7. 2024 1B Adrian Gonzalez 1st (39.1 40th) San Diego 799; Los Angeles N. L. 735; Boston 282; Texas 59; New York N. L. 54. 2024 LF Matt Holliday 1st (39.4 36th) Saint Louis 982; Colorado 723; New York A. L. 105; Oakland 93. 2024 C Victor Martinez 1st (30.5 31st) Detroit 969; Cleveland 821; Boston 183. 2024 C Joe Mauer 1st (47.1 7th) Minnesota 1,858. 2024 2B Brandon Phillips 1st (26.6 70th) Cincinnati 1,614; Cleveland 135; Atlanta 120; Los Angeles A. L. 24; Boston 9. 2024 SS Jose Reyes 1st (33.4 57th) New York N. L. 1,365; Toronto 305; Miami 160; Colorado 47. 2024 SP James Shields 1st (29.4 266th) Tampa Bay 218; Chicago A. L. 77; Kansas City 68; San Diego 44. 2024 2B Chase Utley 1st (56.9 12th) Philadelphia 1,551; Los Angeles N. L. 386. 2024 3B David Wright 1st (44.3 26th) New York N. L. 1585. Otherwise Eligible Players Omitted from the 2024 Ballot 2024 RP Jim Johnson 1st (5.9 244th) Baltimore 360; Atlanta 175; Los Angeles A. L. 62; Oakland 38; Los Angeles N. L. 23; Detroit 16. 2024 RP Brad Ziegler 1st (12.4 62nd) Arizona 377; Oakland 223; Miami 106; Boston 33. Contemporary Baseball Era Ballot 2024 Manager Cito Gaston 894-837 .516 World Series Championships (1992, 1993) 2024 Manager Davey Johnson 1,372-1071-2 .562 World Series Champions (1986) 2024 Manager Jim Leyland 1,769-1,728-2 .506 World Series Champions (1997) & American League Pennants (2006 & 2012) 2024 Umpire Ed Montague 2024 Executive Hank Peters 2024 Manager Lou Piniella 1,835-1,713 .517 World Series Champions (1990) 2024 Umpire Joe West 2024 Executive Bill White Ford Frick Broadcasting Ballot 2024 Joe Buck 2024 Joe Castiglione 2024 Gary Cohen 2024 Jacques Doucet 2024 Tom Hamilton 2024 Ernie Johnson Senior 2024 Ken Korach 2024 Mike Krukow 2024 Duane Kuiper 2024 Dan Shulman

Bummer brought them bodies and a upside possibilities with a couple of pitchers because that is the extent of his worth. The Sox need younger prospects in their early 20s / late teens for Cease or Robert beyond an extreme salary dump (pairing Benintendi/Yoan/Eloy with one or both). Outman is 27 next season. He will not help with the next competitive window except perhaps a final expensive arb year or two. The Sox don't need guys peaking in 2024-2026, they need a core peaking in the late 2020s and a new owner and FO. Thank you Rick Hahn for your decade plus of service and leaving us with far less talent than you started with in March 2013. White Sox Baseball Talent = The equivalent of Linda McCarthy playing keyboard.

Most assume the bottom 20 teams will spend little overall. My point is the Top 10 are going into this offseason with few teams looking to add beyond Ohtani and a couple other players. There will be a substantial drop off in total FA spending from the $3.7B committed last offseason due to the Padres and Mets looking to cut, and the other teams already near / above the "luxury tax" threshold. 2024 Tracker https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/ 2023 FA Spending (Total Players Contracts) $3,691M / 140 Players $574.5M New York A. L. (5 Players Signed) $33M Under 2024 tax threshold $423.2M New York N. L. (9) Looking to cut payroll. $399.0M Philadelphia (5) Close to the 2024 threshold after the Nola $172M signing. $380.0M San Diego (8) - Looking to cut payroll. $310.5M Chicago N. L. (10) $64M Under 2024 tax threshold $247.5M Texas (5) - $50M Under 2024 tax threshold $243.0M Minnesota (4) Looking to cut payroll. $174.0M San Francisco (6) $103M Under 2024 tax threshold $105.0M Houston (3) $49M Under 2024 tax threshold $90.0M Chicago White Sox (3) - 75 of 90 Andrew Benintendi - Is this real life? Looking to cut payroll. $744.3M Remaining 20 Teams Los Angeles N.L. $124M Under 2024 tax threshold - How much beyond Ohtani? Kershaw returning? Dodgers and Giants will be the top two IMO. Saint Louis $112M Under 2024 tax threshold - Will spend on a few pitchers, but not come close to the cap. Los Angeles A.L. $99M Under 2024 tax threshold - Will spend some but definitely staying under the cap. Toronto $93M Under 2024 tax threshold - Will spend but not come close to the cap. Boston $93M Under 2024 tax threshold - Will spend but not come close to the cap. Atlanta $59M Under 2024 tax threshold Will spend but not exceed the cap. I could see Seattle, Detroit, Arizona taking on a few mid tier type contracts. Same with Cincinnati and Baltimore who are both under $40M at this stage of the offseason but both having bottom 10 cheap ass ownership groups. Everyone else will do half ass bullshit and not much more.

Cohen money, but he is cutting back this year. With the SD owner dying and team also cutting back, and the Dodgers focusing on Ohtani and the FA out there this year, I don’t see $40M AAV SP contracts beyond Ohtani who can’t pitch to start his deal. Boras has Montgomery and Snell, so it will be interesting how he will leverage the Nola signing for these two clients and whether they get more. Would say Yamamoto is the only other non Ohtani pitcher who may top the Nola deal, and Bellinger the lone possible position player (Yankees might get him).

Spoke with a consultant to the Bulls earlier in the year, and had to laugh at some of the dumbass s%*# going on there. Cubs have the best chance to do something this decade. Hawks have better ownership at this stage, but their FO is untested and it will take at least 3-4 years to build a SC capable core if they do most things right from here on out. The Bears, Bulls and Sox need new ownership groups for any possible future success (completely new, not kids inheriting and keeping).

I’d say perhaps a little lower but close, say $60M-$65M over 2 years plus say a $5M-$10M buyout or solid player option for the top five pitchers this year. Spotrac has Kershaw at $37M AAV, the other top pitchers in the $20M-$25M AAV range. Think Keyshawn will get a little less and the others more. The top of the market will be significantly lighter this year with SD and NYM looking to shed payroll, and not many others stepping up to take their place.

The MLB Trade Rumors goes in depth in terms of the possible teams interested. Listed are the players/prospects mentioned in the article. Before people wig out, these are players mentioned as excess or possible available players, not straight up trade proposals. Would look at this as the teams / second tier teams most likely to engage. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/looking-for-a-match-in-a-dylan-cease-trade.html Best Fits (7): Arizona (Alek Thomas) Atlanta (Vaughn Grissom) Baltimore (Ramon Urias, Jordan Westburg) Cincinnati (Edwin Arroyo, Jonathan India) Los Angeles N. L. (Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan) Saint Louis (Dylan Carlson, Ivan Herrera) Tampa Bay (Curtis Mead) Next Tier Down (7): Boston Houston New York A. L. Philadelphia San Diego San Francisco Texas Unlikely Teams Per MLB Trade Rumors (15): Non Contending Teams (5): Colorado, Los Angeles A. L., Kansas City, Oakland, Washington D. C.. Far More Pressing Needs (4): Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh. Lineup Needs Trump Pitching Needs (3): Milwaukee, Seattle, Toronto. Misc. Reasons (3): Chicago N. L. (Crosstown), Minnesota (Division), New York N. L. (uncertain timeline).

The White Sox need one or two actual catchers this year, as Lee looked overwhelmed and Perez needs work. Any help the mostly AAA pitching staff can get from a good defensive catcher or two who can handle game management would be a big help. They really needed this the past three seasons after McCann left, but they had mostly veteran pitchers in the rotation and bullpen who could somewhat work around the deficiencies beyond the endless passed and dropped balls.

Five more moves (Benintendi, Cease, Jimenez, Moncada and Robert Junior) would make Leury Garcia ($5.5M) and Nicky Lopez ($4.0M estimate) the two highest paid 2024 White Sox.

Current 40 Man Roster: 7/1/24 Age / Salary $740K each unless actual or estimate noted / Player / 2023 MLB Appearances (unless noted) Total Current MLB 26 Man Roster Salary ($104,283,000) Pitching Staff $23.370,000 $17.19M Five MLB Starters + 3 ML Pitchers (93 Total 2023 MLB Starts) $8.70M Dylan Cease (33 GS) $3.20M Michael Soroka (6 GS) $3.05M Michael Kopech (27 GS + 3 RA) $1.50M Touki Toussaint (16 GS + 4 RA) Jared Shuster (11 GS) Cristian Mena (27 Minor League Starts 4 AAA + 23 AA) Jake Elder (14 Minor League Starts 11 AA + 3 A) Davis Martin (Missed Season) $1.480M Swing Two MLB Pitchers Tanner Banks (3 GS + 29 RA) Jesse Scholtens (11 GS + 15 RA) $4.700M Six Additional MLB Relievers (Crochet + five more at the minimum salary) + 7 Additional ML Pitchers Gregory Santos (60) Jimmy Lambert (34 RA + 1 GS) $1.0M Garrett Crochet (33 RA) Yohan Ramirez (31) Lane Ramsey (21) Sammy Peralta (16) Declan Cronin (9) Luis Patino (8 RA + 1 GS) Deivi Garcia (8) Edgar Navarro (8) Nicholas Padilla (3) Alex Speas (3) Matt Foster (Missed Season) Position Players $80,913,000 $1.480M Catchers 2 MLB - 51 Total 2023 MLB Games Carlos Perez (27 G) Korey Lee (24) $33.780M Five MLB Infielders + 4 ML - 491 Total 2023 MLB Games $24.8M Yoan Moncada (92 G) $4.0M Nicky Lopez (94) $3.5M Andrew Vaughn (152) Zach Remillard (54) Lenyn Sosa (52) Romy Gonzalez (44) Braden Shewmake (2) Jose Rodriguez (1) Bryan Ramos (81 Minor League Games 77 AA + 4 A) $31.820M Five MLB Outfielders - 517 Total 2023 MLB Games $17.1M Andrew Benintendi (151 G) $12.5M Luis Robert Junior (145 G) Gavin Sheets (118 G) Oscar Colas (75 G) Adam Haseley (28 G) $13.833M Designated Hitter - 120 Total 2023 MLB Games Eloy Jimenez (120 G)

There is no incentive to spend more than $100M, really no incentive to spend more than $40M at this point beyond an MLB loss to the players union regarding spending of revenue sharing, beyond the handful of MLB teams each year trying to compete. Brewers are now at $97.4M for the 2024 26 man roster per Cot's Contracts after subtracting $12.5M for Woodruff. Wonder if the Cubs will be the only team over .500 this year in the NL Central, or whether the Cardinals will try to substantially improve to reach that low bar of three Wild Card Spot competitiveness.