PitchatRisktoZisk

Spring Training is next month and there's been no word on either Jason or Steve. This from a franchise in the 3rd largest media market. What a joke.

What an utter and complete garbage move. Allow your new manager and staff to run their camp without the "ghost of Christmas past" to pollute the well. Total bush league move by JR.

After watching what real teams with owners that give a $hit do to improve their teams, is anyone still surprised these chicken $hits canceled SoxFest? They would get eviscerated by EVERYONE. As long as JR owns this team, "mired in mediocrity" is the ceiling. If Portland hadn't passed on Michael, this stiff would have been run out of town on a rail 30 years ago.

Would you prefer a) the exception that proves the rule or b) even a broken clock is right twice a day......or in the Sox case once in 42 years of JR ownership?

But wait, I'm confused. Is this the type of move a team in a "multiple championship window" makes? Oh, I forgot. Jerry still owns the team. He sabotaged the whole thing by a) letting Hahn run the rebuild, b) forcing LaRussa on the organization, and c) taking his chips off the table from windfall media and sponsorship deals while cutting payroll. I'm an idiot. Wait until I give them an earful at SoxFest. WHAT?!? I'm out of here.

Does JR still own the team? We'll trade major league contracts (Liam) for marginal minor leaguers..... and like it!

Maybe?!? I think it's the first line on his resume.

I'm sure despite the odds he'll pick the wrong guy(s) and give away too much for them.

Gee, I wonder which way Jerry will be counting it? ?

Where do we send the "thank you" card?

This. Grifol was the guy the Royals analytics people went to and said "please convince Ned (Yost) to look at this stuff, it's critical". Grifol poured over the data, added a lot to it, and then convinced Yost to look it over. Grifol IS an an analytics guy that was stuck in a backwards organization. He sees the value of analytics and blends it with all the other tools. To poo poo him because he came from the Royals is shortsighted, imho.

Yup

In that case someone should mention that to DVS so he can ammend his story.

I thought the option on Pollock was a player's option? If it is truly a club option, write the buyout check NOW!!!

Interesting insights, thank you! Now I think I'll go drive MY car off a cliff! Seriously, I can't say many of the quotes surprise me. That said, having spent time in both public and private companies, many of those quotes could have come from any of those places as well. Hopefully hiring Grifol and (supposedly) letting him hire his coaches is a step in the right direction.

This. Detroit could not pass on Hinch. I have some people that I trust in the Royals organization. They were sure they were losing him in 2020. When Detroit picked Hinch, the Royals gave Grifol a substantial raise to keep him on the bench. Once Dayton Moore got fired, the Royals were committed to let Picollo go outside the organization for his first hire. They STILL wanted Grifol as their bench coach, but certainly weren't going to stand in his way to get the Sox job. And before we $hit all over the Royals organization, they've been to and won a WS far more recently than the Sox.

He was passed over by the Royals. The team that employed him for 10 years including most recently as their bench coach. I think that tells us all we need to know about Grifol.

Interviewing Ozzie makes me think of another local hire that was thought to be impossible until it actually happened; Dave Laitao 2.0 at DePaul. The parallels are a little scary. DePaul engaged a search firm to come up with candidates. They did their due diligence and went back to the AD (Jeanne Lenti Ponseto) and told her "you've got a problem. Nobody wants to take this job and work under this administration". You better find sometime who will take it under your terms or you'll look like an idiot. She grabbed Leitao and set the program back another decade. Now look at the Sox. We want people like Espada, Long, Grifol, etc. They get interviewed and find out this organization is even more dysfunctional than they could imagine. JR making the real decisions, a bunch of sycophants bowing to JR, not getting to hire your own coaches, known "moles" in your clubhouse. You look it that and say "no thanks". Now the Sox are down to their #5 or 6 choice and someone says "we better find someone that won't incite a riot by the fans. What would be worse, hiring Joe Madden or bringing back Ozzie. Ozzie desperately wants back in the game and will say whatever will get him the job...... knowing full well he'll do it his way once he gets the job or go to the press and b****. A stretch? Maybe, but I put NOTHING past this organization.

I've got two words for you.....Bill Wirtz. JR's handling of this team rivals Wirtz through most of his ownership. The 2004 Blackhawks were voted the worst run team in ALL SPORTS. A title JR is clearly striving to eclipse with the way he has run this franchise into the dirt.

Canceling SoxFest is a total and complete chickenshit move made by a bushleague organization. They hide under their desks, don't go to the ballpark, and live in an echo chamber where sycophants tell JR how brilliant he is and how much people love him. The idea of actually listening to direct feedback from their customers petrifies them. I'm thoroughly disappointed in the entire FO, but not in the least bit surprised.

Thank you for the clarification. So the Twitterverse is out of control...... I'm shocked! Seriously, I am surprised Sports Illustrated ran with it if they didn't double source it. So essentially nothing really happened today?

Just got back from the Hawks OT win and see 500 posts today. Can anyone tell me what the hell happened? I got an SI update we were signing Espada. Now we're not. WTF happened?!?

Feels like we're just treading water until after the WS. If Dusty retires, Espada is the obvious pick for Houston. If he's your guy, I would put on the full court press and land him NOW. Otherwise he'll end up in Miami or Houston.

If he wants to manage in Chicago again, I hear there's a manager spot open at the McDonald's on Cicero Ave. Stay away from my baseball team!

Thome would take the job to be a "good soldier" if Jerry asked him, despite knowing he's not remotely ready. Leave it to Jerry to repeat the mistake of taking a beloved player (Ventura, Robin) and tarnishing his legacy by putting him in an untenable position.