Autumn Dreamin

I'm not counting Cease's performance, so as far as I'm concerned Sox won 5-3

Grifol accidentally using the KC pitchcom link out of habit.

A little dicey after a 1 out HR and 2 out single, but the banker manages to put this one in the vault. 5-2 good guys.

Lance looks good.

Not sure if a separate thread for Sox in the WBC makes sense yet, so I'll stick this here for now: His line through two exhibition games is 4-4 with two walks, a double, and that HR. Really think the WBC experience will be good for him.

Just Baseball's White Sox guy Elijah Evans is posting lots of great content from Camelback, including both kinds of BPs:

Gameday always looks like that for games with no Statcast. Every K is on 3 straight strikes, every BB is 4 balls, every ball in play is first pitch.

Nah, I'm not saying he was a buzzkill or anything. I loved that moment from him, along with him racing guys back to the dugout and such. He's great at stoking a fire that's already ablaze (and thus a great fit for the blazing hot Astros). But specifically when the team was in a funk, he seemed to have more of a "buckle down harder" reaction if that makes sense? It's not a knock on him or anything, just a difference of approach.

I know the kneejerk reaction will be to interpret this as Abreu being in the right and TLR/other players in the wrong, but... hasn't Abreu always publicly had TLR's back? I can see the sort of "just put your head down and play the game the right way" sentiment being shared by both of them...and maybe not resonating with everyone else once the raw talent wasn't enough to carry them through adversity last season. The fact that people fondly remember Cueto demanding some "fire" seems like an acknowledgement that's what this team needed. Same thing with Elvis trying to up the energy. TLR, of course, was a wet blanket...but Abreu also doesn't seem quite the firestarter type. Which is fine. He got a bag to go play for a team where he doesn't have to be that. And maybe his absence leaves space for a more vocal, "fiery" style of leadership that's better suited to this squad ?‍♀️

Sheets hasn't gotten on base, but his EVs are insane. 107.6 on the grounder, 106.4 on the flyout.

Yo and Luis are leaving tomorrow, but I think we still have the team USA guys for a bit. Lynn starts again tomorrow, and I think they said the goal was 3 ST starts before he left.

Looks like it'll be Gameday and Twitter clips for this one. At least there seems to be statcast data for pitch/exit velo.

Grifol seems to like aggression on the basepaths.

Trade everyone, build around Elvis.

Wow, maybe we will get 2022 White Sox Elvis...

Narron is working on the Angels' farm. Cairo is with the Mets'.

Healthy Yo going 1st to 3rd on a single...?

Surprised he didn't get a shortstop gig somewhere. Loved him during his time on the South Side last year, but I really feel like "signing an aging vet to play out of position based on a six week hot streak after years of below replacement level play" is the exact kind of move Sox fans would normally drag Hahn for if Elvis wasn't so damn likeable. I do hope Romy/Sosa still get a good amount of run though. Dreaming of a world where Romy gets Leury's UTIL job...

Some notes from recent Burger/Burke interviews: Colson Montgomery and Sean Burke lived together during the offseason. They trained with Jake Burger in Nashville regularly. Burke says Colas may be the most talented baseball player he’s taken the field with, citing his bat-to-ball skills plus “swagger and confidence” at the plate. He also noted that Colson is far more “mature and focused” than he was at the same age. Burke describes his arsenal as four seam, curveball, slider, changeup. He says he takes inspiration from Verlander, and the coaches have also had him watch tape on Cease to try to emulate a similar slider. Burke mentioned Duke Ellis as an underrated guy in the system, complimenting his speed, baseball IQ, contact skills, defense, and hustle. Burger says Colas’ power is legit, based on hitting behind him in CLT and watching his cage work. He says Seager comps are accurate for Colson, and Burke is one of the hardest workers in the org. Burke watched Buerhle’s highlight reel backhand play live. It was the first time he’d seen Buerhle pitch.