WhiteSox2023

I didn’t say he should have non-tendered Soroka, just that he could have if he wanted to. I do think he should’ve non-tendered Lopez. I don’t see Flexen as being a serviceable #4 starter, more like a weak #5. It will take a desperate team to be interested in him IMO and the return will be almost nothing.

Getz actually wanted Little Nicky as his starting 2B and Soroka in the rotation. He could’ve still made the same trade with the Braves and non-tendered Lopez and/or Soroka if he wanted to. https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-white-sox-agree-to-terms-on-one-year-contracts-with-seven-players-avoiding-arbitration Minor note but Brebbia is actually earning $5.5 million for this season. Your last sentence is the key and it would be amazing if Reinsdorf ever realized that THAT is more important than having your GM waste around $20 to $30 million on bums each and every offseason.

Point is, it was wasted money. 0 WAR isn’t 1 WAR and Lopez is a huge part of this historically bad offense.

Getz was promoted to GM at the end of last season. Reinsdorf said that he was given the job because he was already familiar with the team and farm system and it wouldn’t take him a full season to assess the team. Just as the results/return on his trades are, the results of last offseason and this season are also a part of Getz’s resume whether you want to admit it or not.

Fun with stats. 1) See my previous post. A GM’s job must be easy. Just say you are in a rebuilding year and no one can judge you on your results! 2) Pham has played all three outfield positions in his career. If he’s playing out of position, oh well. That’s why he’s still getting paid to play. Meanwhile, his offensive spark is long OVA. 3) 33 at bats versus lefties for Julks. Huge sample size! Except his poor performance in 60 at bats versus righties hurt the team as much as those whopping 33 good at bats against lefties. 4) Fletcher had his shot in the beginning of the season and blew it. You were the one using his small sample size of 93 at bats for the Diamondbacks last year as evidence he was at least a capable starting RF. Since that didn’t work out, now you are hyping that he started to hit at AAA Charlotte, but unfortunately got injured? If Charlotte stats meant anything, Mark Payton would be our starting RF.

I wish I was a GM. I would just claim that every season is a rebuilding year so no one could ever judge me on my offseason, performance, or results.

Yep, that’s what I was referring to. His offense is so feeble it brings his overall WAR down to a big zippo. At a low price of $4.3 million as well!

Right after the big three lasted 17 games into the season. ?

2B isn’t still a black hole?

I even remember commenting on it and I was assured that there were enough outfield options that Sheets would not see time in RF. ?

We have very different definitions of “adequate”. Pham is replacement level (.735 OPS) after his initial hot streak. Julks has a .688 OPS after his initial hot streak. Grossman was awful for the Sox (.597 OPS) so it’s nice that he brought back a reliever. Fletcher was expected to be the RF starter against righties and was awful (.480 OPS). Fletcher was expected to be ready based on his MLB sample size last year but now he wasn’t ready? Okay…

Getz DID load up on acquiring outfielders to account for two of three of his injury-prone players. The problem is that all of those acquisitions sucked as well. Once again, Getz’s failure.

Obviously, this wouldn’t happen nowadays due to the security risk. But think about if teams did this nowadays and what they would charge for roped off standing room only spots on the field.

Sure, the Sox were never going to be in competition for the division, but Getz did have a plan to improve the defense. He said as much himself in the offseason. https://soxmachine.com/2024/02/chris-getz-white-sox-defense/ The big three are injury-prone and unreliable. If all the fans know it, Getz should have known it. RF fell apart when his expected starter acquisition in Dominic Fletcher busted hard. Benintendi was bad last year and Vaughn has never been good. And yes, Sox fans will remember and care about this season by May of next year, because next season will just be a continuation of the suckitude.

Thanks. Hah, the fans were like the ivy at Wrigley.

It appeared in the offseason that Getz’s plan was to improve the leadership and defense to help the young pitching prospects excel once they were ready. I remember posters at the time saying it could be a decent idea but that Getz was completely neglecting offense for defense and leadership. Well, his plan failed on both sides of the ball. Not only is the defense atrocious, Getz’s plan led to one of the worst offenses of the non-deadball era, just like you already stated. So sure, Getz was left with a bad team, but he was also left with some pitching prospects in the minors that Hahn/Kenny acquired at the trade deadline. And Getz’s own offseason plan was an unmitigated disaster.

So how did this work? Was it ruled a home run if a ball was hit into the crowd on the field behind the roped off area?

You pointed out the problems with the team, as well as the root cause. But nothing will truly be right with the Sox until he’s gone.

For an owner who reportedly thinks that second place is best, I’m sure he doesn’t mind the current predicament as long as he’s making money. Old news but still hilariously sad…

Thanks for sharing. I knew the Sox had a lot of 1-run losses in which they narrowly escaped being shut out. I’m surprised that the Cubs have been even worse in this area.

C’mon Sox…

No, I don’t remember the Astros run of futility all that much but I do remember the 2003 Tigers. I watch games when I’m not working, fishing with my kids, or watching them play football. But everyone enjoys watching a train wreck in baseball form every now and then. And JR, Getz, and Grifol have provided the ultimate show.

Around May 1st of next year, nobody will care because Getz’s team will have another shot at the record for futility or to top the record if they set it this year. ?

I remember World Series expectations from the Sox first rebuild, but they died out when Jerry didn’t want to pay Machado or Harper and the Sox ended up with Keuchel instead of Wheeler. In any case, the Orioles have a much tougher path to get there. The AL Central is a joke compared to the AL East.

Cubs have so many problems right now it may not matter. Underperforming offense and a garbage bullpen. Even Kopech would be a huge upgrade for them.