Greg Hibbard

PALKA ALERT

There's been absolutely no diminishment to Abreu's game, if we look at 2019 numbers versus 2015-2018. In 2014, he was on a different level. So, armchair-GMs, why on earth wouldn't you want to keep him here until he demonstrates that there is diminishment in his game? He's a remarkably consistent offensive producer.

I think Ricky is trying to get Mendick almost daily abs which really might not be a bad thing.

Do you apply this logic to every other hitter on every other team too? Because at least half the teams are out of it in September. And there are several that are out of it nearly every year. If Mike Trout turns it on every September, do those statistics not matter as much as his May statistics?

It's about 5 weeks he's been hot. It's more accurate to say he had a .773 OPS his first 104 games and he's been literally on fire with a 1.000+ OPS for the last 37.

When will you finally admit you’re wrong? When will you apologize to Abreu, his family, and every white Sox fan in this city for the insults you have heaped on this class act for the past several seasons? I’m assuming the answer is never on both accounts.

I’ve been most impressed by the increase to his OBP in the second half along with the power and hitting surge. He’s had a ton of walks and HBP in the past few weeks. The decrease in his OBP in the first half was a legitimate medium term concern, but it appears to be leveling out more in line with his career average.

Palka just feels like an elaborate two year prank on White Sox fans at this point. “Here’s that left handed power bat you’ve been longing for...HAHA JK HE’S THE WORST HITTER IN HISTORY”

71.74 win pace is what we’re actually on right now. I feel as though we will get the same WAR contributions from the combination of Abreu, Moncada, Anderson, McCann and Jimenez. You may get some regression in Abreu or maybe the others, but I think that will be offset from Jimenez’ growth. if we get a power RF FA who can give us above average production it will be a 3 win upgrade at that position. If we get league average DH production it will be a 2-3 win upgrade at that position. Robert SHOULD be at least a 2 win upgrade in CF. Madrigal will probably be a wash with Yolmer’s overall WAR considering his defense. if Kopech comes back healthy and we get at least an average starter we should gain 4 or so wins in SP. if Rodon can come back, it could be more. yes, I know, a lot of ifs. However this stuff doesn’t feel far off to me. I think thats a fairly conservative estimate and that’s 11-12 wins right there. I would take my chances with an 83-84 game winner in this division.

I swear to god Rick Renteria's #1 priority is making sure Yolmer Sanchez has enough playing time no matter what he's doing at the plate Granted, Yolmer had a great August though, and will finish the season a 2 WAR player so...

I don't think they will play the service time game with Andrew Vaughn for three reasons. 1) He's too major league ready 2) They need a replacement/contingency plan for Abreu, especially defensively 3) They need to accelerate his window to maximally fit with Moncada's (who potentially will be gone 3 years after he comes up)

I can't wait until April 20th of next year when we hopefully never have to discuss service time ever again in our lifetimes.

Moncada could have a .240 slump that lasts all of September with a 33% k rate and this would still have been an absolutely fantastic season that wildly exceeded my expectations.

post his sensational rookie year, Abreu's cumulative line is .288/.342/.499/.841 this year's line is .282/.325/.495/.820 his career BABIP is .326 this year's BABIP is .315 last year's BABIP was .294 (and he was injured) So has he really declined from his 2015-2017 self in 2018-2019? I think the answer currently is a resounding "Nope."

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abreujo02.shtml Can someone explain why Jose's OPS is identical in 2016 and 2019, but he has a 124 OPS+ in 2016 and a 114+ OPS in 2019 despite better cumulative stats (except walks)? Can that all be park factor differential????

Yonder is hitting at a .915 OPS with Colorado through 32 games.

I really hope the money IS spent on Moncada and Giolito.

It’s almost as unbelievable as you gleefully dancing on Jose’s grave a day or two before he went on an AL-player-of-the-month tear...albeit not as hilarious. I wonder if you realize how vindicating it is watching you troll Jose a few times a year into a white-hot-streak that proves over and over again you have absolutely no idea in hell what you’re talking about on any level.

No, we shouldn’t. We should be happy that we are getting the best available fit at DH/1B who also still happens to be a very good offensive piece, especially when he doesn’t have to be relied on to completely carry the offense. Which ones of the ones I listed are going to “inevitably fail?” I’m assuming you mean Madrigal and Vaughn, because Moncada looks like a legit 5-7 WAR stud, Anderson is nearly leading the league in batting, Jimenez had 22 home runs in his first 88 major league games, and Robert looks like he’s as much of a can’t miss as you can get. All four of those guys would be better than Jose next year. Vaughn and Madrigal just need to be capable pieces when we start competing. For the record, I don’t think Jose is going to be bad. I think he is going to be slightly diminished. Jose’s best future value is actually his consistency. What we can’t afford is getting a DH who goes through a .160 slump for two months. We have done that like three times now in the past 10 years. I don’t think Jose Abreu is going to fall into that kind of black hole because of the type of hitter he is.

I think one of the things totally lost in this discussion is that Jose simply doesn’t need to necessarily be even the fourth best hitter on this team in 2020 or 2021. He just needs to be reliable, produce at 80% of his career numbers, and not get injured. It would be totally acceptable for Abreu to have a line like .265/.310/.460/.770 - which I think represents the very bottom of where I see him falling off - considering Robert, Madrigal, Jimenez, Anderson, Moncada, Vaughn, and an upgraded FA right field acquisition will also be in the lineup.

I have zero infatuation with the Cubs. I don't get devaluing a DH. In the American League the Chicago White Sox play in, you are required by the rules to use a player called a "Designated Hitter" who does not play a position in the field. We need one. We've needed one for fucking years, and now, thank GOD we have one for 2020. My point is that Jose Abreu is better OFFENSIVELY this season than a player typically thought of by baseball fans as a very good OFFENSIVE baseball player who YES is also a elite defender.

I think Abreu is signed for a two year deal for $24 million with an team option for a third year at $12 million with a $1 million buyout, and I think he might play 50 more games total at first base in his entire career post 2019. I think Vaughn might be up as soon as just after the all star break next year, which is part of the entire plan.

Except we are talking about Jose Abreu being a DH next year. What defensive stats should I reference for a DH, ron? Please enlighten us

How is comparing OPS+ to OPS+ comparing apples to oranges?

Jose Abreu now has a higher 2019 OPS+ than Javier Baez what does Soxtalk think about that