caulfield12

If the White Sox really wanted to sign Sasaki, going through Iguchi would have been perhaps the ONLY way... When he retired as a pro in 2017, Tadahito Iguchi, the second baseman for the Chicago White Sox’s 2005 World Series champs, said he someday hopes to be back in a Sox uniform. “Yes. That’s my dream,” the second-year Lotte Marines manager said in March. Remembering Ozzie Guillen Iguchi said the biggest skill he takes into managing is communication and cited his former Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen as his biggest influence. “In some sense, he (Guillen) is kind of crazy,” Iguchi said. “But he communicates well and is charismatic.” “Having been with the players here as a teammate when I was still playing and speaking with them on the bench, I think I’d established good communication with them.” How about the motivation side? “He (Guillen) has the ability to motivate people. That’s something I think I lack,” Iguchi said. One of just a handful of Japanese position players to go to the majors, Iguchi said he gained some insight into the differences between Japan’s game and America’s. https://jballallen.com/iguchi-eyes-sweet-home-chicago/

https://www.si.com/mlb/roki-sasaki-what-to-expect-japan-pitcher-free-agent “His ceiling is he’s the best pitcher in the world,” said one MLB talent evaluator who has watched him in person several times. “[But] he’s definitely not a finished product. Most people in Japan would agree with that.” What does he throw? 1. Four-seam fastball with elite velocity and movement Sasaki’s heater this year averaged 96.9 mph, down from 98.9 mph in 2023. It has 17 inches of induced vertical break, a measurement of “ride.” Only six MLB starters last season averaged at least 96 mph with that much vert: Taj Bradley, Dylan Cease, MacKenzie Gore, Hunter Brown, Luis Gil and Jared Jones. That’s not all. Sasaki’s four-seamer also has ridiculous arm-side run: 12 inches. Only one MLB pitcher this year had that combination of so much velocity, ride and run on a four-seamer: Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman. “The movement profile on his fastball is elite,” the evaluator said. 2. Elite split-finger fastball The low-90s dive bomber (not sure that's the right word after WWII), thrown with a wide, four-seam grip, is a swing-and-miss pitch. “His command of the split is phenomenal,” said one scout. ..... That mentality is waning. As a high schooler in 2019, Sasaki was clocked as fast as 101 mph (163 kph) with his fastball, breaking the national record of Shohei Ohtani (160 kph). In the national tournament for Ofunato High School, Sasaki did throw 194 pitches in a 12-inning victory and 129 pitches in a semifinal win three days later, but did not pitch the next day in a loss in the championship game, prompting a flood of calls to the school asking why he didn’t pitch again. Ofunato's manager explained he was protecting Sasaki’s health. The next season, 2022, was his breakout season. He posted a 2.02 ERA over 129 1/3 innings while coming within three outs of back-to-back perfect games. His manager, Tadahito Iguchi, had decided before the second of those games to pull him at around 100 pitches. Sasaki’s innings fell to 91 in 2023 and 111 this year, in part due to arm soreness and an oblique issue.

Matt Ginter II...

The Steelers can get away with running basically FOUR routes for their receiving corps....and get into the playoffs or at least finish .500 or above for 17 consecutive years or something like that, so how is it THAT hard for all of the teams in Chicago? Two QB's that looked on the verge of playing themselves out of the league both look "dangerous" or at least not woeful/pathetic like Matt Rodgers in NY.

"They want the $6 billion because they want expansion teams in Seattle and Vegas, and Mexico City is kind of looming as a third team. But they want to get $6 billion apiece for two franchises for expansion, which would mean a check of $400 million to every NBA owner, all 30. So they're trying to establish a price for this Celtics team." https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/jeff-bezos-boston-celtics-sale-bill-simmons-grousbeck-nba/ On top of that, they don't own TD Garden, so probably a new stadium build like Ballmer in LA.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos rumored to be willing to spend up to $6 billion for the Boston Celtics...which would simultaneously blow up the expansion fees for the next NBA move down the line.

Remember, JR owns "only" 25% or so of the team, so his windfall would be much closer to $500 million before taxes.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been friends going back to their days playing in Japan's top baseball league. Now, they're making their Major League Baseball playoff debuts together for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They teamed to win a gold medal for Japan in last year's World Baseball Classic.Oct 4, 2024. They teamed to win a gold medal for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic. Their next goal? Win a World Series championship together. “The experience back in Japan, Japan Series and the World Baseball Classic, other big games will definitely help,” Yamamoto said Friday through an interpreter. “And I’d like to utilize it.” As the much younger player, Sasaki's highly unlikely to have already developed the depth of those relationships from ONE singular WBC together.

It makes sense, in a way. Coming off a World Series title, for both Matsumoto and Ohtani. That's why the Orioles, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Padres...start to make more sense. Every player wants to be the star on their team, right?

JR won't even commit to the $700 million Rays' ownership came up for their stadium project...

$14,537,000 Career earnings, plus lifetime MLB pension I'm sure he's doing quite well if he invested his money wisely... https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/42315424/miami-marlins-hire-clayton-mccullough-manager Marlins end up taking Dodgers' McCullough, who was the early front-runner for the White Sox job

Would have been funnier if the players themselves printed them...that would have more of a "Major League" movie feel to it. We did have Benintendi getting charged up at the end of the year when some fans were booing wins with the loss record in sight.

Which developer would not be self-serving? A community trust or charitable organization running the White Sox...like a Green Bay Packers' public stock situation?

The Dodgers will figure out yet another way to be creative like they did with Ohtani...since they've already had at least a year to plan for exactly this scenario. If not immediately to LAD...then it's an interesting battle in the next signing period between 5-7 teams that can AL lake legitimate cases for him being the one player to push them over into WS contenders. The White Sox likely end up with another teams' "suspects" at the pre-A level who are 3-5 years away from the big leagues in order to pay for Jimenez Hendriks Grifol.

Obligatory nothing to get upset about post...but comebacks from shoulder surgery are quite rare.

Would rather sign Warrick Dunn or the Phoenix Suns' Ryan Dunn...

"That is massive. Not only is he someone scouts and evaluators consider to be one of the best pitching talents in the world, but he's also a player who has been on the Cubs' radar for a long time with him being someone they might have scouted more than any team in the MLB." https://www.si.com/mlb/cubs/news/roki-sasaki-will-officially-be-posted-chicago-cubs-could-become-top-suitor Cubs already out on Soto/Burnes...

The 2024 international bonus pool period does not end until December 15. Currently, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles have the most money available, but that does not mean other teams cannot trade assets to acquire more money from other teams. And if the posting process isn't completed by December 15, Sasaki would be signed as a part of the 2025 class, meaning every team would have its maximum allotment of money to spend. 1. LAD 2. Mets Cohen 3. Cubs Imanaga/Suzuki, not so much Fukudome "The Chicago Cubs recently sent president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to Japan on a scouting trip to show Sasaki's camp that they mean business. And why wouldn't they? Chicago wants a rotation upgrade but doesn't want to spend for Burnes, Max Fried or Blake Snell, and Sasaki fits the bill perfectly. Plus, the team's recent success with Japanese players including Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki will likely help their case with Sasaki." 4. Orioles, desperately need an ace to replace Burnes, most money in current signing period avail 5. Padres SoCal and Darvish, lost Musgrove to TJS White Sox can't even afford the airfare to send a contingent to Japan...

The irony is that the Twins are the other team in the AL Central in the process of being sold and quite likely rebuilding after shedding $20-30 million in salary last off season due largely to an RSN revenue short fall.

Ahead of the Phillies? From the same article… 6. Twins (44.5 WAR) Top free agents: OF Max Kepler, 1B Carlos Santana, INF Kyle Farmer Biggest needs: Right-handed bats at first or corner outfield; bullpen The first five teams: Yes, sure, all makes sense. The sixth: Wow, Minnesota, really? A disappointing 2024 turns into a more highly ranked start to 2025 than you’d think, simply because they are not losing much production from the 2024 team. There remains a great deal of talent on this roster, although, as always, it remains difficult to actually rely on Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis to be healthy at the same time. Unlike other teams with a truly massive hole to fill at the moment, the Twins could field a reasonable 2025 lineup at every position and most of a pitching staff right now. If the season began today, they’d be in good shape. (It does not start today.) That means that as other teams add, and the Twins likely remain relatively quiet on the market, this ranking is likely to drop. They need some kind of right-handed hitter, preferably one in the corner outfield. Like everyone, they could use another bullpen arm or three.

He was simply a better GM in terms of forecasting the Sox future than Hahn or KW.

Wrigley.

Crochet and Fedde...the end. Until the Vargas trade undid all the good of the latter.

The money will be spent on all the wrong 30+ veterans instead of stars in their primes…and, most weirdly, the bullpen fixation while neglecting gaping holes in RF and 2B.

No player/agent is ever going to burn one of the teams that might potentially sign them in the future…Economics 101.