michelangelosmonkey

So they have money to spend. As for the absolutes? I never said they are ABSOLUTELY bringing Sale back as you said they absolutely won't. It was a thought experiment in response to "who might they bring in". Then I laid out the fact that Boston pays half his salary. It doesn't seem crazy. In spite of all the Soxtalk hate...by most accounts Kenny and Jerry are kind and loyal to their employees. I don't think Sale hated his time here and if he could come back and win a WS?

While it is easy to follow the national "experts" I think this is loudly wrong. Cespedes was a top 10 international signing, Colas top 3 in the last two years. Montgomery was a first round pick, Kath was a second round overslot pick, Kelley was 2nd round overslot pick that many had with first round grade. Vera was the top international prospect in the 20-21 international class. Dahlquist and Thompson were 2nd and 3rd round overslot guys. The last three years the White Sox have thrown the brunt of their scouting and draft money at high end YOUNG prospects and Cubans. And then Coivd shit on their plans. They had all these high school kids and Cuban transfers that basically sat in limbo for 1.5 years because of COVID which hurt development. This is a big year for White Sox farm system because if two of that list don't make top 100...well then I'll agree their plan was garbage and their farm system is garbage...but to call it garbage now seems silly to me.

I've written about this alot...two years ago I predicted we would be a top five payroll and was laughed at. JR spends money when the team is good. Picking up Sale contract the next few years is just replacing the money that we would be spending on Keuchel the last couple of years. The question is does Sale age like Verlander or like Shields. This broken rib thing is a bit worrisome especially after the TJS. He's 33, a year younger than Kershaw...Kershaw just signed basically a one year contract for $20m...so you'd demand a fair bit of money back from the Bosox. But paying half and sending a 20th ranked system prospect back? I wouldn't mind that risk.

Chris Sale at the trade deadline? I think Boston is going to regress this year, will be far behind Yankees, Rays and Jays by the all star game. Sale will be out for two months with broken rib but he did pitch really well second half of last year. Boston still owes him $100 million and it probably won't cost a lot in prospects if you take on most of his contract (3 more years at avg of $25mil). He's a dominant lefty and probably has some fond memories of living in Chicago and Soxtalk. Gotta say that playoff starting rotation of Gio-Lynn-Cease-Kopech and Sale would be fun.

VV struck out Madrigal yesterday...basically Zeus defeating Cronus.

What exactly is the difference between VV today and Rodon one year ago today??

I would have liked them to sign Rodon, but so many takes saying that this years team is worse than last years team and one of the arguments is losing Rodon. One year ago today Rodon was a failed prospect/free agent pitcher we signed for nothing who had huge upside, but a terrible track record and serious injury history. He put together 20 great starts and now he's irreplaceable??? Why can't Katz unlock the cheat code for VV or Reylo like he did with Rodon? It's probably hoping for too much but the internal growth on all the hitters suggests we could score 5.5 runs a game. It's going to be a fun year.

Bartolo Colon says hi. He only made it to two all-star games after turning forty. Sabathia barely averaged 29 starts, 12 wins, and a 3.8 ERA for the three years after 34. Fat guys just don't last.

You mean the 79-83 Padres? The team with top 5 payroll full of old guys and bad contracts? The team that has won zero play off games since giving $300 million to Machado? The team that gave another $300 million contract to a guy constantly hurt? Yes every move the Padres make is one that Soxtalk wanted the Sox to do. Hmm.

Mike Schmidt came up at same age as Vaughn, same number of at bats, lower first season OPS and he couldn't hit righties at all. The Phillies were not stupid enough to trade him for some 30 year old 5th starter. He went on to have a pretty good career and destroyed right handed pitchers the rest of the way. Maybe Vaughn could get better too. A .900 OPS hitter cost controlled for next five or six years that can play several positions might have some value. Although really, with our two year window, why bother being patient.

Dunning was also cheap and controllable. I think Dane Dunning will figure it out too. I just don't think he's going to be a star and we traded him for a player that is one. I'm not sure how Sheets fits in long term...yes he's a lefty but Vaughn is your long term 1B guy, Eloy long term DH and Colas your long term lefty bat. I don't mind him sticking with him as lefty off the bench but if you can use him to get a really solid left handed starter...I'm ok with that.

Plus they are all born within 12 months of each other...Robert being the old man of the group at 24. They won't even be ENTERING their prime for three years...a point where half Soxtalk thinks our window will be over.

There is this suggestion that Cespedes was TERRIBLE last year. He put up an .800+ OPS, stole 18 bases in half a season and has a cannon of an arm (60 grade). He had missed nearly two years of playing baseball and It was his first time in the US and we had this COVID craziness going on and he did pretty darn good. OK, he was terrible in the AFL..but that was a dozen and a half games. He strikes out way too often...but pedigree and history suggests he could be coming soon. And Colas?? Man read some of the scouting stuff from Getz and Barkett "He’s got some explosive power, some big-time, upper-deck, light-tower power. He can do it to all fields". He's our lefty. Even Keith Law said nice things about him. OK, prospects flame out but these guys are about extending the window. Imagine this outfield with Robert, Cespedes and Colas each plus defenders, each with cannons, each hitting 30 home runs. Dream about your Comforto's and his past with the Mets...this is what I like to dream of.

Pete I think you are missing the point of the White Sox already addressing the long term outfield position...they invested a lot of international money on Cespedes and Colas...they are Cuban which fits into the clubhouse thing...each has huge upside and they are 24 and 23. The Sox needed a RF solution for ONE year while these two develop. Why tie up money and positional blocking for 5 years on an equally unproven international player? The Cubs starting in 2023 will be paying Suzuki nearly $20 million a year for four years. To extend the window you need to save money on positions...so 2023 Cespedes playing RF at $0 and 2024 Colas playing LF at $0 allows extensions to Gio and TA without going into the tax. It would be nice to have Dodger/Yankee budgets but we don't and I like the way RH is playing this chess match. Pollok is a great short term fit. This rationale is also exactly the reason I think they didn't want Conforto for five years.

Is Sheets the Dane Dunning of position players? Succeeded with SSS in favorable situations. No amazing tools...but young and promising. Doesn't really fit in the long term picture (Colas is the LH bat at a position we need). When/if he gets traded Soxtalk will lose their minds.

Ohmigod...Soxtalk has been like a great festering abscess...Kimbrel is terrible, Management is stupid for picking up Kimbrel's extension, we only have 1B playing RF, worst offseason ever...there were 100 negative emails a day. And then in one single move...the pimple has burst...after cleaning up the puss...the end of Soxtalk negativity. .

Wow getting the full soxtalk treatment...mockery, insults, attacks. Go enjoy your hatred. I'm going to go watch the game...no room for me on Soxtalk

No my argument is it is not a disaster to NOT sign a free agent because they are not a panacea. We have signed free agents...Grandal, Keuchel, Hendricks...but I'd rather they resign Gio in 18 months than sign Conforto.

EVERYONE is suggesting we push all in for short term gains. Nothing is "Clearly" a bad strategy until it doesn't work. Two of the smartest teams in baseball, Brewers and Rays, have emphasized relief pitching. It seems like the game is going in that direction. Hahn is just throwing money at what he thinks is a market inefficiency. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. But again...top six relief staffs by fWar last year won an average of 95 games. Replacing worst two arms with better pitchers is not idiotic. Thanks Balta reminded me of Jason Heyward. Gold Glove right fielder, left handed hitter, in his twenties, 8 years $184 million contract...what could go wrong? OK define "much better position to win"? I think Vaughn is going to put up an .830 OPS this year. I think Engel will cover 30% of the innings with GG caliber outfield play. I think they will cost $20 million a year less than Conforto. I think there is a near term and long term risk to giving Conforto a big contract (see above). It has been a dull off season. The original comment was regarding people that said they couldn't get excited about THIS team.

I'm sorry I meant Jason Heyward...8 years $184 million for one WAR a year. That was a killer.

Educate me oh wise one. Seems your position is...we give $100 million to a guy the Met's don't want that was terrible last year...and we will be glorious. If we don't we are doomed. Genius.

I have written this often...but this is a false narrative about the bad farm system. If you take the White Sox talent and put it in two camps 21-26 year olds and 21 and younger (or new to America)...we would be top five in each category. If you can't get excited about Cespedes and Colas, Montgomery and Kath, Popeye and Ramos, Vera and the high school arms...they are not highly ranked farm because they all are young...but super talented and will begin arriving in two years...when we need them. As for not giving out massive contracts....I said this two years ago often...when the Sox are good...in the 90, 00's and 10's we had a top five payroll and I said we would again...and I was mocked. And here we are...and we will have a top five payroll for the next five years...we will hand out big contract to our stars like we did in the 90's 00's and 10's.

Yes I wish we were like the Padres and the Phillies that win the offseason every year and have LOTS of big bad contracts out there. Why are you unhappy about the off season? A) it's NOT DONE. B) top 6 bullpens won an average of 95 games last year...and we replaced our two worst arms with two very good pitchers. C) NOT SPENDING MONEY is a strategy. Part of keeping the core is not signing Edwin Jackson for 4 years and $52 million. Part of keeping the core intact is not trading for Dexter Fowlers big contract. Part of longevity is not trading Eloy and Cease for Quintana. We just saw the Cubs burn down their core because of lots of mis-steps. Pushing all in for the short run can be bad for the long run. This year attendance should boom which will fill the coffers for a big trade deadline deal...or resign long term parts. Conforto over Vaughn/Engel does NOT put us in a "much better position to win". I suspect if you evaluate the two options at the end of the year the fWar for Vaugnm/Engel will be higher than Conforto.

What does this even mean? You are going to draw deep conclusions based on 4 games last October? The Dodgers and Astros have been the most talented teams in the majors the last 9 and 7 years...and they each have won ONE World Series. Are they losers? Should they have signed Conforto? My god their fan bases can't be this whiny. Last year at this time Cease was a big question mark and he grew into a legit potential Ace. Robert was a question mark and then was hurt for half the season and then put up a .950 OPS in the second half. Vaughn went from A ball to the majors, learned a new position and held his own. Eloy put up 45 home runs in his first 170 games...and then was hurt. Gio proved he's legit. Kopech struck out 13 batters per 9 with an under 3 FIP. The sky is the limit for this team. Fuck Conforto.

Ohmigod Soxtalk has now officially lost their minds. You can't get excited about THIS team?? Their outfield (Robert, Eloy, Vaughn) could hit .300 with 120 homer runs. Grandal and Moncado could hit 50 home runs and get on base 40% of the time. Tim Anderson could win the batting title again. Abreu will probably hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 rbi's as always. Four of their starting pitchers could win the Cy Young award and the fifth starter HAS won the Cy Young award and finished 5th as recently as 2020. Their bullpen was #2 in all of baseball last year and have replaced their two worst pitchers with two pitchers that threw 100 innings with a 2.5 ERA. The amount of moaning about Conforto who the Mets don't want...is unbelievable. The ridiculous take that our window is "only 2-3 years" is just crazy...the core of our guys won't even be in their PRIMES in 3 years. What is the matter with all of you?? I can't WAIT for the season to start. I can't wait to see this core of young players grow into a dynasty. .