mmmmmbeeer

And neither Jason or Steve tried to talk over it...a good 10 seconds of all silence except for the chant.

WSD was in Indiana today interviewing Hawk. Considering Hawk and Tony's history, I would not be the least bit surprised if Hawk spilled several beans (off record).

With the rumor going around that there were high-level Sox folks watching Sosa this week down in BHam, coupled with the way he's hitting (with a .972 OPS against RHP), there definitely seems to be something in the works for shaking up the whole Mendick/Leury/Burger/Harrison situation beyond needing to make room for TA's return. Could be we see Sosa called up, Mendick, Burger, and Sheets sent down, and Harrison released. Leury would be put back into a true backup/utility role. Burger sticks if Yo needs an IL stint for the quad.

He looked very sharp today and I really wonder if it's because he's similar to Liam in that he needs to be used regularly.

Strongly disagree. As anyone who has had the misfortune to work under poor leadership will attest, you just go through the motions to earn your paycheck. There's little hope of success, each step forward leads to two steps back due to poor leadership decisions, there's absolutely no 'fun' being had, little camaraderie except to b**** and moan about how bad the leadership is, and the team leaders themselves begin to feel powerless (be it an office lead or, in Sox terms, guys like Abreu and TA). Management sets the tone for the entire team. It's often said how teams take on the personalities of their managers...does this look like a team being led by an 80yo incorrigible asshole? It sure does to me. These players KNOW baseball. If you and I can sit at home, with nothing but time invested in this franchise, and get pissed off at some of the unbelievably bad decisions being made with the lineup card, the bullpen, pinch hitting, etc., how do you think the actual players on the field are feeling about those decisions? They put in the effort but, time and again, their own manager changes Ws to Ls. Why even try? Why put in extra effort? Why put in the time and energy to be hyper-focused when they believe, truly believe, their manager will do something idiotic to render their efforts moot? Professionalism only goes so far....

I live out of town so perhaps they've been on the radio, but where the hell are these guys during all of this madness? Seems we haven't heard a peep when they really need to be out in front of things trying to calm the fanbase. Give us something, anything, that says you're aware of what's happening and plan to make moves to address issues. Answer a question regarding the FO's take on these horrific lineups, bullpen usage, and offense. Silence is just pissing us all off even more.

Jose, Pollock, and Harrison are really the only expiring (though we have team options on the latter two). Payroll increases next season thanks to a couple of guys. Our farm is empty. This was supposed to be the window. There are no do-overs or retools on the fly. We're locked in, contractually speaking, with the vast majority of this roster through next season.

I'm really starting to wonder if Tony's insistence on off-days is having an opposite reaction on player health given that these are all soft tissue injuries. My wholly uninformed take is muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc., benefit from usage...keeps them loose, prevents tightening, etc. Or, to take a step further out on the conspiracy plank, could it be these guys are constantly lollygagging in practice, the gym, team stretches, etc., and then shock their bodies by actually trying in games...Tony has made it abundantly clear that he puts a lot of faith in conserving health, which means they'd likely not hear a peep if they were caught lollygagging. I don't know. Something changed since 2020 and TLR is the biggest change that's occurred.

Have seen dudes literally in the grass and they don't call that.

That is only called in egregious cases....that was FAR from egregious and had nothing to do with the awful throw.

There HAS to be some movement toward a statistical mean with this offense. There are just too many players performing so far below their abilities and histories for the pendulum not to swing back our way on offense. I mean, you look at some of these stats Cuda is dropping on Twitter and we're not just talking worst of the last few years, or worst of the past 20 years....we're talking some of the worst stats EVER, across all of MLB. And we're only 5GB and a game below .500. With that in mind, I believe we'll make the playoffs. I don't think we'll do shit once we get there, but we'll make the playoffs. If we want to make any noise when we get in, we'll need to have a good bit of momentum heading into the postseason. I just don't trust TLR to maintain momentum to round out the season given his irrational belief in resting 20-30yo professional athletes so often.

I just don't see Menechino being the problem. These are Major League hitters....they don't need to be told to be more selective, they should know it. I refuse to believe he hasn't already highlighted the need to take more pitches to most of this roster. Not only is the whole team struggling to hit, they look lackadaisical and are making bad mistakes on the defensive side of the ball, too. Our performance on both O and D is a LaRussa problem, not a Menechino problem. They look like a team with zero sense of direction and lacking motivation. What's interesting is we don't see any indication that the clubhouse chemistry is bad between players. They seem to get along fine. I think they've just collectively decided to half-ass it as a performative protest of their owner sticking them with an 80yo manager. They tried giving it a chance last season and quickly realized that it's just not going to work....I think they absolutely know that their manager is costing them games. When you bust your ass only to know that the old fuck with the transition lenses will eventually make a decision to render your effort moot, what's the point?

Considering we were in a rebuild for most of those 9 years, he wasn't exactly tasked with making moves for impact players. My point was, whether you agree or not, this past offseason seems awfully reminiscent of a former GM who caught lightning in a bottle by signing a plethora of smaller pieces in a competitive window instead of going after impact players like Hahn did pre-rebuild.

David Robertson. Jeff Smardzia. Todd Frazier. Lance Lynn.

Think back to when Hahn first came onboard. He made some big trades, targeted higher profile players, and was considered one of the best GMs in the league. Granted, not all of those trades and signings worked out, but this piecemeal roster construction is relatively new. You know who else used to make these piecemeal moves, won a WS as a result, and is still in this organization? Hmmmm.....

Because their manager let them know he was perfectly fine taking a loss the moment he posted the lineup card.

Apparently I've missed the whole history with Ron and Abreu, but he's really not far off with this take. It was pointed out on this very site that Abreu made some surprising, uncharacteristic comments this past offseason intimating he may not finish in Chicago and he may be losing some passion for the game. He 100% looks like a guy who has lost passion. I'm very hopeful he can come back around but this reminds me very much of 2013 Konerko...dude just fell off a cliff in production. We kept waiting and waiting for him to find his groove and it just never happened. Came back the next season, still couldn't hit, and retired. Much like Konerko, Abreu isn't going to ask to be dropped in the order or get more rest. TLR is going to have to have a difficult conversation with Jose if he is still scuffling in the middle of June....a competitive team can't afford so little production out of a spot in the top half of the lineup.

Balta had a running count last season. I think he quit tracking it after like 7-8 games blown directly by poor TLR decisions. And the line-ups he's running out there? Are you saying he doesn't take any of the blame today for starting 6 guys who can't hit? Five of the six hovering between .165-.205? When other teams' announcers or MLB commentators are shocked by the poor moves your manager is making, it's a problem. A major problem. Are the players underperforming? Absolutely. That tends to happen when a team quits on their manager/coach.

Kelly raved about Cueto's stuff. Said that his numbers weren't bad due to stuff, but rather the AAA umps being unable to deal with the movement on his pitches. Take it for what it's worth....

Right or wrong, I'm always suspicious of these sorts of lawsuits filed by pissed off former employees. Especially in a case like this where we, as fans, know damn well that his dismissal was perfectly justified on performance alone. Been in the corporate world a long time and there are some REALLY scornful people out there who go after former employers with a vengeance hoping to get a settlement before they actually have to prove anything.

8 to fucking 2.

8-2. Unreal.

Other teams have been in warm weather. It's different just visiting town and you run into a cold series than it is every damn game, a month into the season, has been cold. These dudes have been given zero opportunity to loosen up over the course of a warm weather series.

Look forward to how this offense looks on the next homestand, our first series OF THE SEASON with game time temps over 65. I know the cold is a shitty excuse but I just can't help to think these dudes are sick and tired of being cold every damn game. For anyone who has played baseball, playing in the cold, especially hitting, fucking sucks. It's not fun, the ball doesn't carry, and the wind/dryness makes your eyes water while waiting for a pitch.

60-70 pitches from an unstretched Cueto can certainly be no worse than 85 pitches from a fully stretched Dallas Keuchel.