Eminor3rd

Everyone is gonna be fast tracked until they decide the window is closed. They can’t even fathom the concept of developing for sustained competitiveness, let alone execute it.

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t best for him to be down there. I’m certain he wants to grow into a star player who signs a nine figure contract at some point in his career, and I bet you he’d happily trade another year of buses to get there, because right now he’s on track to be a journeyman that runs out of opportunities in his early 30s. Now, that’s not totally fair, because we don’t know that he actually did need another year, or what, if anything, could actually be done with him to help, because we’re not professionals. But again, there’s a sharp contrast between what we can see the Sox are choosing to do and what every other team is doing, and it’s part of a consistent pattern of disappointment, so I think it’s fair to assume the odds are better than a coin flip that there was a more productive path that existed. My entire adult life, the only thing I’ve ever heard any White Sox coach say about a developing hitter is something along the lines of “we want him to be more aggressive/more aggressive in the zone,” and that sure doesn’t seem like something Vaughn would have needed, but strangely does seem like the way he’s changed since arriving. Other teams talk about swing changes to generate lift and pitch selection training, which, for gifted contact hitters with good eyes and discipline that aren’t getting to enough of their raw power (like Baughn), sounds like exactly what is needed. But that takes time, and requires a willingness to accept bumps on the road. And there never any indication that something like that was even on the table from the Sox. Despite the doublespeak about sustainable winning, their treatment of Vaughn reads like a case study of “push all in to win now” at the clear enormous expense of even the near future. Sacrifice Vaughn’s upside to get a passable bat in the OF right now, as if it was the only way to get such a bat. It’s straight from the Mark Teahen-era Sox playbook, and it’s at the center of what made them failures the whole time — unfailingly choosing the most expensive/least efficient way to get something they need. Vaughn may yet figure out how to tap into his upside, but he’s going to have to do it on his own. And both him and the fans deserve better than that.

That's certainly part of it. But I still contend that Vaughn in an average system stays down another year, tweaks his swing to lift the ball more, and probably at least becomes Rhys Hoskins.

It’s true. He wasn’t even “blocked,” in the sense that there was no need to force the issue. They just didn’t have anything resembling an OFer in the system and refused to pay to acquire one. So they decided it made more sense to compromise the development of their #3 overall pick and best prospect. Lol

Think about the insane difference in how those players’ respective development paths were compared to Vaughn. The Sox were the only team to force their guy to the Majors despite not having a 2020 minor league season, the only team to force their guy out of position to one where he’s demonstrably worse, the only team to set MLB expectations on their guy without giving him the benefit of instruction and making him earn the shot. Idk why but thinking about the handling of Vaughn specifically next to his direct peers like that makes it seem comically abusive in a way that never quite struck me before.

Not trying to justify it, just telling you that it’s been a thing for several teams post-pandemic. At first the players and union leaned on COVID protocol to cancel them, then they realized they really liked not having to do it. Obviously every team and group is a bit different, but it’s been a topic.

They frequently are, but that doesn’t mean they have to happen in the winter. You may notice an increase in instances of 2-3 guys going along to appear at community impact department projects in years where soxfest doesn’t happen. It’s one of those things that the team can impel, but you don’t necessarily want to insist on things that your employees all hate. You don’t hear it talked about much, but many teams (the progressive ones first, the others following more recently) have made a major effort from teams over the past five to ten years to invest in quality of life features (facilities or otherwise) to help attract free agents because the money has gotten so high — why not offer a perk that costs nothing?

This isn't just a White Sox thing. The players all hate it because they have to come into town during the offseason.

Just insane to not even give yourself a chance at seeing what was on the market. Why not just make Getz interim GM, so at least you could see who was gonna be available? You could always fall back on promoting him to permanent GM if you didn’t like what you saw. There’s precedent for it and you’d have a clear leader managing the offseason so you wouldn’t have a rudderless ship in the meantime. All upside, no downside. Then — get this — you could add someone from outside the org that had to “learn the whole system,” but you’d have Getz there anyway the whole time to help! You’d be literally NO worse than now in terms of “knowledge of the system.” I cannot get over this. Reinsdorf firing his FO and then promoting their fifth in command without even considering interviewing anyone else might actually be the stupidest, least defensible business decision I’ve ever witnessed. Complete and total unforced error; he literally could had his cake and eaten it too simply by calling Getz and interim leader and delaying the decision until he had more info. Absolute clown show. Unbelievable. I’m searching for hyperbole and cannot find it.

If she came here, it would take her like a year to learn the whole org so

But like in what bizarro, non-Euclidean universe could any semi-literate person come to the conclusion that the White Sox could afford to trade starting pitching from their MLB roster going into 2024? Like, I know I've been beating the ever-loving s*** out of the "Sox don't have enough pitching depth" drum since, it feels like maybe since I was born at this point, but there are literally two starting pitchers on the 40-man right now other than Cease. The rotation would actually be ACE Mike Clevinger, Touki Toussant, and 3 bullpen games per week. And Clevinger is gone anyway because he has a mutual option.

Touche

I don’t believe this rumor. Maybe Bruce is reporting on old news from the deadline, but Getz seems like he actually hired a few people that are kind of smart — and while I don’t think that will make any difference in fixing the twins dysfunctions of completely useless player development and an impossible set of constraints in free agency, I refuse to believe they all got in a room and decided they should target Salvador fucking Perez in 2023.

He is Cuban, so at least we know the Sox are allowed to sign him. In all seriousness he is the type of guy that would help a Sox Hail Mary(tm) contention push but also bring a lot back at the deadline in the likely event that the push falls short.

Remember when Arizona gave up on him like immediately after drafting him, and we were all like "wtf LOLDiamondbacks"? Can you imagine needing to jettison someone from your org so badly that you dump a #3 overall pick within a year of drafting him despite that fact that he clearly showed Cy-level potential?

Definitely an MLB arm. One of the top 5 or so relievers in NPB. Would be an elite closer if he didn't have arguably the league's best closer blocking him on his own team (Raidel Martinez). Mostly a fastball/slider guy, throws mid-to-upper 90s. Like others of his ilk, his control disappears at times, but the slider is a 3D wipeout pitch, and he actually has a changeup, even if it's worse than the other two pitches. I don't think he'll be elite over here, but he definitely belongs and will be a good pickup for a contender.

It’s a fair question, but every time I doubt it’s significance, I remember Marcus Semien.

He’s got a long, storied history of pissing off almost literally everyone who’s ever worked with him, in myriad ways. If his career actually has ended, it’ll be because this was an easy reason for the entire community to finally say “good riddance.” That’s the difference between him and the others, where people are more willing to look the other way. I don’t think he’s malignant on purpose; he probably can’t help being a jackass and doesn’t understand why he rubs everyone on earth the wrong way — if you dig around you can find stories of him bristling with teammates and coaches since he was a child — but, you know, that’s life. If you make everyone hate you, you come to find no one around to stand up for you when you need it.

^ and still no depth at all

I'm really trying, but I just can't bring myself to care at all.

And with that, I’ve used up my monthly allotment of interest in the White Sox. Switching to the NPB to watch the Eagles vs. Hawks. Thanks for joining.

It no longer qualifies as a rescue, but Deivi Garcia is now pitching.

“The Nationals are playing pepper with the outfield fence” - Jason Benetti

Well he just needed a rescue, too, that’s all.

Unfortunately literally no one was watching then.