he gone.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 04:30 PM) Wish they would start from scratch with both tv and radio If you're a fan of David Letterman or dry humor the teams we have in place are a DREAM. If not, it's absolutely brutal. I'm in the latter category. I know nobody will ever be satisfied but I wish Benetti would take a breath and shutup once and a while. Not the whole broadcast has to be quips and an overload of information. I almost prefer Farmer to Jason .................... and that's saying something

My personal opinion reading it is this: - our stadium is "fine". But it's not the girlfriend you want to show off. There's nothing that is very awe inspiring. It's very utilitarian - gets the job done. They've definitely improved it with the fundamentals deck and the ivy in center, etc. But I wish it had a bit more design to it in terms of different wall heights in the OF and not such a perfect 375 in the gaps, 330 down the lines feel. - I wish the stadium WAS built in Armour Park and took off like it could have. We hate comparing to Wrigley, but with a stadium like that it could have revitalized Bridgeport more. Instead of living in Lakeview maybe I live in Bridgeport right now. I always envy living in Lakeview wishing Wrigley was Comiskey - I'd be at 30 games a year. I get that people are going to say you CAN live in Bridgeport and I like it just fine, but it doesn't hold a candle to the north side in terms of coffee shops, walkability, etc. - Reinsdorf was never going to ever approve that stadium. It doesn't even sound like it was a possibility or made it to the last round. Also I thought it was interesting to hear the Camden story in more detail. My impression was always that the architect gave Reinsdorf and Co. a nice, homey ballpark and they said no. From the article it sounds like that firm wasn't even considering incorporating the factory until forced to. Also glad we didn't get that ugly retractable roof. My ultimate hope is maybe by 2050 or so we're talking plans to put in a new stadium. I still hope its in Bridgeport.. and maybe this time we go back to the original location or Armour and do it right this time. I think the city has a lot to offer and if the revitalization continues from the South Loop down maybe Bridgeport is happening place before and after games. I still like the location and would love to see the Southside have a touch of gentrification... just a sprinkle though. I like the southside grit and charm.

Long read, but I'm sure will spark much debate and conversation. Read and comment away. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/the-whit...hanged-history/

I'm not sure a 23 year old who's pitched in the majors for part of his 21 and 22 year old campaigns can be called a reclamation project..... but other than the title I enjoyed your post! Not trying to nitpick... I just think we are awfully tough on Gio. If he wasn't rushed by the Nats his first taste of the majors woulda been with us last year and he passed my expectations by far.

Although I agree that I don't like the season starting early as it did this year, this year is also a freak occurrence. Our average high nowadays is supposed to be about 55. Now by no means is that "baseball" weather, however having temperatures TWENTY degrees below average for a two week period doesn't generally happen. It sucks, but can't really do much about it.

My biggest excitement has been Anderson. If he's a guy who can steal 40 bases and also hit 20HR he becomes a steal -- even with all the strikeouts. Speed like that is a disruptor.

Probably not adding much to the conversation here, but agree with basically everything said. a- too many "dad" jokes. aka, jokes that the joke teller only finds funny. I get he has a dry sense of humor, but not a huge fan. It gets tiring, and when its 162 games it wears on you. b- not enough excitement. I think this is almost Benetti doing this purposely. I think he wants to separate himself from Hawk and not be the same. But I can't go from complete homer in Hawk to Benetti. It's tough. c- he has the voice for baseball and he clearly is talented and smart enough for the job, so the potential is there d- I'm growing tired of Stone and agree AJP would be my clear frontrunner. He's said a number of times you need a homer in the booth and it makes it fun. So I'd love to get him up there with Benetti. e- I NEED a homerun call. He doesn't have to be Hawk Jr. But for a guy who grew up a Sox fan - I need MUCH more excitement on HR and big plays. He doesn't have to be Hawk and definitely don't need 2015 and on version of Hawk that is basically a cartoon character, but I need early 2000's Hawk. That is all. Nothing will change though, this is the team with DJ and Farmer giving a golf presentation for the last decade.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 01:31 PM) That is outstanding. The best is when you get to utilize the Scout Seats on an iffy game for a few hours before first pitch. You sit in warm, dry surroundings and then they call it without a pitch happening. Basically get a free buffet for 2 hours. I've always aimed for that, hasn't happened yet.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 2, 2018 -> 02:35 PM) At this stage you have to imagine that the Dbacks would be willing to pick up nearly all of his contract seeing as they just sent him to AAA and are paying him anyway. The question for the Sox is what would Arizona ask for in exchange for how much responsibility for the contract. I might be convinced to take a chunk of his deal in exchange for some interesting position player prospects. We could still use more positional depth, especially in the infield. Exactly, this is under the assumption he's costing the Sox less than $1mm per year or something in my mind. Nobody is going to pay this guy.

The reason I generally go in April is this: 1- years like this & last the games become meaningless by almost May, so while I know it's a long shot, mentally I like to be at a game that matters 2- the crowds are usually SUPER thin. Most games you can by $6 ticket and sit almost anywhere, but in April that's magnified. 3 - The tickets are SUPER cheap. I try and pick one April weekday, day game and buy Scout Seats on StubHub. You can generally get them for $100-120. It's fun to sit there for that price regardless the temps. Cold, go inside and watch an inning and eat/drink some more. 4- bonus trick, if you know the game is going to get rained out/snowed out/postponed for cold -- go buy the premium ticket an hour before the game -- aka Scout Seats for $100 or Diamond seats for $20-25 and hope you get the makeup game in June. Next thing you know you're sitting in 75 degree weather in scout seats for $100.

With this weather on the horizon it's going to be a really down year for MLB and the White Sox in April. I know I was planning on Saturday's game against DET and then Tuesday day game, but am likely out for both now. No reason to sit in the cold - not enjoyable at all.

I'm usually 100% about bringing someone like this onboard, however I'd pass. Like someone said he's basically Viciedo Part 2. Is there a chance a change of scenery changes him into Avi Garcia Part 2 instead? Maybe. But I really don't see him as part of our future more than Davidson and therefore unless he's willing to play in Charlotte and wait his turn, then no. He's a DH at best and I think we have enough candidates for that.

I'm proud of SoxTalk! I was expecting to see something like "do you think we can lock him up for 4 years at $40mm?" and drinking the Kool-Aid. I picked him as my surprise for the year, so I definitely am not harping on him. Hey look, if Joey Gallo can be considered an asset and if people like Chris Davis can take home nice paychecks, why can't Davidson? The problem is that he needs to walk more. Can he? Does something click? Cause if it does, he certainly can have a role on a playoff team. He has serious 40HR type power which doesn't just grow on trees. He's got an opportunity that he wouldn't be afforded on most MLB teams, so he needs to take advantage of it this year. It'll be fun to watch on games like yesterday, but frustrating when he goes 0-4 with 3k's and leaves bases loaded .... which we all know is coming. My hope is he can turn into a VERY nice bench piece on a World Series competing team. My ceiling is a 100 game, LF, 3B, DH, 1B.

QUOTE (Tony @ Mar 29, 2018 -> 12:16 AM) This is such an interesting thread because people have so many different answers. No one can really be wrong (at least as we sit here on Opening Night Eve) which tells you how many interesting storylines we will be watching in 2018. Almost every single position has intrigue (Abreu/Avi contract decisions, Figuring out which players take the next step forward, and who takes a step backwards.) James Shields and Miguel Gonzalez are the only two I can really say I don’t care about at all. This is why a rebuild is interesting. I was so sick going into a season knowing everything had to go just right for the Sox to compete, and having to watch season after season of Alexei, Rios, Dunn, Konerko, etc. I loved some of those guys but their wasn’t any intrigue with any of it. Haven’t been this excited in a long time for Sox baseball. I've been real interested reading these too. From what I can tell people are generally cold on Reynaldo Lopez, a mixed bag on Engel (hot/cold), and a lot of support for Cordell.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 28, 2018 -> 11:16 AM) Cordell in April Kopech in May Jimenez in July Kopech in May?!!? Wow. I'm fully not expecting him until late June. I think when Fulmer fails, and that's my guess -- is that they'll let him go for 8-12 starts. They'll then turn to Hector Santiago to fill in for a bit as necessary. Rodon comes back sooner too. I think Kopech gets called up if he's destroying AAA or when it's finally time to cut bait with Shields or Miggy. Until then I see them filling out the rotation with Lopez and Fulmer until they absolutely have to make a change.

I think the answer to that question is whoever we are least comfortable with in the majors right now, and who is viable at AAA. I think Engel could quickly become Jacob May of last year. May earned his shot in ST last year with a track record that really didn't back it up entirely. Engel is a better version of May, but he's constantly tweaking his swing. A bad start probably leads to another tweak and another. I can see him fail out of the gates and unlike last year we have a number of guys knocking at the door including Cordell and Tilson. So agree on Tilson. Also probably the Vegas money goes on a bullpen guy. Just always some arm tweaks leading to a call-up. I'll go with Scahill just for fun. Had a nice spring even if he wasn't a last cut.

Feel like we should talk about something new after a month off. So how about something simple to start us off... Name: 1 surprise 1 disappointment 1 dark horse I'll start.. 1 surprise - I'm shocking myself even saying this, and it's wishful thinking, Matt Davidson figures it out. Strikeouts go down to where he's a serviceable piece to our plans in 2019 and 2020. Maybe as a 3B. Maybe at DH. Maybe at LF. Maybe at 1B. Basically Delmonicos role. 1 disappointment - Hate to be the eternal pessimist, but I have three. Although the last one leads into my dark horse candidate. I'll start with Nicky Delmonico - I'm going to unfortunately predict he'll be in AAA by seasons end. I think that Lopez serves as our #5 for 2-3 years, but ultimately isn't what we hoped. And finally, disappointment in Fulmer. 1- dark horse - which feeds into dark horse. I don't think many of us are optimistic about Fulmer as a starter. I think we are hoping he can do it, but I think as a dark horse he turns into a VERY, very solid setup man for our next 3-4 years.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Mar 1, 2018 -> 08:33 AM) If there was no draft pick compensation attached, I would be interested in a 1-2 year deal on Moustakas. As things are currently, I am not interested in giving up the #45 pick in the draft and bonus pool. If Moose wanted a 1 or 2 year deal I'm sure he could take it right now. I don't think any team is that tied to a second round pick if they think Moose is going to make the team that much better. My two cents.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Feb 28, 2018 -> 03:53 PM) We've pretty much exhausted this debate on whether, or not, to sign Moustakas. Here is my personal opinion and conclusion: I advocate signing Moustakas to a 4 or 5 year contract, if he can be acquired for $12 Million per year, or less. Here is my argument: 1) 5 years covers his age 29 through 33 seasons, still prime years. 2) 3RD base is the one hole, which needs filling, now and into the foreseeable future. I love Yolmer, but he is not a middle of the order hitter 3) He provides a much needed solid LH, middle of the order, power bat 4) His 38 homers, in 2017, are a KC record and the 24 HR's, in just 74 games, on the road, are very impressive. He should be a force at Guaranteed Rate Field. 5) While he doesn't walk at an ideal rate, his strike outs are very respectable, for a true power hitter. His 2017 94 Strike outs, with 38 HR's and a .531 Slugging % was among the best in baseball. We would all like a better OBP, but if he possessed one, he would be a $20 million per year player. 6) His 2015 stats were very consistently solid, with the exception of his July .188 AVG., immediately following the time that his mother lost her struggle with cancer. He took two family leaves during that time. That .188 was more than 100 points lower than the rest of his season. If you take out that month, of understandable emotional stress, he hit .302. 7) That contract would be very reasonable, relative to today's market, and would not preclude another major commitment 8) He would not block any top prospect, currently in the organization. 9) He has valuable Post Season experience 10) Good club house guy 11) Before his knee injury, his defense was rated better than average, and he is now another year further removed from knee surgery and should be an adequate defender. 2019 Lineup, versus RHP: 2B Moncada RF Avi 1B Abreu 3B Moustakas LF Eloy SS Anderson C Navaerez/Narvaez DH Delmonico/Davidson CF Defense First, take your pick?????? That's my perspective. Anyone care to summarize an opposing view? I mean, this about sums it up. I don't see the downside. My main points are the above and also it doesn't even block us from signing Machado or Arenado or Donaldson if we'd like. You could just shift Moose to a 1B/3B/DH utility role and still play 140 games. My other main point was also discussed in a post earlier - our 3B history is UGLY UGLY UGLY. We just don't do well there. We have no real prospects on the horizon and our best option in Burger is now another year off. I'd say best case scenario for Burger now stands at mid-2020. If you sign Moose for 4 years with an opt out after years 2 and 3 I think you do well. I'd go something like Year 1 - $10mm Year 2 - $14mm Opt out Year 3 - $15mm Opt out Year 4 - $12mm 4 years, $51mm. Throw in a few incentives for MVP voting, silver slugger, HR's etc and let him work his way towards like $5-9mm more throughout the deal. If he performs I have no problem of 4 years and $60mm You backload the deal a bit more so that it's a tougher decision to opt-out. If you front load it increases his chances that he walks after 2 years. Also getting him for only 2 years would be less than ideal.

What are peoples thoughts on Lucroy? https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lucrojo01.shtml Here's a guy who has never struck out more than 100 times in a season, who has basically average a .350OBP over the past half decade, can call a decent game, and where we have a real opportunity at DH/backup 1B for him to get a good amount of AB's. I feel like we may be able to give him more AB's than most teams and is a GREAT flip candidate for anybody who loses a catcher to injury or just needs a nice super UTIL guy at C/1B/DH for a stretch run. I also think he'd out perform Castillo and could form a real nice platoon over the next 2-3 years. I'd love to have Catcher be a real strength. In 2 years when Collins is ready you hand him the keys and keep one of these guys as your backup.

QUOTE (JUSTgottaBELIEVE @ Feb 27, 2018 -> 05:57 AM) I don’t see Machado or Arenado as realistic options with the money they will demand. That leaves Donaldson and Rendon and both guys scare me when you consider what they will get paid. Donaldson is great but his age relative to the Sox contention window is absolutely concerning. With Rendon, I don’t know but just a gut feeling that he’s the kind of guy that would see a drop in performance after moving to the AL. Maybe I have an irrational fear after seeing what happened to the likes of Frazier, LaRoche, Dunn, etc. Both Donaldson and Rendon feel like cases where you are paying a hefty sum for past performance versus expected future performance. 100% this. If we had to list our weakest position relative to the next 3-4 years I'd have to say 3B. We have a good amount of talent spread around the rest of the diamond throughout the minors (Especially if we extend Abreu), so for me, it's let's sign a safe option and eliminate a hole. I also don't think if you sign Moose that it precludes you from going after Machado (who can play SS, or rotate between 3B/SS while Moose rotates between DH/3B/1B). Also worst case scenario Moose is paid at a very reasonable rate and you can flip his salary for a mid-level prospect if you really really want. Other than draft compensation I don't see the down side.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 26, 2018 -> 04:31 PM) I think where I'll have trouble agreeing is I just don't think the then-31 year old Moustakas is us ready-to-go in 2019/20. He seems like another piece we would be trying to upgrade. I don't think Moustakas is a bad player, but I at least think our prospects can create a series of depth and average-ish players similar to the Brewers offense. I'd prefer we use free agent money toward elite upgrades, and more toward the 26-28 year old free agents. Basically, if this was 2 years ago and a player like justin Upton was still available and we signed him, i'd be good with that. But to me this is more like signing 29 year old Todd Frazier. Todd Frazier is a good player! Definite mlb starter. But it turned out Frazier was more decent starter on a team, instead of all star 3b that we thought. And that's Mous to me. Not someone you are embarrassed about, but not great either. And I'm like 100% sure in the next two offseasons we won't care if we had to pay 5 million more a season if it means we get a great player instead of a decently priced Mous. True, but look at the list I made above. Outside a few of the guys at third, most are pretty bad. Add to that we really don’t have depth at that position. I think it’s a safe play at the right spot. Otherwise I think we’ll be trading for a 3B in 2020.

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Feb 26, 2018 -> 03:40 PM) No need to sign Moustakas... Burger will be up in the majors soon.. oh wait. This is a prime example in real time. We have no idea what Burger's injury is and hopefully it's a turned ankle. However, if it's an Achilles or ACL or something else bad? You lose a year of him developing instantly. Then let's say it takes him a year of rust, and/or maybe he never returns to his college form, etc. etc. Basically what I'm saying is that we are pretty good at pitcher where we can do next man up. We are pretty okay at OF dependent on how those guys develop/stay healthy. We are the opposite of okay on the left side of the infield. I'm all for Moustakas and figuring it out later if Burger is swatting the ball like Babe Ruth. But for now, I think you buy at a discount and get a solid player at a solid price. Bump. I'm sorry, but there you go. It's so important that your team is ready to ROLL in 2019-2021 and I'm not about to take risks to mess that window of opportunity up. I don't want to be the Pirates. Sign Moose if you can get him for a reasonable price and figure the rest out later. Look to the Cubs or Astros. You can never have too many good players. If you have Moose, Machado and a healthy Burger who is mashing? Rotate and get creative. Who cares about paying the guy this year.

No need to sign Moustakas... Burger will be up in the majors soon.. oh wait. This is a prime example in real time. We have no idea what Burger's injury is and hopefully it's a turned ankle. However, if it's an Achilles or ACL or something else bad? You lose a year of him developing instantly. Then let's say it takes him a year of rust, and/or maybe he never returns to his college form, etc. etc. Basically what I'm saying is that we are pretty good at pitcher where we can do next man up. We are pretty okay at OF dependent on how those guys develop/stay healthy. We are the opposite of okay on the left side of the infield. I'm all for Moustakas and figuring it out later if Burger is swatting the ball like Babe Ruth. But for now, I think you buy at a discount and get a solid player at a solid price.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 26, 2018 -> 02:01 PM) He has to do something to save face. He isn't going to sign for 1 year and $12 million considering what he turned down. But you are probably correct. If those were parameters, probably would want an opt out. You could throw some incentives at him l. That way, if you are paying more, at least it's for production. Shoot, I'd give an opt-out. It's even better for us. Sign him for 4 years, $48-52mm. Give him an opt out after years 2 and 3. I would not give him an opt-out after year one for obvious reasons as there's no real benefit to having him on this years team. If we somehow did sign Machado he could play SS or 3B and move over Moustakas as necessary.