Timmy U

This is nice. Reinsdorf gets a lot of heat for being "cheap" or whatever with Bulla and Sox. Probably a lot of that is deserved, I don't want to go into it. But when it comes to things like White Sox charities, ACE, and how he treats his employees, it's pretty clear that Jerry has a big heart. That''s one of the things that makes me proud to be a Sox fan. You don't see the Cubs making Ed Howard into a first-round draft pick, basically getting nothing out of it for themselves.

Giolito has become one of my favorite Sox players. Ever. Just such a decent guy.

Bummer is one of the hardest workers on the club. Good for him! I like the Sox paying younger guys for performance. It’s the wave of the future, rather than paying old guys for past performance.

Okay, how about Starling Marte and Adam Jones? Both plus athletes at a key defensive position who throughout their careers have not walked much but hit for good averages with decent power.

I was at that game. Next outing v. Sox Nolan plunked Rubin and I think Grebeck. Cue video

What they're saying is that he's put on a lot of muscle and he's hitting with more power in BP. But that's just BP, so who knows?

Early reports this spring look positive for Rutherford. That would be huge because no Sox left-handed hitters ever seem to develop.

Thanks. Agree to disagree. I think he is going to have a long post-Sox career.

In the next 2 years? Or in his career? Cuz if it's career, I'd take the over on that in a heartbeat, even if the bulk of it is going to be for another team.

Do you actually write these or do you have a bot that auto fills your Abreu slams?

Man, must have twisted his knee sprinting to his mistress’s house after the baby was born.

Cool. I grew up in St. Joe. Not many Sox fans there, though.

I will note that Bregman and Altuve both vehemently deny the buzzers, but everything else is a "no comment" or a "now is not the appropriate time to talk about that," which for me is tantamount to admitting it's all true.

Also, his arm is barely playable in left. Your second baseman would have to have a cannon if you were playing Brantley out there. Helluva hitter, though.

Thanks for the Kevan Smith interview. He said two things that really stuck out to me: 1) Neither the Sox nor the Angels had video sign stealing, and 2) Even last year it seemed like the Astros inexplicably had guys, even with no obvious pitch-tipping or runners on base. It’s going to be interesting to see how this effects their numbers. They still have a lot of talent, but if every guy you face is, in essence, tipping their pitches, you’re going to do better. Also, not surprised Sox weren’t doing this. Hard to imagine losing that many games AND cheating.

I vaguely remember the negotiations between the Sox and Hinch getting very ugly. I think there were recriminations against Hinch’s family. I don’t think there is any love lost there. So 1/1000 might even be kind.

I don’t think the sign-stealing helped him hit all that much.

Thanks here’s another classic in which Shepherd compares White Sox misery to Red Sox misery.

I agree the Sox defense is not stellar. That said, a left side of Poland’s, Sanyo, and Rosario is atrocious.

Guys who are on the roster bubble for me: Zavala, Medeiros, Jose Ruiz, Tayron Guerrero, maybe Fulmer. Then after Spring, Rodon, Lambert, and Dunning all go on the 60 day, so there will be room to add Robert, Madrigal, and NRI’s from Spring. Covey and Fulmer are both out of options. They either make the club, or they are gone.

Here are the links: https://theathletic.com/1138512/2019/08/16/pirates-clubhouse-chemistry-keone-kela-suspension-euclides-rojas-kyle-crick/ https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2019/08/17/Keone-Kela-perception-problem-takes-issue-Pirates-reliever-Clint-Hurdle/stories/201908170043

If Madrigal is being held down for service time reasons, that’s like two weeks. I think Leury and Mendick can manage that.

Elijah Tatis?

Here's what I think everything goes wrong is: Colome is 2nd half Colome all season, Herrera is still bad, Marshall and Cordero face serious regression, Giolito regresses, Anderson's batted ball luck evaporates, Robert is not ready, he hits for a low average with a lot of strikeouts, Keuchel's ERA matches his FIP, Cease and Lopez do not improve, Madrigal is at the low end of his projection sub .700 OPS, and Mazara does not improve, and at least one injury for Moncada or Eloy. Even with good seasons from Abreu, Grandal, Eloy, and Moncada, that team wins 75 games in a tough AL. Now, I don't think all that's going to happen, but it's all plausible. Now reverse it: Robert's an immediate impact player, Giolito is an all star, Kopech and Cease pitch close to their talent, Herrera is the guy he was last September, Mazara improves, Madrigal's closer to the higher end of his projections, Anderson's batted ball profile is a semi-permanent skill, Keuchel is rejuvenated... well, that could be a 95 win team. Lot of variables for the Sox. Maybe harder to predict than any team in the past several years.

I think the Sox have a huge cone of uncertainty. Right now, I would say around 85 wins. If everything goes right, I could see them winning as many as 95, but if everything goes wrong, I could see them winning as few as 75, especially considering how deep the league is. However it turns out, it should be exciting.