Sambuca

I like Soxtalk because the “hyperbole” is bountiful, but the subsequent dashing dialogue about, not only the meaning of the word, but the art of its usage.

All you guys talk about is “hyperbole.”

Colome got the job done the last few years, and that is because he’s mastered a craft, one that is not driven by crazy talent. I am worried, will he have to re-master his craft when his stuff begins regressing more over the next few years. It’s possible he could get even smarter with his pitch selection and when/how to use his cutter. I’d just rather not bank on that. Give me the guy who misses more bats and puts less runners on base. I am also a big fan of high energy, dominating closers. I feel like it just brings something extra to the team. I also think the guys playing behind Hendriks will be more confident and comfortable during the 9th inning. If we end up with Colome, I won’t be like upset especially if it’s cheap, and because we have in house options. I just think it’s time to go in a different direction. As far as overpaying for Hendriks, I do understand it’s not our money, but it does dictates what other moves we make, including unloading prospects. I also don’t want them “running out of money.“ If they did have 25mil to spend and I had confidence they would spend it wisely to fill multiple holes, I’d be more against spending a lot on Hendriks. But I do not trust them to make those moves with the extra money, so when they are heavily rumored to finally spend big money, and the player they are spending on is elite, I fucking want this move to happen so badly. We are spending a lot of money on an elite player! Both are things we should be celebrating. I understand the money could potentially be used to get more value at another position, could be used more efficiently to fill multiple holes, etc., but they realistically could also not spend it all, or spend it on a bunch of garbage who don’t add up to Hendriks as a whole. Spend money on the elite player who will make the White Sox a better team. I’d rather deal with the consequences of this signing this offseason. I’m sure they will be able to grab a couple more guys anyways. And I’m writing this with an understanding that at times, this contract won’t be great over whole 4 years, but it’s not a contract that will cripple this team. There might even be decent opportunity to trade him depending on the situation over his contract.

It’s cute how you two so generously and selflessly provide each other with reading recommendations.

I honestly do not think a trade with Stiever as the “headliner” gets it done. If Stiever is in the package, the other piece(s) would be almost equal.

Right, there were more pitchers who weren’t strikeouts guys, but high strikeout pitchers still existed. Koch was not one of them, and even at his highest strikeout rate, he just barely had a 2/1 SO/BB rate (2.02). That’s not good, especially for a reliever. His 1.27 WHIP that season was also far from dominant. Foulke was a more overpowering pitcher sitting in the low 90s. Obviously, I’m still pissed off about this trade, ha.

Thanks for saving me time of citing stats, lol. I was pissed when that trade was made because not only was Keith Foulke my favorite pitcher at the time, he was the superior reliever. The most value Koch provided in his “good” season in 2002 was his amount of appearances and innings, which most likely led to his massive drop in velocity the next season with the Sox. All his other numbers were very pedestrian.

Billy Koch was never good.

I also never said anything about Musgrove being a “star.”

I am not misrepresenting the argument. There’s been a lot of different points being made and argued within your exact interpretation/description of “the argument.” The Giolito and Katz point is irrelevant to me saying López could realistically end up being the worst pitcher in baseball next year. I also don’t think we can sit here and expect a Hail Mary from Katz on López or any of our young pitchers for that matter. I’m hopeful but it doesn’t change how bad of a pitcher López is right now and very well could be next year as well. I’m confused why López should even be a talking point in defense of acquiring Musgrove. López is a non-factor at this point in a quest to start wining championships immediately. You can keep cherry picking good starts and bad Musgrove starts, but his peripherals are consistently superior to López. And the way we look at pitchers is way off if now you’re also comparing Stiever to Dunning in terms of a pitcher, prospect, talent, trade asset. That’s just not accurate right now, I’m sorry.

I do not get how people think having Musgrove in the rotation is the same or even worse than López. I also don’t think WAR should be used as a basis for who is a better pitcher, or even who has better statistics. I find it far more useful and accurate for generally quantifying a position player. There’s really not much you need to look at to see how much better Musgrove is currently, but also how much better of a position he is in to progress next season. López could easily be the worst pitcher in the league next year. Also, everyone is overvaluing Stiever. He will not be headlining any package for a player like Musgrove with more than one year of control. If Stiever is at the front of the trade, he will be paired with multiple equally “good” prospects.

Thanks, people who respond, and for the information. I’d use Google, but this seems like such a subjective thing for me to get a gauge on without following for a while.

Thank you.

Is Cespedes generally being looked at as a better signing than Colas around the industry?

Is Cespedes generally being looked at as a better signing than Colas around the industry?

If it ain’t broke, right?

Do you believe you can change? There’s clearly no reason for you to ever change, but if it was for the best?

What are you trying to accomplish?

Did you refer to him as “bmr” the other day?

Lopez is a shell of what he was when the Sox acquired him. He also hasn’t seemed healthy. Hopefully his stuff returns if they move him to the pen. This could be nothing, but did anyone else notice how much Collins was calling curveballs in Dunning’s debut and they were absolute hammers and a wipe out pitch. After that start, his curveball seemed to play a much smaller role, and didn’t have the same movement. Maybe his arm was just tiring out though. An equally frustrating thing with Cooper over his entire tenure was hearing about a prospect who throws upper 90s come up and top out at 93. Cooper definitely didn’t have issues helping pitchers be successful, but he was a stuff-killer. Things are different now, pitchers need to play with their best stuff. Pitchers definitely do not need their stuff suppressed, they need a coach who can help make their stuff better.

Does anyone have Cease’s strike % with his curveball last year. I rarely remember him starting a curveball in the zone, let alone keeping one in the zone. His curveball was a complete non-factor last season. You’re not going to get too many major league hitters chasing a ball spinning like crazy that’s already a foot outside. This was even more true with two strikes. Hence his shockingly low SO numbers. I honestly couldn’t stand watching him pitch last season. Cooper might have something to do with less curveballs, but it’s safe to assume they started calling less curveballs because he wouldn’t/couldn’t throw it in the zone. The only effect it seemed to have was getting behind in the count, waking hitters, high pitch counts. It’s a shame because it’s an absolutely wipe out pitch if he starts it in the zone. I’m not nearly as high on him as I am on Kopech, but I’m not giving up that he could be a 2/3 who will completely dominate a good amount of starts a year. Very interested to see what Katz does with these guys.

I was just kind of thinking out loud about it. You seem to back up that it’s not feasible to have him do both. If we get him up to say 100 innings starting in the minors, do we really want him throwing high leverage situations out of the pen in a division race and playoffs? I’d love to keep him as a starter as long as possible, but if that’s the case, he shouldn’t really be helping the ML team in 2021 and possibly not even 2022.

Oh yeah?

There is not one good reason to start Kopech in the majors next season. I’m sure they have a plan for him, but he’s also going to dictate some of that plan based on his AAA performance. Even if they plan to bring him up in June, if he doesn’t find his command until July, he’s not coming up until July. I am extremely confident in Kopech next season though. Hopefully their plan keeps his arm fresh for the playoffs.

I doubt it, but good point.