Nardiwashere

?

lol, are people angry the team won some games in the last week?

Moncada had years to cement himself as the 3B. He didn't hit enough the last 4 years to guarantee his spot when he returns from injury in his final year with the team. I have no issue with playing him at 2B, 1B, RF or just dumping him. I don't hate him as much as some people here (I like him more than Eloy, who I think is beyond worthless) but when he gets back on the team, there's no reason you need to give him his spot back.

Crochet relates to Eder because they were born within a year of each other, lost time to injury, and drafted in the same weird COVID year. You were cool with putting Crochet back in the minors but see it a red flag that Eder is still there. I do expect him to be up in the next year or so. Does anyone expect Eder to be making his MLB debut in 2027-28? Eventually he'll either make it up to the majors or he wont. They traded a 3B with an injury history who isn't a great fielder but was on fire offensively for a former highly regarded starting pitching prospect who had lost some value because he was coming back from TJ and a foot injury. If the centerpiece for a Luis Robert trade was Jake Eder, I wouldn't be happy. But it was for Jake Burger and he seems to be moving in the right direction. We'll see what happens.

Didn't you want Crochet to go back down to the minors this year? They were drafted in the same year. What's the difference in the big scheme of things if he's a year behind?

He missed a season due to COVID and then had Tommy John. Its not like he's been playing in minors for 5 straight years. He'll be 25 the rest of the season.

That's the key. I don't hold a guy like DeJong against the new front office because he was clearly a placeholder for a lost season. But they'll need to show they can identify position players in that price range you mentioned starting next year. The FA class doesn't excite me either but there are always guys. Let's say we find one 1B, DH, RF, 2B via deadline trade and then $40 mil to find the other three in this list. I don't think it makes the Sox contenders but they should be able to field a team that is respectable. First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso, Rhys Hoskins (opt-out), Anthony Rizzo (club option), Josh Bell, Rowdy Tellez, Christian Walker, Ryan O'Hearn, Carlos Santana Second base: Gleyber Torres, Brandon Lowe (club option), Ha-Seong Kim (mutual option), Whit Merrifield (club option), Wilmer Flores (player option/club option), Jorge Polanco (club option), Brandon Crawford, Brandon Drury, Adam Frazier (mutual option) Shortstop: Willy Adames, Tim Anderson, Miguel Rojas (club option), Amed Rosario, Paul DeJong, Garrett Hampson, Joey Wendle Outfield: Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger (opt-out), Alex Verdugo, Michael Conforto, Joey Gallo, Tyler O’Neill, Joc Pederson (mutual option), Anthony Santander, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (opt-out), Teoscar Hernández, Aaron Hicks, Andrew McCutchen, Kevin Kiermaier, Max Kepler, Harrison Bader, Mark Canha, Mitch Haniger (opt-out), Hunter Renfroe (player option), Manuel Margot (mutual option), Michael A. Taylor, Charlie Blackmon, Adam Duvall, Randal Grichuk (mutual option), Jason Heyward, Jurickson Profar

Makes sense... and my point is they will have money to spend. When you have a CF, young pitching coming up, kids at 3B, SS, C, only one bad contract in Benitendi, and don't devote $90 million to a bunch of RPs, there's going to be money to spend... especially if you can trade Fedde, Kopech, etc. for, let's say, a future starter in RF.

Yeah... I meant at the deadline or in the offseason if they think he will leave at the end of next year and they feel good about their ability to get pitching on FA market with Bannister, he could be dealt for prospect to fill an area of need and you can use that money to find the next Fedde.

Alternatively, if you feel good about your ability to find FA SPs on a yearly basis and don't think Fedde will re-sign, you could deal him at the deadline for a young player at one of the positions of need and reinvest his $7.5 million for another guy like him. This is why I get tired with all the people who act like they are decades away. There's a path here.

They'll have money to spend. They have guys penciled in for LF, CF, SS, 3B, C for next year. They will probably have a rotation of Crochet, Fedde, maybe another FA singing in the Fedde/Clevinger mold, and then a parade of kids like Thorpe, Nastrini, Cannon, Bush, etc. Between trades at the deadline this year, offseason trades, and free agency, they need to go out and find a RF, 1B, 2b, DH. Clevinger, Flexen, Soroka, come off the books and that can turn into a $7,750,000 SP. Let's say they get rid of Maldonado, Stassi, Nicky Lopez, DeJong, Vaughn, Pham, etc. That's $16,556,124. Moncada is $24,800,000 Eloy is $13,833,333. You could pocket the Eloy money or use it to pay for raises and still have $40 mil to play with. At deadline maybe we turn some guys into a DH and 1B. Then in the offseason we would sign a Ha-Seong Kim or Gleyber Torres and a Verdugo or Santander. That's a watchable team and probably less payroll than current year, right?

Feels like just yesterday reading NY and Bal fans (and a decent number of posters here) claiming he wasn't very good and not worth prospects.

.

You probably also agree that him not being a "big name" makes no difference either. So I think you're all pretty much in agreement.

Teams dont trade for guys based on their old prospect ranking but if the argument is "He wont get anything good because he isn't a big name" (like someone said earlier in the thread), the fact that he had a pedigree and just took longer to figure it out is relevant. This isn't some bum off the street who showed up and got lucky a few times.

I don't understand the Bears proposal at all. The current stadium is 20 years old. Its fine. They play there 9 times a year. A very small minority of fans attend more than one game a year anyway. Now you have beautiful views of the city and lake. Summertime concerts at the outdoor stadium are fun. People complaints about Soldier Field always center around difficulty getting to and from games. This doesn't change any of that. Its going to be the same thing except now they'll have some generic boring eyesore dome that doesn't even take advantage of being next to the lake and located within a beautiful park. That stadium in the renderings can be put anywhere. I don't want it on the lakefront. I understand wanting to move to Arlington. There, the stadium can be surrounded by hotels and bars etc. that would result in additional revenue for the team. That seems like such a waste for billions of dollars. How does it improve the fan experience? Nicer bathrooms? A little more capacity for tickets? Who cares if Chicago gets to host a Super Bowl or a Final Four? I can't imagine the Bears making money off of that as tenants. And if they do, it still seems insignificant when compared to the cost. I still think they end up moving to Arlington Heights. I think they are just using our idiot mayor for leverage. At least the Sox proposal is a clear upgrade for ownership and the fans. Improved location, nicer looking building, more lively atmosphere, easier to get to weekday night games for people working in the loop... More revenue possibilities for the team.

After the Pierzynski rant that went viral (and I thought was a little ill informed/unfair), I'd love if someone was able to compile a list of all players drafted in Round 11 or later from 2017-2020 (Getz's time as Director of Player Development) that made the MLB for all teams and see how many guys each team had and how good they were. I'd be willing to guess most teams didn't have a ton and out of the ones that made it, most of them are guys like Seby Zavala.

Did this guy rank the system before or after we lost future HOFer, Jose Rodriguez?

I am hopeful about the pitching. Crochet, Fedde, Thorpe, Nastrini, Cannon, Bush, etc. could form a fun young rotation next year. The offense feels so far away. We have a guy: CF - Robert LF - Unfortunately probably stuck with Benitendi Possibly have a guy/Going to give a shot to a prospect RF - Hopefully Fletcher is the guy SS - Montgomery 3B - Ramos C- I think we are ok with the two prospects and a random vet signing Need a guy 1B DH 2B When you organize it like that, it doesn't feel as dire. Theoretically, 1B, DH, 2B should be easier to find. The problem is besides Robert, all the other names aren't players I want batting in the top half of a lineup. Ideally, Fletcher would take Benitendi's spot in the lineup and you fill the other corner OF with a dude who can hit. But that's not realistic.

If they get shut out again in the next week, I say we turn this into an Uncle Baby Billy message board

No. Ahmed Rosario PLUS José Rodriguez... then this team would be awesome.

And if they weren't shoved out, the complaints would be "he's stubbornly keeping the trash for too long"

I haven't seen an announcer think every fly ball was a home run like this since 1998ish Chip Caray

I want Pasquantino

Came to the game thread because I'm excited to see Nastrini... So confused... is Soxtalk upset that he's up?