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Here is where the Sox should spend


southsider2k5

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I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

A lot of analysts/baseball development people are leaving the game. They already took slight paycuts to work in the industry because it was the a "fun industry" but now that the job security was removed this year there's no reason for many to stay. They can go get better paying more secure jobs in other industry.

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16 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

Exactly. I want the Sox to become the Dodgers.

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7 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

A lot of analysts/baseball development people are leaving the game. They already took slight paycuts to work in the industry because it was the a "fun industry" but now that the job security was removed this year there's no reason for many to stay. They can go get better paying more secure jobs in other industry.

It is an unprecedented opportunity for a team who is willing to make an investment here.  I am sure there are plenty who don't want to leave who could be snatched up by a team willing to take them on.  It is essentially a massive free agency for front office people.

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5 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

It is an unprecedented opportunity for a team who is willing to make an investment here.  I am sure there are plenty who don't want to leave who could be snatched up by a team willing to take them on.  It is essentially a massive free agency for front office people.

I don't disagree with you, I just think it'll be an uphill climb. If the Sox really didn't lay off front office people it may give them an edge in their sales pitch.

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9 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I don't disagree with you, I just think it'll be an uphill climb. If the Sox really didn't lay off front office people it may give them an edge in their sales pitch.

But that also begs the question that if we didn't let anyone go, how are those people the team was 'loyal' to going to feel when they hire more people to do their jobs? If other teams are in a position to slash their FO staff sizes, seems odd that we could add people without removing others. I'm in favor of bringing in the top talent evaluators, just a tough sell for the talent evaluators that have gotten us here.

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1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

I love it when you get sexy!

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2 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

To be fair, the White Sox have one of the best international scouts in the world on their payroll already and ownership still doesn't spend internationally. It's a solid idea from SS2K and I agree overall but it doesn't really matter on the international front. 

I've had a hunch for awhile now that the White Sox have had a bunch of off of the books informal scouts in Latin America who are several of their ex Latin players. What I know about the area is that a lot of former major league players are considered akin to gods in Latin America and when an organization is seen to be treating Latin players with respect and well, that organization reaps some great rewards when it comes to these guys signing with the organization. Certainly the Sox have had terrific success with Cuban players and other Latin countries. Aparicio is still a god in Venezuela as was Minnie in Cuba. Contreras amongst the pitching prospects and a new generation of role models also.

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2 hours ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

To be fair, the White Sox have one of the best international scouts in the world on their payroll already and ownership still doesn't spend internationally. It's a solid idea from SS2K and I agree overall but it doesn't really matter on the international front. 

It doesn't have to be international even, though that was the crux of the names that came up.

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1 hour ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Dan O'Dowd said it best on MLB Network the other day.  He said the current market inefficiency is wisdom.  He said there is plenty of "knowledge" in the game but a severe lack of wisdom and teams should start hiring these guys that other teams have kicked to the curb. I couldn't agree more.

In a weird sort of way, it would be the Moneyball thing to do.  Exploit an ineffeciency.

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1 hour ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Dan O'Dowd said it best on MLB Network the other day.  He said the current market inefficiency is wisdom.  He said there is plenty of "knowledge" in the game but a severe lack of wisdom and teams should start hiring these guys that other teams have kicked to the curb. I couldn't agree more.

Isn't that just O'Dowds way of saying the new fangled ways that require math and computer analysts is a lot of knowledge but you still need older  baseball lifer types who have years of experience insights and wisdom in areas of the game that require teaching , mental approach,lifestyle advice etc etc.

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12 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

 

     Yep. That was right on the money as far as I am concerned. YOu can have all of the statistics in the world available to you but if someone cannot show you what they mean and how they can help you better perform, they are not worth much other than a cudgel to batter someone with after the fact. Another thing that burns my butt is this. With all of the exotic shifts employed in baseball right now, why haven't hitters as a group adapted the approach at the plate to beat the shift, including a refresher course in bunting. Bunting right now is a lost tool in baseball. You've got no fielder other than a pitcher within 100 + feet of you and all you have to do is square up and knock the ball down on the ground for a free hit? It drives me crazy. Or choking up on the bat, shorten your swing and hit the ball the other way? Look at how many hits Abreu and Anderson got last season by doing just that.

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11 minutes ago, The Hawk said:

     Yep. That was right on the money as far as I am concerned. YOu can have all of the statistics in the world available to you but if someone cannot show you what they mean and how they can help you better perform, they are not worth much other than a cudgel to batter someone with after the fact. Another thing that burns my butt is this. With all of the exotic shifts employed in baseball right now, why haven't hitters as a group adapted the approach at the plate to beat the shift, including a refresher course in bunting. Bunting right now is a lost tool in baseball. You've got no fielder other than a pitcher within 100 + feet of you and all you have to do is square up and knock the ball down on the ground for a free hit? It drives me crazy. Or choking up on the bat, shorten your swing and hit the ball the other way? Look at how many hits Abreu and Anderson got last season by doing just that.

No

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10 minutes ago, Yearnin' for Yermin said:

No

Agreed...there is a reason bunting is lost.  It is a waste of an out.  Now if you want to HIT the other way against the shift I am down for that.  I believe White Sox had the most hits the other way of any team last year, so I think their offensive approach isn't that bad outside of lack of contact sometimes.

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45 minutes ago, The Hawk said:

     Yep. That was right on the money as far as I am concerned. YOu can have all of the statistics in the world available to you but if someone cannot show you what they mean and how they can help you better perform, they are not worth much other than a cudgel to batter someone with after the fact. Another thing that burns my butt is this. With all of the exotic shifts employed in baseball right now, why haven't hitters as a group adapted the approach at the plate to beat the shift, including a refresher course in bunting. Bunting right now is a lost tool in baseball. You've got no fielder other than a pitcher within 100 + feet of you and all you have to do is square up and knock the ball down on the ground for a free hit? It drives me crazy. Or choking up on the bat, shorten your swing and hit the ball the other way? Look at how many hits Abreu and Anderson got last season by doing just that.

Well Ken yes bunting certainly is a lost skill. When you have the 3rd baseman playing SS , they basically are telling the hitter there is a free hit available if you can bunt. All you have to do is bunt hard enough to get it past the pitcher and keep it fair.  You would think with lefthanders having a built in advantage by being closer to 1st base should all be taught this moreso than righthanded hitters. It apparently is harder to do and there just arent a lot of lefty hitters who would rather try to execute a perfect bunt than just swing away thinking the odds are about the same of getting a hit and surely you cant hit a HR by bunting.

The other reason to do this every so often is, if done properly a few times maybe they dont shift on you as much. Im not sure how true that is. Does anyone recall any lefty who changed the shift against him by bunting for a couple of hits ? I think a hitter would have to show he can do it pretty regularly in order to get teams to stop shifting so dramatically on LH pull hitters.

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8 hours ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Well Ken yes bunting certainly is a lost skill. When you have the 3rd baseman playing SS , they basically are telling the hitter there is a free hit available if you can bunt. All you have to do is bunt hard enough to get it past the pitcher and keep it fair.  You would think with lefthanders having a built in advantage by being closer to 1st base should all be taught this moreso than righthanded hitters. It apparently is harder to do and there just arent a lot of lefty hitters who would rather try to execute a perfect bunt than just swing away thinking the odds are about the same of getting a hit and surely you cant hit a HR by bunting.

The other reason to do this every so often is, if done properly a few times maybe they dont shift on you as much. Im not sure how true that is. Does anyone recall any lefty who changed the shift against him by bunting for a couple of hits ? I think a hitter would have to show he can do it pretty regularly in order to get teams to stop shifting so dramatically on LH pull hitters.

 That's absolutely right. The thing that is obvious to me is that virtually no one except a few utility type guys even know how to bunt. ITs ridiculous. Hell, they don't even have to drag bunt. Just put the ball on the ground either side of the pitcher and you've got a base hit. I'm telling you, that if I were in charge of a major league team, every damn player in my entire organization would be taught how to bunt and that includes the big name hitters.

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12 hours ago, BFirebird said:

Agreed...there is a reason bunting is lost.  It is a waste of an out.  Now if you want to HIT the other way against the shift I am down for that.  I believe White Sox had the most hits the other way of any team last year, so I think their offensive approach isn't that bad outside of lack of contact sometimes.

I am talking about a guy facing a shift in which there is basically one guy(the pitcher) within 100 feet of the plate. If a guy cannot bunt a ball against that kind of a shift, they shouldn't be playing baseball for cripes sake. Another thing, if you do this a few times, then the defenses have to adjust accordingly and they lose the advantages  that their shift gives them.

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22 hours ago, The Hawk said:

     Yep. That was right on the money as far as I am concerned. YOu can have all of the statistics in the world available to you but if someone cannot show you what they mean and how they can help you better perform, they are not worth much other than a cudgel to batter someone with after the fact. Another thing that burns my butt is this. With all of the exotic shifts employed in baseball right now, why haven't hitters as a group adapted the approach at the plate to beat the shift, including a refresher course in bunting. Bunting right now is a lost tool in baseball. You've got no fielder other than a pitcher within 100 + feet of you and all you have to do is square up and knock the ball down on the ground for a free hit? It drives me crazy. Or choking up on the bat, shorten your swing and hit the ball the other way? Look at how many hits Abreu and Anderson got last season by doing just that.

All of us who are old-timers are driven nuts by this unwillingness of today's power-hitter to go the other way.  

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On 10/21/2020 at 12:44 PM, southsider2k5 said:

I am included the quotes from the Cubs cuts, just because they are the most current ones, but the point is bigger.  There is a metric f*ck ton of major league baseball talent being scattered to the winds across MLB because of the cost cutting due to COVID.  Almost as much as I would like to see the Sox spend in free agency this winter, it would be even better to see the team spend a couple of million dollars to target the all stars of scouting and development around MLB who are now unemployed.  Even if it means we don;t spent that couple of million on something like a back up catcher, bring me the guys who scouted people like Eloy and Gleyber.  Expand and improve our ability to ID and sign cheap talent to later replaced talent that gets older and expensive. You want to keep a long sustained run going you need to have a source of young and cheap talent flowing into the big league club as other guys leave or start to fade.

 

 

I soooo agree with this

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On 10/21/2020 at 12:09 PM, southsider2k5 said:

It is an unprecedented opportunity for a team who is willing to make an investment here.  I am sure there are plenty who don't want to leave who could be snatched up by a team willing to take them on.  It is essentially a massive free agency for front office people.

This, but across all metrics. It's not like JR to make a splash like this ... but looking at both his time horizon in life (morbid), the Sox championship window that corresponds with that morbid nugget, the state of the economy + unsure outlook for baseball and fans in 2021 & you have a perfect shit storm to scoop up not only front office people, but players on the cheap too. I'd guess most will want 1-2 year deals based on what's going on, but im sure some will opt for longer deals. 

 

Now we don't need too much admittedly ... but this is when guys like (off the top of my head) JD Martinez, Chris Sale, Kris Bryant, Lindor, A number of guys on the  Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers, Indians, Pirates, Rangers .. maybe Nationals .. all will be selling. Teams that have talent, but not enough to probably get over the top, looking to shed payroll during a time like this. 

 

Names that interest me again off the top of my head

Nationals - Scherzer, Eaton (yikes)

Pirates - JOE MUSGROVE, polanco (yikes), josh bell

Brewers - Avi garcia (yikes) LORENZO CAIN

Colorado - Jon Gray, German Marquez, Dahl, Hampson, Blackmon, Arenado, McMahon, Rodgers

Cubs - Bryant, Darvish

Boston - JD Martinez, Sale

 

Obviously not all those guys are perfect fits ... some work better than ever and are more realistic than ever. But i think you'll see a wild offseason. 

I think you'll be surprised by a name or five this offseason. I really don't think there will be many untouchables on teams 15-30 in the power rankings. Someone like a scherzer might seem crazy, but hes getting older, the likelihood of nats really putting it all together, etc. make anything possible

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