Hahn the Dumbass Again

[caulfield12]

At least Scott Merkin, the mlb.com Sox rep, admitted he was wrong.  Too little too late but some sort of reckoning nevertheless.

 

(Pause for those who know me to stop laughing. Or those who don’t know me. Or those who will know me.)

 

But in my Newsletter from Sept. 6, I wrote the following:

 

“By the time the White Sox return home from this seven-game West Coast trip on Sept. 12, they should at least have a share of the division lead, if not sitting atop alone.”

 

Well, they came back from a solid 5-2 run in Seattle and Oakland at 2 1/2 games back in the American League Central, and despite my season-long mantra of the White Sox being a playoff team, they were eliminated from division title contention on Sunday. If you believe in true baseball miracles, the White Sox enter their final 2022 road trip with an elimination number of three in the AL Wild Card and trail Seattle by 7 1/2 games with nine to play.

 

The White Sox were only in first place from April 10-20 during this entire disappointing campaign and my days of predictions might be on hiatus. Side note: Cleveland is going to win its AL Wild Card series, regardless of opponent.

 

Ok, that was just one more prediction to get out of my system.

 

So, what went wrong with the White Sox? I’ll save that analysis for the end of the season, but this story is focused more on why I was wrong. And the answer to that question involves two words: Cleveland Guardians.

When I made the aforementioned prediction, Cleveland was coming off a stretch where they had lost 8 of 10 games and scored one run in a four-game stretch against Baltimore and Seattle. Not one run per game -- one run in total.

 

Cleveland had been a great story all season, predicted by many to finish near the bottom of the AL Central and by few if any to win the division. But I’m not sure if the Cleveland front office really believed this outstanding overall performance would take them to the postseason.

 

Then, with the season on the line and with the White Sox and Twins closing in, the Guardians showed they were more than a good story. They were a really good team.

 

Try 18-3 in the last 21 games. Their victory Tuesday in 11 innings against the White Sox really took the heart from an underachieving crew knowing it basically needed a sweep of Cleveland to win the division.

 

I knew if any one of these three teams went on a roll of this nature, it would take control of the AL Central. I just didn’t think it would be the Guardians.

 

In my mind, the White Sox still have the most talent in the division, even with their plethora of injuries, but the Guardians clearly are the best team. They played hard every play of every inning. They took the extra base. They had a solid front three at the top of the rotation in Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill and had one of the game’s best closers in Emmanuel Clase.

 

Again, I was wrong. I overestimated the White Sox ability to reach an extra gear when needed, especially when they had been between five under .500 and five over .500 all season. My true error, though, was overlooking Terry Francona’s crew.

Edited September 27, 2022 by caulfield12

[GreenSox]

35 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Lol Hahn didn’t negotiate Pollocks option. Haseley isn’t even remotely close to as good as Pollock. He had a similar OPS to Pollocks this season while facing AAA pitchers in a hitter haven. And who are these other options, GreenSox? I’d love to hear. Cuz there aren’t any. 

The org. let the option escalate.
Haseley in his role as defensive replacement is better than Pollock  and his .7 WAR in his role as starting outfielder. 
What - the Sox are limited to the stiffs they have on hand? No trades, signings, callups allowed? 
And we're stuck with all of Hahn's veteran clowns for at least another season.  We absolutely lost the Kimbrel trade (both of them) and the Hernandez trade and the Diekman trade...
 

Edited September 27, 2022 by GreenSox

[Lip Man 1]

12 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

At least Scott Merkin, the mlb.com Sox rep, admitted he was wrong.  Too little too late but some sort of reckoning nevertheless.

 

(Pause for those who know me to stop laughing. Or those who don’t know me. Or those who will know me.)

 

But in my Newsletter from Sept. 6, I wrote the following:

 

“By the time the White Sox return home from this seven-game West Coast trip on Sept. 12, they should at least have a share of the division lead, if not sitting atop alone.”

 

Well, they came back from a solid 5-2 run in Seattle and Oakland at 2 1/2 games back in the American League Central, and despite my season-long mantra of the White Sox being a playoff team, they were eliminated from division title contention on Sunday. If you believe in true baseball miracles, the White Sox enter their final 2022 road trip with an elimination number of three in the AL Wild Card and trail Seattle by 7 1/2 games with nine to play.

 

The White Sox were only in first place from April 10-20 during this entire disappointing campaign and my days of predictions might be on hiatus. Side note: Cleveland is going to win its AL Wild Card series, regardless of opponent.

 

Ok, that was just one more prediction to get out of my system.

 

So, what went wrong with the White Sox? I’ll save that analysis for the end of the season, but this story is focused more on why I was wrong. And the answer to that question involves two words: Cleveland Guardians.

When I made the aforementioned prediction, Cleveland was coming off a stretch where they had lost 8 of 10 games and scored one run in a four-game stretch against Baltimore and Seattle. Not one run per game -- one run in total.

 

Cleveland had been a great story all season, predicted by many to finish near the bottom of the AL Central and by few if any to win the division. But I’m not sure if the Cleveland front office really believed this outstanding overall performance would take them to the postseason.

 

Then, with the season on the line and with the White Sox and Twins closing in, the Guardians showed they were more than a good story. They were a really good team.

 

Try 18-3 in the last 21 games. Their victory Tuesday in 11 innings against the White Sox really took the heart from an underachieving crew knowing it basically needed a sweep of Cleveland to win the division.

 

I knew if any one of these three teams went on a roll of this nature, it would take control of the AL Central. I just didn’t think it would be the Guardians.

 

In my mind, the White Sox still have the most talent in the division, even with their plethora of injuries, but the Guardians clearly are the best team. They played hard every play of every inning. They took the extra base. They had a solid front three at the top of the rotation in Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill and had one of the game’s best closers in Emmanuel Clase.

 

Again, I was wrong. I overestimated the White Sox ability to reach an extra gear when needed, especially when they had been between five under .500 and five over .500 all season. My true error, though, was overlooking Terry Francona’s crew.

I read that today and like I posted on twitter I'll be curious if Scott lays any blame at the feet of his friend Rick Hahn. Both went to Michigan and I was told that Hahn likes him and has provided info to him that he hasn't shared with other media members.

If Scott thinks the Sox have the most talent when Hahn's off season acquisitions were brutal, when his trade deadline acquisition blew up in his face again and when this "talent" can't stay healthy for seemingly one week, he was watching a different team than I was.

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

12 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I read that today and like I posted on twitter I'll be curious if Scott lays any blame at the feet of his friend Rick Hahn. Both went to Michigan and I was told that Hahn likes him and has provided info to him that he hasn't shared with other media members.

If Scott thinks the Sox have the most talent when Hahn's off season acquisitions were brutal, when his trade deadline acquisition blew up in his face again and when this "talent" can't stay healthy for seemingly one week, he was watching a different team than I was.

He won't. He's a shill for Hahn and the Sox. He'll blame injuries, down years and TLR if him being out for 2023 is correct.

The only way to take Merkin seriously is to find out how the organization is thinking by reading between the lines. If he pumps something or someone up. He's probably parroting Hahn.

Edited September 28, 2022 by CaliSoxFanViaSWside

[hankchifan]

9 hours ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

Hahn deserves a lot of blame in many other places, and I’d rather he not be back to retool the roster…BUT when a GM trades for a 10 year vet with a career slash of .277/.332/.477 (probably better but don’t feel like looking up what it was before this year) and that player suddenly hits .247/.293/.395 is it REALLY the GM’s fault? I suppose it was fair to expect some regression switching to the AL, but who honestly could have seen AJ being a completely incompetent hitter coming? I know Hahn is a (deservedly) easy target, but I’m honest enough to admit that I thought bringing in Pollack was a solid move before the season. And I think most agreed if they are being honest.

Pollock is 35, so career slashes are unlikely to be repeated in his mid to late thirties.  We need to cut back on overpriced older veterans on their way down.

[GreenSox]

46 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

I read that today and like I posted on twitter I'll be curious if Scott lays any blame at the feet of his friend Rick Hahn. Both went to Michigan and I was told that Hahn likes him and has provided info to him that he hasn't shared with other media members.

The media won't mention him by name (and rarely point a finger at the FO) and the bloggers won't do it.   It's beyond belief, really.

[Texsox]

f*** JR and his partners. Every player deserves more money. Has everyone forgot the battle the past off season? 

[caulfield12]

22 minutes ago, Texsox said:

f*** JR and his partners. Every player deserves more money. Has everyone forgot the battle the past off season? 

Thankfully we accidentally turned out to be correct with Giolito.

Just like we almost signed Alex Gordon, except he really didn’t want to be here, either.

[The Beast]

8 hours ago, Greg Hibbard said:

Nah, that’s not at all what I’m implying. 

Yes I suppose the $10 million player option is a sunk cost - the White Sox cannot get out of that. What they could have averted were all the benchmarks for an additional million. 

But Gavin Sheets does not fit the description “defensively above average RF”, nor does Adam Haseley. Adam Engel could play right field, sure - but it’s clear we have gotten out of him what we will. why wouldn’t we just bring up a good defender if the alternative is that we are going to take basically a 0 WAR at that roster spot next year? Might as well get good defense for league minimum and get the roster spot back. Because 0 is what Pollock gives you for a sunk cost, or Engel for 5 million. Bring anyone up and save money while hoping to NOT take a damned zero. 

Maybe it’s not good business but I don’t want to see any of these damned bums next year. I want to cut bait with as many of the 2022 clowns as possible. If it’s the same group I’m not watching next year. 

Yes you will. I’m sure we will you and others making a similar statement in April and around the boards in the offseason regardless of what happens. And yes, you will all watch.

[South Side Hit Men]

17 hours ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

Yes Pollack was coming off a career year and expecting a repeat of that would have been unreasonable. But I posted his career #’s for a reason, the guy has had a long career of being at least an above average hitter. Not a single person had the assumption that Pollack would suddenly be a terrible hitter this year going into the season. 
And you’re saying it like the Dodgers gave up on him for nothing. They lost their closer in free agency and traded for a guy that was arguably the best closer in the NL for the majority of the 2021 season. It seemed like a win/win for both clubs at the time.

Now looking at most (if not all?) of our lineup’s dip in production this season it’s almost like you could point to another common denominator that isn’t the GM…

And again, I’m not trying to defend the overall job Hahn has done. I think he should be replaced as GM. I just honestly don’t see how trading for Pollack to fill an OF hole we had could be considered a “bad” move using anything other than hindsight.

I agree, unless someone stated Pollack would hit under .600 OPS vs. RHP and under ,700 overall this season, criticizing the potential offensive component of his contract is in fact hindsight.

What wasn't hindsight, and what people have been condemning Hahn for year after year is the fact this is another illustration of piss poor roster management. The Sox desperately needed a capable RF. There was no chance Pollock and his arm would ever play a capable RF. You end up playing the two worst fielding OFers in RF across The MLB as a result. The Kimbrel / Pollock $ needed to be earmarked for a RF, 2B or Rodon's QO.