Time to give this Sox team a chance

[VAfan]

I've gone from Mr. Optimism when this board was all negative, to Mr. Pessimism last year when I thought the team was unwatchable.  It wasn't just Tony LaRussa either.  None of the everyday hitters except Jose Abreu actually came to work everyday and played above average.  Not a single one.  

But it's a new year, with a new manager and some new coaches, some new players, and no more Leury Garcia to whine about.  

I'm not going to sit here and project anything for the team.  I have no idea if they will

1. Stay healthy
2. Play good defense
3. Stop chasing bad pitches
4. Become a HR team again (like 2020)
5. Pitch well

But they might.  

I think the team has enough talent to win if they stay healthy and perform like they are capable of.  They could also continue to get hurt too easily and too often, fall into bad habits, and lose. 

Here are the things I've liked this offseason.

1. Pedro Grifol as manager.  Who had heard of him?  Seems to say all the right things.  We'll see how it plays out.

2. Benintendi addition.  I think he will hit more HRs for the Sox than he has recently.  Lefty.  Good outfielder.  On base guy.  Maybe that will rub off on some others.

3. Yoan Moncada looking good at WBC.  This guy was once the #1 prospect in baseball.  Imagine the 2019 version of Moncada and what that could do for this offense.

4. Jose Castro as hitting coach.  The Sox somehow morphed from the team that led the AL in HRs in the short covid season 2020 to a bottom dwelling singles hitting team last year. The Sox have plenty of players who can mash if they stay healthy.  They need to do it.  Grifol also has a role here. 

5. Yasmani Grandal being healthy, and not facing the shift.  Grandal went from the Sox best hitter in 2021 to one of its worst hitters in 2022.  He's in a walk year on his contract. He should be motivated and ready to mash again.  

6. Cutting Leury Garcia.  Sends the right message.  The team is better offensively and defensively without him. 

7. Oscar Colas.  Who knows how quickly he'll produce and fix his inevitable mistakes.  But the Sox finally have a legitimate right fielder offensively and defensively, who is also a lefty. 

8. Andrew Vaughn at 1B, not the OF.  Should help him offensively, keep him healthier, and will vastly improve the Sox' outfield defense without him out there.  He's not likely to ever be peak Abreu, but he might have years above Abreu's 134 OPS+ average. 

9. Another reset for Lucas Giolito.  As the middle guy in the Sox' rotation, the Sox need him to be his best version, not his worst.  He ought to be motivated for contract reasons to do well. He's looked good so far. We'll see if it holds up.

10. Reynaldo Lopez out of the pen.  I think Lopez will get a lot of closing opportunities with Hendriks out.  And I think he will do well.  

11. Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks should be back during the year.  When they are, the pen might be great.  

12. Lance Lynn healthy.  He was a workhorse for several years before coming to the Sox.  As the #2 guy, the Sox need him to stay solild. 

13. Luis Robert healthy.  He shouldn't be this far down the list.  He is the best player the Sox have.  He needs to play like it.  

There's my lucky 13. 

It will be interesting how the new bags and the lack of the shift will affect the Sox.  In the past, we would expect other teams to take advantage of these changes more than the Sox.  But Grifol and the way he thinks might change that.  The Sox certainly have players who can steal.  And they have some lefties who should benefit from the lack of a shift.  They also have two shortstops on the infield to give them range. 

The pitch clock might also be interesting.  Eloy always steps out and adjusts his gloves.  We'll have to see how the new rules affect him and others. 

I hope the Sox win me back this year.  I'm going to give them a chance. 

[caulfield12]

26 minutes ago, VAfan said:

I've gone from Mr. Optimism when this board was all negative, to Mr. Pessimism last year when I thought the team was unwatchable.  It wasn't just Tony LaRussa either.  None of the everyday hitters except Jose Abreu actually came to work everyday and played above average.  Not a single one.  

But it's a new year, with a new manager and some new coaches, some new players, and no more Leury Garcia to whine about.  

I'm not going to sit here and project anything for the team.  I have no idea if they will

1. Stay healthy
2. Play good defense
3. Stop chasing bad pitches
4. Become a HR team again (like 2020)
5. Pitch well

But they might.  

I think the team has enough talent to win if they stay healthy and perform like they are capable of.  They could also continue to get hurt too easily and too often, fall into bad habits, and lose. 

Here are the things I've liked this offseason.

1. Pedro Grifol as manager.  Who had heard of him?  Seems to say all the right things.  We'll see how it plays out.

2. Benintendi addition.  I think he will hit more HRs for the Sox than he has recently.  Lefty.  Good outfielder.  On base guy.  Maybe that will rub off on some others.

3. Yoan Moncada looking good at WBC.  This guy was once the #1 prospect in baseball.  Imagine the 2019 version of Moncada and what that could do for this offense.

4. Jose Castro as hitting coach.  The Sox somehow morphed from the team that led the AL in HRs in the short covid season 2020 to a bottom dwelling singles hitting team last year. The Sox have plenty of players who can mash if they stay healthy.  They need to do it.  Grifol also has a role here. 

5. Yasmani Grandal being healthy, and not facing the shift.  Grandal went from the Sox best hitter in 2021 to one of its worst hitters in 2022.  He's in a walk year on his contract. He should be motivated and ready to mash again.  

6. Cutting Leury Garcia.  Sends the right message.  The team is better offensively and defensively without him. 

7. Oscar Colas.  Who knows how quickly he'll produce and fix his inevitable mistakes.  But the Sox finally have a legitimate right fielder offensively and defensively, who is also a lefty. 

8. Andrew Vaughn at 1B, not the OF.  Should help him offensively, keep him healthier, and will vastly improve the Sox' outfield defense without him out there.  He's not likely to ever be peak Abreu, but he might have years above Abreu's 134 OPS+ average. 

9. Another reset for Lucas Giolito.  As the middle guy in the Sox' rotation, the Sox need him to be his best version, not his worst.  He ought to be motivated for contract reasons to do well. He's looked good so far. We'll see if it holds up.

10. Reynaldo Lopez out of the pen.  I think Lopez will get a lot of closing opportunities with Hendriks out.  And I think he will do well.  

11. Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks should be back during the year.  When they are, the pen might be great.  

12. Lance Lynn healthy.  He was a workhorse for several years before coming to the Sox.  As the #2 guy, the Sox need him to stay solild. 

13. Luis Robert healthy.  He shouldn't be this far down the list.  He is the best player the Sox have.  He needs to play like it.  

There's my lucky 13. 

It will be interesting how the new bags and the lack of the shift will affect the Sox.  In the past, we would expect other teams to take advantage of these changes more than the Sox.  But Grifol and the way he thinks might change that.  The Sox certainly have players who can steal.  And they have some lefties who should benefit from the lack of a shift.  They also have two shortstops on the infield to give them range. 

The pitch clock might also be interesting.  Eloy always steps out and adjusts his gloves.  We'll have to see how the new rules affect him and others. 

I hope the Sox win me back this year.  I'm going to give them a chance. 

Kopech taking a step forward and finally being healthy for an entire season is a big one for me.

[caulfield12]

We will know a lot in the first 33 games.

@ HOU  1-3

SFG 2-1

@ Pitt 2-1

Baltimore 1.5-1.5

Philly 1.5-1.5

@ TB  1-2

@ Tor 1-2

TB  2-2

Minnesota 2-1

 

15-18 after 33...best guess

[Sarava]

I'm hopeful as well. Even getting just a few of these guys to stay healthy and come close to their potential could vault this team to first place.

[Dick Allen]

So far, I like Pedro. I hope the emphasis on fundamentals pays off this season. Haven't quite seen it during the games, but most of the time there were not the major leaguers playing when I watched.

[SonofaRoache]

I think this situation is a disaster right now. Not in terms of talent, but in terms of excitement, expectations, and fun. We were supposed to be the Astros and Phillies but we really are a lesser version of Seattle. There is no excitement around this team and no one mentions their name for anything. 

This is the season that will determine the ultimate fate of this rebuild and organization. I am going to support them 100 percent until they show me they don't deserve it. I can understand why Sox nation has forgotten baseball starts this week but I agree, let's give these guys one last chance. Support them and give them a chance, until they show us otherwise. There will be plenty of time of be angry and blast the organization if this season falls apart. 

[MiddleCoastBias]

4 minutes ago, SonofaRoache said:

I think this situation is a disaster right now. Not in terms of talent, but in terms of excitement, expectations, and fun. We were supposed to be the Astros and Phillies but we really are a lesser version of Seattle. There is no excitement around this team and no one mentions their name for anything. 

This is the season that will determine the ultimate fate of this rebuild and organization. I am going to support them 100 percent until they show me they don't deserve it. I can understand why Sox nation has forgotten baseball starts this week but I agree, let's give these guys one last chance. Support them and give them a chance, until they show us otherwise. There will be plenty of time of be angry and blast the organization if this season falls apart. 

I think part of that is because they were so hyped up the past two years and it didn't materialize. There were a lot of prognosticators picking us as World Series contenders. 

The players bought into that hype and didn't live up to it, and a few of them have admitted that the team got complacent after reading their own press clippings.

I think this year will be different. Hopefully they're out to prove themselves.

[The Kids Can Play]

7 hours ago, VAfan said:

I've gone from Mr. Optimism when this board was all negative, to Mr. Pessimism last year when I thought the team was unwatchable.  It wasn't just Tony LaRussa either.  None of the everyday hitters except Jose Abreu actually came to work everyday and played above average.  Not a single one.  

But it's a new year, with a new manager and some new coaches, some new players, and no more Leury Garcia to whine about.  

I'm not going to sit here and project anything for the team.  I have no idea if they will

1. Stay healthy
2. Play good defense
3. Stop chasing bad pitches
4. Become a HR team again (like 2020)
5. Pitch well

But they might.  

I think the team has enough talent to win if they stay healthy and perform like they are capable of.  They could also continue to get hurt too easily and too often, fall into bad habits, and lose. 

Here are the things I've liked this offseason.

1. Pedro Grifol as manager.  Who had heard of him?  Seems to say all the right things.  We'll see how it plays out.

2. Benintendi addition.  I think he will hit more HRs for the Sox than he has recently.  Lefty.  Good outfielder.  On base guy.  Maybe that will rub off on some others.

3. Yoan Moncada looking good at WBC.  This guy was once the #1 prospect in baseball.  Imagine the 2019 version of Moncada and what that could do for this offense.

4. Jose Castro as hitting coach.  The Sox somehow morphed from the team that led the AL in HRs in the short covid season 2020 to a bottom dwelling singles hitting team last year. The Sox have plenty of players who can mash if they stay healthy.  They need to do it.  Grifol also has a role here. 

5. Yasmani Grandal being healthy, and not facing the shift.  Grandal went from the Sox best hitter in 2021 to one of its worst hitters in 2022.  He's in a walk year on his contract. He should be motivated and ready to mash again.  

6. Cutting Leury Garcia.  Sends the right message.  The team is better offensively and defensively without him. 

7. Oscar Colas.  Who knows how quickly he'll produce and fix his inevitable mistakes.  But the Sox finally have a legitimate right fielder offensively and defensively, who is also a lefty. 

8. Andrew Vaughn at 1B, not the OF.  Should help him offensively, keep him healthier, and will vastly improve the Sox' outfield defense without him out there.  He's not likely to ever be peak Abreu, but he might have years above Abreu's 134 OPS+ average. 

9. Another reset for Lucas Giolito.  As the middle guy in the Sox' rotation, the Sox need him to be his best version, not his worst.  He ought to be motivated for contract reasons to do well. He's looked good so far. We'll see if it holds up.

10. Reynaldo Lopez out of the pen.  I think Lopez will get a lot of closing opportunities with Hendriks out.  And I think he will do well.  

11. Garrett Crochet and Liam Hendriks should be back during the year.  When they are, the pen might be great.  

12. Lance Lynn healthy.  He was a workhorse for several years before coming to the Sox.  As the #2 guy, the Sox need him to stay solild. 

13. Luis Robert healthy.  He shouldn't be this far down the list.  He is the best player the Sox have.  He needs to play like it.  

There's my lucky 13. 

It will be interesting how the new bags and the lack of the shift will affect the Sox.  In the past, we would expect other teams to take advantage of these changes more than the Sox.  But Grifol and the way he thinks might change that.  The Sox certainly have players who can steal.  And they have some lefties who should benefit from the lack of a shift.  They also have two shortstops on the infield to give them range. 

The pitch clock might also be interesting.  Eloy always steps out and adjusts his gloves.  We'll have to see how the new rules affect him and others. 

I hope the Sox win me back this year.  I'm going to give them a chance. 

All sound and excellent points. If most of the above points are met, then of course we can be a playoff team and WS contender. The biggest thing they need to do is get off to a huge successful start and let the momentum build. 

As far as the no shifting rule and how it will affect the Sox. I personally think the Sox will do better because it. Grandal for one, made a lot of hard outs only because they shifted on him. This year many of those hits will now be singles. As we know, the Sox hit a a lot of groundballs for outs. Many of them were in the shifted infield. Of course none of us know what will happen this year due to the non shifts, but it's my opinion we won't be hurt by it as much as other clubs. 

 

[Bossanoveralls]

go sox

rah

[Chicago White Sox]

The biggest early indicator of success is how our batted ball profile and power output shakes out.  Obviously the ball doesn’t carry as far in the cold April weather so can’t rely entirely on HRs to make this call, but seeing more lift, more pull, and less chasing will have me super excited.

[Tnetennba]

It is hard to read much into how Grifol does things from watching spring games.  I think I am most interested in seeing how the change in manager brings about change on the field.  Are they more fundamentally sound?  Do we see improved defense?  Are they still a ground ball heavy team in a home run park?  Etc.  Time will tell if Grifol can get the most out of the talent on this team.  Will it be enough to win the division?  A playoff round?  Who knows.  

[Lip Man 1]

3 hours ago, MiddleCoastBias said:

I think part of that is because they were so hyped up the past two years and it didn't materialize. There were a lot of prognosticators picking us as World Series contenders. 

The players bought into that hype and didn't live up to it, and a few of them have admitted that the team got complacent after reading their own press clippings.

I think this year will be different. Hopefully they're out to prove themselves.

The other thing may be, the very bizarre and convoluted new ticket pricing system. I was told that was rammed though without a lot of input from people in the front office.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Money to be made out there!

Got 40-1 on WS for $500.

Got 3-1 on division for $1000.

Me and Vafan gonna be $23000 rich come October. 

Let's go!!

[Tnetennba]

5 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

The other thing may be, the very bizarre and convoluted new ticket pricing system. I was told that was rammed though without a lot of input from people in the front office.

Curious who forced that on them?  JR?  ISFA? MLB?  

[pcq]

Houston: Altuve out, Brantley coming off shoulder surgery, Verlander gone, Alvarez only a week or so of ST games. If we could ever beat them now might be the time. Their new guy Pito looks pg.

[Harry Chappas]

21 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

The other thing may be, the very bizarre and convoluted new ticket pricing system. I was told that was rammed though without a lot of input from people in the front office.

What is convoluted?  You find a game, pick a seat and if you can afford it you go if not you find another game.  It's not like you are walking to a ticket window and trying to find a seat.

Why should the team not maximize the revenue on the games and seats that are going to generate the most revenue?  Then the games and seats that don't generate any revenue are reduced to a price that people can afford.  

I paid $350 for three seats and parking for opening day.

Three days later I can get $5 tickets and park for free. 

[chitownsportsfan]

Hope springs eternal. I'm excited for the season and seeing some of the youngsters, even if expectations are low. I'd prefer to have low expectations for Sox home grown rookies than any sort of expectations for aging vets we signed off the scrap heap. The Clevinger signing is water under the bridge at this point and it's time to put the offseason behind us and get started.

[Quin]

41 minutes ago, pcq said:

Houston: Altuve out, Brantley coming off shoulder surgery, Verlander gone, Alvarez only a week or so of ST games. If we could ever beat them now might be the time. Their new guy Pito looks pg.

Mark DeRosa = White Sox sleeper agent?

[Lip Man 1]

58 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said:

What is convoluted?  You find a game, pick a seat and if you can afford it you go if not you find another game.  It's not like you are walking to a ticket window and trying to find a seat.

Why should the team not maximize the revenue on the games and seats that are going to generate the most revenue?  Then the games and seats that don't generate any revenue are reduced to a price that people can afford.  

I paid $350 for three seats and parking for opening day.

Three days later I can get $5 tickets and park for free. 

Did you see the diagram they put out where multiple ticket prices were listed for individual rows? Talk about confusing...I saw a comment from a fan where they said it looked like something a kid in kindergarten drew up. 

As others have posted the best way to maximize revenue is to win. Although (and this is another discussion topic I realize) with MLB a 10 billion dollar industry I don't think any team is hurting financially what with the multiple income streams both domestically and internationally.

[Lip Man 1]

1 hour ago, Tnetennba said:

Curious who forced that on them?  JR?  ISFA? MLB?  

I was told it was none of the individuals/organizations you listed but a person in the front office. I'm not at liberty to disclose the name.

[Lip Man 1]

A decent start would go a long way to helping the fan base think this season will be different and it is possible although 10 of the first 13 are on the road. Personally I don't think they'll be playing all those road games because of weather in Pittsburgh and Minnesota.

Just put yourself in a position where games in August/September mean something, have a winning record at the very least. Anything over that is gravy.

[mmmmmbeeer]

Throughout last season's struggles, it always came back to Tony Larussa, for me.  He was a league-wide embarrassment and no one wanted to play for him.  If it wasn't his boneheaded pitching decisions, it was his boneheaded lineups.  If it wasn't his boneheaded lineups, it was his boneheaded situational awareness.  If it wasn't his situational awareness, it was his inability to understand the rules of the game....etc., etc., etc.  He wasn't a motivator.  He didn't believe in the value of the home run.  He was an incredibly poor judge of talent.  He ignored the importance of momentum and instead trotted out dog s%*# lineups to rest healthy players. 

I fully believe this team is set to rebound strongly and should win the division.  A heavy, heavy burden was removed from everyone's shoulders.  

Edited March 27, 2023 by mmmmmbeeer

[Harry Chappas]

4 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Did you see the diagram they put out where multiple ticket prices were listed for individual rows? Talk about confusing...I saw a comment from a fan where they said it looked like something a kid in kindergarten drew up. 

As others have posted the best way to maximize revenue is to win. Although (and this is another discussion topic I realize) with MLB a 10 billion dollar industry I don't think any team is hurting financially what with the multiple income streams both domestically and internationally.

I understand what you are saying and you are correct but that chart means nothing.  You go to Ticketmaster and pick a section and a seat and you see the price.  If you don't like it pick a different seat in a different section or find a new game that has that seat at a lower price.  This is why they can charge a different price for every seat and every game.

I'm sure the 1985 version of Soxtalk went insane when the Golden boxes were invented as an increase over box seats. 

If the consumer does not know by now, the better the game the more expensive it will be. 

   

 

 

 

[4uckOffCommieScum]

I hate to say it, since I should know better, but I’m starting to get a good feeling about the Sox again.

[Dick Allen]

24 minutes ago, mmmmmbeeer said:

Throughout last season's struggles, it always came back to Tony Larussa, for me.  He was a league-wide embarrassment and no one wanted to play for him.  If it wasn't his boneheaded pitching decisions, it was his boneheaded lineups.  If it wasn't his boneheaded lineups, it was his boneheaded situational awareness.  If it wasn't his situational awareness, it was his inability to understand the rules of the game....etc., etc., etc.  He wasn't a motivator.  He didn't believe in the value of the home run.  He was an incredibly poor judge of talent.  He ignored the importance of momentum and instead trotted out dog s%*# lineups to rest healthy players. 

I fully believe this team is set to rebound strongly and should win the division.  A heavy, heavy burden was removed from everyone's shoulders.  

It wasn't all LaRussa, but it was a huge part of it. Hopefully, the lingering damage he did will be reversed. One of the all time worst hires.