caulfield12 Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 (edited) Searched everywhere online for link out of my inbox article will cut as soon as avail but this is important stuff to ruminate on CHICAGO – Manager Sergio Santos has been leading the overall excellence for the White Sox Double-A Birmingham squad with the help of a great coaching staff, a receptive group of talented players and the words of Marcus Aurelius. Make that Aurelius -- and other individuals from the ancient Stoicism movement. “The ancient Stoics, they have these certain fundamental rules and that’s what I impress on the players, where it’s only, 'Worry about what we can control,'” Santos told MLB.com during a phone interview Thursday. “There are so many times we try to control so many things, and you can’t. “More of everything is about reaction: Bad things are going to happen to you, but how are you going to react? These are things I continuously bring up to the guys … This is every single day. I try to create an atmosphere where these guys are looking forward to going to the ballpark. I’m fortunate the players have responded super well to it. It’s been a good year.” Good enough that the Barons won the Southern League North first-half title. They are 8-15 in the second half, but have had top young players such as White Sox No. 3 prospect Drew Thorpe, No. 4 prospect Edgar Quero, No. 5 prospect Bryan Ramos, No. 10 prospect Jake Eder and No. 16 prospect Ky Bush and No. 23 prospect Brooks Baldwin promoted to Triple-A Charlotte or the White Sox. Those Birmingham players have great things to say about the youthful staff of Santos, his bench coach Angel Rosario, pitching coach John Ely and hitting coach Nicky Delmonico. “This here feels like a real team,” said right-handed pitcher Jairo Iriarte, the No. 9 White Sox prospect, through interpreter Billy Russo on a recent Zoom. “All the coaches are trying to help you. They are straightforward with you. The players too. It’s an amazing atmosphere.” “It was a great group of guys we had in Birmingham. That’s part of the reason I had such success -- the coaching staff and the players,” Baldwin said. “Even the coaching staff in Birmingham, they were like part of the team, part of the players, and I think that’s why I was able to relax and play the game I know how to play.” Santos, 41, was a popular reliever for the White Sox in 2010-11, finishing with 30 saves and 92 strikeouts over 63 1/3 innings as the team’s closer in ’11. He moved into managing with the Florida Coast League Yankees in 2022 and Class A Hudson Valley in ’23 before leaving the Yankees and rejoining the White Sox. After being immediately entrusted with the prospect-rich Barons, Santos readily admits the coaches have had fun with the players across a long season. They also understand the hierarchy within the team. Call it enjoyment among stoicism, a study beginning three or four years ago for Santos when he admitted some bad things were happening. Santos got into running and started reading these teachings. “It blows my mind these guys wrote this 3,000 years ago, but it’s still so relative today in 2024,” Santos said. “Just by practicing some of their principles, it has freed up a lot of anxiety for myself and expectations and all this stuff. Being present, where my feet are, and it has worked. “I found the correlation with baseball being so difficult and sometimes a lot of the results kind of being out of our hands. This can work across the board, and when I rolled it out in spring and even in the beginning of the year, I got really good feedback after I would speak to the team. I like it. It makes me present. It makes me grateful for the position I’m in.” That position is guiding needed hope for the White Sox future amid a dreadful big-league season. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Santos said. “We have some guys in 1-to-3 years who can really make a big impact and can help restore what the White Sox were when I was there and in ’05. “Hopefully, win an American League title and eventually win the World Series. I know it’s tough. But I would hope that they don’t quit on us. I would say roll with the punches, and there’s something great coming.” MERKIN'S MUSINGS *******• I’m guessing the White Sox move five or six players by the Deadline Tuesday. I also believe Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. will remain with the team. I’ve written this before, but they are great players to build a team around. *******• Dylan Cease throwing a no-hitter was a matter of when, not if. I was there on Sept. 3, 2022, when Cease yielded a two-out single in the ninth to Luis Arraez to lose the no-hitter, but he had no regrets on pitching to the one man in the Twins lineup who could get him. He looked primed for a big season during Spring Training. • A young lady was eating a sandwich while on the treadmill in my gym Thursday. Is that a new workout trend? Edited July 26 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Sure Crochet and Robert could be very good players to build around although Merkin ignores the obvious...JR won't pay to extend them. So sooner or later "They Gone!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Caulfield, did you post something with no link? It better not be paywall or you are gonna need to edit it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegner Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Whatever they do, we need to have Nicky Delmonico back in Chicago....his Hollywood good looks are wasted in Birmingham. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoUEvenShift Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 44 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said: Caulfield, did you post something with no link? It better not be paywall or you are gonna need to edit it Not paywalled its from mlb.com and his email newsletter https://www.mlb.com/news/sergio-santos-discusses-success-managing-double-a https://links.mlb.mlbemail.com/e/evib?_t=c632e003a756446c956a8e0347d00d08&_m=ec5675b6faab4a4cb01e6d399e3c3b72&_e=G8s120s-SIt1XKbAw4CyDVY4mN3-h3-u1sYn8KVdt5RODkj-FvFnTV3IAoAwuzs_oAOkPUtswDA4f4L1lTC2jQ%3D%3D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuban_sammiches Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 1 hour ago, wegner said: Whatever they do, we need to have Nicky Delmonico back in Chicago....his Hollywood good looks are wasted in Birmingham. We call him The Chin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted July 26 Author Share Posted July 26 (edited) 2 hours ago, Kyyle23 said: Caulfield, did you post something with no link? It better not be paywall or you are gonna need to edit it It's Merkin's Sox Beat emails that eventually are published online verbatim. There was no link available besides my email address when I read it. I certainly wouldn't pay anything to read Merkin lol. If anything they should pay Sox fans to read it instead. This all reminds me of Jerry Manuel comps to Gandhi and MLK back in the day. Edited July 26 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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