Random Thoughts 2.1

[Jiddy]

Not sure if truly “random”….but…Marcus Stroman can go to hell.

 

[idseer]

Not sure if truly “random”….but…Marcus Stroman can go to hell.

why?

 

[Jiddy]

why?

Because he went on and on about how great Chicago is after signing the Cubs after trashing us last season.

 

[Mingo]

It is interesting to compare the contracts between Leury Garcia and Chris Taylor. Chris Taylor will be making an average of $15 million per season for 4 years - Garcia - will make 5.15 million for three years. Is Taylor 3 times better than Garcia? LOL.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

It is interesting to compare the contracts between Leury Garcia and Chris Taylor. Chris Taylor will be making an average of $15 million per season for 4 years - Garcia - will make 5.15 million for three years. Is Taylor 3 times better than Garcia? LOL.

I'll continue to believe that Taylor is a better all around player than Garcia, altho that could be up for a reasonable debate. But even if he's considered the better player, is he 3 times better? Not a chance in hell. You can keep him Dodgers. We'll keep our bargain Legend!!

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Behold the brilliance that lies before you:

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on lockout: 'It's not a good thing for the sport'

The lockout was instituted after the 2016-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between MLB owners and the players’ union expired at midnight Eastern Time.

www.yardbarker.com

"It's not a good thing for the sport .....we understand its bad for the business.''

This man belongs in the pantheon of great critical thinkers. A hero truly of his generation, his century, his millennia. I mean, how does one respond to such insight, such depth of reasoning? Well maybe we can start with, "Ya THINK???"

 

[idseer]

Behold the brilliance that lies before you:

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on lockout: 'It's not a good thing for the sport'

The lockout was instituted after the 2016-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between MLB owners and the players’ union expired at midnight Eastern Time.

www.yardbarker.com

"It's not a good thing for the sport .....we understand its bad for the business.''

This man belongs in the pantheon of great critical thinkers. A hero truly of his generation, his century, his millennia. I mean, how does one respond to such insight, such depth of reasoning? Well maybe we can start with, "Ya THINK???"

don't really understand the purpose here. what would have expected or preferred he say?
seems like a cheap shot to me.

 

[Mingo]

I have decided to spend the lock out - imagining full seasons by Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert.

Robert finished his shortened season hitting. .350 - on base .382 and 13 hrs in 275 ABs.

I think he can do .320 - .350 and 30 hrs - in 500 ABs next season.

Eloy hit .249 - on base .303 with 10 hrs in 213 ABs.

Eloy is going to have to really step it up. Based on his earlier MLB experiences I'd say he can.

I think Eloy can hit .285 = .340 on base and 35 hrs in a 500 at bat season

 

[idseer]

I have decided to spend the lock out - imagining full seasons by Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert.

Robert finished his shortened season hitting. .350 - on base .382 and 13 hrs in 275 ABs.

I think he can do .320 - .350 and 30 hrs - in 500 ABs next season.

Eloy hit .249 - on base .303 with 10 hrs in 213 ABs.

Eloy is going to have to really step it up. Based on his earlier MLB experiences I'd say he can.

I think Eloy can hit .285 = .340 on base and 35 hrs in a 500 at bat season

i think you're being too conservative for eloy. if he plays a full season i think he's a 40 to 50 home run guy and .300.

 

[Mingo]

Congratulations to Minnie Minoso for his elevation to the HOF. My only recollection of him directly was when he came back for a few ABs in the 70s and 80s - becoming a player over 50 playing in an MLB game. He was on White Sox teams when I first became a fan, but frankly I was focused almost exclusively on Fox and Aparicio and the pitchers.

I love to see White Sox legends and lore get enshrined in the HOF.

 

[idseer]

poor dick allen. much more valuable player than oliva was yet oliva jumps in ahead of him. more power, more production, twice the owar. i think this, as always, comes down to the fact writers and others never liked him.

 

[Mingo]

The Sox draft an AA Shortstop in the rule 5 draft - who will have to spend a season with the Sox at AAA. All field - no hit - kind of guy. Yet - the Sox have some of their best prospects as Shortstops in AA in Jose Rodriquez, Yolbert Sanchez and Lnyn Sosa - not to mention Romy Gonzales who plays Short, but got called up to the Sox last season to play 2nd base.

The Sox are poised, or left with, only the trade option to fix 2nd base. We can add to that - also to find some reasonably ready starting pitchers - who might be stacking up somewhere. Even I am not so delusional as to think Kimbrell will bring anything close to filling those needs. This means some of the middle infield guys mentioned above are considered trade fodder. The guy with the most value would be Jose Rodriquez who has made it to AA at short at the ripe age of 20 years old. Rodriquez has hit well and fielded well in every minor league assignment - currently listed at the White Sox MLB website at the #9 prospect. Colson Montgomery is also a Shortstop and was the #1 White Sox pick last season and is listed as the #1 prospect in the system.

It appears to me the Sox are going to try to - at least - rebalance the prospects in the system and potentially try to move the excess - 1B/DH/RF guys and some of these middle infield shortstops. The Sox may also try to flip some of the younger pitching talent for pitchers a little further along in development - since the system is light in young pitchers ready to challenge the bigs.

 

[Mingo]

The "one that got away" in Free Agency signing would be Bryce Harper. How sweet it would have been to have this Sox team with Harper in RF.

 

[Mingo]

Just wanted to memorialize Roland Hemond who passed away recently. RIP.

Roland brought us the 1977 hitmen and the 1983 team - among others. Richie Zisk - Dick Allen - Allan Bannister - Ozzie Guillen - Steve Stone were all guys acquired by Hemond in trades.

He came up to me at a spring training game in Peoria AZ -with the White Sox playing the Pirates in about 2010 or so - to introduce himself as I was a guy there in my White Sox cap. He didn't have to do that - he was no longer with the Sox - so cool beans for me.

 

[Mingo]

This may be the year when Dylan Cease becomes the staff Ace. His August, Sept and Oct pitching at the end of last year (excluding his playoff start against the Stros) he performed like one of the top 5 pitchers in MLB. His fastball, slider and curve have top spin rates and in the final months of the season Cease stopped throwing his changeup from 17% of the time to 2% of the time. When his changeup became rare - Cease showed much better control.

 

[idseer]

This may be the year when Dylan Cease becomes the staff Ace. His August, Sept and Oct pitching at the end of last year (excluding his playoff start against the Stros) he performed like one of the top 5 pitchers in MLB. His fastball, slider and curve have top spin rates and in the final months of the season Cease stopped throwing his changeup from 17% of the time to 2% of the time. When his changeup became rare - Cease showed much better control.

gee. reminds me of what i said on july 13th.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

This may be the year when Dylan Cease becomes the staff Ace. His August, Sept and Oct pitching at the end of last year (excluding his playoff start against the Stros) he performed like one of the top 5 pitchers in MLB. His fastball, slider and curve have top spin rates and in the final months of the season Cease stopped throwing his changeup from 17% of the time to 2% of the time. When his changeup became rare - Cease showed much better control.

Like you Mingo, I'm a big Cease fan, but we all recognize that consistency remains his chief bugaboo. Now I like the stats you brought up, primarily how he continued to improve overall as the season progressed. Maybe ditching the changeup altogether or reducing it a bunch like he did will contribute toward this dominance everyone says he's so capable of showing. No doubt the man brings the stuff.

 

[Mingo]

Like you Mingo, I'm a big Cease fan, but we all recognize that consistency remains his chief bugaboo. Now I like the stats you brought up, primarily how he continued to improve overall as the season progressed. Maybe ditching the changeup altogether or reducing it a bunch like he did will contribute toward this dominance everyone says he's so capable of showing. No doubt the man brings the stuff.

If there is truth to the White Sox excuse - that the short 2020 season - somehow affected the longevity of those pitchers in the 2021 year. Well - if so - then we should all expect 150 innings out of the starters each in 2022.

If I imagine up my expectations up for just a few more players - I can convince myself this next White Sox team will or could be better than the ones we had last season.

 

[Mingo]

Another thing these Sox have going for them is that the camaraderie on this team seems unusually good for teams I'm acquainted with in all sports. As a group they exhibit a hunger to get better individually and collectively. Being professional means something to them. I think they get this from Jose Abreu as he embodies that kind of ethic. The pitching staff has the same ethic.

I guess that is also a chemistry you don't want to mess with if you got it already. Adding players with this group really requires considering the fit for this team.

At any rate - this team spirit is another reason I would point to indicating that the Sox can be expected to get better just by the dedication of its players to live up to each other.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Here are the nominees for the 2022 HOF class.

BK, Harold on 2022 HOF ballot | 12/10/2021

Brian Kenney and Harold Reynolds discuss the first-year candidates on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, including Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz

www.mlb.com

I only bring up the list because there are a few ex-Good Guys on it, in particular one A.J. "Mr. Friendly" Pierzynski. The only for-sure selection out of this batch that I see is David Ortiz. Normally ARod would be a shoo-in, but with his roids history, he might not make it, at least on the initial go around. A couple other borderlines (Papelbon, Teixeira) might need a few rounds to finally get the call.