BASE-BALL

[snowc]

Monday can't come soon enough for the Nats

What's going on with the Nationals?

[epzik8]

Monday can't come soon enough for the Nats

What's going on with the Nationals?

We're calling up James Wood (MLB's number-three prospect), but in the meantime, we're struggling against the Rays.

[Henry]

The All-Star Game is now less than two weeks away...

[mgk920]

The All-Star Game is now less than two weeks away...

 

Mike

[ozarkman417]

It's no surprise Nick Castellanos had a hell of a game given today's news stories..

[epzik8]

Hoping for the NL to kick butt tonight

[Ted$8roadFan]

Happy to hear that Jarren Duran of the Red Sox won the MVP.

[epzik8]

Henderson and Mateo's collision yesterday reminded me of those Blue Jays players running into each other in I believe 2022.

[Rothman]

So, Red Sox extended Cora's contract.  Meh.

[Ted$8roadFan]

The Red Sox have also signed Alex Cora to a contract extension through 2027, which contradicts Rae previous narrative that this was his final season.

[epzik8]

This Nats fan is officially terrified of the Padres.

[epzik8]

Austin Hays and Randy Arozarena are among the last players I expected to get traded.

[Henry]

The Rays aren't going anywhere for the next three decades, thanks to this new development for their long-sought stadium. It's funny, though, how the planned opening of their new ballpark will likely coincide with that of the Las Vegas A's (2028).

[mgk920]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

[74/171FAN]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I thought that the Braves would lose 120 games in 2017, yet I was very much wrong, and the manager that was there for most of it won a World Series a few years later.

[Flint1979]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

[Henry]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

[Flint1979]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

[Stephane Dumas]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

Still, it's a miracle the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox.

[Flint1979]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

Still, it's a miracle the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox.

Yeah it is a miracle, I call it a fluke.

[SEWIGuy]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

Still, it's a miracle the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox.

Yeah it is a miracle, I call it a fluke.

I wouldn't call it a fluke. Pretty much all of their off-season moves paid off and they were clearly the best team in the AL that entire season.

Here is who they added:

Jermaine Dye: Free agent. Started pretty much every day in RF and was the World Series MVP
Scott Podsednik: Trade with Brewers. Freakishly good year, even made the All-Star game. LF
A.J. Pierzynski: Free agent. Regular catcher.
Tadahito Iguchi: Free agent from Japan. Regular 2B

They had a decent pitching staff prior. They added El Duque, who didn't do much during the year, but absolutely shined in the playoffs.

[NWI_Irish96]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

Still, it's a miracle the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox.

Yeah it is a miracle, I call it a fluke.

I wouldn't call it a fluke. Pretty much all of their off-season moves paid off and they were clearly the best team in the AL that entire season.

Here is who they added:

Jermaine Dye: Free agent. Started pretty much every day in RF and was the World Series MVP
Scott Podsednik: Trade with Brewers. Freakishly good year, even made the All-Star game. LF
A.J. Pierzynski: Free agent. Regular catcher.
Tadahito Iguchi: Free agent from Japan. Regular 2B

They had a decent pitching staff prior. They added El Duque, who didn't do much during the year, but absolutely shined in the playoffs.

Once they won 99 games, it certainly wasn't a fluke that they blew through the postseason.

However, the entire season was a bit of a fluke in that the pitching staff as a whole spent remarkably little time on the injured list, and several pitchers had career years. It was lightning in a bottle they were never able to replicate.

The franchise has been hamstrung by Jerry Reinsdorf's extreme aversion to the risk of getting stuck with bad long term contracts, constantly missing out on signing any top free agents. Most of their big free agent signings have been catchers and relievers, who rarely command deals longer than 3-4 yeaars. On top of that, blind loyalty to friends has led to awful organizational hires, the worst being bringing Tony LaRussa back as manager.

Unless you have a nearly perfect scouting and minor league system, you can't be successful operating that way. Also, the team has been the worst at investing in staff who work with advanced analytics, leading to trading for and signing for many players they really shouldn't have.

This is going to be a bad franchise until Jerry Reinsdorf dies, and then hopefully the team is sold to someone who will do what it takes to win.

The White Sox consistently are Top 8 in the league in TV revenue, so the money is there.

[SEWIGuy]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I keep looking at the 2003 Tigers and seeing where they were at this point in the season, Tigers were two games better after 111 games. They didn't have 14 and 17 game losing streaks though the most they lost in a row was 11 and they actually won 5 of their last 6 games of the season. I think the Sox will be worse.

I'm not a White Sox fan, but still find it very sad to see how far they've fallen. In fact, I expect them to surpass the '62 Mets' modern record of 120 losses, something the '03 Tigers miraculously failed to do.

Yeah it's not easy, I actually know more about the Tigers now days than I ever have that's just because they are the local tea but I watch any game that's on though so that helps I guess. Like right now I'm watching the Rockies and Angels it just helps from having to watch the White Sox lose. Jerry Reinsdorf is a horrible owner and is still stuck in the 1980's.

Still, it's a miracle the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, one year after the Red Sox.

Yeah it is a miracle, I call it a fluke.

I wouldn't call it a fluke. Pretty much all of their off-season moves paid off and they were clearly the best team in the AL that entire season.

Here is who they added:

Jermaine Dye: Free agent. Started pretty much every day in RF and was the World Series MVP
Scott Podsednik: Trade with Brewers. Freakishly good year, even made the All-Star game. LF
A.J. Pierzynski: Free agent. Regular catcher.
Tadahito Iguchi: Free agent from Japan. Regular 2B

They had a decent pitching staff prior. They added El Duque, who didn't do much during the year, but absolutely shined in the playoffs.

Once they won 99 games, it certainly wasn't a fluke that they blew through the postseason.

However, the entire season was a bit of a fluke in that the pitching staff as a whole spent remarkably little time on the injured list, and several pitchers had career years. It was lightning in a bottle they were never able to replicate.

The franchise has been hamstrung by Jerry Reinsdorf's extreme aversion to the risk of getting stuck with bad long term contracts, constantly missing out on signing any top free agents. Most of their big free agent signings have been catchers and relievers, who rarely command deals longer than 3-4 yeaars. On top of that, blind loyalty to friends has led to awful organizational hires, the worst being bringing Tony LaRussa back as manager.

Unless you have a nearly perfect scouting and minor league system, you can't be successful operating that way. Also, the team has been the worst at investing in staff who work with advanced analytics, leading to trading for and signing for many players they really shouldn't have.

This is going to be a bad franchise until Jerry Reinsdorf dies, and then hopefully the team is sold to someone who will do what it takes to win.

The White Sox consistently are Top 8 in the league in TV revenue, so the money is there.

I guess I don't want to get into an argument over what a "fluke" is, but my larger point is that they made a lot of great personnel decisions and, and you pointed out, stayed healthy. In retrospect, it was probably a "blind squirrel finds an acorn" moment for the front office. But one is better than none.

[epzik8]

ESPN said a couple of days ago that the White Sox are now on track to lose 121 games this season.

 

Mike

I legit thought that would be the A's last year.

[epzik8]

Poor Mike Trout, man.