MLB talk 2

07 Aug 2022 12:20:04
"[The Giants] have ONE hitter projected to have a wRC+ over 110 (Belt) . This is tied with the Dbacks, Orioles, Pirates, Cubs, A's (LOL, great company) for the 2nd worst in baseball (only the Tigers have zero) . For reference, the White Sox and Blue Jays have 6 and the Dodgers have 7. No one else is higher than 5." -Chi Sox, before the season began.

We're over 100 games into the season, let's see how things are going with his "it's just math" prediction.

Minimum 150 PAs:

White Sox: 4 players over 110 wRC+.
Giants: 6.

Let's go with a minimum of 250 PAs:
White Sox: 4
Giants: 4.

Anyone else wanna tell Chi Sox where he should stick those projections he was using?

07 Aug 2022 22:59:32
Someone doesn't know how projections work, lol.

Well, the Giants do have 6 hitters over a 110 wRC+ and they're only, er, 22 games back! Just need to get hot!

08 Aug 2022 00:31:44
"Someone doesn't know how projections work"

Says the dude who's "projections" were so laughably wrong, for two years in a row now.

I'm not entirely sure YOU know how to make projections LOL.

08 Aug 2022 00:47:28
I'll sum it up this way: Projections are confirmed by their accuracy.

So far, your projection has not been remotely accurate, as the Giants have 6x as many hitters over 110 wRC+ than the "projection" states they would have.

When your projection holds accurate, come find me.

08 Aug 2022 05:57:30
Those are not "my projections", those are the projections that FanGraphs displays. They all said that the Giants wouldn't sniff their wins pace from last season, and here we are.

How's your projections working out? 2 egregious ones were that Jose Abreu's 2020 MVP season was a fluke (he's put up a 133 wRC+ and 6.1 WAR since then and is the 3rd best 1B in baseball this season only behind Goldschmidt and Freeman) .

Darin Ruf? He finally got a shot to get more regular ABs and sputtered to a 105 wRC+ with SF, just like I said the weak-side platoon piece would. Putting him up against Abreu was laughable.

The other was that "Craig Kimbrel is no longer a good pitcher". Well, Craig is has the 9th best FIP (2.04) and the 4th best xRV among RPs this season.

Whoops.

The Sox also have 5 hitters > 110 wRC+ even with your convenient 150 PA qualifier (Abreu, Vaughn, Robert, Burger, Anderson) and in 2022 PAs, Eloy Jimenez will be > 110 too.

Going down to a more logical 100 PA qualifier, the Sox have 7 hitter above 110, with the Giants still at 6. Nice trick there!

08 Aug 2022 14:29:58
"Going down to a more logical 100 PA qualifier, the Sox have 7 hitter above 110, with the Giants still at 6. Nice trick there! "

Wait, so you're acknowledging that the Giants have more than one hitter above 110?

Good to know LOL.

(Not to mention, it was YOUR claim. You didn't specify a minimum PA threshold. )

14 Nov 2022 04:10:43
"The other was that "Craig Kimbrel is no longer a good pitcher". Well, Craig is has the 9th best FIP (2.04) and the 4th best xRV among RPs this season. "

The Dodgers literally left him off the playoff roster LMAOOOOO.

02 Aug 2022 20:14:22
Holy Darin Ruf trade, Batman.

The Giants get a controllable MLB bat, 2 40 FV prospects, and another piece for Darin Ruf.

LOL.

Fleeced.

05 Aug 2022 16:45:29
Farhan got fleeced indeed! Ruf is an elite bat! Better than the 148 wRC+ Jose Abreu!

07 Aug 2022 11:51:36
The Mets clearly thought he was worth a controllable MLB bat, 2 40 FV prospects and another prospect on top of it all.

They should have just emulated Rick Hahn and acquired a lefty-reliever with -0.5 WAR since 2021.

07 Aug 2022 23:02:20
Darin Ruf's most recent MLB season when the Giants picked him up: -0.5 fWAR.

You can't make this stuff up, Batman.

08 Aug 2022 00:32:32
Yes, and then he went to Korea and revived his career.

08 Aug 2022 01:06:38
Darin Ruf since 2021: 3.2 WAR.

The -0.5 WAR season that you reference was 2016.

Normally, this wouldn't be that difficult, but then again, I got to realize the source.

08 Aug 2022 06:02:11
My point is that supporting the Giants and their front office's philosophies while simultaneously bashing another GM for picking up a RP with poor results but elite stuff for absolutely nothing is kind of ironic, don't ya think?

08 Aug 2022 14:18:29
My point is that when the Giants signed Darin Ruf to come back the US and play for them, Darin Ruf was good. He was one of the best hitters in Korea at the time.

When the White Sox acquired Jake Diekman, he was not good.

I didn't think this would be that difficult to comprehend.

09 Aug 2022 00:28:47
Being good in Korea doesn't guarantee anything in MLB. It's essentially AAA.

Zaidi just picked up Dixon Machado who put up average numbers in the same exact same league over the past 2 seasons. Should he be condemned for that move too?

The Sox got a guy with 70-grade stuff (who's now struck out half of the hitters he faced in a Sox uniform and has pitch quality numbers that are significantly better than his results) for an out-of-options backup catcher that they were going to DFA otherwise, and your observation is "lol, that guy sucks".

Like, alright man. You just have a passionate hate for all things White Sox, probably stemming from them ruining your 4th of July weekend.

07 Sep 2022 15:00:42
LOL. It's comical that you highlight Diekman's K numbers, but conveniently ignore the fact that he's among the worst in baseball when it comes to walking batters and giving up home runs.

As far as the trade in the OP goes, since the trade:

Darin Ruf- 29 wRC+
J. D. Dav9s- 141 wRC+

Meanwhile,

Reese McGuire- 0.7 WAR (140 wRC+)
Jake Diekman- -0.1 WAR (5.23 ERA)

Let's take it one more step:

Since the trade deadline:

Yasmani Grandal- 104 wRC+, .314 wOBA (61 PAs)
Seby Zavala- 110 wRC+. .321 wOBA (64 PAs)
Reese McGuire- 140 wRC+, .370 wOBA (66 PAs)

That catcher they were "going to DFA otherwise" would be their best offensive catcher by leaps and bounds since the deadline. They traded him for one of the worst relievers in baseball.

Your 2020 Executive of the Year Runner-Up, everyone.

But hey, it's a good thing the White Sox play in a laughingstock of a baseball division. They might have a chance to still win it! Any other division, they'd be at least 12 games back. But not the AL Central. They are just 3 games back LMAOOOO.

07 Apr 2022 14:09:47
Updated 2022 Predictions

AL East
Toronto 98-64
New York 92-70
Boston- 82-80
Tampa Bay- 81-81
Baltimore- 59-103

AL Central
Chicago- 95-67
Minnesota- 84-78
Cleveland- 76-86
Detroit- 76-86
Kansas City- 64-98

AL West
Houston- 99-63
Seattle- 92-70
Los Angeles- 89-73
Texas- 74-88
Oakland- 60-102

NL East
Atlanta 95-67
Philadelphia 86-76
New York 84-78
Miami 81-81
Washington 65-97

NL Central
Milwaukee 96-66
St. Louis 90-72
Chicago 79-83
Cincinnati 66-96
Pittsburgh 65-97

NL West
Los Angeles 99-63
San Francisco 90-72
San Diego 89-73
Colorado 65-97
Arizona 59-103

Playoffs:
AL Wild Card
(6) Los Angeles vs. (3) Chicago. LAA wins 2-1
(5) Seattle vs. (4) New York. NYY wins 2-1

NL Wild Card
(6) San Diego vs. (3) Atlanta. ATL wins 2-0.
(5) St. Louis vs. (4) San Francisco. SFG wins 2-1.

AL Divisional Series
(6) Los Angeles vs. (2) Toronto. TOR wins 4-1.
(4) New York vs. (1) Houston. HOU wins 4-0.

NL Divisional Series
(3) Atlanta vs. (2) Milwaukee. MIL wins 4-2.
(4) San Francisco vs. (1) Los Angeles. LAD wins 4-3.

AL Championship Series
(2) Toronto vs. (1) Houston. HOU wins 4-2.

NL Championship Series
(2) Milwaukee vs. (1) Los Angeles. MIL wins 4-3.

World Series
Houston vs. Milwaukee. MIL wins 4-1.

Awards
AL MVP: Luis Robert, CHW
NL MVP Mookie Betts, LAD

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, NYY
NL Cy Young: Max Fried, ATL

AL ROY: Julio Rodriguez, SEA
NL ROY: Bryson Stott, PHI

13 Jun 2022 13:22:06
Damn. Looks like I was FAR too generous toward the White Sox.

07 Jul 2022 04:59:01
Yup, you forgot to add that the White Sox would sweep the Giants right out of San Francisco, including curb stomping them on get away day.

07 Jul 2022 13:24:05
The White Sox have as many wins as the Baltimore Orioles.

But then again, I forgot about how the Orioles were the Los Angeles Dodgers of the American League!

Imagine being third in a division where the team ahead of you will struggle to stay .500 all season.

07 Jul 2022 13:28:46
A comprehensive list of the White Sox's successes this season, so far:

1. Sweeping a third place team on the road.

2. Their star SS pretending someone was racist toward him.

End of list.

Now we wait for La Russa to get behind the wheel of a car again.

07 Jul 2022 23:18:39
Hold those Ls my friend. (I know, it was a lot of them) .

Maybe pipe down on the White Sox criticism for a while - your team didn't even belong on the same field as them. By the end of it all, Kapler was helplessly deploying position players to pitch to save his already brutal bullpen. LMAO!

07 Jul 2022 23:19:12
Defending racism is apparently your thing. First Charles Johnson and now Josh Donaldson. Not a great look, but we know what to expect outta ole' Natedog at this point.

09 Jul 2022 00:07:39
I probably wouldn't criticize any manager when Tony La Russa is legitimately starting Leury Garcia and his 39 wRC+ on a nightly basis.

Just for emphasis: there were pitchers who hit better than that last year.

Again, your White Sox have LESS wins than the Baltimore Orioles at the midway point. This was the team you've deemed the "Los Angeles Dodgers of the American League" and projected to win 95 games.

They'll need to go 56-25, or .691 the rest of the way to get there. They'll need to go .567 just to win 85 games. Your Chicago "LA Dodgers" White Sox, everyone.

And to think, they also get the Royals and Tigers in that division to tee off on.

09 Jul 2022 00:18:04
And I've never once defended Charles Johnson. I've simply stated that Charles Johnson's "affiliation" with the team is literally just playing Mr. Money Bags.

His son, Greg, who is a staunch Democrat, has pointed out, multiple times, that Charles has almost no interaction with the team, its leadership, or even in decision making. He just makes the investment into the team, and that's where the relationship ends.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox KNOWINGLY hid information about TLR's DUI arrest and hired him anyway. Their next hiring option was one of the masterminds of one of the biggest cheating scandals in baseball history. Really speaks to the morals of that team: it was going to be a drunk or a cheater.

Then, you had Tim Anderson who was literally suspended to start the season due to making physical contact with an official.

Then, he calls himself Jackie Robinson, and then thinks it's racist when someone else calls him Jackie Robinson in a mocking manner (that was 100% worthy of all the mockery, just like all of your outlandish White Sox takes) .

To call that racist makes you hilariously dumb. Frankly, I'm not the least bit surprised you bought the narrative.

Calling that racist is a literal affront to the countless racist incidents that ACTUALLY exist, and if you actually care about racism (you don't), you won't be dumb to stoop to this level.

But you're not interested in defending good morals or good people. You're literally defending a team who hired a drunk (and wanted to hire a cheater) . This is the White Sox for you.

And the longer you defend this, the longer it is that you're an objectively bad person.

09 Jul 2022 00:55:14
And just for comparison's sake, let's see how reflective their performance truly is:

Record vs. Pythagorean Record:

White Sox: .488 vs. .439
Giants: .506 vs. .527

Or translated more simply: Wins vs. PythW

White Sox: 39 vs. 35
Giants: 41 vs. 43

The White Sox are actually playing BETTER than they really are, by FOUR GAMES, while the Giants are under-performing.

In fact, the White Sox 35 PythWins are right there in line with the Rockies, Cubs, Reds and Diamondbacks.

The Giants are along the same lines as the Rays, Brewers and Mariners.

So you're right, the Giants and White Sox don't deserve to be on the same field. The White Sox belong on a AAA field, as that's how they are playing.

09 Jul 2022 01:21:23
"Already brutal bullpen"

Let's explore.

Giants bullpen, as a whole: 4.29 ERA, 3.78 FIP, 1.6 WAR, 11 Blown Saves.

White Sox bullpen, as a whole: 4.22 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 2.0 WAR, 13 Blown Saves.

I'm not sure the White Sox bullpen is THAT much better LMAOO.

But you've hit the point where you just say things and then hope and pray they'll be true later on. Seriously, did you bother looking at the White Sox bullpen stats?

Or is the season just that bad for you that you'd prefer not to look? I fully understand if that's the case. That window opened and shut awfully quick.

09 Jul 2022 02:38:09
I did some advanced analytics to compare the 2 teams:

Head to head matchups this year (wins) :

White Sox: 3
Giants: 0

You are big mad lol. They outscored them by 12 runs. You defend Donaldson for a blatantly racist comment and willing support Charles Johnson’s business, you can just admit you’re a little racist. Donaldson was suspended and Tim Anderson curb stomped Johnson’s sorry team, so the good guys won.

TA also didn’t call himself Jackie, he said he wanted to be a modern day Jackie in terms of bringing the game back to the black communities. He also didn’t make malicious contact with an umpire. The umpire grabbed him off of a pile of guys and he shoved him off not knowing who it was. I know you tend to not mind, but facts are important.

I just find it funny that the Sox ruined your 4th of July weekend. They showed no mercy on the fighting Charles Johnson’s.

While you’re frustrated, you may not want to compare Ruf and Abreu’s stats from this year. It’ll put you truly over the edge.

10 Jul 2022 12:33:36
Hey man, I'll let you take the W versus the Giants. That's fine.

If it means you can rest easy having a worse record than the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and two (2) other teams in your own division mid-way through the season (one of those teams finished last in the AL Central last year), then I should probably play nice.

As far as this whole Tim "Jussie" Anderson thing is concerned: it ended in a suspension, you're right. A one game suspension. If there was "blatant racism" involved here, MLB would have dropped the hammer. They had to do SOMETHING, so they gave Donaldson a penalty that would satisfy the masses . His own teammates acknowledged it was a mistake not due to racism, but due to the history between Donaldson and Anderson that was already tense.

And for the last time, I haven't "supported" Charles Johnson and his "racism" any more than you continuously support Reinsdorf and his hiding a DUI prior to hiring TLR.

Again, THE WHITE SOX WERE EITHER HIRING A MAN WITH MULTIPLE DUIs OR THE MASTERMIND OF A MASSIVE CHEATING SCANDAL.

Those were what they narrowed it down to. Unsurprisingly, they hired the criminal.

And completely unlike the Giants, the "bad guys" in these situations have direct influence and decision-making in the team and its operations.

Charles Johnson doesn't, and hasn't for several years now. Larry Baer and Greg Johnson have taken care of that. If Charles Johnson did have a say, do you think Gabe Kapler would still have a job after his decision to not join the team for the anthem (a decision I support FWIW)? Hint: he would not. Do you think they'd hire the first Muslim president of baseball operations? Hint: they would not. Or the first woman coach? Hint: they would not.

Charles Johnson literally isn't making any decisions. He hasn't had a say in what happens with the San Francisco Giants or Franklin Resources since 2013.

For someone who wants to accuse someone of not minding the facts, you sure do love to ignore these details.

Again, for recap: the White Sox legitimately knew about La Russa's DUI arrest (not his first one) and decided to hire him anyway. Their second choice was the guy who led a team to an illegitimate WS win by using trash cans and cameras to cheat.

The Giants on the other hand, have a senile 89-year-old principal owner who isn't involved with the team in any capacity beyond his main investment who makes extremely unfortunate campaign donations.

For what it's worth, Charles Johnson hasn't put up any significant money for the Giants in over 15 years. None of their owners have needed to, as three World Series victories, owning their stadium outright (as well as high-end real estate surrounding the stadium) and the marketability of their team does the work for them.

If you think the Giants are the bad guys here, you simply aren't willing to think objectively.

Denounce Reinsdorf, Kenny Williams, Rick Hahn, and Tony La Russa, as each of them continually play a role in propping up TLR as the leader of the White Sox (Hahn had multiple chances to denounce TLR and has yet to do so, so please, spare us of the "it wasn't his decision" nonsense), and then you can proceed your hand-wringing over the objectively better baseball franchise.

10 Jul 2022 23:25:46
You seem to think that an owner can hire a coach and then a GM can proceed to denounce the hire without complete organizational turmoil. You’re completely naive. Hahn can’t reasonably denounce TLR. It would put his players in an impossible position.

All you can go off of is what’s public knowledge. We don’t need you to pretend that you’re privy to the daily conversations of Charles Johnson, and what exactly he has say over. You also apparently know how every dollar of the Giants is spent, so that’s fascinating. If Baer didn’t want to associate with Johnson, he doesn’t have to or could simply buy him out. But he clearly doesn’t care enough to make a change. If your logic is that Rick Hahn can do something about Jerry Reinsdorf (which is complete nonsense), then Larry Baer can certainly do something about his co-owner.

Them hiring minority execs and one female coach is the equivalent of a racist saying “ but I have black friends! ” He’s the principal owner of the team you support and defend on a daily basis. It’s his company. Any major decision is cleared by him because he literally has the largest stake in the team. It’s how it in everything company in the country is run. But sure, tell me how the Giants are conveniently different. Principally owner is principal owner.

Reinsdorf was wrong for hiring TLR, both for the moral & baseball reasons - but I can at least say he’s not a proud racist, no matter what his influence is in day-to-day operations.

Think about it, Nate. Donaldson could have resorted to various other digs towards TA (e. g., the Sox are sub-.500, TA was leading MLB in errors, etc. ), but we’re supposed to believe the Donaldson recounting a complete non-story from 3 years ago where TA talked about his impact on MLB as a black man didn’t have racial motivation? You’re insane if you think that.

MLB handed him a suspension to “satisfy” the masses because the masses know that Donaldson was being a racist jackass. The good guys won then too - the Sox swept a double header from the Yankees the next day & TA’s an all-star starter. Donaldson has been hated pretty much everywhere he’s been - 6 teams in 11 years is telling. You defending Donaldson here is the least surprising thing all season.

11 Jul 2022 14:06:14
Are we just conveniently ignoring the FACT that La Russa literally suggested black players should sit in the clubhouse instead of kneeling for the anthem?

Not only that, he literally went out of his way, in that Dan Le Betard interview, to attack Adam Jones for highlighting racism within baseball. He called Colin Kaepernick "insincere. "

But as you know, he's totally moved on from those antiquated stances (from 2016) and no longer believes any of it. That shift in belief certainly wouldn't be merely convenient denial because he already had enough to worry about (i. e. his DUI arrest), could it? Nah, people never hide their true feelings for the sake of their jobs?

Oh wait, you just said that Rick Hahn did! Man, Hahn didn't once speak out about how his owner railroaded him, how his owner hired a drunk as the manager, or how his new manager has public comments about black players that are extremely concerning?

He didn't say this because it was his job and he's scared of the owner? That's your defense of him? Who cares if your manager is a racist, drunk buffoon, you have a job to keep, so be quiet!

Man, it must be par for the course for leaders and team personnel to not question the owners! Oh wait, you're telling me Gabe Kapler, Farhan Zaidi and Larry Baer have all questioned Charles Johnson and made very public comments about him?

Why ever would they do that? (Probably because Johnson has no day-to-day influence and has no seat at the table for decision-making for the Giants anymore) . But I was under the impression that every person was to be as limp-wristed as Rick Hahn.

After all, ALL of baseball is trying to emulate him! (Is Ricky secretly the one telling TLR to play Leury Garcia every day? )

So all of baseball should then just sit down and shut up when their boss hires a multiple-offender DUI arrestee and a man who has deeply concerning comments in regards to minorities in baseball. After all, they all clearly want to be him!

Man, what a joke this has become.

11 Jul 2022 16:57:16
"Oh wait, you're telling me Gabe Kapler, Farhan Zaidi and Larry Baer have all questioned Charles Johnson and made very public comments about him? "

So why don't they simply get him out of there? Show me exactly where Kapler, Zaidi and the rest of the Giants ownership group called C. Johnson a proud racist. Johnson spoke on his issues, pledged to not donate, and then proceed to MAX OUT his donations to these groups that eventually helped fund January 6th. These are not "unfortunate donations", these are awful human beings. Charles Johnson owns a company that you choose to still support, Nate. He still signs all of the checks and gives his final stamp of approval on everything, or else he wouldn't be the principal owner of an MLB team. I don't care about his involvement in day-to-day baseball operations.

Now, you don't support Johnson personally (and I don't support La Russa - albeit a DUI arrest where no one was hurt is not close to Johnson's issues, but I digress), but you will bring up TLR's hire as a stain on Hahn's resume as if he had any control over that decision. It's clear that he never wanted Tony from what we can see and it's why the front office is now (likely) leaking reports to the media saying that the White Sox clubhouse is not in great shape - they want to make sure that Jerry realizes his mistake so that TLR is not back next year.

Also, many believe that it was someone in the White Sox front office that surfaced the Arizona police report to get rid of him before this even started. The team was so ready to hire Hinch that the Twitter graphic had A. J. Hinch's signature on the graphic by mistake. I would have preferred Hinch to La Russa, but I didn't like the idea of Hinch in general. But in reality, if you are going to condemn every team that has since picked up someone involved in the Astros cheating scandal, you are going to have to start condemning A LOT of teams.

You have a very naïve understanding of how any basic organizational hierarchy works. The GM can be the best baseball mind on the planet and if the owner thinks differently and is stubborn enough to not trust he people he's hired to run the baseball side (i. e., Jerry Reinsdorf), then the owner is going to get what he wants - plain and simple, and the same goes for the Giants if they were in the same circumstance. It's the same thing with every company in America, but somehow it's still "limp-wristed Rick Hahn" not doing enough. Give me a break.

"Probably because Johnson has no day-to-day influence and has no seat at the table for decision-making for the Giants anymore"

This is your perception of the Giants front office. You pretending to have an acute understanding of the Giants daily inner-workings is fun tho. Natedog, our cute little pretend Giants insider.

"He didn't say this because it was his job and he's scared of the owner? That's your defense of him? Who cares if your manager is a racist, drunk buffoon, you have a job to keep, so be quiet! "

You say this like it's false. Hahn can condemn one of the winningest owners in the history of pro sports, or he can try to put of the fire of TLR as best as possible for hopefully 2 seasons and then move on once Jerry gets the regret of firing La Russa in the 80s off his chest. It's a dumb org, but it's the reality of the situation.

28 Jul 2022 16:16:03
"This is your perception of the Giants front office. You pretending to have an acute understanding of the Giants daily inner-workings is fun tho. Natedog, our cute little pretend Giants insider. "

It's not like I'm privy to some trade secret. Johnson is 89. He's not involved in the day-to-day operations of ANY of the companies he owns. Not at Franklin Resources, nor with the San Francisco Giants. This has been pretty open info to just about anyone, and when all the dumb donations became news stories, that point was made even more clear.

"He still signs all of the checks and gives his final stamp of approval on everything, or else he wouldn't be the principal owner of an MLB team. "

No, he doesn't. Greg Johnson and Larry Baer are in charge of those things. Johnson acts as chairman for the team while Larry Baer acts as CEO. I'm sure Charles Johnson is informed on what decisions are being made, but he handed over the reins to his son years ago.

Meanwhile, the White Sox have an owner who WILLINGLY hired a manager with not one, but TWO DUI arrests on his record, and apparently runs an organization where no one is allowed to question him, or so says Chi Sox.

If Rick Hahn felt it was so bad, and he didn't like being railroaded by his owner, he should have quit and found a new job. According to your perception of him, it wouldn't have been difficult. He's a trailblazer and the greatest executive in American Sports History, so every team would have fired their guy to hire him!

And yet, he stuck around with a mediocre baseball club that employs a drunk, out-of-touch old man who is tearing at the clubhouse morale day by day.

Something tells be that either a) Rick Hahn isn't as desired of a baseball mind as you've built him up to be or b) his moral compass isn't as true north as you believe it to be. I'm actually going to go with "both", but I'm sure you'll disagree with me.

I mean, after all, how is it that so many GMs and PBOs (president of baseball ops) are able to get ownership's blessings to have final say on decisions, such as who the manager will be, but not Rick Hahn? Maybe some of that has to do with Reinsdorf, but so much of that falls on Hahn as well.

And again, Hahn's pick was A. J. Hinch. So that should tell you something about ol' Ricky's moral compass right there. He was hoping to sign the cheater.

30 Jul 2022 03:39:07
And just like that, Tim Anderson makes contact with another umpire. He simply can't help himself.

It's almost like the White Sox enjoy having low character individuals around their team. Such a modern-day "Jackie Robinson" LMAO. He's an embarrassment.

01 Aug 2022 15:33:23
Nate, just admit you're a racist and let's move on. Calling TA low-character because he got ejected for arguing a call in a baseball game is very telling. He got in an ump's face and you'd think he killed someone.

Anderson's fWAR is 14.0 since the start of 2019. That embarrassment is FIVE WINS BETTER than your team's best player over that span. LMAO.

The Sox employ guys like Tim Anderson - the guys trying to bring baseball prominence into this country's black communities. The Giants employ Aubrey Huffs for 4 years - A favorite of Charles Johnson.

The embarrassment is you my friend.

02 Aug 2022 21:17:26
The Giants won't even let Aubrey Huff inside of Oracle Park LMAOOOOOO.

Meanwhile, the White Sox just traded for a major MAGA reliever (Jake Diekman. I played Legion Ball with him in HS) and let Tony La Russa MANAGE their team.

05 Aug 2022 16:47:44
MAGA? The Giants have made Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt lifetime players, lmao. Save it. The Giants lead the league in MAGAs.

07 Aug 2022 11:56:33
Brandon Crawford is MAGA? What gives you that indication?

Jake Diekman has made no secrets to his political leanings. Nor has his wife, Former Miss Nebraska. Trust me, I'm more familiar with the Nebraska baseball scene than you'll ever be. I played with Jake Diekman. I played with Joba Chamberlain. I played against Darin Ruf and even Alex Gordon.

I can confidently tell you that Jake Diekman is closer to the awful, terrible Charles Johnson than you'd prefer.

But you're literally talking out of your you-know-where about Crawford's political leanings LOL.

07 Aug 2022 12:08:08
Now, to be completely honest, I don't care how people vote. I dropped the MAGA card because you've invested so much hand-wringing over Charles Johnson, I thought I'd inform you about the "awful person" the White Sox just acquired! (Diekman is an incredibly nice guy, for what it's worth. )

I'd reckon that MOST baseball teams have a significant amount of hardcore Republicans, especially considering the culture of baseball and where a lot of these dudes come from.

But if you want to talk about the Giants and their current (and past) stars, they have a lot of left-leaning guys. a LOT:

Yaz, Dominic Leone, Curt Casali (now traded), Brebbia, Austin Slater (whose grandfather was the mayor of Jacksonville), Logan Webb, Joc Pederson. Not to mention previous stars like Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, and Matt Cain, just to name a few.

Every team has guys from all across the political spectrum. Only an immature child is concerned about the fact that Republicans (or Democrats) exist on a team.

After all, don't the White Sox have two prominent players who are proudly anti-c.v. vax? How dare they employ people with that political affiliation!

07 Aug 2022 23:05:09
*Literally brings up that the Sox traded for a supposed right-leaning relief pitcher*

"Only an immature child is concerned about the fact that Republicans (or Democrats) exist on a team. "

Ok dude.

08 Aug 2022 14:24:31
Bruh, do you not realize it was YOU who made a big stink about Charles Johnson, a non-involved, geriatric billionaire's political leanings? You pretended like it made this massive stain on the San Francisco Giants' organization.

I was merely pointing out to you that the Chicago White Sox have a relief pitcher who has the EXACT SAME political leanings as Charles Johnson. The only difference is: Jake Diekman actually has involvement with the White Sox organization. He plays for them.

Yes, you'll have to root for him. I repeat: you are now rooting for a player who supports MAGA and QANON politicians.

I'm just trying to help you be consistent. Something you have really struggled to do around this site!

08 Aug 2022 14:26:07
And speaking of Tim Anderson. he's currently serving his THIRD suspension in 2022.

Let's perhaps quit treating him like he's some victim or pretending he's a good person. No one serves three suspensions in a season and remains a good human being.

The White Sox just love their low-character players.

08 Aug 2022 14:48:06
LOL at you being unable to see what I was pointing out.

If Charles Johnson, a senile, uninvolved billionaire's politics put a huge stain on the San Francisco Giants, doesn't Jake Diekman, who has the exact same political leanings put a huge stain on the Chicago White Sox, who already hired a criminal as their manager?

If you're seeking to be consistent, you should be upset that the White Sox would go out of their way to acquire Jake Diekman, who hasn't exactly hidden what he believes about politics. After all, it's gonna be difficult to root for the White Sox without directly rooting for Diekman's success.

That was my point. I literally don't care how people vote. But you seem very worked up over how Charles Johnson votes. So I think you should know about how Diekman votes. Because it's the exact same way as Charles Johnson.

06 Apr 2022 21:52:00
2022 Predictions:

AL East

1. Toronto (93-64)
2. Tampa Bay (92-70)
3. New York (89-73)
4. Boston (85-77)
5. Baltimore (55-107)

AL Central

1. Chicago (95-67)
2. Minnesota (81-81)
3. Cleveland (78-82)
4. Kansas City (77-83)
5. Detroit (74-86)

AL West

1. Houston (94-68)
2. Seattle (84-78)
3. Los Angeles (82-80)
4. Texas (74-86)
5. Oakland (60-102)

NL East

1. Atlanta (100-62)
2. Philadelphia (95-67)
3. New York (87-75)
4. Miami (80-82)
5. Washington (63-99)

NL Central

1. Milwaukee (97-65)
2. St. Louis (86-76)
3. Cincinnati (75-87)
4. Chicago (73-89)
5. Pittsburgh (57-105)

NL West

1. Los Angeles (104-52)
2. San Diego (85-77)
3. San Francisco (84-78)
4. Colorado (74-86)
5. Arizona (57-105)

Wild Card

Red Sox (6) < Blue Jays (3) (2-0)
Yankees (5) > Rays (4) (2-1)
Cardinals (6) < Brewers (3) (2-0)
Mets (5) < Phillies (4) (2-1)

Divisional

Yankees (5) < White Sox (1) (4-2)
Blue Jays (3) > Astros (2) (4-2)
Phillies (4) < Dodgers (1) (4-1)
Brewers (3) < Braves (2) (4-3)

Championship

Blue Jays (3) < White Sox (1) (4-3)
Braves (2) < Dodgers (1) (4-3)

World Series

White Sox (1) < Dodgers (1) (4-1)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
NL MVP: Trea Turner

AL CY Young: Shane McClannahan
NL CY Young: Corbin Burnes

AL ROY: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL ROY: Seiya Suzuki

07 Apr 2022 13:05:30
White Sox in 4 is LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

07 Apr 2022 15:19:52
Where do I pick the White Sox in 4?

07 Apr 2022 17:18:45
Sorry, in 5. Against the Dodgers? Man, it's nice that you're excited for Opening Day, but yikes.

07 Apr 2022 19:40:25
Let's really work hard here, Nate. I clearly show the Sox losing in 5 to the Dodgers. I don't show them winning any series in 5 games.

07 Apr 2022 22:12:01
You could serve to use better means than.

07 Apr 2022 22:55:26
Or, and this may be a stretch, you could learn to read? Talk about yikes. LOL.

07 Apr 2022 23:05:24
"Talk about yikes"

Wait, when did we start talking about your prognosis of the Giants' future?

Yikes.

07 Apr 2022 23:06:17
Also, the dude who legitimately has the Blue Jays playing only 157 games shouldn't criticize someone else for their oversight.

Just throwing that one out there.

07 Apr 2022 23:41:35
Nice catch. 93-69*.

08 Apr 2022 04:18:22
Detroit, Cleveland, Texas, and Colorado are all playing 160.

And how unfair is it that the Dodgers only have to play 156 games?

This thing is loaded with more errors than Fernando Tatis' Fangraphs page, so maybe dial back the condescension for someone mistaking the symbols you used.

04 Apr 2022 13:02:39
RIP to the White Sox giving up a "Top 5 RP" and future Hall of Famer for AJ Pollock, losing Lance Lynn and Garrett Crochet, all in the same day.

Can someone do a wellness check on Chi Sox? I just don't want him to become Tony La Russa or Michael Kopech all of a sudden.

05 Apr 2022 18:13:09
Gotta give Hahn credit for netting a guy coming off a 137 wRC+ season for a "completely washed" (according to you) RP like Kimbrel.

But let me guess, Kimbrel is good now? One of the top orgs in baseball just dealt for him. The Sox ate none of his contract and saved $ in the process.

Masterclass.

Glad you're still constantly thinking about me, Nathan.

05 Apr 2022 18:31:45
"The White Sox will have to attach a pretty intriguing prospect just to clear the salary. "

"The White Sox gave up Heuer and Madrigal for Kimbrel AND picked up his $16M option. But here you are, thinking the White Sox are on par with the Dodgers! LOLOLOLOL. "

"If you don't think teams make decisions on small sample sizes, then you truly aren't paying attention. "

"But yeah, maybe there's a GM out there dumber than Rick Hahn right now who'll give up something--ANYTHING--for Craig Kimbrel, but I seriously doubt it. "

"Again, you know it's bad when the exact idea he came up was mocked openly by Mike Petriello on Twitter, along with other baseball guys. "

Safe to say these all aged pretty poorly for ole Natedog. Like clockwork.

06 Apr 2022 14:06:16
I was just making sure that you didn't quit this site like Michael Kopech quit 2020. So I'm glad you're okay.

And for what it's worth, the White Sox, impressively, won that trade. If Pollock can stay healthy (that's a big IF) getting him while unloading Craig Kimbrel, who gave up 7 runs to AAA players in Spring, will look really good.

Sure, it puts Kyle Crick in the Sox's bullpen instead of Kimbrel, but then again, I think that's probably a wash.

In the meantime, enjoy running on the gloating tour. It might be the only positive experience of your baseball season. The fun will likely end when Darin Ruf has a better season than Jose Abreu for a second season in a row.

06 Apr 2022 15:50:21
While we're at it, I LOL'd today looking back at your lengthy predictions. 8 for 84, a solid 9.5%.

Meanwhile, I got 12 just in the top 50 alone and sit proudly in MLBTR's top 25.

Or do you want me to bring up the trade where the D'Backs get Justin Upton and his 28M salary while the White Sox shed Keuchel's salary AND get Ketel Marte?

Good news for the Diamondbacks: they can just get their mans without giving up Marte!

You seem to gloat here, but you ignore how hilariously terrible some of the trades you've made on here were. And to think, you spent MULTIPLE comments defending that awful idea.

Also, if we want to talk about things that aged well, can your infamous "the White Sox are on par with the Dodgers" take count here? I think it absolutely should.

Or what about the fact that the Giants were 5-6 years away from contention (they led the league in wins last season, and had 103 pythagorean wins, but you don't need reminded of this)? Or where you said Zaidi would be lucky to accomplish 75% of what Hahn has done.

In just three years, the Giants have more wins than the "on-par-with-the-Dodgers" White Sox. Yes, the team 5-6 years away from contention has more wins during Zaidi's tenure, a rebuilding club, than the Chi Sox-proclaimed "preeminent AL club. "

He's done this while bringing up exactly one top prospect: Logan Webb. He'll add another with Joey Bart, and the young players will just keep coming.

Yes, he won 13 more games in 3 seasons than Rick Hahn's Dodgers, ahem, White Sox, with a lineup containing Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria, Darin Ruf, Donovan Solano, and finding nobodies like Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade, Jr.

In just 3 years into his tenure, Farhan Zaidi has the Giants contending for WS titles and his most expensive FA signing was Carlos Rodon on a 2-year deal.

But please, remind me of your take about Zaidi? For good measure, I'll help you out: The Giants are multiple years away from contention.

How'd that prediction go? It went poorly. It was the worst-aged prediction I've seen on this here website. And the bar was pretty high, especially out of the content you have graced us with.

06 Apr 2022 16:34:43
You were just as high on the 2021 Giants as I was, Nathan. This is not a victory lap for you, bud.

I already conceded that I underestimated how quickly they could turn around their team. No one expected them to get career years from their entire team last year.

We'll see if they can do that again, but it's a very good org top to bottom.

Also, if Crick and Velasquez were signed by SF, you'd be telling me to stay tuned for their breakout. Crick gave up 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings this spring. They're low risk dart throws with high upside, and you're acting like it's a bad thing?

Finally, I, for one, am extremely excited for Dain Ruf's 2022 MVP campaign to commence now that he should see more regular ABs in 2022.

07 Apr 2022 13:05:11
"You were just as high on the 2021 Giants as I was, Nathan. This is not a victory lap for you, bud. "

Not that I expect you to own up to the most impressively inaccurate take this website has ever seen, but maybe at least don't acknowledge the point if you refuse to own it?

We're not talking our predictions on the '21 Giants. We're talking about your level of confidence regarding the Giants. That they were a half-decade from contending. That they'd be lucky to accomplish 75% of what Rick Hahn has done (never mind them exceeding it already) .

Just acknowledge how hilariously bad your take on the Giants was. It's really simple.

07 Apr 2022 15:21:10
Surely they won a playoff series last season with how much better they've done.

07 Apr 2022 17:21:03
Yes, because Rick Hahn's White Sox teams have done so well in that department.

Let that sink in: the guy whose success Farhan would be lucky to accomplish even 75% of hasn't made it once out of the first round, despite being the GM everyone is clearly trying to emulate.

And ironically, in 3 years, Farhan has matched Rick Hahn's career playoff win totals. Absolutely remarkable how that works.

08 Apr 2022 00:10:31
I said: "I already conceded that I underestimated how quickly they could turn around their team. "

Then you said "Just acknowledge how hilariously bad your take on the Giants was. "

Make it make sense

Zaidi still hasn't built a sustainable roster in SF yet however. He has to prove that last year wasn't a flash in the pan. They replaced Posey with Bart and Bryant with Pederson. Not great for the lineup.

Belt, Crawford and Longoria may not have career years again. It's actually extremely likely that they don't. They really don't have a single game changing hitter in their lineup (No, Darin Ruf doesn't count) . They have ONE hitter projected to have a wRC+ over 110 (Belt) . This is tied with the Dbacks, Orioles, Pirates, Cubs, A's (LOL, great company) for the 2nd worst in baseball (only the Tigers have zero) . For reference, the White Sox and Blue Jays have 6 and the Dodgers have 7. No one else is higher than 5. We're talking about two massively different tiers here based on the best projections available. The Giants could legitimately have one hitter slug over .450.

And before you ho-hum projections in general, it's literally math my man. No need to get upset.

Their biggest FA signing has only pitched 173 innings over the last THREE seasons with a history of recurring shoulder and elbow issues. Acting like Zaidi has the same kind of roster as Hahn in Chicago is laughable. Zaidi deserves credit for piecing together last year's masterpiece, but acting like they are going to stroll to 90 wins again isn't wise IMO, but we're allowed to give him the benefit of the doubt after last year.

18 Apr 2022 15:15:56
"And before you ho-hum projections in general, it's literally math my man. No need to get upset. "

No, it's theory. And considering the projections were wrong at nearly every projection for the Giants in 2021, maybe they aren't as accurate as you're suggesting?

I mean, ZiPS was off by 30+ wins. They were 2.0 or more WAR UNDER on Crawford, Posey, Ruf, Webb, Gausman, DeSclafani, and Duggar and 1.5 WAR UNDER on Wade and Belt. That's 9 players. The next team to have that many misses for ZiPS was 5, and it was the Brewers.

For what it's worth, just two (2) players had projections 1.0 WAR or more OVER their actual performance: Yastrzemski and Dubon. That's also the lowest amount of any team last year.

So excuse me when I look at ZiPS projections and see the same make similar ZiPS projections two seasons in a row on the same players. But surely, ZiPS is gospel truth that can't be disputed, now can it?

Surely they weren't so historically off that Dan Szymborski should be laughed out of any room he walks into, right?

MLB front offices are clearly rejecting these projection systems, and it's evidenced by how they are spending their money and the roster decisions they are making. Maybe it's time that fans do as well?

18 Apr 2022 16:04:02
"They have ONE hitter projected to have a wRC+ over 110"

Ahh yes. The team that had EIGHT (8) from last year and brought back 6 of those players, they'll have just TWO in 2022?

Seriously, do you even bother looking up anything before you type it, or do you just run with it because it sounds good? And if you still, after all these years, think that ZiPS is a remotely decent projection system, especially after they were so historically off in 2021 for one team in particular that it was almost contemptuous, I really don't have much belief you'll continue to operate in good faith in these discussions.

No front office in baseball is even the slightest bit focused on ZiPS or any of the publicly available projection systems. In fact, I'd contend, simply by the way they operate, that teams have written off Szymborski's system altogether.

21 Apr 2022 06:15:43
Could you show me where I said I was referencing ZiPS?

19 May 2022 14:14:18
Nearly a quarter way through the season, let's check in on how things are going:

White Sox players over 110 wRC+ (min. 50 PAs) : 3.
Giants players over 110 wRC+: 7.

I was so confidently told that it was "just math". Your math sure seems to be wrong an awful lot, now doesn't it?

16 Mar 2022 02:23:19
Projected MLB Standings:

AL East
Toronto- 93-69
Tampa Bay- 89-73
New York- 87-75
Boston- 81-81
Baltimore- 60-102

AL Central
Chicago- 90-72
Cleveland- 82-80
Detroit- 79-83
Minnesota- 75-87
Kansas City- 72-90

AL West
Houston- 92-70
Seattle 89-73
Los Angeles- 88-74
Texs- 77-85
Oakland- 61-101

NL East
New York- 94-68
Atlanta- 87-75
Philadelphia- 79-83
Miami- 75-87
Washington- 70-92

NL Central
St. Louis- 97-65
Milwaukee- 93-69
Chicago- 77-85
Cincinnati- 70-92
Pittsburgh- 58-104

NL West
Los Angeles- 99-63
San Francisco- 90-72
San Diego- 84-78
Colorado-74-88
Arizona- 68-94

03 Feb 2022 18:14:33
I'm not well versed with the NYY Prospects but somehow I see the Mets and Yankees are lined up for a trade.

I see Nimmo and Dom Smith as pieces going to the NYY

What do you suppose the NYY interest would be and what prospect package they would send to Mets if interested?

12 Dec 2021 22:00:57
I hope the Mets hire Quatraro for Manager.

I'd hire anyone from the Rays organization.

As a matter of fact if I were Steve Cohen, I'd call the owner of the Rays and offer him $50 million to release his entire staff (scouting, analytics, minor league coaches, major league personel and throw in the payroll dept) to be hired by the Mets

13 Dec 2021 13:44:45
If Cohen offered to build Stu Sternberg his stadium, the Rays would do it in a heartbeat.

19 Dec 2021 04:24:08
Showalter, oof.

22 Dec 2021 20:14:59
Says the guy whose team literally hired Tony La Russa out of the Arizona State Penitentiary. Oof.

27 Dec 2021 02:37:32
The Sox and Mets can both make bad hires, Nathan.

11 Jan 2022 13:35:25
Right. The White Sox are basically the New York Mets of the American League.

Not exactly a desirous title.

28 Nov 2021 19:30:53
Ideal Yankees 2022 Roster (Highly Unrealistic because not all of them can happen but these should be their targets)

C Salvador Perez
1B Matt Olson
2B Gleyber Torres
3B D.J. LeMahieu
SS Corey Seager
LF Joey Gallo
CF Ketel Marte
RF Aaron Judge
DH Giancarlo Stanton

Bench

C Gary Sanchez
IF Gio Urshela
OF Kevin Pillar
SS Andrelton Simmons

Rotation

Gerrit Cole
Luis Severino
Luis Castillo
Jameson Taillon
Jordan Montgomery

Bullpen

Domingo German
Nestor Cortes Jr.
Chad Green
Jonathan Loaisiga
Joely Rodriguez
Clay Holmes
Josh Hader
Aroldis Chapman

17 Nov 2021 19:08:45
Natedog & Chi Sox,

Quit being children and grow up! You two both delve into juvenile potshots and it challenges both of your intellects. Neither team is "racist" or "bad". Just kiss and make up already!

18 Oct 2021 14:34:27
Now that both the Giants and White Sox seasons are done, let's do a recap as to where we're at.

After 3 seasons (when Zaidi started and when, supposedly, we're limited to counting Rick Hahn's success), here's where the teams stand:

White Sox: 200-183, 2 playoff wins, 1 division title.
Giants: 213-171, 2 playoff wins, 1 division title.

This, mind you, is a Giants team that had the 106-win Dodgers in their division, and a White Sox team that had legitimately zero other .500 teams in their division.

And to remind you of your own assessment: the Giants were 3-5 years away, and the White Sox were on par with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To be honest, Chi Sox, you might be better off deleting this site from your browsing history. It's hilarious how frequently you've proven yourself wrong over the past 18 months or so.

Maybe go learn how microwaves are made, because baseball hot takes aren't your thing.

19 Oct 2021 14:43:30
Finally, Chi Sox, there are seriously excellent odds that Farhan Zaidi will be the Executive of the Year, along with Kapler being NL Manager of the Year.

And just so you're clear: they did next to nothing to emulate Rick Hahn or try and match what he did. NOTHING.

And thank goodness he didn't. Otherwise, he would have dropped 8M on Adam Eaton and spinelessly let his owner hire a manager for him.

Maybe Rick Hahn can emulate Farhan Zaidi. After all, his core is only going to get older and he has legitimately baseball's worst farm system. He might need a few pointers. If he's lucky, maybe his team will even win 100+ games in a season for the first time in over 100 years.

20 Oct 2021 00:06:38
I can admit that I didn't see the Giants winning 107 games with career resurgences from Posey, Longoria and Crawford. Give cresit where credit is due. But then again, you didn't see this coming. We both projected them as third place finishers, as did 99% of baseball fans.

The whole organization deserves a ton of credit for doing what they did. Kapler deserves manager of the year and Zaidi deserves executive.

But as I figured, when you're throwing out someone like Camilo Doval, who was pitching in high-A just 50 innings prior, with your season on the line against the Dodgers in the postseason, it most likely isn't going to end well. There pen wasn't their ultimate issue in that series (they didn't hit enough), but it was at the end of game 5.

If the Sox had some competition from at least one other team in their division to keep that marginal value of a win on a daily basis higher than it was, they probably would have won more than the shameful 93 that they did. It would've also helped had they not had the most WAR lost from injuries in the major leagues. They otherwise probably would have been closer to 100. But again, when you effectively clinch in July, you rest guys, skip starts, etc.

You probably will see a lot of teams emulate the Giants this offseason tbh. Zaidi has turned them into one of the best orgs in baseball. Still, my point about Zaidi building a core like Hahn did still stands. Crawford, Posey, Belt, Longoria, Yaz etc. will be gone sooner rather than later. They are going to have the monetary resources to spend expeditiously in the coming offseason, but that almost always how teams SUPPLEMENT their young cores and then find success. Trying to do it the other way around is a lot more difficult.

I'll be very interested to see how they handle their flexibility.

20 Oct 2021 15:00:58
"when you're throwing out someone like Camilo Doval, who was pitching in high-A just 50 innings prior, with your season on the line against the Dodgers in the postseason"

Tell me you watched ZERO Giants games without telling me you watched ZERO Giants games. It's okay, you've shown your incompetence time and time again. I expect this from you. From his addition back onto the 26-Man roster, Camilo Doval gave up exactly one run, against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS. 16.1 IP, 22 Ks, 1 ER since September 1st. He WAS the guy for the Giants, and he was dominant. I suspect he'll be a crucial part of the Giants bullpen for a long time.

"But then again, you didn't see this coming. We both projected them as third place finishers, as did 99% of baseball fans. "

Right, but I also didn't stupidly suggest that Zaidi would be contending by 2027, or that the Giants were soooo far away. There's a big difference there.

"my point about Zaidi building a core like Hahn did still stands. "

And my point about Rick Hahn doing NOTHING revolutionary still stands. He didn't "revolutionize" the pre-arb deal. He didn't revolutionize the idea of trading good veterans for good prospects. He's done nothing that anyone is trying to emulate. In fact, his team had absolutely zero depth. None. He was so spineless that his owner wouldn't listen to his input on who the manager should be. So therein lay two serious reasons why Rick Hahn's teams CONTINUE their failure to launch.

But yeah, I'm sure Farhan Zaidi is desperate to emulate a GM (not a president of baseball ops, but an inferior role) who has an abundance of young talent and just finished 14 games behind his team where the average age of starters was over 30-years-old.

My prediction: Rick Hahn emulates Farhan Zaidi, by trying to find undervalued veterans with specific skillsets to help build cheap, but meaningful depth to his team.

That's right, it stands to reason that Rick Hahn will be the emulator.

"Crawford, Posey, Belt, Longoria, Yaz etc. will be gone sooner rather than later. "

I mean, it's not like the Giants don't have Luciano, Ramos, Matos, Bart, Bishop, Toribio, etc. And even if you don't think they'll be good, keep in mind, if the Giants can turn LaMonte Wade, Jr. (who they acquired for the thrice DFA'd Shaun Anderson) into a 117 wRC+ hitter, you'd be silly to think that they can't do it with damn-near anyone.

The Giants will be a very good team for the foreseeable future. The White Sox? We'll see.

20 Oct 2021 15:23:23
The Giants will likely do what they did the past two seasons: find good value 1-year contracts. Think Noah Syndergaard or Andrew Heaney types. They'll do the same with a few position players. I'd imagine they flex their spending muscles with a pitcher and probably go after Kris Bryant, but even that accounts for the organization: the Giants don't have a lock-down 3B prospect out there. And they need a lot of starting pitching.

But they also have intriguing options for pitching: Hjelle, Beck, Frisbee, Plassmeyer, Dabovich, Corry, Ragsdale. And even guys who made appearances in 2021: Santos, Kervin Castro, Sam Long, etc.

The Giants gameplan is, and has been, to win games in the in-between. And they just did, to the tune of MLB's best record. They had to add DeSclafani, Wood, and re-sign Gausman last winter. They have 4 open SP spots instead of 3 this time around, but more options internally.

And the thing is, Austin, the Giants also aren't unwilling to spend money. So they can do whatever they foreseeably wish to do. Seeing what Farhan Zaidi did with this rag-tag roster, I'm not the least bit worried about the future.

They've got a huge group of young, intriguing players for 2022, and a comical depth of riches financially. And yet, their best offseason acquisition will probably be some 48 wRC+ outfielder who they turn into a star.

20 Oct 2021 20:58:28
The fact that he was THE guy for the Giants in their biggest game of the year simply because of a good 16-inning stretch is my point. He was their best option when the Dodgers had Treinen, Jansen and Scherzer. Again, Doval's NOT why they lost that series or even that game necessarily, but he's a big reason why they got outplayed at the end of that game.

The Sox had the most WAR lost from injuries in the entire league in 2021, still won 93 games, and yet they have no depth? I'm not sure I follow. Their farm system is objectively weak, yes, but their depth propelled them in 2021. How did your saying go? "Tell me you didn't watch the White Sox without telling me you didn't watch the White Sox. "

But for you, you might even be able to extend that to - "Tell me you don't know baseball without telling me you don't know baseball. "

Also, do me a favor and stop slightly changing the context of my words in your replies, it's very tiresome and childish. Just like I never guaranteed that Cesar Hernandez would be better than Trevor Story like you insinuated, I never said that Hahn revolutionized the GM position, lmao. I simply said that he's done a pretty damn good job. Slow down, read, and fully comprehend hat you're reading. It goes a long way as you attempt to make sound, coherent arguments.

Hahn didn't revolutionize the pre-arb deal, he just started doing it a lot more than every other team and they've all worked out really well so far. If Zaidi is smart, he'll look to extend one or more of their top prospects at an opportune time like Hahn did. Likewise, Hahn and every other GM will likely take a page out of the Giants book in 2022. That's no secret. Again, what he was able to do in 2021 was tremendously impressive and no one is arguing against that.


Also, let's look at the facts here:

Do the White Sox have a young, affordable, major league performant core currently? Yes.
Do the Giants have a young, affordable, major league performant core currently? No.
Do the Giants have a good looking farm system that COULD turn into a young affordable core? Yes.
Therefore, is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what Rick Hahn did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core? Precisely.

I don't blame you for being confident in the Giants ability to turn the group you mentioned into a solid core, but to say something like "no one is trying to emulate Hahn" is just objectively wrong. Every team is desperately trying to build a good young core - that's the first big step usually. The Sox haven't supplemented the core optimally yet, and that's been their new goal.

Your determination to not give the White Sox a lick of credit is unnecessary. You wanted them to lose so bad.

"He was so spineless that his owner wouldn't listen to his input on who the manager should be. "

I think you're confused. This isn't how organizational hierarchies work. Hahn reports to Jerry Reinsdorf and Zaidi reports to Charles Johnson. Hahn not being able to go over JR's head to hire the manager of his choice doesn't make him "spineless" lol. That's not how it works. Jerry literally owns the team. What he says, goes. He wanted to hire his buddy, TLR, so that's what happened. Hahn can't just tell his boss no, lmao. You might learn that after you graduate high school.

If Charles Johnson woke up today and after donating a couple more million to QAnon, called Zaidi and said "we're firing Kapler and hiring Buck Showalter today and that's that", guess what, Buck Showalter would be the new Giants manager tomorrow and Zaidi, like Hahn, would be left to twiddle his thumbs.

20 Oct 2021 21:05:32
"My prediction: Rick Hahn emulates Farhan Zaidi, by trying to find undervalued veterans with specific skillsets to help build cheap, but meaningful depth to his team. "

OMG, stop saying that Zaidi revolutionized acquiring undervalued veterans -- he literally just read Moneyball.

See how dumb that sounds?

25 Oct 2021 19:02:16
See, the difference is, I never actually said Zaidi revolutionalized anything. You literally used that phrase: "So, he's revolutionized the pre-arb extension idea and is trying to avoid what Theo Epstein (twice) couldn't do" (Dec 20, 2020).

Please know the difference, please and thank you.

25 Oct 2021 19:20:18
"The Sox had the most WAR lost from injuries in the entire league in 2021, still won 93 games, and yet they have no depth? I'm not sure I follow"

You see, Craig, when the White Sox play in a division that has the Twins, Royals, Tigers, and the Cleveland Baseball Team, a group of rabid rhesus monkeys could win 93 games. It's not that difficult to comprehend this. Reasonable people can do this. Then again, no one here is accusing you of being reasonable.

"Hahn didn't revolutionize the pre-arb deal"

Except you literally told me that Hahn revolutionalized the pre-arb deal. Those were your exact words. Verbatim. You even went as far as using that exact word. But now, you never said it? You'd make an excellent politician (don't take that as a compliment) .

"Therefore, is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what Rick Hahn did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core? Precisely. "

I'll fix that for you: "is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what EVERY SUCCESSFUL GM SINCE THE TURN OF THE MILLENIUM did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core?
Precisely. "

Willfully inserting Rick Hahn, as if he's the inventor, revolutionizer, or trailblazer of this strategy is the biggest homer thing to do. Rick Hahn is doing what Jeff Luhnow did, who did what Theo Epstein did, who did what Brian Sabean did. and other GMs who did this same thing. Building a core to win championships pre-dates Rick Hahn.

"If Zaidi is smart, he'll look to extend one or more of their top prospects at an opportune time like Hahn did. "

I'd argue he doesn't need to, simply based off how the Giants spend versus how the White Sox spend. It's pretty clear that Reinsdorf doesn't want to spend a lot of money on his teams. The Giants are willing to, and thus, they aren't afraid of paying arbitration costs or free agency costs. Locking players into long-term deals before they even reach the majors is a good strategy for the White Sox considering their context. But it's by no means necessary for the San Francisco Giants whose financial situation is almost without comparison in the league.

"If Charles Johnson woke up today and after donating a couple more million to QAnon, called Zaidi and said "we're firing Kapler and hiring Buck Showalter today and that's that", guess what, Buck Showalter would be the new Giants manager tomorrow and Zaidi, like Hahn, would be left to twiddle his thumbs. "

Well, considering Charles Johnson has very, very little say in the day-to-day operations, and that the Giants ownership structure gives Larry Baer this control (and has checks and balances in place), this would never happen.

Speaking of not understanding hierarchical structures.

25 Oct 2021 19:31:59
"The fact that he was THE guy for the Giants in their biggest game of the year simply because of a good 16-inning stretch is my point. He was their best option when the Dodgers had Treinen, Jansen and Scherzer. Again, Doval's NOT why they lost that series or even that game necessarily, but he's a big reason why they got outplayed at the end of that game. "

Hello Motte, meet Bailey.

25 Oct 2021 20:26:07
Not to mention, it IS spineless to let your owner do the job he is paying you to do. Jerry Reinsdorf isn't the GM of the White Sox. And if Rick Hahn had a higher amount of T than the guys targeted in that Frank Thomas commercial, he would have been vociferous in his objection to the TLR hire. He wasn't. He publicly made it clear that he supported the decision.

And it's more likely than not, both based on his comments and common sense, that Hahn knew about La Russa's DUI arrest prior to him being hired. And if he didn't, the Hahn is incompetent to be a leader.

There's zero chance they interviewed, hired, on-boarded, and did all the administrative work on TLR and not have Rick Hahn know about this. Zero.

He allowed his boss to micro-manage him and then willfully shut his mouth regarding a DUI arrest that marred the hiring and looked bad on his organization. And he didn't resign? If he's as desirable and as worthy of emulation as you suggest, he'd be able to find a president of baseball ops job tomorrow, with an organization whose owner would listen to him.

And yet, Hahn allowed his team to proceed with hiring a multiple-offense DUI manager, allowed his boss to walk all over him, and still remains with that organization.

Yeah, I feel that "spineless" isn't the right word. It doesn't even come close to accurately defining the character of Rick Hahn. He's much, much worse than spineless.

26 Oct 2021 14:31:32
My point with the pre-arb extensions regarding Hahn was that find me another GM in the arbitration era who has not only done more extensions, but have them pretty much all work wonderfully for the club (so far) . He didn't invent it obviously, but he made it a point of emphasis more than anyone I can remember, unless you have a better example.

"Well, considering Charles Johnson has very, very little say in the day-to-day operations, and that the Giants ownership structure gives Larry Baer this control (and has checks and balances in place), this would never happen. "

Johnson, Baer, whoever. My point still stands. You called Hahn spineless because he doesn't have control over his boss - an awful take

You keep bringing up the AL Central, but the Giants literally went 32-6 against the Rockies and Diamondbacks.

"The Sox had no depth"

"Well, see, yes they did. A lot of their good players got hurt and they replaced them with above average players"

"Oh, dang, well, THEIR DIVSION SUCKED SO HAAA"

Ok, and? Shame on the White Sox for not having better competition in the AL Central? Their pythag win total was 97 and again, they had the most WAR lost due to injury by a wide margin. They could have easily been a 100-win team if they weren't playing literally two of their everyday bats through stretches in June/ July.

"Hello Motte, meet Bailey. "

After you learned about this in English class last month, you have been wearing it out. It doesn't apply here, unfortunately, because you said the Giants were just fine with their bullpen - actually you said it was maybe the best bullpen of all postseason teams. The bullpen didn't really need a Treinen or Jansen per you. That bullpen presented a wildly talented, but woefully unexperienced Doval with their season on the line, and it played out how one would expect. It's not a Jason Motte and Andrew Bailey, you were just wrong.

"he would have been vociferous in his objection to the TLR hire. "

Pretty much everyone believes he was. But seriously, you acting like Hahn presented this idea of hiring TLR to the organization is just wrong. Reinsdorf unilaterally decided this. La Russa is his buddy who he "wrongfully" fired back in the 80s and this was him "righting his wrong". The man is entitled - he has seven rings and anted to say he could hire his Hall of Fame buddy to manage his last era of White Sox teams.

"There's zero chance they interviewed, hired, on-boarded, and did all the administrative work on TLR and not have Rick Hahn know about this. Zero. "

Yeah he couldn't care that much because he owner didn't. Heck, Hahn was probably the one that sent Passan the police report.

" If he's as desirable and as worthy of emulation as you suggest, he'd be able to find a president of baseball ops job tomorrow, with an organization whose owner would listen to him. "

If he didn't already build a damn good team in Chicago, he'd probably be seriously considering the Mets or Padres jobs tbh.

You're seriously overthinking this. When you own a baseball team, you decide what goes and what doesn't. Right after Renteria was fired last year, Hahn said that he was looking for a "younger manager with recent postseason success" before JR said F that and hired TLR.

Go into work tomorrow Nate and tell your boss (or literally the owner of the company) what he or she's going to do for the day and how things are going to run from now on - let me know how that goes for you. Or are you too spineless?

28 Oct 2021 18:44:58
"You keep bringing up the AL Central, but the Giants literally went 32-6 against the Rockies and Diamondbacks. "

They also went 10-9 against the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers. Interesting how you failed to point that one out. How many 100+ win teams were in the AL Central? Oh wait, they didn't have a second team finish over .500? Oh, whoops.

Imagine having a division with the Twins, Royals, AND the Tigers and having just one above-.500 team. That's pretty bad.

28 Oct 2021 18:59:35
"Go into work tomorrow Nate and tell your boss (or literally the owner of the company) what he or she's going to do for the day and how things are going to run from now on - let me know how that goes for you. Or are you too spineless? "

Well, considering I'm part owner of the business my father and I run (a business telecommunications company), this wouldn't really apply. But let's apply it anyway. If my father started hiring sales representatives without consulting me first, I'd absolutely speak up. Not just because I'm part-owner, but also because sales was delegated to me. That's my realm. There's also a mutual respect between the other owner (my father) and I.

This doesn't seem to be the case in the Chicago White Sox front office. I'd guess it has part to do with a doofus owner and part to do with a limp-wristed, panty-waisted GM.

But if my father (who founded the company) overstepped into my delegated area, and then proceeded to withhold information about that new hire having a criminal record, then I'd 100% step down.

Once again, Rick Hahn didn't do this. He has no right to speak up about TLR's issues and still be willfully and gainfully employed by that organization. None.

Once again, it's a serious, serious character issue on Hahn's part. His boss tried to hide the manager's DUI arrest (which, again, wasn't his first offense) and allowed it to potentially hold negative ramifications on Rick Hahn, Kenny Williams, and others within the organization (none of whom have the financial leverage that Reinsdorf has) .

A man with scruples would have resigned and refused to work in such an environment. Not Rick Hahn. He stuck around and even came around to praise TLR on many, many different occasions.

I firmly believe he's a bad person for it. But you continue to worship him at his altar. Says a lot about you, to be honest.

28 Oct 2021 20:03:40
Right, I think we should shame the White Sox due to the incompetency of Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit and Minnesota in 2021. It's entirely Rick Hahn and the White Sox's fault for their poor play.

"Imagine having a division with the Twins, Royals, AND the Tigers and having just one above-.500 team. That's pretty bad. "

You realize this leaves just one other team right? LOL. The AL Central race probably would have been at least a little different if Cleveland didn't lose their entire starting rotation to injury in the middle of the season.

29 Oct 2021 19:58:39
You're not being serious, are you? So I guess Cashman should resign because of Aroldis Champman and Dombrowski because of Odubel Herrera and their domestic violence issues. How about Chaim Bloom? He rehired the architect of the Astros cheating scandal. How about Al Avila in Detroit? How could Alex Anthopolis GM such a blatantly racist Atlanta Braves organization? How could Zaidi work for someone like Charles Johnson? He must support QAnon.

Right, right, right but Rick Hahn has moral issues because his boss went over his head to hire his friend who's a borderline alcoholic.

We don't know for sure what was said regarding TLR's hire behind closed doors. For all we know, Hahn could have been adamant that it would be a terrible move. What we do know is that before he was hired and AFTER La Russa was interviewed, Hahn expressed publicly that, again, they were looking for a quote "young manager with recent postseason success. " Heck, when they posted the "Welcome back to Chicago! " Tony La Russa hiring announcement graphics on Twitter, A. J. Hinch's signature was accidentally pasted next to TLR's name. Who do you think most of the org figured was going to be hired until the eleventh hour?

I'm one of the biggest TLR haters out there in terms of Sox fans and I don't even drink because of potential problems like DUIs which is an awful action, but to act like La Russa is a horrible human being given what others have done and still remain affiliated with MLB is a terrible take, but you may just be trolling at this point. At least I hope so for your sake.

05 Nov 2021 14:02:22
"but to act like La Russa is a horrible human being given what others have done and still remain affiliated with MLB is a terrible take"

You know two things can be true at the same time, right? I think it's important that you understand this. TLR willingly, knowingly getting behind the wheel while intoxicated on more than one occasion, which risks the lives of every person around him, puts him solely in the "horrible human being" category. He's there along with Chapman or Herrera.

And also, if you think a guy donating to candidates who support a stupid conspiracy theory is the same as a guy who risks killing people by drinking and driving, then you're the one trolling here.

As far as Giants ownership goes, Charles Johnson doesn't even have a voice within the Giants front office. That's handled by Larry Baer and Greg Johnson (who states that he doesn't hold his father's political views) . He's literally principal owner, meaning he put up the most money and has the largest stake should the team get sold. He's rarely even in the board meetings (again, his son does that on his behalf) .

Meanwhile, Rick Hahn WAS in the meetings. Regardless of what he may or may not have voiced prior to TLR's hiring, he still willingly stuck around with a club that employed him. He can voice whatever he feels now, but he still stayed with the White Sox. That much won't change.

But hey, TLR was never accused of beating his spouse. He just risked killing people behind the road. He's not that bad of a guy, right? Right?

I really hope you have a few more scruples about you this this, Dominic, but you're doing your damnedest to convince me otherwise.

22 Sep 2021 21:18:18
One last bit for Chi Sox, you asked if there was any correlation between success vs. .500 teams and success in the playoffs. There is.

I went from 2014-2019, and out of 24 teams who made it to the LCS in their respective leagues, just THREE (3) had losing records against .500 teams:

2015 Mets
2014 Royals
2014 Giants

Surprisingly, all 3 of these teams made it to the World Series, and one (2014 Giants) even won the Series.

But that's just 12% of the teams. From 2016-2019, there were zero of those 16 teams.

Make of that what you wish, but there is a direct, recent correlation between beating good teams in the regular season and success in the playoffs.

So the White Sox's 25-29 record against .500 teams isn't stellar.

Also, let's make something clear: the White Sox 25 wins against teams with .500 records IS THE LOWEST TOTAL IN BASEBALL.

The White Sox are a mediocre team who hasn't played anyone. And when they do play teams, they don't do very well. They currently hold a -15 run differential against those teams.

Let's check in on the "3 years from contention Giants"

They are 43-34 against .500 teams, with a +29 run differential. In other words, they are 44 runs better against good teams than the White Sox.

The Giants are an objectively better team than the Chicago White Sox.

I'll stop posting so you can read these updates through your tears.

23 Sep 2021 19:30:54
It shouldn't be difficult to make the correlation, though. The only teams you're playing in the postseason are teams with winning records. So it stands to reason that success against these teams in the regular season is a good indicator of success against them in the postseason.

So, where do the White Sox and Giants rank, individually, against .500 or better teams, let's go take a looksy.

Offense-
Giants: 100 wRC+. .317 wOBA, 116 HR (ranked 3rd)
White Sox: 94 wRC+, .307 wOBA, 51 HR (ranked 12th)

Rotation-
Giants: 388.2 IP, 3.75 ERA, .303 wOBA, 3.92 FIP (ranked 6th)
White Sox: 280.1 IP, 3.50 ERA, .282 wOBA, 3.43 FIP (ranked 3rd)

Bullpen-
Giants: 1285 TBF, 3.47 ERA, .288 wOBA, 4.15 FIP (ranked 3rd)
White Sox: 837 TBF. 4.76 ERA, .334 wOBA, 4.22 FIP (ranked 26th)

The difference in innings pitched and total batters faced is hilarious. The Giants have over 400 more batters faced in this scenario, and more than 100 starting pitcher innings.

The White Sox also have the lowest total of plate appearances against .500 teams of anyone in baseball, with 1999. They simply aren't facing good baseball teams, which is probably good for them. They are really bad when they actually have to.

But hey, at least Rick Hahn was once the runner-up in Sporting News' Executive of the Year. He's got that going for him!

25 Sep 2021 19:10:33
“Make of that what you wish”, ya, no chance of random variance in a sample of 24 teams, lol. I appreciate your research effort, however.

As you showed, they’re only 4 games under .500 with only a -15 run differential. They’ve played the other postseason teams very tightly. 10 of those 29 losses have been by 1-run.

If this is your evidence that there’s no way that they do anything in the postseason this year, then so be it. Others share your same sentiment.

27 Sep 2021 18:10:48
Assuming the Yankees and Red Sox end up as the Wild Card teams (which seems likely at this juncture), here's how the White Sox played against the playoff teams:

10-16, -39 Run Differential. Five of those wins were by just one run, as well.

Their first round opponent has 402 record with a +12 RD against the White Sox, and that's actually hurt by a 10-1 game in which the Astros threw their 3 worst relievers on the roster.

And again, this isn't just "my evidence". It's literally not happened once since 2016. Can it happen? Sure. But if you're betting on it, your best bet is to go against the White Sox.

Based on your predictions after the trade deadline, it might benefit you to switch it up a bit.

28 Sep 2021 00:19:15
LOL - "The Astros threw the worst 3 relievers on the roster"

In the 4 games the Astros won in Houston, the Sox deployed Ruiz, Burdi, Heuer, Foster, and Burr for 13 of the 15.1 relief innings.

Oh, and FYI, 4 of the losses, just like 5 of the wins against the AL postseason teams, were by one run.

Cherry picking facts per usual.

22 Sep 2021 20:31:44
Also, Chi Sox. Since August 1st:

Cesar Hernandez: .264 wOBA, .591 OPS, 66 wRC+, 3 HR.

Trevor Story: .388 wOBA, .926 OPS, 131 wRC+, 10 HR.

In your own words, "Hernandez could easily be just as valuable as Story ROS."

He wasn't, and it wasn't even remotely close LOLOLOLOL.

Between that and the Craig Kimbrel statements, can we just chalk this up to you blowing smoke out of your you-know-where?

25 Sep 2021 18:32:23
Process over results. I don’t believe you foreshadowed Hernandez’s struggles. Hernandez outperforming Story was a very possible outcome.

Nonetheless, it’s been disappointing.

08 Oct 2021 14:02:37
"Hernandez outperforming Story was a very possible outcome. "

So was you being correct about anything over the course of this season, but that didn't happen, now did it?

22 Sep 2021 20:13:45
Hey Chi Sox, can we get an update on how elite closer Craig Kimbrel is doing for the White Sox?

I'll help you out.

Since joining the White Sox, Kimbrel has 5.68 ERA, 4 HR, and an incredible 25% save percentage!

Against playoff contenders, it's, how do you say it, not great.

4.35 ERA, .305 wOBA against, 2 blown saves.

Yes, what an incredible, elite relief pitcher the White Sox acquired LMAOOOO.

25 Sep 2021 18:30:03
Yep, going off of a 20 inning sample for a pitcher sure is great practice. Kimbrel clearly sucks now!

It’s a patented Natedog pre-mature victory lap.

27 Sep 2021 18:18:14
After 39 games, you believed Craig Kimbrel was the next coming of Jesus Christ to the White Sox.

But after 22 games, in which he looks exactly the same as he did in 2019, it's too early to tell.

It's absolutely adorable to see you continue to spin these things into some silver lining. I mean, no one is questioning your lack of homerish devotion to the White Sox. We are, however, questioning your sanity.

Craig Kimbrel has been an unmitigated disaster for the White Sox since that trade. The fact that the White Sox have zero competition from an absolute laughingstock of a division possibly makes it easier to swallow, but yeah, if you're trying to pretend he's been good, then you're out of your mind.

27 Sep 2021 23:20:10
There's a middle ground between being an "unmitigated disaster" and what he was prior to the trade.

"After 39 games, you believed Craig Kimbrel was the next coming of Jesus Christ to the White Sox. "

Really, I said it gives them an extremely valuable advantage come playoff time, and I still feel this way. Teams like the Giants have had to deploy their pen with playoff-like tendencies, the White Sox have not, because, you know, the whole marginal value of a win thing.

It's also funny, because if the roles were flipped, you'd be singing the praises of xFIP regression like no other. Surely the entire Giants Bullpen outperforming their xFIPs by a run and a half won't come back to bite them ever. Surely not!

Wait and see.

08 Oct 2021 14:11:48
No, Chi Sox. See, unlike you—who has never once accepted a single argument for regression when it comes to the White Sox—not one time—I can acknowledge when regression is likely.

Wanna know why Zaidi doesn't invest a laughable amount of resources into his bullpen? Because the year-over-year volatility of relief pitching is pretty obvious. Hey, it's almost like I've said this a half-dozen times on this very website!

xFIP is a joke of a stat anyway LOL. It punishes pitchers for not giving up home runs.

But if you want to talk about FIP regression (which is statistically very real), yeah, I'm more than willing to accept it. It would be dumb of me to talk about it, and then not apply it to the Giants, simply out of fandom.

That would be something YOU do, and have done, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times.

But hey, while we're talking about playoff bullpens, I guess it's good that Craig Kimbrel can't blow saves when the White Sox won't take the lead late in a playoff game. Man, that playoff bullpen of Chicago's. SO GOOD! LOL

YOU'RE SO BAD AT THIS.

16 Aug 2021 14:36:28
Let's make some playoff predictions:

Playoff Teams:
AL #1- Houston
AL #2- Tampa Bay
AL #3- Chicago
AL WC- Boston
AL WC- Toronto

NL #1- San Francsico
NL #2- Milwaukee
NL #3- Philadelphia
NL WC- Los Angeles
NL WC- Cincinnati

AL WC- Boston over New York
NL WC- Los Angeles over Cincinnati

ALDS- Houston over Boston (3-1)
ALDS- Tampa Bay over Chicago (3-0)
NLDS- San Francisco over LA (3-2)
NL DS- Milwaukee over Philly (3-1)

ALCS- Tampa Bay over Houston (4-1)
NLCS- Milwaukee over San Francisco (4-3)

World Series- Tampa Bay over Milwaukee (4-2)

Awards
AL MVP- Shohei Ohtani
AL Cy Young- Lance Lynn
AL ROY- Adolis Garcia

NL MVP- Fernando Tatis, Jr.
NL Cy Young- Corbin Burnes
NL ROY- Trevor Rogers.

28 Aug 2021 01:04:56
The real question is: will the AL Central winner have a better record than the 2nd Wild Card team?

As of August 27th, they have a 1 game lead on the Red Sox and are losing 6-1 to the Cubs (LOLOLOL) as I write this.

At this point, they barely have a lead over the Athletics. Seriously, the White Sox may not even have one of the top 5 records in the American league.

They are a joke. And the AL Central is a laughingstock.

28 Aug 2021 17:06:39
This guy could hardly go a month without an unprompted dig at the White Sox, then it backfires.

The second wild care team will likely be fighting tooth and nail until the last day of the season. The Sox might clinch in mid-Sept. It would be nice to get a home-field ALDS, but not at the expense of lineup health or dis-aligning the rotation. Boston or Oakland could very well end up with a better record than the White Sox, but it doesn't matter. One of those teams is getting a one-game playoff, the Sox are not.

The Sox have a 4.5 game lead on the A's, who they just took 3 of 4 from. I guess that's barely, but if it is, what would you call the Giants lead on LAD?

The Giants might literally play a one and done playoff game after a 100+ win season. That would worry me.

Oh and FYI, the Sox scored 16 (! ) runs after your comment there about the game. Tough look. Their lineup, with everyone healthy, is fun to watch.

Keep the digs coming.

22 Sep 2021 19:47:25
Nearly one month after my comment, here's where it stands in the American League:

TBR- 93-59
HOU- 90-61
BOS- 87-65
WHITE SOX- 85-66
TOR- 85-66
NYY- 85-67

They are another loss to the Tigers away from being outside of the Top 5 teams in their own league.

This was a team that, 9 months ago, you were comparing to the Los Angeles Dodgers LMAOOO.

This is a team that plays in, STATISTICALLY, the worst division in baseball.

Yes, your Chicago "Just As Good as the Los Angeles Dodgers" White Sox play in baseball's WORST DIVISION, and yet, they can barely squeak in the top 5 teams in their own league.

Meanwhile, the Giants, who you said were 3-4 years away, LEAD BASEBALL with the best record, all the while having the second best record in baseball also in their division. (That team is also the one you compared your White Sox to) .

I guess you can feel good about being the worst division leader that plays in the worst division in baseball.

YAY for mediocrity!

25 Sep 2021 18:26:06
Man, you’re awfully concerned with the White Sox for someone who isn’t a fan. You want them to lose so bad, lol.

Why don’t you sit back and enjoy your own first place team?

The White Sox clinched their division months ago. They don’t have to fight tooth and nail to win everyday like the Giants do. It’s clearly evident in their day-to-day decision-making. San Francisco is trying to avoid their season potentially being over in a 3-hour span.