Boom! Liam Hendricks is the new White Sox closer

[idseer]

Love this writeup on Hendriks and how he'll impact an already strong bullpen:

Hendriks joins fascinating young Sox bullpen

Last October, the White Sox had their season end at the hands of Liam Hendriks. In Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series, Oakland's stud closer allowed a leadoff single to James McCann, then struck out Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert and Nomar Mazara. The A's advanced. Chicago went

www.mlb.com

This is how the White Sox bullpen ranked in 2020, without Hendriks:

ERA -- 3.76, seventh best in MLB
OBP -- .308, seventh best
wOBA -- .295, fifth best
Fastball speed -- 94.2, seventh best

With Hendriks, FanGraphs has them projected as the second-best bullpen in baseball in 2021.

2nd best BP in the bigs this year? Wow, if that turns out true, we should go deep in the playoffs!!

interesting that the article that follows by will leitch says the sox win it all in '23 but in the next ten years that will be their only ws appearance.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

interesting that the article that follows by will leitch says the sox win it all in '23 but in the next ten years that will be their only ws appearance.

Hey, you never know. Getting to the big show is never easy and of course most teams never come close. What I want is for the Sox to have a nice chunk of time where each season we're in the postseason hunt. I think or at least hope we have the makings of such, but only time will tell.

 

[msgkings322]

In other words - Jerry paid a premium price.

I told y'all the purse would open when they were ready to make their move

 

[msgkings322]

Hey, you never know. Getting to the big show is never easy and of course most teams never come close. What I want is for the Sox to have a nice chunk of time where each season we're in the postseason hunt. I think or at least hope we have the makings of such, but only time will tell.

It's on, 3-5 years more after this one, window is open. No guarantee they even win one but they will be in the mix

 

[Mingo]

If the Sox decline Hendriks' option in year four - the payout is $1.5 million a year for 10 years. This is a pretty good deal for the Sox - more like an NBA contract.

 

[Jiddy]

If the Sox decline Hendriks' option in year four - the payout is $1.5 million a year for 10 years. This is a pretty good deal for the Sox - more like an NBA contract.

Sounds like a Bobby Bonilla lite thing. If this guy ends up playing like ass, I invite you guys to laugh together with me on Hendriks day in 2028. Be there or be square.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

It's on, 3-5 years more after this one, window is open. No guarantee they even win one but they will be in the mix

That's been my hope and expectations after the teardown and subsequent rebuild. I don't want to see a one-n-done, as we've been so famous for doing in the past. I agree that the Sox have a look that spells annual playoff contention for a good half decade. Now it's time to execute that plan.

 

[catman]

I've been surprised at the lack of activity to date from the Twins, who have always excelled at filling the necessary holes in their roster, and often doing so without breaking the bank. This stinking covid has wreaked havoc in the bigs. It's possible they're just waiting for the market to come to them, but I would have thought by now they'd be busting a move or two. Still a lot of offseason left tho.

Frankly, I agree with you. They want to bring Cruz back and he wants to return. Brad Hand, from Minnesota, has publicly stated that he would love to pitch for the Twins. Both of these players fill holes on the Twins roster. They could also bring in a utility player and another starter. Their 40-man roster currently has 36 players, so these holes would be fillable without cutting anyone.

 

[idseer]

Frankly, I agree with you. They want to bring Cruz back and he wants to return. Brad Hand, from Minnesota, has publicly stated that he would love to pitch for the Twins. Both of these players fill holes on the Twins roster. They could also bring in a utility player and another starter. Their 40-man roster currently has 36 players, so these holes would be fillable without cutting anyone.

$$$$

 

[catman]

$$$$

The Pohlads have plenty of money. They are bankers and are pretty conservative with it, though. They want a decent return on their investments.

 

[idseer]

The Pohlads have plenty of money. They are bankers and are pretty conservative with it, though. They want a decent return on their investments.

maybe they feel uncertain about the immediate future of the game.

 

[Mingo]

Giolito, Hendriks and Grandahl all use Codify. Codify takes all the baseball analytical information for individual batters and translates it into variations of blue and red zones for the pitcher to pitch to. So instead of a scouting report telling a pitcher to throw the slider or fastball to the lower left corner of the zone - in Codify you see the same statistical information as dark blue (best zone) - light blue - pink - rosey and red (for worst zone to pitch). This assists people who are visual learners. It also relieves the anxiety of just hitting the spot - rather than throwing it to the zone. Grandahl is the first catcher to make use of the program.

 

[Jiddy]

Giolito, Hendriks and Grandahl all use Codify. Codify takes all the baseball analytical information for individual batters and translates it into variations of blue and red zones for the pitcher to pitch to. So instead of a scouting report telling a pitcher to throw the slider or fastball to the lower left corner of the zone - in Codify you see the same statistical information as dark blue (best zone) - light blue - pink - rosey and red (for worst zone to pitch). This assists people who are visual learners. It also relieves the anxiety of just hitting the spot - rather than throwing it to the zone. Grandahl is the first catcher to make use of the program.

Maybe he'll use it on himself so he could hit at a higher clip than .230 in between all them walks. But I'll allow it if he's contagious out there...

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Here is the presser with Hahn and Hendriks. Rick is up first and to be honest, it's fairly by-the-numbers, as in blah blah blah. But it gets much better once the Q&A switches over to Liam. The man is a pitbull.

 

[idseer]

Here is the presser with Hahn and Hendriks. Rick is up first and to be honest, it's fairly by-the-numbers, as in blah blah blah. But it gets much better once the Q&A switches over to Liam. The man is a pitbull.

when he said yasmani was the best defensive catcher in baseball it kinda blew his cred. :P

 

[Mingo]

when he said yasmani was the best defensive catcher in baseball it kinda blew his cred. :P

I agree - Grandahl is a pitch framer, but because he is preoccupied with framing pitches he can't get the glove down in the dirt to block and missed more than the average passed balls.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Giolito, Hendriks and Grandahl all use Codify. Codify takes all the baseball analytical information for individual batters and translates it into variations of blue and red zones for the pitcher to pitch to. So instead of a scouting report telling a pitcher to throw the slider or fastball to the lower left corner of the zone - in Codify you see the same statistical information as dark blue (best zone) - light blue - pink - rosey and red (for worst zone to pitch). This assists people who are visual learners. It also relieves the anxiety of just hitting the spot - rather than throwing it to the zone. Grandahl is the first catcher to make use of the program.

I just finished listening to a podcast on Sox Machine featuring the guy who started Codify, Michael Fisher. Dude is about to become a very, very rich man in the not too distant future.

 

[Mingo]

I just finished listening to a podcast on Sox Machine featuring the guy who started Codify, Michael Fisher. Dude is about to become a very, very rich man in the not too distant future.

It is a brilliant idea. One that would replace the entire function of Shelly Duncan - LOL

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I like this YouTube vlog that goes over the breakdown of the Hendriks deal and how it works in conjunction with the luxury tax. It's just a nice all around take on the signing as well as checking out a few of our LH bats in the minors.

 

[Mingo]

I like this YouTube vlog that goes over the breakdown of the Hendriks deal and how it works in conjunction with the luxury tax. It's just a nice all around take on the signing as well as checking out a few of our LH bats in the minors.

Well the Sox are about $100 million under the luxury tax, but I'm glad they are thinking ahead.