Grading the offseason to date

[Lake Shore Drive]

actually you're grading activity, not quality. they've been busy therefore they deserve a high grade. sorry charlie ... does not work that way. IF they improve this coming season it will be mostly by players they already had having good seasons and their pitchers maturing. the only area they've actually improved at is DH. right field is still a question mark, it remains to be seen if letting sanchez go and replacing him with (eventually) madrigal. relief pitching is still the exact same ? it was last season (34 year old cishek notwithstanding). adding a C grade starter in keuchel might help but isn't much of an improvement. we certainly didn't improve our all star catching by adding grandal (may have actually hurt it because now mccann won't get as much playing time). LOTS of moves - very little improvement. robert SHOULD be an improvement in center but ... we already HAD him!

you are living in a fool's paradise.

if we are better next year it'll mostly be because our players from last year are improved/healthier.

Your evaluation is the same as mine in terms of analysis. Or in other words, both equal squat until the games are actually played and we see direct results. The difference here is I'm basing mine on positive feelings about who we acquired, as well as 100% of all analysts who have been following the Sox activities this offseason and whose takes are completely in line with mine. Your analysis is based on an old coot's self loathing bitterness, with 0% of any analyst out there agreeing with you. So I'll continue to hope while you continue to mope.

 

[Mingo]

I'm going with a B+ for the off season, but I'm very excited about how this team is coming together.

Last year's weaknesses were addressed:

1) Lack of power - About 100 HRs have been added to the lineup (EE - 30 hrs, Robert 25 hrs, Maz, 20 hrs, Grandal 25 hrs - not to mention Eloy with a full 500 abs)

2) Too many walks - Grandal's pitch framing will likely improve the performance of Lopez, and Cease.

3) Lack of LH starters - Gio and Kechuel

4) Too many HRs given up - Gio and Kechuel are ground ball pitchers.

5) Not enough OBP - Grandal - .350 - EE .350 - Madrigal (strikes out about 5% ABs)

6) No production from DH - EE a professional and successful DH

Remaining questions:

1) Fielding has to improve - Anderson needs to field the routine grounder and pocket the off balance throws. Jimenez needs to improve at LF. Moncada I think righted the fielding ship by the end of the season was a top defensive 3rd baseman. Mazar - will be better than what was in RF last year. Robert may not be as good a Engel, but covers even more ground and has a better arm and higher ceiling. Yomer is gone, but Madrigal may be close to Yomer's glove.

2) Performance of Robert and Madrigal as rookies - learning curve.

3) When will Lopez and Cease have their Giolitto turning point.

4) What do the Sox have returning from the Tommy Johns? Kopeck - Dunning - Lambert etc.

5) What does Renteria's managing look like when winning starts to count.

6) Will Colome regress and how will the relief pitchers hold up?

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I'm going with a B+ for the off season, but I'm very excited about how this team is coming together.

Careful, you just made an enemy (and he's a Sox fan).

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

BUT.............you offered a solid take on where we stand and where we still need to show improvement. Good stuff.

 

[Jiddy]

actually you're grading activity, not quality. they've been busy therefore they deserve a high grade. sorry charlie ... does not work that way. IF they improve this coming season it will be mostly by players they already had having good seasons and their pitchers maturing. the only area they've actually improved at is DH. right field is still a question mark, it remains to be seen if letting sanchez go and replacing him with (eventually) madrigal. relief pitching is still the exact same ? it was last season (34 year old cishek notwithstanding). adding a C grade starter in keuchel might help but isn't much of an improvement. we certainly didn't improve our all star catching by adding grandal (may have actually hurt it because now mccann won't get as much playing time). LOTS of moves - very little improvement. robert SHOULD be an improvement in center but ... we already HAD him!

you are living in a fool's paradise.

if we are better next year it'll mostly be because our players from last year are improved/healthier.

I don't know much about Mazara...but there's no way he can be outproduced by what we had in RF last year. DH is a huge upgrade...and Keuchel replaces a 6.XX ERA spot with a low 4. That's some pretty big upgradeage. Yes, a large majority of the improvement is because some of our positions were so so bad (reversion to the mean or whatever). But still...It's gonna show on the field. I still think we're a middling .500ish team...but that's WAY better than 2019, when statistically we were a sub 70 win team.

Our core youth are being heavily advertised to us as the next great thing. We'll see if they live up to it soon enough.

 

[Mingo]

Careful, you just made an enemy (and he's a Sox fan).

Sox fans are notorious pessimists - and they learned their pessimism from long experience. I happen to be the kind of Sox fan who believes things will fall into place (which historically happens about every 49 years). Hope springs eternal.

 

[Mingo]

BUT.............you offered a solid take on where we stand and where we still need to show improvement. Good stuff.

I liked your takes in this thread. The proof of White Sox commitment may come next year in the FA market. I think there is a load of good pitching on the way - as soon as the Tommy Johns get better and back into a groove. As for this season - I'm thinking the pitching depth is quite there.

 

[Jiddy]

I liked your takes in this thread. The proof of White Sox commitment may come next year in the FA market. I think there is a load of good pitching on the way - as soon as the Tommy Johns get better and back into a groove. As for this season - I'm thinking the pitching depth is quite there.

If we don't suck...been saying this for a while...They have to NOT SUCK this year. *crosses fingers*

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Sox fans are notorious pessimists - and they learned their pessimism from long experience. I happen to be the kind of Sox fan who believes things will fall into place (which historically happens about every 49 years). Hope springs eternal.

I couldn't agree more. I have a brother who is a mirror image of idseer. Always looking for the worst, very stubborn at acknowledging the good things. I have no problems with sincere, analytical criticism. This would be a sorry board if it was filled with nothing but yes people. But right now no games are being played, we'll have all season to be critical where needed. Every analyst and pundit in the baseball world has clearly stated the Sox have improved themselves. So if this isn't the time for us to think positively about our future, when is it?

 

[Mingo]

I couldn't agree more. I have a brother who is a mirror image of idseer. Always looking for the worst, very stubborn at acknowledging the good things. I have no problems with sincere, analytical criticism. This would be a sorry board if it was filled with nothing but yes people. But right now no games are being played, we'll have all season to be critical where needed. Every analyst and pundit in the baseball world has clearly stated the Sox have improved themselves. So if this isn't the time for us to think positively about our future, when is it?

I saw the Vegas odds for a White Sox AL pennant in 2020 at 5-1 and the World Series at 10-1 - those numbers even surprise me. Their are people out there who believe in the Sox or the odds wouldn't be there in Vegas.

 

[idseer]

Your evaluation is the same as mine in terms of analysis. Or in other words, both equal squat until the games are actually played and we see direct results. The difference here is I'm basing mine on positive feelings about who we acquired, as well as 100% of all analysts who have been following the Sox activities this offseason and whose takes are completely in line with mine. Your analysis is based on an old coot's self loathing bitterness, with 0% of any analyst out there agreeing with you. So I'll continue to hope while you continue to mope.

go ahead and hope. problem is you think that's somehow a superior position to take. as for your "analysts"? ... it means shit! i mean .. read the word! ANALysts. lol.
as for "old coot's self loathing bitterness". well, you're a pretty sad guy to write that. all because you think you're so unmistakably right and i couldn't be. you're a stupid man.
time will tell.

 

[Jiddy]

Twins just signed that Donaldson dude. Team sets the mlb record in homers for a season and ADDS a guy that hit 37 last year.

I envision some Twins fan singing “anything you can do I can do better”

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Twins just signed that Donaldson dude. Team sets the mlb record in homers for a season and ADDS a guy that hit 37 last year.

I envision some Twins fan singing “anything you can do I can do better”

Damn, that's a good signing by the Twins and they got Donaldson for less than what the media was predicting he'd receive. I wasn't prepared to predict that we'd overtake the Twins even before they inked him. Now there's no doubt. Twins will be and should be the favorites to take the Central again this year.

 

[msgkings322]

go ahead and hope. problem is you think that's somehow a superior position to take. as for your "analysts"? ... it means shit! i mean .. read the word! ANALysts. lol.
as for "old coot's self loathing bitterness". well, you're a pretty sad guy to write that. all because you think you're so unmistakably right and i couldn't be. you're a stupid man.
time will tell.

The problem with perma-mopes is they get to have it both ways. If the team is bad, well they called it. If they do well they are happy "fans". It's the weakest fandom there is.

 

[msgkings322]

Damn, that's a good signing by the Twins and they got Donaldson for less than what the media was predicting he'd receive. I wasn't prepared to predict that we'd overtake the Twins even before they inked him. Now there's no doubt. Twins will be and should be the favorites to take the Central again this year.

Seems right. I was thinking wild card this year anyway

 

[richig07]

we certainly didn't improve our all star catching by adding grandal (may have actually hurt it because now mccann won't get as much playing time).

Pffff BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAH

Now, that's a funny joke. Thanks, Iddy.

James McCann the .247/.296/.387 career slashing catcher with middling defense is better than one of the best two way catcher's in baseball. That's priceless.

 

[richig07]

The problem with perma-mopes is they get to have it both ways. If the team is bad, well they called it. If they do well they are happy "fans". It's the weakest fandom there is.

And the worst part is that they think it's a virtue. They think "I'm a realist".

Being perpetually pessimistic is no more rational or "real" than perpetual optimism.

 

[richig07]

Any grade I give is relative to expectation. I think the Sox did exactly what was expected...possibly slightly more...but not significant. B, C...It doesn't really matter in the end...but it most certainly wasn't an A offseason (at least yet). That's a grade given if you go above and beyond. The Sox did not do that (yet...you never know...there's talk of trading for more pitching). We all know where those signings lied. If the expectation is the White Sox making the playoffs, C. If the expectation is the White Sox improve to a non-sh*t team, B. I expect a non-sh*t team now.

Reletiveness.

How many teams in Major League Baseball would you say did more to improve their team?

 

[Jiddy]

How many teams in Major League Baseball would you say did more to improve their team?

There were plenty that actually signed better player(s)...but improve overall? Probably none because our baseline was so horribly bad. Reverting to the mean isn't going to get an A out of me...

 

[msgkings322]

There were plenty that actually signed better player(s)...but improve overall? Probably none because our baseline was so horribly bad. Reverting to the mean isn't going to get an A out of me...

The grade is not about how good the team is now, it's about how much improvement did the front office deliver. For years we bitched about how they wouldn't spend money. That was because it was too soon for that. Now it's time to make their move and lo and behold they spent money.

I think they did a lot of good work this off-season, A- level