Random Thoughts 2.3

[Lake Shore Drive]

Let's hope this isn't the usual sign of things to come:

https://ontapsportsnet.com/white-sox/andrew-vaughn-injury-update-chicago-white-sox-injuries-spring-training

The double good news (well, tentatively) on this is (1) it doesn't appear at this juncture to be a serious injury, altho MIA the last 5 days could indicate it's a bit more than just Vaughn playing it safe. And (2), just the fact that we're almost a month into ST and that it's the first reported injury news is a minor miracle. Come, let us pray............

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Hendriks back on the roster by June?????

White Sox' Lance Lynn shares update on Liam Hendriks' cancer treatment

Liam Hendriks announced he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January.

sports.yahoo.com

Seems too early, but in this day and age of medicine and treatments, you never know. I thought if he was even back by September that would be incredible. This potential return timeframe is off the charts.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

This story confirms what all of us diehards already know. The biggest IF for this team in '23:

What if the White Sox are all healthy for the 2023 season?

Thinking about how the 2023 season might be different for the White Sox than in recent years if the majority stays healthy.

www.nbcsports.com

Naturally there are other 'ifs' that the Good Guys would have to address in order to seriously contend, but this is the grandpappy of them all.

 

[Jiddy]

Funny one. DJ Moore, new Bears receiver, had an interview with Rich Eisen. He, Fields and our other Bears receivers went to the Bulls game together not too long back.

Eisen asks Moore “Who’s seats were you in?”
Moore: “The owner’s”
Eisen: “Reinsdorf?!? He opened up the velcro wallet did he?”

lulz

 

[podsox]

Breaking news:

 

[idseer]

Breaking news:

i don't have much faith in this organization, but, at least they're smart enough to not hurt the team just because they screwed up and gave garcia a fat contract.

re: garcia ... he seemed worth it at the time but it 'appears' to me that once he got the $$ he lost interest. got his big payday and said 'fuck it'. great example of how money can ruin a sport.

 

[ChiSoxFan]

I was driving on 35th Street (daily occurrence for me) the other day and snapped the following photo, which to me is, in my opinion, the best forthcoming season preview imagery.

 

[Mingo]

Almost as good as Robert's catch in left center was the height of Benintendi's vertical. Benny's got hops!

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Almost as good as Robert's catch in left center was the height of Benintendi's vertical. Benny's got hops!

So far in this early season, Robert's catch is considered one of the defensive gems. It already made just about every MLB highlight. And yeah, it is funny how Benintendi had to leap frog over him to avoid a collision.

We need this team to stay healthy, there's no other way of sugarcoating it. We have a chance, maybe not a great one, but a definitive chance nonetheless to hang in the Central race all year long. Yet it's predicated on our key players ability to keeping off of IL.

 

[Mingo]

Fingers crossed on Luis Robert who is off to a great start in the field - at the plate and on the bases. I'm hoping he reaches his potential and plays long enough to get 600 ABs.

 

[idseer]

burger should be our 3rd baseman ... period! he's younger, he's better! trade the big letdown moncada and make it so!

for those interested in facts : Batting, Pitching, or Fielding: What’s Most Important in Today’s MLB?

 

[Mingo]

One thing about Burger is he is much faster than he looks. I think his defense should improve with practice.

 

[idseer]

Slowest starts by playoff-bound teams

Each season, all 30 teams want to get off to a good start and set the tone for a successful campaign. It doesn’t always work out that way. But fortunately for the clubs that are slow out of the gate, all 162 games count the same in the standings. A

www.mlb.com

not suggesting the sox will recover, but, i think they do have the personnel that COULD turn it around and find success. the teams in the above link did. right now the sox have what looks like a terrible relief staff. perhaps when both crochett and hendriks return that will change. we know the starters are 'capable' of being a top staff. anderson's return should help and will also return andrus to 2nd where we currently suck!
i know it's a longshot, but every position on this team has a solid player (except maybe catcher) at it. of course, they will all need to be at their best and remain healthy.
i have serious doubts and sure wouldn't put money on it, but still, stranger things have happened.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

The question all us diehard Sox fans are dreading............will this end up being another blow up season? Will Hahn and co determine at some point that our year is not salvageable and begin to trade off chunks of the roster in the expectations of another **gasp** rebuild?

It's still super early of course, but signs are pointing to a totally washed out season. We're already commencing on our annual injury pile ups and there doesn't seem to be one successful unit on the team. I had hopes for the rotation and while they're not a total bust, they also don't appear to be strong enough to carry the rest of the roster. The pen is trash and offensively/defensively we're bottom half material.

I generally try to take the cup-half-full approach, but it's hard to maintain such an attitude the way this team is performing. I'm more than happy to read a more promising, upbeat take on our boyz. Are there any takers?

 

[Jiddy]

Just a couple takes:

I've said it before...say it again...Luis Robert leading off is f*cking stupid.

The bottom of our lineup is absolutely horrible. Jesus. It rivals some of the worst we've seen as Sox fans...and we've seen some sh*t.

Our foundational prospects are not good enough. This iteration is going nowhere. So expect a selloff of what little we do have between now and this offseason.

Hahn looks so stupid right now...F*ck that guy. Seeing him fired midseason would be the only thing that could get a smile out of me right now(at least regarding the Sox).

 

[Jiddy]

Slowest starts by playoff-bound teams

Each season, all 30 teams want to get off to a good start and set the tone for a successful campaign. It doesn’t always work out that way. But fortunately for the clubs that are slow out of the gate, all 162 games count the same in the standings. A

www.mlb.com

not suggesting the sox will recover, but, i think they do have the personnel that COULD turn it around and find success. the teams in the above link did. right now the sox have what looks like a terrible relief staff. perhaps when both crochett and hendriks return that will change. we know the starters are 'capable' of being a top staff. anderson's return should help and will also return andrus to 2nd where we currently suck!
i know it's a longshot, but every position on this team has a solid player (except maybe catcher) at it. of course, they will all need to be at their best and remain healthy.
i have serious doubts and sure wouldn't put money on it, but still, stranger things have happened.

You're falling into the bubble trap. "We have the personnel"...No we don't. If you gave an honest in-depth look at the personnel of teams around us like you do to our team you'd feel the same about them. We're not that impressive. Could we go on a run? Yeah...Because our division is f*cking horrible. But we're nowhere close to the good teams in MLB. The proof has been in the pudding for some time now.

 

[idseer]

You're falling into the bubble trap. "We have the personnel"...No we don't. If you gave an honest in-depth look at the personnel of teams around us like you do to our team you'd feel the same about them. We're not that impressive. Could we go on a run? Yeah...Because our division is f*cking horrible. But we're nowhere close to the good teams in MLB. The proof has been in the pudding for some time now.

not falling into any bubble. just not fond of throwing in the towel with only one seventh of the season played. some other teams i might but i still see talent on the field (or soon to be on the field). some sox teams you know aren't any good/don't have good players. this team has some good players (admittedly not playing to their potential). and if you say they don't, then you shouldn't have any problem trading any/all of them away. you say not even close to good teams? two of the three losses, on the road, to houston by 1 run suggests otherwise.

 

[Jiddy]

not falling into any bubble. just not fond of throwing in the towel with only one seventh of the season played. some other teams i might but i still see talent on the field (or soon to be on the field). some sox teams you know aren't any good/don't have good players. this team has some good players (admittedly not playing to their potential). and if you say they don't, then you shouldn't have any problem trading any/all of them away. you say not even close to good teams? two of the three losses, on the road, to houston by 1 run suggests otherwise.

We beat the KC Royals in our World Series year by an average score of 5.33 to 4.06 (1.27 runs per game). They and their 56 wins must have been real close to us is how I'm supposed to interpret that?

We aren't even in the f*cking zip code of the Tampa Bay Rays or Houston Astros.

We haven't even won a series yet. Probably won't until mid-May looking at the upcoming schedule. We are just...bad.

The worst part is that it keeps creeping out that we have a sh*t culture in our clubhouse...So rebounding to any reasonably competitive level is probably not in the cards anytime soon.

 

[idseer]

We beat the KC Royals in our World Series year by an average score of 5.33 to 4.06 (1.27 runs per game). They and their 56 wins must have been real close to us is how I'm supposed to interpret that?

We aren't even in the f*cking zip code of the Tampa Bay Rays or Houston Astros.

We haven't even won a series yet. Probably won't until mid-May looking at the upcoming schedule. We are just...bad.

The worst part is that it keeps creeping out that we have a sh*t culture in our clubhouse...So rebounding to any reasonably competitive level is probably not in the cards anytime soon.

fact is we haven't even won 2 games back to back yet.
i hear what you're saying and yes, they look terrible atm. maybe i just don't believe my eyes yet. still, bounce-backs have happened many times and if they still look this bad after those 3 important players return i won't bring it up again.

i haven't read anything about the 'culture' in the clubhouse. do you have a link to anything about this? truth is i've read the opposite.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I recall saying that last season was one of the most disappointing in many years, primarily based on the Sox final standings vs preseason expectations. What's strange is even tho my expectations for this year were not high at all, I'm still finding this to again be ranked amongst the most disappointing. I mean, I wasn't counting at all on them making the postseason, but I also wasn't counting on them possibly ending up as one of the worst teams in Baseball.