The '20-'21 White Sox offseason

[Mingo]

Some stuff I read in the Athletic - the new catcher Jonathan Lucroy was one of the top catchers in baseball with the Brewers in 2016 - with 24 hrs. and one of the best pitch framers in MLB. The last three years he had a ruptured disk in his neck and an operation for it. In 2020 - he felt a lot better and hit 8 hrs in 6 weeks in the Red Sox version of Shaumburg.

He says he has his bat speed back and full movement back and all he needs is opportunity at 34 years of age to play. Lucroy had multiple choice of teams to play for this year, but wanted to play with a contender.

It may be standard spring training eve hopes kind of talk, or he might be a real value - we will see.

 

[Jiddy]

Some stuff I read in the Athletic - the new catcher Jonathan Lucroy was one of the top catchers in baseball with the Brewers in 2016 - with 24 hrs. and one of the best pitch framers in MLB. The last three years he had a ruptured disk in his neck and an operation for it. In 2020 - he felt a lot better and hit 8 hrs in 6 weeks in the Red Sox version of Shaumburg.

He says he has his bat speed back and full movement back and all he needs is opportunity at 34 years of age to play. Lucroy had multiple choice of teams to play for this year, but wanted to play with a contender.

It may be standard spring training eve hopes kind of talk, or he might be a real value - we will see.

If Brad Pitt comes in and says he's gonna play first base, I'm in you crazy sons of b*tches.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

The latest Q&A from Scott Merkin:

White Sox Inbox: Outlook, position battles

CHICAGO -- Let’s open the final White Sox Inbox before pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday. **Will this finally be the year José Abreu and Tim Anderson regress? Will Yoán Moncada, Eloy Jiménez and Nick Madrigal miss 150 games each? Will Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn flop miserably? Will all

www.mlb.com

Merkin thinks Lucroy will end up being the primary backup catcher, but he also predicts that Collins will make the squad as well. Of course with a 26 man roster and assuming the Sox split the numbers evenly between the pitchers and positional players, then carrying 3 catchers is quite feasible, altho Collins playing time will undoubtedly be impacted if Vaughn breaks camp with the team.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

And here's a breakdown of the non-roster invitees from the always analytical and intelligent Jim Margalus, who runs the Sox Machine website:

Who's who among 2021 White Sox spring training non-roster invitees

The White Sox normally unveil their list of spring training non-roster invitees during the third week of January. This...

www.soxmachine.com

One name that pops up as a person of interest in both of these two links I just posted is pitcher Kade McClure. Should be interesting in seeing how he fares in what will likely be a short stint in Spring Training.

 

[Mingo]

The latest Q&A from Scott Merkin:

White Sox Inbox: Outlook, position battles

CHICAGO -- Let’s open the final White Sox Inbox before pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday. **Will this finally be the year José Abreu and Tim Anderson regress? Will Yoán Moncada, Eloy Jiménez and Nick Madrigal miss 150 games each? Will Michael Kopech and Andrew Vaughn flop miserably? Will all

www.mlb.com

Merkin thinks Lucroy will end up being the primary backup catcher, but he also predicts that Collins will make the squad as well. Of course with a 26 man roster and assuming the Sox split the numbers evenly between the pitchers and positional players, then carrying 3 catchers is quite feasible, altho Collins playing time will undoubtedly be impacted if Vaughn breaks camp with the team.

Hiring Jerry Naron - is why Lucroy was hired and why Collins will stick on the MLB roster. He is the catcher whisperer. IMO - no chance Vaughn breaks camp with the major league roster when the Sox can cheat him out of a year of control - the pattern is the pattern. I think we will see Collins DH early in the season and he may lose his job to Vaughn by May.

 

[Mingo]

And here's a breakdown of the non-roster invitees from the always analytical and intelligent Jim Margalus, who runs the Sox Machine website:

Who's who among 2021 White Sox spring training non-roster invitees

The White Sox normally unveil their list of spring training non-roster invitees during the third week of January. This...

www.soxmachine.com

One name that pops up as a person of interest in both of these two links I just posted is pitcher Kade McClure. Should be interesting in seeing how he fares in what will likely be a short stint in Spring Training.

I think Kodi Medeiros also has a chance to stick in the bullpen.

 

[Jiddy]

FFS can we just get to baseball already? Football's over...I need a fix.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

FFS can we just get to baseball already? Football's over...I need a fix.

I feel ya Jid. We're all anxious to get this baby rollin'.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Hiring Jerry Naron - is why Lucroy was hired and why Collins will stick on the MLB roster. He is the catcher whisperer. IMO - no chance Vaughn breaks camp with the major league roster when the Sox can cheat him out of a year of control - the pattern is the pattern. I think we will see Collins DH early in the season and he may lose his job to Vaughn by May.

Excellent point about Vaughn and that goofy extra year of cheaper service the Sox will get by keeping him behind until that 'magic date', which I'm guessing is about 3-4 weeks after the season begins. And if that's the case, it looks like the Sox will DH by committee until they bring him up. It's potentially good news for Collins, who will get the chance to show he belongs. But then again any type of poor performance with the stick and/or glove will likely doom his chances of sticking on the roster and maybe even his career as a Good Guy. Kinda do or die for him.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

So it looks like we have a revised ST schedule here:

White Sox announce revised Cactus League schedule

The Chicago White Sox made only one small change to their Cactus League schedule, with players due to begin reporting to spring training Wednesday.

southsideshowdown.com

Kinda weird that the schedule is located on this website, you'd think the official Sox site would be the first to publish this. The funny thing is right before the article references the March 20 sale date, it provides a link to the Sox main site, but I couldn't find anything there that provides the actual schedule. Too bad because I like that the main site puts the schedule out in calendar form.

If the March 20th initial sale date turns out to be accurate, that would only give us 8 games total to catch our beloved team in this revised schedule, altho 5 of them are home games. I'd be tempted to attend the A's game on March 24th, or the Reds the following day. The primary reasons would be they're both midweek games, so the attendance wouldn't be as great - smaller attendance = better seat selection and wider social distancing. Plus neither of these teams are likely have a huge following in AZ - the A's crowd might be a bit larger due to the proximity from the Bay area vs the midwest Reds. So that in turn helps keep the crowd attendance down as well.

 

[Mingo]

So it looks like we have a revised ST schedule here:

White Sox announce revised Cactus League schedule

The Chicago White Sox made only one small change to their Cactus League schedule, with players due to begin reporting to spring training Wednesday.

southsideshowdown.com

Kinda weird that the schedule is located on this website, you'd think the official Sox site would be the first to publish this. The funny thing is right before the article references the March 20 sale date, it provides a link to the Sox main site, but I couldn't find anything there that provides the actual schedule. Too bad because I like that the main site puts the schedule out in calendar form.

If the March 20th initial sale date turns out to be accurate, that would only give us 8 games total to catch our beloved team in this revised schedule, altho 5 of them are home games. I'd be tempted to attend the A's game on March 24th, or the Reds the following day. The primary reasons would be they're both midweek games, so the attendance wouldn't be as great - smaller attendance = better seat selection and wider social distancing. Plus neither of these teams are likely have a huge following in AZ - the A's crowd might be a bit larger due to the proximity from the Bay area vs the midwest Reds. So that in turn helps keep the crowd attendance down as well.

I believe I have read that due to Covid seating will be at 10-20% of capacity until further notice. These are Zona rules - I believe,

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I believe I have read that due to Covid seating will be at 10-20% of capacity until further notice. These are Zona rules - I believe,

Sounds about right. No guarantee that we'd go even if there aren't any problems obtaining tickets. While we do stuff like going to dinner and walking/hiking - things like that, the better half and I haven't taken any type of longer distance trip or overnight stay since the virus broke out. Until we get the vaccine, which I'm guessing will be April/May at the earliest, I remain hesitant about doing this.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I think Kodi Medeiros also has a chance to stick in the bullpen.

Here's an article about the Sox signing a number of minor league deals, one of whom is Medeiros.

Chicago White Sox Rumors - MLB Trade Rumors

Chicago White Sox trade and free agent rumors from MLBTradeRumors.com.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

"Medeiros, once a top fifteen overall draft pick by the Brewers, has never consistently performed in the minors and has yet to play in the big leagues."


Now I see why you're intrigued by this guy. You get someone who was a top 15 overall pick, but has never quite put it together, so what we really have here a no-lose situation. Either he proves why he's never lived up to his draft status - nothing gained, nothing lost - or perhaps we end up with a diamond in the ruff.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Here's an updated story on the ST schedule, and this one now contains a calendar version, which is easier to read.

Revised Spring Training 2021 Begins in Two Weeks

Compressed schedule actually adds a full-squad game to the tally — but contests can be shorted to just five innings

www.southsidesox.com

The article also contains some info as to how the games will play out. One thing that looks a bit different is when the tickets go on sale, which now shows as being available online only as of Feb 27th. But does that mean all scheduled games are available? Wish they'd clarify this.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I was ready to put this thread officially to rest, but then I spotted the CBS offseason grades given to each team. I thought overall the grades were pretty spot on, with perhaps the Indians being the exception, as I thought it was a bit harsh. The grade given to the Good Guys was exactly what I handed out in an earlier post.

MLB offseason grades: Yankees lack urgency; Dodgers, Mets, Padres get high marks; Cubs, Red Sox underwhelm

It's report card time for all 30 MLB teams

www.cbssports.com

 

[Mingo]

White Sox agree to terms with Cuban Pitcher Norge Vera, Six Additional International Players | by Chicago White Sox | Feb, 2021 | Inside the White Sox (mlblogs.com)
We got Cubans - and Venezuelans and Dominicans - galore..

 

[Mingo]

Cuba’s Oscar Colás, Now a White Sox, Is Heading to the South Side - South Side Sox

Once again, the White sox win the Cuban Oscar

 

[Mingo]

Report: White Sox Sign Jake Lamb - Sox On 35th

Lamb in time for Easter. So much for the Beckham experiment - no good news for Billy Hamilton - I suppose. It all depends who the Sox put on the injured list to start the season.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Report: White Sox Sign Jake Lamb - Sox On 35th

Lamb in time for Easter. So much for the Beckham experiment - no good news for Billy Hamilton - I suppose. It all depends who the Sox put on the injured list to start the season.

I'm wondering tho Mingo if Lamb's signing isn't more of a threat to Mendick than Hamilton. Lamb is strictly INF only, so to me that might put more pressure on Mendick in making the cut.

 

[Jiddy]

Report: White Sox Sign Jake Lamb - Sox On 35th

Lamb in time for Easter. So much for the Beckham experiment - no good news for Billy Hamilton - I suppose. It all depends who the Sox put on the injured list to start the season.

I don't eat lamb...The taste just doesn't work for me.

However....