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Hope Springs Eternal

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  • Hope Springs Eternal

    And so it begins..

    First pitchers and catchers then skill position players all reported for Spring Training this past week. Once again Sox players and fans are gearing up for a season of baseball on the Southside of Chicago. The offseason wasn't as active as some would like, but the Sox managed to sign Andrew Benintendi to play LF and Mike Clevinger to fill the void at 5th starter. On the surface these would be solid moves, but the controversy surrounding Clevinger makes it questionable whether he will ever play a game for the good guys wearing black. The investigation is ongoing and only time will tell. Late in the off season they also re-signed Elvis Andrus to play 2B. It's not a huge move, but it's cheap and it gives the team a floor of competency at a position of need without having to rely on Romy Gonzalez or Lenyn Sosa to be MLB ready right out of the gate.

    Aside from that the Sox parted ways with longtime team stalwart Jose Abreu to clear up playing time for Andrew Vaughn, Eloy Jimenez (DH) and Gavin Sheets all of whom would have been struggling to find at bats if they kept Abreu and signed Benintendi also.

    The Sox are counting on bounceback seasons from several players who regressed or struggled with injuries last year to find out if this "core" is as good as promised. Will guys like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada stay healthy and live up to their hype? Will Lucas Giolito return to the form he showed prior to his major regression last year?

    In addition, the Sox are looking for production from some young players looking to prove themselves. Oscar Colas is going to have a lot riding on is massive shoulders as it appears he will be the starting RF to open the season. He has some past professional experience, but only one season of minor league baseball here in the states. He's got the ability to be at least league average but there are questions about his plate discipline and whether he's had enough time to develop to major league standards. At least it will be nice to have 3 actual outfielders playing the outfield and the defense should be greatly improved just for that fact.

    Other youngsters looking to make a name for themselves include Lenyn Sosa and Romy Gonzalez as mentioned above. Romy appears to be the opening day utility guy and if he can hit like he was showing after the COVID layoff and before his injury plagued 2022 he may well end up stealing the 2B job from Elvis who doesn't project to add much pop even if he did have a great run late last season while filling in for Tim Anderson. Both Romy and Colas spent a good portion of the off-season working with the new Sox hitting coach Mike Tosar at his home in Florida. No gurantees it will translate to onfield success once the lights go on and the curtain rises, but it can't hurt and that's the kind of dedication we need from our players if 2023 is going to be a fun season with playoff aspirations.

    Other than that, there's a brand new coaching staff with a brand new modern analytics driven philosophy. Hopefully they can manage to bring out the best in the players, something Tony LaRussa never seemed to be able to do. Nothing against TLR, but it was time for a change and this looks like a good group of coaches.

    What it all will mean and how it will play out, only time will tell, but it's late February, baseballs are popping in mitts and bouncing off of bats and hope springs eternal for all us girls and boys. It's almost time for baseball games, may the odds be forever in our favor...

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      • Hope Springs Eternal
        by voodoochile
        And so it begins..

        First pitchers and catchers then skill position players all reported for Spring Training this past week. Once again Sox players and fans are gearing up for a season of baseball on the Southside of Chicago. The offseason wasn't as active as some would like, but the Sox managed to sign Andrew Benintendi to play LF and Mike Clevinger to fill the void at 5th starter. On the surface these would be solid moves, but the controversy surrounding Clevinger makes it questionable whether he will ever play a game for the good guys wearing black. The investigation is ongoing and only time will tell. Late in the off season they also re-signed Elvis Andrus to play 2B. It's not a huge move, but it's cheap and it gives the team a floor of competency at a position of need without having to rely on Romy Gonzalez or Lenyn Sosa to be MLB ready right out of the gate.

        Aside from that the Sox parted ways with longtime team stalwart Jose Abreu to clear up playing time for Andrew Vaughn, Eloy Jimenez (DH) and Gavin Sheets all of whom would have been struggling to find at bats if they kept Abreu and signed Benintendi also.

        The Sox are counting on bounceback seasons from several players who regressed or struggled with injuries last year to find out if this "core" is as good as promised. Will guys like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada stay healthy and live up to their hype? Will Lucas Giolito return to the form he showed prior to his major regression last year?

        In addition, the Sox are looking for production from some young players looking to prove themselves. Oscar Colas is going to have a lot riding on is massive shoulders as it appears he will be the starting RF to open the season. He has some past professional experience, but only one season of minor league baseball here in the states. He's got the ability to be at least league average but there are questions about his plate discipline and whether he's...
        02-22-2023, 05:40 PM
      • The State of the Sox...
        by Lipman 1
        “The State of the Sox”
        To say the 2022 season for the White Sox was a disappointment would be an understatement. But its more than that, this was a franchise supposedly in the middle of a window of contention, six years after a needed rebuild was begun. To see how the White Sox played this season… uninspired, badly lacking in fundamentals, poorly constructed and injury prone suggests deeper issues than just “one of those years.”

        White Sox fans wish that was the case… that it was just an outlier, “one of those years.”

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        -------------------------------------------------------------------

        Thoughts on this past season

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        by Lipman 1

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        --------------------

        His nickname was "Fort" as in "Fort Herrmann."

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      • A Conversation With Donn Pall...
        by Lipman 1

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        He’s the ultimate headline “Local kid makes good…plays for hometown team”

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        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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