MLB talk 2

06 Apr 2022 21:52:00
2022 Predictions:

AL East

1. Toronto (93-64)
2. Tampa Bay (92-70)
3. New York (89-73)
4. Boston (85-77)
5. Baltimore (55-107)

AL Central

1. Chicago (95-67)
2. Minnesota (81-81)
3. Cleveland (78-82)
4. Kansas City (77-83)
5. Detroit (74-86)

AL West

1. Houston (94-68)
2. Seattle (84-78)
3. Los Angeles (82-80)
4. Texas (74-86)
5. Oakland (60-102)

NL East

1. Atlanta (100-62)
2. Philadelphia (95-67)
3. New York (87-75)
4. Miami (80-82)
5. Washington (63-99)

NL Central

1. Milwaukee (97-65)
2. St. Louis (86-76)
3. Cincinnati (75-87)
4. Chicago (73-89)
5. Pittsburgh (57-105)

NL West

1. Los Angeles (104-52)
2. San Diego (85-77)
3. San Francisco (84-78)
4. Colorado (74-86)
5. Arizona (57-105)

Wild Card

Red Sox (6) < Blue Jays (3) (2-0)
Yankees (5) > Rays (4) (2-1)
Cardinals (6) < Brewers (3) (2-0)
Mets (5) < Phillies (4) (2-1)

Divisional

Yankees (5) < White Sox (1) (4-2)
Blue Jays (3) > Astros (2) (4-2)
Phillies (4) < Dodgers (1) (4-1)
Brewers (3) < Braves (2) (4-3)

Championship

Blue Jays (3) < White Sox (1) (4-3)
Braves (2) < Dodgers (1) (4-3)

World Series

White Sox (1) < Dodgers (1) (4-1)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
NL MVP: Trea Turner

AL CY Young: Shane McClannahan
NL CY Young: Corbin Burnes

AL ROY: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL ROY: Seiya Suzuki

07 Apr 2022 13:05:30
White Sox in 4 is LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

07 Apr 2022 15:19:52
Where do I pick the White Sox in 4?

07 Apr 2022 17:18:45
Sorry, in 5. Against the Dodgers? Man, it's nice that you're excited for Opening Day, but yikes.

07 Apr 2022 19:40:25
Let's really work hard here, Nate. I clearly show the Sox losing in 5 to the Dodgers. I don't show them winning any series in 5 games.

07 Apr 2022 22:12:01
You could serve to use better means than.

07 Apr 2022 22:55:26
Or, and this may be a stretch, you could learn to read? Talk about yikes. LOL.

07 Apr 2022 23:05:24
"Talk about yikes"

Wait, when did we start talking about your prognosis of the Giants' future?

Yikes.

07 Apr 2022 23:06:17
Also, the dude who legitimately has the Blue Jays playing only 157 games shouldn't criticize someone else for their oversight.

Just throwing that one out there.

07 Apr 2022 23:41:35
Nice catch. 93-69*.

08 Apr 2022 04:18:22
Detroit, Cleveland, Texas, and Colorado are all playing 160.

And how unfair is it that the Dodgers only have to play 156 games?

This thing is loaded with more errors than Fernando Tatis' Fangraphs page, so maybe dial back the condescension for someone mistaking the symbols you used.

04 Apr 2022 13:02:39
RIP to the White Sox giving up a "Top 5 RP" and future Hall of Famer for AJ Pollock, losing Lance Lynn and Garrett Crochet, all in the same day.

Can someone do a wellness check on Chi Sox? I just don't want him to become Tony La Russa or Michael Kopech all of a sudden.

05 Apr 2022 18:13:09
Gotta give Hahn credit for netting a guy coming off a 137 wRC+ season for a "completely washed" (according to you) RP like Kimbrel.

But let me guess, Kimbrel is good now? One of the top orgs in baseball just dealt for him. The Sox ate none of his contract and saved $ in the process.

Masterclass.

Glad you're still constantly thinking about me, Nathan.

05 Apr 2022 18:31:45
"The White Sox will have to attach a pretty intriguing prospect just to clear the salary. "

"The White Sox gave up Heuer and Madrigal for Kimbrel AND picked up his $16M option. But here you are, thinking the White Sox are on par with the Dodgers! LOLOLOLOL. "

"If you don't think teams make decisions on small sample sizes, then you truly aren't paying attention. "

"But yeah, maybe there's a GM out there dumber than Rick Hahn right now who'll give up something--ANYTHING--for Craig Kimbrel, but I seriously doubt it. "

"Again, you know it's bad when the exact idea he came up was mocked openly by Mike Petriello on Twitter, along with other baseball guys. "

Safe to say these all aged pretty poorly for ole Natedog. Like clockwork.

06 Apr 2022 14:06:16
I was just making sure that you didn't quit this site like Michael Kopech quit 2020. So I'm glad you're okay.

And for what it's worth, the White Sox, impressively, won that trade. If Pollock can stay healthy (that's a big IF) getting him while unloading Craig Kimbrel, who gave up 7 runs to AAA players in Spring, will look really good.

Sure, it puts Kyle Crick in the Sox's bullpen instead of Kimbrel, but then again, I think that's probably a wash.

In the meantime, enjoy running on the gloating tour. It might be the only positive experience of your baseball season. The fun will likely end when Darin Ruf has a better season than Jose Abreu for a second season in a row.

06 Apr 2022 15:50:21
While we're at it, I LOL'd today looking back at your lengthy predictions. 8 for 84, a solid 9.5%.

Meanwhile, I got 12 just in the top 50 alone and sit proudly in MLBTR's top 25.

Or do you want me to bring up the trade where the D'Backs get Justin Upton and his 28M salary while the White Sox shed Keuchel's salary AND get Ketel Marte?

Good news for the Diamondbacks: they can just get their mans without giving up Marte!

You seem to gloat here, but you ignore how hilariously terrible some of the trades you've made on here were. And to think, you spent MULTIPLE comments defending that awful idea.

Also, if we want to talk about things that aged well, can your infamous "the White Sox are on par with the Dodgers" take count here? I think it absolutely should.

Or what about the fact that the Giants were 5-6 years away from contention (they led the league in wins last season, and had 103 pythagorean wins, but you don't need reminded of this)? Or where you said Zaidi would be lucky to accomplish 75% of what Hahn has done.

In just three years, the Giants have more wins than the "on-par-with-the-Dodgers" White Sox. Yes, the team 5-6 years away from contention has more wins during Zaidi's tenure, a rebuilding club, than the Chi Sox-proclaimed "preeminent AL club. "

He's done this while bringing up exactly one top prospect: Logan Webb. He'll add another with Joey Bart, and the young players will just keep coming.

Yes, he won 13 more games in 3 seasons than Rick Hahn's Dodgers, ahem, White Sox, with a lineup containing Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria, Darin Ruf, Donovan Solano, and finding nobodies like Mike Yastrzemski and LaMonte Wade, Jr.

In just 3 years into his tenure, Farhan Zaidi has the Giants contending for WS titles and his most expensive FA signing was Carlos Rodon on a 2-year deal.

But please, remind me of your take about Zaidi? For good measure, I'll help you out: The Giants are multiple years away from contention.

How'd that prediction go? It went poorly. It was the worst-aged prediction I've seen on this here website. And the bar was pretty high, especially out of the content you have graced us with.

06 Apr 2022 16:34:43
You were just as high on the 2021 Giants as I was, Nathan. This is not a victory lap for you, bud.

I already conceded that I underestimated how quickly they could turn around their team. No one expected them to get career years from their entire team last year.

We'll see if they can do that again, but it's a very good org top to bottom.

Also, if Crick and Velasquez were signed by SF, you'd be telling me to stay tuned for their breakout. Crick gave up 1 hit and 2 walks in 7 innings this spring. They're low risk dart throws with high upside, and you're acting like it's a bad thing?

Finally, I, for one, am extremely excited for Dain Ruf's 2022 MVP campaign to commence now that he should see more regular ABs in 2022.

07 Apr 2022 13:05:11
"You were just as high on the 2021 Giants as I was, Nathan. This is not a victory lap for you, bud. "

Not that I expect you to own up to the most impressively inaccurate take this website has ever seen, but maybe at least don't acknowledge the point if you refuse to own it?

We're not talking our predictions on the '21 Giants. We're talking about your level of confidence regarding the Giants. That they were a half-decade from contending. That they'd be lucky to accomplish 75% of what Rick Hahn has done (never mind them exceeding it already) .

Just acknowledge how hilariously bad your take on the Giants was. It's really simple.

07 Apr 2022 15:21:10
Surely they won a playoff series last season with how much better they've done.

07 Apr 2022 17:21:03
Yes, because Rick Hahn's White Sox teams have done so well in that department.

Let that sink in: the guy whose success Farhan would be lucky to accomplish even 75% of hasn't made it once out of the first round, despite being the GM everyone is clearly trying to emulate.

And ironically, in 3 years, Farhan has matched Rick Hahn's career playoff win totals. Absolutely remarkable how that works.

08 Apr 2022 00:10:31
I said: "I already conceded that I underestimated how quickly they could turn around their team. "

Then you said "Just acknowledge how hilariously bad your take on the Giants was. "

Make it make sense

Zaidi still hasn't built a sustainable roster in SF yet however. He has to prove that last year wasn't a flash in the pan. They replaced Posey with Bart and Bryant with Pederson. Not great for the lineup.

Belt, Crawford and Longoria may not have career years again. It's actually extremely likely that they don't. They really don't have a single game changing hitter in their lineup (No, Darin Ruf doesn't count) . They have ONE hitter projected to have a wRC+ over 110 (Belt) . This is tied with the Dbacks, Orioles, Pirates, Cubs, A's (LOL, great company) for the 2nd worst in baseball (only the Tigers have zero) . For reference, the White Sox and Blue Jays have 6 and the Dodgers have 7. No one else is higher than 5. We're talking about two massively different tiers here based on the best projections available. The Giants could legitimately have one hitter slug over .450.

And before you ho-hum projections in general, it's literally math my man. No need to get upset.

Their biggest FA signing has only pitched 173 innings over the last THREE seasons with a history of recurring shoulder and elbow issues. Acting like Zaidi has the same kind of roster as Hahn in Chicago is laughable. Zaidi deserves credit for piecing together last year's masterpiece, but acting like they are going to stroll to 90 wins again isn't wise IMO, but we're allowed to give him the benefit of the doubt after last year.

18 Apr 2022 15:15:56
"And before you ho-hum projections in general, it's literally math my man. No need to get upset. "

No, it's theory. And considering the projections were wrong at nearly every projection for the Giants in 2021, maybe they aren't as accurate as you're suggesting?

I mean, ZiPS was off by 30+ wins. They were 2.0 or more WAR UNDER on Crawford, Posey, Ruf, Webb, Gausman, DeSclafani, and Duggar and 1.5 WAR UNDER on Wade and Belt. That's 9 players. The next team to have that many misses for ZiPS was 5, and it was the Brewers.

For what it's worth, just two (2) players had projections 1.0 WAR or more OVER their actual performance: Yastrzemski and Dubon. That's also the lowest amount of any team last year.

So excuse me when I look at ZiPS projections and see the same make similar ZiPS projections two seasons in a row on the same players. But surely, ZiPS is gospel truth that can't be disputed, now can it?

Surely they weren't so historically off that Dan Szymborski should be laughed out of any room he walks into, right?

MLB front offices are clearly rejecting these projection systems, and it's evidenced by how they are spending their money and the roster decisions they are making. Maybe it's time that fans do as well?

18 Apr 2022 16:04:02
"They have ONE hitter projected to have a wRC+ over 110"

Ahh yes. The team that had EIGHT (8) from last year and brought back 6 of those players, they'll have just TWO in 2022?

Seriously, do you even bother looking up anything before you type it, or do you just run with it because it sounds good? And if you still, after all these years, think that ZiPS is a remotely decent projection system, especially after they were so historically off in 2021 for one team in particular that it was almost contemptuous, I really don't have much belief you'll continue to operate in good faith in these discussions.

No front office in baseball is even the slightest bit focused on ZiPS or any of the publicly available projection systems. In fact, I'd contend, simply by the way they operate, that teams have written off Szymborski's system altogether.

21 Apr 2022 06:15:43
Could you show me where I said I was referencing ZiPS?

19 May 2022 14:14:18
Nearly a quarter way through the season, let's check in on how things are going:

White Sox players over 110 wRC+ (min. 50 PAs) : 3.
Giants players over 110 wRC+: 7.

I was so confidently told that it was "just math". Your math sure seems to be wrong an awful lot, now doesn't it?

16 Mar 2022 02:23:19
Projected MLB Standings:

AL East
Toronto- 93-69
Tampa Bay- 89-73
New York- 87-75
Boston- 81-81
Baltimore- 60-102

AL Central
Chicago- 90-72
Cleveland- 82-80
Detroit- 79-83
Minnesota- 75-87
Kansas City- 72-90

AL West
Houston- 92-70
Seattle 89-73
Los Angeles- 88-74
Texs- 77-85
Oakland- 61-101

NL East
New York- 94-68
Atlanta- 87-75
Philadelphia- 79-83
Miami- 75-87
Washington- 70-92

NL Central
St. Louis- 97-65
Milwaukee- 93-69
Chicago- 77-85
Cincinnati- 70-92
Pittsburgh- 58-104

NL West
Los Angeles- 99-63
San Francisco- 90-72
San Diego- 84-78
Colorado-74-88
Arizona- 68-94

03 Feb 2022 18:14:33
I'm not well versed with the NYY Prospects but somehow I see the Mets and Yankees are lined up for a trade.

I see Nimmo and Dom Smith as pieces going to the NYY

What do you suppose the NYY interest would be and what prospect package they would send to Mets if interested?

12 Dec 2021 22:00:57
I hope the Mets hire Quatraro for Manager.

I'd hire anyone from the Rays organization.

As a matter of fact if I were Steve Cohen, I'd call the owner of the Rays and offer him $50 million to release his entire staff (scouting, analytics, minor league coaches, major league personel and throw in the payroll dept) to be hired by the Mets

13 Dec 2021 13:44:45
If Cohen offered to build Stu Sternberg his stadium, the Rays would do it in a heartbeat.

19 Dec 2021 04:24:08
Showalter, oof.

22 Dec 2021 20:14:59
Says the guy whose team literally hired Tony La Russa out of the Arizona State Penitentiary. Oof.

27 Dec 2021 02:37:32
The Sox and Mets can both make bad hires, Nathan.

11 Jan 2022 13:35:25
Right. The White Sox are basically the New York Mets of the American League.

Not exactly a desirous title.

28 Nov 2021 19:30:53
Ideal Yankees 2022 Roster (Highly Unrealistic because not all of them can happen but these should be their targets)

C Salvador Perez
1B Matt Olson
2B Gleyber Torres
3B D.J. LeMahieu
SS Corey Seager
LF Joey Gallo
CF Ketel Marte
RF Aaron Judge
DH Giancarlo Stanton

Bench

C Gary Sanchez
IF Gio Urshela
OF Kevin Pillar
SS Andrelton Simmons

Rotation

Gerrit Cole
Luis Severino
Luis Castillo
Jameson Taillon
Jordan Montgomery

Bullpen

Domingo German
Nestor Cortes Jr.
Chad Green
Jonathan Loaisiga
Joely Rodriguez
Clay Holmes
Josh Hader
Aroldis Chapman

17 Nov 2021 19:08:45
Natedog & Chi Sox,

Quit being children and grow up! You two both delve into juvenile potshots and it challenges both of your intellects. Neither team is "racist" or "bad". Just kiss and make up already!

18 Oct 2021 14:34:27
Now that both the Giants and White Sox seasons are done, let's do a recap as to where we're at.

After 3 seasons (when Zaidi started and when, supposedly, we're limited to counting Rick Hahn's success), here's where the teams stand:

White Sox: 200-183, 2 playoff wins, 1 division title.
Giants: 213-171, 2 playoff wins, 1 division title.

This, mind you, is a Giants team that had the 106-win Dodgers in their division, and a White Sox team that had legitimately zero other .500 teams in their division.

And to remind you of your own assessment: the Giants were 3-5 years away, and the White Sox were on par with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

To be honest, Chi Sox, you might be better off deleting this site from your browsing history. It's hilarious how frequently you've proven yourself wrong over the past 18 months or so.

Maybe go learn how microwaves are made, because baseball hot takes aren't your thing.

19 Oct 2021 14:43:30
Finally, Chi Sox, there are seriously excellent odds that Farhan Zaidi will be the Executive of the Year, along with Kapler being NL Manager of the Year.

And just so you're clear: they did next to nothing to emulate Rick Hahn or try and match what he did. NOTHING.

And thank goodness he didn't. Otherwise, he would have dropped 8M on Adam Eaton and spinelessly let his owner hire a manager for him.

Maybe Rick Hahn can emulate Farhan Zaidi. After all, his core is only going to get older and he has legitimately baseball's worst farm system. He might need a few pointers. If he's lucky, maybe his team will even win 100+ games in a season for the first time in over 100 years.

20 Oct 2021 00:06:38
I can admit that I didn't see the Giants winning 107 games with career resurgences from Posey, Longoria and Crawford. Give cresit where credit is due. But then again, you didn't see this coming. We both projected them as third place finishers, as did 99% of baseball fans.

The whole organization deserves a ton of credit for doing what they did. Kapler deserves manager of the year and Zaidi deserves executive.

But as I figured, when you're throwing out someone like Camilo Doval, who was pitching in high-A just 50 innings prior, with your season on the line against the Dodgers in the postseason, it most likely isn't going to end well. There pen wasn't their ultimate issue in that series (they didn't hit enough), but it was at the end of game 5.

If the Sox had some competition from at least one other team in their division to keep that marginal value of a win on a daily basis higher than it was, they probably would have won more than the shameful 93 that they did. It would've also helped had they not had the most WAR lost from injuries in the major leagues. They otherwise probably would have been closer to 100. But again, when you effectively clinch in July, you rest guys, skip starts, etc.

You probably will see a lot of teams emulate the Giants this offseason tbh. Zaidi has turned them into one of the best orgs in baseball. Still, my point about Zaidi building a core like Hahn did still stands. Crawford, Posey, Belt, Longoria, Yaz etc. will be gone sooner rather than later. They are going to have the monetary resources to spend expeditiously in the coming offseason, but that almost always how teams SUPPLEMENT their young cores and then find success. Trying to do it the other way around is a lot more difficult.

I'll be very interested to see how they handle their flexibility.

20 Oct 2021 15:00:58
"when you're throwing out someone like Camilo Doval, who was pitching in high-A just 50 innings prior, with your season on the line against the Dodgers in the postseason"

Tell me you watched ZERO Giants games without telling me you watched ZERO Giants games. It's okay, you've shown your incompetence time and time again. I expect this from you. From his addition back onto the 26-Man roster, Camilo Doval gave up exactly one run, against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS. 16.1 IP, 22 Ks, 1 ER since September 1st. He WAS the guy for the Giants, and he was dominant. I suspect he'll be a crucial part of the Giants bullpen for a long time.

"But then again, you didn't see this coming. We both projected them as third place finishers, as did 99% of baseball fans. "

Right, but I also didn't stupidly suggest that Zaidi would be contending by 2027, or that the Giants were soooo far away. There's a big difference there.

"my point about Zaidi building a core like Hahn did still stands. "

And my point about Rick Hahn doing NOTHING revolutionary still stands. He didn't "revolutionize" the pre-arb deal. He didn't revolutionize the idea of trading good veterans for good prospects. He's done nothing that anyone is trying to emulate. In fact, his team had absolutely zero depth. None. He was so spineless that his owner wouldn't listen to his input on who the manager should be. So therein lay two serious reasons why Rick Hahn's teams CONTINUE their failure to launch.

But yeah, I'm sure Farhan Zaidi is desperate to emulate a GM (not a president of baseball ops, but an inferior role) who has an abundance of young talent and just finished 14 games behind his team where the average age of starters was over 30-years-old.

My prediction: Rick Hahn emulates Farhan Zaidi, by trying to find undervalued veterans with specific skillsets to help build cheap, but meaningful depth to his team.

That's right, it stands to reason that Rick Hahn will be the emulator.

"Crawford, Posey, Belt, Longoria, Yaz etc. will be gone sooner rather than later. "

I mean, it's not like the Giants don't have Luciano, Ramos, Matos, Bart, Bishop, Toribio, etc. And even if you don't think they'll be good, keep in mind, if the Giants can turn LaMonte Wade, Jr. (who they acquired for the thrice DFA'd Shaun Anderson) into a 117 wRC+ hitter, you'd be silly to think that they can't do it with damn-near anyone.

The Giants will be a very good team for the foreseeable future. The White Sox? We'll see.

20 Oct 2021 15:23:23
The Giants will likely do what they did the past two seasons: find good value 1-year contracts. Think Noah Syndergaard or Andrew Heaney types. They'll do the same with a few position players. I'd imagine they flex their spending muscles with a pitcher and probably go after Kris Bryant, but even that accounts for the organization: the Giants don't have a lock-down 3B prospect out there. And they need a lot of starting pitching.

But they also have intriguing options for pitching: Hjelle, Beck, Frisbee, Plassmeyer, Dabovich, Corry, Ragsdale. And even guys who made appearances in 2021: Santos, Kervin Castro, Sam Long, etc.

The Giants gameplan is, and has been, to win games in the in-between. And they just did, to the tune of MLB's best record. They had to add DeSclafani, Wood, and re-sign Gausman last winter. They have 4 open SP spots instead of 3 this time around, but more options internally.

And the thing is, Austin, the Giants also aren't unwilling to spend money. So they can do whatever they foreseeably wish to do. Seeing what Farhan Zaidi did with this rag-tag roster, I'm not the least bit worried about the future.

They've got a huge group of young, intriguing players for 2022, and a comical depth of riches financially. And yet, their best offseason acquisition will probably be some 48 wRC+ outfielder who they turn into a star.

20 Oct 2021 20:58:28
The fact that he was THE guy for the Giants in their biggest game of the year simply because of a good 16-inning stretch is my point. He was their best option when the Dodgers had Treinen, Jansen and Scherzer. Again, Doval's NOT why they lost that series or even that game necessarily, but he's a big reason why they got outplayed at the end of that game.

The Sox had the most WAR lost from injuries in the entire league in 2021, still won 93 games, and yet they have no depth? I'm not sure I follow. Their farm system is objectively weak, yes, but their depth propelled them in 2021. How did your saying go? "Tell me you didn't watch the White Sox without telling me you didn't watch the White Sox. "

But for you, you might even be able to extend that to - "Tell me you don't know baseball without telling me you don't know baseball. "

Also, do me a favor and stop slightly changing the context of my words in your replies, it's very tiresome and childish. Just like I never guaranteed that Cesar Hernandez would be better than Trevor Story like you insinuated, I never said that Hahn revolutionized the GM position, lmao. I simply said that he's done a pretty damn good job. Slow down, read, and fully comprehend hat you're reading. It goes a long way as you attempt to make sound, coherent arguments.

Hahn didn't revolutionize the pre-arb deal, he just started doing it a lot more than every other team and they've all worked out really well so far. If Zaidi is smart, he'll look to extend one or more of their top prospects at an opportune time like Hahn did. Likewise, Hahn and every other GM will likely take a page out of the Giants book in 2022. That's no secret. Again, what he was able to do in 2021 was tremendously impressive and no one is arguing against that.


Also, let's look at the facts here:

Do the White Sox have a young, affordable, major league performant core currently? Yes.
Do the Giants have a young, affordable, major league performant core currently? No.
Do the Giants have a good looking farm system that COULD turn into a young affordable core? Yes.
Therefore, is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what Rick Hahn did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core? Precisely.

I don't blame you for being confident in the Giants ability to turn the group you mentioned into a solid core, but to say something like "no one is trying to emulate Hahn" is just objectively wrong. Every team is desperately trying to build a good young core - that's the first big step usually. The Sox haven't supplemented the core optimally yet, and that's been their new goal.

Your determination to not give the White Sox a lick of credit is unnecessary. You wanted them to lose so bad.

"He was so spineless that his owner wouldn't listen to his input on who the manager should be. "

I think you're confused. This isn't how organizational hierarchies work. Hahn reports to Jerry Reinsdorf and Zaidi reports to Charles Johnson. Hahn not being able to go over JR's head to hire the manager of his choice doesn't make him "spineless" lol. That's not how it works. Jerry literally owns the team. What he says, goes. He wanted to hire his buddy, TLR, so that's what happened. Hahn can't just tell his boss no, lmao. You might learn that after you graduate high school.

If Charles Johnson woke up today and after donating a couple more million to QAnon, called Zaidi and said "we're firing Kapler and hiring Buck Showalter today and that's that", guess what, Buck Showalter would be the new Giants manager tomorrow and Zaidi, like Hahn, would be left to twiddle his thumbs.

20 Oct 2021 21:05:32
"My prediction: Rick Hahn emulates Farhan Zaidi, by trying to find undervalued veterans with specific skillsets to help build cheap, but meaningful depth to his team. "

OMG, stop saying that Zaidi revolutionized acquiring undervalued veterans -- he literally just read Moneyball.

See how dumb that sounds?

25 Oct 2021 19:02:16
See, the difference is, I never actually said Zaidi revolutionalized anything. You literally used that phrase: "So, he's revolutionized the pre-arb extension idea and is trying to avoid what Theo Epstein (twice) couldn't do" (Dec 20, 2020).

Please know the difference, please and thank you.

25 Oct 2021 19:20:18
"The Sox had the most WAR lost from injuries in the entire league in 2021, still won 93 games, and yet they have no depth? I'm not sure I follow"

You see, Craig, when the White Sox play in a division that has the Twins, Royals, Tigers, and the Cleveland Baseball Team, a group of rabid rhesus monkeys could win 93 games. It's not that difficult to comprehend this. Reasonable people can do this. Then again, no one here is accusing you of being reasonable.

"Hahn didn't revolutionize the pre-arb deal"

Except you literally told me that Hahn revolutionalized the pre-arb deal. Those were your exact words. Verbatim. You even went as far as using that exact word. But now, you never said it? You'd make an excellent politician (don't take that as a compliment) .

"Therefore, is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what Rick Hahn did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core? Precisely. "

I'll fix that for you: "is Farhan Zaidi (and literally every baseball ops executive across the league) constantly attempting to do what EVERY SUCCESSFUL GM SINCE THE TURN OF THE MILLENIUM did by building a young, affordable, major league performant core?
Precisely. "

Willfully inserting Rick Hahn, as if he's the inventor, revolutionizer, or trailblazer of this strategy is the biggest homer thing to do. Rick Hahn is doing what Jeff Luhnow did, who did what Theo Epstein did, who did what Brian Sabean did. and other GMs who did this same thing. Building a core to win championships pre-dates Rick Hahn.

"If Zaidi is smart, he'll look to extend one or more of their top prospects at an opportune time like Hahn did. "

I'd argue he doesn't need to, simply based off how the Giants spend versus how the White Sox spend. It's pretty clear that Reinsdorf doesn't want to spend a lot of money on his teams. The Giants are willing to, and thus, they aren't afraid of paying arbitration costs or free agency costs. Locking players into long-term deals before they even reach the majors is a good strategy for the White Sox considering their context. But it's by no means necessary for the San Francisco Giants whose financial situation is almost without comparison in the league.

"If Charles Johnson woke up today and after donating a couple more million to QAnon, called Zaidi and said "we're firing Kapler and hiring Buck Showalter today and that's that", guess what, Buck Showalter would be the new Giants manager tomorrow and Zaidi, like Hahn, would be left to twiddle his thumbs. "

Well, considering Charles Johnson has very, very little say in the day-to-day operations, and that the Giants ownership structure gives Larry Baer this control (and has checks and balances in place), this would never happen.

Speaking of not understanding hierarchical structures.

25 Oct 2021 19:31:59
"The fact that he was THE guy for the Giants in their biggest game of the year simply because of a good 16-inning stretch is my point. He was their best option when the Dodgers had Treinen, Jansen and Scherzer. Again, Doval's NOT why they lost that series or even that game necessarily, but he's a big reason why they got outplayed at the end of that game. "

Hello Motte, meet Bailey.

25 Oct 2021 20:26:07
Not to mention, it IS spineless to let your owner do the job he is paying you to do. Jerry Reinsdorf isn't the GM of the White Sox. And if Rick Hahn had a higher amount of T than the guys targeted in that Frank Thomas commercial, he would have been vociferous in his objection to the TLR hire. He wasn't. He publicly made it clear that he supported the decision.

And it's more likely than not, both based on his comments and common sense, that Hahn knew about La Russa's DUI arrest prior to him being hired. And if he didn't, the Hahn is incompetent to be a leader.

There's zero chance they interviewed, hired, on-boarded, and did all the administrative work on TLR and not have Rick Hahn know about this. Zero.

He allowed his boss to micro-manage him and then willfully shut his mouth regarding a DUI arrest that marred the hiring and looked bad on his organization. And he didn't resign? If he's as desirable and as worthy of emulation as you suggest, he'd be able to find a president of baseball ops job tomorrow, with an organization whose owner would listen to him.

And yet, Hahn allowed his team to proceed with hiring a multiple-offense DUI manager, allowed his boss to walk all over him, and still remains with that organization.

Yeah, I feel that "spineless" isn't the right word. It doesn't even come close to accurately defining the character of Rick Hahn. He's much, much worse than spineless.

26 Oct 2021 14:31:32
My point with the pre-arb extensions regarding Hahn was that find me another GM in the arbitration era who has not only done more extensions, but have them pretty much all work wonderfully for the club (so far) . He didn't invent it obviously, but he made it a point of emphasis more than anyone I can remember, unless you have a better example.

"Well, considering Charles Johnson has very, very little say in the day-to-day operations, and that the Giants ownership structure gives Larry Baer this control (and has checks and balances in place), this would never happen. "

Johnson, Baer, whoever. My point still stands. You called Hahn spineless because he doesn't have control over his boss - an awful take

You keep bringing up the AL Central, but the Giants literally went 32-6 against the Rockies and Diamondbacks.

"The Sox had no depth"

"Well, see, yes they did. A lot of their good players got hurt and they replaced them with above average players"

"Oh, dang, well, THEIR DIVSION SUCKED SO HAAA"

Ok, and? Shame on the White Sox for not having better competition in the AL Central? Their pythag win total was 97 and again, they had the most WAR lost due to injury by a wide margin. They could have easily been a 100-win team if they weren't playing literally two of their everyday bats through stretches in June/ July.

"Hello Motte, meet Bailey. "

After you learned about this in English class last month, you have been wearing it out. It doesn't apply here, unfortunately, because you said the Giants were just fine with their bullpen - actually you said it was maybe the best bullpen of all postseason teams. The bullpen didn't really need a Treinen or Jansen per you. That bullpen presented a wildly talented, but woefully unexperienced Doval with their season on the line, and it played out how one would expect. It's not a Jason Motte and Andrew Bailey, you were just wrong.

"he would have been vociferous in his objection to the TLR hire. "

Pretty much everyone believes he was. But seriously, you acting like Hahn presented this idea of hiring TLR to the organization is just wrong. Reinsdorf unilaterally decided this. La Russa is his buddy who he "wrongfully" fired back in the 80s and this was him "righting his wrong". The man is entitled - he has seven rings and anted to say he could hire his Hall of Fame buddy to manage his last era of White Sox teams.

"There's zero chance they interviewed, hired, on-boarded, and did all the administrative work on TLR and not have Rick Hahn know about this. Zero. "

Yeah he couldn't care that much because he owner didn't. Heck, Hahn was probably the one that sent Passan the police report.

" If he's as desirable and as worthy of emulation as you suggest, he'd be able to find a president of baseball ops job tomorrow, with an organization whose owner would listen to him. "

If he didn't already build a damn good team in Chicago, he'd probably be seriously considering the Mets or Padres jobs tbh.

You're seriously overthinking this. When you own a baseball team, you decide what goes and what doesn't. Right after Renteria was fired last year, Hahn said that he was looking for a "younger manager with recent postseason success" before JR said F that and hired TLR.

Go into work tomorrow Nate and tell your boss (or literally the owner of the company) what he or she's going to do for the day and how things are going to run from now on - let me know how that goes for you. Or are you too spineless?

28 Oct 2021 18:44:58
"You keep bringing up the AL Central, but the Giants literally went 32-6 against the Rockies and Diamondbacks. "

They also went 10-9 against the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers. Interesting how you failed to point that one out. How many 100+ win teams were in the AL Central? Oh wait, they didn't have a second team finish over .500? Oh, whoops.

Imagine having a division with the Twins, Royals, AND the Tigers and having just one above-.500 team. That's pretty bad.

28 Oct 2021 18:59:35
"Go into work tomorrow Nate and tell your boss (or literally the owner of the company) what he or she's going to do for the day and how things are going to run from now on - let me know how that goes for you. Or are you too spineless? "

Well, considering I'm part owner of the business my father and I run (a business telecommunications company), this wouldn't really apply. But let's apply it anyway. If my father started hiring sales representatives without consulting me first, I'd absolutely speak up. Not just because I'm part-owner, but also because sales was delegated to me. That's my realm. There's also a mutual respect between the other owner (my father) and I.

This doesn't seem to be the case in the Chicago White Sox front office. I'd guess it has part to do with a doofus owner and part to do with a limp-wristed, panty-waisted GM.

But if my father (who founded the company) overstepped into my delegated area, and then proceeded to withhold information about that new hire having a criminal record, then I'd 100% step down.

Once again, Rick Hahn didn't do this. He has no right to speak up about TLR's issues and still be willfully and gainfully employed by that organization. None.

Once again, it's a serious, serious character issue on Hahn's part. His boss tried to hide the manager's DUI arrest (which, again, wasn't his first offense) and allowed it to potentially hold negative ramifications on Rick Hahn, Kenny Williams, and others within the organization (none of whom have the financial leverage that Reinsdorf has) .

A man with scruples would have resigned and refused to work in such an environment. Not Rick Hahn. He stuck around and even came around to praise TLR on many, many different occasions.

I firmly believe he's a bad person for it. But you continue to worship him at his altar. Says a lot about you, to be honest.

28 Oct 2021 20:03:40
Right, I think we should shame the White Sox due to the incompetency of Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit and Minnesota in 2021. It's entirely Rick Hahn and the White Sox's fault for their poor play.

"Imagine having a division with the Twins, Royals, AND the Tigers and having just one above-.500 team. That's pretty bad. "

You realize this leaves just one other team right? LOL. The AL Central race probably would have been at least a little different if Cleveland didn't lose their entire starting rotation to injury in the middle of the season.

29 Oct 2021 19:58:39
You're not being serious, are you? So I guess Cashman should resign because of Aroldis Champman and Dombrowski because of Odubel Herrera and their domestic violence issues. How about Chaim Bloom? He rehired the architect of the Astros cheating scandal. How about Al Avila in Detroit? How could Alex Anthopolis GM such a blatantly racist Atlanta Braves organization? How could Zaidi work for someone like Charles Johnson? He must support QAnon.

Right, right, right but Rick Hahn has moral issues because his boss went over his head to hire his friend who's a borderline alcoholic.

We don't know for sure what was said regarding TLR's hire behind closed doors. For all we know, Hahn could have been adamant that it would be a terrible move. What we do know is that before he was hired and AFTER La Russa was interviewed, Hahn expressed publicly that, again, they were looking for a quote "young manager with recent postseason success. " Heck, when they posted the "Welcome back to Chicago! " Tony La Russa hiring announcement graphics on Twitter, A. J. Hinch's signature was accidentally pasted next to TLR's name. Who do you think most of the org figured was going to be hired until the eleventh hour?

I'm one of the biggest TLR haters out there in terms of Sox fans and I don't even drink because of potential problems like DUIs which is an awful action, but to act like La Russa is a horrible human being given what others have done and still remain affiliated with MLB is a terrible take, but you may just be trolling at this point. At least I hope so for your sake.

05 Nov 2021 14:02:22
"but to act like La Russa is a horrible human being given what others have done and still remain affiliated with MLB is a terrible take"

You know two things can be true at the same time, right? I think it's important that you understand this. TLR willingly, knowingly getting behind the wheel while intoxicated on more than one occasion, which risks the lives of every person around him, puts him solely in the "horrible human being" category. He's there along with Chapman or Herrera.

And also, if you think a guy donating to candidates who support a stupid conspiracy theory is the same as a guy who risks killing people by drinking and driving, then you're the one trolling here.

As far as Giants ownership goes, Charles Johnson doesn't even have a voice within the Giants front office. That's handled by Larry Baer and Greg Johnson (who states that he doesn't hold his father's political views) . He's literally principal owner, meaning he put up the most money and has the largest stake should the team get sold. He's rarely even in the board meetings (again, his son does that on his behalf) .

Meanwhile, Rick Hahn WAS in the meetings. Regardless of what he may or may not have voiced prior to TLR's hiring, he still willingly stuck around with a club that employed him. He can voice whatever he feels now, but he still stayed with the White Sox. That much won't change.

But hey, TLR was never accused of beating his spouse. He just risked killing people behind the road. He's not that bad of a guy, right? Right?

I really hope you have a few more scruples about you this this, Dominic, but you're doing your damnedest to convince me otherwise.

22 Sep 2021 21:18:18
One last bit for Chi Sox, you asked if there was any correlation between success vs. .500 teams and success in the playoffs. There is.

I went from 2014-2019, and out of 24 teams who made it to the LCS in their respective leagues, just THREE (3) had losing records against .500 teams:

2015 Mets
2014 Royals
2014 Giants

Surprisingly, all 3 of these teams made it to the World Series, and one (2014 Giants) even won the Series.

But that's just 12% of the teams. From 2016-2019, there were zero of those 16 teams.

Make of that what you wish, but there is a direct, recent correlation between beating good teams in the regular season and success in the playoffs.

So the White Sox's 25-29 record against .500 teams isn't stellar.

Also, let's make something clear: the White Sox 25 wins against teams with .500 records IS THE LOWEST TOTAL IN BASEBALL.

The White Sox are a mediocre team who hasn't played anyone. And when they do play teams, they don't do very well. They currently hold a -15 run differential against those teams.

Let's check in on the "3 years from contention Giants"

They are 43-34 against .500 teams, with a +29 run differential. In other words, they are 44 runs better against good teams than the White Sox.

The Giants are an objectively better team than the Chicago White Sox.

I'll stop posting so you can read these updates through your tears.

23 Sep 2021 19:30:54
It shouldn't be difficult to make the correlation, though. The only teams you're playing in the postseason are teams with winning records. So it stands to reason that success against these teams in the regular season is a good indicator of success against them in the postseason.

So, where do the White Sox and Giants rank, individually, against .500 or better teams, let's go take a looksy.

Offense-
Giants: 100 wRC+. .317 wOBA, 116 HR (ranked 3rd)
White Sox: 94 wRC+, .307 wOBA, 51 HR (ranked 12th)

Rotation-
Giants: 388.2 IP, 3.75 ERA, .303 wOBA, 3.92 FIP (ranked 6th)
White Sox: 280.1 IP, 3.50 ERA, .282 wOBA, 3.43 FIP (ranked 3rd)

Bullpen-
Giants: 1285 TBF, 3.47 ERA, .288 wOBA, 4.15 FIP (ranked 3rd)
White Sox: 837 TBF. 4.76 ERA, .334 wOBA, 4.22 FIP (ranked 26th)

The difference in innings pitched and total batters faced is hilarious. The Giants have over 400 more batters faced in this scenario, and more than 100 starting pitcher innings.

The White Sox also have the lowest total of plate appearances against .500 teams of anyone in baseball, with 1999. They simply aren't facing good baseball teams, which is probably good for them. They are really bad when they actually have to.

But hey, at least Rick Hahn was once the runner-up in Sporting News' Executive of the Year. He's got that going for him!

25 Sep 2021 19:10:33
“Make of that what you wish”, ya, no chance of random variance in a sample of 24 teams, lol. I appreciate your research effort, however.

As you showed, they’re only 4 games under .500 with only a -15 run differential. They’ve played the other postseason teams very tightly. 10 of those 29 losses have been by 1-run.

If this is your evidence that there’s no way that they do anything in the postseason this year, then so be it. Others share your same sentiment.

27 Sep 2021 18:10:48
Assuming the Yankees and Red Sox end up as the Wild Card teams (which seems likely at this juncture), here's how the White Sox played against the playoff teams:

10-16, -39 Run Differential. Five of those wins were by just one run, as well.

Their first round opponent has 402 record with a +12 RD against the White Sox, and that's actually hurt by a 10-1 game in which the Astros threw their 3 worst relievers on the roster.

And again, this isn't just "my evidence". It's literally not happened once since 2016. Can it happen? Sure. But if you're betting on it, your best bet is to go against the White Sox.

Based on your predictions after the trade deadline, it might benefit you to switch it up a bit.

28 Sep 2021 00:19:15
LOL - "The Astros threw the worst 3 relievers on the roster"

In the 4 games the Astros won in Houston, the Sox deployed Ruiz, Burdi, Heuer, Foster, and Burr for 13 of the 15.1 relief innings.

Oh, and FYI, 4 of the losses, just like 5 of the wins against the AL postseason teams, were by one run.

Cherry picking facts per usual.

22 Sep 2021 20:31:44
Also, Chi Sox. Since August 1st:

Cesar Hernandez: .264 wOBA, .591 OPS, 66 wRC+, 3 HR.

Trevor Story: .388 wOBA, .926 OPS, 131 wRC+, 10 HR.

In your own words, "Hernandez could easily be just as valuable as Story ROS."

He wasn't, and it wasn't even remotely close LOLOLOLOL.

Between that and the Craig Kimbrel statements, can we just chalk this up to you blowing smoke out of your you-know-where?

25 Sep 2021 18:32:23
Process over results. I don’t believe you foreshadowed Hernandez’s struggles. Hernandez outperforming Story was a very possible outcome.

Nonetheless, it’s been disappointing.

08 Oct 2021 14:02:37
"Hernandez outperforming Story was a very possible outcome. "

So was you being correct about anything over the course of this season, but that didn't happen, now did it?

22 Sep 2021 20:13:45
Hey Chi Sox, can we get an update on how elite closer Craig Kimbrel is doing for the White Sox?

I'll help you out.

Since joining the White Sox, Kimbrel has 5.68 ERA, 4 HR, and an incredible 25% save percentage!

Against playoff contenders, it's, how do you say it, not great.

4.35 ERA, .305 wOBA against, 2 blown saves.

Yes, what an incredible, elite relief pitcher the White Sox acquired LMAOOOO.

25 Sep 2021 18:30:03
Yep, going off of a 20 inning sample for a pitcher sure is great practice. Kimbrel clearly sucks now!

It’s a patented Natedog pre-mature victory lap.

27 Sep 2021 18:18:14
After 39 games, you believed Craig Kimbrel was the next coming of Jesus Christ to the White Sox.

But after 22 games, in which he looks exactly the same as he did in 2019, it's too early to tell.

It's absolutely adorable to see you continue to spin these things into some silver lining. I mean, no one is questioning your lack of homerish devotion to the White Sox. We are, however, questioning your sanity.

Craig Kimbrel has been an unmitigated disaster for the White Sox since that trade. The fact that the White Sox have zero competition from an absolute laughingstock of a division possibly makes it easier to swallow, but yeah, if you're trying to pretend he's been good, then you're out of your mind.

27 Sep 2021 23:20:10
There's a middle ground between being an "unmitigated disaster" and what he was prior to the trade.

"After 39 games, you believed Craig Kimbrel was the next coming of Jesus Christ to the White Sox. "

Really, I said it gives them an extremely valuable advantage come playoff time, and I still feel this way. Teams like the Giants have had to deploy their pen with playoff-like tendencies, the White Sox have not, because, you know, the whole marginal value of a win thing.

It's also funny, because if the roles were flipped, you'd be singing the praises of xFIP regression like no other. Surely the entire Giants Bullpen outperforming their xFIPs by a run and a half won't come back to bite them ever. Surely not!

Wait and see.

08 Oct 2021 14:11:48
No, Chi Sox. See, unlike you—who has never once accepted a single argument for regression when it comes to the White Sox—not one time—I can acknowledge when regression is likely.

Wanna know why Zaidi doesn't invest a laughable amount of resources into his bullpen? Because the year-over-year volatility of relief pitching is pretty obvious. Hey, it's almost like I've said this a half-dozen times on this very website!

xFIP is a joke of a stat anyway LOL. It punishes pitchers for not giving up home runs.

But if you want to talk about FIP regression (which is statistically very real), yeah, I'm more than willing to accept it. It would be dumb of me to talk about it, and then not apply it to the Giants, simply out of fandom.

That would be something YOU do, and have done, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times.

But hey, while we're talking about playoff bullpens, I guess it's good that Craig Kimbrel can't blow saves when the White Sox won't take the lead late in a playoff game. Man, that playoff bullpen of Chicago's. SO GOOD! LOL

YOU'RE SO BAD AT THIS.

16 Aug 2021 14:36:28
Let's make some playoff predictions:

Playoff Teams:
AL #1- Houston
AL #2- Tampa Bay
AL #3- Chicago
AL WC- Boston
AL WC- Toronto

NL #1- San Francsico
NL #2- Milwaukee
NL #3- Philadelphia
NL WC- Los Angeles
NL WC- Cincinnati

AL WC- Boston over New York
NL WC- Los Angeles over Cincinnati

ALDS- Houston over Boston (3-1)
ALDS- Tampa Bay over Chicago (3-0)
NLDS- San Francisco over LA (3-2)
NL DS- Milwaukee over Philly (3-1)

ALCS- Tampa Bay over Houston (4-1)
NLCS- Milwaukee over San Francisco (4-3)

World Series- Tampa Bay over Milwaukee (4-2)

Awards
AL MVP- Shohei Ohtani
AL Cy Young- Lance Lynn
AL ROY- Adolis Garcia

NL MVP- Fernando Tatis, Jr.
NL Cy Young- Corbin Burnes
NL ROY- Trevor Rogers.

28 Aug 2021 01:04:56
The real question is: will the AL Central winner have a better record than the 2nd Wild Card team?

As of August 27th, they have a 1 game lead on the Red Sox and are losing 6-1 to the Cubs (LOLOLOL) as I write this.

At this point, they barely have a lead over the Athletics. Seriously, the White Sox may not even have one of the top 5 records in the American league.

They are a joke. And the AL Central is a laughingstock.

28 Aug 2021 17:06:39
This guy could hardly go a month without an unprompted dig at the White Sox, then it backfires.

The second wild care team will likely be fighting tooth and nail until the last day of the season. The Sox might clinch in mid-Sept. It would be nice to get a home-field ALDS, but not at the expense of lineup health or dis-aligning the rotation. Boston or Oakland could very well end up with a better record than the White Sox, but it doesn't matter. One of those teams is getting a one-game playoff, the Sox are not.

The Sox have a 4.5 game lead on the A's, who they just took 3 of 4 from. I guess that's barely, but if it is, what would you call the Giants lead on LAD?

The Giants might literally play a one and done playoff game after a 100+ win season. That would worry me.

Oh and FYI, the Sox scored 16 (! ) runs after your comment there about the game. Tough look. Their lineup, with everyone healthy, is fun to watch.

Keep the digs coming.

22 Sep 2021 19:47:25
Nearly one month after my comment, here's where it stands in the American League:

TBR- 93-59
HOU- 90-61
BOS- 87-65
WHITE SOX- 85-66
TOR- 85-66
NYY- 85-67

They are another loss to the Tigers away from being outside of the Top 5 teams in their own league.

This was a team that, 9 months ago, you were comparing to the Los Angeles Dodgers LMAOOO.

This is a team that plays in, STATISTICALLY, the worst division in baseball.

Yes, your Chicago "Just As Good as the Los Angeles Dodgers" White Sox play in baseball's WORST DIVISION, and yet, they can barely squeak in the top 5 teams in their own league.

Meanwhile, the Giants, who you said were 3-4 years away, LEAD BASEBALL with the best record, all the while having the second best record in baseball also in their division. (That team is also the one you compared your White Sox to) .

I guess you can feel good about being the worst division leader that plays in the worst division in baseball.

YAY for mediocrity!

25 Sep 2021 18:26:06
Man, you’re awfully concerned with the White Sox for someone who isn’t a fan. You want them to lose so bad, lol.

Why don’t you sit back and enjoy your own first place team?

The White Sox clinched their division months ago. They don’t have to fight tooth and nail to win everyday like the Giants do. It’s clearly evident in their day-to-day decision-making. San Francisco is trying to avoid their season potentially being over in a 3-hour span.

16 Aug 2021 14:30:13
With a month and a half of season left, let's make some playoff predictions.

AL East- Rays
AL Central- White Sox
AL West- Astros
AL Wild Card #1- Boston
AL Wild Card #2- Yankees

NL East- Phillies
NL Central- Brewers
NL West- Giants
NL Wild Card #1- Dodgers
NL Wild Card #2- Reds

Playoffs
AL WC- Red Sox over Yankees
NL WC- Dodgers over Reds

NLDS 1v4- Giants over Dodgers in 5.
N.

02 Aug 2021 19:07:25
I felt it might be prudent for Chi Sox to see some updated stats on the Ruf vs. Abreu situation. The quote from her was, "my guess is that Abreu will now start to create a gap with Ruf. He's a notorious 2nd half hitter and he'll likely be getting 4 new lineup-mates for added protection."

So, let's get a check up on those numbers, post ASG break, shall we?

Jose Abreu- 67 PAs, .182/.765 (OPS), 112 wRC+, 3 HR

Darin Ruf- 48 PA (much higher than the 2:5 ratio), .310/1.015, 171 wRC+, 3 HR



More gemzz: "my guess is that Abreu will now start to create a gap with Ruf"

Current WAR, as of August 2nd:

Abreu- 1.4 (down 0.3 since last update)
Ruf- 1.9 (up 0.5 since last update)

Odd how the "notorious 2nd Half hitter is trending downwards, despite playing all but 6 of his 25 2nd Half games against playoff caliber teams. And the "obviously worse" Darin Ruf continues to actually create a gap, despite playing 40% of his 2nd half games against the Astros and Dodgers.

Once again, how are you so bad at this???

06 Aug 2021 15:58:20
Yeah Abreu hasn't looked good at the plate since the All-Star break, yet still has a 128 wRC+.

But he's clearly better then Ruf because over their last 2 games:

Abreu: 305 wRC+
Ruf: 9 wRC+

He's literally 296% better, Nate.

28 Aug 2021 01:11:01
LOL. It's cute how hard you try.

Hey, how are those White Sox doing? Will they even have the 5th best record in baseball entering October?

I was confidently told, by you, that they were basically the Dodgers and the cream of the crop in the American League.

I come back to one of my common refrains to you: How on earth are you so bad at this?

28 Aug 2021 17:24:56
The White Sox are looking pretty good. They've scored 27 runs in their last 2 games.

For all contending teams, no team's last 25 games mean less than the White Sox's.

Would you like to give us an update on the Abreu vs. Ruf fWAR race?

22 Sep 2021 20:03:14
Jose Abreu, in 619 plate appearances- 2.9 WAR
Darin "Weak Side Platoon Player" Ruf, in 300 PAs? 2.3 WAR.

That's right, a weak side platoon player has still almost matched the reigning MVP in WAR, despite being given LESS THAN 50% of the plate appearances.

Again, one should wonder how Darin Ruf would play in 600 plate appearances. you know it'd surpass Abreu by a laughable margin.

And just as a remnder, the White Sox paid Jose Abreu 17M to get 2.9 WAR. The San Francisco Giants paid Darin Ruf 1.275 to get 2.3 WAR.

It's not even been a close call. Darin Ruf has been the better player in 2021. He was the better player, despite having less than half of Abreu's plate appearances.

I'm sorry that you, once again, made a fool of yourself in this ongoing debate. I really am.

But if you try hard enough, I'm sure you can supply yourself with some hilariously convoluted, cherry-picked argument to tell me that Jose Abreu is better because he has 100+ RBIs or something.

I'm sure you'll think of something nonsensical. You always do.

25 Sep 2021 18:20:27
Classic Natedog. The goal posts shift to fit whatever narrative you’re looking for.

Remember when Ruf had a higher fWAR than Abreu for that short period of time? Your rationale was that Ruf was clearly better and all you needed as evidence was a higher fWAR. Now, as Abreu has predictably surpassed Ruf as the better overall player, your rationale has shifted to $/ WAR when comparing single-season 1 v. 1.

Ruf’s 2+ WAR as a weak side platoon piece is impressive, but he’s a bench role player on a team that has maximized his effectiveness.

Then you conveniently omit that fact that the Giants are paying Brandon Belt $16 million to just be the strong side of that platoon.

If Ruf could do what Abreu does over the same amount of PAs, why wouldn’t the Giants pay him that $2 million to do so? They could save a ton of money by not paying Belt AND acquire an additional roster spot. Spoiler alert, he wouldn’t be nearly as effective. Again, it would be like me projecting Liam Hendriks’ success over a starter’s workload of innings. It’s unrealistic.

So, by using literally the exact same logic that you used when the facts fit your narrative, Abreu is a better baseball player than Ruf due to his current superior fWAR value.

30 Jul 2021 20:26:03
Nate you were spot on for KB. Giants with an absolute steal. Cubs made out really solid on Kimbrel, Rizzo, Baez but the return for KB was subpar. I was wrong about that one.

31 Jul 2021 03:24:45
I was wrong about Kimbrel, for what it's worth. Someone DID offer a huge return for him.

I'd be very curious to know what other teams offered for him, and if anyone offered anywhere close to Hahn's offer.

01 Aug 2021 13:59:08
Pepiot and Miller from the Dodgers was reported by multiple “insiders” as being discussed. Whether that’s what the Cubs wanted or what was actually on the table is anyone’s guess.