Programming note: P.O. Sox will return to the Sox Machine Podcast when the regular podcasts resume this coming Sunday. I'll figure out some Patreon-exclusive posts to take their place afterward.
From orajestad9:
What are some things that the major league squad needs to accomplish this season for you to feel comfortable about the direction of the team? What about the Sox minor leagues? What are some things you need to see in the minors for you to feel comfortable about player development?
I’ll go into more detail as the season approaches, when we have a sense of what the entire roster looks like, which positions need to be ironed out, etc. However, in a general sense, the White Sox need to develop at least a few above-average players. I laughed when I saw this tweet from Scott Merkin:
Anderson on if there's such a thing as having too many great players on the White Sox: "No, you can’t. What’s wrong with having everybody being great?"
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) January 23, 2019
I'm guessing there was a larger context to it – something like “Where Will He Play: Manny Machado Edition” – but even with that as a defense, it’s still an incredible premise. The White Sox won’t have a great player problem until they have a bevy of above-average players. Right now, they have guys who are average at best, and they have a tenuous grip on that status. Yolmer Sanchez and Tim Anderson can’t afford many defensive lapses to preserve their value, Yoan Moncada needs to produce around all the strikeouts, Reynaldo Lopez has to keep a firm handle on balls in play.
Basically, the White Sox need guys who develop a bankable set of major-league skills that give them a margin for error, and until that happens, the White Sox aren’t going to project out of the low-70’s.
From Garry Marta:
Last year Lucas Giolito was dominant in Spring training only to fall on his face when he went to Chicago. He then pitched ok the middle of the season having great starts here and there. He then closed the season very poorly. What changed? The temperature. I was even at his last start in person and it was terribly cold. There obviously are probably numerous reasons for his lack of success but I personally believe he just can't get comfortable when it's below 50 degrees. My question is "Do you think that Chicago Aprils (now March's) are too much for some players, can they learn to play better in those conditions, and what happens if they simply can't?" I feel like this isn't talked about much. Thanks!
This does fit the overall path of his splits. Giolito had an ERA of 4.59 between June and August, and ERAs over 7.00 in the other months. He also didn't come firing out of the gates in his minor-league seasons, although Tommy John surgery and its rehab clouds the picture.
It could be a factor, but maybe not for the root cause of his struggles. Mainly, I wouldn’t blame the cold for the variance in his mechanics, which is the biggest problem from start to start. Between his arm slot, his tempo and how much he falls off the mound, repeatability is an issue for all seasons. Walks were an issue even during his better months.
However, I could buy the weather being a contributing issue, or at least something that doesn’t help. If the cold affects his command of feel pitches like his curveball and changeup, then perhaps that adds even more to the mental load under which he’s struggling.
There are players adversely affected by temperatures, although usually we hear about it more on the hitters side – the good contact doesn’t travel as far, and the bad contact hurts. Pitchers usually have the edge in the early months, so Giolito would have it backward. But I think Giolito’s fight is a different kind of issue, whether it’s overthinking or poor muscle memory, and if he can iron that out, any cold-weather slumps would be more of a coincidence. But I’m filing this notion away for next April. If I don’t follow up, remind me to do so.
From Chef Eric:
This is probably a loaded question, but why are the White Sox the only ones who have made an offer for Machado at this point? Not that other teams are not interested, but it seems that a lot more teams should be interested in Machado or Harper or other players but it seems this offseason and last years seem to the an oddity. Would this be the new trend until the new CBA is done, would there be an deadline for offseason signings?
First, let’s allow for the idea that other teams may have made offers, or discussed the framework thoroughly enough that an offer is a mere formality.
When it comes to the incongruity of record revenues and stingier contracts, that’s the $10 billion dollar question. We’ve touched on themes here and there with our posts and discussions, and I think there are enough smaller factors to make 1980s-grade collusion less of a reality. Things like
- General managers focused on making efficient decisions instead of competing.
- A diverse group of revenue sources making fan interest less crucial.
- Owners happy to beef up their profit margins and franchise evaluations by spending only when it’s necessary.
- An increasingly postseason-oriented approach to enjoying the game that makes an 80-win season the same as a 60-win season to a sizable segment of fans.
