Here we go, mailbag, here we go. (clap clap)
Andrew asks:
In James Fegan’s Athletic piece, he wrote, “Hahn’s stance that the White Sox would be happy to stand pat when most of the free-agent field is still available, and the Sox have holes to fill, seemed aimed at managing expectations.” What is the minimum Hahn needs to accomplish before spring training begins to allow Hendriks to be the “final piece of the White Sox 2021 puzzle?”
I guess I would take "final piece of the puzzle" to mean that Hahn added the last player he needs to deliver starter/fixture-level production, at least with urgency. There might be non-roster invitees, split contracts to cover depth at other positions, or maybe one more guaranteed deal if somebody is just hanging out on the open market into February, but they wouldn't need such players to materalize.
I don't think they're there. It seems like they could get by one of these three on Opening Day ...
- Reynaldo López as a fifth starter
- Zack Collins as the backup catcher
- Yermín Mercedes as the primary DH a backup catcher
... but two out of three would be careless, especially since none of these positions cost all that much money. I'm guessing Hahn was indeed overcorrecting so as not to suggest another press release was on the way.
For what it's worth, the sometimes-sourced Hector Gomez is saying something is brewing...
In the next few days there will be very good news for the White Sox's fans.
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) January 18, 2021
... but given the context, it just might mean that a key player is signing outside the division.
Mark H. asks:
Can we please get a review of Yoan Moncada’s debut track?
Setting aside the quality of the lyrics because it would take me too much time to dig them out and translate, I think if you're going to rely that heavily on autotune, you have to go all-in on electronic sounds, rather than trying to simulate live brass and acoustic guitar with synthesizers. Layering them all on top of each other gives it a muddled DIY production feel, especially since the verses are kinda aimless. That said, the bridge is stronger than the versus, and I could actually hum the chorus the third time through, so there's a hook.
If somebody can discern the lyrics, go for it.
Asinwreck:
What would you name the forthcoming Benetti/Kasper podcast?
Five quick ideas:
- Professional Pipes
- Ben and Lenetti
- TV and the Radio
- Listen to Sox Machine Instead
- Rate and Review Sox Machine 5 Stars
Mark S. asks:
how do you see the number of games started breaking down across the Sox staff
Understanding that you get credit for jinxing them, not me:
- Lance Lynn: 32 starts
- Lucas Giolito: 30 starts
- Dylan Cease: 27 starts
- Dallas Keuchel: 26 starts
- Michael Kopech: 20 starts
- TBA starter: 17 starts
- Reynaldo López: 5 starts
- Opener/bullpen game: 3 starts
- Jonathan Stiever: 2 starts
John O. asks:
Can you get that Codify guy back on the show in 3-6 months? That was an absolutely awesome interview. Thanks for bringing that to my podcast inbox.
We'll see what we can do. Hopefully there'll be more to say about what they're doing for Yasmani Grandal.
