I’m going to their game on Wednesday. Let’s hope they have a few more losses in them. After that, I’ll wish them well.
That should be good, though, because they suck, right?
At this moment, the Mets, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Rockies all have worse records than the Pirates. Pittsburgh is just 3 games under .500 and, while in last place in the NL Central, is only 7 games out of first.
Yes, they are tied with the Cubs in the loss column, in fact. Yeah, I know, that’s not much of an endorsement. LOL
Hey! That’s the second place Cubs!! (Essentially, everyone is tied to second in the NL Central for those not following. Cubs have a decent team this year, and I was expecting them to win the division or at least get a wild card berth, but they’ve been playing some mediocre ball the last month or so.)
As a Mariners fan I want to thank the Sox for a fun game tonight.
See this pinky, see this thumb! See this fist, you’d better run! 
That was something for sure. I actually felt sorry for the White Sox (slightly). For those that didn’t watch, they were up 4-0 in the 8th. The M’s got 4 in the 8th to tie and then a walk off grand slam in the 9th.
My God! 
Yep. Sounds about right.
Sox currently on a pace for 41-121. History remains in reach!
The Big Dumper got the grand slam! That was my favorite part.
Drew Thorpe will be starting for the White Sox tonight. He was the Yankees top pitching prospect until he was dealt to S.D. in the Soto trade and then flipped again in the Cease deal.
Who knows, maybe Thorpe, Fedde and Crochet can be part of a rebuild nucleus.
ETA: I was surprised to find out that the CWS payroll is mid tier. I would have figured that squad cost a lot less.
Don’t forget the out of shape, overpaid, injured guys that are out of the lineup and, when they are healthy, play like they don’t give a damn. That’s where all the money is.
This page indicates that, yes, they are in 18th place, of 30 MLB teams, on overall payroll, at ~$137 million. But, of that:
- $56 million is currently on the active roster (third-lowest in baseball, above only Oakland and Miami)
- $67 million is currently on the injured list (a lot of that is Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez)
- $11 million is “retained” (salaries on guys who are now on other teams, which they are still on the hook for)
- $2 million is “buried” (guys on MLB contracts, who are currently in the minors)
A lot of Yankee fans wanted to sign Benintendi after the 2022 season. Yikes, bullet dodged.
I’d missed him; he’s a big chunk of that “injured” money, too ($17 million). When he was playing, he wasn’t very good: .194 BA, .284 SLG, -2.1 bWAR.
Well, they’re stuck with Benintendi, but they can buy out Moncada and Jimenez for $8 million after this season, so things don’t look completely hopeless.
KC signed him as a FA in 2021 after he was hurt most of the previous season. He had a decent season and was having a pretty good year in 2022 when they traded him to the Yanks close to the trading deadline. I was initially pissed at the move, but I’m quite happy now, even though the Royals received basically nothing (thus far) in return.
I’m not sure exactly how this works, but I think MLB teams get veto power over other teams moving into “their” territory. IIRC there was a time in the 90s when the A’s were exploring moving to San Jose, but weren’t able to because SJ had been designated “Giants territory” in the agreement that allowed the A’s to move to Oakland in the first place, and the Giants weren’t willing to waive that.
So I’m guessing that if the Sox leave, the Cubs might well be able to prevent anyone else moving in to fill the void. Which sucks IMO; Chicago is more than twice as big as the average MLB market, we should get two teams. But then by that logic NYC should have four or five…
Of course, the Cubs organization might choose to forgo the opportunity for massive revenue increases in the interest of keeping a vibrant baseball culture in Chicago.
