White Sox 'in serious talks' about building stadium in South Loop

The White Sox are "in serious talks" to build a new ballpark in the South Loop on the site known as "The 78," according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

You can read that report here.

The land in question runs from Roosevelt Road on the north, south to 16th Street. It's bordered by the Chicago River on the west, and Clark Street on the east. 

Picture, if you will, the Chicago skyline as the backdrop for Sox games. The stadium would be easily accessible from downtown. The site is close to the Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways. It's close to the Metra line -- as well as the Red, Orange and Green lines.

These renderings from NBC Sports Chicago are something else. If only we could count on this being true. I would love to see this plan come to fruition, but as always, there's the question, "Who pays for it?"

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker all will have a seat at the table in these negotiations. Do you trust a single one of them to get this done competently? 

Me neither. 

Reinsdorf's track record suggests he's going to want public money for this, and Pritzker's track record suggests he's not going to allow that. When negotiations stall because of that, where does that leave us? That's what I'm wondering when I'm thinking about this proposal.

The Sox have can renew their lease at Guaranteed Rate Field one more time for a period of four years, and that would take them through the 2029 season. Then what? I think the timing is correct to have this discussion, at least in terms of when that lease expires. The political timing and the current state of the economy in Illinois (it's not good) is another matter.

In modern society, a healthy dose of skepticism is often warranted. But when we're talking about the Chicago White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf, and governance in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, skepticism is ALWAYS warranted.

There's no question this proposal is exciting one for fans. But remember, the Sox were "serious" about "competing for multiple championships" too, and we're still waiting for that to happen. 

I'll be delighted by this stadium if, and only if, shovels go in the ground.

Kendall Graveman trade: Nobody wins

Former White Sox reliever Kendall Graveman will miss the 2024 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery, the Houston Astros announced Tuesday.

Graveman, you may recall, was traded to the Astros last July 28 in exchange for catcher Korey Lee. The right-hander made 23 appearances with Houston after the trade, going 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings.

Because of the shoulder injury, Graveman did not make the 2023 playoff roster for the Astros, as they advanced to the American League Championship Series before losing to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers.

Houston owes Graveman $8 million in 2024 for the last year of his contract. That obviously becomes dead money for the club.

You could say the Sox are fortunate they don't have to pay that money, and that they traded Graveman at the right time.

However, Lee has proven to be no prize. He received a 24-game audition behind the plate at the end of the 2023 season and did nothing with it. The 25-year-old batted .077/.143/.149, with just five hits in 70 plate appearances. 

That caused Sox GM Chris Getz to sign 37-year-old veteran catcher Martin Maldonado as a free agent and trade for 32-year-old veteran catcher Max Stassi. Those moves essentially wallpaper over Lee. Even though those two veterans are mediocre at best and on the downside of their respective careers, Lee will need a big spring training to earn a roster spot.

Don't bank on that. This trade looks to be one that did not help either side. Nobody wins.

3 reasons I'm not renewing my White Sox season tickets

The deadline to register for the White Sox "season ticket holder party" was Wednesday. That meant ticket reps were making another round of calls, checking to see if those of us who have yet to pay would reconsider our plans for 2024.

I'm still saying no to season tickets this year. This is not a decision I made lightly. I'm a longtime ticket holder, and White Sox baseball is important to me. However, there comes a point where this is a bad investment. 

I replied to my ticket rep and offered these three reasons on why we're taking a pass:

1. We've lost confidence in the on-field product. We've been following the offseason moves carefully, but these acquisitions are all fifth infielders, fourth outfielders and back-end starting pitchers. We had hoped the organization would be committed to making sure a season like 2023 never happens again, and we wanted to see some impact players acquired. Unfortunately, that has not happened to this point. We were told that Chris Getz was promoted to GM because he was already familiar with the organization, and that there wasn't a year to waste as far as getting back in contention. So far, we don't feel as though the actions live up to those words.

2. There have been too many things that we enjoyed taken away. We miss SoxFest. We miss Grinder Bash. We miss having access to the 100 level as 500-level season ticket holders. My girlfriend and her dad miss Father-Daughter Day at the ballpark. The first year post-pandemic, we understood why some of these things went away. But that shouldn't be an issue any longer, and it is disappointing that none of it has come back. These are perks we enjoyed, even when the Sox were disappointing us on the field. This "season ticket holder party," to be honest, did not excite me. I used to take a vacation day on the Friday of SoxFest, because the two- or three-day event was worth my time. However, I'm not going to leave work early to fight Friday traffic for 90 minutes to spend a couple of hours at the Field Museum.

3. Lastly, it's very disturbing that I've read media reports about the team possibly moving to Nashville. I haven't forgotten the feeling that I had when I was 11 years old and this very same chairman threatened to move my beloved baseball team to St. Petersburg, Fla. I've never fully forgiven him for that. He can deny it all he wants, but he's lost the benefit of the doubt with me, after what happened in the 1980s. I'm sure it's just business to him, but for us, the White Sox are a civic treasure. Generations of our families have been coming to 35th and Shields to watch baseball. We've been very loyal, and we've sat through a lot of tough seasons. The fact that we're having to talk about this, again, is insulting. The Sox organization has failed to deliver on big promises, and that is not the fault of fans.

Maybe we'll change our minds in 2025, but some positive changes have to be made before we consider committing to a ticket plan again.

Good interview with former Sox lefty Mark Buehrle

It's a slow news day, so check out Scott Merkin's interview with former Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle. 

Unpopular view: Give Garrett Crochet a chance as a starting pitcher

Amid all the trade rumors surrounding Dylan Cease, White Sox GM Chris Getz made some comments Tuesday about the future of left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet.

I first noticed them while scrolling through tweets from Scott Merkin, MLB.com's White Sox beat writer.

"He believes he can be a starter," Getz said of Crochet, according to Merkin's reporting. "We’ve seen him be a starter in the past. So we are going to go into spring prepared to stretch him out, and we’ll make adjustments along the way if need be.

"He hasn’t started in a couple years. So, it’s going to take a little bit of time to appropriately stretch him out. We are going in with the intention for him to be a starter in 2024."

Interesting. These remarks immediately caught backlash from skeptical fans. Understandably so.

You might recall Crochet missed the entire 2022 season after having Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow, and he's dealt with injuries to his elbow and shoulder both before and after that surgery.

So, it is legitimate to question whether Crochet has the durability to be a starting pitcher.

He's never thrown more than 65 innings in a season, and that happened in 2019, his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee.

In the pandemic year of 2020, Crochet pitched 9.1 innings between Tennessee and the White Sox, who drafted him that summer and fast-tracked him to the majors as a reliever.

Crochet tossed 54.1 innings of relief for the Sox in 2021, before the torn elbow ligament sidelined him in spring training of 2022.

Between his rehab stints in the minor leagues and 13 appearances with the Sox, Crochet tossed 25 innings during the 2023 season.

So, yes, the idea that he can jump to 100-plus innings in 2024 is a reach.

There's also concerns about Crochet's arsenal. Does he have three pitches that allow him to get through a lineup more than once? He's got a fastball and a slider. But is the changeup a credible enough pitch to keep opposing batters honest? And does Crochet have the control to work deep into games? 

It's very possible Crochet will hit the same ceiling Michael Kopech has hit. If you've watched Kopech over the past few years, you know the lack of a third pitch, poor control and injuries have all hindered his development. Crochet could walk the same path.

That said, I'm on board with trying Crochet as a starter, despite the risks and red flags. The Sox spent the No. 11 overall pick in the draft on him in 2020, and I don't think you pick a guy that high to assign him to a middle-relief role for the rest of his career.

You can find middle relievers in the later rounds of the draft, in free agency, on the waiver wire, pretty much anywhere.

But when you spend a first-round pick on a pitcher, you do it with the hope that he'll be a future starter. Crochet wants the opportunity, and he hasn't gotten it yet -- because the Sox were trying to win when he first joined the organization, and there was an immediate role in the big leagues he could fill.

In 2024, the Sox are no longer trying to win. There is time for development, time to see what certain guys can and can't do. For Crochet, he may need to spend some time in the minors to get stretched out to start. That's fine. Let's see if he's capable.

If he's not, the Sox can always downshift and move Crochet back into a relief role.

Will White Sox address right field in meaningful way?

Jermaine Dye 2005 World Series MVP bobblehead

Jermaine Dye was the last legitimate long-term solution to play right field for the White Sox. He was on the South Side of Chicago from 2005 until 2009, so it's been a while since that position has had stability.

Here are the players who have started the most games at that position for the Sox, by year, since 2010:

• 2010: Carlos Quentin
• 2011: Quentin
• 2012: Alex Rios
• 2013: Rios
• 2014: Dayan Viciedo
• 2015: Avisail Garcia
• 2016: Adam Eaton
• 2017: Garcia
• 2018: Garcia
• 2019: Ryan Cordell
• 2020: Nomar Mazara
• 2021: Eaton
• 2022: Gavin Sheets
• 2023: Oscar Colas

Eaton had a good year in right field the first time he was here, in 2016. But he was a shell of his former self when he was brought back in 2021, and he ended up getting designated for assignment the first week of July that year.

Garcia was the Sox's 2017 All-Star representative during his injury-plagued tenure with the team, and even though he was around for parts of six seasons, he never was regarded as a franchise cornerstone.

Since 2018, right field has been a revolving door. Daniel Palka shared the position with Garcia and Cordell for a short time. Mazara was a bust in 2020. Adam Engel was always hanging around on the roster, when healthy, and he saw playing time in right field in 2021 after Eaton fell off the map. Brian Goodwin was with the team in 2021, too.

Once 2022 rolled around, there wasn't a right fielder on the roster, so the Sox put two first basemen out there in Andrew Vaughn and Sheets. That was defensive nightmare, with neither man hitting enough to overcome the shortcomings in the field.

Colas was supposed to be the answer in 2023. Instead, his rookie season was poor. He batted .216/.257/.314 with only five home runs in 75 games. His season WAR finished at -1.5, and he was twice demoted to Triple-A Charlotte.

In fact, Colas finished the season at Charlotte. It was quite an indictment that he wasn't welcome on a 101-loss team that was playing out the string in September. Once again, Sheets was getting playing time in right field instead.

As the offseason began, new GM Chris Getz acknowledged that Colas could use more time at Triple-A.

Getz will find no disagreement here. That said, who is the right fielder for the 2024 season? As we sit here on Jan. 9, Sheets still seems to sit atop the depth chart, with Colas next in line. 

The Sox recently signed Brett Phillips to a minor league contract. Phillips, 29, can no doubt handle the position defensively, but he's bounced around for seven seasons, playing for five different teams, because he cannot hit a lick.

In his career, Phillips is batting .187/.272/.347. 

But hey, he played for the Kansas City Royals from 2018 until 2020, so he knows Sox manager Pedro Grifol! That seems to be a qualification that appeals to the Sox these days. Pedro needs his guys, even if they can't play worth a damn.

I'm not counting Phillips in for the 26-man roster when the season starts. After all, he's on a minor league deal, and he'll have to win a job in spring training. Frankly, I don't see him being better than Colas, and that's saying something, because I'm not a fan of Colas' game.

I assume the Sox aren't going to make the mistake of putting Eloy Jimenez in the outfield again. Sure, he could play right field, but only until he gets hurt again.

Maybe the 2024 right fielder is coming in a trade? If starting pitcher Dylan Cease is dealt, as is rumored, perhaps the centerpiece in such a trade would be a young outfielder to start in right field.

It's just not clear what the answer is here, and it hasn't been clear for years and years. Aren't the Sox sick of having a sinkhole at that position yet? 

My favorite Earl Weaver ejection of all time

Just because I haven't watched it in a few months, I decided today to take a break from complaining about White Sox management to watch Earl Weaver go ballistic over a balk call during a 1980 game between the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers.

The umpire involved is Joliet, Ill., native Bill Haller, who passed away just a couple of years ago.

What's especially funny to me is, if you look at the scoreboard out in left field, there's one out in the top of the first inning in a scoreless game. The action has barely started, and Weaver is getting launched by the umpiring crew. Quick ejection, not that he didn't earn it.

Warning, this is not suitable for work, but enjoy: