What do we make of the Oscar Colas signing?

Oscar Colas

This will be a blog about baseball players whom I've never seen play before.

The White Sox signed two outfielders during the international signing period, 23-year-old Oscar Colas and 17-year-old Erick Hernandez.

Colas signed a $2.7 million deal, while Hernandez gets $1 million. Both these players bat left and throw left, but it's hard for a fan to know exactly what the Sox are getting.

Hernandez will most likely spend 2022 playing in the Dominican Summer League, and with him being a teenager, it will probably be years before he's on the radar as far as possibly being added to the 40-man roster.

Colas, however, is a different story. He comes with some degree of hype, as he has been called the "Cuban Ohtani" in the past. However, despite his ability to throw a 95-mph fastball, Colas will not be a pitcher in the U.S. He will be focused on playing outfield, and he will be playing ball in this country this season -- likely starting at Double-A Birmingham, from what I'm hearing.

One bit of concern with Colas: He hasn't played organized baseball since 2019. He's basically been in limbo, participating in "controlled games" in the Dominican Republic and waiting for the Sox to sign him -- the team didn't have the money available during last year's international signing period.

That said, the last time Colas played in a professional league, he more than held his own in Japan. He slashed .302/.350/.516 with 11 home runs, 19 doubles and 46 RBIs in 66 games for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Not bad at all, especially knowing the Japanese leagues produce some decent ballplayers and provide some decent competition.

Signing Colas is a worthwhile move in my book, especially since the Cuban players already in the organization should help ease his transition to a new country and a new culture.

The Sox certainly could use a power-hitting, left-handed corner outfielder. Only problem is, 2022 is a win-now season for the Sox, and it is not realistic to believe Colas can fill that hole immediately. Long term, is he a potential solution? Sure. You never know. I'll be interested to see how he looks whenever spring training starts.

However, this signing does not let the Sox front office off the hook. When the lockout ends, they still need to be active in free agency and trades and find a right fielder for 2022.

David Ortiz elected to Hall of Fame; Mark Buehrle gets enough votes to stay on ballot

David Ortiz

David Ortiz is going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are not.

Ortiz, the former Boston Red Sox designated hitter, received 77.9% of the votes by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was the only eligible player to clear the 75% threshold required for induction, and he becomes the 58th player elected in his first year of eligibility.

Bonds, baseball's all-time leading home run hitter, appeared on 66% of the ballots. Clemens, a 354-game winner, received 65.2% of the vote. Both Bonds and Clemens now fall off the ballot for next year, as this was their 10th and final year of eligibility.

Ultimately, suspicions about performance-enhancing drugs doomed the candidacies of both Bonds and Clemens. The same could be said of former Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa, who received only 18.5% of votes in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Sosa has more than 600 career home runs, but it's clear that only a small percentage of voters see his career accomplishments as legitimate.

Ortiz getting in on the first ballot is a bit of a surprise, just because he also has been the subject of PED speculation. A 2009 story in The New York Times reported that Ortiz was among 104 players who tested positive for PEDs during a round of tests conducted in 2003. Those test results were supposed to remain anonymous. 

Let's be fair to Ortiz and point out that he played through the 2016 season, and he no doubt was tested for PEDs on numerous occasions. He never tested positive. Ortiz finished his career with 541 home runs, and he is a three-time World Series champion. He is tied for first all-time in go-ahead postseason hits with 17, and he is tied for first all-time in walk-off postseason hits with three. There's little question his playoff accomplishments resonated with voters.

Farther down the voting totals, former White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle received 5.8% of votes, just enough to clear the 5% threshold to remain on the ballot for another year. Next year will be Buehrle's third season of eligibility.

It will be interesting to see if Buehrle's support grows in coming years with less of a logjam on the ballot. As most people know, writers can vote for a maximum of 10 players. For the past 10 years, Bonds and Clemens have gotten a lot of votes -- just never enough to secure induction. Sosa, Curt Schilling and Tim Hudson have also fallen off the ballot.

One other White Sox player of note: Former catcher A.J. Pierzynski received 0.5% of the vote and fell off the ballot in his first year of eligibility. Other players who failed to get 5% of the vote included Joe Nathan, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira, Justin Morneau, Jonathan Papelbon, Prince Fielder, Carl Crawford and Jake Peavy.

(Yes, I know Peavy played for the Sox, but I still think of him as a San Diego Padre.)

Here are the vote totals for notable players: Ortiz 77.9%, Bonds 66%, Clemens 65.2%, Scott Rolen 63.2%, Schilling 58.6%, Todd Helton 52%, Billy Wagner 51%, Andruw Jones 41.1%, Gary Sheffield 40.6%, Alex Rodriguez 34.3%, Jeff Kent 32.7%, Manny Ramirez 28.9%, Omar Vizquel 23.9%, Sosa 18.5%, Andy Pettitte 10.7%, Jimmy Rollins 9.4%, Bobby Abreu, 8.6%, Buehrle 5.8%, Torii Hunter, 5.3%.

Time for a little pitcher comparison ...

Let's compare two pitchers who had long and productive careers. 

You ready?

Pitcher A: 214 wins; 3,283.1 innings pitched; 3.81 ERA; 33 complete games; 10 shutouts; two no-hitters; one perfect game; four Gold Gloves; five All-Star Game appearances; 1,870 strikeouts; 117 ERA+; 4.11 FIP; 1.281 WHIP; 59.1 WAR; one World Series championship

Pitcher B: 200 wins; 2,740 innings pitched; 3.66 ERA; 15 complete games, four shutouts, one no-hitter, zero perfect games; zero Gold Gloves; five All-Star Game appearances; 2,488 strikeouts; 117 ERA+; 3.78 FIP; 1.278 WHIP; 44.2 WAR; three World Series championships

Pitcher A has an advantage in wins and WAR; a significant advantage in innings pitched; a significant advantage in complete games and shutouts; threw one more no-hitter, plus a perfect game; and was far superior than Pitcher B at fielding his position, as evidenced by a 4-0 edge in Gold Gloves.

Pitcher B has a significant advantage in strikeouts; a slight advantage in WHIP; and an advantage in FIP. Pitcher B played on better teams and had more postseason success -- 3 World Series rings to 1.

The two pitchers appeared in an equal number of All-Star games, and had an identical ERA+.

Pitcher B is Jon Lester, who retired Wednesday, and is being hailed around Chicago as a slam dunk Hall of Famer.

OK, cool. Lester has had a terrific career, and I hope he makes it to the Hall, because that would mean Pitcher A should be there, too. After all, Pitcher A is comparable in many key categories, and superior in some others.

Pitcher A is Mark Buehrle.

If Buehrle doesn't get 5% of the vote this year and falls off the Hall ballot, someone's going to have to explain that one to me.

ICYMI: ESPN announces Sunday Night Baseball broadcasting crew

So, here's your ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcasting crew: Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and David Cone.

I don't mind it. I might be more inclined to watch now that Alex Rodriguez is gone. I've heard Ravech do some play-by-play on the College World Series, and while he doesn't wow me, I think he'll do fine. 

I haven't heard a lot of Cone's broadcasting, but I've heard good things about his work as an analyst on the YES Network. Perez has been around, and I've never had any complaints about him.

But don't worry: ESPN hasn't quit A-Rod just yet. Rodriguez and Michael Kay will team up eight times for "Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod" on ESPN2. This will be a complementary broadcast to the usual coverage on ESPN, featuring "special guests as well as fantasy baseball and predictive elements."

I must say, I'll take the Ravech-Cone-Perez booth every time over Kay and Rodriguez. There's no chance that I'll be viewing any of those eight broadcasts on ESPN2.

Is there anyone who's not a Yankees fan who's going to be interested in that? Can anyone out there tolerate A-Rod at all?

Talking about GMs with lousy won-loss records ...

Rick Hahn

Today I filled out the 2022 White Sox fan survey, offered by James Fegan of The Athletic. 

Of course, I brought my usual bitterness to the party. When asked for my favorite current Sox player, I replied, "None. I don't like this team." (Seriously, I don't have a favorite player on the Sox roster.)

And I'll be curious to know whether I'm the only respondent who said he wanted the Sox to change GMs. It's no secret I'm not a fan of Rick Hahn, and for whatever reason, many Sox fans do like Hahn. I've never quite understood why. ... Maybe it's just because he's not Ken Williams.

But in any case, this is going to be one of the rare occasions where I bring up football on this blog. I turned in my Bears fan card several years ago, and aside from the Super Bowl, I do not watch NFL games anymore.

However, everyone who lives in the Chicago metropolitan area knows the big sports news from Monday: The Bears fired coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace.

In his seven years with the team, Pace compiled a 48-65 record, which pencils out to a .425 winning percentage.

On Chicago sports talk radio Monday, one of the talking heads reacted to that number. He asked, "What other professional sports organization would allow someone that terrible to keep his job for so long?"

Umm ... the Chicago White Sox? Through Hahn's first seven years on the job, the Sox went 491-642. That's a .433 winning percentage. Not much better than Pace and his .425 crap fest, right? 

I guess we should be kind to Hahn and note that through nine years, his clubs are 619-736. The winning percentage is up to a robust .457! And the Sox have two playoff wins under Hahn, and that's more than the Pace can say for his tenure with the Bears!

The remaining free agent right fielders ... it's better than the second basemen

Michael Conforto

One day, the Major League Baseball lockout will end, and when it does, the White Sox will still need a right fielder.

That's assuming you don't think some combination of Adam Engel, Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn is a suitable solution for the position. (Hint: It's not.)

So, here's a look at the guys who are available in free agency. I apologize in advance if the listing of one of Manny Machado's friends triggers you:

• Andrew McCutchen
• Dexter Fowler 
• Nick Castellanos
• Michael Conforto
• Jon Jay
• Gerardo Parra
• Brian Goodwin
• Nick Martini
• Jorge Bonifacio
• Cameron Maybin
• Travis Jankowski
• Steven Souza

If you want to expand the universe of guys to players who have played more left field than right field, here are some other names:

• Kyle Schwarber
• Corey Dickerson
• Eddie Rosario
• Joc Pederson

I included those four names because I'm presuming the Sox are looking for a left-handed bat. The best hitter on these lists is Castellanos, but he's right-handed, and the Sox are already right-hand heavy offensively. Not to mention, Castellanos is closer to the top of the market than the bottom -- in other words, I expect him to be too rich for owner Jerry Reinsdorf's blood.

The name I keep coming back to is Conforto. I'm not particularly excited about him, but he checks the boxes of playing right field, being affordable and being a left-handed hitter. 

Why is Conforto affordable? He's coming off a down 2021 season, during which he batted .232/.344/.384 with 14 home runs, 20 doubles and 55 RBIs in 125 games. He had a 101 OPS+, which means he was 1% above league average.

There's nothing exciting about 1% above league average, but then when you consider the fact that the Sox have put players such as Jay, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Cordell in Adam Eaton in right field over the past few seasons, maybe anything above average doesn't seem so bad.

It's frigid outside, and there's a lockout, so let's warm our hearts with a sing-along

Because we haven't sung it in a while, and because the lockout is making ideas for content scarce ... let's have a sing-along!