Guests:
Scott Merkin, MLB.com
Jon Greenberg, The Athletic
The Chicago White Sox wrapped up their last road series in Detroit, and our good friend Scott Merkin joins the show to share his insight from the White Sox clubhouse.
[21:57] You may have noticed the ticker ads during White Sox games about NBC Sports Chicago relaunching on October 1st. Jon Greenberg of The Athletic joins the show to discuss what that means for the White Sox and their fans as they still have to resolve carriage disputes.Plus, a look ahead to the White Sox final week with a crucial series against Cleveland.
This week’s P.O. Sox questions:
This question was inspired by @SoxMach_pnoles : is the last 30 days (and/or full season version) of Adam Engel either rosterable or startable In 2020?
— Gucas Liogito (@GucasLiogito) September 22, 2019
#POSox Lots and lots of talk about Moncada as a future MVP candidate or as the best player in the city (damn he is fun to watch), but, I'm curious, if you were forced to bet Over / Under for 2020 on his current wRC+ of 141, which way you going?
— BeefLoaf (@MrDelicious13) September 22, 2019
Presented by SeatGeek.
Click play below to listen:
Yoan Moncada currently has the fifth highest career BABIP in major league history (minimum 1000 plate appearances). In the last 100 years he’s second highest behind Rogers Hornsby.
Somebody has to be second! Here’s hoping that 8 years from now he’s (still on the Sox and) in first.
ZiPS thinks that his true talent is near his career mark, forecasting him for a .360 BABIP for the rest of the season (career .370).
Buy!
Beat “reporter” Scott Merkin.
“Oh boy, a Monday better listen to the Sox Machine podcast to take my mind off of the Michigan game from the weekend.”
Nowhere is safe
And Moncada’s a better fielder than Hornsby. It is a delight to see his tools translate into production with major-league experience.
Not really sure how you’re comparing the defense of a Prohibition-era Shortstop to a modern day Third Baseman, but I’m gonna have to doubt you here.
Got well into the Merkin interview thinking “I don’t hate this nearly as much as I expected to.” Then immediately came the don’t expect the pursuit of a big free agent like Cole shit and I super, super hated it.
Josh, how did you resist challenging the premise that it is so obvious to all real fans that Robert would not be brought up this year? It was your crazy pre-season prediction and Louis did his part. The notion it would have been ridiculous for Robert to start adjusting to MLB pitching is annoying. Fine, they never were going to bring him up, I get it, but if they did he and the Sox would be better in 2020. That Merkin seems to dismiss that is frustrating
It isn’t ridiculous to think that a well run org with an eye towards competing might call up Robert to start getting needed MLB reps now before his production matters.
It is ridiculous to think that this dumpster fire of a front office might do any such thing that might impact their bottom line.
Merkin’s point was that at the time Frank Thomas spilled the beans, it was obvious the White Sox weren’t calling up Robert. If the White Sox were to have called up Robert in July/August, I would have been all for it, but to call him up for just a couple weeks in September would have been ridiculous.