Well stated.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

What makes you think that Rodon can be a lights out closer? I don't see it. They'd really have to change a lot to have that happen because of all of the movement in his pitches. Closers have to have excellent control and that generally means that they are limited in the type of pitches that they throw. So, in my judgement, Rodon has four decent to good legit pitches and thus has the makings of a good starting pitcher. But he doe not have one or two very good to excellent pitches including a wipe-out pitch that he can throw regardless of the count. Rodon, therefore, to me has to be a starting pitcher or a mop up kind of guy for the Sox. Not a closer.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

I think that is a huge amount of wishful thinking if that is 4/5 of your starting rotation. Odds are long that those guys will be the four in the rotation next season.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

I guess that I am skeptical about very young unproven pitchers like Cease and especially Kopech. And I would hope that the Sox don't expect that this is what they will begin the season with next year. For me, I demand that this organization invests in starting pitchers as their primary focus in the off season. If they want to have competition for the 5th job or prime candidates for injury fill-ins then fine. Let Kopech, and Cease, and maybe Dunning fight it out for the job. Just do not give them the job.

Minnesota and Cleveland are not going to go away in their division and the Sox have a way to go to be competitive with them and to catch them will require good starting pitching. They are way away from having that.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

It wouldn't surprise me if Kopech starts the year in the minors. Control was a big issue for him but he seemed to have conquered it. A year off doesn't help. I also think they can claw back on some service time by sending him down.

I like a starting rotation of Wheeler, Giolito, Cease, Hammels and Lopez

Sign Zobrist to play RF for the year in order to see if anyone in the minors emerges.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Barring an injury setback or an ERA of about 30 in Spring Training, I don't think there is any way Kopech starts in the minors. He's already made MLB starts and the plan was to have him be part of the rotation this year.

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Isn't he going to have to work himself back into pitching shape against a reasonably high level of competition? Where else is he going to do that but AAA? I didn't think he had a long enough stint in the majors to earn the right to do it there. I always assumed we wouldn't see him on the big league club until at least May.

Kopech will have six weeks of Spring Training and will be nearly 18 months removed from surgery by the time pitchers and catchers report. He will have plenty of time to work his way back into pitching shape.

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Watch Nova be re-signed as well as them telling us them telling us Dunning will be competing for a rotation spot.

I go back and forth on Bumgarner and Wheeler. Would Bumgarner's redass be good or bad for the rest of the staff?

Kopech is a workout nut who could've realistically pitched this year based on reports we got in March and April. But the Sox floundered a bit and the organization I think silenced those stories and put the brakes on the whole thing, just for fear of him coming back too soon and blowing his elbow out again.

But he is certainly in pitching shape and has been for basically his entire life.

I doubt that Kopech will make the team at the start of the season. It is one thing to be cleared medically after a major arm surgery but being away from competition against good hitters is another thing. He has to PROVE that he can throw strikes and get major league hitters out and he has not done that.

We also have to see what any change of velocity may occur which in effect may change his entire approach to getting hitters out. Assuming that he will be a penciled in starting pitcher for the White Sox next year is really a long shot guess.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

To me the operative word is "NUT". I think that he abused his arm by trying to throw the ball way too hard in order to impress people. This guy needs a choke hold on him to control himself. He needs to learn how to pitch.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip