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It is February, meaning spring training is right around the corner, which also means it is time to look back at the offseason and make over the top generalizations about our favorite teams! Did the Cubs actually get that much better? Did the White Sox fail this offseason? Well, we can certainly get into that debate and The Athletic is giving us a great piece of content to get this discussion going.
All 30 MLB teams were graded by writers in The Athletic this week. The Cubs got a B, which fine, but the huge storyline in Chicago is the White Sox getting a big, fat F! The White Sox were the only team to get a failing grade for their offseason, with the Colorado Rockies just ahead of them with a D.
Here’s what James Fegan wrote about the White Sox and why he gave them an F.
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There was a litany of supplementary ways the White Sox could improve the roster, but their primary needs were left fielder, second base and filling the last spot of their rotation. Currently, they’re lined up to rely on internal options for second base, and the starting pitcher they signed is the subject of a league investigation into stomach-turning domestic violence and child abuse allegations, bringing disgrace upon a franchise that has had too many stories of personal misconduct in recent years. They probably can’t expect him to cover many innings either, given where things currently stand. The Andrew Benintendi signing is good.
We’ll dive in deeper into this grade, so don’t miss out!
And well, speaking of Mike Clevinger, there were already doubts about how many innings he was going to pitch for the White Sox in 2023 and that was before news surfaced of MLB’s investigation of domestic violence allegations made toward him. We talked about that story last week.
This week we’ll go over the remaining options in free agency for the White Sox, if they are trying to sign another starting pitcher. Spoiler alert, the options aren’t good.
The Super Bowl is almost here as well and that’s going to be a busy betting day, but how about we get into some betting odds for the Cubs and White Sox!
You can preview the Cubs win total, division and playoff odds below.
I’m sure we’ll talk about some of the awards odds as well and look around the league to see if we can find some value on certain teams.
The Cubs 2023 win total currently sit between 75.5 and 78 games, while the White Sox are at 83.5 games. I think I like both overs, especially the 75.5 for the Cubs on FanDuel.
We are also seeing the last few lists ranking the top-100 prospects heading into the 2023 season and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel’s is certainly an interesting one. Three Cubs made McDaniel’s top-100, with left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Wicks making his first top-100, coming at No. 51. Meanwhile, shortstop Colson Montgomery was No. 15, his highest ranking yet, while infielder Bryan Ramos was a surprise at No. 48, for the White Sox.
There were two prospects who were notable omissions in McDaniel’s top-100, as Cubs outfielder Brennen Davis and White Sox outfielder Oscar Colas did not make the ESPN list. Davis isn’t expected to be a major contributor for the 2023 Cubs, but it does appear as though the White Sox will count on Colas to eventually take over as the team’s starting right fielder this season. We’ll talk about expectations for Colas in his rookie season and if fans are expecting too much from him this year.
Former Cubs outfielder and 2016 World Series champion, Dexter Fowler, announced his retirement on Tuesday and on Wednesday we found out that he will be joining the Marquee Sports Network.
Love it! We’ll talk about some of his best moments with the Cubs on tonight’s show. Who can forget his leadoff home run in Game 7 of the World Series and the reaction in the stands.
Finally, MLB The Show 23 announced Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm as their cover athlete. I’m sure Zo has plenty of thoughts on that and he’ll probably talk about being able to play with the 2005 White Sox.
Join us live tonight on YouTube or check us out on your favorite podcast platform.
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