Touch 'Em All, Joe: Super bullpens; a glimpse at the White Sox future; Manny or Bryce?

Joe Rivera

Touch 'Em All, Joe: Super bullpens; a glimpse at the White Sox future; Manny or Bryce? image

Touch 'Em All, Joe is a weekly column from SN's Joe Rivera, who discusses his MLB stream of consciousness and fields questions and comments from trusty Twitter users.

If there's any one thing about baseball that's great, it's the unpredictability of it.

Sure, dynasties are a thing and so are teams of destiny. Oftentimes, especially in today's game, teams are built for long-term success, with prospects and team control the names of the game now. Long-term success and dynasties may not be expectations, but it's more likely now with the rules, pay wages, etc., the way they are.

With the Patriots playing in their eighth straight AFC championship game — advancing to their ninth Super Bowl since 2001 — it really makes you appreciate baseball that much more, right? Then again, taking a closer look, is it that much different?

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Since 2000, there have been 10 different franchises to represent the AL in the World Series and 10 different franchises raising NL pennants. Compare that to the 12 NFC teams in the Super Bowl as opposed to the six squads from the AFC. 

Sure, as sports fans, we should appreciate greatness from 10,000 feet, knowing that the domination we're seeing may never come to be again. History, respect and all that jazz.

But so many more of us are fans of teams over simply sport; we live and breathe and die with every called Strike 3, every blown field goal, every missed 3-pointer, every power-play goal. So there's zero consolation in "witnessing greatness" — which can sometimes be a thinly veiled way of saying "stop whining" — while your favorite team is getting its doors blown off in the penultimate stages of the playoffs.

Of course, it might be a question of preference, but give me the 2014 Royals any day. Or the 2005 White Sox. Or the 1996 Yankees. Teams that had no business being where they were, but they make for an amazing story. "Greatness" is good, but reveling in the joy of being a fan — the highs and lows — is better.

Away we go.

Single: Super bullpens

Maybe you've noticed a trend in baseball over the last few years or so: the bullpens are no longer the backend, and have moved front and center within the game.

Case in point: the Yankees, known for putting together super bullpens for a long time, have once again assembled a super bullpen, featuring Zach Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Adam Ottavino and Chad Green. That's nasty stuff, certain to … strike fear in the hearts of batters. (See what I did there?)

Underneath it all, though, is this just another way for front offices to keep costs down?

There's no denying that teams are reluctant to spend big money for free agents, and pitchers among them. I mean, how in the world is Dallas Keuchel still a free agent? J.A. Happ, Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi all signed, but two of the three didn't sign for mega-bucks. Medium-range bucks, sure. I'm not sure when we'll next see a pitcher sign for $200 million-plus, but it's seemingly going further and further away.

MORE: Ranking the 79 best free agents this offseason

Then consider some of the relievers who have signed: Ottavino, Britton, Joe Kelly and others. There's massive money being thrown into the reliever market to "shorten" games and, in the process, the starters are devalued.

Sabermetrics and analytics have taught us that bullpens and shortening games are the ways to go in 2019 and beyond, but at what cost? At some point, a staff made of openers and middle relief guys will likely be more palatable for teams than having $150 million to $200 million tied up into one guy in the rotation. To a certain extent, it makes sense.

But that's not great for labor relations at all.

Single: Clean Sox

We saw a glimpse of what the White Sox can be in 2018, with a decent little stretch in August where they knocked off some tough competition. Still, they have a ways to go.

If the White Sox can manage to land one of the two big free agent names — Bryce Harper or Manny Machado — they'll be that much better suited for the future and the clock will be instantly accelerated. A rumored Joc Pederson trade would only help, as well.

Rebuilding in baseball is a more "sure" thing now than it was 15 years ago. While some teams are stuck in a perpetual loop of rebuilding, the White Sox have done a good job of assembling a core without giving up much in the way of immediate impact talent. The Chris Sale and Adam Eaton trades immediately come to mind, along with the Tommy Kahnle deal. While both Sale and Eaton would have made the South Siders a better team now, it's not unrealistic to say that neither guy would have helped them to contention in five years' time.

MORE: MLB free agency — Tracking, analyzing free agent signings

Still, I think the White Sox are heading in the right direction, even with some question marks. Yoan Moncada has to be better for them (217 strikeouts led the majors in 2018), even though he finished strong in September. Lucas Giolito has to live up to that former No. 1, surefire-ace billing, especially so with Michael Kopech out until 2020 as he rehabs from Tommy John. Eloy Jimenez is on the come up and the Sox boast one of the better farm systems in MLB. It's all coming up White Sox.

I'm willing to give Chicago the benefit of the doubt and say that they're ready to make a big jump in 2019; maybe not to wild-card contender, but more than likely to pesky gnats-in-your-face status. That's exciting for White Sox fans, and there's no reason to think that train is going to be derailed, even if they have a bit longer to go.

Pinch Twitters

It's a good question. I think the reality is, even as a late first- or second-round quarterback, Murray is more valuable than a first-round MLB pick. Being highlighted as the face of an NFL franchise immediately raises his profile, as opposed to waiting for a shot in the majors. I think that's what it comes down to.

Murray's long-term health and injuries play into the whole shebang, as well. But strictly from a money standpoint, it's difficult to see how Murray playing for the Dodgers or Yankees, waiting two or three years to make a major-league debut and even then being a question mark (since we know MLB generally does a bad job of enhancing its stars) is a better situation for him than getting a chance to start for any team in the NFL juggernaut.

It's clearly a difficult decision for him. I don't doubt Kyler Murray's love for baseball, but money talks. 

As a quarterback for an NFL team, regardless of who or where they are, that green is screaming.


John C. on Twitter says: "Starting a team from scratch, first pick: have to take Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, who do you build a team around?"

This is a really tough question that doesn't have a wrong answer.

Both are immense talents. Both have their positives and slight negatives.

Right now, if I had to pick one, I'd probably take Machado. He's got a higher career bWAR (33.3 as opposed to 27.4), he's an elite defender and has been more consistent year over year. Consider this: of Harper's 27.4 bWAR, 10.0 of that came in his 2015 MVP-winning season. In three of his seven years, he hasn't topped 2.0 bWAR. That's pretty wild when you consider the caliber of player he is. If you were to ask this question again tomorrow, my opinion would probably change.

Both guys are lightning rods for publicity and both are incredibly marketable stars. I'm also not worried about the future production of either guy. But I'm a fan of consistency, so give me the consistent player in Machado, even if his overall numbers aren't as good as Bryce's.

Hindsight is 20/20, and knowing what both guys are helps a lot, though. We should just be thankful that we're witnessing two Hall of Fame careers unfold before our eyes.

Joe Rivera