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Need a moderator to ban @ron883 for 1 week per terms of our ban bet. Harper did not sign with Cubs http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?/topic/106699-nightengale-jr-has-talked-to-boras-no-offer-yet-submitted-for-harper-harper-thread-updates-in-first-post/&page=13&tab=comments#comment-3698732

So we’re scared a new owner wouldn’t spend? And that’s different than Jerry how?

I haven't yet read all of your posts, but I must say that I'm just dumbfounded. What was the point of all that bravado, with which Hahn posited about "the Sox had prepared for this off season and were going to be aggressive......." Whether, or not, they should have been in on Harper is not the issue. We can all have our own opinions about that. However, it is just stupid for them to have hyped this off season, if they were not seriously ready to spend what it was clearly going to take. This is a public relations disaster, all attributable to management and, or ownership. Going forward, I don't want them to sign anyone else. Let the kids play. Tank, if that's what results, and get another high Draft pick. In the meantime, find a way to get Jay and Alonso off the roster, to make room for players, who might be part of the future.

God I hope everyone boos on Opening Day. That’s a meatball take but fuck this organization.

I would rather have Avi than anyone they’ve signed this offseason

This is not the danger of rebuilding. This is the danger of terrible ownership and front office people.

Great job in here team, I'm handing out likes like a drunken sailor!

Has anyone left the door cracked open for shack? I'm patiently awaiting his response.

I'm sure James Andrews needs your advice on elbow injuries.

Perhaps they should structure KWs contract as such. 45k a year, with the possibility of it going up to 5 million if he can win 90 games.

My god. This organization is a fucking dumpster fire... We're fucking doomed with these clowns running things.

Dumb and dumber billboard with Gar/Pax and KW/Hahn

I'll be honest, the comments by Kenny made me more mad than Harper signing elsewhere. The Harper signing was expected...hearing such garbage from Kenny was more of a kick to the balls.

The friends thing is what doesn't jive with me the most of everything. It's the thing that bothers me the most. If you're going to be a penny pinching organization in regards to free agency, what the fuck are you doing wasting 13 million dollars on some guys to entice another player? Give that 13 million to him. How stupid can you be to do that? Amazing, honestly. The arrogance helped them sign season ticket packages - anyone that doesn't see that angle is just missing the boat. It was a bait and switch move, imo, and unacceptable. I'd have no issues if they didn't act like they were getting him - talking about planning for years to get Machado. PLEASE DON'T FORGET, THIS IS THE TEAM THAT WAS FLOATING THE IDEA OF TRADING ASSETS! TO HAVE MACHADO FOR ONE YEAR TO SELL HIM ON THE FRANCHISE. This team almost traded future assets to not even have the high offer on the table for the guy. That should have been a red flag to begin with, but I missed it.

Guys, we’re not cheap! Do you think cheap teams would give McCann a major league deal? Do you think cheap teams would take on all of Yonder’s salary? No sir!

These guys have revealed themselves to be more incompetent than I ever could have imagined

I think KW is correct. It's not that they are cheap, it's that they are incompetent.

A competent front office with our budget could win the division every year.

So you won the bet then? I’m confused because being banned after this off season is not necessarily bad.

If the Sox went after both Harper and Machado they would have 55 million per year in commitments over the next 10 years for both players. That's nothing. Fuck this FO

Hey that's money they need to spend 8 years from now

Comparing the star power of Harper to PK or Buehrle is crazy

WE REALLY COULDNT MATCH THAT ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

Those guys haven’t reached free agency though! And please don’t down-play the fact the big spenders are sitting on the sidelines. When those guys are finally looking to add, their involvement will push prices out to $350 to $400M easily. This offseason was our best opportunity to land a under stud 30 stud and we’re already seeing with that Arenado contract how much of a steal that Machado deal is. I applaud your optimism, but I don’t think it’s set within reality unfortunately.

Can Hahn just STFU for once? He has made zero moves over the past two seasons that will likely result in a key long-term member of the White Sox. This was his chance to do so and he blew it in spectacular fashion. Instead he’s put all his chips into the prospect pool we already have and that group is dropping like flies due to injuries. This rebuild is being setup for failure due to a complete lack of vision from our leadership and one of the cheapest / old-school ownership groups in baseballs. If they’re going to be this incompetent, please do so quiet in a fashion because I’m sick and tired of all the lawyer speak and bullshit promises. At this point, only their actions have any merit and the set of moves they made this offseason look like a fucking joke.

No, this isn't a joke:

"Harper was out of our range." Hey jerkoff his AAV is less than Machado's. KW is such a clown. GFY

They've been thinking about this every day since last June? No one feels what they feel? Continue the pitch forks Sox fans. We need to make this one burn.

I wonder why the Sox haven't leaked their final offer to Harper.

10 years and counting no playoffs. 6 losing seasons in a row and counting. There is no reason you should not was JR to sell the team if for the lone reason KW and RH and RR and the jobs for life coaching staff would immediately be dismissed. The offers to Machafo, and Harper if Harper even got one, were of the half assed variety in reality.Something we are more than used to by now.

Didn't even bat an eye with this one. After the Machado sham, there was never any chance they were going to make a real push for Bryce.

They were clearly willing to spend,

I have no interest in thinking about, or discussing "next year's free agents". That now seems like an exercise in futility. It might be a better use of our time and intellectual energy, to think of ways to register our displeasure with this off season. I suggest that we try to come up with civil, yet stinging, poignent messages, to be posted on Twitter and other message boards, as well as signs, at the Ball Park. Ownership and management need to know how we feel and why. This is not simply about disappointment. We Sox fans are quite used to that. This is about having been mislead.

"Sox are NOT out on Harper" you silly bastards when will you learn?

So who was starting that GoFundMe to put a billboard up on the highway by the stadium, again....?

Unprecedented financial flexibility savings

Same as when no one thought they would get either guy...so like same as 4 months ago...devoted to the rebuild

They should absolutely get grilled about giving up on signing a 26 yr HOF caliber talent just because they completely botched the other. That's a hell of a deal for the Phils and they COULD have done it, they just did not want to. They should be asked and I'd love to hear the answer.

There were two premium free agents with three teams who had serious interest. Sox walk away empty handed. There are traditions and there are White Sox traditions.

Goodbye white sox. I followed u tge last 10 years every facking night late at nights in greece. U betrayed me. Screw u hahn screw u jr. Goodbye

I live in Chicago and honestly, the thought of them moving doesn’t upset me as much as it used to.

Holy shit, we're allowed to receive good news?

I think Hahn & Co. should just stop talking about this, because they just continue to say things that get you more infuriated than the last time they talked about it. We don't need to hear you, Mr. Hahn, trying to take credit for being "aggressive" in the process, and then implying that their level of aggressiveness was sufficient. No, it wasn't. San Diego's, on the other hand, was. They came in late in the game and exerted the level of aggressiveness necessary to seal the deal. The Sox clearly did not, because they did not land the player. And one could argue that with an offer that guaranteed 20% less money than the bid that won, they should be ashamed of themselves for trying to take credit for any level of aggressiveness at all. What's also very annoying is this constant mention of the so-called "comfort level" that they are willing to go to. Hahn references this a few times in this article. The only comfort level they seem to have in these negotiations is one where they only get the guy if the market price somehow moves down and they can get the player at a discount. For a team with the kind of payroll flexibility the Sox currently have to be defining their comfort level at below market prices for premium talent, then this whole thing just becomes one big farce. Not every premium talent can be had at a team friendly price like what they had with Sale, Eaton, and Quintana. Sometimes the comfort level has to elevate to the level of those who are successful competing for premium talent and be prepared to pay market value for that talent. Lastly, Mr. Hahn, get your signals straight with your boss, Mr. Williams when it comes to these flimsy interviews. Don't say in an article like this one that "there's no hard line of 'No, we can never do X'". Well yes there is, you just demonstrated that just last week with Machado. Williams literally said your team - again, despite the payroll flexibility to do so - he said the team simply could not have gone to the $300M level. So there is, in fact, a "hard line", and according to Williams, the Sox can never do $300M. So the message needs to be refined not to say "we can NEVER do X" to the more truthful statement of "we WON'T do X", because that's clearly what's going on here with this team under this owner and management team.

Position player superstars scheduled to hit free agency over the next 3 years (unless they sign extensions of course but we already know a few plan to test the market for sure): Trout, Betts, Lindor, Correa, Seager, Bryant, Baez, Stanton (if he opts out).

Get a room you 2.