GreatScott82

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 8, 2016 -> 11:26 AM) Death has to take place for this to happen. This is so depressing but it is likely true. From what I'm hearing, when JR passes, he told his family to sell the White Sox and hold on to the Chicago Bulls. FWIW. Apart of me really wants JR to win one more title before the Cubs get theirs, unfortunately the Cubs are much closer than we are. How did they get there? The new owner made some bold moves and brought in a GM who made the bold decision to tank for 4+ seasons in an attempt to replenish the team with young talent and right now they are enjoying the fruits of that hardship. It pains me to say, Reinsdorf does not have it in him to make these type of bold moves. I'm not saying-- let's lose for 4+ seasons to build up the farm. However, when your front office tries over and over again to patch up the team via trades, middle of the pack free agency signings and continuously neglects the farm, why should we even expect to see different results? This lightning in a bottle method needs to end. The problems of this team goes well beyond Robin (who i dislike as a manager). The problem of this team is a true lack of direction. In 2013-14 I saw the promise of a team actually acquiring young talent and they put a premium on draft picks. Suddenly 2015 hit and instead of maintaining the course- they decided to prematurely GO FOR IT! Which meant the farm system once again took a back seat and the evidence on the field demonstrated that they were not even near ready for that yet. By the look of it this year, even with the additions of Frazier, Shields and Lawrie-- they are still not even close to where they want to be. They will be lucky to finish .500 this year. How much longer will they try this 'retooling' crap? I guess we can question their methods until the cows come home and crave change as much as want, unfortunately nothing will change with this team until that time where the Riensdorf family does sell to new ownership.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2016 -> 08:59 AM) What I am asking is if they hired your dream manager for the 2012 season and the rosters were exactly the same, how much more winning does this team do? For Hahn and KW or both to fire Robin now, they would be putting their necks on the line because if the team didn't suddenly improve, the arrow points at them. Would anyone blame them for not doing that? Robin is the scapegoat for this season if they fail. If they fire him and still fail, it goes up the ladder. If what you say is true, the whole retaining Robin to protect themselves thing, than JR needs to take matters into his own hands. How pathetic of a scenario this is if what you say is true.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2016 -> 08:31 AM) Never said that. I do think he is similar to Joe Torre. Check out Torre's managerial record before he had top of the line rosters. So you are on the side of- it is not the manager, its is the General Manager/ Team President's fault for putting together a roster that simply cannot get it done? After a major disappointing 2015 season, the only guy to get fired was Mark Parent. Who will it be this year after they finish 78-84? I'm guessing Bobby Thigpen and Todd Steverson. I cannot stand the lack of accountability this organization demonstrates annually. This team is indeed ran luck a country club. A bunch of friends hanging out (JR, KW, Hahn and Robin) having fun, win or lose it does not matter because they are still making money.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jun 6, 2016 -> 08:18 AM) * This if funny. The reality is this: They will go 2-7 on this home stand, Robin still gets a 3 year extension. Listen, you guys are right, it's not all on Robin. However, things are just too damn stale around here and a change is long over-due. I'm on the side of the argument where managers do make a difference. I truly believe that 2005 White Sox team does not win the WS w/o Ozzie leading the way. Can you imagine Jerry Manual with that team? I also believe KW, Hahn and the scouting and developmental team have been brutal in regards to the minor league system and creating positional depth for the organization. Seeing guys like Shuck, Sands and Coats playing really opened up my eyes and reality set it-- they cannot overcome injuries or slumping offensive players. They just do NOT have the depth to do so. This organization needs to focus on rebuilding that farm and decvelop the organizational positional depth. We are currently at the crossroads for KW and Robin. It's time for both of them to go for various reasons. I think Hahn can run a successful rebuild ( not being under KWs 'guidance') and he has many assets to trade at the deadline and during the winter if they decide to go this route. Until we get to that point, let's continue to free fall in the standings, lose to AL central opponents and listen to Sox fans get beyond frustrated with the front office for the rest of the Summer. Good times!

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 5, 2016 -> 02:39 PM) That's what I always question. I get the people who think manager doesn't matter, and all of that. But to actively support Ventura staying is bonkers. The way I see it, the White Sox are ran like a country club. A bunch of friends hanging out and win or loss it doesn't matter because they are all making money and having fun together. Robin is a great friend to Kenny and JR loves his former players. We all know if Robin was an outside hire, he would have been fired during or after last season. When 90% of your fanbase want Robin fired and once again the team continues to fail in big divisional games, and once again you maintain him as your manager-- that's a HUGE problem.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 5, 2016 -> 11:58 AM) Psst.... the Royals have a higher payroll than the White Sox by around 30 million and the Indians payroll is only 4 million less than the White Sox. The White Sox are in excellent financial shape right now and that's even after the Shields addition. I can see them make a strong push for Carlos Gonzalez now.. He fits right into their 'three year' plan that came about last year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 4, 2016 -> 06:13 PM) 6-17 stretch after they were up 6/7/8 over their three main ALCD competitors. 3-11 against KC/CLE/DET "Hard luck" Jose Quintana vs. Justin Verlander looming...and then an off-day. Trading for James Shields when they have about 5-6 more obvious needs (although Latos has been pretty bad since his first 4 amazing starts to begin the season.) Brilliant! Starting to think that everyone needs to be gone...and then an objective outsider brought in to realistically assess a possible fix for 2017 before they consider blowing it up completely. You just added Shields' contract, so trading your core doesn't make much sense, especially when Abreu is worth about as much as a ticket to watch the US Men's Soccer Team these days. Tigers only 1 1/2 GB from knocking the White Sox back into 4th place. 1) Albers is cooked...so need to move Putnam to that role or add another reliever or pray Petricka comes back to form. 2) Sands/Shuck don't belong on an MLB roster. 3) Rollins and Avila also don't belong on the roster anymore 4) We only have three reliable relievers at the moment. 5) We have zero offense against RHP other than Eaton/Frazier/Cabrera. 6) Continued erosion of defense and more and more misplays recently...can't do much with RISP, every aspect of the ballclub is falling apart. Sale has lost his best fastball, Q's devolving into his hard luck/zero run support guy (joining Miguel Gonzalez), and Rodon can't take the next step forward, looking more like a 4 than a 2 at the moment. 7) Don Cooper looks like he's wearing pajamas rather than a big league uniform, and the team (other than Coats) is about as lethargic as a three-toed tree sloth or bear coming out of hibernation. Might need fresh blood across the coaching staff...things have just gotten stale. Pitch calling hasn't been good, are there any positives right now other than Eaton and Frazier? OR, Hahn just managed a smoke and mirrors start (fueled largely by wins over MN, OAK, Toronto and Texas) that created the illusion of a competitive team...? Brilliant post! Smoke and mirrors is appearing to be more accurate. Last year they decided to stand pat at the deadline due to that random 7 game winning streak in July. Shortly after that-- COLLAPSE. This team is dead. They have collapsed and there is no end of this downward spiral in sight.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 4, 2016 -> 06:02 PM) Hawk is miserable. We all are.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 4, 2016 -> 06:01 PM) The next manager of the Sox is Rick Renteria. Just a matter of when. You would think so. This team looks dead and hopeless. So sad.

Wow. This escalated quickly. If the Padres are eating half the salary and we give up minimal prospects-- kudos to Hahn.

Haha you would think so. And yes, even if half of the high draft picks and trades since 2010 panned out-- combined with free Agent signings to fill out the roster, this team would be in awesome shape moving forward. Now we are hoping in this "3 year window" that began in 2015, we make the post season at least ONCE with this core group of guys, mediocre bullpen and lack depth in the farm system.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 3, 2016 -> 01:29 PM) I believe more fans are surprised at what happened to this year's team during this current skid (6-15) than they were the "collapse/choke" of 4-11 the final 15 games of September, 2012. All along, the fans expected that the Tigers were the team with the superior talent, and the White Sox were relying upon so many rookie pitchers who'd never been in a playoff hunt...not to mention the signs the defense was already regressing after the first 4 1/2 months or so of fine play and the "breath of fresh air" from Ozzie being gone from the clubhouse. There was nothing during that "things slipping away" streak in 2012 that was quite reminiscent of the Rangers' 13-11 loss and especially three consecutive heart-breaking losses to KC, not to mention the fact that that Tigers' team was MUCH better in terms of talent than anyone we're fighting with right now. Of course, there wasn't anything similar to the "heartening" effect of Matt Albers' trip around the bases, either. The team and the Central division were obviously different back in 2012. I was simply comparing the amount of games they lost in the standings in such a small amount of time. I do agree with you about the losses this season being much worse and almost inexcusable than the collapse in 2012. Affer the awesome April, expectations grew and with this sudden collapse and horrible play- fans are frustrated and rightfully so. It has been 8 years since we made the playoffs. Imagine if they just would have went in a rebuilding project at the beginning of 2010?

The month of April was awesome! Clutch hitting, great defense and the pitching was tremendous. At the beginning of May, looking at the calendar and seeing the tough opponents, I was hoping for them to play at least .500 ball. Unfortunately, it felt like we took a time machine back to September 2012. They were no longer coming up with clutch hits, in fact the offense as a whole was a disappointing. The starting pitching was okay but the bullpen and the way Robin handled it was HORRENDOUS. This brings us to June- they stand at 1.5 games behind KC- who in my opinion is not as strong as they were last year. If the Sox bullpen does their job--they easily sweep them last week. This series against Detroit is very important. The White Sox are 148-173 (.400 ball) against the AL Central since Robin took over in 2012. If you can't beat your divisional opponents--what are we doing here? Seriously-- kick Detroit's ass and let us Sox fans know we can get back in this thing. It is obvious this team has holes. We all know it. They need another power bat, starting pitcher and most importantly-- bullpen help. My hope is that Hahn can get creative and get something done soon because this team needs help on multiple levels.

The Sox finish the month of May off with an 11-17 record. Probably the most forgettable month of White Sox baseball in recent memory. So many blown opportunities, lack of execution and pretty bad managing equates to this dog crap of a stretch.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 30, 2016 -> 02:46 PM) Hard to see Robin surviving this trip You would think, but this is the white sox were talking about.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 25, 2016 -> 07:54 AM) Agreed, but if the Sox completely tank in the next month and are under .500 at the break, he should be gone. But as of this morning, the Sox are still in first place, so it's time to get back on track and play the 42 games until the break at 26-16, and not 16-26. Their hitting approach is awful right now. No discipline whatsoever. Cleveland worked some deep counts against Sale which rattled him in my opinion. When the Sox were winning frequently to start the year off, they were also working deep counts; let's get back to that. *Steverson it's up to you to get their heads out of their asses -- so do your job! Robin will not be fired-- ever. If he leaves, it will be after the season when his contract expires and it will be 'mutually'. (Assuming they miss the playoffs) I think what we will see from now until the break is a .500 team ( 21-21). Unless, Hahn is aggressive as hell and acquires some impact arms and bats.

I'm encouraged with the offense by their way to battle back. Its the bullpen that has cost the team the last 5 defeats. Hopefully they can put it together ASAP or the L's will continue to accumulate. I heard the quote from Hahn-- he sounds pretty antsy to make a deal. I would make fixing the bullpen priority #1.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 14, 2016 -> 10:00 PM) Pitching in San Diego in meaningless games in one of the friendliest parks for pitchers isn't the same as pitching in the American League. (The likes of Clayton Richard and Eric Stults were made to look good out there). Look at Shields' 2014 stats with the Royals, particularly the 2nd half of the year and the post-season. Giving away Anderson and Fulmer AND paying his terrible contract would be insane. Now, if they were willing to pay for half of it or 40% and take two prospects (maybe Adams would be the one dealt, along with Hawkins), it might at least be plausible. Keep in mind, Hahn has ridden Miguel Gonzalez and Latos to just one loss the entire season in their starts, at a cost of under $5 million total. At least for the present, there is not any desperation to overpay on a starter. Of course, that could change in one month. Agreed. I think adding a lefty power bat is higher on the list of needs as of right now. My hope is for the White Sox to maintain this 5 game lead until June with what they currently have. Once June hits, I'm sure a few teams will go into seller mode which can bode well for the Sox. There is no question that the Sox need another SP if they intend to not only win the division but to succeed in the playoffs, however we can get away with what we have for now and hope Rodon can figure things out. (Especially with his Cuban heritage)

I wonder what the cost would be for Sonny Gray AND Josh Reddick??

Well done, Steve!! I think I might have to buy MLB The Show 16 now.

Signing him to that extension was the right move at the time given his age and amount of quality starts he brought in up to that point. The awful injury pretty much changed his whole game into a smoke and mirror show that the league is now feasting on. With the Sox off to such a great start, they cannot afford to to keep sending him out there as he gives the team a very small chance for a victory. I hate to say it, but they need to cut him as soon a possible if they are serious about this season.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Apr 22, 2016 -> 08:35 AM) Nobody is making a trade until Mid-Late May at the earliest. At this rate, CarGo won't even be available. They are in a tough spot because teams don't trade this early. I wonder what the cost for CarGo will be? (Assuming the Rockies decide to go that route)

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 02:50 PM) Sucks that the pitching has to throw 2 hitters in order to win Yeah.. The offense will be a concern all season long. With this offense, Danks will have double digits losses by the end of June. With the exception of Danks- I really like the rotation and bullpen but this offense will give us ulcers all season long. If they plan on really competing in 2016, they better get a bat sooner rather than later.

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Apr 17, 2016 -> 02:31 PM) At least the Indians are going to lose and the Tiggers are down 5-0. Four team race in 2016?

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Apr 12, 2016 -> 11:02 AM) There isn't an upgrade internally... so sit back relax and strap it down folks. Yeah.. if they do upgrade the DH, it will be via trade.