Balta1701

I was going to go with the records as saying that Getz was still worse, but then I realized, Hahn also employed Getz for years and it makes perfect sense why the players from Hahn’s minor league system were so poorly prepared, poorly coached, and unmotivated. Meanwhile he was apparently angling for Hahn’s job for years too. So who do you blame for Chris Getz, Rick Hahn for employing him or Chris Getz for being him?

Jesus Christ this series

And that's the point...the appetite for a publicly funded ballpark in Chicago as a means to keep the team there is non-existent, but Reinsdorf is acting like he expects its there. The setup is worse than the one that would have had the White Sox move. If people are counting on the league or some external force to step in and say this team needs to stay put regardless of the business and stadium decisions, they wouldn't say that last time, and they won't say it this time.

But the point is, the fact that it's Chicago isn't going to hold the team there as long as the Cubs are there. Chicago was stronger economically relative to the rest of the country 40 years ago than it is now.

NLCS looks likely to wind up tied up at 2, but without any of the games really being competitive.

Isn't it true that, had it not been for the legislature pretending a clock had stopped before midnight, right now the Tampa Bay White Sox would be figuring out what stadium they were going to play in next year after their roof was shredded by a hurricane?

Yes. There is ample investment capital if they can find a good plan. The economy is strong and cities are growing. The White Sox are an undervalued asset and Reinsdorf’s toxicity may leave them stranded with no stadium, leaving them costing less than they’d pay otherwise. Reinsdorf is alive and would go along with this specifically to hurt White Sox fans, a future owner might not be willing to do so.

Second game where both teams hit a game tying home run in the 8th or later in postseason history, and add in another Hr later. Yeesh.

Well that was fun.

It is more complicated than that as there are also local tax credits associated with the TIF development on the site, and the funds in that account could have a second use - supporting the Bears as well. Reinsdorf wants basically every cent going to that tax and more, which would leave the Bears with nothing. But if Reinsdorf doesn’t get every cent, he will leave. Wonderful negotiating by Reinsdorf.

Isn’t it the green area right here? There’s a park area just to the south of the 78 also so it all does bleed together.

Well congratulations, I’m sure you’re important enough to deserve this victory lap.

This is NOT what any other owner would do. A responsible owner in the 3rd biggest media market in MLB would take advantage of the fact that they have a strong credit rating and are associated with a major real estate company and would privately finance this stadium. They would ask for some public support for this deal, but wouldn't threaten to walk to a worse media market. While this would put the franchise into some debt, the combination of the new ballpark, revenues from it, and the huge revenue potential associated with developing a plot of real estate in urban Chicago would be a game changer. Even privately financed, successfully completing this project would be a massive boost to franchise value. This project, with Related as a partner, is a huge overall win for the White Sox if they get it done. On top of that, if the Nashville group can come up with the money, that owner then gets to take advantage of an extra $50 or $75 million in income from the new franchise expansion fee. A responsible other owner would look to get this deal done in Chicago. They would recognize that its going to be a partnership, that the state will put in some money to make the site workable and as a tax break to get it developed, but the government will not fund the whole project as that would be stupid for them to do. It is only Jerry Reinsdorf who believes that he shouldn't have to put up any money for this, who is willing to walk to a smaller media market if he can't hurt the taxpayers of Illinois enough. Jerry Reinsdorf is willing to move to a smaller market and take less money if he doesn't get his way from the taxpayers of Illinois.

It is only Jerry Reinsdorf’s arrogance and desire to soak and hurt the taxpayers of Illinois that requires a billion dollars in public funds to go to Jerry. If he was willing to finance a billion dollars using the fact that his teams financial status is amazing due to the last deal, and asked the state to put up like $500 million to prepare and assist with the site and to support it through tax breaks, I bet this deal is done and ground is breaking already. Furthermore, having the deal done would have instantly boosted his franchises value, and it would have gone up more as the ballpark approached completion. This would also be true for a team in Nashville, if they have the money to buy the team, they have the money for a stadium, and financing the stadium would be a sound decision for them. But Jerry can’t tolerate this, even if it makes him money, because it doesn’t soak the taxpayers like he did last time. It’s either all or he walks, because that’s the kind of businessman he is. He is willing to sell the ball club for less than it would otherwise be worth because he has to punish politicians and taxpayers if they don’t bow before him.

Here’s what I can’t get over - what’s the backup plan? He’s literally asking the state of Illinois to build him the most expensive ballpark in history, and he’s spent a year issuing threats to leave if they don’t cave. if the politicians decline to play ball, has he not backed himself into such a corner as to guarantee a move? He can’t come back and suddenly be reasonable and put up his own money after 3 years of threats to leave.

They probably decided that LaRussa could handle that role.

What is more interesting is what Pedro probably had to say to do this. It probably sounded a lot like what we heard from him. 1. Hahn did a great job putting a roster together and it just needed better coaching. Yeah that was part of it. 2. We are going to play hard nosed tough baseball. We are going to play veterans who play the right way. We are going to bunt and put pressure on the defense and play fast. We aren’t going to mess around with stuff like walk rates and launch angles, that’s for nerds. The latter is stuff we heard from Grifol for a year and a half. How much of that is the same stuff Chris Domestic Violence Enthusiast Chris Getz talked about and that Reinsdorf talked about in his press events? They did a great job of putting out a consistent message. Reinsdorf wants guys like Eckstein. Getz wants more bunting and for women to know they deserve to be punched if they don’t keep quiet. The leaks tell us the baseball people are back in charge. Getz wants guys who play the game the right way, beat women, and play sound defense. Grifol wants them to play “fast”. Thats the direct line to 121 losses. Grifol didn’t just tell them they had done a great job, he told them that he would play the game the way they wanted, the David Eckstein game. The results speak for themselves, 121 losses and multiple articles about how they wanted to play an old style game, and now this time I’m sure the baseball people will totally change their perspective and embrace a more modern approach, right?

Because if it reflects badly on Reinsdorf, it has to be challenged forcefully.

Naw, the White Sox leak like crazy, most of It now is on purpose. That reputation goes back to KW, it hasn’t been the case in more than 10 years.

Because right now the Bulls are available only on one of those options. It would seem silly and dumb to launch a network with only one of those options available in the regular season of a major sports team in one of the largest cities in the USA, but saying that this is dumb is an attack on the people who made the decisions that led to it happening, which means it is an attack on Reinsdorf and Reinsdorf must be defended.

However people want to be creative with this...if JR doesn't get his sweetheart deal and $1.5 billion check or whatever he wants now, I don't see how it ends any other way than the A's way.

I think no matter what, Jerry is going to take this to the wire with a full blown threat to move to Nashville. He knows what a sweet deal he got last time, he's going to follow the same game plan.

Maybe crossing it up mentally with HOF knuckleballer Phil Neikro?

First of all, ok, I'm not perfect I did this on my phone, but double checking now I can't tell which one I missed. Which did I miss? Anyway, here's the list for starters only: Atlanta, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego, Detroit, Washington, Baltimore, Minnesota, Houston, Boston, Cincinnati. No team in the top 12 in WAR from their starters is still alive in the playoffs. 3 of the teams in the bottom 12 in WAR from their starters are still alive in the playoffs. It looks like good starting pitching helps you get to the playoffs, but really doesn't matter at all if you get there. It's also no guarantee, as teams like Seattle and Washington got a lot from their starters but missed the playoffs, while ATL barely squeaked in.

Eh the Orioles had an ERA of 1.50. The Yankees have an ERA of 2.4, the Royals 2.55.