mmmmmbeeer

Please don't let this lead to Jay freaking Bruce. He's the prime candidate to, eh, beat?, be worse than?, the atrocity that was Adam Dunn's first season in Chicago.

90-72 I think the shift offensively with this team will be dramatic enough to increase our win total drastically.

The money and terms of that contract have GOT to put it up there with the Zito contract for one of the worst in MLB history. I just don't get it....maybe it was to satiate the fans but there's no way anything even close to that makes its way to the table if I were the O's gm.

QUOTE (Doc Edwards Shot @ Jan 13, 2016 -> 03:05 PM) I'm sure he is indeed a nice guy, but he sucks as a radio announcer. One of the worst I've ever heard. Dryer than the driest of aged Italian salamis... Can't believe the Sox have had him in that position for so long. That's his schtick....dry, dry, dry. I find him hilarious and also like DJ much better on the radio because of how much better chemistry he has with Farmio than he did Hawk.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jan 9, 2016 -> 11:52 PM) Turned into? This isn't anything new. I hear you. I've pretty much stopped following the NFL. I flip it over because it's the playoffs and this is the ending I get. How embarrassing for the NFL.

Football has turned into a barbaric game with a bunch of dumbasses playing. This is stupid.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jan 9, 2016 -> 11:43 PM) Because there is no guarantee you make the kick and Pitt would have gotten the ball back with over a minute left which is plenty of time. Which is no worse than the fumble/pick you risk by running plays...difference being, by kneeling, they're out of TOs

Why didn't Cincy just kneel for 3 downs, forcing Pitt to burn their TO's, and kick the fg? That playcall is up there with SEA passing at the goalline. These coaches out-think themselves sometimes.

God I remember that game....awful. I'm one of the dummies who do think that that game started a slide and JM lost some of his team's confidence. I believe not long after is when JM started rookie Neal Cotts in his first MLB start, at Yankee Stadium against a stacked Yankee lineup while Mark Buerhle, whose turn in the rotation it was, watched from the bench. We lost, badly.

When Gordon was in the minors and called up, this guy was supposed to be true star 3b....think Ventura/Bryant kind of hype. IMO, he's fell far short of those expectations and is a pretty "meh" ballplayer. No doubt he does some things well but he'll always be an underachiever in my eyes. Cespedes is finally living up to they hype and would truly be an impact bat and defender on this team. His 4th year in the league he was a dominant player and that timeline is what you'd expect for a guy coming from (essentially) A level ball. Not sure how thrilled I'd be with a 6yr deal but with our staff being as cheap as it is, we can afford to splurge a bit elsewhere. Give me Cespedes!

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Dec 17, 2015 -> 02:41 AM) I seriously don't think you understand the difference between cash flow and a non-liquid asset. Just because you have something worth a billion dollars doesn't mean you have a billion dollars to spend. You're missing my point....they can go in the red for a season or two without catching too much flack from the investors considering the ROI since purchase. I understand that the franchise's book value isn't a liquid asset, nor is any other business' value....but if that potential value is secure enough (can't get more secure than an MLB franchise), you'll never have an issue finding cash in any number of ways.

There was some talk earlier about what power JR has to make decisions, is he chairman or majority owner, etc... It really doesn't matter. JR and co. bought the team for $20M. Forbes puts their value at just about $1BILLION now. That's something like 5000% ROI (if I'm figuring that correctly) on $230M in annual revenues. Money should never be an issue with this franchise. JR could literally spend $500M on payroll for a single season and his fellow investors would STILL be in line to make a ton of money off of their investment. The difference between a $100M payroll and a $150M payroll, assuming the team with $150M payroll has some success, is not really much of gamble in the grand scope of things. Look, we've got Sale, Quintana, Rodon, and Fulmer cost-controlled for the next several years. Pitching wins in the playoffs. If there were ever a time to go all-in, it's now. I am forced to believe that KW and RH are saying the same things to JR and money will NOT be an obstacle as we continue to turn this team into a contender. Sox fans have no reason to be down on this team....we can, and I trust will, make the moves necessary to get back on the map as a respectable franchise.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 01:31 PM) It needs to be repeated every four posts or so, because it's that important: If this is not followed by the acquisition of a good outfielder, it is a horrible trade. Why? Money? You think Trayce, Micah, and Frankie are future HOF players? Hell, you think they're even MLB starting caliber players? I guess we should've just gone into this season with Mike Olt at 3rd and Carlos Sanchez at 2b....at least we'd still have Trayce Thompson roaming the OF

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 16, 2015 -> 01:09 PM) I don't know if that will happen. You very well could be right but those numbers I threw out there are already below his career averages.

I think there's too much weight being given to Todd's interleague splits by those down on this deal. You're looking at roughly half a season of at-bats over the last 4 years and trying to translate that to what we should expect...that's not fair. While he still struggled during interleague last season, he hit much better than he had the previous two which tells me that he may have become more familiar with the pitching...but again, sample size, so who knows. He's a talented player and is filling a position that has been a black hole on this team for nearly a decade. Even slashing .250/.310/.450 with ~25hr per season with decent D will serve as a HUGE upgrade for the Sox. This also allows us to fill another perpetual black hole at 2b with another solid bat in Lawrie. Fantastic moves that didn't cost us much in the way of talent.

Thanks for keeping this thing going as long as you have, Jason & crew!

Solid signing, for sure. An already exciting offense (if you prefer the longball over manufacturing runs) just became more dangerous. If I'm a Cub fan, I'm still concerned about how this team performs in the playoffs. It's definitely built to succeed in the regular season, but the things that knocked them out last postseason (pitching, non-contact hitters, defense) have only been improved slightly. I'm not saying they can't win it all this year, they'll definitely be considered a strong contender, I just think they're a team that screams 105 regular season wins and an NLCS exit.

This move obviously doesn't move us to contender status but it's a solid move at a low cost. 3b has been an achilles heel to this team for far too long...maybe we get lucky and Brett outperforms expectations...even if he stays about where he's been, it's an improvement to our lineup and to our defense.

They should've contended last season so, yes, upgrading with Frazier and Upton absolutely put us in a position to contend. As you mentioned, what we got from Laroche and Melky last season were aberrations....they are proven commodities who had awful seasons (though Melky rebounded a bit)....if JR is willing to throw some money at this team to see what we can do, then I absolutely like snagging Frazier and Upton.

Unfair umpiring tonight and you won't hear a peep about it tomorrow unless you live in Pittsburgh.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 7, 2015 -> 07:43 PM) Arrieta's zone has definitely been larger than Cole's zone so far. I've been fuming over this....they say the NBA is the rigged league but given the money on the line for MLB and the networks based on the outcome of this game, it makes you wonder. It's been blatantly one-sided. That dinger to Schwarber was set up by a missed strike which put Cole behind in the count.

I love watching this kid bat. He seems to have early pitch recognition and a great feel for the strike zone. I watch him have these quality ABs and wonder how in the hell he struggled so badly in the minors. No better time than the present to find out what you have.

I'm really surprised we stood pat. With that said, the returns on rentals, in many of these deals, have been ridiculous. Which makes me wonder why we didn't deal Shark? I find it hard to believe they weren't getting fair value offers. Could it be that Shark's agent tipped the Sox FO that dealing him will nix any chance of him re-signing in CHI in the offseason? I don't know....the one thing I do know is that the FO is drunk if they think this team will make the playoffs. I think they'll keep it exciting but the offense will inevitably become an issue again.

I really enjoy DJ and Farmer on the radio.....I despised DJ in the TV booth but I think a lot of that was Hawk seemingly had zero respect for the guy. DJ paired with someone who plays along with his goofy jokes and banter really works well. I hope they both stick around for a few more seasons. The telecasts are pretty unbearable at times. I really do like Hawk but he's just awful to listen to when the Sox aren't winning (so pretty much every season). I've never gotten the impression that Stone is invested in this franchise....I think he loved announcing and didn't want to leave Chicago as opposed to really wanting to broadcast Sox games. I'd prefer someone more invested in the team to provide color. If we had a completely different TV crew next season, I wouldn't be upset. We should've scooped up Steve Lyons before he went over to NESN.

My brother and I made the trip to Chicago for Opening Day this season. We stayed at the Inn of Chicago which is only a block away from the "Magnificent Mile" and was extremely well priced. Not the prettiest of rooms but for the location we both felt we got great value. We walked over to Michigan to jump on the train which took us to the Cell. Plenty of good eats within walking distance and taxis are reasonably priced if there's somewhere you want to go that's a bit too far to walk (I've not used Uber, may be a better option). We also flew into Midway and opted to cab it to the hotel....was $40 with tip...shuttles were available into the city but we just wanted to get to the hotel and not spend 45 minutes jumping between shuttles/buses/trains. If you and your son enjoy Mexican food, I'd recommend any of the Rick Bayless options (Frontera Grill, etc.). Delicious!