Y2Jimmy0

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 07:51 AM) Takes away a potential landing spot for someone better though (Jackson). Well yes that's true. I didn't think Cleveland could afford Jackson though anyway.

QUOTE (iWin4Ron @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 07:47 AM) There goes Venable. Another one bites the dust. Will Venable sucks.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 07:46 AM) You're correct, White Sox fans are the only ones who ever say this about the Cubs. GMAB They aren't but constant worrying about a team not in our own division is stupid. Giants/A's, Angels/Dodgers, and Yankees/Mets don't really have these fake "rivalries" like we have created here.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 01:39 AM) There has been progress, ever since the RBI program started we've seen more black players drafted than any time in recent memory. The lack of black fathers has something to do with it and another thing that contributes to it is that black people don't feel welcome when it comes to baseball, because the vast majority of us feel like our culture is not welcomed. Look at this: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseba...-his-hat-around You're a black player and when you do something 'not white' you're told to stop. The fact that the NFL and NBA is an immediate payday has something to do with it as well, right? You can make the most $$ playing baseball but it takes the longest amount of time to actually make that $$.

I'd offer Jackson a 2 year deal for $16 million. Would be a nice deal.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 06:38 PM) Who's that? TSN reporter

gary lawlessVerified account ‏@garylawless hearing some conversations heating up between #nhljets and @NHLBlackhawks on Andrew Ladd Ladd has been scratched tonight, FWIW.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 04:38 PM) That's nice. Like I said, I don't really give a crap what the reason is. If you want to look at every free agent outfielder individually you can come up with a fine excuse on why said player didn't sign with the Sox but when you miss out on every single one there's a problem somewhere with how you're operating. You can feel however you want. You are being irrational though and people shouldn't take you seriously.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 11:21 AM) Josh Reddick - free agent in 2017. The A's wont hesitate to move a guy before that FA year The A's have Reddick, Burns, Crisp, Canha, Fuld, Coghlan, and Khris Davis.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) We also had a historically bad position player group. Frazier & Lawrie are nice upgrades, but we're still relying on too many players to rebound/improve next year. Melky, LaRoche, & Avi combined for a -2.8 fWAR and we haven't added one player to push them for playing time. Saladino and/or Rollins are likely an upgrade at SS, but the question is how much? Same goes for C. Our team is better and I think we can possibly contend as is, but a lot of things would have to go right, including near perfect health from our pitching staff. Adding a guy like Jackson just makes too much sense, as he provides more value to the team than his indivual WAR contribution. He allows Eaton to slide over to RF, improving the OF defense significantly. He also allows Avi to start the season in a bench/platoon role pushing LaRoche and possibly Melky for playing time. Honestly, I don't know what Hahn is thinking if he doesn't add another OF, because this division is very winnable with one more move. They did upgrade crater size holes at 2B, SS, and 3B though. Catcher is an upgrade offensively as well barring health. They had an all time bad offense and only finished 5 games out of .500.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 09:42 AM) I agree that if the Sox want to win, having more budget to work with would make the jobs of KW and Hahn much easier. But for me, that's where it ends. I don't know the owners finances and I don't feel it would be right for me to say they have the money and are unwilling to spend it because I'm just a fan and don't work in the FO. Knowing JR wants another winner, I'd like to think that if the money was indeed available, it would be spent to help build another winner. Another possibility is that the money is there but wasn't enough to pry Cespedes and Gordon from their desire to stay with their former teams. As for Fowler, not sure what to think other than maybe the FO doesn't feel the end justifies the means, iow, Fowler isn't worth what he got when factoring in the contract, money and comp pick. Looking at Fowler's average to sub-par defense combined with only hitting .228 against RHP last season makes me wonder if the Sox dodged a bullet on this one. Those could be reasons why the Sox backed away from Fowler. As a fan, all I can do is guess/speculate as to why things didn't happen for the Sox this winter. Maybe at some point, KW and Hahn will provide more insight. Nevertheless, I still think the Sox are looking for an outfielder and still believe it's possible a trade with one of Tampa or Houston could still happen. Both of them have too many outfielders and the Sox have bullpen depth so there's a potential fit. It's not April 4th just yet. This is a good post. I agree with all of it.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 25, 2016 -> 08:40 AM) Yes, you are correct. With the expected release of Bennett and Rolle, the Bears could still afford those 6 players and still have room to get a couple more guys. Remember, last year Bears had half the cap space and signed 3 guys to multi year deals. Bears will have around $65 million in space with a Bennett trade. Could get near $70 million if they wanted to slice Gould and Rolle.

QUOTE (VAfan @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 05:20 PM) Not sure anyone has really grappled with my point. That it's like 100-1 in ink about RF versus discussions about the rest of the team. A whole lot of White Sox players underperformed last year, not just Avi Garcia. Adam LaRoche not only sank the team offensively, he tied up payroll that could have been spent this year on a contract like Dexter Fowler's. Melky Cabrera was SO bad early, and even though he got hot in the middle, ended up with a very down year. Not to mention that his splits, which used to be pretty equal from both side of the plate, dropped off a cliff against left handers. When you add in that LaRoche was a zero against lefties, and Abreu had a bad year against them, it made the Sox particularly weak against southpaws. Melky also helped sour the White Sox brass on free agent contracts, I believe. Sanchez, Saladino, Beckham, Bonafacio, Olt, Gillaspie, Ramirez, Flowers. These are all guys who got plenty of ABs (not so much Bonafacio) and were TERRIBLE offensively. On the pitching side, Shark was awful, Danks was his usual pretty-bad self and without the offensive support had a bad W-L record. Robertson had 5 losses and plenty of blown saves. None of the main bullpen guys had an ERA under 3.41. Even Chris Sale had an ERA of 3.41. So the great pitching we are supposed to have never really materialized. I guess I'm just tired of reading AVI, AVI, AVI, AVI, AVI all the time, when he's only 1 player. If the team around him performed up to expectations, the Sox could absolutely win with Avi in RF. The Sox led the AL in fWAR last year as a starting staff. That was with Danks/Samardzija in it. I think the White Sox and Indians have the best rotations in the AL. That is a strength that is being underrated quite a bit in my opinion.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 06:58 PM) Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs 1m1 minute ago #Bears will enter "dangerous water" that is free agency where #Browns FS Tashaun Gipson could interest them: http://trib.in/1oBRcAQ So far this off season, Bears have been linked to Gipson, Trevathan, and Janoris Jenkins. Not sure if he's put it here but Leming has mentioned TE Dwayne Allen, S Rodney McLeod, and OG Brandon Brooks as targets as well.

I don't understand the Cleveland love at all. Their pitching may be a bit better than the White Sox but their lineup is awful. Worst OF in baseball and it's not close.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 11:03 AM) One thing I want to point out--Sox are already committed for 3+ years to Melky and Eaton. If you lock up another OF right now, you are out of the market for any OF available by trade or FA after the 2016 season. Maybe, once they didn't get Gordon/Cespedes, they decided they like what may be available in a year better than Fowler or Jackson. You can't sign Fowler for 3/$35 and then go and sign somebody else in a year. I just think that they don't think Fowler is that good.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 10:35 AM) What did Pace say today? Talked to media for about 20 mins.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 10:36 AM) "Firm, serious offer" makes no indication that the offer was actually competitive. I can firmly and seriously offer someone 40% of asking price. They established a price that they were willing to pay along with the forfeiture of a top 30 draft pick. Baltimore offered more. He went to Baltimore. You are entitled to think that the Sox made a mistake. I disagree with that though.

QUOTE (Sockin @ Feb 24, 2016 -> 09:55 AM) Dan Bernstein ‏@dan_bernstein Sources tell me the #WhiteSox made a "firm, serious offer" to Dexter Fowler, but he opted for more money, not budging from his demands. At least it says that they are still interested in upgrading the OF though.

There was interesting stuff in what Ryan Pace said today but it's stuff we already knew: Jeffery will be back via the tag or a long term deal, Long could play either RT or LT depending on personnel, They are trading Martellus Bennett, Jaylon Smith would be an option at 11, decided to move on from Forte regardless of price.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Feb 23, 2016 -> 09:21 PM) He's not a fit defensively. Fowler shouldn't be either then.

I don't understand why the Sox should have paid Fowler and given up a valuable pick just because he's better than what they currently have. It would have been humorous to see White Sox fans complaining about Fowler's deal next offseason though.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Feb 23, 2016 -> 05:58 PM) I'm just... Confused. The #WhiteSox claim to be broke, so if that was the case, why did they ever think trading so many prospects instead of selling was a good idea? As of right now, they projected mainly mediocre. Which is ironically what they've been a lot since 2005. They didn't really trade any good prospects though. They can win the division as currently constructed. I'm not a Dexter Fowler fan though.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Feb 23, 2016 -> 10:24 AM) Why would letting him play on a 1 year contract be a nightmare? Most players ball out in their contract year. I would prefer he stays, but there are some intriguing names out the at TE that would be cheaper. That said money shouldn't be an issue with all the cap they have. Because he'll be a pain in the ass and not show up for anything. He didn't do offseason stuff last year when he had 2 years left.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 19, 2016 -> 10:52 AM) Rappaport also reporting that the Bears are moving on from Marty. Again, I find this absolutely foolish. We have little talent and have a major need to infuse other positions, yet we are going to create another need. Unless we can get real value in trade, it just doesn't make sense to me. Bears will get a 6th rounder for Bennett and it will be fine. They don't want to pay him and letting him play on a 1 year deal is a nightmare scenario. I don't necessarily agree with this stance but they don't think he loves football. They see the creative stuff as a distraction. I expect them to hit TE in free agency.