Thad Bosley

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Mar 1, 2017 -> 03:10 AM) One cannot want the team to tank but then suggest signing a washed up player as a LH DH because the line-up lacks power. The sooner Collins and Moncada are brought up, the sooner they start getting the experience they need. Minor league experience is overrated and can be counterproductive to players who can get too comfortable there and accustomed to lower expectations and an inferior level of competition. Collins can catch a few games here and there and get major league at bats as a platoon LH DH or pinch hitter. Moncada can share time with Saladino. The rebuilding process involves trading veteran players and bringing up the top prospects to see if they can compote at this level and to gain major league experience. Ah yes, the Gordon Beckham approach to handling and developing young, supposedly elite talent. Screw that development time in the minors! Bring 'em all up ASAP and let's get this thing going at the MLB level immediately! Terrific idea!!

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Feb 25, 2017 -> 01:46 PM) https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2...P5RM/story.html Nick cafardo 7. David Robertson, RHP, White Sox — There’s belief that the Nationals could still make a deal for Robertson, even after talks broke down. With the Wieters addition, the Nats now have four catchers in Derek Norris, Jose Lobaton, and prospect Pedro Severino. If Rizzo elects to give up Severino, that deal could regain traction. The Nats really need an established closer. There is admittedly something very appealing about a Collins/Severino 1-2 punch behind the plate. Seems very ideal, actually.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 25, 2017 -> 09:50 AM) I still think that this so called rebuild is as phony as a $3 bill. I think JR is going to trade off and not sign any real talent the team has. He will have the lowest payroll in MLB in 2018. He will then sell the team after the 2018 season. I'm hoping he'll sell the team before the 2018 season, but I think he will wait until after the season is over. This team has absolutely no positive direction. I've read where the most talented player coming out of Cuba is a 19 year old outfielder named Luis Robert. Virtually every team in MLB wants to sign him. The White Sox are probably the only team who have shown no interest in signing him. The farm system is barren of any every day outfielders. Robert would be a good signing for the team and yet they have no interest in signing him. After Cabrera leaves the White Sox after this season the White Sox will probably have the worse outfield in 2018 in MLB. Wouldn't Robert be a perfect fit for this team? I certainly echo your wishes about Mr. Reinsdorf selling the team sooner rather than later so we can close the regrettable era of his time as owner of the Sox and move onto bigger and better things. All Sox fans will benefit at the point in time when that happens. Meanwhile, as it pertains to Luis Robert, FWIW, there was an article last month in Baseball America that cites "sources" suggesting the Sox as a possible landing spot for Robert. Not a whole lot to hang your hat on with that particular quote, but it at least suggests the Sox are not completely sitting on the sidelines with absolutely no interest in the guy. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...SVmScULoICj9.97

QUOTE (flavum @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 11:16 AM) If Harold Baines has a retired number, of course Buehrle will too. They kinda set a bar there in 1989. A little side note as it relates to Baines, but with just 16 more home runs and 134 more hits in his career, he would be part of a very exclusive club of guys who had both 400 home runs and 3,000 hits in their career. Only seven other guys in the entire history of baseball can make that claim (eight if you count Rafael Roidin' Palmeiro, but I don't). The others are: Stan Musial 475/3639 Hank Aaron 744/3771 Willie Mays 660 Carl Yastrzemski 452/3419 Dave Winfield 465/3110 Eddie Murray 504/3255 Cal Ripken Jr. 431/3184 Seeing those names and knowing how close Baines was to having similar statistics really does underscore what a great if not understated career he did have.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 12:28 AM) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Throw away reaction, no value add here. Shocker. Meanwhile, we have crocodile tears coming from the owner who has presided over 36 years of ownership in which his team has scarce made the postseason but five times, not once in the past eight years, and one that's on its way to extending that period to a full decade, in this the period of two Wild Card teams. Real funny, SS2K5, eh? Do you find that funny, SS2K5? The fact our fan base, the one you routinely enjoy denigrating, will go a full decade without seeing their team participate in the postseason? Is this a HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA moment for you, too? Do you find it funny when the folks who put the team we passionately follow remain in their positions of influence? Is the Sox situation really just a joke to you, not to be taken seriously?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 11:48 PM) Thad, I really hope Reinsdorf f***ed your woman or something, because your hatred/obsession with him is honestly out of control. There's absolute nothing wrong with a 81 year old not being excited about going through a multi-year rebuild. No hatred or obsession involved. Just a fact-based reaction to a ridiculous fluff piece of the blight who owns and leads the team we cherish and follow. Many people on this fan site focus their frustration on the team's futility over and over again on the manager (e.g., Ventura). Some comment incessantly on the former GM and current SVP - Baseball Operatons (KW). Looking back, there were many who went on a crusade here against a hitting coach of all things (Fire Greg Walker) to express their frustration on the team's results. The frequency of those types of reactions to management far outweigh my or any of the other well-articulated criticisms to Reinsdorf on this site, so I think your criticism is a bit exaggerated. My opinion as a fan as to who put our team in the position it is today having to pivot and react to the pattern of futility for over a decade lands squarely at Reinsdorf's feet, pure and simple. The guy who has allowed the continued failure we've witnessed but who refuses to replace the folks (Williams & Hahn) who put the team & franchise we love and cherish in the position it's in today. That's a fair and objective assessment, in my opinion, based on facts and recent team results, and one that has no connection to anything as ridiculous as your assertion about the owner and my woman. That suggestion was a bit much, which I hope you realize upon further reflection.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 02:13 PM) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0222-story.html Lol - uhhh, boy. What to do with this nonsense. Just when you've started turning a blind eye to Hahn's abysmal four years since he was appointed GM at the end of 2012, as he's inspired a glimmer of hope in whatever capabilities he may have to develop a sustainably winning MLB ball club with his rebuilding trades so far this offseason, then there's this: the customary fluff piece to flatter the outdated owner of the White Sox. Consider: Hahn states in this article that "it (the rebuild) was the hardest thing for him...It was probably easier for us than it was for Jerry...So he deserves the most credit (for the rebuild)...because it was most difficult for him." Easier for us than "him"? Most difficult for "him"? "He deserves the most credit (for the rebuild)"? WHAT?!?!? He's the only one amongst us who will continue to PROFIT IMMENSELY throughout this entire rebuild because he is entering his 27th year of guaranteed profits courtesy of Illinois taxpayers due to the sweetheart lease deal he blackmailed the state into giving him almost 30 years ago. Never forget this salient fact about this scoundrel, folks. NEVER FORGET! No matter how bad the team does (e.g., the past 11 years), this guy continues and will continue to make a boatload of money, each and every year, on the backs of taxpayers. What a guy, eh? So during these lean years of the rebuild when you and me are still investing our time and disposable income into yet more of the subpar product Reinsdorf has routinely given to us for over a decade now, remember that Mr. "Oh, this rebuild is soooooo hard on me!" will still be making deposits into his bank account the likes of which most fans will never know. Reinsdorf is a sham and a scam and has been since he washed up on shore back in 1980 when he lucked into buying Our Sox. Our beleaguered fan base will be so far better served when we are finally rid of his influence on the franchise.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 21, 2017 -> 01:53 PM) This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet. Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things. The same Adolfo signed the same year the Cubs signed BOTH Gleyber Torres AND Eloy Jimenez? That Adolfo?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 18, 2017 -> 11:10 AM) Completely different situations. In your scenario the Sox were approaching some theoretical payroll threshold, whereas the Sox should have minimal payroll commitments entering the epic 2018/2019 free agent period. What exactly do you think Reinsdorf will do? Not allow Hahn to sign free agents above a certain AAV or for a certain amount of years? I just don't see it unless Hahn is looking to sign an elite pitcher to a crazy long-term contract. Otherwise, I expect Hahn to a fair amount of autonomy on how he spends his budget. What I'm saying is that I don't expect current ownership to change course from nearly 40 years of precedence and suddenly compete for the "elite" talent that will be available at the time when it's deemed the team will only be a few pieces away from seriously competing. Oh, they'll spread some cash across the mid-tier types like whoever the Melky and LaRoche equivalents are at that point in time, and there should be enough payroll to avoid the embarrassing kind of dumpster dive signings that were made last offseason. But the "elite" talent, the Bryce Harpers and Clayton Kerhsaws of the world and so on? No way. You can count on one hand and still have a finger or two leftover of those types of signings made by the Sox over the past four decades. Just don't see it happening unless there is a new owner in place when the time comes.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 18, 2017 -> 10:11 AM) I think he will, but it won't be until the following year most likely. Hahn made it clear at SoxFest that the money will be there when the Sox are a few pieces away. Ah, but be careful. The question was would ownership pay for "premier" free agents the next time the Sox are a few pieces away. That exact opportunity presented itself about as good as it could last offseason when Yoenis Cespedes was available, and the team failed to make it happen. You expect a different outcome the next time around with the same ownership and management in place? I hope you are right, but color me skeptical right up until that time when I see it happen.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 07:10 PM) I unfortunately agree with you. I see years of bad White Sox baseball ahead of us. My hope is that JR sells the team soon, hopefully after the 2017 season. It's not likely that he would sell after this season, although one can dream. It's more likely that, given his age, a change in ownership could occur somewhere at the back end of this rebuild. But one thing for sure, Reinsdorf really needs this rebuild to be successful and produce future returns to the postseason and hopefully another championship or two. His legacy to date is not so great as we all know, so this is his last chance to give said legacy a boost, lest history dispatch him to the bin of other unsuccessful White Sox owners once its all said and done with.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 13, 2017 -> 07:42 PM) I'd say Melky over Jones. Honestly, I don't they are very motivated to move Jones right now, they probably figure he can greatly improve his value with some closing experience. I agree. For me, Jones is the bridge to Burdi as the closer in the next (and long overdue) competitive Sox team. Trade Robertson now, hopefully for a return consistent with what we've seen thus far in the rebuild, and then hope Jones plays well enough to bring back another quality return in July. By then Burdi may be ready to step in and take over.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Feb 12, 2017 -> 11:19 AM) Also: 7) 1 playoff appearance in 12 years. Despite this, only Ozzie & Ventura have lost their jobs. 8) Ran a highly popular announcer out of Comiskey (Caray), which simultaneously hurt the Sox, & helped the scrubs. 9) Removed all semi-local MiLB affiliates (south bend ), further hurting the Sox regional presence, & simultaneously helping others build a brand & a presence in the region. 10) Moved all affiliates to a part of the country that will never be SOX fans, all in the name of making it cheaper to operate. 11) Underinvested in draft signing bonuses & in the scouting department, & only increasing his investment when MLB came up with a slotting system. 12) Despite having a running joke of a system in terms of position players, Laumann & Bell & KW have jobs for life. And I'm sure I forgot some as well, but I'll leave it to others to add on. 13) The "strategic" decision to NOT negotiate with Scott Boras for the past two decades and therefore not compete for the premium talent on the open market he's represented. That has obviously put the Sox in a competitive disadvantage with those teams who remarkably find a way to deal with the man. Again, if Reinsdorf had a whole bunch of success to point to in the past 20 years to support some legitimacy in that decision, it would be one thing. However, the results point towards an entirely different conclusion.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 11, 2017 -> 11:13 AM) The same Bill Veeck that wanted to sell to Marvin Davis and move the team to Denver? The same Bill Veeck who actually tried to sell the team to Edward DeBartolo, who had the vast resources to not only keep the Sox in Chicago, but in a competitive way worthy of a big market team. And if not for a few "no" votes from some other obviously threatened AL owners in 1980, the team would have been sold to DeBartolo, and not to the Reinsdorf/Einhorn group. Often wonder what the past 36 years would have looked like for our beleaguered franchise had the sale to DeBartolo gone through!

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Feb 11, 2017 -> 02:54 AM) Jerry Reinsdorf saved the franchise after Bill Veeck and his son almost destroyed it. I presume you're kidding, right? Jerry Reinsdorf didn't save anything. He is the one who nearly destroyed a charter American League franchise with his blackmail threats to move the team to Florida in the 80s if the taxpayers of Illinois didn't build him a new stadium. Ever remember Bill Veeck indulging in anything remotely resembling such shameful behavior? No, because he WAS busy saving the franchise, saving it from moving to Seattle in 1976. Big difference, character-wise, at least publicly, between the two owners, and not in Reinsdorf's favor.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 9, 2017 -> 02:48 PM) This is what Hahn recently said "When the time comes, we will be prepared to be aggressive, and free agency is used usually as a means to round out a championship-caliber roster. We know that's part of this. We are obviously not there at this time, but when the time comes, we are prepared to be aggressive. "Jerry has been on board in support of this from the start. He's as competitive as anybody. He's as impatient as anybody. He hopes ideally that we get this thing done as quickly as possible. " Taken from a whitesox.com article. So might not be 2018 but later.But like you I'll believe it when I see it. I'll go with 100 losses this year. Unfortunately I see some of the new pitchers up this year when Holland breaks down and others are ineffective and they will take their lumps, most likely Fulmer, Giolito and/or Lopez. Very hollow words. "When the time comes" applied to last offseason, and they failed to deliver, big time. And as for Reinsdorf and his supposed competitiveness, well, his record speaks for itself.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Feb 7, 2017 -> 05:40 PM) Yes, no Sale every fifth game and no Eaton. But..there are a few things that make the team better in some respects than it was last year. No Danks, No Matt Latos, No Matt Albers, a better option at SS to start the season than Jimmy Rollins, a better option at second base with Moncada, possibly a better clubhouse attitude without Sale and Eaton, and a much better Manager than Robin Ventura. A Closer other than Robertson might be another plus considering the key games he blew that really helped to turn the season around. It is too early to make any predictions though. We will have a better idea during Spring Training, don't you think? The Sox have question marks but I am not ready to predict last place out of 30 teams yet. You've identified all of the subtractions, but you haven't quite hit the mark on the additions to fill the holes left by the subtractions that back up your assertion that the team will be better than last year.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Feb 5, 2017 -> 01:59 PM) I disagree with all of that ^ Which parts in particular? The part where I say Reinsdorf is turning 81 this month? Well, that's a statement of fact - you can look it up yourself! The part where I say the rebuild will take 3-5 years? Seems to be the prevailing feeling amongst most about the duration of the endeavor, but I could be wrong. Could take shorter, could take longer, but 3-5 years is probably a good ballpark guess. Is it where I hoped Rick Hahn would continue his current efforts to get us from Point A to Point B? I think if he stays the current course he can and will get us to Point B. Do you dispute the notion we are at Point A right now? Seems like that fact goes hand-in-hand with the need for a rebuild in the first place. Or do you take exception with my lack of confidence with the ownership/management team that has failed miserably for over a decade now to get several teams that were at Point B to Point C, if and when they get the current team to Point B? Well, feel free to have faith in that part happening, but with the past eleven years still fresh in my memory, my preference is strongly in favor of a new group to come in and try a whole new approach in turning a team with a solid core into one capable of sustainable success. But that's just me.....

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Feb 5, 2017 -> 10:24 AM) Moreover, having an abject lack of depth in position player prospects created a market inefficiency that lead to desperate trades, signings, and a virtual lost decade+ since '05. Without some additional depth added NOW, we could be headed right back into that same place as then. I don't foresee a situation where any outcome of this rebuild could possibly result in something that could take us " right back into that same place as then". By "then" I presume you mean a scenario where we find the Sox with a core that looks very similar to the one Hahn is currently selling off, one that a series of "desperate trades" and "signings" orchestrated by Hahn, Williams and Reinsdorf in the past several years failed to turn into a championship-caliber ball club. The back end of this rebuild is somewhere between three and five years from now. Mr. Reinsdorf turns 81 years old this month, so it's not too difficult to align the timing of the end of the rebuild in the next 3-5 years with a change in ownership. That would be ideal - for Hahn to build a solid core in the next few years that could be handed off to a new ownership group, one with deeper pockets than the current group who would be looking to make an immediate impact by augmenting a solid young core by going outside and acquiring high-level talent available in the market at that time. That was the unfortunate problem during the past several years - the attempt to "catch lightning in a bottle" by augmentation through dumpster diving signings. To put it another way, and to use the analogy Mr. Reinsdorf used way back when he relieved Larry Himes of his duties, let's hope Hahn spends the next few years getting us from Point A to Point B, and then hand it all off to a new owner with a different strategic approach who can successfully get us to Point C, in a sustainable fashion that has managed to elude Mr. Reinsdorf for nearly four decades now.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jan 25, 2017 -> 06:55 PM) #TrustTheProcess Uh, noooooooo. Not ready to "trust" the Sox' brain trust just yet. Don't forget, the reason for the need for this rebuild is the abject failure of the team at both the Major and minor league level the past eight years for which the current front office is responsible. "Trust" is the last thing they've earned. Now "guarded optimism", based on the encouraging early results of the rebuild, that feels the more appropriate approach to take with this front office.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 11:21 PM) The Sox record stands. They won't spend big on FA pitchers from outside the organization. It's not the fault of Navarro, it's actually Dotson and Burns. They were in house players but really caused issues with significant injuries. the Buehrle and Danks deals were not the over 100 million dollar deals like Lester that the Sox would need to make if they picked up hitting instead of pitching. You mean the part about just 5 playoff appearances in the last 57 years? Yeah, let's just stick to the rebuild, shall we?

QUOTE (BrianAnderson @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 05:25 PM) Baseball in general, and the Sox have reached a pretty large low in the trading fronts ... or maybe that's just my take. I thought by now we'd hear a lot more not just on Q but all the other pieces. I know we don't have to trade them all at once and maybe even a Robertson or Frazier is better to wait on to hopefully build more value, but man is this slow. Leave it to the Sox to do a half assed tear down like they did a half ass run at the playoffs. So far the half booty tear down has garnered us the top prospect in all of baseball, and three of the top ten right handed pitching prospects. This effort has far exceeded the half tushy efforts they made to try and get to the playoffs the past few years.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 04:00 PM) I think Pedro is the best I ever saw. I loved Maddux for what he did and for whatever reason I just never think of Clemens as highly as others (even though his stats are absurd). Johnson was fun to watch, but Pedro was far more dominant at his peak, imo. I'd put Pedro / Kershaw as 1/2 on my list of pitchers I've watched. Smaller sample size, but 1984-1985 Doc Gooden was near-invincible those years. He was so young then, but at the time I thought he was on his way to becoming one of, if not, the best of all time. Shame what demons would eventually prevent him from reaching that plateau.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 02:39 PM) The guy has some massive flaws that haven't been corrected by one of the top pitching organizations in baseball. That should be a pretty big red flag. The stuff is there, but the guy isn't going to survive MLB with a 5+ walk rate, unless he has Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson type of stuff. This is where my disconnect is. "Massive flaws" = nowhere near being included on a top 10 prospect list in all of baseball, at least to my way of thinking. I, of course, acknowledge that these various lists out there are not the end all/be all, that as some other posters have pointed out, each team operates under their own understanding of a player's capabilities based on what their scouts are telling them. I would just think someone with such a "big red flag" as you point out which hasn't been corrected by "one of the top pitching organizations in baseball" would not be on ANY of these lists if whatever issue(s) he has is/are as bad as you suggest.

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jan 23, 2017 -> 12:37 PM) Glasnow on his own is not a good enough prospect to headline a Quintana deal 5.2 BB/9 in the minors this season does not make anyone warm and fuzzy about his control developing. I am not saying he can't or will not improve, but right now he seems like the kind of pitcher that will rack up a bunch of k's, but also a bunch of 5+ walk games leading to maddening inconsistency Glasnow + Keller + Newman + one more is not the right package for the White Sox. We need at least one premium bat and one premium arm coming back to us in order to deal Quintana Something along the liens of: Meadows + Glasnow + Diaz + Comp Balance Pick for Quintana I keep seeing this observation made over and over again, but how is it that one of the top 3 pitching prospects in all of baseball as recognized by every legitimate source out there is somehow "not good enough" to headline this potential trade for Quintana? The guy IS a TOP 10 prospect in the game, and is actually rated ahead of the likes of the Torres' and Fraziers' of the world on almost every top prospect list out there. Yes, there is a scouting report here or there making certain comments about his stuff, but if it were that bad, he wouldn't continue to be at the top of all of these lists. I think perhaps our fan base's desire for prospects of the positional player variety may be muddling the true value of this guy as an elite prospect in the game today.