Thad Bosley

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 28, 2016 -> 03:08 PM) Players you change. That is far more effective than swapping out a manager. Again, Joe Maddon, Mike Scoscia, whatever, with this roster, and how the injuries shook out, they all would be fools. Again, if the Sox were ever going to make a change, this seems like the time to do it. It just doesn't upset me that it appears they won't do it like it does most others. I'd rather have them blame players and change them. After these past five years, you do both. Change players and the manager.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Sep 28, 2016 -> 08:18 AM) If the Sox weren't willing to up the ante for Cespedes last offseason, why would they do it this year and give up the 12th pick in the draft to do so? It doesn't make sense. It's set up an interesting Catch-22 for the offseason. According to Hawk at the end of his last broadcast on Sunday, Mr. Reinsdorf expressed to him on a few recent occasions that he, meaning JR, "really, really, really wants to win next year". And so what does that mean to a team that for its final 80% of the season has played at a worse winning % than the team that lost 99 games in 2013? The answer ain't coming out of the minor leagues, as we all know. Maybe a couple of guys here in there on the pitching staff, but certainly nothing position player wise. So what do you do if your plan is to try and win next year? We shall soon see I guess in the ensuing months ahead!!

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Sep 27, 2016 -> 07:54 PM) No, the market is going to be tight enough this winter that he'll command a lot more money than he's worth. JR isn't going to give him the $80M+ that he's going to get on the FA market. We need to shoot higher than him. We've been adding Josh Reddick types for a few years now and well, you've seen how that's worked out for us.

22 years now since the AL Central came into being. Division champions: Indians - 8 Twins - 6 Tigers - 4 Sox - 3 Royals - 1

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Sep 27, 2016 -> 05:15 PM) While I would also not be super-happy about the defensive downgrade of moving Eaton back to CF, the Sox need another high-OBP player more than they need Eaton if RF. Finding a CF who can hit and get on base with a .330+ OBP AND be a defensive upgrade to Eaton is going to be difficult. Especially considering that the Sox are probably not going to give out a $120M+ contract and currently aren't a popular destination for free agents. Also consider that most free agents don't want to DH... unless they're old, slow, and injury-prone like Morneau. If Hahn were able to convince somebody like Cespedes or Reddick to sign with the Sox, I doubt there's any way that either would agree to DH. A best-case scenario to address OF/DH for the Sox this offseason would probably be signing Reddick, moving Eaton back to CF, and convincing Morneau to sign a two-year deal to be our primary DH. I think that Reddick is pretty much a pipe dream, and my guess is that Morneau will end up paying for a team that's closer to winning a ring (e.g., Boston). Have things gotten that bad that acquiring Josh Reddick is considered a "pipe dream"?

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Sep 27, 2016 -> 03:13 PM) I've been following from afar. Have not been watching the product daily since the end of July, but will occasionally check in to see if anything interesting is going on. If anything, I've been closely eyeing the Twitterverse to see the latest in managerial rumors, white sox direction etc.. If the KW/Hahn two headed monster of dysfunction would have acquired young talent at the trade deadline, I would likely be watching everyday. Unfortunately, other than Rodon's progress or Anderson's play, there really isn't a whole lot to hang my hat onto. Although I am very doubtful KW/Hahn can turn this disaster around, I am very curious to see what on Earth their plan is this winter?!? Who will the next manager be? Will they stupidly sacrifice their first round draft choice for an aging free agent acquisition? Or do they simply plan on obtaining talent through trades? Is a rebuild really out of the question? If so then why? Their half-measured approach over the last 8 years has really sucked. The farm system is STILL in pretty poor shape and the main roster is not that good. Great questions, Great Scott! Looking forward to the answers to them myself!

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 25, 2016 -> 02:57 PM) Hawk strongly implying Sox will be buyers this offseason. It was one of the last things he talked about before signing off for the year. He referenced some recent conversations with Reinsdorf where apparently the owner was very clear that he really, really, REALLY wants to win next year. From there he and Stone agreed that this upcoming free agent class was too weak to really provide the quantity and quality of upgrades this team will need if the team has any chance of achieving the owner's desires for next season. Stone then said improvement would need to come via trades, but was optimistic that trades which were discussed at the trade deadline would probably get revisited, but in the sense that the Sox could end up getting certain players they could have never gotten in mid season by teams in the middle of a pennant race. So what does that all mean? Well, the owner seems like he may in fact be going for it, but without the services of one Chris Sale, because he was the one Stone was undoubtedly talking about when referencing the trade deadline rumored trades. Question becomes, can the team compete with the haul received from a Sale trade and some select pickups in free agency? Based on Hawk's comments today, it looks like we might just find out!

Kudos to those who have suggested Gabe Kapler. The suggestion didn't register with me at first, but after doing a little research on the guy, he's a very intriguing individual for an open MLB managerial position. I hope he's in the mix of those under consideration when the time comes to figure out who the next manager in the Sox dugout is!

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Sep 24, 2016 -> 08:17 PM) Avila is probably a better defensive catcher than Navarro was but we need to upgrade for sure Ya think?!

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Sep 24, 2016 -> 03:39 AM) My hope is for the team get younger and aim toward a 3 year rebuild program. I feel Dave Martinez would do wonders with younger players and get the most out of them. Even though we clearly know they will continue to try and scrap together a roster via the weak free agent market and mediocre trades, I would still like them to sign Martinez to a 4 year deal. That is my hope-- the reality: scrap together another mediocre roster, sign an oddball free agent that will cost the team their first round draft pick and will sign AJ or Konerko to become manager. I think you'll get your wish, or something closely resembling it, anyway. Since that 23-10 start from long, long ago, the Sox have gone 49-71 in the 120 games subsequent. That pencils out to an abysmal .408 winning percentage. Only the Twins have played to a worse winning percentage than that this year in all of baseball. Given the sample size of the last 120 games versus the first 33, even my blind dog can see this White Sox team is currently a real clunker. Therefore, I don't expect Kenny Hahn to go on another retooling, put-lipstick-on-a-pig jaunt this winter. That gig is up. Year 1 of the three year plan rendered 76 wins, and it looks like Year 2 is going to cough and wheeze out about the same. I don't think they'll bother with a Year 3, but rather go now in the direction you suggest, which would be the prudent way to go at this point.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Sep 23, 2016 -> 02:08 PM) I made it pretty clear that I'd be fine if they went outside of the organization. If they do, I just prefer it to be a younger guy. Kepler would be great. Even though they aren't necessarily fully out of the organization, Dave Martinez or Sandy Alomar would be cool with me. I'd also like to see someone with some fire. The Sox have been some damn boring the last few years. I'm with you 100% on that, but equally as much, we just need someone who can flat out communicate in an effective manner. I know Ventura is suppose to be a great guy personally and it seems everyone who knows him likes and respects him, but my lord, he's painful to listen to in interviews. Someone with energy and who is a decent communicator, that's what we need!

I'm actually surprised Joe McEwings name isn't in the mix somewhere in this discussion. He's coached under LaRussa and Bobby Valentine, and actually managed in the Sox system at one point, earning a couple of Manager of the Year awards down there. He has the requisite spark that some find attractive in a baseball manager (I am in that camp myself), so he certainly seems to have the credentials to at least be considered for the job.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Sep 23, 2016 -> 07:56 AM) C'mon man. you know JR does not hire experienced managers. They may have ideas of their own. That is not going to happen. Lol - I just weighed in on what I think they should do and what I think a competent front office might be thinking of doing. What the mighty JR ends up doing, well, will likely be consistent with what we've seen in the past, which will probably be unfortunate. But hey, he has such a magnificent track record of success doing things his way, so who am I to argue!!

This decision on the next manager for the White Sox is a big one. They really need to make a statement this time around. This team has sunk to a fairly significant level of irrelevance as evidenced by attendance and TV ratings, not to mention on the national scene, that management needs to seriously address. No more warm & fuzzy former White Sox personnel. That ain't gonna cut it this time around. They need to go out and bring someone in who will represent and convey a completely new brand of White Sox baseball that we haven't seen in a while. It needs to be on the level of the Indians bringing in Francona, the Cubs bringing in Maddon, etc. Is Bud Black that guy? Maybe. He seems to fit that profile that I'm talking about. It should be someone with prior managerial experience, too. Sorry, but given where the team is at the moment, I don't think the timing is right to provide an on-the-job learning experience for guys like Alomar or Martinez. I just don't.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 07:28 PM) It didn't exist when the designs were being done for the new ballpark. True, although the Skydome opened (April 1989) before ground was even broken on the new Comiskey (May 1989). What did exist, however, were the same stadium design options given to the Orioles for the new Comiskey's design. O's ownership chose the Camden option; Reinsdorf & Co. the new Comiskey option. Reinsdorf would say years later when asked about all of this "They (the Orioles) got what they wanted. We got what we wanted." Ok, Jerry. And how did that work out for you!

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 06:37 PM) This is a moot point and you conveniently ignore the positive aspects of the design, stressing the worst aspects of it. You try to make a direct correlation between the design of the upper deck and attendance, but there is no evidence to support that conclusion. You are looking to blame the owner for something that took place 20 years ago which is in and of itself strange, because this owner brought us a World Series Championship and has spent a lot of money on players to field competitive teams. Is there anything that you like about Sox Park? There is a lot there to like if you look for it. As I said, I love going to games there with friends. We always have a good time even when we lose. We don't sit in our seats all game and b1tch about what Reinsdorf agreed to 20 years ago . We enjoy the moment and look forward to positive changes in the future. What does that have to do with the discussion at hand?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 05:02 PM) Like an obese or elderly person would have no problem getting to the top row at Camden Yards. Again, when the park opened , it was cheaper to sit in the outfield. The worst case scenario in climbing to the last row of the upper deck at Camden Yards is to climb 17 rows at a 31 degree angle. That's because the Orioles ownership was smart and took the advice from the same architecture firm that built new Comiskey and built the opening of the deck in the middle of the deck, not at the base. Meanwhile, with the opening at the base of the upper deck at new Comiskey, to get to the last row there, you had to climb another 12 rows at the absurd 35 degree angle AFTER having already climbed 17 rows at the same slope. HUGE DIFFERENCE, Dick Allen. Huge difference in getting up and down the two decks. Pretty easy to understand why Sox fans rejected Comiskey's deck and why the Sox ultimately ended up lopping off those top eight rows, which was the team essentially acknowledging what we've been saying all along: they made a HUGE strategic blunder in allowing that architecturally flawed deck to be built in the first place.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 02:27 PM) And the thing is that not only has it been over a decade, but Sox park is far from the only place designed like this. Read up on the upper deck of Toronto for a start. Actually, Jerry Reinsdorf should have done that back in the late 80s. Toronto's upper deck is as bad as the new Comiskey Park's was. A 36 degree angle on that bad boy with a similarly misplaced entrance at the base of the deck. Again, terrible design by the architecture firm and even worse judgement rendered by Sox management for approving such an obviously flawed concept. The irony in all of this is all the empty suites year after year after year that they can't sell out, the very suites that inspired the bad design in the first place.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 02:26 PM) I don't think anyone buying a 29th row upper deck ticket would be expecting a great view, no matter what the venue. Except for maybe one. There is a reason they are called the cheap seats. The discussion wasn't about the view, it was about the construction of a 29 row deck at an absurd angle with the opening at the deck's base. That was an architectural disaster. Seriously, it is almost beyond belief that such a design could ever be drawn up by a architectural firm, much less get approved by Sox management. New Comiskey's upper deck was so elderly and obese person unfriendly, it wasn't even funny. And it was soundly and appropriately rejected by Sox fans, as evidenced by the lack of tickets sold to sit up there in the 90s and early 00s.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 12:51 PM) Yet you continue to whine about the 29th row in the upper deck that was removed a decade and a half ago, when the White Sox acknowledged a mistake. LMAO, you must be a fun guy to be around. Pay closer attention to the discussion. My references to the 29th row have been in the context of the original design of the park, not in its current state. And LMAO as well, a renowned contrarian making observations about the kind of company I provide. Oh, the irony!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 22, 2016 -> 06:59 AM) No. Arguing to argue is continuing to mention the 29th row in the upper deck which has been gone for a decade and a half. The entire upper deck argument is silly. Not many people sat in the upper deck of the old park either. Check the attendance. When I was a kid I was at a game vs. the Yankees where the RF upper deck was closed. Reggie Jackson hit a HR up there and I was able to convince an Andy Frain to let me go get it. Pick out the worst seats at every park and there isn't one you would gripe about. Another fun fact, the first several years this park was opened, it was cheaper to buy a lower deck bleacher seat than an upper deck ticket. So more arguing to argue. That goes back to the lack of winning over the years. Check the won/loss records.

Looking at the thought bubble over Jerry Reinsdorf's head, I see: Paul Konerko - Manager Mark Buehrle - Pitching Coach Jim Thome - Hitting Coach A.J. Pierzynski - Bench Coach Aaron Rowand - Third Base Coach Willie Harris - First Base Coach

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 21, 2016 -> 01:30 PM) There hasn't been 29 rows in the upper deck for 13 or 14 years, and the article you linked said the distance to the field was the same. The higher degree angle makes the higher seats closer. How many times did you have tickets for the 29th row in the upper deck and actually sat there? And while having the concourse higher than the base makes sense, it really doesn't change the view AT ALL from the high rows. It did take out some front row seats. Adam Jomes is calling out Orioles fans for their weak crowds. I guess a 31 degree slope wouldn't improve attendance either. Defending the disaster that is the construction of the 29 row, 35 degree angled upper deck of new Comiskey is the essence of arguing just for the sake of arguing.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 21, 2016 -> 09:14 AM) What is interesting is the article said the seats were just as far away from the field in both upper decks. The Sox park, and Camden Yards. Upper decks are pretty similar all around. Sox fans were spoiled with the old park's upper deck. That isn't happening again. People need to get over it. Of course they don't even sell out of the $15 lower deck tickets with a free t shirt when Sale pitches, so most of the whining about the upper deck is much ado about nothing. Not true at all. 29 rows at a 35 degree angle with the opening to the deck at it's base is much worse than a 27 row upper deck at a 31 degree angle with the opening somewhere in the middle. Period.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Sep 20, 2016 -> 05:45 PM) I don't like the steep angle but you can't compare upper decks that have obstructed views with Sox park. There are several things that can be done to make upper decks seats more attractive. I would like to see the last several rows eliminated and the angles cut down. The worst ones could be replaced by building upper deck grandstands in RF with updated features and amenities that are currently lacking in the "cheap seats." The first level of the park is one of the best in baseball, no question about that. in fact, it is so noce thst it often looks like far fewer people are in the park than there are in attaendance because people are down in the RF bullpen area , the XFinity areas, standing in the outfield concourse drinking and eating, or just walking around the park. You don't have to be tied down to your seat for the entire game. I don't think cub fans get that because they can't leave their seat and walk around that easily during a game and when they have to in order to go to the restroom, it is a major hassle. I like our park, even when the team is not that great and even when they lose, I always have a good time with friends. Well, the "last several rows eliminated" part has already happened, as Reinsdorf took out his chain saw and buzzed off eight of 'em back in '03. Now cutting that 35 degree angle down, well, that's an interesting request. How do you propose the team go about doing that?