Bananarchy

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 09:48 AM) I agree, although I think once they start talking about it, it's going to happen. At that point, MLB will have doubled since 1901; that would be a good place to cap it. What I'm concerned about is radical realignment. If the Sox and Cubs have to play each other 6-8 series per season, I think I might be done with baseball. And if they ever go to 8 divisions of 4 teams, I'm for sure done with baseball. That would be a guarantee of bad teams making the playoffs only because they are the best team of an arbitrary 4-team grouping. It's bad enough with 5-team divisions. 4-team divisions would be a train wreck for baseball. No way the MLB ever puts two teams in the same city in the same league. Also, if you're that fickle, you might as well just stop watching.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 1, 2016 -> 12:48 AM) Does Seattle have the right to protect its market from competition in Portland or Vancouver? I guess not. For all these years, the Giants have been able to block an Oakland move to San Jose, and then the Nationals/Orioles have their own long history of disputes as well. I would ask the same question about the Rangers and the Astros in Austin. I'm not sure where they would build a stadium like that here. Maybe near the F1 track?

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 08:08 PM) http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/which-l...xpansion-022816 http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/how-wou...baseball-022816 John Paul Morosi had a good take on possible expansion and realignment today. It would be nice to see Montreal get a team back, and I think Vancouver and Austin would be good spots as well. The realignment proposal is interesting and he's really just throwing stuff at the wall. Seeing the Sox in a division with the Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers would be fun though. We'll pass. The Rangers and Astros are popular enough here. Plus, most of us are transplants, anyway. Edit: Although I guess seeing the White Sox in Austin would be pretty great...

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 09:14 PM) Anyone ever read the tweets from Gordon beckham's wife? I'm surprised that never became a topic back when he was with the team. Gordon Beckham's wife is 1) Not a celebrity 2) Not affiliated with the Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 04:42 PM) If Alshon does absolutely not want to play here, I'd take the 2 first round picks for him easily. I struggle to balance the various permutations. Jeffery is in a tough spot, because if they don't reach a deal he's a Bear. After that it gets weird. The Bears can franchise him once more, which would make him a Bear again, but his price tag would skyrocket to something like $16.8 million, which I don't think Pace is dumb enough to pay. So to get out of Chicago, Jeffery might want to just play out one year. Edit: Found a great article about Franchise Tag stuff from 2013

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 03:21 PM) can the season start already? yes, please. There's a circus in the Cubs locker room. The world has exploded.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 03:18 PM) Very smart move by Pace. I don't think a team is willing to give up 2 1st round picks, but you never know. Still think it's safe to say Bears and Jeffery will agree to a long term deal before July 15th Unless Alshon absolutely does not want to play in Chicago (which I doubt). 4 years $11 per would be awesome.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 03:03 PM) Reading it might be the nonexclusive tag that is put on Jeffery. According to Leming that would mean he can negotiate with other teams but the Bears can match any offer or take 2 1st rounders. I expect them to match, but 2 first rounders would be pretty intriguing. Edit...it is indeed the nonexclusive tag. The non-exclusive tag doesn't really do Jeffery any favors, because even if he wants out, the Bears can match, so any contract with another team could lock Jeffery into Chicago. I would expect him to negotiate exclusively with the Bears and "play" the tag season if he really wants out the badly.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:56 PM) Its not about nominations, its about opportunity. There was probably one minority acting snub from all of the roles, but there were other white people snubbed as well. The point is the roles available arent equal therefore nominations dont happen. Agreed. but the available roles is just the problem, and it is a real one. It's not a media fabrication.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:31 PM) The media made it about race, not the Academy imo. Media ran with it, hoping for a fire. It's no surprise. QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:39 PM) And the response to the Academy made it about race. The Academy nominated all white people. The media did its job: They exposed systematic discrimination by an organization run by liberals. Please don't pretend this race issue holds no water. It absolutely does.

QUOTE (blackmooncreeping @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:26 PM) So basically he gets muddied up because you inferred what he meant in a tweet sent during the Oscars opening? Seems like a big stretch to me, and not insulting in any way. You can't say "Why does it have to be about race?", when the Academy made the ceremony about race months ago. Everyone knows why it's important.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 12:01 PM) http://deadspin.com/the-best-of-mlb-photo-...2016-1761363431 Hamilton looks WASTED He looks like a train wreck. So sad.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:12 PM) The Cubs invited a bunch of clowns to spring training. Literally... Nothing like a Cubs story to remind me it's still only February and these games don't count. So stupid. The circus this year is going to be insane.

River on Netflix is quite intriguing. Definitely recommend it. Fuller House was awful. But I'm in my late 20s, so I had to watch.

Jeffery officially tagged. This doesn't mean a lot as he's unlikely to play under the tag next season. It's not dissimilar to Dez Bryant and Demaryus Thomas last season. You just tag them to prevent them hitting the open market and you negotiate to the last second. Dez pretty much waited to the last second to sign. The difference is, Jeffery isn't as good as either of the other two, if only because he was less durable in a contract year.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 02:12 PM) I just think he may not have known the context for why Chris Rock was giving the monologue he gave. Maybe, but either way, Eaton's such a non-story. It's just fishing for something done.

Hats off to Ennio Morricone. Long overdue award for him. His music is probably the best part of Hateful 8.

He apologized, it's over. I really don't care about this. Often, people use verbiage like this to hide their racism, but I honestly don't believe Adam Eaton is a racist or anything like that.

QUOTE (bshah723 @ Feb 29, 2016 -> 12:54 PM) "Top 5 GM" Jim Nill just got owned in a trade with Calgary. The value is in the second round pick. It's not a great trade, but Russell is probably better than Jokipakka. I don't love it, but it's still not as bad as Bickell or Seabrook.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 06:06 PM) As currently constructed, Bears have 60.5 million in cap space right now. Could be close to 70 million with cuts. That's good, but I'm more worried about good drafting than I am worried about cap space. At some point, the Bears need a couple of great draft picks at reasonable clips to fill all the holes they have.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 01:30 PM) They aren't really stacked when it comes to pitching though. And while I think the Cubs are all but a lock for a playoff spot, I could see their rotation go from a strength to a weakness fairly quickly. Increasing Arrieta's IPs by 90 last year was a risky move and one that could really bite them in 2016. The rotation is obviously a concern going forward. While the offense is a "built for the future" affair, the pitching staff is a "Hopefully we can win now" deal. I also do not believe in Arrieta. I'm not enamored with any one Cubs pitcher. In fact, pitching is one of the places I don't envy the Cubs at all. The White Sox continue to impress me with their eye for strong pitching prospects.

Of all the "I don't want to play this position" samples, Schwarber may be the worst one. He must know he's not an everyday major league catcher. That happens to catchers all the time. And as far as regression goes, the Cubs are stacked to the point where one bad season isn't going to derail the plans for the future.

Teuvo to Toews was beautiful.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 12:10 PM) I'd rather let Teuvo get more reps in with Flesichman since that's who he will be playing with in the playoffs. Let Shaw fill in on the top line until Hossa gets back. That's fair. If it were earlier in the season, I would drop Hossa and Shaw to the third line. Hossa's hands aren't the same, but he does a lot with his current skill set. But you're right, if the plan is to put those three together, leave Teuvo where he is.

Maybe switch Teuvo and Shaw? Shaw isn't really first line material.