Rumor: Reinsdorf aims to build second place teams

[chitownsportsfan]

25 minutes ago, mqr said:

I just cannot being myself to care what some sleazebag attention whore has to say about a sleazebag billionaire. 

He’s probably telling the truth but honestly what does it matter. We’ve all known this to be case. 

Not sure the board can withstand another 4 months at this pace.  Hopefully the Sox actually fucking sign somebody good at the Winter Meetings and nip it in the bud.

[TaylorStSox]

1 minute ago, mqr said:

They're the same in that the only thing that matters is money in the bank. 

That's not the only thing that matters though. Obviously. 

[Chicago White Sox]

1 hour ago, turnin' two said:

I don't know.  The Sox are clearly not a win at all costs franchise.  That means their objective is not solely winning, which means that other objectives come into play, and could very well be more important. 

If the Sox had a mission statement, I don't think it would include "being the best team"  Or "winning championships".  It would be more like, "We hope to every now and then field a nice team that makes a run, but we must observe the tenants of running our organization as a business first, and as a winner next.  We prize loyalty above all else."

Samson claimed Reinsdorf purposely wanted to in second place specifically to have that “carrot” to dangle, which is straight up ridiculous.  You are arguing against a completely different point.

[mqr]

3 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

That's not the only thing that matters though. Obviously. 

Maybe if a guy is signing a one or two year deal it matters how good the team is. 

The Sox don't miss out on free agents because they're irrelevant, they play in one of the premier cities in the entire world, let alone country, they miss out because they NEVER offer the most money to the top guys. 

[TaylorStSox]

Just now, mqr said:

Maybe if a guy is signing a one or two year deal it matters how good the team is. 

The Sox don't miss out on free agents because they're irrelevant, they play in one of the premier cities in the entire world, let alone country, they miss out because they NEVER offer the most money to the top guys. 

The Sox have come in second place a number of times over the years. When players are looking to brand, they have to consider the team they play for. Playing for the second team, in the second city, could potentially cost players millions of dollars in endorsements. 

[Chicago White Sox]

1 minute ago, TaylorStSox said:

The Sox have come in second place a number of times over the years. When players are looking to brand, they have to consider the team they play for. Playing for the second team, in the second city, could potentially cost players millions of dollars in endorsements. 

Plenty of star players have signed with teams in far less attractive markets, we have lost out on free agents primarily due to us not being the high bidder.

[TaylorStSox]

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Plenty of star players have signed with teams in far less attractive markets, we have lost out on free agents primarily due to us not being the high bidder.

There are exceptions to everything. I just wouldn't speak in absolutes about money being the only motivation for all free agents. That's nonsense. There are a lot of secondary things to consider, and the Sox strike out in just about every one of them. Bad ratings. Bad attendance. Generally small fan base. Playing in the shadow of another major team in the same city. Boring neighborhood. Boring stadium etc. 

[SonofaRoache]

11 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Samson claimed Reinsdorf purposely wanted to in second place specifically to have that “carrot” to dangle, which is straight up ridiculous.  You are arguing against a completely different point.

I take it as once the team wins a title, fans will lose interest. If you keep coming up short, fans will continue to crave that chip. If you finish in last, there will be no one craving anything. The whole rebuild works even though we suck because we are hopeful to have a contender. It's pretty odd that the Sox are essentially a second place caliber team since the mid 90s. I assume Jerry's rebuild intends to get to the postseason, but come up short before finally winning the big one, then he can leave a happy man and the team to his kids. 

[turnin' two]

1 hour ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Samson claimed Reinsdorf purposely wanted to in second place specifically to have that “carrot” to dangle, which is straight up ridiculous.  You are arguing against a completely different point.

I wasn't really aware I was arguing anything.

[Iwritecode]

2 hours ago, SonofaRoache said:

I take it as once the team wins a title, fans will lose interest. If you keep coming up short, fans will continue to crave that chip. If you finish in last, there will be no one craving anything.

That seems completely opposite to me. They had the highest attendance in team history in 2006 because people were finally interested. Then they kept not winning in the years after and interest started to taper off. People aren't going to lose interest in a team that wins all the time. That's just insane.

2 hours ago, SonofaRoache said:

I assume Jerry's rebuild intends to get to the postseason, but come up short before finally winning the big one, then he can leave a happy man and the team to his kids.

I keep hearing people say this but AFAIK, his kids have no interest in taking over his role once he is gone. Also, I don't know that anyone knows for sure what will happen with the team since the last I knew, he's still a minority owner.

[Jose Abreu]

3 hours ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Not sure the board can withstand another 4 months at this pace.  Hopefully the Sox actually fucking sign somebody good at the Winter Meetings and nip it in the bud.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time seeing many major signings (by any team) that early. I think JDM, Cole, etc. will be signing in February 

[35thstreetswarm]

3 hours ago, TaylorStSox said:

There are exceptions to everything. I just wouldn't speak in absolutes about money being the only motivation for all free agents. That's nonsense. There are a lot of secondary things to consider, and the Sox strike out in just about every one of them. Bad ratings. Bad attendance. Generally small fan base. Playing in the shadow of another major team in the same city. Boring neighborhood. Boring stadium etc. 

What free agents turned down extra compensation offered by the Chicago White Sox in favor of “better ratings, “better attendance,” “more exciting neighborhood” or “more exciting stadium” offered by another team?  

[SonofaRoache]

35 minutes ago, Iwritecode said:

That seems completely opposite to me. They had the highest attendance in team history in 2006 because people were finally interested. Then they kept not winning in the years after and interest started to taper off. People aren't going to lose interest in a team that wins all the time. That's just insane.

I keep hearing people say this but AFAIK, his kids have no interest in taking over his role once he is gone. Also, I don't know that anyone knows for sure what will happen with the team since the last I knew, he's still a minority owner.

Samson actually said this in his interview this morning. I don't agree with it, but remember the Sox had great attendance in 2007 as well. So had they continued to finish in second with a solid record, I think the attendance may have held up. But it didn't work that way and they bottomed out in 2007. 

[SonofaRoache]

27 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

What free agents turned down extra compensation offered by the Chicago White Sox in favor of “better ratings, “better attendance,” “more exciting neighborhood” or “more exciting stadium” offered by another team?  

We won't know until this offseason as we haven't been on any FA's worth mentioning. Manny may count but the dollar amount and security was so significant he had to take the Padres offer. 

[Dick Allen]

30 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

What free agents turned down extra compensation offered by the Chicago White Sox in favor of “better ratings, “better attendance,” “more exciting neighborhood” or “more exciting stadium” offered by another team?  

Money and winning are what attracts. The Sox usually come up short with both. It would be very unusual for a major free agent to take significantly less money to come to a team with the White Sox recent history. 

MLB players love Chicago. They couldn't care less about Bridgeport. They just drive there 81 times a year. They don't live there. I'm pretty sure most Sox players live in those buildings built on that old par 3 golf course by Randolph and Wacker and Columbus. 

I'm sure they would prefer to play in a full stadium, but the amount of their paycheck trumps that.  And there is no problem with Guaranteed Rate Field. The playing surface is supreme, the clubhouse new, and other amenities, modern. Unless it's a flyball pitcher, something the Sox probably wouldn't bother to pursue, the stadium is not an issue. 

And endorsement money with MLB players pales in comparision to those in other sports. Yet, in Chicago, even with the Sox, you probably have a chance to make more money off the field than many other places. 

[35thstreetswarm]

2 minutes ago, SonofaRoache said:

We won't know until this offseason as we haven't been on any FA's worth mentioning. Manny may count but the dollar amount and security was so significant he had to take the Padres offer. 

I mean historically.  The answer is there are none, because despite persistent myths to the contrary major free agents make the economically rational decision and prioritize real money over factors like which stadium is less "boring."  The White Sox have lost out on free agents - Machado, Harper, Tanaka, etc. - because they have offered less money than the teams that won the bidding war.  Machado is a good example.  The White Sox were in the lead with 250 million until they were outbid by a (perennial-losing, middle-market) team that offered 300.  He liked 300 million in guaranteed money more than 250 in guaranteed money because he and his agent are human people.

[SonofaRoache]

18 minutes ago, 35thstreetswarm said:

I mean historically.  The answer is there are none, because despite persistent myths to the contrary major free agents make the economically rational decision and prioritize real money over factors like which stadium is less "boring."  The White Sox have lost out on free agents - Machado, Harper, Tanaka, etc. - because they have offered less money than the teams that won the bidding war.  Machado is a good example.  The White Sox were in the lead with 250 million until they were outbid by a (perennial-losing, middle-market) team that offered 300.  He liked 300 million in guaranteed money more than 250 in guaranteed money because he and his agent are human people.

I think the separation comes when the money is close. If you are 30 million off, the player will take the money. If both offers are close enough, the player will take the better situation for themselves. Rick Hahn even said a few weeks ago that our team is more attractive to free agents now than it was last year because of player development. Things like that matter when looking at similar contracts. If you overpay by a wide margin, you are paying a premium for not being attractive. 

[Iwritecode]

41 minutes ago, SonofaRoache said:

Samson actually said this in his interview this morning. I don't agree with it, but remember the Sox had great attendance in 2007 as well. So had they continued to finish in second with a solid record, I think the attendance may have held up. But it didn't work that way and they bottomed out in 2007. 

The attendance was only up in 2007 because it started so high in 2006. It consistently went down every single year between 2006 to 2014 despite winning a division title and finishing 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd in the few years following.

Not surprisingly, it closed matched the attendance totals in the late 90's when they finished 2nd 4 years in a row. Meanwhile the Indians set historic attendance records in that same time frame by winning the division 5 times in a row.

Finishing second doesn't excite anyone. Finishing in first and/or making the playoffs does. It's just too bad this team doesn't do either of those things often enough.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Iwritecode

[caulfield12]

16 minutes ago, SonofaRoache said:

I think the separation comes when the money is close. If you are 30 million off, the player will take the money. If both offers are close enough, the player will take the better situation for themselves. Rick Hahn even said a few weeks ago that our team is more attractive to free agents now than it was last year because of player development. Things like that matter when looking at similar contracts. If you overpay by a wide margin, you are paying a premium for not being attractive. 

Beating out the Cardinals for Robert seemed pretty significant at the time, fwiw.   Almost nobody expected that, and there were rumors their losing proposal was actually worth a bit more, but who knows in the end.

[pcq]

1 hour ago, Jose Abreu said:

Unfortunately, I have a hard time seeing many major signings (by any team) that early. I think JDM, Cole, etc. will be signing in February 

I wanna talk about Betts coming here and that second place owner stuff some more. 

[GreenSox]

On 10/6/2019 at 4:45 PM, Balta1701 said:

This is another case of people working way too hard to avoid blaming Rick Hahn for Rick Hahn's own decisions......

 

Rick Hahn is not some innocent bystander in this behavior. He came up through this system, tolerated it for years. He got the job because whatever priorities JR has other than winning - Rick Hahn either shares those or is willing to look the other way. If JR wants to run his franchise by hiring his buddies so that they can sit around behind closed doors saying "Hey, look at me! I'm Mr. So-And-So D*ck! I've got such-and-such for a penis", Rick Hahn has his job because that's the setting he wants to be in too. RH got his job because he's not going to rock the boat, he's going to go along with his owner's priorities, because they're his priorities too. Rick Hahn is there because he's one of the buddies and he knows his job is to surround JR with additional buddies.

I said that this makes Hahn's work more indefensible than it already is.  Avoid blaming Hahn?  Good lord, I've been beating on his incompetence and laziness incessantly since they day he took the job.

Edited October 8, 2019 by GreenSox

[SonofaRoache]

55 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Beating out the Cardinals for Robert seemed pretty significant at the time, fwiw.   Almost nobody expected that, and there were rumors their losing proposal was actually worth a bit more, but who knows in the end.

It may have been more. We also have a pipeline there, so it gives us a competitive edge.

[Thad Bosley]

19 hours ago, Tony said:

Can confirm.....still you. 

And I can confirm that you overreacted in a bizarre fashion to a very lighthearted joke.   

[Thad Bosley]

1 hour ago, Tony said:

If it was a one off joke, no one would have thought anything of it. You being obsessed with Jerry for your entire posting tenure here changes things. 
 

But keep on keeping on. The amount of space Jerry has in your head must be a lot to deal with. 

It was a “one off joke”, because that’s not what I typically post here - jokes.  

Admittedly, many of my posts during my “tenure here” - all ten years of it - have been reacting to the facts surrounding the owner’s current and ongoing record and results on-and-off the field.  Even you must admit, said results haven’t been particularly good this past decade.

Nevertheless, I’m sorry if my reactions over these past ten years have sounded a bit repetitive, but that’s only because the of the repetitive nature of the results.  As soon as those results take a turn for the positive, as will my commentary here.  

All I want is White Sox winning.  It’s as simple as that.  

Edited October 9, 2019 by Thad Bosley

[35thstreetswarm]

16 hours ago, SonofaRoache said:

It may have been more. We also have a pipeline there, so it gives us a competitive edge.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't.  https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/news/cardinals-fall-short-in-pursuit-of-luis-robert-c231451474  It wouldn't make sense.  At any rate, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that every free agent who entertains bids for his services this offseason is going to take the highest bid.  I'm going to continue to hope the White Sox offer the highest bids for Gerrit Cole, Yasmani Grandal, Marcel Ozuna and J.D. Martinez (though they pretty clearly won't, at least on all 4).

Edited October 9, 2019 by 35thstreetswarm