Harry Chappas

What if the tax does what it's supposed to and Dodgers Cubs and Yankees are out of free agent running on Harper and Machado.....who is out there other than Phillies and Sox.......what if at the winter meetings the talk of new CBA scared those that are trending toward those high salaries and has the impact like the hockey CBA to guys like Hossa......hummmmm

No what I am saying is that if the Sox target and are unable to land either free agent then to me in the free agency world they are becoming very similar to the Bulls in that they can try and be in play but in reality they will not play. They will grab a couple of mid-tier guys maybe a handful in one off-season but not he big boy free agents.

I think the longer it drags on the opportunity for a team to find the ability to drop salary will open up for a higher profile team.

I am only talking about targeting and securing free agents. I am not trying to crap on the team of front office but if they target both and lose out on both there are concerns in my mind. There are putting in the effort and all that but they cannot finalize the mega-deal.

Yes, if they miss on both of these guys and the rationale is that the Sox offered the most money and it was just a matter of them being the Sox then they are descending into Bulls territory.

Well this whole thing deescalated quickly I guess the Sox never really had a chance. They are turning into the Bulls before our eyes.

You don't front load the contract and then give him the opt out. 45/45/45/45 opt out is dumb if you then go 30/30/30/30/15/15--- he has to opt out with that deal $33M AAV You offer ten year $33 per with four year opt out....at 31 can he beat 7/$198 probably not

If the White Sox sign him they need to do so soon as they need to understand that the window to compete is now open. This is most likely the point to pushing Boras. If they sign him in January the scope of the off-season will have been different. Keuchel has to be a top target as well as the relievers if Macado or Harper sign. If neither sign push the free agent signings off until next year.....but then the White Sox also become the Bulls in that they don't sign the big money free agents.

I can see the cubs taking a flyer on him as they need a guy until Russell is back and they can cut him if it's not working.

I hope Michael Reinsdorf never has a role with the White Sox.....ever The Forman/Reinsdorf patronage goes beyond loyalty and is now at a level of corrupt Chicago politics loyalty. I really wonder what role Pax has in all of this.

He is turning into Dick LeBeau. He may go to an HC job and if it doesn't work out he will be hired the next day as a DC. The Bears have invested so much in that defense that it is an ideal gig. As long as they are paying him top $$$ he has to like what they are handing him.

The national guys pander to the Yankees, Dodgers, cubs and Red Sox They will then go to hot items Phillies, Braves, Indians, Brewers, etc. There was zero talk of Harper and White Sox on the show last night.....not even in the mystery team segments. THE MLBN is almost as bad as ESPN in that category now a days

The thing that irritates me is that this offense is missing what Kevin White was drafted to be. His supposed skill set is what they lack. The special teams are still a soft spot as well. How does this defense compare to the 85 Bears. They really have no weak spots.

He is not a first ballot HOF kind of guy but he's like those old timers that used to get in because the veterans committee played with them and liked them. His fans are ecstatic and the baseball "purist" are pissed. The other 98% don't care one way or another. He is the anti-Ron Santo, he got in because the 80's White Sox members of the selection committee (Reinsdorf, LaRussa) and the rest of the people thought he was a deserving member. I was flipping on MLBN to see the start of winter coverage and when all the talk was Yankees, Dodgers, cubs getting Machado and Harper I turned it off and then flipped back to see the announcement right around Bears kickoff....great timing....no clue Harold was on the ballot.

I'd love to hear Hawk Harrelson's thoughts on this. Met Baines a few times, you could tell he would be a great teammate.