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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, guys. Thanks for the banter.

Merry Christmas to all Soxtalk members. Brighter days are coming.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, maybe Santa will bring us a merry winning season in 2026.

Mods - @caulfield12 has lost both of the above bets and has agreed to sit out the rest of the offseason. As such, please proceed with his temporary ban at your soonest convenience. Thanks in advance and hope y’all have a Merry Christmas.

Hark, Gene Honda, Jerry sings. 村上 宗隆 was born in 熊本市.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hopefully we have more to cheer for next year and also a year closer to hopefully a real owner!!!

That’s the only way I listen to podcasts. Too much dead air otherwise.

I wish all Sox fans good health so they can live to see Ishbia take over and clean out everything from the previous ownership group.

Really? You think they would make a decision now and then not change no matter what happens between now and the draft? Roch is the obvious pick right now. They would 100% pick him if the draft happened tomorrow. But they will obviously see how everything plays out.

Merry Christmas everyone! Actually looking forward to watching the Sox next year, great Christmas gift.

Much better Sox X-Mas this year, Merry Christmas to all.

Doing anything else would be stunning

I was 100% wrong on him exceeding the option…no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, that wasn’t the bet my friend nor was it even the spirit of the bet. You thought Fairbanks was going to easily clear $20M because of some ridiculous Spotrac forecast and that did not happen. You also thought the Sox wouldn’t sign someone for more than $17.5M in total contract value and that did happen. Ultimately, we must hold one another accountable for our words & actions. A bet was agreed to and a ban must be issued accordingly now that the dust has settled. I respect your courage to actually put some skin in the game and look forward to future interactions come Opening Day. 圣诞快乐，新年快乐！

Even on Christmas, it's the gift that keeps on not giving.

Yep. It was a slip of the tongue but it’s obvious that Getz thinks he’s a potential superstar. But like you said, if he suffered a catastrophic injury between now and the draft, they would obviously consider other players.

Things change during the season. Idk why they'd have a decision before the 2026 season has even been played. Sometimes players emerge and move up, and others have a bad season. I'd hope they do their due diligence and pick Cholowsky only if he's deserving. But this is the White Sox we're talking about.

According to MLB Trade Rumors Sox do have the smallest largest.

Except the FutureSox podcasts with Dylan Barnas and Elijah Evans. Those guys speak way too fast as it is.

Also listening to podcasts at 1.3+ speed is not for the faint of heart.

Also, they cut that out of the podcast, funny enough

I definitely appreciate the idea of crossing off worries over 2026. Yet OTOH, there isn’t much difference in potential good outcomes whichever path is chosen with regards to Robert. Keeping Robert until the deadline on the off chance he rehabbed some trade value is as reasonable choice as any. And as a bonus, it would be a lot more fun to watch this lineup with Robert bracketed by real left handed threats. For potential entertainment value alone without very much downside to worry over, the option of keeping Robert around for awhile grows on me.

Merry Christmas/happy holidays to all

Hopefully it was a great day for all!

Good job. We're all going to have to step on each other's jokes a lot for the next month while Caulfield is on his self-imposed hiatus. Maybe @Bob Sacamano will want to help out by referencing a list of 80's era Cub players who have absolutely nothing to do with the convo. Do you even know who's going to be the 2033 Game 3 World Series starter for the Sox? Is he even in the system? Ohtani also made an impact on the mound for LA, making his return to pitching in June after an almost two-year layoff, following two procedures, including one to repair the right ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and his left shoulder last offseason. In 14 starts, he went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and had 62 strikeouts. The second-straight MVP award comes after posting a historic season last year in which he became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single campaign. cnn.com

Merry Christmas 2 all. And to all a good night !

Correct. Also, correct.

If they won the Super Bowl, something tells me they're still having the parade in Chicago.

Ohtani and Jonathan Cannon are both pro baseball pitchers. There, now you have two.

This is the most real one yet.

Sad.

We all have more weight to pull, now that Caulfield's going to be wearing out that Padres' board.

Great! That and five bucks will get you a cup of coffee at a Starbucks. Who cares? They'll still be the Chicago Bears.

As has consistently been shown in economic studies it is basically a myth that over the long haul building new stadiums with tax payer money for very wealthy families winds up producing substancial economic growth. The biggest hang up is all the money still owed on the Soldier Field renovation. Like Pritzker said that needs to be figured out first. The ball is in your court McCaskey's. Write the state a check, pay that off and I'm guessing the politicians would be more willing to talk with you.

Probably by Getz’s request.

If the Bears do wind up in NW Indiana then the Cardinals should move back to Chicago and either play in Soldier Field or Arlington Heights, the Cardinals were Chicago’s first pro football team.

Actually very close Ohtani had a 74% in zone contact rate compared to 72% for Mune. Ohtani left the league at a younger age, so not an apples to apples comparison.

I don't think anybody should self-deport, but Caulfield was talking about 3/36, if I remember correctly. And a few of us got swatted down for suggesting somebody like Murakami could sign with the White Sox. NostraCaulfield mocked me for suggesting 3/45.

@caulfield12 lost the ban bet. The proof is in the pudding. Fairbanks did not receive over $20 million. He received $13 million. Also, the Sox signed Murakami for $34 million, which is an individual free agent contract above $17.5 million prior to opening day.

The sad reality is Luis Robert is a $20 million dollar player whose riding 2 straight years of injury filled sub level value. It shouldn’t be surprising at all the Sox are ready to move on as well as getting mediocre offers from other teams. The arrow is way down on this guy now, I think we’ll ultimately look at the trade return and lament what could have been.

It shouldn't be super hard to get Meyers from HOU for like Cannon plus some 15-20 level prospect. That would be much better than trying to turn Baldwin into a CF. If we added him plus like another solid SP option, we could conceivably be close to a .500 team.

Prospects like this? Yhoiker Fajardo is the real prize. Nineteen-year-old who reached Low-A for the Red Sox after being dealt from the White Sox and struck out a ton of people. Above average pitches thus far, but he's got tons of projection remaining (6'3", 181 lbs.) to make them better.

JFC…what a terrible trade.

This guy will take Chicago by storm. The White Sox finally make a move that figures to show in the standings and the stands. Finally some activity on the south side.

On the latest Pipeline podcast, Jim Callis had some kind words about Hagen. He basically said he looked back to his old self in the AFL, and rejuvenated his confidence he can start.

I know Hammond's Mayor decently well. He will give away the farm to get the Bears there. Literally anything he can do, he will. I would also bet money that our Governor would back up the truck for something like this, as we love giving billions in abatements and relief to things like data centers, which provide little to no jobs and economic activity, so a football team wouldn't be much different. I don't know how much the Bears want to leave Chicago, but I will promise you that Indiana will bribe the hell out of them to do so.

Real Estate in Manhattan is super expensive for a reason. I am fortunate enough to live there now. Pretty great honestly.