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This is flat out a lie.

lets sweeten the pot by offering Dion Sims. That should help

Don't forget never calling for a bunt. This is the American League. Never bunt. It's one of my (and others I'm sure) main criticisms of Rick Renteria.

Machado wants to play on the East coast. Probably should have traded some decent prospects for him last winter so he could have experienced how awesome it is to lose 100 games when no one is paying attention.

This. The "year" for international signings runs from July 2 of one year until June 15 the next year. We can start signing players to deals of over $300,000 on July 2, 2019.

When national guys say Chicago, they mean the Cubs. So I don't think he's a realistic option. Also, paying a manager is not Jerry's MO.

I think it's a moot point since Ricky's keeping the seat warm for Vizquel anyway....

So they signed with the Marlins why did we have no interest I thought we were out of the penalty box this year. People criticize the Marlins but the reason why they are able to keep tearing things down is because they go after the latin and cuban boys in IFA

The good news is that we should have been able to negotiate exclusively with this class for the past two years, knowing that we could only chase the lower level guys in these two years. We'll see how it works.

It's ok. His only friend in baseball Welington Castillo will convince him to sign here.

Well he’s literally not even striding so it’s definitely some kind of drill and not his actual swing.

It's a nice fluff article but Heyman absolutely was referring to the Cubs.

I think people see the word "bust" thrown around so much that they no longer know what it means.

lmao wut

I’m not really that much a believer in these “star” managers. The only one I’d stop everything for is Francona. That said, Girardi in my book is much better than Renteria, so I don’t see a reason not to unless you tell me the money he’s paid will prevent Sox from doing more in FA.

From a high level it amazes me that Soxtalk has spent a decade plus hating the Kenny Williams win now type moves, only to have most of the same people posting Kenny Williams type win now moves in the middle of a rebuild. This first month of the off season has been all about quitting on young players and signing second level retread free agents.

The Manny Machado saga continues and I like this jerk less, every day. I will be disappointed if the Sox even offer him the kind of contract, which has been speculated. This guy seems to have a questionable character: Putting aside the controversial hard slides, in an effort to break up double plays, which after all, used to always be part of baseball, there are plenty of instances where this creep is revealing his character. First, he says he's not the kind of guy who runs hard on ground outs, insisting that he's not the "Johnny Hustle" type, as though to disparage guys who do hustle. He might have done himself a favor by admitting that it's one of his faults and that he hopes to improve that part of his game, in the future. It's as though he is saying; "Hey, I'm great and that's who I am, so take it, or leave it, I'm not going to change". I still have trouble seeing how Renteria would reconcile the team spending a fortune, to bring in a guy who shamelessly proclaims that he does not intend to ever be a guy who runs hard on ground outs, with the team's philosophy of demanding that everyone do precisely that. Then, he kicks Aguilar and doesn't seems to be sorry. He certainly didn't' demonstrate any contrition. He could have simply said; "It was an accident, and I'm just glad that no one was hurt". Instead, he says; "call it what you want". What the Hell is that supposed to mean? Ok, the League called it and slapped him with a fine. And most recently, when the Milwaukee fans booed him, he turns to them and grabs his genitals. Real classy. This guy is a real heel, in the tradition of Pro Wrestling. No thanks, I don't want to have to root for a player like that. I hope the front office will use the franchise's vast financial resources to acquire a little more likable person. You know, it's already inherently difficult to relate to players who make the kind of money they do, playing a game, that most guys would play for nothing, if they just had the chance. Trying to relate to a player, with Machado's attitude, just makes it all that much more difficult. I understand that for some, the only thing that matters is winning. "Who cares what kind of people the players are, as long as they are the champions"? The problem with that approach is that fans have to live with many seasons, in which their favorite team is not the World Champion. How do we deal with those seasons, if the players are not likable people?

Well last year one of the guys I was pushing hard for was Buchholz, and he ended up signing with the Dbacks and having a really strong year. Only 1 start did he allow more than 3 runs, and only 1 start did he ever walk more than 2 batters. This year I'll go ahead and throw my hat in for (Well Buchholz is a FA again. So do that a flipable piece in July) Trevor Cahill. Just going off of fWAR/IP, he had the best year of his career in 2018, and quietly in Oakland. He put up a 2.0 fWAR over 110 IP. But looking at his pitchFX, what I like is that his slider got MUCH harder and the usage went way up. He added 3 MPH to his slider over any other season. And we went from a previous career high usage of 8.8% of the time, to 18.9%. He's also throwing his change-up at a career high. He will be 31 when the season starts. So what type of offer do you throw him? Not really sure how much anyone trusts him to pitch 180+ IP. He hasn't done that since 2012. 2 yrs/$16M, with a team option for a 3rd year at $12M with a $2M buyout? That will promise him $18M over 2 years, with a potential for $30M. He likely becomes just a flip candidate, unless this team is ready to be good in 2020 and his 2021 option year. And as a crazy under-the-radar deal..... go out and grab Garrett Richards. He had TJS back in July, so he's out until 2020. But see if you can get him on some incentive laden deal. No idea what that would be, but it was done last year with Drew Smyly on a 2 yr/$10M deal. Obviously Richards is much better than Smyly.....so... 3 yrs/$30M? Basically the deal comes down to 2 yrs/$30M when he's fully recovered. Try to work in some option for a 4th year at $18M that vests if he pitches 350 IP over the 3 year deal, otherwise it reverts to a club option for $9M. Something creative like that. So Cahill and Richards. I could see Marwin Gonzalez being a target from the hitting standpoint. But those guys aren't as valuable as flip candidates, so it's hard to dream on value moves with hitters.

lol dude COME ON

On paper, maybe...in reality, given their track record and the state of the franchise at this moment (promise non withstanding) I'd say the odds are small and long.

Poor Reddy, his race is back in play after it was considered all but over. Should be an interesting stretch run, with the GOP gaining some traction after the Kavanaugh appointment. Now it all comes down to 223. Dems are guaranteed to pick up at least 15, but there are roughly 75 competitive races still out there. The Senate is going to stay in Republican hands, so more divided government is likely. At this point, cooperating on an infrastructure bill (afterwards) is an iffy proposition, at best. Reddy can more accurately make the argument that 2020 will rank as the most important/defining election for the direction of the country. This election seems that way to him because he’s right in the middle of the action, the can’t see the forest for the trees thing.

If you can’t handle this level of discussion, then you’re the one wasting your time masquerading around as a supposed “Administrator” of an internet message board dedicated to serious discussion about the Chicago White Sox.

Versus what? What is your damn point here? That Sox fans should fill Guaranteed Rate Field at 40,000 every night even in seasons where the play is so poor that they lose 100 games? Sell out crowds one right after another over a six year period like the one the team just went through where the team lost more games than any team in baseball? What are you actually trying to say! That a billionaire owner deserves or is entitled to blind loyalty no matter how deficient the product he puts on the field? GMAFB! What a completely out of touch point of view.

God this season sucked and it wasn't just the losses. It was the lack of progress. It was the injuries. The Kopech one was the true gut punch. I could keep positive about 2020 until that.

My feelings certain aren’t hurt. This board is loaded with diehards, some who go to 50 games a year, some who haven’t been to a game in years. It doesn’t make them lesser fans. The Sox have to appeal to the masses. That is on them. Right now the Cubs are the latest tricked out IPhone,a dn the Sox are a cheap Korean made knockoff. It isn’t White Sox fans responsibility to change that.

You are the smartest person on this site, no question about it , your comments are all correct, this organization is a perfect saying of mine which is just because you are rich doesn't mean you are smart.

1) Can’t change location 2) Can’t change ballpark and make it suddenly historic or a regional/national tourist pilgrimage “bucket list” item 3) Made some limited attempts to invigorate experience around and inside ballpark but it’s certainly not an entertainment complex or destination district now 4) Still at a massive disadvantage in terms of generating media coverage vs. Bears/Cubs/Hawks Other than winning more than the Cubs, which would require 3 ALCS’s in a row and another World Series title...and getting past the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Indians, A’s, Angels, Rays, that’s a tall order to fill even if everything had gone exactly according to plan.

2. Only the Mariners and Padres have longer playoff-less runs.

My question is how do you propose to fix it? How do you make people want to show up and spend money on a team that hasn't won anything for a long time? AFAIK, the Cubs are the only MLB team that managed to do it, but they are the exception, not the rule. If it takes being owned by a major newpaper and having their games played on an nationally televised super station to do it then it's probably not going to happen.

That's pretty much universal except for the Cubs, although they had some bailing, and their TV ratings were worse than the White Sox. Most people leave when things aren't going well. If a restaurant you loved and were a big fan, suddenly started sucking, are you a bad person for never going back? If your employer cuts your pay and benefits because they aren't making enough money, and asks you to work longer hours, would you consider another line of work? If you like a TV show and it just gets stale, do you insist you still must watch because you are a good fan? There are some things where you can criticize the White Sox base. Not showing up the past 6 seasons isn't one of them. Not showing up when the team is bad is not something that is unique to White Sox fans. The thing I worry about is will they show up when things are good? That really hasn't been the case since the WS high wore off.

Unfortunately the White Sox do not get the benefit of the doubt here.

They've left in droves since 2005 because: The team has only played in one playoff series and only won one playoff game in the 13 years since 2005; The team hasn't been to the playoffs in over a decade now, representing the 4th longest playoff drought in all of baseball; The team has lost more games in the last six years than any other team in baseball; and The team just came off its worst year since 1970, losing 100 games

What the White Sox accomplished in the 22 year carve out of the current owner's 38 year history of owning the team, the Cubs under their current owner have accomplished in the last four years.

What an absolute dumpster fire. My god. This thread is horrible. Longtime members and contributors get banned for deleting posts but some of these people get to post here? Woof. There needs to be a baseline entrance exam or something because what was once a destination for intelligent banter about my favorite baseball team has turned into a chorus of nonsense from the lowest denominator of fans.