WestEddy

You're right. And I agree with that assessment. Reinsdorf doesn't chase the top end difference makers. But he will spend a bunch of payroll on Joe Kelley and Benintendi to suck. He spends money. He's had an idiot GM who was too clever by half, and a bro-dude VP who had to get his pet players years after they were good.

Great. I agree. He spends. Just not wisely. It's frustrating, yes.

Then the correct sentence would be "Reinsdorf won't spend on the top players in the game." When they're competitive, they're top 10 in payrolls.

It isn't. Reinsdorf won't drop $500m on a player. That is correct. In 2022, their team payroll was 6th highest in MLB. Randomly picking a year out of their last competitive window - 2008. 5th highest. I get the narrative, Reinsdorf won't sign the huge contract. The lie is in saying "he won't spend money", because that's demonstrably untrue.

Baseball-Reference has Crochet with CAA. Has he switched to Boras?

Hahn's foray into bullpen arms wasn't cheap. Grandal and Benintendi weren't small potatoes. No, Reinsdorf does not play in the deep end, but it is not a correct statement to say he won't spend on free agents. We'll see what Getz does in a couple of years when they start getting competitive.

Charlie Tilson, for example.

Ozzie probably pivots away from Benny, Vaughn, and Maldonado sooner? Maybe a swing of 2-4 games? He probably starts screaming for more bullpen churn at some point.

Semantics. The argument is that Reinsdorf is averse to signing "top" free agents. Like, he won't spend the money. This is a situation where the Sox are reported to have submitted the highest bid, and the player's side went elsewhere. Players opting for less money and another team is a different argument from JR being cheap. When they're competitive, it's not crazy for the Sox to have a top 5 payroll. I think everybody agrees Hahn spent that payroll unwisely.

Guaranteed money is guaranteed money. We're not talking 10/$150m. It's more like 3/$30m. I don't even think it's "he doesn't trust his own health". If somebody offers you $100 guaranteed, or $100 contingent on you doing something, and I get to decide if you succeeded, you'd probably take the $100 guaranteed. \ It's a moot point, because it certainly sounds like Getz is open to dealing Crochet.

These are two different arguments. "Reinsdorf won't pay free agents" is not true. In this situation, they offered more to Wheeler, and he went elsewhere. The other is "Hahn can't close a deal", which I don't believe is correct, either. In the Wheeler situation, the reported story was the wife threw down, and that's it. Nobody disputed the reporting, so either it's correct, or there's a worse version that both parties believe the wife story covers up well enough. Jake Peavy waived a no trade to come to the Sox.

It was reported they had the higher offer, and nobody jumped up and said it wasn't true. As far as pursuing going higher, I'm tired of playing the "White Sox don't deserve the benefit of the doubt" game. Hahn and Reinsdorf are businessmen. I'd imagine they pursued it some, they found no movement, and moved on. They can't take 3 weeks wooing somebody who won't be wooed. The problem was there was a whole FA market and a whole trade market, and they put their eggs in one basket. It didn't come to fruition. You can't spend a dollar if the store owner suddenly doesn't want to sell his wares. But you can't find that out at 4:59, and all the stores close at 5.

And just to be clear, I stated they had 15 good prospects across 4 levels. I don't think they'll have 15 guys to pick from in 2025, but I do think they'll have a few arms hitting every year for the next 3-4 years, as they're set up. Jonathan Cannon, I think, is not a power pitcher. I think he'll start, but he'll get moved out of the way by the AA wave.

They negotiated a contract, and the guy's wife threw down. What's "a little bit" more? Do you not think they pursued that, and hit a dead end? The point is, they had the highest offer. A whole bunch of people keep throwing out "JR won't pony up free agents!!" He has, and I think he still will. It's a dumb narrative. He had a two-headed hydra for 12 or so years, and they kept fucking up. He spends, Hahn just spent his money unwisely. Hahn was not a good GM. He could sure pull off the trade, but (and I don't know if it was KW) but he wasn't good with the plan Bs. Maybe that's why he always tried to nail his big moves early and quick, and be done by day 2 of the owners' meetings.

True, but if you're talking about 2026, a lot can happen in 2 off-seasons, 2 drafts and 2 trade dead-lines. I just got caught up in the "impossible to sign a mid-rotation starter" part of the argument.

Oh, I didn't see that you made changes in the response. Sorry for my reaction. You're not condescending.

There, fixed it for you. What should they do? Give him twice what he's worth? That's stupid. Then everybody's wife "hates" Chicago, and we're paying twice the going rate. It's total spin. No, Hahn wasn't a good GM. But let's quit with the BS.

Reason. Not paragraph, reason. "Drohan - junkballer". You're dismissive. If you don't think there are 15 starting pitching prospects in our system, just say so. Don't coax me into giving you a list, then just be a condescending prick about it. You think I'm an asshole? I give back as good as I get it.

Spin it any way you want. They actually offered more than the Phillies. Wheeler's wife wanted to be on the East Coast.

I'm not sure if you're agreeing or arguing with me. It is difficult. I think that in the past, the Sox just succumbed to public pressure, and signed Adam Dunn, or plugged in a AAAA player. But scouting and signing Frankie Montas isn't some great accomplishment. We're in a rebuild. This T R U guy is suggesting that filling starting roles through the minor leagues, then finishing with FA is impossible, or something. JR has "approved" it happening when he had a GM who wanted to do it. Ron Schueler and KW didn't seem to have any problem. We'll see how Getz does. I suppose he's over his head because he doesn't call all his players garbage on a message board. LOL.

Relying on their own scouting probably already has. I don't think Hahn/KW were very good at using or listening to their scouts.

That's probably true. Promotions seem to be pretty deliberate this season, Getz' first. Burke rocketed up the ladder until he got injured.

I'm led to believe the Sox made a very competitive bid on Wheeler, and he just opted for the Phillies. They could have gone nuts this last off-season and had 3 mid-rotation arms at 1/$15m. They cut their budget.

It's almost like they think GMs sit at home and read Fangraphs to do their scouting.

If only major league GMs were to figure out the "sign or trade for all the good players" philosophy. I often wonder why guys like you aren't constantly being recruited by major sports teams. You seem to have it all figured out.