Look at Ray Ray Run

Yeah this really cracks me up. You sign a guy and immediately have Garfein write a puff piece arguing that he's not actually an asshole and then have another writer release a story saying don't worry guys, the sox talked to the players about the asshole they're signing and they said whatever , its fine. Not a great sign when you have to defend a signing two ways right after making it.

??? isnt that the truth. Guy will probably extend gio tomorrow.

Completely understandable. I have been the same way for every year prior to this one as well. I was defending the failures the past couple off seasons. I've lost faith in their ability to execute at this point but I really hope I'm wrong and that my Maroney optimism returns, they've gotta prove it to me though. Me and Ricky need to rebuild our trust, he cheated on me and lied to me and now we have trust issues.

Adam: wow, what a beautiful day outside Ray Durham the GOAT: it's 0 degrees out with blizzard conditions Adam: wow, what a whiny negative baby you are. Maroney, you're my new favorite poster. Thanks for the laughs and have a wonderful night!

This is a fair point; although the Sox said today he's going to be their starting right fielder so that move in particular will always suck regardless imo.

What? I have no idea what you're rambling about. Nothing i said was whining. I pointed out a real fact and it upset you and I'm very sorry for that. Ill do better to respect your feelings in the future when posting a fact. The White Sox have never signed a 100 million dollar contract but they tried very hard to convince you they were going to spend big the past two off season, and thoughts count so let's all thank them for giving it the old college try. Hopefully that's the positivity you were seeking buddy.

The Eaton moved has been ripped by anyone in baseball with a clue.

I'm whining by stating a fact? Huh? I'm sorry that facts hurt your delirious mindset regarding the team. I love that a fact constitutes whining. I guess we can pretend reality doesn't exist to help you feel better.

Oh my I'll post this here as well, just for you. Of largest contracts signed in team history, the only teams the White Sox rank ahead of are the Indians, A's, (Royals - I missed this one last time) and Pirates. The biggest contract the White Sox have ever signed was for 73 million guaranteed (Royals was 72 million). The Tampa Bay Rays have given a contract that was 26 million more than the largest one the Sox have EVER given. The Sox act like the 5th cheapest team in MLB. IDK how many years you need to see this to understand the White Sox don't pay out big contracts. The White Sox are one of five teams in the history of the game to have never paid out a 100 million dollar contract. Let's wait for it to happen once before we start believing they'll do it.

Yeah, I think Charlie was at that point where he was considering retiring; I think it's more likely I would be signing Quintana in my example above but I'm fine with that. It's not the upside of Charlie but it gives me some stability.

So, with this stipulation it makes it difficult; this just isn't a deep free agent period. All that said, I would try and get creative; without knowing what people are going to sign for I will do my best to estimate. 1. I'd sign Marcell Ozuna - 4 years, 68 million. This would take some creative lineup creation, but assuming Vaughn isn't starting in the big leagues (because he hasn't played a professional baseball game above A ball), I'd have Ozuna play in right field when lefties started, and I'd have him DH with righties on the mound. It would be hard on Robert in CF but that's what you have the fastest and best defensive CF'er in the game for. Additionally, Engel would still be there to as a defensive replacement every game late. 2. I'm fine with the Lynn trade - I would have preferred eating salary and getting another pitcher who was similar for a lesser asset. For the sake of this discussion, I'll leave Lynn on the roster for Dunning. 3. I'd sign Joc Pederson to a 1/2 year deal at 11 per. Joc might be willing to take one year and hit the market again after the CBA. I'd play Joc in right field vs righties and I'd bench him entirely vs lefties. Engel will have plenty of chances to play with poor defenders in left and right much of the year, and given the injury problems with someone like Eloy he'd be a nice safety cushion. 4. I'd have signed Drew Smyly for 1 year 12 million. I'm a big fan of Smyly but his health concerns and inconsistencies are concerning; this is why he'd be a swing starter for me and potentially an elite lefty out of the bullpen. He's got real good stuff. 5. I'd have signed Charlie Morton for 1 year 15 million. This was a perfect 2nd arm fit for the White Sox - I don't know if Charlie had any interest and you'd like have to pay more as I heard rumblings he was considering retirement if not for Atlanta. I'll assume this one was out of reach for the Sox given those circumstances, but he was a perfect 2nd arm to sign. He only wanted one year, which would have worked well for a team who wanted to give arms some time. Those would be my big moves. All in all, it frees up 38 million next off-season and in time for some internal raises, and it fills all your biggest holes. While there are questions in that group, there's also a lot of upside. This likely would be what I would try to pull off if I were the Sox. If you think Morton wouldn't come here, I'd take Quintana on a 1/2 year deal. This gives the Sox a lot of depth and roster flexibility and it doesn't break the bank. All in all, it adds 63 million to the payroll for next year, but much of that money clears after next year. Sox go all in - like they claim they are - and they improve their roster depth and abilities vs righty starters.

It's a great question; I'm getting ready to head out for a few but will answer when I get back. It's not a deep pool of free agents to chose from, but I wouldn't invest heavily in a RP.

So we poach Kasper and the Cubs swoop in and hire white sox legend Willie Harris.

Haha possibly... I guess. 85 appearances 2 years ago and 25 last year is a ton of work. Pair that with his ground ball rate plummeting and the reliance on velocity, and I'm less than enthusiastic about his next three years.

The A's have rode hendricks into the ground, hes entering his mid thirties (32-34) and relies on fastball velocity to dominate hitters. Its not a recipe for success in the least bit.

Yup, I just dont get it. Paying closers, especially when you have done a nice job developing RP arms, is a horrible way to invest money which is right up the Sox alley.

You know you signed a bad clubhouse guy when you have to release a puff piece from a former teammate saying he's actually not bad as the first story post signing.

All I can say to this is there are plenty of arrogant loud mouths in high level sports clubhouses. Imo, Eaton is not a classic example of that. Every team has someone who pushes or shoves all day, and some guys definitely can be bothered by that. The difference is, in those clubhouses people get that. That's not what Eaton was. How do I know? Because it takes a special breed of dick for many teammates and players to publicly rip you in the press. I'll use Carl as an example. From all I have heard, Carl was a psychopath and impossible to get along with. You still didn't have people putting their name on their slander of him publicly. Even AJ - with the exception of garland calling him a horrible person post retirement lol - didn't have teammates putting their name on slandering him. Aubrey huff was a horrible teammare - shocking news - but no one hated him so much they were gonna call him out in the press. When you see guys say everyone hates this guy, and they put their name on it in those clubhouses, it means Eaton is above and beyond the guys youre explaining. Maybe he's matured but it seems unlikely. And Kendrick is backing his guy, that's fine. I'm not saying everyone in baseball hates Eaton. Baseball is full of tons of personalities, but for him to be laughed at by so many shows he's a special breed of bozo. There was the outfielder the cubs signed Milton Bradley- he had that kind of hatred brewing throughout the game. I kind of loved Milton for that though lol.

Uh, did you just dagger this poor soul right before the holiday's?

defense apparently isn't a concern either. so power and defense weren't a concern when acquiring a right fielder. Brilliant work

The media hated Dick Allen, I don't remember a single teammate coming out against him from what I read. In fact, I remember - although this could have been later and I'll defer to your memory from when he played as I wasn't around - countless teammates coming out in support of Dick and saying the media treated him poorly and lied about him because he wasn't accessible to them.

Plenty of assholes have won titles. In many cases, they were very good players who were tolerated. It's an odd choice to put up with an asshole who also isn't very good. Maybe the Sox convinced themselves it was all Robin Venturas fault... who knows. Can you name another player you remember whose own teammates came out adamantly against them in the public sphere? It's rare for that to happen.

Isn't Ozzie Guillen a member of the White Sox family? Didn't he say "no one liked Eaton" on camera? I just don't get this big push from some Sox fans to disprove the narrative that has been substantiated by both Todd Frazier - who also said "Ask ANYONE in the White Sox clubhouse about Eaton" and Ozzie Guillen. Was Ozzie Guillen personally his manager? No. Does Ozzie Guillen have relationships with guys who were his teammate? Absolutely.

I'm not in love with the move, but I'm on board with it. I'm a low man on Lynn and I think command is severely undervalued in the pitching market in the modern game that focuses so much on stuff or location in young arms, so I'm likely a little higher on Dunning IF the command is real. There's also just a real possibility it's not elite command and that Dunning is a dud; that means the horse that gets you to 3-4 WAR next year, pitches deep into games, preserves your bullpen, and most of all pitches every fifth day becomes an incredibly valuable asset for where this team sits today. They need at least 3 pitchers they can count on to carry the load, and they didn't have that. Would I prefer not giving up something, sure... do I find it offensive that they're going to fill that hole with a cheap and good option and not use that money elsewhere? Yes. Do I think investing big money in a closer is the dumbest thing this team could ever do given their depth of young and electric bullpen arms and their perceived ability to develop bullpen talent? Absolutely.

I'm not really trying to make a point regarding the quality of those contracts; the point is that the White Sox act like the Pirates and the Indians and that's embarrassing. Finding the right guys to spend that big money on is up to the GM's and front office; not being able to spend at those levels at all is inexcusable for a franchise that is no where near the bottom in team valuation rankings.