Look at Ray Ray Run

Ding ding ding. Guys who are hoping to not be signing their last contract will likely factor in other reasons to drive their value next time they negotiate if they fall into that crowd. I'm not mad at the white sox for missing out on a player like this.

I'm not sure how many times I have said the higher up in the market you go the more pressure for a player to take the most money. Every single marquee free agent has taken the most guaranteed money. Even wheeler was at the middle of the market. Rendon, Harper, Manny, Stras and Cole all took the most guaranteed money. The rule doesnt really apply as much to a guy whose money difference was 1-2 million. Those guys are not market setters. At the bottom of the market you get a lot of reasons why a player signs with a team; playing time and growing value over the duration of that deal being big drivers. Porcello, for example, likely could have gotten more guaranteed money but he thought it would be smarter to reser his market next year in hopes of a bounce back season.

Eh, the Cubs decision to streamline their game on a national channel was a smart move back then, but when judging the Sox TV revenues vs their perceived fan base interaction they've done incredibly well. Also, given that most every team went the cable direction it's hard to be critical. You could argue the Sox haven't made the best move in regards to expanding their fan base, but baseball is such a regional sport I don't really see immense value in making your games nationally televised in the modern game. When the Braves and Cubs had national coverage it clearly grew their brand, but I'm not sure how feasible that angle is today. Because Jerry was one of the first to market on these ownership % deals, he did incredibly well because he timed it with the cable boom.

Yes, baseball is now in the 21st century.

From a business standpoint the sox are really savvy which makes them not spending really tragic. The Sox were at the forefront of taking ownership in their cable channels to get a % cut guaranteed instead of a yearly contracted amount thats flat. Some teams started their own network like the Yankees but the Sox weren't in a position to do that. Maybe they are looking at streaming revenues. I know they didnt spend a lot last year but they also didnt generate any real attendance and they were still the 6th most profitable team I mlb baseball. The sox know what they're doing from a business and money making standpoint.

I am not a Hahn hater to the degree that many here are - I think most would agree with that. I try to call it like I see it, and Rick should STFU talking about shit like that. Obviously the White Sox extend Eloy regardless of whether they signed Manny or not. I understand what Rick is trying to do; he's trying to douse the flames by throwing fan favorites out there as pieces we have given money too in hopes of the fanbase says "he's right, I love Eloy and wouldn't want to lose him."

Grandal really has no split issues - as I noted above, his career wRC+ vs righties is 119 and lefties is 114.

Yeah, and this makes the catcher position really lethal; I'll give them that. Let's say McCann maintains his level of play vs lefties which is likely possible. The White Sox had 50ish starts vs lefties last year. Lets say McCann starts those games at catcher. That's a wRC+ of 132 at the position and he maintains his defense at the same level he's worth 1.8 WAR (roughly) in those 50 games. Then take Grandal in the remaining 112 games vs righties and we'll assume his wRC+ is around 120 against righties (Yasmani really doesn't have crazy splits vs L/R, he's pretty much the same in his career vs both - 114 vs 119). That's worth 3.9 WAR. So the White Sox would be getting 5.7 WAR just out of the catchers position - Grandal also adds additional WAR value when he DH's. That makes them the best catching combination in baseball and matches the production of the best catcher in baseball (Realmuto).

Rick tried to cite Eloy's team friendly extension as further proof that the money is being spent. I guess every move the White Sox make over the next 5 year will somehow have to do with the 250 they offered Manny and wouldn't have happened had Manny accepted the contract. So apparently, the White Sox wouldn't have extended Eloy to a good deal, or resigned Abreu, had they gotten Manny; so it was either Manny or everyone else. That's what Rick Hahn really wants us to believe.

Medicals are exchanged following an agreed upon return. Frequently after reviewing medicals if there are red flags you did not see before, you will go back to the team and discuss additional compensation, or something, to offset the medicals. If you can't agree upon the additional compensation, the trade can be voided. See the recent Tommy Pham trade if you'd like an example.

With the blackouts ending, smart teams are getting out in front of streaming; I'm actually surprised not to see the sox pushing anything here. Yankees signed a contract with Amazon to stream their games. Teams need to find a way to profit off something other than cable tv prices. The yankees teaming with amazon was one of the implied reasons they went back to the mega deal hammer for cole.

No way it was Stras. 32 would have scared them off. They seem to not like ryu or Keuchel which I cant blame them for.

Everyone of the top guys took the most guaranteed money again. Dodgers and rangers both tried to get cute with the years and aav. Its about the money. Dont let hahn convince you otherwise.

From f**ans article it appears the sox will not be in on any of the top starters left. Hahn seemed to kick the can down the road another offseason by implying that you sign guys in their 30s when you know the window is here. Youd prefer younger guys if you're not quite sure. Wonder what there excuse next year will be. We're still not sure were there yet lol. Hahn also seemed to imply that they were in on one of the top guys without saying which one... but it just didn't work out.

The only way this makes sense is if they eat a horrible contract entirely to get a young player who they think is worth his contract + the bad contract more than one of the current FA'a are worth with their expected price tag.

its like watching your own fanbase through a different lens.

Mike Martin; the world's most stubborn swing destroyer! Swing like I want you to, or leave. It took Buster 2 full years before he told him that he thought he was a little more talented than his dumb ass swing plane coaching; in busters ever so polite way of course. You need to be willing to adjust to your players but I guess once you win enough games no one cares.

I think theres some big misconception that off-season work means you don't get it from your club. Plenty of players use outside tools and sources like Driveline. Bauer loved driveline and, as far as I know the Indians do take part in this analysis. Outside opinions can provide a different look that you dont get from your team. I know Ryan from his days at Top Tier Baseball - don't want to pretend that we've spoken recently because we haven't, but I had discussions when he got into consulting on things like biomechanics and as I understand it that is his primary role within the organization. Obviously I think Ptac information is much more first hand and I'd defer to him but he seems to agree.

Yes, and it's his main role within the organization. Remind me not to trust BDB's guarantees!

Also, I admittedly judge people who post shit like this on social media: What you do speaks louder than what you say, but let me say something anyway and post for the world to see! The guy also lists former hitting coach of Mizzou in his profile when the guy never even coached a single player there.

Yes, this is a great point and something I never thought about before.

They seemed to be caught up by not wanting to assign a title that would imply he is higher up than those he was trying to guide/assist/change. That part seemed like semantics to me. At the end of the day, it was his job to get people to buy in and I am guessing messaging was the issue here. You work in IT; I think you understand where I'm going. People trust you, and what you have to say, but they don't understand it if you don't speak a language they can relate to. I have people at my job who hate numbers (ironic and sad given the industry) and my job - at times - is to build presentations for that audience. Part of that job is to speak in a way they can relate and understand to gain their confidence in what I am saying. As I said, no one is breaking down Matt Lisle's door. Smart individual instructor, and maybe that's just all he is.

Price ZIPS projection puts him under 6 WAR over the next 3 years. FG's, which admittedly didn't project pitching contracts well this off-season, said Price would likely get a 1-2 year deal under 30 million if he signed today. Price is underwater because he's always hurt, and he's old, but he's owed a ton of money. Nothing about this off-season changed the worth of Price.

And he failed at assisting them with understanding and accepting it. Not all professionals in the working world speak the same lingo, and it's really important to speak to your audience to get them to buy into your change. Data is not enough to drive change; language and personality play a huge part of it. The organization was clearly willing to start integrating this, but Lisle apparently wasn't the best fit. Are they late to the party? Absolutely... but does the firing of Lisle signify they've quit on the mission? Of course not.