poppysox

I prefer Q or Richards to Musgrove because of the only money part of the equation. I think you are right with your view that JR would be willing to spring for the big bucks but I doubt he views Bauer to be worth the high end of that range. Five years at 150 feels about right.

Hope you all have a great New Year. This is probably the beginning of the best decade in White Sox history. It should be a fun ride.

Gio seems like the kind of guy who will want to be part of this competitive window...and RH knows how to whisper the right words in his target's ear. Having Katz in our corner doesn't hurt the chances either. I think Rick will get this done.

It will be interesting to see how Eloy and others are used in the TL lineup.

I don't see how anyone can fault this move. Bargain!

True.

Not in my opinion. We have the best team chemistry I've ever seen. He seems like just the of type of teammate that could screw that up.

Whenever I get impatient about signing someone early...I remind myself of Adam Dunn (Dec. 2nd) and Adam LaRoche (Nov. 25th) signing early.

Back in the day...Moncada would have the added pressure of being the man everyone is counting on. I love that there is a minimum of pressure to carry the team on any player. Jose got in great shape last year and that for sure was the primary reason for his outstanding MVP year. However, it certainly helped that he had lots of help so as not to feel the need of carrying the whole team on his back. All of our guys make up a "team" instead of the pressure that comes with the small personal slums that are sure to hit everyone during the daily grind the season presents.

So far...Katz has been the most exciting addition this offseason. Fans were willing to give Coop hugh credit for his ability to "fix" our pitchers. I see no reason to think Katz is not able to fix a few of these guys as well. Lopez and Cease have tons of natural ability. Katz showed the ability to get Giolito back on track..so why not Lopez and Cease.

I am anxious to see what Katz can do with Lopez. A young arm like Lopez would seem to be the ideal project for a young coach to earn his stripes.

I agree with you that the three work together on most acquisitions. Rick is the contract guy and a very good negotiator. Ken is the main baseball skills evaluator with Jerry being the money guy. Rick comes from a Harvard Law background...not a ballplayer at all. He certainly could not and should not be the talent evaluator. Pretty sure Kenny should not be doing the heavy-duty contract work either.

I was one of those like you that would do the slow burn every time Madrigal was mentioned in these pretend deals. Now I just keep my nose out of the discussion until there is really something to get upset about. I trust RH won't be trading either guy mentioned without us getting the upper hand in the deal.

You can add Eloy, Yoan, and Madrigal to your list of likable players. This is the most "likeable" team in Sox history for my money. The fact that they are good players really adds to the enjoyment of watching WS baseball.

Very hopeful that we have one of those coaches in Katz.

In 2 out of 3 cases we would have been better off being shut down. Once again proving that some of the best deals are the ones you don't make.

I take the position of "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." "

It seems a lot longer than 12 days.

You could be right....but I think they will let him catch every day at AAA.

Suzuki, Flowers, and Molina in that order.

Need to see the pay grade of each position to know for sure.

Senior Vice-President and General Manager is RH current title. Sounds very lateral to me.

It was suggested that Cease and Stiever would make a fair deal for Darvish...I disagreed. I believe it is an overpay considering the Darvish salary.

That was the payoff for Sale on a very affordable contract. Darvish is not going to get a Sale like return IMO. I guess how someone interprets who is a top prospect is subjective.

I am fine with Darvish but we should only push a token player into the pot. We would be taking on a really big salary giving the Cubs salary relief.