gdane

Waiting for Buehrle to come back so I can get the perfect game front page of the Tribune that I've been holding on to for over a decade, signed.

What happens to Collins? A .220/.340/.800 split over the next 2 years between the majors/AAA, and then I'll be able to drive down to Rosemont to see him mash for the Chicago Dogs in 2022.

The complacency around here is quite telling. If the general consensus around White Sox fandom is that signing 3rd/4th tier free agents to fill holes previously occupied by below replacement level bodies is good enough to "win" off-seasons, then its no wonder that Hahn and Co. aren't players for the top-flight free agents. They don't need to be. What an absolute crime.

I'm not sure Hahn has failed, but things do not look the way that I was hoping that they would look when this began years ago. The main reasons for this: -Our hit rate on draft picks (not just 1st rounders) has been abysmal. Doesn't look like we will have a single above-average regular (or even average regular?) from the '15 draft. The '16 draft is hanging on the ability of Collins to ever be anything after the other once-promising guys have fizzled (Hamilton/Hansen/Burdi...does Alex Call count as once promising?). '17 looks bad too....Lu Gon anyone? .....First rounders of Fulmer/Burdi/Collins/Burger are just a great big bucket of puke - Unwillingness (outside of Cubans) to invest in the top of the international market. This is something that isn't talked about enough, but what has happened in the international market by this regime is bordering on unacceptable. They've put themselves at a huge disadvantage by not using spending loopholes other org's have in the INT market. -Inability to read the FA market. I'm convinced that Hahn & Co thought that the FA market would be much fatter than it was this season, but the glut of extensions signed around spring training last year shifted this market from one of the best ever, to one with 3 big dogs and then a lot of 2nd/3rd tier options that we are accustomed to.

I'm starting to wonder if it would be more effective for this FO to get lit up by tough questions and facts about competitive payroll from fans at Sox Fest, or if nobody shows up to Sox Fest. I'm thinking the latter.

What a sad state of affairs...this team hasn't been to the playoffs in a decade, we have glaring holes in our rotation, have been told over and over and over that the money will be spent, yet fans are ok with waiting for the market to settle before zeroing in on backend starters.

If Castellanos OPS's .980 next year I'll never post here again