LDF

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 05:12 PM) Not that it really means anything, but Scott Gregor believes our roster is pretty much set. i pretty much has or had that impression right before soxfest.

Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said he’s “most likely” finished making moves before the deadline. dang, i was really hoping that the hawks would have been able to get rid of bickell and pick up a d-man. either way , bowman got this team ready for the playoff run.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 03:51 PM) That is actually not true. It is when it gets irrational, repetitive, and obsessive. Literally all you post is about Sox management being horrible. Honestly Dick Allen and I have had major differences over the the years, and nothing about his posting has even approached what you give. He can at least give rationale and linear thoughts, and be involved in more than one discussion. that is one thing that many can not see, what is or what will this site be if we are all followers. no one to have a different opinion that the mods / admin has?? this is not a negative rant against the admin / mods, but many are afraid to cross them and their opinions. a healthy discussion is great, with a difference of opinions. esp if no cussing is used to express their opinions. it makes for great reading.

ok, i looked at the beginning of this post, i will accept that i was wholeheartedly for the signing, i wanted someone else but i was extremely happy with the signing. i went thru 10 pages and i only counted 2 posted who did not like it. the majority was in favor. the point is, most of us would be wrong, that is the gamble of players having a good yr, a yr past their prime, or anything. it was a gamble well worth the outcome.

while this was a great deal, now with eaton uncertainty for the beginning of the season, the really need a CF'er

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 01:42 PM) Who should the Sox have signed this offseason, and how much should their limit have been to pay them? this is a great question. i never in favor of signing any of the top 4 elite fa's. i wanted or hoped that the sox could have use or max the money they would have spent, to fix this team. i believe i have stated this several times before,i also hope that the sox would spend to the limit of 140-150, with the idea of 28+ mil coming off the books at the end of the yr. now the acct part of the owners budget is or will be done by the experts that they hire, accountants. i had a hard time approving the idea of signing fowlers, but if the price was right, go for it. the idea was to improve this team. while at the same time let the farm improve as well. this would have been a steep price b/c of the comp pick and the yrs it would to make him happy. now part of this is hindsight, i thought something like 12-15 mil per for 3 yrs, and opt clause after 2yr. i am also adamant on blowing thru the int'l signing and get as many prospects in the system for future use. the sox needs backup players for players with the idea of "what happen if they do not develop as hope" now i use the reason of the horrible managing by the FO that got the sox in this state, esp in the draft picks. remember the draft picks are prospects and up to several yrs ago, this farm is vacant on elite prospects. back to your question, i really like a jack as the final piece, i also would sign sminon-sp. those are the only 2 left that i would love to be on the team. so far hahn as done a great job of fixing this team, all i am saying is finish the job.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 01:10 PM) You forgot Pods, Hermanson, Contreras, Vizcaino, etc. F. Garcia is the only one we really paid a seemingly "high" price at the time of acquisition...and Politte was yet another scrap heap deal. The problem is we've gone eight years without that combined amount of success that we had over those 18 months. and how many failed, by failed, i mean help the sox get to the playoff, how many times the sox had a chance to pick up a viable fa, only to go the reclamation route. how many times did that worked, better yet, help get this team to the playoff.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 05:54 AM) Oh wait, this post again. Where did I put my shocked face at? as a mod once said to me, you can always press the ignore button.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 03:55 AM) Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Without it, you like LaRoche, were hoping they would spend even more on Matt Kemp, and thought Abreu, Kemp, LaRoche, and Avi made a nice middle of the line up. Your complaining and constant critiquing is a joke. If they listened to you, the payroll would be higher and the team worse. ref the bold, aren't we all guilty of critiquing in some way the sox org??? just asking. peace

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Feb 28, 2016 -> 03:58 AM) Great question, Dick Allen. When the team signed Belle to that record setting contract (at the time) for the combined $55M that it was, the team's net worth then was $144M. The team's net worth now is approximately $976M, and yet since that extraordinary explosion in wealth amassed by the ownership group, the largest contract they've handed out was the paltry (by comparison) one they gave to Abreu for $68M. That puts the Sox in the exclusive company of being the only team outside the friggin' A's and Pirates who have not offered a contract greater than $70M to anyone. Now it would be one thing if Reinsdorf & Co. could point to a track record of achievement and accomplishment to say "Hey, our way has worked!". But very sadly, they can do no such thing. The team hasn't won more than 90 games in a decade, and the last playoff appearance was eight years ago. The owners have gotten massively rich over the years, while meanwhile, we the fans have been treated to the delight of watching the likes of Dunn, LaRoche, Rios, Beckham, Flowers, Gillespie, etc. trying to ply their trade, with no postseason appearances remotely in sight. Money was spent foolishly on many unsuccessful second and third tier type players during the past ten years (don't forget the likes of Linebrink, Teahen, and Keppinger!). Perhaps it would be better spent on fewer yet far more talented ones going forward. It's not an approach the team has tried in the past, but given the horrid results of the approaches they have tried, it might be one worth looking into. i am not taking side but am replying to the post. this post was a very good one. ref the bold, they spent money on ill advice or by poor management decision that was running the team and an idea of the way to do it. most gm or such would have been let go with this kind of success rate. granted 1 WS but when was that?? how long can someone keep riding that moment of success??

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Feb 27, 2016 -> 06:20 PM) Lol - I didn't say we were cheap. Those are your words, not mine. I'm just pointing out the fallacy of suggestions the Sox are operating under "limited resources" at the moment. They are not, not by a long shot. for what is it worth, i agree, they have the money to do this. last yr, they made a mention that they did make a profit and according to them a modest one, so translated they made more than they would be willing to admit to. i believe this was done in the 2014 season. also if wants to look at the forbe's printout, the sox spending and profit, shows a profite. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 27, 2016 -> 06:28 PM) How much Is available? I agree they have some money to spend but that doesn't mean you spend it all. It has to make sense. Does giving Cespedes $30 million for 2016 and the option to walk away if he is good after one season , or be stuck paying him big money if he is a flop make sense? Does giving Alex Gordon at his age $100 million make sense? How how should they go with Fowler before it makes no sense? Sometimes spending money makes you money. Sometimes spending it foolishly means you won't have it when you need it. but playing safe, maintaining a status quo or not making a move that maybe a mistake, if that is the stance, how does one team improves. the reason is. anything can happen that is not anticipated. afraid of making a move to avoid making a mistake, they then, the sox should sell and take the grantee money built in the org.... before they are afraid of loosing that profit. QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Feb 27, 2016 -> 06:42 PM) You mean like the money we spent on LaRoche and Cabrera right now that could have been spent on one of the premium OFs in free agent this offseason? hind sight they went out to improve the team, if fans are saying that laroche will improve, then they should use that excuse for melky as well.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 27, 2016 -> 04:00 PM) I'm still into the idea of Jackson being the CF. Move Eaton to left, Melky to right and you for sure upgrade left and center defensively (right field would probably be a wash). Let Avi play a little RF games where Melky could DH against lefties. Or if struggles in the spring let him work on his new swing/stance in the minors while getting another platoon bat for LaRoche (Raburn comes to mind). That's how I'd go about the next month. i really think that is how many posters sees it. but we don't run the team.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Feb 27, 2016 -> 04:50 AM) They lucked out that he opted out. Baltimore was still paying him one of (if not) the highest salaries in the game for 3 seasons after he retired. Giving Fowler an opt out and giving up a draft pick is stupid because Fowler is almost certainly not worth the QO the next year. While Cespedes is almost certainly worth a QO after this year, the Mets giving him $27.5 is pretty crazy. And whatever it wouldve take the Sox to pry him away- it would presumably have to be at least $30 million- would be stupid. what is the objective of every team in the off season??? to improve the team to compete and get into the running for the playoff. with that said, what is the priority of every team ??? is it to improve the farm team, to prevent the parent team on making a running for the playoff, but not doing the necessary sacrifice .... what is stupid, since you like that word, is not to make the obvious moves, for what ever reasons.

Bowman strikes again, getting this team ready for the final weeks and ready to rock ~ n ~ roll in the playoff. on a side note, i wish he would have been able to get a vet d-man that wouldn't cost more than 1.5 mil or a RFA at the end of the season. but i guess, i would never be content. saying that, this team really look solid. question, does anyone know of any past yrs, the hawks teams looking this solid from top to bottom, going to the final months ???? now i gots to tempered my enthusiasm.

i just saw 2 movies, Risen, it was entertaining, enjoyable. they took liberties with the the actual story, i think, i need to go and do some reading. side-note, Joseph Fiennes really bulk up for this role. what was so weird was seeing the old Draco Malfoy from the harry potter fame, Tom Felton acting without a wand. the next movie i saw was Gods of Egypt. i really didn't read up or read the plot. it was again entertaining, a family kind of movie. the movie is a mixture of the old disney movie Sinbad the Sailor and a huge part of the Mummy series with Brandon Frazier. both decent movies, family, nothing to write home about.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 08:46 PM) Such a weird trade. The two best teams in the West exchanging old, bad, defensemen. ref the trade, i am a little confused, but i like it and consider this a win for the hawks. as tony mention, i wonder how much the hawks will retain.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:37 PM) Everyone left as a FA is bad, including Austin Jackson, who has become overrated in the past few weeks now that all the good OFs are gone. Yes his D is solid, but his bat has been downright awful, and he's not coming at some Rollins or Latos-like discount. Boras will get him his money, and I don't think it will be with the Sox. Hahn must have a trade, secret target or obvious target, lined up. I just can't imagine what's taking so long to complete it. good point and that is my main point, is his defense better than Avi and / or can he possible play cf as well.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:33 PM) Right on. I'm not understanding all the Cubbie-Fowlie love. He actually took a pay cut from the Cubs official offer. Cubs offered $15.8M guaranteed. Fowler declines and then signs for... $13M guaranteed?? Even Howie Kendrick nominally beat his QO when he crawled back to the Dodgers with his tail between his legs. If Fowler really loved the Cubs so much (which is a little odd anyway since he's only played there for one year of his decade-long career), he should have just taken their first offer. If he wanted more money, he should have signed with Baltimore. If the Cubs really appreciated Fowler's loyalty, they should have honored initial the $15.8M guarantee as opposed to undercutting him. It's like Fowler got played, and yet he comes away smiling. I don't get it. you make a good point, several players took the QO for the reason, i am sure that the OF market will come down to this. that is why you are seeing a 1 yr contract, bet on oneself and enter the fa market again.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:31 PM) Murphy is bad damn, you are killing my thought process. thanks for that honest pov.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) FA outfielders left are: Jackson, Murphy, RIOS, DeJesus, Raburn Jackson to the Sox seems like the obvious fit, with the other teams supposedly interested in him looking elsewhere or being rejected. Rangers biggest threat, IMO i want Murph .... and or raburn

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) would be fantastic, as even though Fowler is a bit better, the lack of comp pick for Jackson makes him more valuable in terms of salary but jackson agent comes into play here. he will want and maneuver to get the most for his client for the longest term possible.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) or that they thought he sucked on defense and would only take him at a huge bargain? never thought of it that way.... i like the thought process.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:24 PM) This directly conflicts with your previous statement that it was never about the money. What are you arguing? i think i get it, no offense but i see that fowlers is going back esp with a team that can win, then next yr it will be about the money.

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:21 PM) Levine said that the Sox offered him 2/$17mil nothing but a token offer to low ball and claim to have tried.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 26, 2016 -> 03:17 PM) Venable is likely at the Indians camp taking his physical and now the Indians are waiting for the results before they make the official announcement. To me it doesn't matter either way since I don't really have any interest in Venable anyway. and for me, i will judge this in, is he better than Avi in the OF, defensively?? i will let those posters who are really good with the advance stats to figure this out.