LDF

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 08:05 PM) No, Sharp was traded because of salary cap reasons. The Hawks won a cup last year with the Keith/Sharp nonsense. When these players get on the ice/field/court, it doesn't matter anymore. since you really do not work for the front office of the hawks, you really don't know. there was a huge discussion on this board about that. now, the salary cat does comes into player here, the hawks got back 4.2 mil in salary and sharp contract was 5.9 going out. but in order to sweeten the deal johns was added to the sharp pkg to entice dal to do the trade. they the hawks needed to get sharp off the team.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 07:48 PM) Sharp needed to go because he had value. Proof, you say? Bickell is still on this team. No value. Even if you don't like the trade Bowman made...as someone said earlier, he was under the thumb of the salary cap and had to move Sharp. Nobody's perfect people. Every GM has good and bad trades/signings. And one thing about the Stars... Playing well in December ≠ playing well in May/June. how many people forgot, sharp had to go, b/c of the keith's marriage and the divorce. it had nothing to do with salary and salary cap. ref bickell stan screwed up that neg on a trade at the draft as well.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 08:33 PM) The dog is blind. Not sure what Avi's excuse is. and the dog is still the better fielder.... poor pooch.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 08:40 PM) Like Frank Thomas? There is no hope to overtake the Cubs. The White Sox shouldn't waste the time, money, and effort to try. Just worry about winning, and see what happens. The attendance trophy is permanently the Cubs. i agree about the winning. now there is no point in trying to compete with some kind of machiavellian strategy, b/c it is too late. just assemble the team of good players and above hitting players, and just compete. just roll up the sleeves and have an old fashion donnybrook of a fight to see who is the better team on the field.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 06:46 PM) Patrick Sharp scored 43 points last year. The guy is nothing special. He's on pace for maybe 65 points this year on the highest scoring team in the NHL. It was time for him to move along, and if Brandon Saad were on Dallas in his place he'd be doing about the same. It is what it is. In the era of the cap you can't keep these guys together. As long as Kane, Toews, and Keith are on the same roster, I'd say Bowman is doing a hell of a job. ref saad, different story there. sharp was for the team harmony, saad wanted the money. well saad got his SC rings, now he wanted the money. can't blame him, that was his priorities.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 01:56 PM) Bowman was out negotiated by a better GM. for sure, esp before the draft and what stan thought was the players value. same thing goes to the daley and asking for too much as a rtn. but that was before. the point was, with sharp, he HAD to trade him, regardless of the rtn. he needed to keep the harmony on the team in a good way. so what the hawks got was a throw in for salary. nothing more. sharp is a good player..... i will leave it at that.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 02:07 PM) Great article, Kim. I feel like I know Jordan. Just wondering, since you saw so many AZL games, how would you compare Jordan to Zach Erwin, the kid we traded to Oakland for Lawrie? excellent question.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 07:11 AM) Anyone see Heart of the Sea yet? I want to see it. i did, it was the true events of the story of moby dick. the actual story ...... it is a very powerful movie, at least for me. the whole thing that i remember is how they survived on the ocean.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 04:27 AM) Our AZL/AFL/Instructs correspondent, Kim Contreras, got to know quite a few of the 2015 draftees this year. She's writing up a full-picture article on three of them, to give you some serious depth into the players and what a rookie pro year is like. First up - RHP Jordan Stephens, 5th round pick. She talked with a ton of people - his high school and college coaches, the scout who got him drafted, Nick Capra and others. It's a long but fun read. She's also doing this on Corey Zangari, and Seby Zavala, in the coming weeks. that was a good article .... someone to keep and eye on.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 11:43 PM) I agree. If the Sox can get through just one more season they will have 28M more to work with but if they took on Garza's contract that number shrinks to 15M which might be enough to cover '16 contract raises for the likes of Sale, Q, Eaton and Abreu. the only way i take this deal is, as it was said, the laroche contract - garza and add Brett Phillips and Jorge Lopez to the pkg.

i followed most of what was said and i finally came to conclusion. i am more lost as to who i want of the big 3. leading up to today, i was sold on 1 players. but all the compelling arguments on all 3. great job guys, you made this a interesting thread for me to read.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 12:39 AM) Spoilers? It's not a new story lol real comedy at work here. but i deserve that. i just didn't want to say much. but for the movie, will smith did a excellent movie, the story of mike webster is heart breaking and he was a great football player. i started to look to see if the medicinal hash oil is being used and the success, and it has. there was a 60+ longhorn ex football player and his story....

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 11:19 PM) Plus for all we know, Avi may be unwilling to cooperate and make the changes the Sox staff see fit to get him to the next level. i can see that happening before the 2015 season.... but not now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 11:15 PM) Caulfield in full meltdown. His biggest nightmare, Royal hero a possible White Sox, and now he is back to the White Sox should have been in the playoffs this many times in the past. It is happening. Hahn making moves and the chronic whiners are melting. hahaha..... i share some of his meltdown as you mention. i am happy with how hahn is doing this and again, it makes me wonder if last yr was his operation. but in the past, well i am a huge believer that the sox should have been in the playoff more and that was the fault of the fo and higher. but everyone knows my rant on that.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 10:04 PM) While your original post has a point, how is any of that relevant to next years team and beyond? The past is the past. Hopefully the Sox have learned from their mistakes from the times you listed and improved upon them. the pro's uses the past as a trend to estimate how a player will performs. the org are always paying for past performances.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 09:39 PM) I think what he meant is that he's surprised you'd say the Hawks aren't better than Dallas, LA and a lot of EC teams. i am a die hard fan of both the hawks and the sox. but with the sox, i can see them and their faults. but as i said, come playoff time....... watch out.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 05:34 PM) Concussion isn't a great film but worth checking out and definitely made me seriously consider if I would ever allow my son to play football when he gets older... you beat me to this, i too saw concussion. however i really, really like the movie. it is well worth seeing and that is all i am going to say, b/c of the spoilers.

you know, if this is true, then i an happy for it. the sox is assembling the team. being greedy here, but Davis will look sweet as the dh.

to be brutally honest, that wagon has already past and we as fans can just wave bye-bye. as long as the northside continues to do or continues to get stronger, no matter what the sox does they will be regulated as the bastard step-child. so the best remedy, esp to rub their face into the crap, is to win, have the owners really get the players to win, to go to the next step = playoff and win, and finally get to the WS and win. that is the best remedy......

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 03:55 PM) The Bulls and White Sox have different ownership. Many of the same players but different. They each own a percentage of CSN. mr Dick Allen, this whole discussion really is bugging the crap out of me, so i was doing some research. i will say this, with hat in hand, that you are correct and i was wrong. the org, each individual org was given a % of the profit as an enticement to let CSN broadcast their games. so in essence they, the org, will be given the money going in as a profit. as a monetary gain.... good job. edit.... geeze.... my english was really bad, that is what i get for writing this when i am half asleep.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:22 PM) The East? Really? yeah, i made a mistake, i was still thinking old school. but in the east Det, the the Metropolitan is the one i am leery of.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 07:18 PM) I want an Obi-Wan film with McGregor back so badly. just like some in the marvel comics. they can go into areas of where he was and acting in an alone way on missions.

someone mention about the personal animosity the sox have against anything of the norhtside club. that statement as been bugging me a lot the whole morning. is that personal animosity, that dislike, is it reciprocated or is it one-sided???

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:49 PM) I'm afraid that some of you have misunderstood the point that I was trying to make. I am not suggesting that Cub fans would convert to Sox fans. Nor am I suggesting that Cub fans might buy a ticket to watch a game at the Cell, because they can't get a ticket to Wrigley. And, I am certainly not asserting that Chicago would become a Sox Town. I understand the rivalry and the animosity that both sides harbor against the other This is about the casual sports fan, and those not yet even interested in baseball. A general atmosphere of excitement over baseball could very well spill over to the South Side. As I said; it will necessitate good play on the field. Of course, the Sox have to win in order for this to happen. However, if they do play exciting and winning baseball, it seems likely to me that there will be more fan interest and support in an environment of excitement over baseball, which the Cubs might help create, than there would be otherwise. Remember, there are lots of people, especially young people, who may not have ever been involved in, or even exposed to the excitement of a pennant race, and the joy of being a baseball fan. All I'm saying is that, other things being equal, a general atmosphere of excitement and enthusiasm over baseball is more conducive to fan support. If the Cubs contribute to that atmosphere, that seems like a good thing to me. This was an attempt to cheer up some of us, who seem down about the emergence of the Cubs as an even more dominant presence in the Chicago sports market. you have to ask yourself one question. why was the casual fan getting interested in baseball all of a sudden??? now here comes the answer as to direction they are leaning too.

i wouldn't mind taking a stab at parra and if not him, i like David Murphy who is a lhh and plays the outfield. if someone looks at the lineup, it is heavily right handed hitting.