hogan873

The last bit of info I can find on Robles is that he was granted free agency in November.

Doug Padilla tweeted that the Sox are showing their confident side. The attached article summed it up perfectly stating that the Sox are both favorites and long-shots to sign Tanaka.

I think there's been enough discussion about the rumors and supposed news via Twitter that we can all agree that no one in the US, let alone a bunch of bloggers, knows what Tanaka is thinking right now.

QUOTE (dayan024 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 12:42 PM) Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 12m One official involved in the Masahiro Tanaka bidding believes the winning contract is going to fall somewhere in the six-year, $120M range. Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 3m For what it's worth, plenty of the rumors -- which most believe are spurious -- have the Cubs in as the high bidder, blowing away the field. I find it hard to believe that a 6/$120M contract blows away the field. My guess is that all of the bids are close to those numbers.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 01:05 PM) Please no at that money. I think spending any more than about $30M on this guy will end up being a mistake. Um...the posting fee alone is $20M. Or even if you are only talking about the contract, $30M is like 1.5 years of his potential contract.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 11:18 AM) Dude, what part of "all tweets are newsworthy no matter what" don't you understand? I bet you're gonna complain about Sam Waterson's liveblog of the Golden Globes I'm about to post here, too. Welcome to the 21st century, man, this is modern media. It's already next week in Japan though, sources say. Something about that part of the earth being closer to the sun and the rotation of the earth being 1.254% faster near the Sea of Japan and how much healthier Japanese people are...

Why does Hahn have to be doing such a good job with this team? A couple years ago, the Sox would never be in the hunt for a guy like Tanaka. Now we're all sitting here on the edges of our collective seats, being completely unproductive at work. Thanks, Rick.

If Tanaka is not a fan of snow and cold, this is a bad year for Chicago to have such a brutal winter. Of course baseball is played in the spring and summer, but at this rate it will be snowing on opening day.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 21, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) At this point, does anyone here REALLY want the Chicago White Sox to spend like $25 million per season on a Japanese import whose k/9 went way down and bb/9 went way up over the last two years? No. If he signs somewhere else for $25 million per for 6+ years, I say fine. The Sox can focus elsewhere. I'd be okay with a 7/$140 million deal, but I really think at least one team will be offering more.

I'm really enjoying True Detective. It seems like it is a slow burn working towards an explosion.

I think the fact that the Sox are even involved is quite telling on what direction the team is heading. I can't imagine the Sox even being interested in a potential $140 million guy a few years ago. I'm sure that the $20 million max posting fee is a big factor, but the moves the Sox have made since the Garcia acquisition has shown that they are truly focused on building for the future. Bringing in Tanaka on a 7-year deal (even at $20 million per) would help to solidify the future even more. That being said, I'd still be very surprised if the Sox end up signing him. There's no doubt they will be outbid, so the hope is that Tanaka doesn't sign somewhere JUST for the money.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 11:16 AM) If they keep Nieto he has to stay on the roster all year. Meaning it would most likely be He and Phegley. Flowers would have to go. If they could acquire Nieto rather than using him as a Rule 5 selection, they could send him to the minors and keep Flowers if they wanted to. I learn something every day here. So, since he was a Rule 5 guy, he has to be on the 25-man roster? Unless they acquire him some other way. Well, only time will tell, but if he's as productive as Flowers or Phegley, the Sox are propbably better off with him and Phegley (or Flowers) because he's young and can hit from the left. Regardless, it looks like there will not be a big upgrade at the catcher spot. Could just be an investment for the future.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 08:28 AM) Really only known for Blinded By The Light, but that was a pretty popular song. Springsteen, Bruce actually wrote that song.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 07:07 AM) Perhaps references to an obscure 60s/70s band is not the best way to keep this thread going. Really only known for Blinded By The Light, but that was a pretty popular song.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 12:05 AM) MLBTR suggests the Pirates would like a lefty 1B to platoon with Gaby Sanchez. I wonder what they would be willing to give us if we send them Dunn and $14M. Or how about Gillaspie? He's more of a platoon candidate. Probably wouldn't get much in return, but it would loosen up the clog in the infield.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) A bar out here in Plainfield called McBrides has the best $4 hamburger ever (on Sundays). Just awesome. I've been there but haven't had a burger yet. Speaking of Plainfield, Moe Joe's has a wild boar burger that is unbelievable. It has pretty much becaome my staple meal when we go there.

Good news on this cold January day is that White Sox baseball is merely two and a half months away.

Actually strange that we stopped on A, one of the easiest letters.

I agree. If he wants a chance, why not sign him to a minor league deal. I know there were reasons for adding pitches to his arsenal, but he was never as effective as he was with the high 90s fastball and devastaing curve. I can still vividly remember the Bagwell at-bat when he fired those three fastballs right by him.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 13, 2014 -> 06:26 AM) I watched the first two Brooklyn Nine-Nine's and just wasn't digging it. Maybe I'll try again if it goes on Netflix. I don't put a lot of stock into the Golden Globes though. My wife didn't care for it after watching a couple episodes. I continued to watch it, and it got a lot better about 4 or 5 episodes in. It's been consistently hilarious since.

.270 27 HRs 84 RBIs Struggles a bit out of the gate, turns it on in the second half, hits 12 HRs in July.

Anyone else watch the premiere of Intelligence? I'm not sure what to think of it. I might give it another episode or two. And I agree about Brooklyn Nine Nine. One of the funnier shows in quite a while.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 10, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) The Sox apparently have earmarked some money for him if its in the right arena. They had a budget meeting weeks ago and apparently have had the calculator nerds in there all week. This is interesting, but I wonder what their ceiling is. I can't imagine they'll be able to outbid the Yankees if NY has serious interest.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 10, 2014 -> 07:34 AM) 1 letter grade improvement is attained for every 10 HR hit by Jose Dariel Abreu in 2014. Hopefully it'll be like that scene in A Christmas Story. A+++++++++++++++

Didn't want to wake up this morning...good thing it's Friday.