Rex Hudler

I agree with you that it is not the fans fault, but a good rule in business is not to throw good money after bad. One could argue that it is KW's fault. JR sets the budget and KW has to deal with it. If KW hamstrings the budget with bad contracts or with players who don't perform, he needs to find a way to fix it, through trades or finding a way to get better players to perform. Throwing money at the problem is not the answer. The Sox took their budget from $31 million in 2000 to $65 million in 2001, more than doubling it. That didn't get us anywhere. If I were the owner, I'd be gunshy about just throwing money at problems too. Perhaps a different GM is the answer?

A higher payroll would be realistic if the revenues were there. I just don't buy the fact that JR should have to drastically increase payroll to cover for all the bad contracts the Sox have. It is not a perfect world and if mistakes are made, they can't always be corrected the easy way, by throwing money at them.

It's unfortunate that things have worked out that way so far, because at one point, the Sox '99 draft looked to be a great one. That just goes to show you how inexact a science scouting and player development is.

Good point...... some will never get it.

If you signed players to one year deals, you would pay them more each year assuming they continued to perform at a high level, which you are expecting from someone you sign to a multi-year deal. I don't think calling it backloading is accurate because all teams are trying to do is pay the players based on what they persceive their value will be each year based on their performance, years of service etc. Very few players in multi-year deals get paid evenly over the course of a contract unless they are superstars that have gone beyond the six-year free agency service time. It is very common and actually an advantage to pay someone their true value each year rather than "frontload" the contract. If you pay them evenly, it will cause you payroll problems on the front end, by paying young players more than you need to and therefore restricting the budget for other players. If this was not done, Mark Buehrle would be making $6 million this year. There is no way for one, the Sox could fit that into their budget and two, there is no need to pay Mark that much now. If they would have gone to arbitration with Mark, they could have likely only had to pay him roughly $3 million. I don't think I am explaining it very well, but doing it that way is an advantage to the team based on the current system. Some teams are hurt a bit by certain contracts now because the market has changed. There was no way to predict 2-3 years ago that this would happen. Or at least not to the point of signing guys to smaller contracts then. They wouldn't have been able to sign them. Does any of this make sense or am I rambling?

You obviously didn't read the thread, did you? Within that thread, there was information on how just adding payroll is NOT the answer. You may not like Reinsdorf, but all these people just demanding he dramatically increase payroll just don't get it! In case you don't want to go back and actually read the thread..... The Marlins haven't spent any more than the Sox either. In fact, their payroll of $49 million was less than the Sox last year. The Sox even had a higher payroll than the Marlins in 1997. The complaint was the Sox don't have a payroll level like the teams that spend $100 million. My reply was that they don't have the revenue those teams do either. The very fact that the Marlins and Angels have won the last two World Series with payrolls in the $50 million range means that "payroll" is not necessarily the answer. In fact, when the Sox more than doubled their payroll from 2000 to 2001 and it didn't do squat for them. The Orioles have outspent the Sox by $133.2 million over the last 5 years. That's $26 million a season and they have been much worse than the Sox. I get sick of people just expecting payroll to be increased by millions of dollars because that will make us win. History has shown us that is not necessarily true. It is how you spend your money, combined with luck, timing and circumstance that will give you a winner - unless you are the Yankees. In their case, their ridiculous payroll guarantees they will have a chance to compete at the highest level, it doesn't guarantee them wins, as we have seen the past few years. The Marlins payroll was lower than the Sox in BOTH 1997 and 2003. In fact, from 1997 through 2003, the White Sox have spent $77.8 million more in payroll than the Marlins, yet the Marlins have two WS Championships. Not one year have the Marlins outspent the Sox in that time. Doesn't sound like a higher payroll is the only answer to me. Florida Marlins Payroll History

Rowand has to earn it......

Sometimes the fighting/arguing/b****ing gets out of hand......... Sometimes is it part of the fun.

What makes you so sure Rocky is good in the clubhouse?

They aren't dumping salary, they are increasing it $7 million over last year and are currently $4 million over that. We have been over this a hundred times. How many times will it take until you get it?? Read this thread if you need it spelled out...... Reinsdorf Sucks (Not Really)

Mike Spidale is a very speedy CF. He was signed out of HS (a Chicagoan at that) in 2000. He was solid in rookie league hitting .318 in 2000. He then spent 2001 and 2002 at Kannapolis, struggling in 2001 but bouncing back to hit .292 the second year, but missed a good month of the season with an injury. He was solid again in 2003 at Winston-Salem, but really struggled down the stretch. His average was hovering around .300 most of the year and fell all the way to .262. He has stolen getween 25-35 bases each year and walks at a very good rate. Until the 2003 season, he had also been caught stealing at a hight rate. If he can learn to hit at higher levels he has a chance to be a nice player. He has next to no power but he is solid defensively from what I am told. Having spent three full seasons in Class A after one in Rookie ball, he will need to have a good year this year in AA or he will be no more than another Chad Durham. Not that it is worth anything, but his uncle works for the White Sox in the front office.

Chances are that both Borchard and Reed end up in AAA.

It was on a local station in Puerto Rico. Why would it be in print?

Which interview?

I wouldn't automatically assume that..... Not sure what he really knows, but the info seems to be detailed enough that he may be onto something. Than again, maybe not. LOL

So passionate about it you had to make the same post twice, J Reed fan? ;-)

Did I misunderstand something? Who is Mike Spillednick? The Sox have no one by that name in their system. Are you confusing him with Scott Posednick of the Brewers? Or Michael Spidale, a Sox Minor League outfielder?

So we are going to trade prospect(s) to Anaheim and ADD payroll?? Don't see it happening.

The Marlins payroll was lower than the Sox in BOTH 1997 and 2003. In fact, from 1997 through 2003, the White Sox have spent $77.8 million more in payroll than the Marlins, yet the Marlins have two WS Championships. Not one year have the Marlins outspent the Sox in that time. Doesn't sound like a higher payroll is the only answer to me. Florida Marlins Payroll History

The Marlins haven't spent any more than the Sox either. In fact, their payroll of $49 million was less than the Sox last year. The Sox even had a higher payroll than the Marlins in 1997. The complaint was the Sox don't have a payroll level like the teams that spend $100 million. My reply was that they don't have the revenue those teams do either. The very fact that the Marlins and Angels have won the last two World Series with payrolls in the $50 million range means that "payroll" is not necessarily the answer. In fact, when the Sox more than doubled their payroll from 2000 to 2001 and it didn't do squat for them. The Orioles have outspent the Sox by $133.2 million over the last 5 years. That's $26 million a season and they have been much worse than the Sox. I get sick of people just expecting payroll to be increased by millions of dollars because that will make us win. History has shown us that is not necessarily true. It is how you spend your money, combined with luck, timing and circumstance that will give you a winner - unless you are the Yankees. In their case, their ridiculous payroll guarantees they will have a chance to compete at the highest level, it doesn't guarantee them wins, as we have see the past few years.

After reading this useless thread, I just realized that's 3 minutes of my life I can never get back, thanks!

The Sox don't have the revenues those other teams do. It's plain and simple.

Read the whole article...........

ESPN says LA Times reporting it is a done deal.

Supposedly, the initial post was wrong and it would be the White Sox sending a high level prospect (if the Sox could get Nomar to sign an extension or a mid-level prospect if not) and the Red Sox would send a mid-to-low level prospect.