chitownsportsfan

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 02:29 PM) https://sports.yahoo.com/ex-mlb-star-pitche...-151448624.html Wow, good luck in witness protection dude. There's no way he has the fortitude to do the time. He's going to sing. Sounds like he was part of a pretty big operation and you know they want they guys he bought from.

Great content as usual guys. Someone else will have to make the "Going to Glendale Spring '18" thread as I tragically I won't be going this year. Plenty of good advice for those that are though, if any questions need answered. I believe the first full squad workout is a week from today. I'd imagine the Sox are going to be pretty lenient with fan access this year, given all the prospect hype. Love to get some first hands reports.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 12, 2018 -> 11:35 AM) Millionaires with disposable income can get into "investment" opportunities with the cartels. Who knows how deep some ex-players could be in these things. yea this could be the start of a great book. I wonder if Esteban will sing. If he's handling that much "product" directly he's pretty deep in but not deep enough (or smart enough) to only be "the bank".

QUOTE (Wanne @ Feb 9, 2018 -> 03:14 PM) I honestly don't get why areas that get heavy tourism dollars aren't more acceptable to dropping a "tourism tax" Dollar or two on a room...or rental car. Can't believe San Diego didn't do that to keep the Chargers. For some reason I think some Maricopa County judge shot down the "tourism tax" after it had been in affect for a while...and said they had to refund money from the car rental/room tax. Said it was "unconstitutional". Not sure how you can randomly describe that particular tax as unconstitutional and not others. I never did get an answer to that. Probably something about out of state residents paying for in state revenues. Not a lawyer. I was in the Tampa area this fall and drove by the Trop -- it looks about as bad from the outside as it does from the inside. It did seem pretty well located, right next to major roads and the freeway. I think the Florida experiment has been bad for MLB it just doesn't seem like with all the other recreation available to people down there year round that coming out and supporting baseball teams is something the locals are inclined to do.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 8, 2018 -> 02:27 PM) This seems stupid and short-sighted to me. From what I understand, the relationship between player and front office is (unsurprisingly) nearly always strained after going through these hearings, as the player has to sit there and listen to the front office's lawyer try to convince a judge that the player isn't worth what he wants. When the numbers are substantial like in Avi's case, I can see it. But there's no way that's worth a hundred grand. The only explanation I can come up with is that the White Sox have instituted and communicated some sort of "no exceptions" policy when players don't accept their offers so as to make it seem more impartial when they refuse to negotiate and/or to dissuade players/agents from offering aggressively with thie intent of negotiating a deal that squeezes some extra money out. Maybe this makes sense in the long run, but it sure looks dumb in this isolated case. damn bro you ninja'd that on me! Thanks for your input on the Yolmer case. It seems odd at first glance.

Maybe I have to remember my SSS account and ask larry but can anybody (SS2K? Balta?) answer why the Sox went to arb with Yolmer over 250k? That just does not seem like the Sox. Are they setting precedent for all the prospects coming through that will be arb eligible in 3-5 years?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 7, 2018 -> 07:28 PM) They did a hearing? Whoa. They submitted offers less than 250K apart you'd think they could have just come to an agreement. Kinda odd, no?

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Feb 6, 2018 -> 01:41 PM) mikecws91 1:12 Listing Zack Collins as a 1B is fightin' words! In your eyes, what are the odds he sticks at catcher? 25% maybe? Kiley McDaniel 1:13 I think he's mid career Carlos Santana. Bat you want in the lineup, 1B/DH and maybe once a week at catcher, more of a 3rd catcher than a backup since you don't want to wear him out multiple times a week. From the chat today. well we'll take that...

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 6, 2018 -> 08:44 PM) Great thread we've reached peak offseason. Luckily, it ends in a week. Then we can read about the new stats that say Yoan Moncada is in the best shape of his life.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 6, 2018 -> 06:32 PM) Should be interesting to see if the voters completely change their criteria in coming years/decades. Because it seems like WAR is the big thing now. However, good luck getting the voters to toss out the normal stats of the past. Well what will happen is those guys will die...

As an adult male that played a lot of baseball and has good reactions and actually watches the game when I'm sitting this close I'm disappointed -- but I get it. You gotta protect the kids, older folks, people who aren't paying attention etc. And yea once a few clubs did it it was only a matter of time until they all did.

yea, but he can't hit.

Two weeks, 11 hours! http://www.springtrainingcountdown.com/#sthash.bqeUQ9PK.dpbs Thank god. I'm about sick of winter. At least the sun is setting after 5pm now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 29, 2018 -> 08:46 PM) It's an interesting debate. Does that mean no other minority who has faced similar discrimination can comment? That seems a bit absurd. From a business perspective, it's a simple cost/benefit analysis. With Native Americans comprising less than 1% of the US population, and far less than 1% of MLB attendance/revenues, owners feel that the benefits of "being forced to change by outside forces" aren't currently outweighing the benefits of keeping or maintaining that name or tradition. Of course, for public universities, that's a slightly different issue. You also get into the dangerous game of classifying the mascots into "respectful" and disrespectful. For example, the KC Chiefs or FSU Seminoles, Fighting Illini or Runnin' Utes (Utah) vs. the Indians or Redskins. What about the Atlanta Braves or the BlackHawks? The Fighting Sioux? And are the Dallas Cowboys now representative of "white oppression" of Native American peoples? Slippery slope... https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/29/opinions/dro...lman/index.html We're also to the point where it can't just be about the symbolism of removing a mascot...where both sides of the ideological divide are looking at the economics and politics of any decision. get real there's no "slippery slope" argument here. This is a disgusting caricature, little better than a hook nose jew or slant eyed chinese and so on. just get rid of the damn thing.

The logo is reprehensible in ways most Native "inspired" mascots are not. It should have been phased out long ago. I'm a white guy and never really thought anything of it until I became an adult but yea it's just time to put it to bed. Long past time really.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 03:53 PM) Per Hahn at media scrum, Rodon has been cleared to start throwing next week. wow, that's a great update and perhaps lends more credence to the "minor" version of his shoulder surgery story the Sox are selling. Hell, if he's already starting his throwing program you'd think he's only a few weeks behind. Maybe a May debut?

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 10:17 AM) The teams that signed Pujols Fielder Ellsbury etc may be tired of setting their money on fire. But I would ask you how many of those franchises are having financial problems because of it. They may not have gotten player production vs dollars spent but did the signing of those players generate income? Did they sell more tickets?? Did they sell more merchandise? Did their advertising revenue increase. These owners are not dummies. They are making money by the truckloads. When their bottom line gets affected they will watch what they spend on salaries. But if spending X ( even if they don't get their true value) nets them X+ they will continue to spend millions on salaries to make more millions in revenue. If their revenue was affected up or down it's really just a drop in the bucket. As I mentioned up thread because of the national money pouring in from revenue sharing, MLBAM, etc -- winning has never been more decoupled from revenue. Baseball's economics are broken right now. We need a salary floor and to seriously reconsider revenue sharing and the bulls*** "small market" compensation crap. There are no "small markets" in MLB right now -- only profitable markets and more profitable markets. Not really. I don't think a single franchise has been "crippled" by any FA in the last decade. What teams are doing is in response to the economic incentives currently in place. Those incentives, for the most part, encourage teams not to spend on FA.

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 07:43 PM) Like I said in the other thread players contracts are bloated. His players would sign in a NY minute just not based on the bad deals of the past. You can go through these 7-10 year deals they almost never work out. Pujols. Fielder. Ellsbury. Crawford. Owners are tired of setting their money on fire and I don't blame them. Until you can build a competitive team via FA why should rebuilding teams bloat their caps with a bunch of unmovable deals? Contracts are "bloated" only in the sense that vets are overpaid relative to the amazing accuracy of WAR/$ projections and their younger pre-arb and pre-FA counterparts. (And of course nobody ever b****es about the FA signing that turns into a bargain for the club.) The thing is that the MLBPA did an unbelievably bad job at the last negotiation. The luxury tax is not just a nuisance it's a defacto hard cap. It's also a helluva an excuse not to take on salary not just to go over it -- but to approach it -- in that ethereal Garpax patented "financial flexability" corporate speak. Also, and this is a helluva factor -- revenue has never been less tied to performance. With the revenue sharing, MLBAM revenue, etc there's less incentive than ever to win in order to make money. s*** is really bad and I am pretty worried there will be a strike just as the Sox get good again.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 05:11 PM) Scott Merkin‏Verified account @scottmerkin 1h1 hour ago White Sox pitchers will be throwing Fri morning for Dr. Cooper f*** yea. let's get on with it.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 07:29 PM) And now they get Cain. I bet they sign Darvish or Arrieta as well That would probably piss Cubs fans off quite a bit if they get Darvish. That would be like a 5 game swing on paper in the division.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 06:37 PM) I would not agree. Maybe Eloy, Hansen and Rutherford. I would be okay with the sox making this kind of trade if they had shown any ability to regenerate young players like the Astros do. But they haven't. What we see right now is about all we'll get. I would probably stop being a fan for a year or five if the Sox traded that package for Yelich. You're talking about trading away potentially 10-15 WAR a year, including a absolute "A" prospect in Eloy for a 4 WAR 26 year old coming off a OPS+ of 117 in the JV league. I'd seriously write the Sox a letter if that trade went down and I've never even considered doing something like that. Or better yet I'd probably go down to spring training this year not with a great sunny outlook on the club but with a paper bag over my head.

No. Now, onto more important matters: http://www.springtrainingcountdown.com/#sthash.ZBd61ddn.dpbs

QUOTE (3GamesToLove @ Jan 23, 2018 -> 11:51 AM) As I heard someone say once... "Carson Cistulli is definitely an acquired taste, and I've definitely acquired it." I find it ironic you have a quote from DFW as your sig but like Carson. DFW's brilliance and self awareness and humility is about as far from Carson's style as it gets, author wise. Carson is the type of writer I find insufferable. The constant self promotion, the false humility passing as real humility, the "quirkiness" that he lays on thicker than the butter on an obese person's bread -- I can't stand it.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 23, 2018 -> 12:09 PM) ignoring that Anyway one thing I've been thinking about that worries me about Rutherford only from media, is Collins, Burger and Sheets had issues last year and from everything we heard have attempted to make substantial changes to improve them. With rutherford, we heard last year his swing prevented him from generated power. And all I've heard out of him is that he grew, and that he'll be fine. This is all part of the process with guys, and I hope he's right, but I worry about whether he's going to resist necessary updates and just rely on getting stronger. One thing is for certain, if he doesn't improve his power this year he's going to tumble down prospect lists. Similar to Basabe last year. Yea these guys are young and toolsy (and Basabe battled injuries) but you have to produce. I wasn't big on Rutherford when they got him and I'm not now. But I'm not going to argue the "raw power" that made him such an attractive draft pick to the Yankees (an org that has certainly shown they can scout lately) isn't in there somewhere. It's up to Chicago and Blake to draw it out and produce in game.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 08:37 PM) Another update from the Brewers insider: "Multiple" trades that are separate from this one are in place as well. Trades will happen dependent upon this (A.) move and possibly other free agent moves. Multiple trades are already agreed upon, but only to happen if (A) happens. wait what? that sounds rather fantastical.