Al Lopez's Ghost

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 02:50 PM) I'm saying we could have DeAza on this team by tomorrow if we want. If the Sox brought DeAza back, I'd have to think seriously about taking a sabbatical from them until he was gone.

QUOTE (bjm676 @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 01:03 PM) Hopefully, this pushes the thread to 400. If Sox didn't Yoenis, I'm glad he went back to the Mets. He just wanted to stay there. Nothing Sox could have done. As for Desmond, please no. If they are serious about getting another SS, why not just keep Alexei at $4M and sign or trade for another OF. I'm not the only person here who thinks Alexei was starting to suck - the free agent market seems to support this -and Desmond has been a much better player over the last 4 years.

If they go multiple years on Desmond, then Anderson is almost certain to be used as a bargaining chip for an outfielder. That's one decision Hahn MUST be right about.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 10:03 PM) How in the world do the Sox not beat that offer? I think he didn't want to come here.

I hope he destroys the Cubs.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 12:23 PM) That is the only "potential" downside to signing Yoenis for five years, that he "might" not be as productive towards the end of the contract. Meanwhile, for the next two to three years, the window in which we'd like to compete, you get a 30 HR, 100 RBI guy in the middle of your lineup and a substantial improvement in the outfield defense. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED! And we don't have to give up any prospects or talent on the roster, nor sacrifice a draft pick to get him. He is the best option to fill one of our gaping holes in the outfield. If it means tacking on those two last years, then just do it, for godssake. He "might" just continue to be productive in those years as well, given he'll only be 33/34. Who knows! Let's worry about that in '19 and '20. For now, let's follow through with what I thought was the stated mandate which is to "maximize" the window of opportunity this team has right now to win in these next few years. Yoenis Cespedes provides us the best chance to do so among our existing options. Although I agree with you, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, if someone doesn't want to come, how you gonna stop him?

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 08:03 AM) Yup. Gota love that old mystery team If baseball ever returns to Montreal, I say name them the Montreal Mysteries.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 02:40 PM) 337 pages of chasing the Cespedes dragon. Come on Hahn, give Sox fans their fix or they will light the torches, hit up Google maps on their cell phones and storm Castle US Cellular! Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! To defend the castle, the Sox will play a baseball game, thereby driving the fans away.

QUOTE (Saufley @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 01:43 PM) Please, I don't want to hear "three year deal" ever mentioned again! Oh, you'll hear it again!

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 12:13 PM) This thread now has 4844 posts in about 37½ days, averaging around 129 posts per day, or over 5 per hour. It'll be 5 a second when he signs.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 10:33 AM) Before last season, Desmond had been a significantly better player than Cespedes But then last year happened.

If they add Fowler, or Desmond, they will be viewed for what they are. Also rans. Second rate...unwilling to compete. No Cespedes? Hahn better have some big trade up his sleeve. Adams for Cargo? Something to show an honest effort to improve the team...and that ain't Fowler, IMO.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 09:29 AM) Yeah Mully has just been upset with the team the past few years to the point where he's more pessimistic about the team. Same with Goff. I don't know if either Boers or Bernstein are/were Sox fans before. Bernstein has always been a Sox fan...he loved Calderon growing up, and they have a tape of him meeting Harry Caray in the Sox announcers booth back in the day.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 11:15 PM) Cespedes is sleeping now. Stalking him?

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 07:29 PM) Uh oh, cue the ARod for LaRoche rumor... IIRC, aren't JR and ARod friends? Recue: but where would he play?

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 07:11 PM) If the Sox do sign Cespedes the next priority has to be getting Melky back to his old "training" regimen. Hopefully one that's less conspicuous. A clean Melky in LF isnt going to be doing the Sox any favors. You saying PEDs? If so, to me, that's a weird thing to bring up as a course of action. Guess I'm naive.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 04:19 PM) Brian Bilek ‏@ChiSoxraBBit 25s25 seconds ago Well I heard back from someone regarding Cespedes and the #WhiteSox are definitely still working on signing him. (1/2) Brian Bilek ‏@ChiSoxraBBit 14s On Cespedes "Talks this week have been dramatic and the terms have been very creative. As of now, options still a sticking point." #WhiteSox Just kill me now. I'm can't take this!

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 02:12 PM) Is that your birthday? No, you would have received your birthday present - you know who - and all this would be over!

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:48 PM) My birthday is Friday. Hope I get this as an early gift I wish you would have been born a week earlier.

I've never heard anyone question DD's integrity, and he didn't need to find a new job prematurely. I don't believe that he negotiated behind the Tigers backs.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 10:15 AM) From this article: http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/baltimo...osenthal-011916 "(Cespedes) was in the conversation (with the Tigers)," the agent said, "so he must know he can get even more elsewhere." Equally possible that the Tigers thought he wasn't worth what he was seeking.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 09:58 AM) Mibelt Rodriguez ‏@MibeltRodriguez 1m1 minute ago The #Mets and #WhiteSox are the frontrunner to sign Yoenis Cespedes. He's looking for a minimum 4 years contract (1/2). 0 retweets 0 likes Reply Retweet Like More Mibelt Rodriguez ‏@MibeltRodriguez now @MibeltRodriguez The #Mets haven't make an offer to Cespedes, and they won't go beyond 3 years. The #WhiteSox may go 4 years (2/2) #MLB What? Reason for optimism?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 10:23 PM) That would be an option. However, I wouldn't trade a number 1 starter unless they near the end of the deal and are sure he won't re-sign. They can't go for it every year and field a consistent winner. Let me be the first to say it seems unlikely the Sox would offer Sale a tempting contract. AAV would be what, 40 million, by then? 6 x 40. I'm not saying it's wrong to pass on that, just that we know the Sox would. So big picture, we're f***ed.

QUOTE (soxfan85 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:47 PM) Bruce Levine reporting the White Sox have offered Cespedes a 3-year $27M contract. Probably won't get it done. He HAS to mean 27 million per year.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:32 PM) So now the Sox HAVE to sign Cespedes. The optics otherwise will be a public relations disaster for this team, and an abject organizational embarrassment. No team during the past five, six weeks has been tied into being "in" on not one, not two, but all three of the so-called "top tier" free agent outfielders more so than the White Sox. We were "interested" in Gordon. We were "in" on Upton. We were "considering" Cespedes. Then the leak. The leak that we were only interested in making an offer to any of the three of them for "three years or LESS". Enter the small market intra-divisional Royals, who move in and lock up Gordon on a four year contract. Tonight, another AL Central rival, the Tigers, sign Upton to a six year deal. And this on the heals of our intra-city rival Cubs signing Heyward to an eight year contract. Welcome to market economics! If another team swoops in now and snags Cespedes on something resembling more what the market is bearing vs. this three year offer business the Sox are operating under, then it will be a colossal failure of Hahn, Williams, and Reinsdorf. It will call into question their credibility when they claim over and over and over again their strong desire to return to the postseason as quickly as possible, and thereby maximize the window of opportunity with the current core. I trust they realize this, and will soon be announcing the signing of Yoenis Cespedes to be our left fielder and clean-up hitter for the foreseeable future. If not, well, it'll be quite the black eye on this management team's reputation, and will seriously call into question the capabilities of the team's ownership and management. So well put.