Dick Allen

Pretty decent sized Japanese community in Arlington Heights. If he needs to be in a Japanese community, the White sox and cubs quailify.

Go Hawks

When watching the Seahawks today, just remember what football expert Hub Arkush said about them before the season started. "Anyone who thinks Seattle is a good football team needs to study more."

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 19, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) From what I can tell, that rumor came from a Chicago Now blogger named Tom Loxas, so I'm not sure if I'd give the rumor any credibility. Just doing a quick google search, Tom reported in late November that the Cubs & Blue Jays could be close on a Shark trade, which obviously never happened. Seems like this guy is likely full of s***. It does wonders to the hit total on his blog.

I doubt the sox offered him 4-$100 million. With the posting fee that would be $120 million. They probably want to dilute that posting fee a bit more.

Whatever the White Sox offer, they can afford. Think about it, we have all worried about the amount they pay for contracts. How in the world would anyone have thought they apparently have a $20 million posting fee and a $100 million+ contract they would be even able to consider adding? The sox have to be a ways away from a contract that really will hurt their ability to add payroll no matter what they say if he takes another offer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 05:46 PM) Yes, but the author also acknowledges earlier in the article " After all, Dr. V could have attended the schools under a different name. But why wouldn’t she have mentioned that?" The same could apply to Stephen Krol. If you want to publish that this person is a liar, you need to prove to me that you can verify, almost to a legal sense, that they're lying. This article as it is does not do that. It might meet a "preponderance of evidence" standard because it's easy to believe that people would make such things up, but it's absolutely not a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard. Not with failing to tell me what happened for 45 years of this person's life. You said in an earlier post the claims about degrees were lies.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 05:35 PM) But to my standards, he never actually established that those credentials were fake. There's decent reason to believe so, but as soon as he discovered "oh, gender change" he stopped investigating on that matter. He got a birthdate, a few family matters, found out that "maybe she had a couple of kids", but otherwise basically jumps from 1953 to 1997. There's a 44 year gap spelled out as "worked as a mechanic, had a couple of kids, and was married twice". He never establishes to a solid degree that the degrees and the DOD work are lies. He never spoke to the person or verified anything about their actual education history. He never verifies that during the time a reasonalbe person would have been in college, Stephen Krol was at a different location or never could have done work under an additional identity. Any researcher worth his or her salt would go farther and actually verify that this person in fact was doing something else during those years. If he wasn't going to speak to the actual person, he needed that additional step, but he had a bigger "scandal" to publish. Didn't the article state there was no record of Stephen Krol earning these degrees? He wasn't going to get cooperation from the subject. And at the time she said she was working at the DoD she had that job in AZ.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 05:30 PM) Doesnt matter...once he agrees to a contract he has to do a full work up at the teams facilities. According to Heyman, it probably will come right down to the deadline since each team was given the results of his physical.

QUOTE (Baron @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 05:14 PM) Keep in mind everyone that a deal may be announced in the next few days. He cant wait until the last minute because of travel,paper work and a physical. He took a physical when he was in LA.

Didn't the reporter go into the initial conversation under the impression anything about Dr V. personally was off limits? Then didn't said Dr. volunteer some "facts". If you boast these claims, I don't see how you would expect any reporter worth his or her salt not to try to verify these claims. She tried to kill herself 5 years previously after a fight with her girlfriend. Her investor mentioned how she would always blow up if you ever disagreed with her. Any blame on the writer for her death is really a reach IMO. I think if ahe never voluntarily offered fake credentials, he never would have dug so deep.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 03:47 PM) DId you actually not read the article where the person was clearly becoming more and more emotionally unstable as the grantland writer pushed forward? It was behavior that was not unusual. There were a few references to similar behavior in her past.

How did "outing" her hurt her anyway? Wasn't this article written after she had died? It was a relevant part of the story as the writer was trying to verify her credentials.

I'm right handed. My wife just bought me a coat with a left handed zipper. It sucks.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 03:04 PM) If you can't sign Tanaka without being forced to dump Danks then that makes it seem really silly to sign Tanaka. Because what happens if you simply can't move Danks? And then of course there's the really solid likelihood that you dump him for nothing and then he drops another 3+ WAR season next year like he did most healthy years of his career. Enough with the money. If the White Sox sign Tanaka, they can afford him. For the love of God, why do people believe the White Sox when they tell you they break even every year? Then they say they are stretching their limits and increase payroll when attendance drops. Add guys during the season when they can't spend $1 when they only have $.50. Yet people buy it. When they signed Dunn and brought back Paulie and AJ, they asked JR where he was getting the money. You save a little here a little there was his reply. If they sign him to a big contract and pay the $20 million fee maybe, finally, everyone can see the line the team feeds you isn't true. I don't blame them. Fans wouldn't have a problem with the Sox being one of the most profitable teams in baseball if it ended like 2005 more often, but if they found out JR was savings millions upon millions for a rainy day and they play like 2013 there would be even fewer season ticketholders.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) Wow. Who cares? The fact is Tanaka is regarded as a great pitcher by people who get paid a lot of money determining these things. Acquiring him helps the White Sox win, and the bonus is it may sting the Cubs a lot. And since a lot have jumped off their bandwagon, and they could be leaving WGN, it is no guarantee all their games will be seen by everyone after this year by just paying for basic cable. It is an opportunity to pounce on the people looking for a winner to cheer for. If you are a White Sox fan, you should care. Although in the end, I think it is one reason the Cubs might throw crazy money at him. Enough where even if he thought the White Sox situation was better, it would be next to impossible to say no.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 01:44 PM) Why? we play them what, 3 games a year? The star is dimming on Theo. This, if it worked out, would be a huge blow to them and quite a large feather in the White Sox cap. It also would probably cost the Cubs some money in their upcomindpg broadcast negotiations.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 04:18 PM) well, he's no longer under a contract. i think the team health care plan ends when you are not on the roster. which is why i see someone like jerry floating a minor league deal on him. If it did, I am sure he had COBRA or some sort of alternate coverage. This is no doubt union coverage and I think very unlikely he is paying any medical bills.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:54 PM) The Japanese education has mandatory English for students at a very young age (I've seen kindergarten). Most Japanese people speak English but are too shy to actually use it in the presence of an American. This is due to the fact that Japanese people are very prideful and to be ridiculed and shamed is very devastating to them. For the sake of modesty, Tanaka is saying his family doesn't speak English because it couldn't be further from the truth. I know some Americans that have a hard time with English.

QUOTE (timbo @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:34 PM) yeah he needs to adjst beucae of his work style I read an article that said his "style" was more American than most Japanese pitchers. He pitches off his fastball, which I guess isn't common in Japan. That should help catchers call games, and pitching coaches (hopefully it's Cooper) communicate. I do have a serious question. Supposedly he doesn't speak English. Will MLB allow a translator to go to the mound with a coach or manager to talk to him? To me, this could be a huge issue during a game. Even when a catcher has to go out there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi 6m The Tigers were prepared to pick Clayton Kershaw at No. 6 overall in 2006 draft until Andrew Miller fell to them. That's a shame. But didn't Miller get them Cabrera?

QUOTE (timbo @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) say the sox get tanaka how much cooper will help him pitch in majors I think Tanaka will be doing his own pitching.

What would happen if the Cubs got Tanaka but the posting fee check bounced? If they are carpooling to save money, there must not be much cash on hand. I worked somewhere where they told us to start printing on both sides of the paper. We weren't around too much longer.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) Well, Joe Cowley is coming on in a few minutes to discuss the bulls, so I bet he is feeding Bernstein valuable white sox information he got from the Guillen family I'd love for Cowley to take some calls. I'd like to ask him what happened to his column.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) But Phil Rogers said to always bet the streak! Now I'm conflicted. Thanks. I wonder why Phil didn't bet the streak when Dave Wilder was feeding him bogus information on White Sox prospects.