Dick Allen

For a guy who complained about Obama golfing once in a while, Trump sure golfs a lot.

QUOTE (shipps @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 03:26 PM) MLB Trade Rumors‏ @mlbtraderumors 10s10 seconds ago More David Price Not Expected To Need Elbow Surgery I'm surprised, but that's good news.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 12:39 PM) Another fun reminder for Hahn having an insanely bad offseason last year. What was the huge loss for Lawrie?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 12:36 PM) And even then, Lawrie doesn't really have a ton of upside so what could you really get for him. Most likely. They probably would have non tendered him IMO had they thought Frazier would still be here. I think he was the plan at 3B.

The reason to keep him around was to flip him. If he's still dealing with the leg problems, you aren't going to be able to flip him so dump him. It makes a lot of sense. I like how Lawrie plays, and think the Sox could use a guy like him, but if he can't stay on the field, he can't help anyway. I hope for his sake, he can get healthy and stay healthy, and play up to his potential somewhere else. He's actually younger than Saladino.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 12:22 PM) Yeah I have a feeling this guy isn't close to getting back on a field. How much do they owe him? What did the Sox have to pay Viciedo after he was released after being tendered a contract, like a quarter of the amount? It's some percentage that goes up the closer you get to opening day. So it's probably 20-25%. Enough for Lawrie to pay the bills for sure, but peanuts for the team. It also opens up a spot on the 40, but Soto still needs to be added, so who knows if something is immanent there.

Well, they won't have to pay him much. Maybe it wasn't the orthotics.

The Warriors cut Jose Calderon 2 hours after signing him to make room for Matt Barnes. Calderon collects $415,000 for his troubles.

The Bulls just need to be on TNT more. They have won 18 in a row when they are on there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:29 PM) The best indicator of the future is history. I believe that 100%. Then Viciefo and Abreu should indicate it can happen again. I think the odds are against it but the timing is right depending on what the Sox scouts think. Don't you think it is a little odd under their current position they aren't tied to anyone?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:24 PM) A lot of teams would. All of the hypothetical and made up scenarios in the world doesn't change the fact that we are talking about the Chicago White Sox here. Their entire history of doing business in Latin America quantity over quality. Until they actually do something to change that, I am going to bank on them doing the same thing they have always done. Me admitting something for some reason is 100% immaterial to how the Chicago White Sox actually conduct their business. It is no different to me than think the team whose biggest contract is their history is $68 million dollars is going not to come out of no where and bid $200 million for a free agent. Until it actually happens, I am going to doubt it will happen, because it never has happened. No amount of make believe is going to change the White Sox history here. Then answer the question I previously asked. When was the last time before 12/16 they traded reasonably priced stars signed long term for prospects? The Chicago White Sox? When? Do you really believe things that have never happened will never happen? People are connecting dots here. Things have been changing. It's pretty reasonable to think this is a possibility.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:19 PM) How many guys did Boston sign the year they signed Moncada? Soler was before the rules. Are you saying that the only reason the Red Sox would have signed Moncada was because they were over the limit? That had they stayed in their lane before he was eligible , they never would have signed him? I get the Sox don't do this, so they probably won't argument. But now you are just being silly. Yes, the odds are he will sign with someone else no matter when he is declared eligible. And I do agree the White Sox chances go up if it is after 6/15. But the other stuff is just noise.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:15 PM) They do it when they have a whole string of signings lined up in one year. They don't do it for one person. It was a different circumstance. Ideally, yes the Sox would have blown through, but for those that did, there is no guarantee they can sign him either, and if he is better than the guys you signed, isn't one better than 3 or 4? I am quite sure there are teams unable to offer Robert more than 300k that would take another 2 year penalty to get him signed.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:07 PM) I mentioned him a couple of days ago actually. Would a future back of the bullpen reliever be worth giving up two years worth of signings for? You aren't giving up 2 years worth of signings. At least state facts. A lot of the teams people seem to admire have done the same thing in the past and present. If Luis Robert is half as good as advertised, being limited to paying a 16 year old a $300k bonus for 2 years, especially if they have nothing yet for the first year, is no big deal.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 03:01 PM) Ah yes, the old DA argument... The Sox spending $10 million on a 19 year old Cuban has it? No, but I mean league wide. Michael Ynoa got a ton of money as a 16 year old. No one really mentions him much here, although he's on the team. These 16 year olds aren't going to come into play anyways for probably at least 5 or 6 years. I read an article that the average development time for a player from the DR is 8 years. You need to have them, but it is a long ways off. If Hostetler was the guy who said Robert was the best prospect on the planet, would you change your mind? It's not like they haven't tried to sign guys before. They were in on Soler. They were in on Concepcion who the Cubs did sign and he's a bust. They signed Viciedo. Who would have thought they would have signed Abreu? It's different now. They have no reasonable shot of winning. They are doing something different. Trading stars away for top prospects happened when before December of 2016?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 02:52 PM) I think the opposite. Since anyone can bid $300k it isn't much of a number anymore. All it takes is one of the remaining teams to bid $350 or $400k to knock about half of teams out of the bidding. I also think that because so many teams are out of the top bidding that they will be more likely to throw $300k out there to a guy who may really be a $150 or $200k guy because they aren't going to be able to spend their money on anything above that anyway. I mean, I get the White Sox are rebuilding here, but I can't seen them throwing off all of these different things that have defined them as a franchise for decades now. You guys have a lot more faith in the unseen than I do. HOU, OAK, ATL. STL, WAS, SD, CIN, CUBS, SF, LAD, KC will all be in the can't offer more than 300k boat this coming period. The first 6 would be in the same position as the White Sox if they spent a ton before 6/15, and not be able to offer more than $300k 7/2/18. That's 1/3 of the league for this year, and there has already been lots of agreements and teams with not much to play with anymore. Assuming the Sox haven't offered anyone $300k yet, they probably are only really punting on 1 year and not 2, and it's really not punting. They still will spend their money. Spending a couple million on a 16 year old hasn't really proven to be very successful has it?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 02:27 PM) Which means they are automatically out on something like the Top 50 players for each year. Do you really think there is much difference in the 30-50th ranked 16 year old vs. the 80-100th ranked? Using your own theory, the Sox won't sign the top guys anyways. So they go down another peg. Besides $300k probably will get you a little more than it used to. You just have to hope Paddy picks the right guys. Look at BP and BA and MLB.com ranking prospects over the years. They have a hard time with 22 year olds in AAA. If Robert lives up to anywhere near the hype, he's well worth it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 02:23 PM) And if they sign him before 6/15, they won't be able to compete at all for the next two years, which means that advantage is largely wasted. They still will have their pool. They just won't be able to spend more than $300k on any individual player.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 01:20 PM) Interesting. Thanks for the insight. Regardless, everything coming from Boston's camp makes this seem ominous. I have always liked Price and I wish him the best here. The fact that they went to Andrews after an MRI suggests they either think or know something is very wrong IMO.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 01:41 PM) Sorry, I wrote it strangely, now that I read it again. My bad. What I meant to say was, yes, if he clears before 6/15 (who knows if that happens or not), the Sox have every reason to go big and sign him, and I'm guessing they will be very much in the mix. If he clears after, then the Sox have a very good shot at him in the same way they were able to get a lot better Rule 4 draft picks when those rules changed. Either way, the Sox are in it, and it makes a ton of sense to go get him. The Sox haven't done a rebuild like this since the late 1990's. The amateur scouting department has new leadership that has so far shown they don't do things the old ways - in fact they went into penalty range in the Rodon draft. The Sox have less teams to compete with due to current penalties for some teams. The team is projecting to dramatically decrease MLB payroll in this rebuild. The attitudes in the front office have shifted. While it's silly to say the Sox WILL do it, I think in this case it's equally silly to say 100% they won't. It's easy to understand anyone being skeptical the Sox would go after this guy, especially if it would cost them more than $4 million because they just haven't done it. Athough they did give Viciedo $10 million. Borchard was the highest bonused player in MLB history for several years. There are some that still don't believe the White Sox are in a rebuild. They think they wanted to rid themselves of players who love the Drake. Of course the question they would have to answer is if that were true, why did they not acquire one Opening Day 2017 major leaguer in either of the deals?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 01:29 PM) Post July 2nd, where the hard cap comes in to play, more teams are eliminated from bidding big, and the money becomes very close between all of the teams, the White Sox chances go up by a large amount. The White Sox have an incredible case to sell Robert on, once money is largely eliminated. I do agree the chances go up if his eligibility is delayed. But, the teams the White Sox would really competing with are the teams that went over, those are Hou, Oak, Atl, STL, Wash, SD, Cin, Considering Houston was supposedly up against a wall financially with getting another pitcher, and Robertson's contract was an issue with Washington, that leaves Oak, Atl, Stl, SD, and Cin. I am basing this on the biggest bonus given during the period was $11 million, so he would get more and double that with the penalty. If JR is willing, and Hostetler thinks he is great, and they aren't committed to anyone over $300k, and who knows if these other teams are, they have a decent shot. Of course, later is a better bet because the price tag comes way down.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 12:25 PM) What exactly do you mean by "go ham?" They can't go past their allotment. Suck they were never able to take advantage of the old system. They are still on last year's, so what he is saying is if they were going to blow it and get the penalty, spending more earlier would be the play. And he is correct. The only thing is, if he doesn't clear until later, you have zero shot. Assuming they don't have any big agreements not yet know for the next signing period, they are one of the few teams that can be in either way.

The Sox would seemingly have a far better shot if he were cleared after June 15th. Before, all it takes is someone to offer a Moncada contract and that's that. But if the money is about the same, the Sox might be dealing from a position of strength with a young Cuban. Not mentioning Minnie, but the recent big time Cuban players with some White Sox influence, Contreras, El Duque a little, Alexei, Abreu, now Moncada, might make the team very attractive. Of course most teams have a lot of Cuban players now either in the majors or minors and he may have someone in the STL or SD system that he's close to.

QUOTE (brett05 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 06:42 AM) He spoke truthfully as far as anyone can see. He was asked if he spoke with the Russians specifically about the campaign. He answered no. It was not an open ended question. I did not have communications with the Russians He's a liar.

Durant will be back when he's 110%. He has graduations to attend down the road.