Dick Allen

According to Rosenthal, the Sox are still searching for OFs including Fowler, and may even trade Avi. So does bipolar Soxtalk get happy again?

QUOTE (shysocks @ Feb 13, 2016 -> 07:18 AM) What you guys gloss over is that the team picked a direction when they traded for Frazier, and so far they've been unable to finish the job. If they weren't comfortable with the costs it would take to make this team a real contender, then they should have noticed the deals teams like Atlanta were making and torn it down. I'm not just b****ing because I'm dumb and believed all the tweets and now they won't sign all the free agents I want. I'm mad because we've traded away a bunch of assets to become a .500 team. I still believe they will get another OF. No one has yet to report what Desmond and Fowler and Jackson are asking. To say the White Sox aren't negotiating correctly by not giving them whatever they want isn't fair. They aren't the only team that could use these guys yet no team has signed them yet. When they are all gone and Avi is flailing away in RF and the White Sox are in 4th place, criticize all you want, they would deserve it. But right now? We all live on every latest tweet, yet how many actually are ever true? There is no doubt the budget is bigger for a guy like Cespedes or Gordon than it would be for a guy like Fowler or Desmond. but unless there is some horrific injury, Fowler, Desmod, and Jackson's prices aren't going higher. They are going to have to eventually settle, Desmond turned down over $100 million. Do you really think he would sign for 2 years $25 million right now or 3/$36 million? Maybe, but IMO, unlikely. There will be a time when he has to settle. It isn't now. Same with the other guys.

Every time the White Sox have cried poor, they soon added payroll.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 03:18 PM) I bet you were saying that the Bears should get rid of Thomas Jones and keep Cedric Benson. Cause you know, RBs over 30 are always worse than younger rbs. LOL Bad example. Jones wasn't even 30 when the Bears let him walk. Forte has a ton of miles on him. Spending their money elsewhere isn't a dumb idea.

QUOTE (SoxSteve @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 01:59 PM) Yes but the power fascination is not working. Getting the Thome's, Dunn's, Loroches, hasn't worked the last 10 years wouldn't you say judging by 1 playoff appearance. We hit a good amount of homers in 05 but the key was Scottie pods and Iguchi at top the order and getting the lead for the first 30 plus games of season. We only play 81 games at home and i think we have plent of power to win judging by what the last few WS winners have done. With our pitching defense is more important and if some here feel with our outfield defense the same as last year and Desmond and Lourie will be better than last year i hope your right because i don't see it personally. But that's what make this board fun!! It was fashionable to say Scotty Pods et al was a different mix, but 2005 was won with power and pitching. They scored the same percentage of runs in 2005 via the longball vs. 2004, hit fewer home runs, but scored a lot fewer runs. What won, was the pitching and homers. Without, the drought would be almost as long as the Cubs.

QUOTE (SoxSteve @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 01:32 PM) What is your fascination with power? KC HIT 97 and 135 homers the last 2 years and were one out away from another World Series win. SF won multiple World Series with little power as did the Cardinals. We have enough power to win if we had better OBP IMO. And Markakis would be a huge upgrade over either on of our corner outfielders hands down. He is not a gold glover anymore but still above average for sure and i think he might have won a GG in 2014. Do we really want to add a guy like Desmond who has been declining the last few years and not just ist half of last year? Averaging 171 strikeouts and 24 errors over the last 3 years is a steady decline and not just a bad half. He just seems like a bad fit for a team that needs better defense and OBP than power. Those teams played half their games in ballparks not as conducive to hitting home runs. White Sox teams that don't hit HR since moving into USCF, with maybe one exception, have totally sucked. The park has played as a pitcher's park except for home runs in recent years.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 01:13 PM) Also remember that Noah entered that series on basically one leg that led to that surgery. Yeah,blaming losses now on injury, LMAO. They have been hurt ever since Rose's MVP year. Even with minutes restrictions. Even without Thibs. Noah used to get hurt before Thibs was ever there. What I don't get about Greenstein and anyone else who thinks Thibs being gone had to happen, how can you say that, but come up with excuses this season? They had the coach they wanted. They had the roster they wanted, and now it's worse than ever. Even their players are saying they are losing games they used to win. Taj getting hurt? Is that something new? He gets hurt every season. If you aren't going to get rid of Gar/Pax, you must get rid of Hoiberg.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 11:45 AM) Desmond and his agent have been selling himself on his willingness to play the outfield. Whether he would actually be good at it is a different question. I have stated before, if you don't want Desmond to play SS or 3B, or 2B, you should probably just get a real OF. For all we know, he might make Avi look like Dwight Evans in RF.

I wouldn't mind Desmond. I think Fowler makes the team better.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 12, 2016 -> 08:33 AM) Heyman "Reds believe orioles do have prospects to make a Bruce trade. O's also looking at fowler, alvarez. Likely to add 1 hitter." https://mobile.twitter.com/JonHeyman/status...986467390427136 Go ahead Orioles, trade for Bruce! I would think most high schools have the prospects to trade for Bruce.

The one thing I always get from a Soxfest minor league seminar is everyone raving about Marco Paddy. I think it depends on his and his team's evaluation. As the article pointed out, these, for the most part, are 15 or 16 year olds. Buddy Bell said something interesting that I didn't know. Most of these guys are training for showcases, not playing in games, so not only are they children, they aren't actually used to playing much baseball. They are training in a combine environment. They have to be taught which base to throw to, how to round bases, etc. I don't think I would go over with the real young guys. The guys I would go over with are the more advanced guys . I don't think I would give a 16 year old $20 million and the league $20 million for signing him even if 3 or 4 years down the line it may look prudent.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 08:25 PM) He claims to have an actual quote. Doesn't mean it's true. You really think he would make up a quote? What would be his motivation? He doesn't have a horse in the race. I really don't think he cares where Desmond signs. Plus, the quote sort of shoots down a poker game. That ship has sailed followed by a contract offer would make no sense. Perhaps they talked to him earlier this week and perhaps today, and realized they weren't going to come to terms, where then both stories were correct.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 08:17 PM) When was the last time Nightengale broke any sort of news? He has an actual quote form a White Sox official.

Well somebody with "sources" got played. I don't think it is Nightengale. If he is using a White Sox official as a quote, I doubt he is making that up. Certainly doesn't seem like they are preparing a big run, and really that was the first clue it was probably BS. That isn't how they do business. I wonder who Hayes' source was,

QUOTE (oldsox @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 06:05 PM) Anybody know which side originally wanted the QO system? MLBPA or ownership? Or was it just a product of negotiation? There is zero chance it was a players association idea.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 05:28 PM) Do they really though? All of Hahn's recent moves we've known pretty well in advance they had interest. Samardjiza days in advance. Frazier interest for months. Lawrie was telegraphed like a glove. Latos was only "surprise" Peavy to Boston, etc etc Those were after the fact. It wasn't seriously thinking about making a big run type of stuff. Melky and Robertson were surprises. P

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 05:14 PM) Herman reporting that the Sox are "Seriously considered making a big run at Ian Desmond". Said he thinks he's a great fit & talks like it will be more than 1 year. The White Sox don't operate this way. Hahn even said they like to keep the competition in the dark. I think this is a plant to try to get Fowler to move. Or a plant by Desmond camp to try to drum up business.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 03:16 PM) my bad, that's the last time I rely on MLBtradrumors, they had a blurb on him saying Boris was his agent. Unless he changed recently it's "Sports One Athlete Solutions". One thing you were correct about was Heyman when he is mentioning Boras' clients. Boras uses and abuses him.

Can't field, can't hit, can't go to the minors, and if he does figure it out, becomes a free agent. That's attractive.

None of these numbers matter until Royals Review posts theirs.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 12:58 PM) I love Jo, but he's not a complete player, and it absolutely kills this team. It's 4 on 5 with him out there, even when healthy. They need to look elsewhere. Same with Pau. The rumors about resigning him for 20 million is absurd. Find the next superstar to pair with Butler. Hope Portis develops into a Taj-like contributor. Hope McDermott can hit open shots. Hope Mirotic plays with a brain. And then draft well. For the Bulls to be a championship team in the next 4 or 5 years, they are either going to have to miss the playoffs and get unbelievably lucky in the lottery, or sign a free agent star. You would think signing the free agent star would be easier, but I don't know. I just think you decrease your odds of signing a star when Gar walks into the room, considering with the cap, the money is all the same.

Bottom line is Gar got exactly what he wanted, and it blew up in his face. He needs to go. Someone else needs to clean his mess.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 12:35 PM) Well Mirotic has regressed this year and McDermott is still a net negative every time he steps on to the court so the coaching change seems to have done them both a lot of good. Butler and Noah developed into stars under Thibs. They might have developed into stars if Hoiberg coached the last 5 years, we obviously will never know. Mirotic's regressing though, and he was one guy they assumed would blossom away from Thibs, is depressing. Would the rent a point guard have worked under any other coach?

Games missed last season, 50 wins. Pau 4 Butler 17 Noah 15 Dunleavy 19 Gibson 20 Hinrich 16 Rose 31 McDermott 46 Snell 10 If they tuned out Thibs, they haven't tuned in anyone this year. If it was time for Thibs, it's time for the Mayor and his boy Gar. Gar really needs to go. He forced out Ron Adams, now with a ring at GS. Wouldn't let Thibs hire the strength guy from Houston, now with SA. I read when Thibs was hired, it was a JR pick. Pax wanted Collins, Gar wanted Mike Brown or Lawrence Frank. It wasn't time to change the coach. It was time to change the players. The team isn't good enough. There isn't a coach in the world that would make this team healthy and championship caliber.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 11, 2016 -> 11:56 AM) Yep. That was a great article. Just finished reading it. I thought the line the minute they fired Thibs made one of the most coachable teams one of the most uncoachable was genius.