Dick Allen

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:17 AM) So do Desmond and Jackson. Your point? Once again, where did I equate signing Fowler with 90 losses? Please find the quote. Gordon Beckham, John Danks and Ubaldo Jimenez are Golden Gods. Never said you did, but you mentioned the buzzkill and the hopelessness.You did state with #6 in your Royals manifesto how Fowler could be a good signing for them. Of course, now he would be a horrible idea. Ralph Garr, BB Richard, Alan Bannister, Jim Spencer.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:16 AM) Yes, but that's perhaps the only thing on the marketing department's side right now...claiming the Royals were lucky two seasons in a row is getting to be a more difficult sell. Can you show me one marketing department in sports who has ever tried to use fangraphs projections as a means to sell anything? Just stop.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:08 AM) I'll quote Cali. You can have $1.6 billion if you can pull the quote where I ever stated/claimed/asserted signing Dexter Fowler equals 90 losses? C'mon, you're supposed to be better than that. Nobody ever said sign Cespedes for $150 million. It was always something like $85-110 million. And yes, if signing Upton made the Tigers World Series contenders, why wouldn't signing Cespedes accomplish the same if the White Sox were the better team last season and also upgraded three other offensive positions? Aren't we 2 games ahead of the Royals for fangraphs projections? Cespedes would put us ahead of Detroit. Signing Fowler also improves the team WAR. The catastrophe of not getting Cespedes is way overblown. He's clearly the better player, but there are other ways to win. There is probably an 8.7852%-15.464 % chacnce Fowler is actually better the next 3 years. And it sets the White Sox up a player for the big free agent class of 2018 if he would take 3 years. Jim Essian, Kirk McCaskill, Kevin Bell, Todd Cruz (wanna buy a watch), Tex Wortham.

QUOTE (Coach @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 07:20 AM) IMO, a huge factor is the location. Nothing to do after the game. Don't want to be around there after dark. Also, who wants to pay good money to see a lousy team who can't run the bases properly, move runners over, get runners in, or even score runs. I will not spend my hard earned money on any inferior product. Bottom line. That has described the Cubs product for a good portion of their attendance dominance. So apparently, playing well has nothing to do with it. Ricketts actually said something interesting last week. He said the Cubs neighborhood was actually pretty s***ty for a lot of their fans. He said it was great for meeting your college buddies and going to a game, but that was about it. He has a point. What is in that neighborhood for kids? They don't have the kids' days and family days like the White Sox do. If anything, it shows getting to the younger generation as quickly as possible doesn't really mean much.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 07:21 AM) Can I trademark that? Because the White Sox are skinflints/JR is cheap/franchise is doomed and Nero is playing his fiddle storyline is more fun to banter about than convincing ourselves how great an addition Dexter Fowler will be and how we've gotten temporary amnesia about rebuilding the farm system. Sox sign Cespedes...possible WS team. Sox sign Fowler, probably the worst team in the division. Will lose at least 90 games. Sometimes if you look at it actually written out, you MAY see how silly it really is. Shawn Abner, Luis Alvarado, Mike Andrews, Ed Herrmann.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 12:10 AM) gmab. you know what i meant. i was talking teams. of course if we're going individuals it would be michael. followed by kobe and hakeem. that's just out of guys i've seen play in real time. And tthe warriors still aren't as socially significant as the Jordan/Pippen/Rodman Bulls. That was as Rock Star as an NBA team has ever been. And Hakeem individually wasn't nearly Magic or Bird at the box office.

It would be hysterical if the Sox signed him to a 3 year contract.

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 10:26 PM) Wow . I guess you told ME.. I couldn't possibly have a comeback for that.. For a guy who claims he wasn't offended or disgusted, you sure keep making a big deal out of this when the vast majority you have presented this to doesn't care in the very least.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 09:18 PM) From a box office/entertainment perspective, I don't think we've seen anything like the Warriors. These guys are so f***ing fun to watch. Only team that comes close to me are the SSOL Suns. For the love of God, there was no box office draw like Michael Jordan. He sold out every arena he played. Miami retired his freaking number.He makes more money selling shoes almost 20 years later a year than he made playing basketball. But they are a lot of fun to watch. If they win the West, there really is no need to play the Finals. They should save the East champ the embarrassment,

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 10:16 PM) Difference is, I"m not a high ranking member of the Sox organization, with the potential to further damage an already shaky relationship with the fans.. Get your Facebook friends to protest at USCF. Block the entrances on Opening Day, there should be enough people outraged like you, and call for Cooper's head.

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 10:02 PM) never once in the thread did I explicitly state I was offended or disgusted.. I brought it up on WSI as a topic of discussion, and thats all she wrote, pal. But feel free to paint it whatever color or shade you'd care to.. I posted what you wrote at WSI. If it didn't offend you, it wouldn't have been worthy of all the attention you have given it. And your use of "pal" speaks volumes. There is no way a guy who gets so irritated on a message board using pal, doesn't blow a gasket when a customer tells him his service blows. It is funny, Cooper's passion in life gets ripped, he defends it and rips people , that is wrong, but you doing the same thing, no problem. Nobody cares here about it, and only a select few even care about it at a place they freak out when stripes on the road pants get changed.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 08:51 PM) So you suspect Fowler is going to pull in something in the neighborhood of 3/$50? I think it will be less than that. I don't think he will get more than $40 million, if that.

What kind of contract would Cespedes be looking at had he repeated his 2014 numbers last season?

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 08:34 PM) I hate that a pick is attached to Fowler, but given the money involved, the makeup up the current Sox roster, the future, and a number of smaller reasons, I actually want Fowler more than Cespedes. I think it's a better fit. Cespedes career OPS .805, Fowler .781. If it saves you $70-80 million, it does seem Fowler is the better choice. If the 2015 Cespedes shows up in 2016, 2017, then he would be worth the payout. Cespedes is the better player, but maybe not if the 2013/2014 version of him shows up for the 2016 season. I think of the big 3 he had the highest ceiling but the lowest floor.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 08:23 PM) We only have so much information to go off of, so lets use the facts we have. 1. It was reported today by national outlets that the White Sox were one of the finalists for Cespedes 2. It has been very much established over the last year or so that Bob Nightengale is a mouthpiece for the White Sox in so many ways, and has a direct line with someone very high up in the front office. 3. Nothing has been reported by members of the Sox traveling press core that there have been any negotiations or any serious talks between the White Sox and Cespedes. Meaning, the Sox beat reporters for the most part get there information from the team or someone close to the club, and in some ways serve a certain master. If things are getting close, there is no advantage for the White Sox to leak that out there and get people excited. 4. Where you have to make a bit of a leap is guessing why this report came out now. My best guess would be talks started back up, and have now hit a snag. The Sox want to put pressure on things and make a statement(whether or not you think that's the right strategy is another argument) that they are staying firm on 3 years. If you are the White Sox and have that information, are you giving it to Scott Merkin or Dan Hayes, or are you going to go national with someone like Nightengale, to achieve a bigger reach? If I am the White Sox and was offering 4 years, I would want it out there that I wouldn't go more than 3 for other teams' sake. It could keep a teamfrom offering 5 years because they think no one else is offering 4. You can't believe everything you read because the White sox don't negotiate in the press, but like you pointed out, agents and teams leak things for a reason. They are playing the game. Hopefully when this wraps up he is a WhiteSox or else we are going to have to go through this crap,for the next candidate which I think would be Fowler. Steve Stone keep mentioning left handed hitting the other day. Cespedes cover that with reverse splits. Fowler is a better hitter right handed but does get on base and has more power left handed.

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 07:36 PM) . I'd appreciate if you didn't put words in my mouth. I never said I was offended. I said I was interested in the topic of discussion. But guess what? You get to have the last word. Go for it! Have a nice day Yup. Whatever. Believe whatever you chose to believe. The paying customer expresses dissatisfaction with the product they support with their $$$. Yea those schmucks, they deserve to be ripped to kingdom come Your post at WSI. You sure seem offended to me. If you are not offended, why did you make such a big deal about it here and at WSI?

I wonder why JR had lunch with ARod today.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 06:59 PM) I asked the question because I'm curious where expectations will be if Cespedes is signed. It seems like that will meet the fans expectations for a very good off-season. What if they fail, and it's an 81 win season. Who is to blame at that point? KW

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 04:49 PM) I absolutely, positively, 100% believe that to be the case. Even if that was the case, and I don't buy it because the White Sox outdrew the Cubs Harry's first 3 years at Wrigley and on the superstation, the fault that the White Sox weren't broadcastigpng 120 games on WGN isn't on JR or EE. It pre dates them.When they had the team, the Cubs had the dates. There was no way they would have anything but a limited schedule on WGN, and then the Tribune bought the Cubs meaning there was no way they would ever be able to trump the Cubs on that station.

QUOTE (captain54 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 05:49 PM) Then I would assume then that if you go to US Cellular and pay top dollar to see MLB, and the Sox decide to put their AAA team on the field, you would be totally cool with that because the Sox don't owe you anything.. no business owes you anything You're kidding, right..? I happen to be an independent business person and I damn well owe the people who pay for my service something. Timely delivery, professional quality product and service… Good Lord... How many games do you go to? Do you know what the Sox roster looks like before you buy tickets? if people don't like your business, the choose another. No one is stopping you from doing that. But if you think everything about a business is against you and you continue to patronize that business, quit complaining. That crap is on you. And I would be willing to bet either you have never had a complaint, or had complaints and just gave every customer exactly what they wanted even if they couldn't have been more wrong. Have you ever had an argument with a customer? It is pretty apparent you tell the neighborhood kids to stay off your lawn. You're at least as cranky as Cooper. The funny thing about Cooper is one thing message board posters have loved about him was how he would treat radio guys like Rongey like s***.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 04:39 PM) See Harry Caray/superstation WGN exposure impact. He has been dead 18 years

The other thing is the assumption that whatever Don Cooper thinks reflects the entire White Sox organization is just some more craziness. If every little thing about being a White Sox fan pisses you off so much, spend your time doing something you enjoy. You will be much better off.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 02:34 PM) Why does everyone assume that all people from Cuba are friends? I don't know if they are friends, but Cespedes really talked up Abreu before he came over, and Abreu has said similar things about Cespedes.

Why would Cespedes have a bigger market than Upton?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:56 PM) Re: Bowden's report of Sox, Mets and Nats being the finalist. I think the Angels are the Sox biggest competition for Yo. Another team I can't understand didn't seem fully engaged with Upton.