Harry Chappas

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) He also said he doesn't think the Giants will get him. The one constant in every rumor has been that the Cubs are in his top two, and I'll be surprised if that's not where he ends up. Still think the Yankees will move in and it will be an grossly inflated contract in the end.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 9, 2014 -> 02:17 PM) So much good material was just skipped over. The Joe Kennedy, Rothstein and Bugs Moran I wish were covered more.

Cujo stands up to the test of time

Crawford seems like the kind of guy that would stay healthy and thrive in Chicago.

The extension will be announced at Soxfest you heard it here first. No insider info or anything just seems like the thing they would announce at Soxfest.

I am finishing Boardwalk Empire as I like to binge watch that. Pretty good overall season I'd say and the final two episodes look to be building up. It really should have been given a longer run time. Christ SOA episodes are longer and there really is no point to that show although I am curious how tonight ends it. True Detective starts next.

The ripple effect of the the White Sox deals impact the cub. With the Central getting tighter Detroit will have to sign Max and hold onto Price who Gammons rumored was going to the cub if the Tigers signed Max. NY has the Robertson money to go after Max and Lester thus bumping their price up and potentially out of the cub price range. Miami is looking hard at Shields. The PR battle took a hit with these moves as well although the minion love their high priced managers.

The amazing thing of these deals were they were that they were announced almost right on top of one another. Cooper was on the SCORE and he was pretty amped up. He got word at 3 AM.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 03:08 PM) Except you seem to think a Semien for Shark offer is absurd for the Sox and I am telling you that is a hang-up the phone type offer for Beane. After the season Shark can get the White Sox a draft pick back that could be very high and is the reason Semien for Shark makes no sense to Oakland.

I think this is a cub signing in hopes of a bounce back flip.

I think on Jan 1 KW gets the blessing. The timing of this by the Blue Jays is pretty bad maybe it is just a story now because of the meetings.

If Drew is looking for a short term deal Oakland would be a good fit for him to try and build up his resume again.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 12:05 PM) Also assuming someone like Boston doesn't come in and blow away the Sox offer. Boston is going to sign Lester and then trade for David Price if Det signs Max.

At the end of the day a nationally recognized program led by a coach who is also a national recognizable figure in a conference that while on the field may not be spectacular, is still the most powerful NCAA conference was chosen. The merits of TCU, Baylor and OSU can be discussed but the overriding thing is the history of the Big Ten and OSU v. the history of TCU and Baylor as well as the Big 12's situation. Very different story if this was OU or Texas.. Comes down to ratings and ticket sales in a new environment.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 28, 2014 -> 09:12 AM) I think you mean the Cell No, the cubs will play at Wrigley during the bleacher rehab.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2014 -> 11:14 AM) They've had a "revolving door" because they traded 2 closers away expecting that they'd have internal replacement options. Which should have resulted in their #5 starter and starting 3B for 2015.

The White Sox will know before the trade whether they can lock him up or not. Samardzija has all kinds of links to Chicago which I am sure the White Sox are aware of. I think in the end he hated being part of a rebuild at Wrigely and that was as big a reason as any for not signing long term.

The Toronto gig is more about the business side than baseball. You report to Rogers Communications and run that entire operation.

Oooops I tried doing this without saying the alphabet... I guess I need to say the alphabet before responding, sorry

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Dec 5, 2014 -> 03:02 PM) I would trade Chris Sale for David Ortiz. That dude's a really good hitter. I think they could Napoli though as well if they threw in Semien.

Hanukkah?

Have the best Friday ever.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 5, 2014 -> 10:50 AM) That's a bunch of bull. He got Marshall for nothing. He fixed the O-line in practically one season. He's drafted no worse than average, but I'd argue it's trending slightly above average. Realistically he missed on the coach, he f***ed up relying on Cutler, and he thought he could piece together a defense to be average along side his supposedly above-average offense. The plan obviously didn't work, but i'm not sure his plan was really all that unreasonable at the time. I liked most of the moves he made. Hell, I thought they were a playoff team at worst and a contender at best. It just didn't work out. He still dealt with massive injuries on both sides of the ball this year, and guys who should be producing more than they are (see, Allen, Jared, Cutler, Jay, etc.) The bigger problem is moving forward. They're f***ed for the foreseeable future. At least three seasons. He better draft a QB in waiting, draft young defensive talent and hope in 2017 or 2018 the QB in waiting can become a starter. Missing on the coaching staff in totality and relying on Cutler should get him fired. He had two much better options for head coach that he missed on to think outside of the box. At this point in time this team is horrendous, they are not just losing they are embarrassed on a weekly basis. Teams have three and four play drives that go 50+ yards fora score. They look like an over-matched college teams at times. The entire franchise structure needs to be rebuilt not just the coaching staff.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 5, 2014 -> 10:03 AM) I disagree with much of this. It's too early to make sweeping generalizations about recent drafts. It's also lazy scouting. The Bears are in this position because of years and years of bad drafting by Jerry Angelo. The only way to get out of the mess is by years and years of good drafting by Phil Emery or whoever else. Just the way it is. Two players from Emery's first draft/offseason are on the roster. Isiah frey may be somewhere but who knows and Shea is not a first round talent. So we have years of bad Angelo drafting and nothing emery has done has shown he knows what he is doing. This coaching staff is all his, does he get a pass on that as well as his first draft? This team is not only bad they are embarrassing, the coaching all has to go, every one of them, so two years later Emery gets to try again.......

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 5, 2014 -> 09:27 AM) Emery's 1st draft was really bad. He only has Alshon Jeffery to show for it. That being said, Jeffery is a cornerstone player. The 2nd draft was better. Long is a stud. Bostic will be a starting caliber player at his natural WLB position as well. Greene looks like a bad pick but the Mills, Washington, and Wilson picks were all good with where they were taken. This past draft was his best so far. Fuller is another cornerstone player. Ferguson and Sutton should be defensive contributors for a long time. The book is still out on Brock Vereen and Charles Leno. Fales was a bad pick and I'd never ever draft a punter. They also snagged Christian Jones as an UDFA and he looks like he could develop into a nice player. Some bad picks, but Emery has also drafted 1 cornerstone player in each draft. His issues have been that 1st draft as a whole and hiring Marc Trestman. I agree with signing Cutler and Marshall so I'm not going to criticize those decisions now. I believe that Emery dumps the entire coaching staff and stays on board for the near future. He can't afford to go 1 more year with Trestman because if it's bad again, he's gone as well. Just my thoughts. If the bears are lacking in talent it falls on emery now, he has had three years to make progress on building the team and he has not. From this draft they have one player contributing, Fuller, two if you count the punter who is no great shakes. The defensive linemen may turn out but it has not shown so. Vareen and Carey have shown nothing, Leno allowed the PAT to be blocked yesterday and that is the first I have ever heard his name. Bostic, Brown, Mills, Washington and Wilson have not done anything to show they are anything better than just guys. Bostic has some talent but he misreads every play. Greene looks to have some talent. One player from the 2012 draft, Jefferey is the only hope there. McClellain is still on the team because he was a first round pick. Through three drafts he has Long and Jeffrey and hopefully Fuller who I hope is hurt because he has done little or nothing the last few weeks. He may be able to blame the coaching staff for not developing players but he hired them. He also was a reach hire as well.