iamshack

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:34 PM) I could imagine that the Orioles offered him a similar deal to this. Not huge hometown discount though, especially when the tax rates get calculated. Just like last time. Yep. And I would have said go play in Baltimore. He expressed no interest in Baltimore and even his agent told them that. It was never a realistic option.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:32 PM) Guys at 670thescore + Cowley were raving how this is a 'hometown discount' pretty much and Paulie took great concessions to be back with the White Sox. Everyone is drinking the coolaid. Where else was he going to go, folks?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:30 AM) At first you would be shocked the Sox gave Paulie 3 years. I love Paulie but this is an overpay, however if Carlos Pena can get $10 million after the year he had its a bargain. The key to me is $27.5 million dollars, not 10 versus 13.

Many posters here didn't even want PK in 2008 or 2009 for $12 million. Now you guys want him in 2012 for $12 million. But I'm the crazy one.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:14 PM) how do you know he was willing to come here for 1 at 10? Isn't Boras his agent? Negotiations and situations are different with every team, so just to say he would have came here for the same price and one year or the Sox wouldn't have had to defer anything is guessing. Because he signed with the Cubs.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:14 PM) But even if we spend a lot of money on a bullpen it wouldn't guarantee anything. Bullpens are typically a crap shoot. So this implies you should insert the biggest POS you can find?

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:10 PM) The Score is reporting Pena is getting deferred money from the Cubs, no exactly numbers, so he isn't a one year and no responsibility guy That means nothing. We are not the Cubs. We wouldn't have had to defer anything had we signed him.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:05 PM) Something is strange when shack is the pessimist in a thread. Other than SS2K5, and nobody can touch his homerism, shack is the biggest homer on the board. I may be optimistic about certain things, but I am very realistic when it comes to handing out contracts and acquiring players and our payroll. We're going to lose a lot of games 9-8 this year when our bullpen consists of me, you and ss2k5 because we can't afford to sign anyone.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:02 PM) No he didn't. The White Sox did. They have the same damned agent, Tony.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:03 PM) So...taking your own stance on things....it can't be said that JJ Putz was more concerned about what was good for the team, he jumped at the best offer $$$ wise. Is it only an issue when it relates to a move you wanted made? JJ Putz and PK are not close to being in the same financial position, first of all. Secondly, we were offering JJ $3.2 million. The DBacks offered him a contract for $15 million. Little bit of a difference there.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:55 AM) He did sign with us, and at approximately the same price as we thought was fair, as a consensus. He did it in early December so he wasn't holding the club hostage. I'm really not sure what you want from the guy, it's not like he held out for an unfair price for a long period of time, he signed for fair value relatively quickly and left the negotiations to his agent like you're supposed to. I'm astounded. You're astounded? I want JJ Putz as my damned closer. PK precluded that from happening. Stop acting like his kids would go hungry if he took 3/$30.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) And he is a worse player than Paul Konerko. No one is saying any different.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:52 AM) Derek Jeter is the captain of the Yankees too and he did it. EVERYONE does it. The White Sox are NOT the Yankees. Not even close to a fair example.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:51 AM) Well for people that do that good for them. But I know I sure as hell wouldn't do it. Then again, I'm a greedy asshole that watches beheadings on-line. lol. And yes, I'm kinda buzzed. First of all, it's not even noon yet! Second, you wouldn't take a job that paid slightly less money for any other consideration? Seriously?

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:50 AM) Every guy in the league does this. If you don't hold out for the highest price you can, someone else will. I can remember McGwire giving like this gigantic hometown discount to the Cards in free agency, but I suppose we can look back and think he had steroid guilt or something. If he knew from the onset he'd be giving us a hometown discount, then it was in his best interest to play hardball until the last possible second. It seems like the wall of 1B free agents is about to break. I guess I am naive then. I thought PK, our captain, wasn't every guy in the league.

QUOTE (JoeCredeYes @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:42 AM) Guy has saved the Sox probably 5-8 million over the years, and is taking deferred money to stay in Chicago, and you're going to look at him in a different light? Get real. How are you gonna fault the guy for taking what he's worth? Go ahead and ban me from this site, but this might be the dumbest post I've ever seen. I'm not going to ban you for calling my post dumb. You keep thinking he did us a favor though. It was this or strolling on the Inner Harbor for 3 years. He did us no favors.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:40 AM) lol. You know I like you. But you're pretty naive. I ain't sacrificing no coin for nobody. I can't expect anybody else to. People do this all the time, for a LOT less money. People do it in the everyday working world ALL of the time, and manage to live without their cousins turning into homeless people. Don't get up in front of the fans and say "I might go and play for some other team for less money. It's not necessarily about the money." Then you and your agent try to hold us up for $15 million a year. Nice Pauly.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:36 AM) "Not to speak ill of the dead, but she has come off as having quite a few issues of her own from what I have read. Not necessarily just the victim most people think. " "Read game change" I find it incredibly shallow to bring your opinion based off one mark halperin book to act like you know more about her than the rest of us who are sad she passed. We all read the book. I never said I knew more than anyone about her. Maybe you should stop implying all kind of things from 5 sentences I've written in this thread. It's more a general statement about how mercilessly political and other commentators, including those on message boards, attack people they know nothing personal about while said person is alive, then the complete opposite when said person passes away. Nevermind, you keep feigning sadness like she was your aunt or something and I'll stay out of the thread.

What angers me is that these ballplayers who are already incredibly wealthy, and claim that their number 1 priority is to win, seem to forget about that come contract negotiation time. Couldn't the guy survive on $10 million a year so we could have signed Putz? Or some other bullpen arms? PK's demands have the potential to hamstring us a bit here, and it frustrates me to no end that the guy doesn't care about that. I'm happy the guy is back. His bat is definitely going to be needed. But I'm also going to look at him in a much different light now then I did just a week ago.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:19 AM) If you are using Game Change to paint your whole view of this person I find that kind of sad. They gave inside stories on really tense moments specifically on the campaign. I guess that drowns out all the personal work she did for so much good. Because she swore at people who weren't doing a good job on the campaign. Did I ever say she was a big bag of s*** or something? Sorry folks, but I just find it incredibly disgusting how it's fair game to absolutely trash anyone that is living, then the moment they die, it's all rainbows and unicorns. How pathetic.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:13 AM) Why is deferring money a bad thing?? Because before you know it, you're paying out a bunch of money to players that are no longer on your baseball team.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:09 AM) It's 1M per year deferred. Seriously, that is nothing and would never get in the way or any sort of sign or trade. This is where it starts though. Do you think teams mean to get themselves in trouble when they defer money? Then all the sudden you wake up and you're cutting checks to Luis Castillo in 2024.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:04 AM) Basically all the 1B options could be called inconsistent as of late. LaRoche, Peña, Lee, Viciedo. For the vets in that group, each is coming off a down year. PK off a career year. But the other 1b options could be signed for 1 year. Huge difference.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 11:00 AM) White Sox are paying Paulie 2M more than Cubs are paying Carlos Pena. You think Derrek Lee wouldn't cost us 10+ ? The Cubs are committed to Carlos Pena for nothing in 2012 or 2013, or 2014-2019, for that matter.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) You don't think he earned the $12M a year? I do. Wasn't a bargain, but I think he paid it in full. $12.5M/yr is a bit steep I agree, but given what other bats are going for, its not out of bounds at all. And 3 years is not the end of the world. I don't like his inconsistency at all. Not for a 1b hitting in the middle of your lineup.