harfman77

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Aug 24, 2016 -> 03:55 PM) Globe Life Stadium All of them named after a product of some sort are all bad except Cincinnati Petco, Progressive, Safeco, Wrigley, Citi, Tropicana, Target, Rogers, PNC, Miller, Coors, Comerica, Citizens, Chase, Busch and AT & T They are all the same so what the hell difference does it make. They would be named something if the money was right. Also, I do not think the White Sox have anything to do with this as it is not their stadium as they lease it from the state of Illinois. I also financed through them and they were awesome. David Hochberg has got to be pissed. Those are all national brands, living in Iowa I have never heard of "Guaranteed Rate". This is a bad deal for the Sox.

Who are they going to replace him with? Its not like hes holding some prospect back. Might as well keep sending him out there and helping your draft position. They are about 7 games ahead of a top 3 pick, Shields is just the kind of guy to get you into contention for that.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Aug 18, 2016 -> 12:48 PM) Doesn't his approach to hitters this year kind of cause that? Or his approach is because of it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 17, 2016 -> 03:04 PM) They know he doesn't have the command to be a starter yet. He throws 102. That's pretty good. Was it wrong the Reds didn't try to make Chapman a starter? One problem with guys that have this gift of triple digit gas out of the bullpen, you make them a starter, and suddenly it's 94 or 95. If it doesn't work out, many times it doesn't come back. If this guy is Nate Jones or Bobby Jenks, or someone of that ilk, it was a good pick. If he becomes an elite closer, we will be very happy the Sox decided to spend the 26th pick on a reliever. I am of the belief they are not going to stretch him out. I guess a good question for the people opposed is if your scouts think this guy's ceiling is an elite closer and he has 102 MPH gas, what is the highest position he should be drafted? Is the second round OK? The White Sox just need as many guys possible to be successful. What round they ultimately were drafted in makes no difference after the signing bonuses are paid. The Reds did try to make Chapman a starter. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/r-i-p-to...roldis-chapman/

QUOTE (Jake @ Aug 17, 2016 -> 02:32 PM) Regarding Hansen, I have to take a college pitcher's rookie league production with a huge grain of salt. The telling stat for Hansen is going to be walk rate. He was considered the favorite by some to be 1:1 before the season, but his control imploded on him. His K:BB in college this year was 25:13 in the pros so far it is 57:13. His WHIP at OU was 1.62 compared to .71 as a pro. Yes he is facing inferior competition, but if he can throw strikes, he has a chance to be as good as any other pitcher in that draft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 12:38 PM) Things are much different than the mid 90's when the Sox were looking at moving. With all of the expansion, plus the OAK and TB issues, the Sox wouldn't be allowed to move. I mean they could try, and they might win in court ala the Raiders (though the MLB monopoly powers might trump that), but what would happen is that MLB wouldn't approve a sale to any ownership group who wanted to move. That solves the problem before it evens starts. The owners would never do that, because they would never want that done to them. Taking away the ability to relocate would severely impair the leverage of ownership in future stadium negotiations and in turn would make the team substantially less valuable in a sale. Owners will never impair other owners from the ability to make money.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 12:21 PM) At worst, the White Sox are a middle of the pack team in value and revenue, even with their dry spell on the field. That isn't a team that gets moved. They will not be moved. It's ridiculous to even think there's a chance. Charlotte and Raliegh combined have less than half the population of Chicago proper. 2 teams there would be a joke. Hes saying play in both cities, or be at a midpoint between the two, which would give you access to a fanbase in both cities, not have teams in both. Charlotte and Raleigh also have a lot of money to kick in with corporate sponsorship's (money that largely goes to the Cubs in Chicago) and have Fox Sports Carolina's and Time Warner Sports that would compete for the TV rights. The fact that the Sox had their bags packed once before certainly means that they could move. It really depends on what the next ownership group is going to value.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 11:55 AM) Havana..................... I guess that Mexico City and Motreal are frequently speculated as expansion locations, so they could be in play, but I don't see it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 12:05 PM) Do you see any of them being able to out produce the money that the Sox make as Chicago's 2nd team? I don't. I believe so, I think that the TV money they can get in those markets that have zero summer live sports inventory is going to dwarf what they would get as the second team in Chicago, especially if CSN goes in all 162 Cubs games and relegates the SOX to CSN+ or local TV.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 12:00 PM) The A's aren't. The White Sox also have a lease. Why would the league let the White Sox move and take away a landing spot for one of the other teams that has less revenue and worth significantly less as a franchise? The A's are now, they have been trying to move to San Jose for years. They can let them move because there are multiple locations that could house an MLB team, and if the Sox left, the city may jump back in to try and entice one of those teams to come over.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 16, 2016 -> 09:23 AM) Yes - Given how incoherent their strategy has been the past few years, I do believe it is dysfunctional and I think it has a lot to do with the power dynamic between Hahn and Kenny (among other things). Be careful, you will get branded a Hahn apologist for stating that KW and Hahn have competing priorities.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 15, 2016 -> 12:09 PM) The Sox are not moving and the idea is absolutely ridiculous. Not only are there franchises with far worse situations (A's & Rays immediately come to mind), but MLB wants to expand in the not too distant future. If someone can name three to four cities out there that are better than a split Chicago, I'd love to hear them. Despite our low ratings today, the potential of the Chicago market is incredible and a new owner would have to be crazy to pass it up to go somewhere like Portland or Vegas. There are definitely markets that have needs for a baseball team. SLC, UT The Research Triangle, NC San Antonio, TX Las Vegas, NV Indianapolis, IN These markets are all growing at a faster rate than Chicago, and in addition to that have regional sports networks that do not currently have local baseball programming. TV is where the real money is for baseball franchises now, ticket sales are nice, but they are drop in the bucket comparatively.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 15, 2016 -> 03:29 PM) So when they are dying their shares are just going to a trust, but there is no active representative of the original partners interest at their meetings. Is that right? I would wager that JR has been buying them up, and thats why no other partner knows what he owns.

QUOTE (bmags @ Aug 15, 2016 -> 11:27 AM) I also don't feel like the MLB would be so forgiving of a 120 year old franchise to move cities. Theres no geographic footprint they need to hit. As of now it would basically just be a new owners preference for city. And mlb should work to block that. If they want a new city at this point they should just expand. They were on board with letting the team move to St Pete 30 years ago. The MLB owners are not going to stand in the way of any other owner being able to make money, unless of course it cuts into theirs.

QUOTE (Deadpool @ Aug 15, 2016 -> 10:44 AM) Nailed it. It would take months and potentially an interim owner and all this other crap. An interim owner? I have never heard of such a thing.

QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Aug 13, 2016 -> 11:40 AM) Craig Kenney has already publicly stated the Cubs are starting their own network in 2019. I suspect it will net them money we can't even imagine, especially if they reamin one of the best teams in baseball over the next few seasons. Mark I think a lot of that talk is posturing for negotiations. The thought of a Cubs network will drive up the price for CSN or Fox Sports in negotiations, so that the Cubs can get Dodger like money without the risk of not having their games broadcast locally.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Aug 12, 2016 -> 03:51 PM) It was absolutely nuts when JR turned down the City of Chicago offer to build a stadium in the South Loop at Roosevelt + Clark in the mid 1980's. I don't know if that sight would still be available. But a few years ago the Village of Rosemont offered to build a new stadium for the bad guys on the Northside. What happens if Rosemont offers to build a new stadium for the White Sox? I would think the owner of the White Sox would seriously consider it. I would rather have a new stadium in the South Loop. But if that didn't workout, I would rather have a stadium in Rosemont than 35th + Shields. The way the story went, JR wanted the stadium downtown and the city would only give him the deal he wanted if he rebuilt across the street. Thats how Jerry got his sweetheart deal.

I have been speculating this for a while. There have been some signs: 1. JR's public campaign against Manfred 2. The Sox looking at only short term deals in the off-season - gives a new owner a lot of flexibility to free up operating expenses. 3. The specter of a new TV deal, the speculation around the TV deal could very likely be worth more than that. 4. JR's advanced age and desire to have the family get out of the baseball business

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 11, 2016 -> 06:40 PM) Yeah, to be clear, I have no doubt Mark Cuban would bust a nut to have the White Sox. The odds of it happening are about the same as Jill Stein winning the Presidency. I am not sure that it is going to be for as difficult for Cuban as it once was. A lot of ownership has turned over since he made runs at the Cubs and Pirates and with Manfred running the show now, he may feel someone like Cuban could be an asset for the league.

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Aug 10, 2016 -> 11:08 AM) I have no idea what the hell they are trying to prove...unless they made him a promise when they signed him. Thats really stupid. Its not like they got the guy at a discount, theres no way they should have made such a deal unless he was going to take money well under slot to let the team acquire more talent. All that rushing him up does is to start his clock and get him closer to being expensive.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 10, 2016 -> 09:19 AM) If we try to add Cespedes and a catcher with a pulse, sure. I think if you are going to tear it down, Morneau is exactly the kind of player you want to keep around. Great hitter, great character, great clubhouse personality, and very respected pro. Just the kind of guy you want around a bunch of young guys coming up and learning to adjust to life in the MLB.

Word is that the Pirates may look at moving McCutcheon in a salary dump over the winter. The Sox don't have a lot in the tank as far as prospects go, but could move Burdi and Fulmer for him. Sign Castro and trade for Norris to catch. RF Eaton CF McCutcheon 1B Abreu 3B Frazier DH Cabrera LF Tilson 2B Lawrie C Castro/Norris SS Anderson

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 4, 2016 -> 11:46 AM) Fulmer now Anderson... Another thread that shows people can't handle a rebuild. Rookies do struggle. Did you know JB Shuck led AL rookies in several categories a few years ago? Both are guys that shouldn't be in the majors yet. Anderson really needed to work on his ability to work the count and draw some more walks. Fulmer was not great for half the season then the Sox rushed him up after he found a little success. If the Sox FO would have recognized they were out of it, Fulmer should have never come up. Anderson was more understandable as they were still relatively in contention when they brought him up. The Sox are notorious for rushing players through the minors, which in my mind contributes a lot to the struggles they have with developing position players. The Sox are always eager to get their players to fail so that they can learn how to deal with adversity, the issue is that they never give them enough time at a level when they are being successful to let them experience success.

Same problems now that he had in the minors, doesn't walk near enough. He seems to have good bat to ball skills and really good top end speed and has been better defensively than I expected. Needs to work on being more selective and finding better pitches to hit.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 3, 2016 -> 09:47 PM) They will be looking for a new TV contract. IF you got rid of Sale, good luck with that one. Sorry, but no one is tuning in to see Sale pitch on a last place team now. Sale being with the Sox does nothing to improve the contract value of the team with the lowest ratings of any team in the league.