Texsox

Lmao. This has been the best thread of the off season.

Post of the off season.

Ironically Shohei would be out of the limelight in Toronto

How much of that goes away if he's injured or just playing average?

Great thread. ?

Interesting. That's a big number.

That was my thought. It is a great city based on a couple of times I visited. Fans will go crazy no matter where he is. Even if there are four more teams in the state or even one across town.

I'm usually for signing a superstar but Ohtani'$ contract is a gamble I don't think I'd take. Good luck to Toronto if it's them. I'd like to be the insurance salesman writing that policy.

Key to Rogers’ pitch was something no other team could offer: the ability to command the attention of an entire country. The Blue Jays have been Canada’s only major league team since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C. before the 2005 season. So JR helped Toronto land him.

I think it's stupid but I think most rules are stupid. They are adults and should know how to look and act. Of course that didn't really work for TLR who had no rules.

Or Jerry trusts those guys and he doesn't push back. We just know it doesn't work.

That's what I remembered. He seemed eager to explore other markets. But that could have been folks trying to sabotage his bid.

Very true. That makes a ton of sense.

For a higher payroll and being competitive in the free agent market? I'll contribute.

@Balta1701 very good points. Here's where I'm just not understanding based on decades of watching him. The premise is forcing him to spend money on a stadium will force him to spend even more money on players? I see us turning into the Pirates with a bottom five payroll. You have way more faith in JR than I do. Again, in general I'm against taxpayers funding stadiums. I'm just saying as a Sox fan buy us everything and I want the franchise locked into a long term Chicago lease. I'm also thinking a lucrative lease arrangement increases the value of the franchise and might help convince the shareholders to sell sooner.

@Balta1701 if your argument is it's better for society if teams built their own stadiums or it's unfair to non fans for tax payers to fund stadiums, I agree. As a selfish Sox fan, I'm going to say buy them a stadium, a couple free agents, and a manager.

Probably not very well so they cut payroll. How has shareholder value gone since the present stadium deal has been in place?

He could. I'm looking at this as a Sox fan. We've had a top five to ten payroll fairly recently and I'd like to think we would do that again. I also would prefer the team was locked into a long term deal in Chicago.

He also has a responsibility to the share holders. He's not the sole owner, he's not even the majority owner. I like the idea of the club locked into a long term Chicago stadium. Where would the money come from to pay for the stadium? Cut payroll? Raise ticket prices? It seems like a tax payer funded stadium benefits Sox fans.

I agree. The only route I see is a very long shot. Do it as a package. Would the Cubs vote for JR to Nashville and an expansion Sox team in Chicago?

And . . . Are we really opposed to Jerry getting us a new stadium in the greater Chicago area? I really don't mind if he leverages Nashville and we wind up playing in a new stadium with a long term, can't leave Chicagoland, lease. But admittedly I'm not paying as much Illinois taxes as I used to.

I think there are people here who have posted variations on the "fine, leave b****", including myself, who really don't want that. It's a way to defuse the frustration. I would also believe that there are true Sox fans that given the choice of an expansion team with new owners in Chicago or JR and family for another couple decades would have a hard decision to make.

Handicap with top 5 to 10 payroll? I think we both want to see that. I agree cheaper bench and better free agent starters is a better way to catch lightening.

The post above mine said it's easy to spot Cub fans pretending to be Sox fans. Also to keep supporting the team. The post also went on to claim that anyone who posts go ahead and move is a Cub fan. I think those folks who post then leave a**hole type posts are really frustrated Sox fans who say it as hyperbole and don't really mean it. But since we really don't know most posters it's easy to make generalizations. Most companies hire social media folks to write things like "you should keep supporting the team and stop being so negative. And "you're probably a Cub fan." TL:DR not everyone who is negative is a Cub fan. Not everyone who posts something positive is a paid shill. We're all Sox fans here.

I hope not. But isn't it always not happening until it does?