caulfield12

Profar, but he almost exclusively played LF last year. Jose "Popeye" Rodriguez or Bryan Ramos...although more a 3B/1B type and at least another year away at any rate. SECOND BASEMEN Rougned Odor (29, 1.8) Jonathan Villar (32, 1.2)

Or the organizational culture/clubhouse schisms. But having a new manager should potentially help there. Lynn and Kopech are always going to be question marks at this point...unless proven otherwise. And the Sox have gone for quite some time (Kopech) without losing another starter to TJ surgery.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35681036/padres-manny-machado-says-plans-opt-2023 Back with the Sox just in time to replace Moncada? Now that contract is really going to be the high risk one as he hits his thirties and outs on some more weight.

Seattle yes. Sox pitching/injuries and whole team slumped second half. Rays win that 2008 series 4/5 times. Injured Quentin and on the road. Had the sense going in they were cooked and really victory was the Black Out Game due to Hahn's son calling coin flip to prevent game going to the Metrodome.

https://sports.yahoo.com/carlos-rodon-did-money-yankees-215547875.html Heartwarming Rodon Illinois-related story...

Wouldn’t that essentially reset cap cost-basis and then only tax appreciation of the value of shares/investment from the day of JR’s passing? Or it can’t possibly be that simple…?

Stone Pony?

Or because of his original Red Sox contract and Hahn extension specials. He's got to have two consecutive 2019 seasons to get to $175 million-ish....and he could ride those coattails of being the former #1 prospect in the game. Chaos in the Central divisions Then there are the divisions stuck in the middle. The AL and NL Central are basically toss-ups by PECOTA’s estimation. The defending champion Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins (once again featuring Carlos Correa) are projected within one win of each other, with 49% division odds to 47.1%. In the NL, most prognosticators (and projection systems) view the St. Louis Cardinals as the favorites. But PECOTA has the Milwaukee Brewers very much in the thick of the race and in fact a slightly better bet to win the division. In particular, the system foresees big things ahead for scrap-heap pickup Jesse Winker and young pitcher Aaron Ashby. The Cardinals — who are used to topping expectations — won’t be cowed by this. But their pitching staff has some serious health- and age-inflected questions. https://sports.yahoo.com/9-intriguing-takeaways-from-2023-mlb-projections-are-we-underestimating-the-dodgers-and-yankees-003724974.html Can we finally trade for Corbin Burnes after that particularly contentious arbitration hearing?

It's helpful if you play fantasy sports, like I would guess 25% of the board seemingly does.

Or the epicenter of an unsettled environment with all the issues hanging over Clevinger, TA, Giolito (trade? union rep), Moncada and Grandal's Sox futures, etc.

Doesn't Melanie Hobson (wife of George Lucas of Star Wars fame) have some input as well, owning around 40% of the club at this point in time...?

Candidates for 4th and 5th starter, numbers 9 and 10 now in the fold, lol. Seth Lugo OR Nick Martinez likely back to the pen, with Wacha occupying that backend spot now. This Hamels move is also likely correlated with/to Drew Pomeranz's recovery (as Tim Hill is their only reliable LHR at current time.)

Who AREN'T the White Sox going to rely upon...you mean. Not an accurate parody. C+

Regional network Entering the 2021 MLB season Teams(s) Bally Sports Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, LA Angels, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, St. Louis, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Texas (affected) NBC Sports Regional Networks Chicago White Sox, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco *** AT&T SportsNet (incl. Root Sports) Colorado, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle (first three affected, Root Sports not) *** Marquee Sports Network Chicago Cubs (affected through exposure to Sinclair Broadcasting) Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Baltimore, Washington*** New England Sports Network Boston*** Spectrum SportsNet LA LA Dodgers*** SportsNet New York New York Mets*** YES Network New York Yankees (affected due to exposure to Sinclair Broadcasting) Sportsnet Toronto Blue Jays***

Looks like the Twins are going to be much more isolated from damage on this than CLE, DET, KC. See second half of previous article. Very complicated situation playing out, though. The assumption is that a decade down the road, when baseball’s distribution model is rewritten, that model will leave its franchises worth more, not less... ..... Some are suggesting that MLB would like to use the Diamond collapse as a pretext to take greater control of local broadcast rights and mitigate those disparities (between small and large market clubs). An unpackaged bankruptcy could allow all 14 MLB teams to abrogate deals with Diamond, though the Twins won’t need a court’s help, because their deal is currently up. Unmentioned in all this is the fate of Diamond’s NBA/NHL broadcasts, with those seasons ongoing at the likely point of bankruptcy. There exists the possibility that those leagues could team up with MLB on a new broadcast platform or broadcast partner. Whatever happens, deals are now far more likely to be cut nationally because leagues realize they have a lot more leverage when negotiating for dozens of clubs instead of letting a local team negotiate for one. MLB recently hired ex-DSG executive Billy Chambers to a new role, specifically to manage local broadcast, telegraphing its intentions.

The buyer was Sinclair Broadcast Group, the second largest local TV station owner in the country, mainly known for controversies related to how those stations cover news. (Sinclair also owns cable’s Tennis Channel among other properties.) Sinclair transacted the $10.6 billion Fox Sports purchase with over $8 billion in debt. So disabuse yourself of the idea this financial crisis is about cord-cutting, a corporate parent that doesn’t “get” sports, or MLB’s archaic broadcast blackout maps. It’s about over-leverage, pure and simple. $8.2 billion of it, to be precise. (In case you were wondering, Sinclair sunk $1.5 billion of its cash into Diamond Sports Group (DSG), so it will not walk away from this whole.) Wait, so you’re saying Bally’s isn’t in trouble? No, never said that, but it’s not a basket case. In 2021 and for the parts of 2022 for which financials are available, Diamond Sports had gross profits in excess of $400 million. Meaning it’s not a distressed business when stripped of all that debt. Additionally, it’s continuing to sign market-rate renewals with sports franchises all over the country. Sports Business Journal reported this week that DSG just signed a rights deal with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the NBA’s LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana Pacers. Additionally, according to Ben Clemens of the respected baseball website Fangraphs, as recently as 2021 DSG signed the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, and Miami Marlins to multi-year rights deals all worth north of $40 million a year, which are “in-line” with rights fees signed by Fox and other RSNs a half-decade ago. If the sky is falling for the value of these rights, it’s not evident. That said, the RSN business is “significantly challenged,” said one sports executive I spoke to who didn’t want to be named. RSNs are almost exclusively distributed on cable and satellite TV and cord-cutting is a trend that is only growing. https://tcbmag.com/the-bally-sports-mess-explained/

What exactly are you having difficulty comprehending? It's a pretty straightforward issue for the Sox at least. For the rest of baseball and numerous fanbase out there, it's pure chaos.

But notice the White Sox only negotiated a five year TV deal recently. JR/Hahn knew this was coming.

Nothing. See definition of sarcasm/parody…

Well, that is his one primary skill, right? Sarcasm detected. This is the biggest positive news (bad for baseball, obviously, unless the local blackouts finally disappear) but the only possible way the Sox can actually compete this year. Cleveland and the Twins will now likely struggle to make midseason moves due to the diminished financial flexibility,, and perhaps to even pay commitments to the likes of Correa/Buxton or Jose Ramirez from the Guardians’ side.

The whole AL Central. Other than the Sox. A crucial $47-52 million for the Guardians now at risk. 17 total MLB teams, if you include the three with AT&T Sports Net…including the Astros. Partial impacts on both MARQUEE and YES due to minority ownership stakes in those networks related to Sinclair Broadcasting financial difficulties to the tune of $8+ billion.

As Manfred explained MLB's backup plan, the league would try to get the games aired on local cable like usual while creating a new option for fans to stream local games, which has long been forbidden under the usual RSN structure: When asked if he thinks MLB would be able to replace 100 percent of the revenue that teams were due to receive, Manfred responded simply "not in the short term." ..... Rockies/Astros/Pirates in same dilemma as AT&T Sports Network possibly imploding. https://sports.yahoo.com/rob-manfred-says-mlb-will-handle-team-broadcasts-if-bally-sports-networks-miss-payments-002531361.html The league has been preparing for DSG’s potential bankruptcy and anticipated Wednesday’s non-payment. If DSG cannot pay the teams it has contracts with, MLB is prepared to take over those TV rights and broadcast the games. MLB, which has been streaming games since 2002, is confident it can fill the void if DSG can’t honor its contracts. The Guardians’ contract with Bally Sports runs through 2027. They pay between $47 million and $52 million a year. Besides the Guardians, DSG holds RSNs with Arizona, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Detroit, Minnesota, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Texas. It also has a minority stake with the Cubs’ Marquee Network and Yankees’ Yes Network. At one time the Guardians owned their own TV rights. Team owner Paul Dolan founded SportsTime Ohio. Dolan sold it to Fox Sports in December 2012 as Fox tried to corner the market on regional sports networks. Fox eventually sold its RSNs to Disney, which sold them to Sinclair for $10 billion in 2019 after it purchased ESPN. Sinclair’s timing couldn’t have been worse. COVID-19 hit in 2020, causing ballparks and arenas to lock their gates to fans. As the cost of cable subscriptions rose, more and more fans became cord cutters, preferring less expensive alternatives. https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2023/02/guardians-tv-season-stays-blurry-as-bally-sports-parent-company-skips-debt-payment.html

Yay, the rest of the AL Central might be wiped out, lol. Owning your own networks, priceless. Brilliant work, Rick Hahn. MLB (14): Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers NBA (16): Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs NHL (12): Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning "The annual local broadcast revenue accounts for about 21% of MLBs overall $10.8 billion. An estimated 90% of RSNs revenue comes from the monthly subscriber fees they charge MVPDs and vMVPDs. These carriage fees are among the highest in the cable industry. Because of its high carriage fees, at times, negotiations have reached an impasse, resulting in RSNs being blacked out. Presently, Bally Sports has no carriage deals with DISH, Sling TV and YouTube TV among other distributors." https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2023/02/15/sinclairs-bally-sports-is-on-the-verge-of-bankruptcy-upending-local-sports-revenue-model/?sh=7e23797a25df Ready-made quotes from Manfred in light of Bally/Diamond issues... “I think that the investment that the club has made in talent has allowed them to grow their revenue to the point that they will be a payor under the revenue sharing system this year,” Manfred said about a mystery team. “The trick for smaller markets has always been sustainability. He’s made a massive financial commitment, personally, to make this all happen. And the question becomes, how long can you continue to do that? And what happens when you have to go through a rebuild? But they have done a really, really good job of capitalizing on their talent to drive their revenue.”

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35668388/rob-manfred-mlb-ready-diamond-sports-group-pay-teams

No way in HELL times infinity. ES GET ESPN+ Why your MLB team didn't do what you wanted this winter? . But if your team wasn't quite so active, your reaction to the sudden onset of spring training might be something like, "Wait, what? That's it?" Obviously some teams were more active than others. Some spent a lot, some spent virtually nothing. But no team checked off every single item on the offseason wish lists their fans conceived in November. In a tradition we started a year ago, we're going to look at one possible outstanding item on each team's to-do list. But we're not going to grumble about these items. Instead we're going to channel the likely mindset behind the unfinished business and explain why the heck your team... https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/35659150/mlb-team-offseason-disappointments-2023-explained