caulfield12

I think they meant he interviewed for the Sox manager’s job, supposedly.

There’s another potential factor here at play. Both Madrigal and Conforto are/were super tight with the former Oregon State manager…and there a lot of rumblings on both sides (Sox and surely Nick’s) that he wasn’t perceived as a unifying presence in the Sox clubhouse, arrogance or overconfidence not backed up on the field, questions about his religious beliefs, bordering on proselytizing, etc. Guess it just tends on how tight that OSU baseball community is whether it will make any impact at all…or it could be a major bone of contention, like Wheeler’s wife strongly preferring the East Coast.

“Therefore, if the Mets decide their financial resources may be better spent elsewhere, Conforto will surely look to cash in, preferably with a team that has an obvious need for a right fielder and is looking to compete for a championship in 2022 and beyond. Therefore, with all of these factors considered, the Chicago White Sox might be the best fit for Conforto, and may emerge as the biggest threat to sign him away from Queens. The White Sox have struggled to get consistent production at right field for the past decade. In regards to overall WAR, the White Sox right fielders have been ranked poorly in the last decade. Adam Eaton, who was the primary right fielder for the White Sox in 2021, was not the answer and ended up being released during the season. Adam Engel is under contract through 2024 but is more suited for center field. Eloy Jimenez will slot in as the primary left fielder. Gavin Sheets, who spent some time in right field in 2021, may be more suited for designated hitter. The White Sox are a young team who are set to compete in the immediate future. They have a young squad that is mostly all under cheap, rookie contracts. Conforto fits the team’s timeline, and he fills an obvious need for them. If the Mets lose Conforto in free agency, they would receive draft pick compensation, which may deter teams from pursuing him. They better hope that’s the case, because Conforto and Boras do not seem interested in giving the team a hometown discount, and the team needs an outfielder like Conforto more than they realize.” https://risingapple.com/posts/ny-mets-sign-michael-conforto-threat

Can we please have 1997 hitting machine Albert Belle on our 2021 roster at least...if just for ONE season? Screw the cost. Of course, we inevitably end up with Manny Ramirez or Ken Griffey, Jr.,, but 3-5 years too late.

BILLIONAIRE CLASS DESPICABLY GREEDY AND SELF-SERVINGLY BRILLIANT WILLING TO THROW OTHERS UNDER THE BUS >>> RACIST TROPES See all the controversies recently with NBA and NFL ownership. Of course, when you combine the TWO, then you really have an organizational dilemma...

The White Sox modus operandi before Koch/Linebrink/Dotel was almost ALWAYS to draft and/or find guys on the cheap (or even waiver wire) like Jenks, Foulke/Howry, Santos, Crain, Damaso Marte, Matt Thornton, etc. Paying top market dollar for relievers has almost always been fool's gold, and it was again with Kimbrel. Hendriks worked out fine, but he actually saved a lower percentage of his opportunities than Colome, who was a complete disaster this season.

Or Frazier, who's highly likely to produce in the 1.5-2.5 fWAR range for $7.5 million, or $7 million more than Madrigal for roughly the same level (or less) of production. Going off 2021, he proved he could have ONE really decent (3-4 fWAR) season, but repeatability an OBVIOUS concern to the rest of MLB.

If that's our (very high) standard, they WHO exactly would be an upgrade for the White Sox? He's pretty much right in line, maybe one-half tier below, Zack Wheeler.

What other logical choices are/were remaining? Ray? Unlikely, too much of an overpay off Cy season. Stroman, no way, TLR hate. Gausman, too expensive. Scherzer too expensive 10X. Kershaw about as likely as Corey Seager one day being called Mr. White Sox. That leaves Trevor Bauer and Zach Greinke. (Note, I'm sure there are some pitchers like Daniel Hudson and at least one veteran starter in the $8-12 million range, but even that might take getting rid of Keuchel, and not a supplement to the current rotation.)

They do have a new stadium and dominance in their market...but still not the comparative advantage because Houston, Seattle and LAA are formidable organizations in terms of organizational resources. Three years from now, the situation might have shifted back to the where the Rangers and Sox were positioned roughly a decade ago, where the Rangers were one out away from a WS win.

Everyone thought having Cuban own the White Sox would be fun. But this kind of spending is like late 70's and 80's Yankees, Steinbrenner in his prime. It's got to be tremendously demoralizing to those bottom 6-8 MLB franchises who have essentially been reduced to feeder or relegation status...like the A's, Pirates, Royals, Orioles and Diamondbacks.

Maybe we could follow the KW plan and pay 0.50 cents on the $1 approach...locking him in for $21 million for the first three months, then letting him become a FA again at mid-season.

There were 2 if not 3 times during Machado that it appeared imminent with ESPN banner headlines....that was the most frustrating part, yet not being able to close the deal. It was like the ultimate tease, and it went on and on and on and on with no conclusion. At least with Lincoln Riley saying "he's not going to LSU," it took less than 48 for the guillotine to fall on the heads of Sooners' fans. I can just imagine all the excuses we'll be hearing for the next 3-4 months. Wouldn't go to that 7th year with Semien. Won't go 5 years with Conforto "because they don't feel comfortable." But we targeted the RIGHT guys, it's just the price points were all wrong. "We didn't anticipate the going rates per our own internal calculations on anticipated fWAR to be so lofty." Oh where, oh where did our "unprecedented financial flexibility" go??? As it stands right now, some are trying to extend Cease and Kopech...when we still have Kimbrel and Keuchel on the books, and two bigger priorities on our roster to deal with. One would have to assume Giolito is as good as gone, and Kopech is unlikely to get an extension as well with his own TJ and extreme velocity history. Same with Cease. Other than TA (who will be a FA at roughly the same age as Semien, and one would think asking for at least 7 years himself)...where are they going to spend the money, exactly?

Uh-oh. White Sox falling behind every field but AL Central...with Minnesota making biggest move so far. At least this flurry of signings is more exciting than most years. Hard to charge owners with collusion.

KW Special.

It's the NL/position player equivalent of Cralos Isle of Rodon.

List all the available players (not counting trades) you would be happy if the White Sox were to sign only one of them. Four SS, K.Bryant, S.Suzuki, Gausman, Conforto, Ray, Kershaw...better not hear either Greinke or Bauer.

In Rick (Hahn) and Romy's High School Reunion We Trust.

See early Cubs' career Bryant...

Paging Endy Chavez or Ender Inciarte for RF.

When he played being the three key words...

That might be too optimistic, your last sentence...

Being a Sox fan is like hoping Iowa or NW beats Michigan or Ohio State in football...it happens about 5-10% of the time, enough to just keep you hooked but never enough to set your expectations too high, only to end up totally disappointed. White Sox have to turn 2-3* recruits into All-Stars, just very hard to do on a consistent or sustainable basis. Could we at least be Wisconsin or Michigan State?

Well, there goes my offseason plan. Fascinating contract...still doubt it elicits much of a reaction from Hahn. Heightened risk/even higher potential reward move to the nth degree.

Ummm...so now everyone is using babes? Brad Miller? Leury? Happ? What happened to the $190-200 million payroll White Sox? This is the Aldi/Cub Foods version...the Whole Foods arugula-consuming hopes lasted all of one week.