caulfield12

https://sports.yahoo.com/story-spring-manny-machados-decision-220636217.html And here comes the “chip on their shoulders” puff piece...if some choose to feel more optimistic. Does Machado's decision give current White Sox a chip on the shoulder? White Sox players were pretty committed to one message on Machado throughout the offseason: It'd be great if Machado came to the South Side, but if he doesn't, no big deal. Not exactly the same way White Sox fans feel right now. But these players have spoken for the last couple weeks about how much faith they have in the current roster - and how much urgency might be seeping in. They've heard about the future for a long time and think maybe it's time to start talking about the present, too. "I'm sick of losing," Lucas Giolito said. "There's a point in time where it's s**t for get off the pot," Carlos Rodon said. And Tim Anderson has been leading the charge. He was the most vocal during the White Sox pursuit of Machado, defensive and adamant about his desire to remain the team's starting shortstop. In the wake of Machado's decision, he stood up for his group. "We're going to be South Side regardless. Nobody's decision determines what we've got going on in this locker room," he said. "I feel we have a great group of guys here. We're going to do something special. The White Sox are moving in the right direction. One decision won't dictate our season. "We're going to keep rolling. Either ride with us or get run over. We know who's on the boat with us and which way we want to sail." They won't necessarily admit to Machado's decision giving them added hunger, added motivation or an added chip on their collective shoulder. But these White Sox have something they want to prove. And in addition to proving it to fans and observers who are still waiting for 2020, maybe they can prove it to Machado, too. "He might have," Anderson said when asked if Machado missed the boat by not signing up with the White Sox.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/columnists/bryce-miller/sd-sp-miller-padres-machado-fernando-tatis-jr-20190223-story.html “Machadomania” After reading this, one gets the overwhelming feeling KW and Hahn underestimated or missed completely all the connections that were already right there...and should have been staring him/them squarely in the face (especially when they emerged as a real/credible threat over the last two weeks.) He approached the Padres as an unlikely threat, largely due to the daunting economics of this move this particular move for them. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/sd-sp-padres-manny-machado-edge-dirty-0222-story.html https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/sd-sp-padres-manny-machado-introduced-press-conference-0222-story.html#nt=oft02a-1li3 Alonso, 3+ minute video on Machado decision

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26058350/bryce-harper-meets-phillies-owner-john-middleton-las-vegas Confirmed that Middleton was there to to meet Harper/Boras in Vegas...hopefully he pulls a Kraft and gets arrested so Bryce has to disassociate himself from the Phillies and JR, facing a fan revolt, has no choice but to sign him.

Yes, we already know. We had a future HoF pitcher in Sale, Eaton, Abreu and Quintana on the same roster to negligible result.

Can we just go ahead and change our team official nickname to the Chicago Stopgaps and Castoffs (aka Misfit Toys)? And how long will it take for a player to state (probably spoonfed my media relations) this is going to “cause them to play with a chip on their shoulders” ?

Starting with Keppinger and Bonifacio, a surprising amount has been eaten since 2011...

Worse, for sure...because he has never won a single thing on his own. To top it off, Jay/Alonso together in Chicago and Machado/Tatis in SD are just like constant reminders of this debacle. And they're not going away anytime soon, apparently.

Don’t insult the Browns’ last 8 months...

At least that’s better strategy that whatever’s coming out of Hahn's mouth this week. The telegraphed desperation of Jay/Alonso almost demands a counter to change the narrative and take the focus off the front office. Almost. But almost comes with at least a $325 price tag. And there’s a fanbase in Philly that will erupt 3X as loudly and won’t even be comparable to the worst we’ve thrown out there into cyberspace this week.

Whether it’s true or not, it now becomes part of the Sox urban legend...joining 1919, Disco Demolition Night, Jerry Dybszynski, the White Flag Trade, 1994, Miggy Cabrera, Adam Dunn, the Chris Sale jersey slashing, Drake LaRoche Gate, Ozzie quitting on his team, KW vs. The Big Hurt, etc.

Just feeling like a gullible idiot again if you dare to dream they could actually reverse course and pull this off...I mean, would ANYONE even be willing to bet one of Greg’s houses on JR okaying a contract with Scott Boras of all agents guaranteeing any player $320-330 million???

He went to law school at Harvard, graduated in the Class of 1996.

Basically, the “bust” (meaning C.Crawford, Heyward, Sizemore, Chavez outcomes) rate of the players who started out on HoF trajectories in the last 20-30 years (based on before age 25/26 numbers) was around 10/26...just a notch under 40%.

https://www.fangraphs.com/graphs.aspx?playerid=3200&position=P&pitchgraphs=true&statArr=&legend=1&split=base&time=daily&start=2016&end=2018&rtype=mult&gt1=15&dStatArray=FA&ymin=&ymax= Looks like he was still 92.5-93 for most of 2017...it wasn’t until that finger injury that everything fell apart.

Why they didn’t play it by lying in the weeds from the very beginning...not making such obvious pandering moves like Jay and Alonso...might have had a different ending, but, then again, still difficult to imagine the bidding ending up under $275 million even with with the Phillies so obviously focused on Harper. By NOT publicly lobbying for months...with two separate ESPN headlines about Machado to the Sox...they wouldn’t have managed to somehow piss off every single member of the fanbase other than Watch Ray Ray Run.

Wasn’t it something like appendicitis, or his kid’s health...or those were separate years? He went from 900+ to mid 500’s and NY Times headlines about the historicity of his ineptitude.

Maybe one outside the Sox spring training facility would be a lot cheaper...and it’d still be pretty much guaranteed to make national news. https://www.outdoorbillboard.com/billboards-for-rent/arizona/all Looks like around $3000? https://www.blipbillboards.com/billboard-locations/arizona/phoenix/ Can also go with digital billboards...

The Santana money is only if he makes the big league roster, no guarantees. If they did, they’d be the dumbest front office in history coming off his last 18 months.

We always talk about how payrolls weren’t supported by enough revenue since 2007...that White Sox fans were “underattending” games based on how much was (inefficiently) being spent, but being listed with those 3 organizations is just downright embarrassing. It’s certainly deflating. The crazy part is that each of them has been much more successful in putting together playoff caliber teams...heck, Oakland looked capable of the World Series in the second half of 2014 and then again four years later. That ignominious list also puts us well behind SD, KC, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Miami/Florida, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Minnesota, etc.

They definitely compliment each other, Cooper’s ego might be the biggest in the organization...the anti-Vizquel or Jirschele. The real question here is whether they are complementary...and how accidental vs. strategic it is. Will wait to see on Lambert, but every year there’s a Jordan Guerrero, Flores, Adams, Danish or Beck. Still awaiting a true breakthrough from one of these guys. At least Covey showed some flashes, compared to where he was in his Rule 5 year.

I’ll clarify that as specifically for Jay...Alonso’s situation is a bit more complicated because of his larger salary. In the end, neither player finishes their season with the White Sox. That much is close to certain.

Luzardo (yay, more reminders) and JB Wendelken pitched for the A’s today...

Many of us pointed out how dumb it was to help our MAIN rival (not the Cubs) Cleveland out from under a financial overextension of their own making...but that quickly got buried under the Machado to the Sox expected headlines.

Excellent preparation for the Game of Thrones-like “winter is coming” fan freeze everyone but Eloy Jimenez will be dealing with in April and May back up in Chicago.

They don’t need to cut him...just absorb X amount of his salary and get back another team’s version of Alex Call. There’s simply no way Jay himself would have said he could recruit Machado to the Sox by the force of his will alone.