caulfield12

Since they won’t or are simply unable to sign any premiere free agents, what choice do they really have?

They’re not even close to competing with the Indians or even the Twins at this stage...let alone the real big dogs.

Except the problem with that is so much of the core will be nearing the last years of their contracts from 2021-23 that they’ll simply be in a perpetual state of rebuilding like the A’s or Rays...

Now they’re trying to say it wasn’t just $320 million...that this number was $30 million too low, hahahahah! Attacks that the White Sox were being "cheap" in their pursuit of Machado are simply wrong. If reports are accurate, they committed to paying Machado $350 million over the course of 10 years. Now, there are obvious differences in the offers reportedly made by the Padres and White Sox, and if Machado shows up to Padres camp in Peoria, Arizona, in the coming days and breaks his leg, he'll be $50 million richer than he would've been had he signed with the White Sox. But is also important to note that the White Sox reported offer allowed Machado to bet on himself and potentially earn $50 million more than he is set to make in San Diego over the course of the next decade. ... "A year from now, we will be in a better position to know more about our own guys and know more about what's available and where specific needs may lie and what specific needs we may have addressed. When we have that knowledge, that's where this money is going to go," Hahn said. "It's going to serve us well in the long term to have this economic flexibility and this economic might to make ourselves better. "We saw an opportunity now to potentially fit in for the long term. Didn't work, but does not change the fact we are going to take advantage of those opportunities again when they arise in the coming years." None of that, of course, is likely to soothe the tempers of fans still reacting to this free-agent defeat. And none of it has to. Fans are allowed to be mad, and they'll likely carry the idea that the White Sox won't spend until they're proven wrong. And Hahn recognizes that. He said as much back at SoxFest. "If for whatever reason we fail to convert this time around, perhaps that narrative will exist for another year," he said, "but we look forward to proving that one false like we have the others." Unfortunately, that remains an item on the to-do list. Calling total BS on this one. https://sports.yahoo.com/rick-hahn-understands-white-sox-193354131.html

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/wouldnt-happened-pumas-now-imperative-nike-land-zion-williamson-220838131.html 'You would think Nike has to sign him' – How Zion Williamson's shoe fiasco could be a boon for him

Positing the theory that such a such a player would be an excellent "flip" candidate...maybe not 2013, because we were coming off the 2012 season where we led the division for much of the season, but definitely 2014 and beyond (even if we "pretended" to be competing, it was just a half-assed attempt, highlighted by players like Samardzija and Frazier.)

In fact, Harper is one of 26 players since 1990 that have put up at least 25 WAR through their first 7 seasons up until age 26. Were they all generational players? Would you hand any one of them a $400M/10 year contract? Before answering you should know that you’d be handing out that contract to Nomar Garciaparra, Scott Rolen, Eric Chavez, GRADY SIZEMORE, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen, and Jayson Heyward. How would you feel if you absolutely shattered the record for biggest contract to one of those guys? Not too smart, huh? Bryce Harper ranks 20thon that list for batting average (bottom third), 14thfor slugging percentage, 3rdfor most strike outs, 14thfor ground into double plays, and 17thin WAR. And if you look at some of the names on that list, Sizemore, Tulo, Wright for example, there’s no telling what the future holds and allocating as much as 20% of the current luxury tax threshold on one player really isn’t that good of an idea on what seems to be a huge risk. Sure Harper could be right behind Mike Schmidt as the next best position player in the history of the Phillies but he’s nowhere near that as it stands. And Michael Jack had the benefit of being able to - year in and year out- play a Gold Glove caliber defense and that’s worth something There are some who say that the money doesn’t mean anything – that bringing in a player like Harper will more than cover itself in ticket sales, merchandise, and other ancillary revenue streams. But what if he continues his course of not reaching perceived potential? No one’s buying Grady Sizemore jerseys the last six years and you’d be hard pressed to find an Eric Chavez jersey in anyone’s collection – not even Eric Chavez’s. And if Harper hits .249 and strike’s out 169 times like he did last year while making $40M people are going to be buying those jerseys just to burn in effigy. Maybe if they sold some Bryce Harper branded lighter fluid too? At $1M per can they could close the deficit of a “bust-case” Harper in no time. https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/2/21/18234310/phillies-bryce-harper-worth-40-million-generational-player Harper is NOT worth $400M However, it’s easy to downplay his career so far by saying he’s 6th on this list, 19th on this other list, on par with this guy here, equal with this guy there. But how many of these other players show up strong in ALL of these categories at all? The way I see it, Harper hits home runs like Jay Bruce, hits for average like Realmuto, walks like Jose Bautista, steals bases like Brandon Phillips, and strikes out like Ozuna. Sounds much better when framed that way. Harper is worth $30+ M a year because he does many things very good to great. Generational? That remains to be seen. Still quite early in his most productive years. We would all take Trout over Harper if we are talking generational talent, but that’s not the decision here. I’m just afraid the Phillies aren’t willing to go all the way with building a contender, and are going to walk away. If we don’t get Harper, and miss the playoffs by 5 games, it will be the worst half-measure taken by this organization since 2009-10, when Amaro inexplicably traded Cliff Lee. I swear we would have won the pennant that year if that doesn’t happen.

They've got so much invested in proving they've made some good calls in Latin America...I hope he gets his opportunity, and it's legitimate, like Delmonico and Palka have enjoyed. Not 100-150 at-bats, but at least 350-400. Of course the problem here is we're talking either 2020 or 2021, and fans are going to expect those teams to compete. That's a lot of pressure with no Machado/Harper to shoulder some of the load. It's really going to be incumbent on guys like Anderson, Moncada and Jimenez to be the leaders, with Madrigal/Roberts/Collins all following close behind.

Asia/Pacific Rim Correspondent... NOTHING TO REPORT. White Sox will never sign another player from this region unless someone sends KW some random videotape of a JPL middle infielder.

We completely rename the franchise after our move to Harper's Ferry, star player is elated to be the only player in history with his name as part of the team name...Civil War buffs and coal miners from across the country trek there to attend games and answer trivia questions between innings, record profits boom. The Harper's Ferry Frosty's, with Wendy's as the sponsor. Bryce hits for the cycle and every single attendee at the game (with validated ticket) wins a free regular-size Frosty for life (with purchase of additional item of $2.99 value or higher.)

Might as well try the Braves/Mets/Nets (threatening shorter term deals) again and conjure up some crazy case for the Marlins/Jeter making a huge splash to "show they're back," even. What's to lose?

We've been saying this EVERY SINGLE YEAR SINCE 2013... How many really good returns have we got from these reclamation projects...Kahnle and Swarzak seem like the only two who actually panned out for us in recent years. Matt Albers gave us a decent 2-3 months, he's actually done surprisingly well since leaving the Sox...he was really out of shape when he was on our roster.

He was 22nd for fWAR, all-time under age 25.

He was still an All Star with either StL or Montreal and a doubles hitting machine.

Just don't be entirely surprised to get the 2018 version and not 2016-17 Marwin. Would have preferred Harrison as an upside value signing, but we already have Yolmer and Leury for that role.

You mean the eternal/endless quest for a middle of the order sweet hittin' lefty isn't quite over...and at least Lilian was on record as not being that interested in Machado from the getgo.

Compared to Marco Paddy, he's in the scouting Hall of Fame. Then again, maybe if he was GM instead of Hahn, we could legitimately credit him with Abreu/Luis Robert and Tatis would still be in the organization.

I dont think Mondesi will make it...but he did make some progress last year.

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/card/108651/fernando-tatis-jr. See bottom of the page. He's ahead of everyone in MiLB but Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., and probably has more all-around fWAR in his game because of his speed and defensive ability at SS. Acuna's someone that a lot of scouts wouldn't give up for him, same thing with Bregman...and most of the Top 10 listed below, along with Betts/Harper/Machado. In terms of pure value, though, there are lots of interesting arguments out there. For what it's worth, Moncada is still listed at #22. No Kopech. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2817347-ranking-mlbs-25-best-players-under-25-entering-the-2019-season#slide14

That's only 17% undershooting. Impressive stuff. Next time, we'll aim for the 10-15% range so that we can maintain our seat at the table and not be mired in mediocrity. TWTW, baby!

What is the exact opposite of BOSS BABY???

JR probably would have preferred that outcome, he could get all the season ticket monies, parking, concessions, jersey sales/merchandising and still collect 60-65% on the insurance policy. I jest. Well, sort of. That would actually work a lot better for Bryce Harper than Machado.

One of Cashman's greatest mistakes in the last decade, along with the Contreras/Loaiza trade back in 2004.

This would be one of those years where it would be advisable to announce tickets sold and not fannies actually in the seats. I might start one around the end of April, but I don't even have the heart to care about attendance at the moment simply because the front office has proven time and time again they don't really care about White Sox fans, so why the heck should we care about their inability to sell tickets...? It's not OUR problem, it's THEIRS.

And yet nobody outside of die-hard White Sox fans, MLB front office staff and sabes/fantasy league owners perceived him as an All-Star caliber pitcher. Of course, all it took was Theo...despite his numbers tailing off pretty dramatically.