caulfield12

Sure, with Buehrle and Garcia, they were firmly established. But nobody expected Garland and especially Contreras to be so dominant. Or McCarthy to get some huge momentum shifting wins down the stretch run. Without the Loiaza trade and picking up Jenks for nothing, we still might have come up short.

Which puts us right back in 2005-2016 mode all over again. A Shark here, Frazier there...a Cabrera/Robertson/LaRoche group or Dunn every half decade. That’s not going to work like it did in 2005. Look at what has happened to the Twins and A’s in the post season, that’s our future fate unless everything goes exactly right...which happens about every 50 years for this particular franchise.

Let’s just say the number was less than ten...and those who weren’t drinking the Kool Aid were getting ripped nearly every day for not trusting this “new” front office operating style.

We have the speed...but defense, fundamentals, contact rate (the most strikeouts in MLB history) and absolute lockdown bullpen, not so much.

Narvaez was our highest last year, unless it was Abreu, Anderson or Moncada (bwar or fWAR). We dumped him for a reliever when the majority of rational front offices wouldn’t have agreed to even assume his existing contract.

Let’s just call that player a star or even a “superstar.” And move it back down to 5 fWAR as the cutoff. We can cite a Trout or Harper failing to succeed in the playoffs, but you just can’t compete with the quality depth of the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox and Astros.

You were one of the few who weren’t taken in...and I’ve been a Sox fan since 1978. Luis Robert signing for that $60+ million (bearing out StL, the draft philosophy changing and bonuses ramping up, drafting Boras clients)...there was certainly ample evidence to believe things just MIGHT be different this time around. In 6 weeks, most of the outrage will have calmed a bit and we’ll be stuck with cool cynicism and apathy around here. The White Sox have no clue how many fans they drew back in the last 2-3 months...and how many they might never get back again if the rebuild turns out to be a total bust. It will be something like 1/4th to 1/3rd of those remaining. The sad part is they easily would have jumped up by 25-50% with Machado, and turned around the prevailing storyline that the rebuild was stuck or even going in the wrong direction.

Did we get Hanley Ramirez to the Indians and Jose Iglesias to the Reds on minor league deals with big league Invites?

I’ll let Fathom rattle off all the ways the fanbase got punked in this Machado chase...it was a lot more than some banal general statement of interest this time around.

Well, this basically describes the 2004-05 offseason in a nutshell. When you look at removing Magglio, CLee and Valentin off the books, it wasn’t an exactly an explosion of new spending, other than Freddy, El Duque, Contreras...all the imported position players came in with reasonable or below market value deals. So lightning in a bottle it is. Of course, we likewise had the best farm stpystem in baseball before that 2003-2006 run. Lots of similarities, other than trading 3 studs...at that time, we had the much more maligned White Flag deal that brought in Foulke, Caruso and Howry.

El Gran Titan de Bronze was also Contreras’ nickname...a noted Cuban cigar manufacturer.

Are we sure they weren’t in Vegas just to gamble? http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26075139/dodgers-re-enter-bryce-harper-sweepstakes-interested-short-term-deal Looks like ESPN is running with it...LA wants Harper to sign a shorter term deal.

Robert could get there, too, if he can hit 20-25 homers...he definitely has the frame and leverage to do it if Alexei could pull it off at about 165-170 pounds. Adolfo would be my third choice...his defense will be a bit limited due to speed, but he could put together a huge season of outfield assists like Avi and Eaton have recorded in recent years. Basabe, Rutherford and Gonzalez would be tied for 4th, although they seem like 1.5-2.5 guys at the current moment. One could break out in unexpected fashion, although I certainly wouldn’t bet a Greg house on it. Let’s not forget we likely get two more shots with high first round picks...one pitcher (to replace Rodon) and one position player in all likelihood.

Without that one superstar, we’re the 2008 White Sox heading into Tampa without Quentin...and the once again disillusioned fans simply aren’t going to buy into a weak AL Central division championship leading to any type of playoff success (see Indians’ fans current mood despite four titles in a row). Heck, at the moment .500 baseball isn’t even assured in 2020, let alone a playoff run.

2 p.m. One team has to get their first ST win, as Giants are 0-2. Location: Just down the street from Paulie’s place in Scottsdale Battle of southpaws, Manny Bañuelos vs. our old friend Derek Holland WGN 720 AM, MLB.com is picking up Giants’ broadcast

I’ll repeat this again. Had they signed Pollock to his Dodgers’ deal, Keuchel (3-4 years) and Kimbrel (3 years)...I would have been absolutely elated, knowing what we know now about the unwillingness to sign offer the guaranteed money to lock in one huge megacontract.

And your position is what exactly here? From my standpoint, there’s only about five posters (Ray Ray, Shack, Eminor, PTAC, Southsider2k5etc.) who haven’t been ripping the front office to shreds. Balta, Dick Allen, Chitown and Chicago White Sox, not to mention Fathom...have been ripping the front office as well since last Tuesday. Same with most of the mods like BMAGS and Tony. Which Sox fans do you know personally who are actually content with the way things have gone this offseason? This is some real Stockholm Syndrome stuff here to keep giving this front office carte blanche to make mistake after mistake.

We should just offer to take Pollock and/or Pederson off their hands to make this happen...would MUCH rather help the Dodgers than the Cubs on the salary relief front.

If there was a “do over” this post-season, it would have been Pollock, Kimbrel, and Keuchel. That’s pretty much the best we could realistically do if we’re continually unwilling to sign one huge megacontract.

https://www.mlb.com/news/here-are-the-new-2019-top-30-prospects-lists White Sox are going to be one of the Top 10 systems for MLB Pipeline...exact number, yet to be determined

Marwin Gonzalez was the final domino to fall...

These 5 teams will be better than you think 1. White Sox You look at the White Sox this spring and see the Cubs, Astros, Royals and Braves from recent seasons. Like those teams, Chicago has so many elite prospects that winning feels inevitable, and in the American League Central, that can happen fast. So even if the White Sox don't sign Bryce Harper after missing out on Manny Machado, they're on the verge of a turnaround. Outfielder Eloy Jimenez is the best of the young prospects on the cusp of the Major Leagues, but outfielder Luis Robert, right-hander Dylan Cease, infielder Nick Madrigal and others have a chance to help the club win in 2019. Also, Yoan Moncada could be in line for a breakout season. If Harper does sign, so much the better. He would draw off enough attention that the youngsters would be able to develop in a somewhat normal environment. Speaking of environment, White Sox manager Rick Renteria might be the most underrated manager in the game. https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-teams-that-could-surprise-in-2019 REALLY MOVING UP THAT TIMELINE ON MADRIGAL AND ESPECIALLY ROBERT...sounds familiar though, we've seen this type of thinking over and over again with the White Sox, right?

Right. He also played some 3B in our minor league system, was sort of their version of Herb Milkman Perry.

Green Book, despite all the debates engulfing that film...somehow wins Best Picture. I don't know, for my money, HIDDEN FIGURES was 10X the movie and didn't win, but this was a really strange year again with many people unfamiliar with quite a few of the films other than BP and A Star Is Born. GB was basically the compromise choice between Roma on one hand (which one foreign film, and was seen by about as many viewers as The Artist), and Black Panther on the other. Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) both won...still haven't watched Bohemian, for some reason. Spike Lee also won his first "real" Oscar for Screenplay on Black KKKlansman.

They also are rumored to be looking into Kimbrel on a short/er term deal...