caulfield12

Not to mention, if he's on the field of play participating in drills...there's an additional liability issue for the club, as there's a very real possibility of him getting injured by a thrown or batted ball. I'd like to think if his son ended up with a fractured skull that they wouldn't sue the team and would take responsibility, but an increasing number of fans are suing over this issue in recent years. It's not a TOP FIVE reason for Drake to be limited, but it's yet another concern the front office shouldn't have to worry about.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columni...316-column.html John Kass trying to add some levity and "life lessons" to this story.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 10:20 PM) I was being sarcastic when I said that. It's not like LaRoche's beliefs weren't known before he signed here Also if it was for those reasons, I'm confident in saying the whole team would have walked out Except it might be just ONE part of it...which we'll never know, of course. Partly the reaction of players new to the team this year, partly about KW forcing the issue because of LaRoche's under-performance or perhaps Adam (theoretically) ignoring advice earlier in spring training to focus more on this season and his rehab, the increasing pressure on everyone to win this year and especially get off on the right foot out of the gate in April. The most obvious point here is Hahn had apparently been trying all offseason to sell him to the highest bidder for quarters on the dollar.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 10:16 PM) Especially when that agreement isn't built into his contract. Yes, but it's not unlike the Rockies trading CarGo after telling Parra he would be around this season...or the Marlins throwing a fire sale after the Buehrle's committed to being there in Miami for 4 seasons. They're not breaking an actual contract, but it's not the best way to go about conducting business if you become known for going back on your promises. Obviously, the counterargument is that the reputation of the White Sox is still good enough to attract the likes of Rollins, Latos, Austin Jackson, etc. What would be really interesting is to see how many other members of the team are in the Eaton/LaRoche/Kaplan camp...if it's at least 1/3rd of the team, not a good thing.

Fathom is right. At some point, religious discrimination or "persecution" is going to come into this eventually...whether it's an accusation via Twitter or a legal argument.

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 09:10 PM) A lawsuit over a gentleman's agreement would be laughed out of court. That said, if Hahn or Kenny did promise LaRoche extra access for his kid, that definitely changes things. We need to bring in illinilaw. If LaRoche was promised that privilege, everyone in the Sox organization (especially the players) were aware of this fact, as well as some of his ex-teammates like Harper or Boyer...would the White Sox be covered legally because there wasn't an explicit promise written into the contract? At any rate, it still makes the White Sox look bad if that was the case. They shouldn't have offered that "open clubhouse" policy in the first place unless they were willing to deal with the consequences. KW comes off here as more of a bully who's hiding behind not wanting to set a precedent for other players (in the future) when that's exactly what they did in the first place apparently.

If it was in writing (unlikely, but possible) or a verbal/gentleman's agreement, you can be certain that a lawsuit might be coming. Even in a "he said/she said" scenario between Hahn/KW, LaRoche and LaRoche's agent, it's not going to turn out well to look like they are going back on their promise basically because of his level of play deteriorating so badly. It will be termed a "hostile work environment" by LaRoche's lawyer. All we're missing now are comments from the Trump and Clinton camps wading in.

QUOTE (Black_Jack29 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 08:34 PM) Yes, but it's not all about LaRoche and his kid, which is something that LaRoche doesn't seem to understand. It's about his kid's omnipresence negatively affecting the rest of the clubhouse. Except that's been rebutted to an extent by some of the Dan Hayes article...what we're left with is the likelihood it was an issue with "some" players...which was enough to push it up the chain to Hahn and KW. Obviously there were players who weren't bothered as much, such as Eaton. For example, it didn't affect the Nationals when they made the playoffs. One would logically conclude it being brought to the forefront by one of our new veteran acquisitions who felt that having kids around 24/7 wasn't appropriate and not standard operating procedure in a majority of big league clubhouses.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 08:18 PM) Defending a friend, nothing wrong with that. But why does he have to do it on social media? Can't people pick up their cell phone and actually talk to someone personally to express their support, or at least send them a text message? What possible POSITIVE result will occur in this situation? That LaRoche will get the idea that enough in the clubhouse have his back that he should push the issue publicly and "unretire," putting the White Sox (and the clubhouse) into a very uncomfortable situation?

While they're at on this issue of team rules/regulations, they might want to think about addressing all the issues arising from social media, especially Twitter...whether it's the Oscars comment, or now, Eaton not taking sides (exactly), but it has the potential to split the clubhouse a bit before the season even starts, and you definitely don't want that happening when all the vibes were so positive. I suppose it's also a bit of the we, as players....can support our fellow teammate and Ventura (those inside the clubhouse)...but still put the blame on KW and make him out to be the bad guy. But that's a very thin line to walk on. You would think they would have learned from the Guillen Family and their use of social media and Twitter and Joe Cowley to retaliate against KW?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 16, 2016 -> 07:25 PM) I like this post. If it was only so cut-and-dried. When you start giving ranges or parameters of 50-100% of the time, 0-50% of the time...there SHOULD be room for negotiation. It seems both sides are being stubborn...LaRoche, because he got away with it last year probably, and KW, because it's seemingly easiest for him to be the "bad cop" compared to Ventura/Hahn. Ideally, it would have been handled first by Ventura...unless Ventura's suggestions didn't seem to get through to LaRoche and/or LaRoche felt he had been promised his son could be with him when he signed and he felt that deal was being reneged on by KW/Hahn.

Veteran pitcher Blaine Boyer, a former Met and friend of LaRoche’s, told Rosenthal, “I honestly think this is between good and evil. I know which side Adam lives on.” I think there are a number of things going on here. One, LaRoche's apparently open religious beliefs, which, in general, tend to be polarizing in nearly every locker room. You can see it in some of the quotes, like the one above. Two, it was fine and cool for LaRoche to do whatever he wanted last year when he was coming off a strong season and had just signed a big, new contract. As some have pointed out, if it was Sale's kid/s, or Abreu's, etc., it wouldn't be handled in the same way. It feels like something that was accepted last year or in the past is suddenly an issue because of non-performance or loss of stature in the clubhouse...and also the influx of new veteran players certainly having their opinions as outsiders. The unfortunate part of is this is that Ventura, Hahn and KW weren't on the same page from the very beginning...of course, for all we know, Hahn told LaRoche and his agent it would be fine when he originally signed, and then circumstances changed, and at least 50% of it has to be LaRoche's performance level. In a way, it feels a bit like the same game of chicken that Orlando Cabrera and KW played after 2008...you can just imagine it not ending very well from a public relations standpoint. As fans and growing up around sports, we all can understand the MANY reasons it's not appropriate to have teenagers around adults, unless it's something like every Sunday/Family Day, you typically have a day game and a different atmosphere than a night game or especially on the road. It should have been addressed in the individual meetings or conference calls with the players in the days right after the season ended. Certainly, KW/Hahn/Ventura all knew there was an issue, or at least a potential issue...at that time.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 15, 2016 -> 08:31 PM) At this point I wouldn't trade Avi for Bruce.Need another good fielding OF and Bruce does not qualify. Just trade in one tall, white, mid- 30's, DH/1B of French descent for another. Monsieur Morneau votre table est prête. Jeff Francouer, haha?

Well, at least for today, the solution was Eaton at DH, but that really doesn't help our outfield defense much when you have Garcia and Cabrera both playing. At some point they're going to have to decide which is the best option, Eaton in LF and Cabrera DHing with Garcia in RF, trying to move Cabrera to RF...then there's the options in the form of Sands and Shuck, but that's not ideal, either. The most LIKELY solution would be Jay Bruce, because of the LH preference, but then you still have to put him or Garcia or Cabrera in RF...which couldn't be any worse than last year, I guess. Is Dominic Brown still available? Nope...looks like he's with the Jays, who still have a surplus. Michael Saunders? Travis Snider would have been another possibility, but the Royals control his rights for now. There are plenty of LH options, but not many are what you would consider "power" hitters or middle of the line-up guys.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/blogs/mlb-big-...-182055837.html Yahoo Sox season preview/profile...progress, we're now 17th with 6 AL teams behind us

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/colum...737174/?ref=yfp

Let me ask this question...would we still have Donald Trump leading the nomination process at this point without ISIS and the Paris attacks? The more and more you think about it, this phenomenon isn't about China either, because China has been trending downward economically since last June and looks like it will end up somewhere between late 80's/early 90's Japan and 1997-98 and 2008-09 financial crises. Backlash against Mexicans and illegal immigration? Well, Lou Dobbs pounded that drum for years and didn't get anywhere. Pat Buchanan as well.

What I don't get is how Trump barely even registered as a blip on the radar screen in the race four years ago. Basically, the economy, in terms of unemployment or the stock market, has been trending upwards. Obama's got the highest approval ratings he's had in at least 3 years. If I had to guess, I'd say one element of it is the backlash that started with Ferguson, Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman, the South Carolina church shooting, BLM, political correctness on college campuses...mixed in with the gun rights/self protection issue. Or the situation out in Oregon with the occupation of federal lands. Just seems like one polarizing event after another fanning the flames. Observing from afar, every day brings something new. Staging rallies at sites that you pretty much have to know you'll cancel ahead of time to score political points. Secret Service officers in 1960's mode. Members of his own party like Rubio and Kasish openly talking about not supporting the nominee due to the toxic environment that has been created. Nazi salutes? It might work to strengthen his current base of support, but he's playing with fire and at some point...lives will be lost. Maybe he's secretly hoping for that, although I would hate to think so poorly of any human being. It's getting to the point where implausible television programs like Scandal and House of Cards are getting outdone by reality. What fiction writer could come up with this stuff on a daily basis? It's getting pretty ridiculous when China can be ALMOST on a moral high ground pointing out the hypocrisy for condemnation of Chinese human rights violations by the US compared with what has been going on in the US the last 9-10 months since Trump took over the race.

But didn't they also give Turner something like $2.5 million? More "insurance" guys now. Which is better than the last couple of years at least when Carroll was one of the top options, along with Noesi.

Yeah yeah Wilson Betemit, Ryan Sweeney, etc. Just surprising Johnson isn't pitching with a bit more sense of urgency...or at least not prepared to hit the ground running in the most important spring training of his career. That's twice now he has gotten rocked. With Quintana and Latos, they had/have big league track records. If he was throwing at least in the lower 90's, there would be less cause for concern.

Scouts weren't too impressed with Latos, either. Johnson at 85-89 mph is merely batting practice fodder. https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto...-133106885.html Latos made another dubious listing...

There's room for Sale and Rodon to improve from last year, especially Rodon. Danks might regress a bit, but we've long come to expect little out of him. So then you're essentially comparing Latos/Erik Johnson with Shark's 2015. All things considered, they should be a notch or two better, especially if we get our expected improved defensive play in the outfield.

Agreed. Latos as 4th, Danks as 5th, both with roughly six weeks to prove themselves. Either one struggles or is injured, it's Johnson as the band-aid until the trade market defines itself. Not sure they can afford to go with Beck, Turner or Carroll, but clearly overpaying in May/June has its own cost/benefit ratio. Think we would also see Danks as the 2nd lefty/long man out of the bullpen before they would completely pull the plug...believe based on history they'll continue to look for SOME type of return on investment like they did with Adam Dunn or Rios. Maybe it's simply cost savings, with another contender (probably in the NL) picking him up for the last spot in their rotation.

85-77

Save some of that offense for the regular season/cold April weather in Chicago!!