caulfield12

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 09:07 AM) And the fan base to support it, that being the key. Chicago trails the Tigers in every single key financial metric. You want to know why the Tigers can spend? Start there. Where was that fanbase from 1988-2005?

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tige...enech/78991448/ Detroit writer asserts team is now a World Series contender again "He’s an immensely popular owner because he has won championships, but also because he stubbornly refuses to follow convention. He’s contradicting the current baseball trend of getting younger and cheaper. Ilitch fervently believes that star power is a valuable asset. Ilitch told reporters during free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmermann’s introductory news conference Nov. 30 that he’s still not averse to spending big dollars if the right opportunity presented itself. “It might sound silly,” Ilitch said then, “but I don’t care about spending money. I’m supposed to be a good boy and not go over it,” Ilitch said, “but if I think there are certain players that could help us a lot, I’ll go over it. Oops, I shouldn’t have said that.” http://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tige...litch/78991260/ Ilitch accomplished his primary goal with this significant signing. He generated a little more excitement. That’ll sell a few more tickets, even if it doesn’t win that many more ball games."

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 07:07 AM) There's gotta be a creative way to make a deal happen. Whether it's a signing bonus, a 5th or 6th year option worth around 7.5-10 mill, deferrals, a combo of all 3, we need to do something. Signing bonus is the last thing they can afford if they're worried about negative cash flow this season... If anything, it would have to be with deferred money like the Chris Davis deal. The only time that has happened was with Konerko in recent history...although Buehrle was willing to do that.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 06:43 AM) JD Martinez, Upton, Castellanos 5-6-7? 489 strikeouts between them https://twitter.com/pgammo/status/689409042305839106 Didn't the Astros have a lot more? http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/b...nded/order/true Tigers were 16th, right in the middle of the pack. I'm sure they would trade that for top 2-3 in runs scored. Miggy and V Mart don't strikeout much, so that balances things out a bit. The Cubs were far and away the worst in that category last year.

The question is how well ISU will play away from home...for some reason, they just don't seem quite as dangerous this year. Vulnerable isn't quite the right word...maybe still forming an identity separate from Hoiberg.

Saladino for at least 2-3 months...or longer.

We always say that things will get uncomfortable...but the truth is Hahn + Co. has a gift for spinning and doing it in a way that's more ingenuous than Rongey. In reality, the only one who ever bristles or loses patience when someone "speaks truth to power" is KW. I would enjoy his face when someone points out the smallest market team in baseball has given out two contracts in less than a month that are bigger than the largest the White Sox have given out in 120 years. Probably something terse about how bad those contracts will eventually turn out...but will KC fans care if they make the playoffs the next two seasons? Will White Sox fans appreciate fiscal responsibility but more 3rd place or 4th place finishes? After all, the White Sox are first and foremost in the entertainment business. If this were a tv show, it would be pulled off the air.

QUOTE (glangon @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:28 AM) No but the addition of Navarro and the loss of Samardzija combined with the addition of Frazier and Lawrie will help to make up those 7 games. That is the loss of Samardzija who got lit up for 4 runs or more in 17 out of his 32 starts. I don't think anyone knows what Erik Johnson will do, let alone the White Sox.

Frazier and Lawrie are going to make up 7 games on the Twins by themselves? Buxton will be hurt again and we will have close to 100% health again? Sano will have a sophomore slump? Realistically, there's not much separation at all between CLE, Minny and the Sox. They each could finish 3rd or 5th.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/justin-upton-...826169-mlb.html This Jeff Passan article's also in the Cespedes thread, but well worth reading. I hope it gets delivered to JR, the Pohlads in Minnesota and the Dolans of Cleveland. Somehow I doubt if DET ever does win the World Series that their fans will give it back because their owner's spending was more wasteful...the Ernst & Young MLB "Most Efficient Maximization of Given Resources" Trophy doesn't belong in a trophy case any more than the Attendance Cup does.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseba...FTAG=YHF7e3228e Dave Brown with cbssports.com argues passionately why a Cespedes signing is critical...the impetus is on the Sox to make a counter-move.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 11:49 PM) No doubt. The contracts of Danks and Dunn turned into albatrosses pretty quick. Even LaRoche's short two year contract has hindered the financial flexibility after the first year of the contract, lol. The Sox unwillingness to go long term with Cespedes could be a sign that they have learned from their past mistakes, I hope. It's time for the Sox to stop signing bad contracts and start making wiser decisions. Then why would they keep putting "band-aids" on the core instead of prioritizing players with 4-6 years of control? It's like we keep punting the football hoping to buy time for the minor leagues to start producing more impact players...but, in the meantime, how are we going to replace Frazier, catcher, SS, potentially 2B, DH and another two outfield spots all from inside the organization? Anderson, clearly, is the plan for SS. But if we can't afford the prices now on the FA market, you can't assume Frazier will sign a team-friendly contract any more than you could have assumed it about Shark (and that would have been ANOTHER huge disaster had a long-term extension been signed in late July). Trey M., Anderson, mystery at catcher (no real strong possibilities in the pipeline even for 2018), Engel and May? Lots of things can change and WILL change in two year's time. Obviously, as Avi's the longest tenured player on the current roster. That said, it's hard to project ANYONE but Anderson and maybe Trey as major league regulars at this point in time.

If it's over $100 million and 4 years, that's probably the dividing line. It's pretty much irrelevant if the White Sox are afraid to extend it to four years anyway... At the very least, they should be able to come up with four years and an opt-out after 2 just to be in the game. Otherwise, the rest of MLB is laughing at us and the Padres for overpaying last year so much and now being suddenly afraid to dip our toes back into the water.

Carlos Gomez, Colby Rasmus or a 37 year old Jose Bautista will save us!!! Knowing the White Sox, we'll overpay for the last 2-3 declining years of Bautista's MLB career...we're good at that, at least.

The Royals overpaid Ian Kennedy by at least $20 million over 5 years but they're only paying him $20 million the next two seasons and don't care as much about the $50 million due from 2018-2020. Gordon is only making $28 million as well (but $38 million plus a $4 million buyout for 2018/19/20). You have to maximize your window. We keep saying you can't cripple yourself with long-term contracts, but the Royals still have a four year window despite: 1) Signing Alex Rios to a big one year contract last year that was a huge bust 2) One of the least productive free agent signings in history in Omar Infante 3) Season-ending injury to Jason Vargas 4) Complete lack of effectiveness out of another bigger pitching contract in Guthrie 5) Having to cover for most of the season with Dyson/Paulo Orlando 6) Relatively ineffective seasons out of Ventura and Duffy It's almost like paralysis by analysis. The White Sox have made a lot of mistakes and therefore...risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis mode, we're turning into a team that CPA's will certainly appreciate but not one a baseball fan probably will. They're too afraid to make another big mistake...and tentative because that would cripple them and force a selloff. Well, going into the season with the roster as currently comprised is basically just "living on a prayer" to quote Jon Bon Jovi.

PTAC, the problem isn't needing a $200 million payroll. It's needing to spend in the $140-150 range or being better off at half that and investing all the profits into international acquisitions/minor leagues/development. Even at that range, we're still going to be 3rd in our own division, and the Twins have a heckuva lot better farm system/future prospects outlook than we do. It's the trap we've fallen into by: 1) Not developing any impact hitters 2) Graduating all our pitchers quickly into the majors, where they make the roster more cost-effective but can't be spared to trade for position players without creating another hole to be filled 3) Making a series of bad FA decisions, starting with Dunn and now continuing with last year's class In the past, the only thing that helped us escape was being able to identify Abreu/Ramirez/Quintana. The other one that comes to mind was acquiring Carlos Quentin. Where/when/how are they going to pull another unexpected rabbit out of the hat again? It seems that, along with those FA moves, the acquisitions of Avi and Davidson instead of say Iglesias and Inciarte have really put us behind the 8 ball.

The impact: Yes, the Tigers are getting old in some places. Victor Martinez is 37, Ian Kinsler turns 34 in June, and Miguel Cabrera will be 33 in April. But the lineup still looks imposing on paper, and the Tigers have a chance to vault Minnesota, Cleveland and Chicago and give the world champion Royals a run if they get any kind of pitching at all. A lot depends on health, of course. Cabrera missed 43 games with calf and back issues last season on his way to capturing his fourth career batting title, and Martinez missed 42 games while logging a career-worst .667 OPS. Detroit’s offense slumped to 10th in the American League in runs after ranking second in that category in each of the previous two seasons. Even though Upton will be playing in the American League for the first time, he should slide nicely into the No. 5 spot in a predominantly right-handed Detroit lineup. The Tigers aren’t asking Upton to carry the team. If he can approximate his career .271/.352/.473 slash line, he’ll lengthen out the middle of the order and be a welcome addition at Comerica Park. http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...of-justin-upton Jerry Crasnick

This is kind of like the majority of construction/public works projects in China right now. Half-finished. Is it better to walk away and lose all your investment or finish the project?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 10:17 PM) No its not a certainty. But we know they won't have a budget even asbig as theCubs so it is thebest chance to have a consistent winner. Posters keep using the criticism of "only one playoff appearance since 2005". This is because they haven't taken the time to build it, they have just tried to win this year. Therein lies the problem...even if Anderson and Fulmer are even better than expected (in 2017), you're wasting another season and lowering your aggregate revenues even more prior to next year. Unless there are tremendous breakthroughs in the farm system, then we'll be in that rare position of having a 3rd quartile payroll, a Bottom 5 farm system and lacking the front office willpower to take on any more longer-term deals because of the fear they'll bust like Dunn/LaRoche/Cabrera. Our orientation is neither towards the future nor towards the present. It just makes giving four years to Robertson when now two of them might have been wasted seem even more ill-advised...we would have been better off letting the Yankees claim him and freeing up that money for hitting, because we've historically been much better at unearthing closers than developing outfielders.

Ilitch made it clear last month at a news conference to announce the signing of Zimmermann that he’s not afraid to keep spending. “I’m telling them you gotta get out there and get me the best players, and I don’t care about the money,” he said. “I want the best players, and that’s it.” freep.com/sports I wouldn't say it's the best division. That has to be the AL East. Probably it will end up being the most competitive. I'd even argue with Houston, the Rangers, the Angels and the Mariners...you've got just as much if not more talent in that division, especially if Cespedes ends up on one of the first three teams.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-net-value-of-draft-picks/ Another reason following up the loss of Cespedes/Upton with the signing of Fowler would be foolish... Where exactly is that Samardzija compensation pick as of today, btw?

Is the contract front or back-loaded? Is there a year by year breakdown yet?

Your move, Jerry Reinsdorf. It's hard to make an argument that as things stand today, despite our 3 young/cost-controlled aces at the front of the rotation, we're NOT still likely a 4th or 5th place team. If Minnesota can get another starting pitcher, they might actually be the most dangerous team in the AL Central, but Sano still has to follow up his impressive debut and adjust to the pitchers this time around. Buxton has to stay healthy and put up at least a 700 OPS. Mike Illitch....balls (or, more accurately, a bank vault) of steel.

This whole situation is making the White Sox negotiating or bargaining position look a little less nuanced than previously. Gordon got six years at age 32, granted, he remained with his hometown team. 1. Royals 2. Indians 3. Tigers 4. Twins (can obviously move up based on Buxton/Berrios impact) 5. White Sox That's where things stand as of right now, at this exact moment. 1. Maybin/Gose 2. Kinsler 3. Miguel Cabrera 4. Victor Martinez 5. Upton 6. JD Martinez 7. McCann 8. Castellanos 9. Iglesias Whether Gose and Maybin can hold up in the leadoff position is another question... They might have to hit Kinsler leadoff, and move Iglesias to 2nd (not sure if last year was an anomaly yet)...and Gose/Maybin/Tyler Collins at the bottom.

A showcase workout for Cuban left-handed hitting outfielder Yadiel Hernandez will be held Feb. 23 in Mexico City. Hernandez, 28, batted .369 for Mazanzas in 2014, has a .324 lifetime batting average in Cuba, a team can sign him without being subject to the international signing bonus pool rules, according to his representatives. www.chicagotribune.com Here's another opportunity. Anyone want to do some research?