caulfield12

I wouldn't count the Cardinals out just yet, especially if they were to add Gordon/Cespedes/Upton or possibly Chris Davis (that would require a rearrangement of their roster with Adams). That said, the Brewers and definitely the Reds are way off in terms of competing with the top of the division. Milwaukee's probably closer to a rebuild/teardown than a competitive team.

To the list of OF names, add Desmond Jennings (rehab guy with a career .724 OPS) and Brett Gardner. Can't imagine what we have that would make the Yankees want to part with him that we'd conceivably give up...but Gardner seems like the classic KW veteran whose peak has already come and gone and who is starting the downside of his career. Inciarte would cost too much talent (although a huge improvement). Bruce just has too much lingering questions about his health/recent performance/contract/NL to AL transition to seriously consider.

To the list of OF names, add Desmond Jennings (rehab guy with a career .324 OPS) and Brett Gardner. Can't imagine what we have that would make the Yankees want to part with him that we'd conceivably give up...but Gardner seems like the classic KW veteran whose peak has already come and gone and who is starting the downside of his career. Inciarte would cost too much talent (although a huge improvement). Bruce just has too much lingering questions about his health/recent performance/contract/NL to AL transition to seriously consider.

That's the problem...I'm not sure there will be the same "open checkbook" from JR to add second/third tier pieces like Parra, Austin Jackson and another veteran starting pitcher even if the price would be the same or similar as the cost of signing one of Upton/Cespedes/Gordon in terms of payroll ($20-25 million added). If you added Parra for $8-10 million, already you'd be quite limited in adding two more pieces (quality) for between $12-15 million more. You couldn't afford Gallardo, Parra and Austin Jackson, for example. Maybe you could manage Parra, Jackson and Fister...but could you sell that to JR? How many times have we had that discussion about "getting stuck in the middle" and adding 2nd/3rd tier options and overpaying for their past performance (see Cabrera/LaRoche/Duke, etc.) Definitely that idea of overpaying for a Fowler or Span instead of one of the big names and calling it quits is scary/disappointing for most Sox fans, although surely better than Avi. $12.5-15 million better, though? Not likely.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:47 PM) Thanks for posting the link. That really is a good write-up by Rosenthal and he's right, there are plenty of OF options available right now. I cannot imagine what Atlanta is seeking in return for Inciarte. Wishful thinking but I would love to see Inciarte on the South Side. Impossible without trading Anderson or Fulmer...they'd probably ask for Anderson AND Adams to open up discussions, knowing Hahn won't deal Anderson/Fulmer together as a package.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 07:54 PM) Interesting in that the Sox have been eerily quiet. Gordon's LHB, defense and potential contract could be a fit with what the Sox are looking for. If Gordon's defensive skills diminish at some point, he could move to 1B or DH. I still have a difficult time believing the Sox are seriously in on Cespedes and Upton due to the money and length of contracts they are suspected to get. The rumor of making a push for Gordon has a certain White Sox feel to it. For now, I take it with a grain of salt until more stuff comes to light. Still interesting nonetheless. If that's the case, then he would absolutely have to play 1B for Abreu the majority of the time, because it's dubious to sign a player who has at least half of his value coming from his Gold Glove playing out of position. Gordon could be close to a GG 1B, based on his work ethic and desire to improve...a lot easier transition than 3B to LF for someone who spent his entire 10-25 year old time frame comfortable on the infield. Of course, LaRoche is making 2/3rd's of $20 million (assuming Gordon's around 5 years and $100 million) to sit on the bench (potentially), but the White Sox absolutely need to get that defensive premium out of either Gordon or Cespedes to make any potential deal worth it. Another big plus in Gordon's case is being left-handed...and (we've heard this before), a lot of his doubles in the gap could easily fly out of USCF in the summer months, whereas they end up as mostly doubles in KC except when the heat and wind are more conducive.

Tucker's good, but not his brother (that was just drafted high this past June). The White Sox won't be willing to trade Anderson or Fulmer, so that leaves Adams, essentially. That's what it comes down to maybe, Tucker for Adams. Perhaps a riskier move for the White Sox, because of our lack of quality starting pitching depth right now in the system. Beck is now perceived as more of a reliever, and Danish COULD be going in that direction. Montas is gone. That leaves Fulmer and Adams as the two best, with I suppose Guerrero following them but not with the same amount of buzz around him.

LoL. Greg would tell everyone the KC market is completely skeptical about retaining the services of Gordon and that they've already moved on mentally to the idea of players like Span, Fowler, Parra and Austin Jackson. In fact, like St. Louis fans in the Pujols contract drive year, they've convinced themselves that those resources are better off allocated elsewhere. (There are actually some parallels, as both Pujols and Gordon are bigger guys and had some physical problems in their early 30's. Combine that with the way Gordon plays the game, diving and running into walls and jumping into the stands, how long his body can take the punishment is an open question.) Span, Parra and Jackson 100% are typical Royals' "defense first" players...Span in particular, because of his background in all of the fundamentals from his time in Minnesota and in their system. There's also a certain amount of skepticism about Dyson and Orlando standing up over the course of a full-year. At any rate, there's no way they don't add SOMEONE because they have two holes with Zobrist/Rios/Gordon gone. There's also chatter about the likes of Marcell Ozuna, the Rockies' outfielders, Puig/Ethier/Crawford, Billy Hamilton, etc.

All the reviews of The Big Short have been quite laudatory, even the interspersed comedy stretches explaining the plethora of technical and financial terms. As someone who has read each of Lewis' books, really looking forward to it.

http://dataomaha.com/documents/alex-gordon...t-of-left-field If this story from his hometown doesn't excite you about him potentially becoming a member of the Sox, nothing ever will.

The Cardinals also offered around 5 and $75 million. There's no way he gets less than Zobrist...who's three years older. The KC offer was more the obligatory "we tried" like the White Sox have often done with their franchise players of the past when they were ready to part ways to placate the fans. Theoretically Upton and Cespedes are both in the $130-160 million range, Gordon has to be $80-110 and much closer to $100 than $50. If the Royals felt they legitimately had a chance to bring him back, they would throw everything but the kitchen sink at getting it done. There's no indication anywhere they believe they're a legitimate landing spot. Gordon, if we’re being honest, is not a good long-term investment for the Royals. If it will take five years and an average salary approaching $20 million to get it done, the Royals will make the difficult but prudent decision to let the defining player of their rise go. All other things equal, it’s probably best for both sides if Gordon gets the kind of offer the Royals are incapable of matching. Sentimentality never won a championship. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy The bigger question is whether he's worth $100 million and five years to take him away from a divisional rival. If there's one certainty, it is that he would be the hardest working player on the team since Juan Pierre, and that his character as both a leader and teammate have never been questioned. He's not as gifted or as exciting as either Cespedes or Upton, but fits well with the 1950's/early 60's Sox players...lunch pail/blue collar attitude.

I saw mlb.com had an article with the Cubs as the projected best rotation in baseball (at least by war) and the Sox weren't in the top five...not surprising I guess.

Let's hope not the good 'ol we can make adjustments at the trade deadline school of thought. Too late.

Or the JR, Hahn and KW Shakespearean drama worthy of a booth at the Renaissance Fair or Medieval Times at least.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2015/12/20/mike-m...partner=ya5nbcs Matheny not happy with Heyward's comments

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:31 AM) You are absolutely right. That's precisely my point. If the Sox are not good, they would be missing a great opportunity. I feel like we've been saying this since 2005...especially that 2006 season and then trying to keep the veteran core together post-2008 and delaying the reboot button all the way to 2013 by adding Rios, Peavy and eventually Dunn to Buehrle, Konerko and AJ. Of course yet another irony was jettisoning Thome and making him the key reason we lost to the Twins that year we had that 26-5 stretch.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:28 AM) Who is this "we" that supposedly will own 50%. You're sure you can't fight with Greensox or Thad Bosley over something more substantive? Greg needs someone to argue with in the filibuster, as well.

Amen to that. Peace with the two warring sides of SoxTalk (or KW/HahnGate) as well...at least until about two or three months into the following offseason.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 21, 2015 -> 08:17 AM) Actually, I really doubt you ever own any percentage of CSN. I have a feeling almost anyone who owns an index based mutual fund has General Electric as one of its components...certainly my Vanguard funds do. Guess who partially owns NBC Universal? I would have to check on Vivendi. Nice try though.

You can make an argument that the JR share of the Cubs' exploding ad rates and tv ratings for the presumed 2016-2019 time frame will pay for Upton, Cespedes or Gordon alone...along with the value of each partnership share increasing in equity value as well.

How did the Giants winning three titles affect the A's plight? The Yankees helping or hurting the Mets, well that's hard to separate from Madoff/Wilpon. The Angels are clearly a team that expanded their fanbase in competition with the Dodgers, but there are very few owners who will spend money and exhaust resources like Arte Moreno. They really set out to compete directly at a time when the Dodgers were in chaos with the McCourts. Then Balt and Wash to a lesser extent. The White Sox absolutely need some oxygen and column inches...85% of the media attention has been focused in the direction of Cubbieland. Without a colorful manager or the original Boy Wonder GM, it makes the challenge even more daunting, and Hahn's more likely to inspire a fiscal accounting seminar than excite the fanbase. Plus JR's health has him backing off a bit. There's the theory the Cubs selling out games and devouring sponsorship opportunities will float the White Sox boat too as those left out are forced to go with the Sox or be shut out. We shall see...will those unallocated media rights dollars flow to the Southside in 2019, and how likely is CSN to double our deal unless someone else is bidding against them? At that time, we will probably own 50% of the station, with the Blackhawks and NBC/Universal the other 25% each.

Cardinals, Giants (if price goes down more), Orioles, Angels, Tigers, Nationals would all seem to be decent fits as well as KC and the White Sox. Rangers, if they can dump salary on someone else.

http://espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=11898 The first part of the story is here....headline story on the ESPN MLB page for now. Interesting (but unsurprising) how many teams have been hoping the White Sox would be open to trading Sale this offseason. Now where's the final piece of the puzzle, JR? Next fall, the best free-agent pitchers could be Stephen Strasburg, Brett Anderson and Jered Weaver, and the best position players figure to be a 31-year-old Carlos Gomez and a 33-year-old Martin Prado, and perhaps Jose Bautista. An NL executive offered a one-word description of the depth of next year's free-agent class: "Horrific." From the Olney piece three days ago about why CLE is being patient in dealing Carrasco or Salazar.

He did such a good job I didn't even recognize he was in the movie until just reading that comment. I guess it makes sense a totally unknown actor couldn't easily be the antogonist to DiCaprio.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Dec 20, 2015 -> 11:54 PM) But you didnt ask about any of that, you asked about Italians, Germans and Japanese. Okay. I guess you could make the argument that Pearl Harbor wasn't part of a state at that time, or part of the contiguous 50 states...or that there's a difference between attacking a military installation/base versus Germans bombing a metropolitan are like New York, Boston or Philadelphia and inflicting mass civilian casualties, or the argument that the Japanese as allies of the Germans knew eventually that the US was going to be drawn into the war and that proactively attacking was a result of having their shipping lanes shut off or tightly controlled. In Japan's defense, when you don't have the natural resources to grow food OR have enough oil supplies that are self-generated, it's easy to feel cornered when another country tries to restrict your access to those commodities. Maybe you're right...but I think it's an interesting argument to take up. I'm not sure how easy it would have been for the Germans to get their planes close enough to launch an attack...as they would have had to get through the French and especially English just to attempt it. From the German perspective, that would have been igniting a three or four front war (Russia, western Europe, North Africa and then the US as well). Japan was pretty much unopposed in most of Asia, at least in terms of a fixed and immovable enemy.