Chicago White Sox

In a lost year, I’d rather give Palka half a season in RF and adjust accordingly. I’d also like to see Abreu DH quite a bit (as that’s his likely long-term home) and Alsono helps in that regard.

I honestly think Palka is our RF at the moment. Not sure Alonso is a huge issue as the roster is currently constructed.

Hahn either needs to add Harper or simply STFU. At least he has stopped using the term “unprecedented financial flexibility”, which should be a meme for life after losing out to a small market Padres team with a fairly bloated payroll. That being said, the term “economic might” will sound just as stupid when Hahn is going against teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, & Cubs next year for a high-end talent.

Hey, we’re missing at unprecedented levels now, that’s something be proud of!

I support anyone who wants to hold out hope we land Harper, but the Machado miss has destroyed any hope I have in this front office. And I’ll keep saying it, but if any franchise could use a player like Harper it’s us. I’m actually shocked Reinsdorf doesn’t see that.

They’ll spend the money, just on something far less impactful than Machado.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to down play how good these guys are or the value of bat-only guy. I actively supported JDM’s addition prior to him signing with the Red Sox. I just don’t think signing either guy to a massive contract when they’ll be 32 free agents is the right approach when you have “unprecedented financial flexibility” and can theoretically sign younger players who can actually play a position.

I still can’t believe we lost out to the fucking Padres. Hahn should be flayed alive for saying we have “unprecedented financial flexibility” and then not even offering a market value contract. What a fucking clown show this organization is and I dream for the day accountability becomes an integral part of its culture.

These are exactly the guys I expect us to land, one dimensional guys on the wrong side of 30. My guess is Goldschmidt is who we ultimately land and it will be awesome when he starts regressing shortly after we sign him.

I gave Hahn an F because missing out in this free agent class and the reasons why we did are incredibly troubling for the well-being of this franchise. Our organization will never be able to land a true star and while I still like most of our prospects / young guys it’s incredibly foolish to think we won’t need to supplement with impact talent from free agency. Our margin for error now is so small now and we basically have to hit on most of our top prospects.

No, these guys are pissed / surprised that Machado took the bigger guarantee & sexier number. Too consumed by their own disappointment to consider the repercussions this miss will likely have from a fanbase perspective.

And this is the problem with a culture based on zero accountability. Every other front office is focusing on a mid term plan (~ next 5 years) and would consider the final two years of Machado’s contract the cost of doing business. The reasons for this are twofold. 1) So much can happen beyond five years that’s impossible to plan with any level of precision. 2) No other GMs can bank on being around nine years from now and must focus on a narrower planning window. Hahn & KW have lifetime jobs and therefore can’t say the final few years of these contracts will be the next front office’s problem. That being said, being overly concerned about Manny’s contract in 2027 & 2028 when all our young talent will be hitting free agency and entering their 30’s (i.e. when our contention window is ending) just shows how clueless these guys are even if you want to go down a long-term path. And I’m not suggesting you offer these guys something stupid and completely ignore potential long-term concerns, but 10/$300M with an opt-out after five years is an incredibly team friendly deal for a 26 year old future HOF. Not willing to pay that when your franchise is at an all-time low in terms of relevance and has “unprecedented financial flexibility” is one of the greatest examples of front office incompetence I have witnessed in my lifetime as a sports fan.

Bryce Harper may be overrated from a pure on-the-field perspective, but damn is he exactly what this franchise needs from a relevance standpoint. He’d give the fanbase something to be excited about and the true star we’ve lacked since the Big Hurt. And the best part is we probably could get him right now for something like 10/$326M. I don’t think the Phillies are actually prepared to do something overly crazy and we’re just going to hand him to them. And when we miss out on these guys, it won’t be due to flawed talent evaluation, tons of competition, or a lack of money, but rather operating principles that are both behind the times and quite frankly stupid. No opt-out check. Unwilling to guarantee a 9th & 10th year because you claim you’ll need resources to build a full team in 2027 & 2028 check. Feeling that players will take less from the White Sox for whatever reason (“hey we got yo butt buddies!”) check. This way of thinking is ingrained in the blood of both the front office & ownership group and the problem for us is it will take an old man actually dying for a culture of accountability to be implemented and for real changes to occur.

This could be Rick Hahn’s offseason when all is said and done and he actually had the nerve to call it a good one. I’ve been one of the more supportive posters of Rick Hahn on here, but dude is either incompetent or a total fucking fraud. I don’t even dislike all those players, but when viewed in aggregate it’s an absolute embarrassment.

Do you have a link to the quote?

I really hope you’re right, not just for Harper but for our ability to land any premium free agent.

This isn’t about next year, it’s about 2020 to 2023 which should be core contention window. And Machado would helped a fuckton during that period.

It does, it’s just real shitty down here.

The problem is when you’re unwilling to give opt-outs, you’re not a serious threat to land one of these guys.

Oh they’ll go down swinging alright!

I’m hoping plays in CF over Engel as bad as that might be, but knowing this front office Adam will get another 500+ plate appearances to prove he can’t hit.

Mods - Can we please burn this thread to the ground and then have someone Eternal Sunshine me so I have no recollection of this complete fuckup ever happening?

Unfortunately that’s very unlikely, but there will be a story on how Palka has lost 20 pounds and is ready for a breakout in RF next year!

I just spent three hours working my way through this thread in my hotel room in Nashville. Luckily alcohol has kept me semi sane during these dark hours. I do appreciate you looking out though. As for the diminished skills clause, it’s a perfect example of Reinsdorf taking advantage of a star player. I can’t think of another example like that, but clearly that clause was kind of shitty for Frank.