Chicago White Sox

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.

Frank Thoma’ diminished skills clause?

I respect what you’re going for here, but in all honestly the Sox don’t deserve my kids. This franchise is rapidly losing relevance and when the market tries to hand them a get out of jail free card they completely botch it with their outdated views. I may be a lost cause but my kids can find a better use of the 500+ hours a year I put into this team.

I don’t think you’re getting this, we are unwilling to offer 26 year old, future HOFs opt-outs at all. Coming into this off-season we were all dreaming of a 10/$300M deal with an opt-out after year 4 for either guy. A franchise in tiny little San Diego just did better than that. Instead of having Machado man 3B for the next five years, we can take solace in knowing we’ll have an extra $30M to spend nine years from now. The refusal to go ten years and offer an opt-out cost us Manny and the same basic principles will cost us any future stud free agents.

You were right and I was wrong. I will never give this front office or ownership group the benefit of the doubt again.

100% agree, but at this point in time it’s clear the game has passed them by.

I’d rather die than cheer for the Cubs. At least from Nashville I can watch this White Sox trainwreck from afar while providing for my family. Unfortunately kids nowadays don’t get overly excited at the thought of Yonder Alonso & Jay Jaying play for their beloved White Sox!

The hate is strong in this one, but I’ll take it. But in regard to item #2, I truly think you are wrong there. At the very minimum his kids read this site and hopefully tell him that the vast majority of posters here think he’s a bum.

100% fair criticism. Two reasons: 1) I have fifty pages to get through in that thread and wanted an immediate response (admittedly selfish) 2) If there is any chance Hahn or anyone else in the front office scrolls through this site I want them to know their incompetence has cost the franchise two future Sox fans. I would have done everything in my power to make these kids love the Sox like I do. Obviously my story means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, but maybe others here feel the same way I do and there is a better chance of that coming across in this thread than the 800+ page Machado one.

Wow, we are beyond fucked. But hey, there are plenty of B & C free agents we’ll able to sign now and Hahn has done a bang up job with them so far: ?

I’m still behind on everything, but I’m pretty sure I read we were unwilling to give an opt-out clause (please correct me if I’m wrong there). If that’s the case and we set arbitrary limits on years, then we have no hope landing a stud free agent under the current regime. Agree with everything else you said.

Well fuck, now we just may have a whole crew here!

Well hopefully we can grab a beer and catch a game! That and the beautiful weather will take my mind off the endless second place finishes that are likely in our future.

Like I said, please flame away. Sometimes in life you need to be shamed to the point of realizing how stupid something is. Unfortunately, like many of my brethren here, the Sox are more than just a baseball team to me. Going to White Sox games has been an intregral part of my life and right or wrong (mostly wrong) this shit is devastating to me. I could take missing on Harper & Machado, but the reasons we missed and what that means going forward destroys all hope. I applaud anyone here who remains optimistic, but these clowns spent multiple years planning this out and at the end of the day their offer to Manny was beyond delusional. We will never land a stud free agent with these fucks in charge.

I’m here right now and I agree. Better food, better beer, better music. Makes enduring this tragedy that much easier.

And we’ll be reminded of that for the next five years while Machado & Tatis form one of the best left-sides of an infield in all of baseball. Meanwhile, Rick Hahn will wear that douchy New Trier hat and use lawyer speak to convince us how awesome everything will be in the coming years and how they’ll spend the money intended for Manny on friends of other awesome free agents.

I work for a company based in Nashville and my career mobility is tied to being there. I currently work remotely out of Chicago and have debated for several years if I should make the move. As pathetic as this may be, but the thought of going to Sox games with my two sons when they get older has been a big reason I’ve passed on opportunities there. After this fuck-up and what it means going forward, I’m not sure that’s a dream worth pursuing when my wife is a huge Cubs fan and it will be a battle to get them to love the White Sox like I do. I’ll always be a Sox fan, but Rick Hahn & company have pretty much destroyed my dream and it’s time to be an actual adult and prioritize the things in life that actually reward for the time & effort you put into them.

It’s been wild ride with you guys, but I’m officially the fuck out of here. I’m moving the family to Nashville so my children do not have to endure the incompetence of this front office & ownership group. Unfortunately nothing will ever change until Uncle Jerry dies and the fact I even had to type that sentence shows just how we fucked we all are as Sox fans. We all deserve so much better. Like we literally just got punked by the San Diego fucking Padres. At least we had a seat at the table right...right...right? I fully expect to be ridiculed endlessly for this post and I totally accept that. Please flame away and tell I’m an idiot and all will be fine. I really want to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel here, but when this front office can’t land an elite free agent when they practically fall into their lap I’ve simply lost all hope.

I 100% believe today will be the day the Machado sweepstakes finally come to a conclusion. It may not be until very late tonight, but something is going to give now that two teams are actively in the mix. Still think the Sox will ultimately get him for around 8/$280M.

“50 likes and I’ll share a pic of insider Jr!” Like talk about desperation.

He’s clearly a fake insider looking for attention. The way he posts make him sound a bit like that crazy Ashley Hanson “Dodgers insider” chick.

IMO, it’s just way too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions. If he can’t stay healthy next year I’ll start to get worried. Honestly, the only takeaways at this point in time should be that the tools are legit and he’s going to need some time to develop.