Thad Bosley

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Feb 16, 2014 -> 05:52 PM) the more old clips I hear of Harry the worse the idea of letting him go becomes. Keep Harry, no Hawk as GM, but Harry probably runs La Russa out of town. Actually, the idea of letting Harry go doesn't keep getting worse - it already stands as the worst blunder (among many) of the Reinsdorf era. The very notion that the Sox had both Harry Caray AND WGN in '81, right at the onset of 'GN becoming the national superstation it would become, and then fluttered both away at the end of that year, frustrates me to this very day. There was no better salesman for the game than Harry, and with the power of 'GN behind him, I often wonder what the state of the franchise would be today if he had remained a Sox broadcaster on the superstation. I also wonder where the Cubs would be today without having the benefit of Harry selling Wrigley Field all of those years, instead being led by the more bland broadcasting stylings of one Milo Hamilton. We'll never know, but I do wonder.

Hawk hired him, but Larry Himes inherited him, and those two rarely saw eye-to-eye. Seemingly very different personalities. Fregosi more the throwback, old school baseball type, while Himes was more of a suit-and-tie kind of a guy. But I liked Fregosi as a manager. I thought he did the best he could with what he had when he was with the Sox, which, from '86-88, wasn't a whole helluva lot, unfortunately.

Hmmm...well, it was one thing to bring those red, white, and blue unis back in '13 to commemorate the '83 team. It's quite another to bring the same uni back in '14 that could even remotely remind us of that dreadful '84 season. Good lord, one of the most disappointing seasons certainly in my lifetime!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 20, 2014 -> 05:05 PM) Definitely. I trust neither Mr. Moreno's "Oh, he doesn't fit into our budget at this time" claptrap, nor do I believe the Bosox wouldn't try to steal this guy away from the Yanks, who could really use him. I'm wary of both of those organizations at the moment!

Pleading ignorance on all of this, but at this stage, is there any possibility of a stealth candidate? Is there any chance we will wake up in the next few days and read that the Red Sox or Angels or Rangers swooped in and signed this guy? How do we know for certain no other team than who has been reported all along didn't also make a "real" offer?

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 17, 2014 -> 10:50 AM) Tanaka update: Apparently, 1 team that was considered a favorite completely BOMBED meeting w him/reps. Came in 'unprepared', 'unorganized' Ty Youngfelt- Pioneer press- https://mobile.twitter.com/TyYoungfelt/stat...977208458141696 Most people are speculating the Mariners. At 7/1 odds per Vegas, the Cubs come in as fourth favorites behind the Yanks, Dodgers, and Mariners. They had a contingent meet with Tanaka last week. Wonder if it was them who had this poor showing!

QUOTE (dayan024 @ Jan 15, 2014 -> 08:32 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@DanHayesCSN 27m Too many obstacles for #WhiteSox/Tanaka. Has to want to be there. The $$$. And, would Sox gamble on him & Abreu at same time? Dont' see it. I presume as part of describing to Tanaka at the meeting last week by Williams, Hahn, and Ventura how he might fit into the Sox vision for the next several seasons, that the presence of Jose Abreu in the lineup during that timespan was a big selling point. So obviously the Sox brass is well beyond any concerns about acquiring both players this offseason, or else there would have been no reason to have the meeting in the first place.

So MLBTraderumors is reporting that Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers are close on finalizing a seven year, $210M deal, which would be an average of a whopping $30M per year. As we've seen, the Tanaka rumors have him also going for seven years at $140M. That would be $50M committed per year for the forseable future to just two players if they extend Kershaw at that reported amount and sign Tanaka. That's simply mind boggling. Are they that financially mighty that they could pull that off without batting an eyelash, and that's not even considering the salaries of the other marquee players they'll inevitably have in tow. If so, that is really something, and not very promising news for other inhabitants of the National League West.

I've really enjoyed watching these old games, so thanks to those who brought them forward here to everyone's attention. When I first started watching Sox games, it was when Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall were calling the games, so it's been a nice trip down memory lane. I can't help, though, with so many of these old games coming from 1981, when Harry Caray called Sox games for his one and only season with the Sox on WGN, being reminded of the lost opportunity for the franchise of having Harry sell the Sox on WGN at that point in time. Good grief - the idea of Harry calling the 1983 team over WGN? The Sox conceivably could have turned out to be the national phenomenon Caray's next team would become. Instead, they chose to go the very ill-conceived "pay tv" route back then, which catapulted Caray to the north side, and the rest, as they say, is history.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 11, 2013 -> 12:10 AM) Viciedo is absolutely part of the young core. He might flame out, but he has equally as good a chance of being a premier power hitter. He has some of the best hitting tools you'll ever see. Dayan will be 25 next season, as will Adam Eaton. It'll be a full season where we need to see what we have with our most recent, young additions in Eaton and Avisail Garcia. An argument could easily be made to add Dayan to that mix to give him one more season and see if he can finally optimize the potential we've talked about for so long now. Viciedo, 25, in left. Eaton, 25, in center. Garcia, 23, in right. I'm willing to give that configuration a chance in the outfield next season.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 05:05 PM) What would the Braves give the Sox to take Uggla? LOL! Just who the White Sox need - DUNN Uggla!!

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Oct 19, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) No big deal. It's the one time ever where my alumni has a relevant player that could be drafted by the sox. Freshman year he probably stole 30+ bases. He had a foot injury this year that slowed him down. I could see him being a 20-30 SB player in the big leagues. He's been playing short stop and has a great arm. Not sure if he could project to CF. He's still pretty lanky and will fill out so maybe some more power potential? I would think his HR potential would be in the 20ish range. I'm a huge fan but maybe I'm drinking the koolaid since I watch a lot of the games. Just my two cents Just 20-30 stolen bases? I think he'll be a candidate for far more than that. It's his blazing speed that sets him apart from the other prospects and what has him in discussions about being a top five pick. He's already been described as a "base-stealing phenom" at the collegiate level. And with that speed, combined with his good bat and excellent defensive skills at a premium position, to me he's the easy choice for an organization whose farm system lacks elite position players. I, for one, hope he's available when it's the Sox' turn to pick next year and that they select him.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 17, 2013 -> 10:43 PM) Infield depth isnt a concern, I think its impact MI. Every year one of ours is a hole in the lineup or defensively. Our rotation also could be a bit diferent on opening day. As if the evening wasn't interesting enough!

Next item up: who is going to bat behind Abreu in the lineup to protect him!

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 17, 2013 -> 10:23 PM) I think having Alexei and Viciedo on the team had a lot to do with getting him. Hopefully, he turns out to be as good, if not better, than Cespedes and Puig. Hopefully, his presence will help Alexei and Viciedo reach their full potential. Now wouldn't that be something!

I don't see how with this much information out, and Rosenthal even mentioning it on TV, they can wait 'till after the WS to make an announcement on this.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 17, 2013 -> 07:52 PM) Wonder if there is any bad blood between the Sox and Rangers from the Rios negotiations, then the Sox starting Axelrod versus Indians the last week when they were locked in a playoff race . . . If there was, would that have any relevance to what's going on right now?

QUOTE (balfanman @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 07:21 AM) Drew Carey? You youngster, shouldn't that be Bob Barker? Actually, I'm old enough to remember Bob Barker when he still dyed his hair!

I've had "The Price is Right" theme song going on in my head as I've read all these guesses. Let's hope it's Rick Hahn who ends up running up to hug the stuffing out of Drew Carey when all is said and done with Abreu!

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 05:31 PM) I loathe Hawk and am embarrassed my favorite baseball team employs him. He is an oafish novelty act that is about insightful as a bag of rocks. The day he's finally gone will be a celebratory one indeed. Your what hurts?

I'm as big a fan of Hawk as anyone, but I do enjoy it when Stoney grabs the play-by-play wheel and takes the game for a spin.

I have what I feel might be an "irrational exuberance" about the future of Gordon Beckham in a White Sox uniform. But I'm really enjoying watching him perform both at the plate and with the glove these days. Hopefully he has finally turned the corner!

I don't think this newfound payroll flexibility is going to do anything to diminish the team's aversion to pursuing clients of Scott Boras.

2009 - hated you, Alex 2010 - liked you, Alex 2011 - hated you, Alex 2012 - loved you, Alex 2013 - liked you, Alex Good luck in Texas, Alex!

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 14, 2013 -> 07:00 PM) And you probably think Courtney Hawkins is a sure fire major league superstar in the making, worthy of top 5 prospect ranking. Good grief - what a silly comment. Who talks about ANY 19 year-old as being a "sure fire major league superstar", no matter what round they were drafted? You can certainly like their chances, given when they were drafted, and I continue to expect great things of Courtney at some point given the ability he universally is said to possess. But why you would feel otherwise with him being all of 19 years old and without the benefit of a full year in professional ball under his belt is beyond me, other than an incessant need to be negative around here all the time. It's so disappointing to read comments like this one, and luckily it's very much the exception rather than the rule on this otherwise well-informed site.