Thad Bosley

You mean sign Betts and then have him play side-by-side next to Robert in the White Sox outfield for the majority of the next decade? YES, PLEASE!

First things first, Ronbo. Let's have Rick lay down that shiny new contract in front of him that brings him back for 2-3 more years.

“...on the cusp” and being legitimate perennial contenders like the Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs (yuck), Red Sox, etc., are two completely different things. This owner and his FO have not shown anywhere near the ability to get a core group of elite talent from “on the cusp” talent status to sustainable on-the-field winning status. Sorry, but your faith in the Reinsdorf/Williams/Hahn triumvirate is unwarranted at the moment. They don’t deserve blind faith, which is all you seem to be hanging your hopes on at the moment.

And your point is? That Jerry Reinsdorf is Art Rooney V2.0, and that we should just forget the last 39 years of his horrible record as owner of our White Sox and just sit back and be supremely confident about things to come? The past is the future as it relates to the current owner. No reason whatsof*cking ever that this fan base should give him or his FO a vote of confidence on anything at this point. They simply haven’t earned it, not one iota. All the weary fan base can do at this point, after all of the losing of recent years, and after over a decade now of no postseason play, is simply hope for the best. To expect anything more from any fan is beyond ludicrous on your part.

It wouldn’t matter if that player was available, because the Sox sadly wouldn’t be in play for that player’s services. They’d make, at best, some cursory attempt to attain his services, in line with the embarrassing one they made for Harper last season, and then we’d watch said player sign elsewhere. Then we wouldn’t have said 5 win player and instead, they’d acquire some lesser talent available for purchase off of the scrap heap. Same old formula as before. Such is the MO of the current owner and his front office. But they’re more than welcome to prove us wrong.

*Caray

Very much on the contrary. Letting Harry Caray go, taking the Sox off of WGN in the ‘80s and hiding them on the ill-fated SportsVision, AND designing the original “new” Comiskey Park were three terribly franchise-crippling decisions made by Reinsdorf back in the ‘80s. To even remotely suggest otherwise demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of how those decisions impacted this franchise. Meanwhile, Reinsdorf will tell you the worst decision he ever made as owner was when he allowed Hawk to fire LaRussa. Not sure that even makes the top ten of bad decisions the guy has made running this ballclub the past 40 years, but that’s what he’ll tell you.

I believe your question was what has Jose done that has been great. The answer is simple: he's driven in over 100 runs five times in his career, which places him third in all time White Sox history behind a Hall of Famer who did it ten times and a former All Star who did it six times. Driving in over 100 runs in the Major Leagues is a great feat. Not saying it's the end all, be all for gauging how good a player is, but to drive in more than 100 runs as many times as Jose has is, indeed, a great achievement on his part.

Like who? Which free agent target not named Cole but who doesn’t represent a “dumpster dive” is available who isn’t at an age where the latter part of their contract isn’t going to present the same sort of problem Stone is referring to with a potential Cole contract? All of the guys heading into free agency this offseason, who you would deem a quality player today, are turning 30 or thereabouts, but will get some sort of long term deal that will have the same risk on the back end of the contract that a Cole contract might. The likes of Bumgarner, Wheeler, Martinez - they present the same risk, if not more so, than Cole down the line, so why throw the lot in with them. Again, who are the “quality FA acquisitions” we should target, who are going to cost some significant dough themselves, rather than exercise our unprecedented “financial flexibility” on a guy like Cole?

Well today, for example, he drove in his 100th RBI of the year, the 5th year he’s done so in a White Sox uniform, which places him third all-time in White Sox history in doing so. Only Paulie (6 times) and Big Frank (10 times) have done it more often as a member of the White Sox. But I digress - what was that you were saying about Alex Rios?

Reinsdorf and Stone are reportedly close; hell, it’s why he got the broadcasting gig with the Sox in the first place. Therefore it’s very possible if not probable they share a similar viewpoint on this particular matter. So maybe it’s likely both Stone’s own thinking and a regurgitation of the boss’ point of view, all wrapped up in one Tweet for mass public consumption.

Actually, he regurgitated Reinsdorf’s views to a tee in this Twitter post: ”Huge contract for a lot of years” and “I don’t think it’ll be Cole”. If that’s not the owner’s mantra towards premium free agent pitchers from what we’ve seen over the past four decades, I don’t know what is. Sadly, nothing new here, but who knows? Maybe it’s a fan decoy of sorts to lower expectations before dusting off the cobwebs on the purse strings and really going for it!

To Stone I would say, the contract would look very good from the beginning to the middle, as it would align with the upcoming contention window when the team still has Giolito and Moncada under team control. Adding a bona fide ace like Cole into that time frame would greatly enhance the team’s ability to attain another WS trophy during that time. Just deal with any potential problems with the back end of the contract when you get there. In the meantime, maximize the team’s ability to win a championship over the next four to five years, period.

Sounds like the owner would rather sign Abreu, so you might want to think about dropping this particular crusade of yours (scintillating to read about as it is) and move onto something else.

As is your view towards our team’s “leader” and “ambassador”. Perhaps best you just leave him alone.

He shall be the one by which others are judged!

I guess this is where I become disconnected in the conversation. Jose turns 33 next year, not 39. Are we really thinking this "crash" is going to happen as soon as next year, after a year where he's going to end up smacking 35 homers and drive in nearly 120 runs, and 35+ doubles? I mean, I can see and probably expect him to come down a bit on those numbers, but only into the 25-30 homer range and 90-100 RBI range, with 30 doubles or so. For $9-$12 million bucks, I'll take that kind of production out of my DH. I know anything is possible, but for Jose to hit that wall where he's totally lost it, I don't see that happening as soon as next year. There's certainly no indication of it as of yet, at least as far as I can see.

How is it your posts on anything non-Abreu related are typically rather good, and then you get to Abreu, and you lose all reason.

I'm a reasonable bloke, so I can see what you're saying about the years side of things, and acknowledge that point. In reconsidering then and seeing what a few others have suggested, I think a two-year contract in the $9M-$12M per range, with a team option for a third year, would be reasonable for a DH and for the production he'd likely put up during that time.

LOL - "leverage", "overpay", "limitations", "15M down the hatch...will hurt"

It was a terrific post, in my opinion, because I thought the poster did a nice job of putting into context what Abreu has meant to the organization, and then simply advocated the team not nickle and dime someone of his caliber on the next contract with the guy. I believe the poster suggested a three year, $36M contract, which I don't believe is overpaying him, and even if it was, not by enough for anyone to get their knickers in a bunch over. I don't believe this qualifies as me supporting "unwavering loyalty" to the guy, either. You have to admit, that might have been a teensy weensy hyperbolic on your end to suggest as much.

For the fan who has stayed loyal to gritting his or her teeth through the rebuild, yes! Give the “younger” a look every chance you can!

Yet another terrific post. My compliments. ?

Barring injury, with two more seasons, and even with some decline in production, Jose will likely land in the top 5 All Time White Sox for home runs and RBIs, and top ten all time for doubles and total hits.

I think the gentlemen's agreement is you get to wear a White Sox jersey for the remainder of your career, and we get your services at a hometown discount.