Thad Bosley

Yup. Let's just pretend it's a DL stint to start the season, and then enjoy the extra year of service in a White Sox uniform.

“It’s not unintentional having the flexibility we enjoy going forward,’’ Hahn said. “That was a secondary goal of the rebuild, to make sure we had flexibility and economic strength when the time was right to spend and add on to what we’ve accumulated." You have to admire the bravado in Hahn's commentary re: financial resources these days. Sounds to me like they are prepared to play some hard ball with these extraordinary potential offers we keep reading about. Should be very interesting, and actually, quite fun to sit back and witness!

“Chicago is Chicago...it is a LARGER market team.” #PREACH

Lip, isn’t the WGN gig up after next season? I thought that came out this year, that once the ‘GN contract was up after 2019, ‘GN was getting out of the sports telecasting business altogether.

Different sport, different team.

So this is all good stuff and I enjoy reading where your mind goes on envisioning the future. Two reactions: A.) Before you “Proceed to Checkout”, the median payroll this year in baseball was $138M, so if yer going to take the payroll in this scenario all the way up to $132M, why not “Add to Cart” and maybe do some more shopping! B.) Love your commitment to Rondon throughout all of your offseason discussions, and for valid reasons. I’m still a Leury guy myself, so in the short term while waiting for Madrigal to appear at the MLB level, I’d be tempted to return him to his more natural infield position and give him a crack there, if they were to move Moncada to CF.

LeFlore was acquired by Veeck right before he handed the keys to the estate over to the current owner in late 1980. Otherwise, you are right - the exciting, big-name acquisitions of Fisk and the Bull came under the current owner’s watch when he began his tenure as owner some 38 years ago. Since then, there’s been one and only one “big name” free agent acquisition during the ensuing 38 years, that of Albert Belle back in the mid 90s. So while the cicadas appear more frequently than the White Sox acquiring an A-list talent on the open market, there is some historical precedent for it to happen, albeit on rare occasion. Let’s hope that sighting of a comet passing occurs this offseason!

Completely awesome, Eminor! =D

Harold Baines for Sammy Sosa, Wilson Alvarez, and Scott Fletcher Jose DeLeon for Lance Johnson Floyd Bannister for Melido Perez and Greg Hibbard It was definitely a rebuild, the term just wasn't in vogue back then.

Well, happily, Hahn is currently referencing “flexibility and economic strength” - appropriate for a team playing in the city of Chicago - rather than that poor-mouthing gibberish that KW used to fly up the flag pole. Talk about a dog that wouldn’t hunt.

The answer is "most likely not", as new owners usually like the optics of bringing in their own people. But then you have cases like the Astros and Cubs. The new owner of the Astros came in around 2011, saw the very pedestrian record/results of Ed Wade, the GM he inherited, and immediately cleaned house and got rid of him, before he then brought in the now very successful Jeff Luhnow. Similar story with Ricketts and the Cubs. Ricketts came in at the end of 2010, inherited Jim Hendry, but at least gave him a year before dumping him in favor of Theo & Co. In both cases I think Wade and Hendry got replaced because they simply didn't get the job done, at least not in a convincing enough way that a new owner coming in without any loyalties would want to retain them. So to answer your question, what would a new owner coming in today to take over the White Sox think about Hahn & Williams, who have been 1-2/2-1 atop the White Sox front office for the last 18 years, and only have two playoff appearances to show for it, albeit one being the deservedly-heralded World Series championship? A 2-for-18 record is what leads me to believe that a new owner taking over today would "most likely not" retain their services.

The disdain remains; however, I do think this time around there is a strong chance they take the rare step of not only pursuing an elite talent in the open market, but also landing him, for the reasons I mentioned.

75% Manny; 0% Harper Based on several kryptic remarks/hints made in the last year by Hahn re: shurking old "standards" and ways of doing business in the past, and the team having the financial resources (they've always had them, btw) to add pieces from the open market when they were ready to, I think the team is ready and willing to pull off a deal of Albert Bellesque proportion. I think the current owner is going to do exactly what he did at the time he signed Albert Belle - identify the price point that he knows no other team will go beyond, then go beyond it himself to try and make this happen. Belle wanted the most money he could get, which the Sox offered, and the deal actually happened fairly quickly. For whatever reason I feel history is going to repeat itself this time around with Machado. The only way I think it doesn't happen is if Machado is willing to accept less money to play for another team he'd prefer to be on, but all indications are he's after the big payday which, why not. But I think the Sox will be the ones with the largest offer.

#conRONwrong

Good, then you agree to cease and desist with blanket remarks supposedly representing an entire fan base, when said remarks are based solely on two or three Soxtalk poster’s points of view? It would be helpful if you stopped that.

All Sox fans, or are you taking the reaction of one or two posters on this site and somehow wildly suggesting it is the opinion of an entire fan base?

All Sox fans, or are you taking the reaction of one or two posters on this site and somehow wildly suggesting it is the opinion of an entire fan base?

How about just “operate EFFECTIVELY through adversity”, like the tiny market Oakland Athletics have managed to do throughout their ENTIRE existence in that city? 19 trips to the postseason in their 51 years operating in Oakland. FIVE trips to the World Series during that time , with FOUR WS titles to show for it. All of this achieved despite NOT playing in a facility that the owner’s were able to design with optimal revenue-generating potential, OR taking in three decade’s worth of handsomely subsidized, taxpayer provided profits.

And this is the team the fan base has always had - the one that is one of ONLY THREE TEAMS in all of baseball that has never gone to the playoffs in consecutive seasons, AND has made only five playoff appearances in the 59 years since the ‘59 World Series. The fan base we’ve always had simply reflects the team we’ve always had.

lol, this same fan base that joins the Marlins and Brewers fan bases as the ONLY THREE FAN BASES IN ALL OF BASEBALL who have NEVER experienced watching their team make consecutive playoff appearances.

Lip, do you think there’s a chance the current owner pulls an Albert Belle out of his keister this offseason, and signs Machado? The team has certainly signaled their strong interest in him, and are more than capable of being the highest bidder for his services. If you remember with the Belle signing, it actually happened fairly quickly, and that’s because the owner just swooped in, identified the price point he knew no other team would go above, made the offer, and just got it done. In fact, that’s essentially how he publicly described the process at the time. It was one of the few times over the past four decades where you could actually say you were impressed with the guy. I do think history could repeat itself this time around, even with the usual big spenders being involved.

If you can’t handle this level of discussion, then you’re the one wasting your time masquerading around as a supposed “Administrator” of an internet message board dedicated to serious discussion about the Chicago White Sox.

Versus what? What is your damn point here? That Sox fans should fill Guaranteed Rate Field at 40,000 every night even in seasons where the play is so poor that they lose 100 games? Sell out crowds one right after another over a six year period like the one the team just went through where the team lost more games than any team in baseball? What are you actually trying to say! That a billionaire owner deserves or is entitled to blind loyalty no matter how deficient the product he puts on the field? GMAFB! What a completely out of touch point of view.

They've left in droves since 2005 because: The team has only played in one playoff series and only won one playoff game in the 13 years since 2005; The team hasn't been to the playoffs in over a decade now, representing the 4th longest playoff drought in all of baseball; The team has lost more games in the last six years than any other team in baseball; and The team just came off its worst year since 1970, losing 100 games

Lol - you and your psychobabble talk. You are our resident Sox psychologist, I guess, ready to assess emotions at a moment's notice. Such a service you provide - keep up the good work! Meanwhile, going back to the topic at hand, referencing one, two, three, four, five, or even six decades of the recent White Sox fan experience is actually very appropriate, particularly when reckless and inaccurate accusations of the fan base being "impatient" are being tossed around willy nilly.