Thad Bosley

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Mar 10, 2017 -> 11:45 AM) I thought this was a good read if anyone was interested: http://nypost.com/2017/03/08/white-sox-fir...ust-got-paused/ "The perception within the game is Reinsdorf will step back as owner at some point soon, either handing off to his children or selling."

Well, until a trade happens one way or another, I'll choose to believe if we could get Moncada for Sale, and the Yankees could get Gleyber Torres for four months of Aroldis Chapman, then we should be able to get Torres for four years of Quintana. I could be wrong, but for me it just stands to reason. And at least for now, thinking along these lines, it is kind of exciting to think about a potential dynamite double play combination with the #2 & #3 prospects in baseball right now with Moncada and Torres. Punt Anderson and his speed & arm to centerfield, and you got the makings of tremendous strength up the all-important middle. I won't lie to you - love that idea!

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Mar 7, 2017 -> 04:42 PM) My opinion which is shared by a lot of people, including Ron Fowler, the Padres Executive Chairman. http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white-so...itical-comments Oh, did you watch any of Shields starts for the White Sox last season or his start on Spring Training yesterday or his interview after that? http://www.csnchicago.com/video/shields-i-...ht-i-was-decent There is a train of thought that the Sox should lose as many games as possible. Even for those who subscribe to that theory of rebuilding, you do not want to burn up the arms of our pitching staff covering for this guy and you never want to field players that look like they aren't giving maximum effort, or sloughing off questions after poor performance. He's gotta go, at least in my opinion. Let's agree to disagree and see how this works out one way or another. None of the links you provided take us to a place supporting your assertion that Shields doesn't want to pitch any longer. They take you to a place where we can read the Padres' owner's unhappiness with his actual performance last season, but nothing about a desire to stop playing baseball. So let's not conflate Shields' talent at this stage in his career and the results therein with what may or may not be going on in his mind about wanting to continue on in Major League baseball, because neither you, nor I, or anyone else is able to know that unless he flat out comes out and says so, which he has not.

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Mar 7, 2017 -> 04:10 PM) You missed the point. Shields is not an innings eater. It is exactly the opposite. And he doesn't really want to pitch any more. You cannot have a loser like that on the mound and expect to sell tickets. Even John Danks was trying to win every game he pitched in. Shields has to go. The sooner better....and that has nothing to do with rebuilding. And you know this...how?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 7, 2017 -> 10:30 AM) 670 The Score‏Verified account @670TheScore 1h1 hour ago Rick Hahn continues to preach patience for White Sox as they monitor trade market http://cbsloc.al/2meVb8B Lol - the patience game will have to be a two way street. He'll need to be patient with a beleaguered fan base that won't be in any hurry to head on out to the 'ol ballpark while this rebuild is going on. Eight straight seasons of no playoff appearances, and now the promise of some ugly baseball on the near horizon will depress an already exhausted base. Patience will be required by Sox management to win the trust and support back from the fans, and that's probably going to take a little while.

That hot start last year which lasted through just 20% of the season really masked how bad the team actually was. The Sox played worse the remaining 80% of the season than the 2013 team did which lost 99 games. That was with Sale and Eaton. How anyone can think this team that completely stunk up the joint the last 120 games of last year, from the beginning/middle of May all the way through to the end, will somehow be better this season WITHOUT Sale and Eaton is beyond me. Face it, folks. It's "Sit back, strap it down, and hope Hahn can dig the Sox out of the hole he, KW and Reinsdorf put us in" time.

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 10:47 PM) We all dream of this. But, I'm not counting on that happening. Assuming that ownership & the Front Officr are as they are now, Rodon's as good as gone, IMO. Do the math. When will Rodon be up for free agency?

QUOTE (Two-Gun Pete @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 10:09 PM) 2.0 fWAR in 2015 to 2.7 fWAR in 2016 isn't really a quantum leap. And he's hurt. Again. Set aside his draft position, & consider what he is, not what we hope him to be. He was, by one metric, equal to Miguel Gonzalez last year, even with him padding his stats in garbage time late last year. And his agent is dying for him to sign elsewhere. Why is he a core player? He may not be good, & even if he will be, he probably won't be a part of the next good Sox team. That depends. Possible new owner at that time = Possible new attitude with dealing with the agent who routinely represents the premium talent around baseball

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 12:05 PM) Hawkins is a bad miss. Anderson is a good pick. The issue is that Reinsdorf was against spending money on amateur players and KW loved tools, athletes. Drafting tools athletes is fine but drafting ones that also don't cost a lot of money isn't a sound strategy. They need baseball play ers and Hostetler drafted many guys with more traditional baseball and on base skills. He is on the record saying that he wishes he would have taken more high school guys and he even said they are looking at high school players in this year's draft. It has to be both is what I'm saying. You always want guys that play premium positions because those guys can play other spots. Nick Hostetler comes from the Schuerholz school of scouting. I would expect a focus to be on power pitching and athletes. Dayton Moore subscribes to the same theory and Chris Getz worked under him for years. So I know I'm the evil "Reinsdorf Bogeyman", but don't you see how this guy's philosophy has crippled the organization over the years, even in recent years? He's not new to Major League Baseball and it's ways. He's been in the game for nearly 40 years, yet his strategy and vision continue to be fraught with flawed thinking. So frustrating...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 3, 2017 -> 04:43 PM) Sure. But the reality is no Kenny, no Robert. If Kenny gets involved, then you have legitimate interest from the White Sox. Good point! Do you think KW can fit in going to take a look at this kid into what must be an awfully busy schedule he's maintaining these days?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 04:24 PM) A lot of teams would. All of the hypothetical and made up scenarios in the world doesn't change the fact that we are talking about the Chicago White Sox here. Their entire history of doing business in Latin America quantity over quality. Until they actually do something to change that, I am going to bank on them doing the same thing they have always done. Me admitting something for some reason is 100% immaterial to how the Chicago White Sox actually conduct their business. It is no different to me than think the team whose biggest contract is their history is $68 million dollars is going not to come out of no where and bid $200 million for a free agent. Until it actually happens, I am going to doubt it will happen, because it never has happened. No amount of make believe is going to change the White Sox history here. And how has that approached worked for them? You know the old saying: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while". Maybe, just maybe, a light bulb went off over the head of someone in the Sox FO that is causing them to perhaps now change course from a failed philosophy and approach.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 2, 2017 -> 01:11 PM) I'm not saying they will sign this guy, but I think your stance of it being 100% out of the realm of possibility isn't accurate. Heck, when FutureSox interviewed Capra, he made clear they tend to like getting a bunch of guys few a few hundred K instead of a million most of the time, and then just once in a while break the bank. That's pretty much this exact scenario - sign a guy like this and blow through the pool once, then spend two years getting guys for 200 or 300k. Add to that the fact that Badler is more connected in this realm than anyone, and he's hinting hard... I think there's a very real chance it happens. Well, and not to mention, but the timing, for goodness sakes. This is a team at the beginning end of a rebuild, and an organization bereft of talented position players, both at the Major and minor league levels. As such, this guy being available at this particular time makes perfect sense for this organization to try and obtain based on where they're at right now.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 1, 2017 -> 02:37 PM) Badler said the Sox are the team that comes up the most in discussions about where he might land. He says Sox haven't really been linked to any of the big names for 17-18 period and would have more bonus pool $$ available than everyone else. He also said that if he's cleared prior to June 15, the Sox may just sign Robert anyway and blow through their 2016-2017 pool since it wouldn't affect their 17/18 plans. Very interesting. So I loved this article and am personally excited about the possibility obtaining yet another potential position player superstar, but the one little area in the article where the reader is left hanging a little is in the bolded above: what "discussions"? Certainly not in anything we've seen or read that's available out there. Obviously he's referring to MLB insider talks that may be going on out there, but at least in this article, this reference to "discussions" is so vague, but happy to entertain the rumor nonetheless.

Luis Robert just two years younger than Yoan Moncada. Best case scenario is the Sox would have one heck of a monster cornerstone heading into the Roarin' 20s!!

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ Mar 1, 2017 -> 03:10 AM) One cannot want the team to tank but then suggest signing a washed up player as a LH DH because the line-up lacks power. The sooner Collins and Moncada are brought up, the sooner they start getting the experience they need. Minor league experience is overrated and can be counterproductive to players who can get too comfortable there and accustomed to lower expectations and an inferior level of competition. Collins can catch a few games here and there and get major league at bats as a platoon LH DH or pinch hitter. Moncada can share time with Saladino. The rebuilding process involves trading veteran players and bringing up the top prospects to see if they can compote at this level and to gain major league experience. Ah yes, the Gordon Beckham approach to handling and developing young, supposedly elite talent. Screw that development time in the minors! Bring 'em all up ASAP and let's get this thing going at the MLB level immediately! Terrific idea!!

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Feb 25, 2017 -> 01:46 PM) https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2...P5RM/story.html Nick cafardo 7. David Robertson, RHP, White Sox — There’s belief that the Nationals could still make a deal for Robertson, even after talks broke down. With the Wieters addition, the Nats now have four catchers in Derek Norris, Jose Lobaton, and prospect Pedro Severino. If Rizzo elects to give up Severino, that deal could regain traction. The Nats really need an established closer. There is admittedly something very appealing about a Collins/Severino 1-2 punch behind the plate. Seems very ideal, actually.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 25, 2017 -> 09:50 AM) I still think that this so called rebuild is as phony as a $3 bill. I think JR is going to trade off and not sign any real talent the team has. He will have the lowest payroll in MLB in 2018. He will then sell the team after the 2018 season. I'm hoping he'll sell the team before the 2018 season, but I think he will wait until after the season is over. This team has absolutely no positive direction. I've read where the most talented player coming out of Cuba is a 19 year old outfielder named Luis Robert. Virtually every team in MLB wants to sign him. The White Sox are probably the only team who have shown no interest in signing him. The farm system is barren of any every day outfielders. Robert would be a good signing for the team and yet they have no interest in signing him. After Cabrera leaves the White Sox after this season the White Sox will probably have the worse outfield in 2018 in MLB. Wouldn't Robert be a perfect fit for this team? I certainly echo your wishes about Mr. Reinsdorf selling the team sooner rather than later so we can close the regrettable era of his time as owner of the Sox and move onto bigger and better things. All Sox fans will benefit at the point in time when that happens. Meanwhile, as it pertains to Luis Robert, FWIW, there was an article last month in Baseball America that cites "sources" suggesting the Sox as a possible landing spot for Robert. Not a whole lot to hang your hat on with that particular quote, but it at least suggests the Sox are not completely sitting on the sidelines with absolutely no interest in the guy. http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...SVmScULoICj9.97

QUOTE (flavum @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 11:16 AM) If Harold Baines has a retired number, of course Buehrle will too. They kinda set a bar there in 1989. A little side note as it relates to Baines, but with just 16 more home runs and 134 more hits in his career, he would be part of a very exclusive club of guys who had both 400 home runs and 3,000 hits in their career. Only seven other guys in the entire history of baseball can make that claim (eight if you count Rafael Roidin' Palmeiro, but I don't). The others are: Stan Musial 475/3639 Hank Aaron 744/3771 Willie Mays 660 Carl Yastrzemski 452/3419 Dave Winfield 465/3110 Eddie Murray 504/3255 Cal Ripken Jr. 431/3184 Seeing those names and knowing how close Baines was to having similar statistics really does underscore what a great if not understated career he did have.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2017 -> 12:28 AM) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Throw away reaction, no value add here. Shocker. Meanwhile, we have crocodile tears coming from the owner who has presided over 36 years of ownership in which his team has scarce made the postseason but five times, not once in the past eight years, and one that's on its way to extending that period to a full decade, in this the period of two Wild Card teams. Real funny, SS2K5, eh? Do you find that funny, SS2K5? The fact our fan base, the one you routinely enjoy denigrating, will go a full decade without seeing their team participate in the postseason? Is this a HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA moment for you, too? Do you find it funny when the folks who put the team we passionately follow remain in their positions of influence? Is the Sox situation really just a joke to you, not to be taken seriously?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 11:48 PM) Thad, I really hope Reinsdorf f***ed your woman or something, because your hatred/obsession with him is honestly out of control. There's absolute nothing wrong with a 81 year old not being excited about going through a multi-year rebuild. No hatred or obsession involved. Just a fact-based reaction to a ridiculous fluff piece of the blight who owns and leads the team we cherish and follow. Many people on this fan site focus their frustration on the team's futility over and over again on the manager (e.g., Ventura). Some comment incessantly on the former GM and current SVP - Baseball Operatons (KW). Looking back, there were many who went on a crusade here against a hitting coach of all things (Fire Greg Walker) to express their frustration on the team's results. The frequency of those types of reactions to management far outweigh my or any of the other well-articulated criticisms to Reinsdorf on this site, so I think your criticism is a bit exaggerated. My opinion as a fan as to who put our team in the position it is today having to pivot and react to the pattern of futility for over a decade lands squarely at Reinsdorf's feet, pure and simple. The guy who has allowed the continued failure we've witnessed but who refuses to replace the folks (Williams & Hahn) who put the team & franchise we love and cherish in the position it's in today. That's a fair and objective assessment, in my opinion, based on facts and recent team results, and one that has no connection to anything as ridiculous as your assertion about the owner and my woman. That suggestion was a bit much, which I hope you realize upon further reflection.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 22, 2017 -> 02:13 PM) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0222-story.html Lol - uhhh, boy. What to do with this nonsense. Just when you've started turning a blind eye to Hahn's abysmal four years since he was appointed GM at the end of 2012, as he's inspired a glimmer of hope in whatever capabilities he may have to develop a sustainably winning MLB ball club with his rebuilding trades so far this offseason, then there's this: the customary fluff piece to flatter the outdated owner of the White Sox. Consider: Hahn states in this article that "it (the rebuild) was the hardest thing for him...It was probably easier for us than it was for Jerry...So he deserves the most credit (for the rebuild)...because it was most difficult for him." Easier for us than "him"? Most difficult for "him"? "He deserves the most credit (for the rebuild)"? WHAT?!?!? He's the only one amongst us who will continue to PROFIT IMMENSELY throughout this entire rebuild because he is entering his 27th year of guaranteed profits courtesy of Illinois taxpayers due to the sweetheart lease deal he blackmailed the state into giving him almost 30 years ago. Never forget this salient fact about this scoundrel, folks. NEVER FORGET! No matter how bad the team does (e.g., the past 11 years), this guy continues and will continue to make a boatload of money, each and every year, on the backs of taxpayers. What a guy, eh? So during these lean years of the rebuild when you and me are still investing our time and disposable income into yet more of the subpar product Reinsdorf has routinely given to us for over a decade now, remember that Mr. "Oh, this rebuild is soooooo hard on me!" will still be making deposits into his bank account the likes of which most fans will never know. Reinsdorf is a sham and a scam and has been since he washed up on shore back in 1980 when he lucked into buying Our Sox. Our beleaguered fan base will be so far better served when we are finally rid of his influence on the franchise.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 21, 2017 -> 01:53 PM) This is true, but to raBBit's point the early returns haven't been promising. Out of the first group, Martinez is probably the biggest success and he barely cracked futuresox's top 30. I'm higher than most on Cruz, but he doesn't deserve a top 30 spot at this point in time. Rodriguez's 2016 season was a huge failure. Same goes for Adolfo, although it's way too early to jump to any conclusions on him just yet. Honestly, outside of Nunez's breakout season, Solorzano's solid performance (despite underwhelming stuff), and Tatis's rise in prospect status (not with us mind you), there were simply not a lot of positives on the Latin American side of things. The same Adolfo signed the same year the Cubs signed BOTH Gleyber Torres AND Eloy Jimenez? That Adolfo?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 18, 2017 -> 11:10 AM) Completely different situations. In your scenario the Sox were approaching some theoretical payroll threshold, whereas the Sox should have minimal payroll commitments entering the epic 2018/2019 free agent period. What exactly do you think Reinsdorf will do? Not allow Hahn to sign free agents above a certain AAV or for a certain amount of years? I just don't see it unless Hahn is looking to sign an elite pitcher to a crazy long-term contract. Otherwise, I expect Hahn to a fair amount of autonomy on how he spends his budget. What I'm saying is that I don't expect current ownership to change course from nearly 40 years of precedence and suddenly compete for the "elite" talent that will be available at the time when it's deemed the team will only be a few pieces away from seriously competing. Oh, they'll spread some cash across the mid-tier types like whoever the Melky and LaRoche equivalents are at that point in time, and there should be enough payroll to avoid the embarrassing kind of dumpster dive signings that were made last offseason. But the "elite" talent, the Bryce Harpers and Clayton Kerhsaws of the world and so on? No way. You can count on one hand and still have a finger or two leftover of those types of signings made by the Sox over the past four decades. Just don't see it happening unless there is a new owner in place when the time comes.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Feb 18, 2017 -> 10:11 AM) I think he will, but it won't be until the following year most likely. Hahn made it clear at SoxFest that the money will be there when the Sox are a few pieces away. Ah, but be careful. The question was would ownership pay for "premier" free agents the next time the Sox are a few pieces away. That exact opportunity presented itself about as good as it could last offseason when Yoenis Cespedes was available, and the team failed to make it happen. You expect a different outcome the next time around with the same ownership and management in place? I hope you are right, but color me skeptical right up until that time when I see it happen.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 16, 2017 -> 07:10 PM) I unfortunately agree with you. I see years of bad White Sox baseball ahead of us. My hope is that JR sells the team soon, hopefully after the 2017 season. It's not likely that he would sell after this season, although one can dream. It's more likely that, given his age, a change in ownership could occur somewhere at the back end of this rebuild. But one thing for sure, Reinsdorf really needs this rebuild to be successful and produce future returns to the postseason and hopefully another championship or two. His legacy to date is not so great as we all know, so this is his last chance to give said legacy a boost, lest history dispatch him to the bin of other unsuccessful White Sox owners once its all said and done with.