Frank_Thomas

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 02:08 PM) I'm not going to go to war for myself so I'll keep it short. I was on the Sox interest in Frazier during the season (when the conversations started) and I was on Lawrie before Slusser/Levine. I got bad intel that the Sox we're going to sign Alexei to a two year deal after they rejected his option. I've been following along with OFer market and have been saying all offseason the Sox have been willing to lose the QO for the right FA while every other beat said the opposite (although lately their turne has changed...) I tweeted on Sunday the mainstream media would pick up on this early this week, Rosenthal tweeted the interest this morning. Take my info with a grain of salt. I don't care. I don't have one "source" I'm just out here listening and talking to anyone with a track record/an ear in the know and bouncing what I've heard off of every "source." Dick Allen's synopsis above is pretty accurate. I don't claim to know everything but I believe in networking, I'm persistent and I can bulls*** a little bit to get people to talk to me. Whether it's sports fandom, politics, education or personal relationship I believe in putting all the information out there. If I can help my fellow Sox fans with that then this makes my love for this team and fandom a little more fun. And we appreciate it. I wouldn't even give the people who doubt you the time of the day with a response. The majority of us get it ans those who don't, then ignore the info. But at least give the guy the respect he deserves. He's been right all offseason, not that that even matters. He chooses to share what he hears to us and we're the beneficiaries. When you sit there and nitpick just to troll it makes these guys want to stop. Hence why Rock stopped for a bit and Bucket posts less. Cause when they are wrong people are ruthless. No ones right 100% it's the fluidity of Free agency and or trade negotiations. I know all of us appreciate the info Rabbit, keep on keeping on.

One thing I'll say about RH, regardless of the results this past season and whatever happens to this team in '16. RH gives the fan base excitement. Just look at this board the past week gushing about the possibility of adding one of the big three. Before that we were debating the benefits for Frazier. If nothing else, RH gives us a reason to stay interested all year about our beloved. Between the signings and trades last winter and the excitement this winter I'm glad and proud to be a Sox fan. Now we just need the players the FO has assembled to reward their hard work for once and put up some W's. I really hope we land either Gordon or Cespedes, maybe sign/trade for a RHP, resign Alexi, have a really solid spring training. And most importantly start '16 hot right out of the gates. I want us to be good from the start so we fill those stands so we can show our appreciation to RH, KW, and Uncle Jerry for going for it. Because if we sign one of these guys there are taking a huge risk and it'd be nice to see it pay off.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 01:36 PM) That's not a report from me but a report from New York. Rabbit I have to give you props man. You have been right on for the past few weeks and really this whole offseason. You said mainstream rumors would be picking up early this week... And look. Just wanted to say thank you were lucky to have a member who has an inside track into the thinking and direction of the FO. Regardless of what happens with these players it's clear you know what you're talking about. Thanks again bud.

"Why the White Sox Should Sign Yoenis Cespedes" via http://TeamStre.am by Bleacher Report http://teamstre.am/1ko9RO3

Awesome write up on Gordon from Bleacher Report. The article is entitled, Gordon Can be Heyward for Half the Cost: "Gordon Can Be Heyward at Nearly Half the Cost" via http://TeamStre.am by Bleacher Report http://teamstre.am/1PtaxPb

Update on the Tigers chase of the big three, since it seems they maybe consider a contender for one of the big three. From MLBTR: While the Tigers aren’t shy about spending, Paul doesn’t think the team will stray too far (if at all) over the luxury tax limit, so landing a top outfield name like Yoenis Cespedes or Alex Gordon is probably unrealistic. Detroit could move another big contract like Ian Kinsler to make payroll space, though Paul points out that the team would just be creating a new hole at second base to solve a hole in left field. The Tigers could instead save any payroll room for a trade deadline addition. There is so much noise out there no one knows what's really going on between these players, their agents, or teams FO's. It's a blast speculating but there's no point because no one knows. Besides our sox talk insiders of course. :cheers

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 12:22 AM) By the school of thought of NOT adding that big bat, the question is still when/how? Another fair to middling season with decreasing attendance trend (again) will somehow create more incentive to spend next season than there is now? And for whom? Carlos Gomez? There's an even bigger potential problem. Cleveland is already being favored by some to win the division and Minnesota has one of the best farm systems, so, assuming normal development curves, both of those teams are on the upswing and then you have the Royals with their core for the next two years and the Tigers basically have no other option with their current roster/payroll than to be "all in" as well for the next 2-3 seasons at least. Nobody would be shocked or surprised if they ended up with Gordon/Cespedes/Upton. If this team doesn't make any more significant additions, starts slowly and the Cubs come out of the gate flying...the White Sox will simply cease to exist except when it's time to pick apart the roster for June/July/August deadline deals. And what's really going to change between now and next offseason? Anderson and Fulmer will do so well that they look like future All-Stars in the minors? Well, as we all know, the first year is almost always an adjustment period for rookies, even the most talented. For every Bryant or Abreu, there are 50 Avi Garcia's or Javier Baezes. Rodon took a good 2-3 months to really get his feet solidly underneath him and start to believe that he belonged in the big leagues and to trust his stuff 100%. About the only situation you can imagine is dealing Quintana or Sale for bat/s, but that significantly weakens your rotation...even if Fulmer is ready in 2017, you have only two pitchers you can count on (whoever's left over from Sale/Quintana/Rodon), Carson and then EJ/???. So you're likely 1 if not 2 pitchers short of a full rotation. If those additions to the rotation don't come from the minor leagues (and Adams won't be ready quite yet unless he just has a huge breakout season), where does the money come from to buy them in free agency when even more money will be chasing even fewer impact players? Horrid and/or horrific next year's FA class has been described almost universally. So, even optimistically, you're only left with 2017 to compete because that means you're going to have to also replace Cabrera, Frazier and Lawrie, to name a few (after 2017)...and you're going to be relying on two rookies in huge positions that are almost make-or-break in SS (Anderson) and the starting rotation (Fulmer). That's the narrowest of narrow windows possible to exploit. I agree. Clearly with the additions of both Lawrie and Frazier and in the process giving up guys that could have potential in a rebuild the FO is clearly going for it. And you make the point razor sharp by talking about the guys leaving after 2017. Not to mention we have publicly said we are going for it while Sale and Abreu are in their primes. Yea even with the addition of one of the big three we may have holes. But if we are going for it addingsomeone like Alexi at 5 million for a year as a stop gap for Anderson and/or trading a few more horses from the farm to get another solid starter behind or between Q and Rodon would be amazing. In reality though adding one of the big three will not only add a certain dynamic to our offense but also improve the defense in the OF. And that's across the board regardless who of the big three and the various things they do well offensively or defensively. You could roll with that team (with the addition of the big three, EJ and Danks as 3&4, and Saldanio/Sanchez at SS) to spring training and even into the season. When we play ball if you see a hole then fix it. Two holes are always better than three or four. And fixing the D in the process helps all these pitchers.0 It's time for us as Sox fans, as South Siders, as "blue collared fans", etc. We are smart baseball loving, fans. And it's time for us to stop being so pessimistic about this FO. And let's start thinking positively about who we will sign. Because we are going for it this season. And we are going for one of these guys. It may not pan out but we are so let's put some positive thinking like last week. If it's not one of these guys I trust they have other avenues open. Let's sit back, relax, and strap it down. And trust RH and Uncle Jerry. The pestimism is reserved for the other side of town.

Btw I think the guy who posted that nonsense on Twitter this afternoon did it just to promote himself. I wouldnt believe what he tweets for a second. Since he posted that his Twitter picture is now marketing guru blah blah blah. Can't blame a guy for capitalizing. We are Americans for god sake.

QUOTE (Baron @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 10:52 PM) Your post didnt make any sense. Your talking about them not being the answer then signing them. Why throw resources in the toilet if your not sold on them? I dont see how standing pat in the outfield is a good thing. Too many issues with Garcia to fix that it's probably extremely likely you'll be looking for his replacement during the deadline assuming your still in the race. Excellent post. And really the question is would you rather take a hit this season to sign one of them (which is lessen once Danks and Laroche clear next season) or trade prospects in June or July if we are in the hunt and Avi and Saldanio are not producing. To me it's easy. Sign one of the three and let's go for it. JR has the money and he'll spend it. The roster right now is good for status quo the past few years. But if Detroit and KC get Cespedes and Gordon we have no chance at the division. Any one of the guys even if the money is high as they say help this team immediately. Sign them or you have to deal with a hesitant fan base going into 2016z you sign any of them attendance will go up the first couple months and dramaticly up if we are wining the first two months of the season. The last thing I want is us to pass because of the money and watch our two Divioson rivals sign these guys and we have to watch them rake all season.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 10:10 PM) FWIW, I am in the minority with you. Honestly, I hope the Sox don't sign any of the big three. So you're okay with the team as is? Or do you want us to trade more of the farm for someone like CarGo. Personally as much as I think we've improved if Cespy and Gordon sign with Detroit and KC respectively. We're last place again this year. With the FA market next year and the $ coming off the book after the season we need to land one of these three. Otherwise next year were sitting on money and don't have quality to spend it on. I don't want to be last of 3rd place the next two seasons with an eye on the '18FA class. We need to go for it now. it's not just our division is getting better but we are also competing with the Cubs. We need to be relavent in order to have a prayer for attendance the next few seasons.

The one thing I think we have positive is the FO is in stealth mode since the Frazier deal. There's no doubt in my mind they are trying to be creative.

Personally sifting through tweets, articles, insider info., etc. I believe it's either Upton or Gordon or none. I don't think they want to pay Cespy that much and the years are a hinderence. Plus I think we have enough Cespedes type hitter already on the team. I've said it many times I'll be over the moon with any but I think Upton and Gordon follow more of what we are looking for than Cespy.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 09:32 PM) What new news? That some realtor in KC said he turned down our offer. But I'll take any new news.

Rabbit what's your opinion on the new news?

And to the posters defense we don't know the guy on Twitter from shinola, he very we'll could be Gordon's real estate Agent. Who knows but I'm not going to get worked up until we know that he has signed elsewhere. But after a long weekend of thinking it probably hinders our chances a little since he had basically 5 days to think, if the offer was indeed made. Which I doubt seeing Bucket said we would make an offer Monday. I just hope we are aggressively pursuing all three fronts, at the very least. I'll be disappointed if we are unable to sign atleast one of the three with how long the market has dragged out.

Personally I don't care what some realtor says, IMO we are in for the big three until they decide to put pen to paper and sign elsewhere.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 12:44 AM) Yeah this one's been a strange ride on all these guys. After Heyward the market moved in a way nobody expected. None of the media has said this yet, but Heyward's clauses (opt-out & trade) really shifted the paradigm. I probably misread it

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 02:34 AM) Why would Gordon get opt out clause? Just based off of Buckets answer that the market has been effected and slowed by Heywards contract and the inclusion of Opt outs. I believe Rosenthal or Heyman also tweeted something similar last night.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 01:08 AM) 31-year-old 2B who projects to be about a 2-2.5 WAR player. I don't think $12M a year is exactly a steal. All his value is essentially tied up in his ability to make contact. Not much power, below average defense, doesn't walk much. He's not that exciting. Guy doesn't excite me much, but he did only strike out 32 or something times all of last season. Not that really matters but atleast he gives you an a bat. Again glad we passed but still not a bad deal for the Nats especially after the Phillips thing fell apart. I think I rather have Murphy than Phillips at basically the same price.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 25, 2015 -> 01:00 AM) Thanks for the info, Bucket. You are such an asset. Merry Christmas bud. Ditto man. Bucket your the man. I Just got off work and was catching up, not only are your responses worded well (almost like you're a direct source in the FO, leaking info to us) but it is just enough to get us all excited and believe we have a great chance of getting one of the three. Should be an interesting start to the week.... One thing that worries me about the Gordon thing is. If KC has indeed been told they are out and the Sox were thought as one of the finalists (and Really that's been heavily reported). What's taking so long? If it's money or opt out clauses or contract incentives I get it. Especially if talks recently just got serious after the KC negotiations "fell apart" after they low balled their homegrown guy. But if this guy is holding out because he's not sure he wants to play for us and is looking for a couple million more from KC than Eff' him. I understand wanting to play for your hometown and cashing in but sometimes you gotta pick. Looks like this is one of the times.. I would love Gordon on this team he adds a lot of the assets this team still lacks after reworking the IF, but I would also take Cespy or J Up. All three players offer different things we need. I really am looking forward to a positive conclusion next week on one of the big three fronts. Because in reality any one of these three makes us instantly a better team and contenders for the AL Central crown next season.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 08:52 PM) Does anyone know if Josh Nelson is credible or not? Not sure why what's he saying?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 09:49 AM) That is simply absurd. I agree thank you

QUOTE (CyAcosta41 @ Dec 24, 2015 -> 08:17 AM) Perhaps this is how it's playing out: RH (to Gordon's agent, Casey Close): We want your guy. We also want the PR spike that comes from a holiday gift for our fans. 4/$72 ($18M AV). Very strong offer. If you need that 5th year, it's 5/$80 ($16M AV). Offer open until 12/30, but then we move on. Get your guy to join next year's division champ. And he won't have to flail at Sale. Unfortuantely with the reports out there, that AV you suggest is not going to be enough to to sign him. If we were offering that he would just go back to the Royals, but according to Heyman AGs camp told them as of now they are out because they were offering basically the same contract you just suggested. If the money is close he'll go back to KC, the only way he leaves is if he gets more money, closer to the $20 mil/year or if he gets that 5th year.

It'd be nice if Rick was able to give all of us the Christmas gift Chuck Garfein mentioned RH wanted to give us all for the Holidays. It'd be awesome if he announced a signing at midnight tonight. I don't know what to think about the Gordon situation I'm guessing posturing, and it looks like that's the way the market in a whole has been. This are we or aren't we going to sign one of the big three may go on into the New Year.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 23, 2015 -> 07:55 PM) It's fine with me if they do. It's the way free agency is these days. I agree, I think we all knew that was at the very least the starting point for any of the Big Three.