Lip Man 1

https://www.mlb.com/news/liam-hendriks-red-sox-deal

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2024/02/18/nothing-but-sunny-skies-over-manager-pedro-grifols-second-white-sox-camp

Rick Morrisey's column: Jerry Reinsdorf might not have much in the way of a baseball team, but he’s got a lot of gall. According to a Crain’s Chicago Business story, the White Sox chairman wants $1 billion in public money to help build the team’s proposed ballpark in the South Loop. He has at least two things going against him: 1) Taxpayers are tired of footing the bill for wealthy owners of professional sports franchises. 2) Fewer people are buying the assertion that the jobs and neighborhood investment that come with new stadiums more than offset the cost to pay for the buildings. Oh, and 3) Reinsdorf’s team stinks. That last one might seem immaterial, but Sox fans are more than a little upset about a rebuild that went off the rails, and some still haven’t gotten over the kick-in-the-teeth hiring of Tony La Russa as manager a few years ago. And now Reinsdorf is asking Gov. J.B. Pritzker to get behind a plan to subsidize a new ballpark? The Sox reportedly want the hotel occupancy tax that is paying for the Bears’ 2003 renovation extended to pay for their ballpark. Reinsdorf surely thinks state residents won’t feel the bite of that, but he’s missing the point, which is enough is enough. The Bears are facing resistance to their plan to build a stadium in Arlington Heights. The message seems to be: You have the money. Build your own home. Or get a loan, like the rest of us do when we take out a mortgage. Here’s another thought for Reinsdorf and the Sox. The weather’s very nice in Nashville.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/sacramento-reportedly-front-runner-for-as-2025-27-home/

https://soxmachine.com/2024/02/report-white-sox-requesting-1-billion-subsidy-for-new-ballpark/

The Giants (Peter McGowan) and the Dolphins (Joe Robbie) are basically the only owners I know of that built their own stadiums with their own money.

Feb. 15: Will Hendriks wait until summer to sign? Liam Hendriks' reported self-imposed deadline came and went without the free-agent reliever signing with a team. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that Hendriks was weighing multiple contract offers and would decide whether or not to sign with a team by Thursday. Since he didn't sign, he is expected to continue his rehab from Tommy John surgery before throwing for teams in July with the hope of joining a club for the stretch run.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2024/02/16/white-sox-chicago-lichtenstein-charlotte-knights-spring-training-mlb

Actually Forbes and others are estimating the Sox are worth 1.75 billion and a sale would go for around two billion dollars.

Of course because that way he couldn't ask for top dollar. See...JR wins yet again! ?

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/02/16/jesse-chavez-40-preparing-for-17th-season https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/02/16/opportunity-knocks-for-new-white-sox-michael-soroka

This is going to be a very tough sell.

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/commissioner-rob-manfred-legacy-media-controversies.html

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/2024/02/15/pressure-or-not-white-sox-michael-kopech-knows-its-time-to-live-up-to-potential

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/players-fans-media-upset-nike-fanatics-jerseys.html

Keep in mind Levine isn't right very often.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2024/02/15/royally-connected-addition-of-mike-moustakas-might-be-more-than-minor-deal-to-white-sox

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/colorado-rockies-officially-announce-mlb-production-distribution-of-games.html

The font for lettering and numerals do look bad and cheap.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/02/14/dylan-cease-still-a-white-sox-on-first-day-of-camp-rolls-with-the-flow

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/02/14/poor-forecast-for-white-sox-motivates-grifol-players “We're not out of it. We've got 162 games to play. We've got close to 40 days to prepare for those 162 games. I know they've got to do their job and the percentages are the percentages. Our job is to prove them wrong."

This at least is a very true statement. If they weren't making money, and these are smart business people remember since they were able to come up with the funds to actually own a team, they wouldn't be paying anythong close to what some guys are getting. I shed no tears for the owners.

From the MLB.com web site: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-gives-umpires-new-guidance-for-base-blocking-rule

From the MLB.com web site: Feb. 14: Hendriks has multiple offers, could sign Thursday (report) According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, free-agent reliever Liam Hendriks has received multiple contract offers and will decide whether or not to sign with a team by Thursday. Hendriks is currently rehabbing after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Aug. 2. If Hendriks doesn't sign by his self-imposed deadline, Passan reports that the right-hander will continue his rehab and then throw for teams in late July with the hope of joining a club for the stretch run. Hendriks, 35, was one of baseball's best late-inning relievers from 2019-22, split between the A's and White Sox. He recorded a 2.26 ERA and 114 saves over that stretch. He saved 38 games for Chicago in 2021 and 37 more the following season. In December 2022, Hendriks was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But the right-hander was determined to get back on the mound and on May 29, five months after his diagnosis, Hendriks made his emotional return. He threw only five innings before being shut down by his elbow injury, but Hendriks still earned American League Comeback Player of the Year honors. After the season, the White Sox declined Hendriks' club option for 2024, making him a free agent. He told MLB.com in December that he is looking to make his season debut with a team before the Trade Deadline on July 30.

I still think if the Sox get off to another dreadful start (which is certainly possible) he's fired around Memorial Day.