Lip Man 1

The odds are tremendously titled towards that happening unfortunately.

Scott Merkin in his mailbag column at the White Sox web site in response to a question about Girardi said he thought Hahn was going to sign Renteria to a two year extension although he said it may have to be done before this season moves along since if the Sox lose 90-100 games again it could be hard to justify it. Quoted Cooper as saying this is the most prepared staff he's been around in 18 years.

I thought some signing and announcements were permitted during off days in the post season. I could be wrong though.

I think Sox fans by and large are still supportive and on-board with the rebuild. But their patience won't last forever, progress needs to be starting to show in 2019, certainly by 2020 or they'll be leaving the bandwagon in droves and this also comes from a member of the front office when I discussed this point with them. They agree with that conclusion.

Part of the issue is the fact that often they'll come out of nowhere and have a good season but don't follow up on it to keep the momentum going the next season or two or when they have been expected to do well, they fall right on their collective faces. That's been an on-going issue for years and I go into detail on this point in my historical series called "Sox and the Media..." As others have said the way to help solve the attendance issues are to consistently be competitive. Not necessary make the playoffs three years in a row (or five out of seven, although God knows that would be huge...) or have eight straight winning seasons but honestly have a realistic chance. You can't have a winning season one year, then tank for three years, have another two winning seasons, then fall apart for four. You can't build a fan or advertiser base that way. Recent history: Sox have had nine losing seasons in the last 12 years Sox haven't had consecutive winning seasons since 2003-2006 Sox have made the playoffs one time since the start of the 2006 season (even with expanded playoffs) Anyway you cut it, that's tough to overcome.

With respect I think Covey is a known commodity and it's not good.

Even better. The earlier you deal him in theory the more you can get back since the team getting him has him for a longer period of time. 2019 is probably to early yet but I can certainly see him moved in 2020, especially if the Sox rebuild still hasn't produced tangible results in the win / loss column.

Not at the start of the season but by June? Maybe...if he pitches well, if he is healthy...he could return a lot since he'd still have about a year and a half to go on his deal before he hits FA. Something to watch for.

Rodon may be traded before he hits free agency because of his agent and his track record of taking his guys by and large to that stage. If he does go free agency, especially if he remains healthy and pitches well, barring new ownership, he'll probably be out of the price range of the Sox so that could be a piece needed to be replaced especially with the uncertain status of Kopech, Dunning and Hansen.

Saw a tweet this afternoon from Jon Heyman where he said Girardi pulled out of the Reds job Friday. They wanted to offer it to him but it never got to the point where money was discussed. Industry speculation, Heyman wrote, is that Girardi is waiting on the Cubs job to open next year.

Fan: To answer your question, this is just my opinion I haven't spoken to anybody with inside knowledge. I think Hahn will make an effort but I think both guys have no real interest in the Sox. Money is not going to be an object, they'll both get offers greater than any in history so to me what comes into play are things like ability to win (now-not potentially in the future), outside market opportunities, fan interest etc. The Sox right now fall way short in those areas although again the potential is there. But given that Harper and Machado are still looking to win a World Series (granted Manny may) I don't think the Sox will fall into their orbit. Regarding JR and Belle, remember there were extenuating circumstances, namely JR was really pissed (and was quoted in Sports Illustrated as saying so, I've got the story in my files) that the MLB owners settled the 94-95 labor impasse on terms he felt were wrong. He wasn't out for "revenge" per se but as he said in the story if MLB wasn't going to look out for their best interest collectively, he was going to look out for the interest of the White Sox. He asked Frank Thomas if he'd rather have Belle or Bonds as a teammate. Frank said Belle and JR proceeded from there.

On paper, maybe...in reality, given their track record and the state of the franchise at this moment (promise non withstanding) I'd say the odds are small and long.

Both teams are in competition for the entertainment dollar and the "casual" fan. When one organization basically abdicates their own home market for whatever reason or reasons to the other team, that has direct ramifications on the bottom line.

As I recall Rogers asked the Sox for a million for the year and Kenny said no. Penny saved = Pound foolish.

I agree with you to an extent but there is also this outside factor involved. Some may say it shouldn't matter but I think it does. The pressure is starting to build on this organization among the fan base to show some marked improvement next year. That doesn't mean having a winning season or getting the second wild card, it doesn't even mean reaching a certain number of wins. It does mean seeing progress among the young players in the ability to play the game properly, start to learn how to win and in general move the rebuild forward. Having a bad bullpen, a bullpen that blew 16 games where they had the lead and lost in the 7th inning or later really makes it difficult to accomplish this. I suggest even with the possibility of these kid bullpen arms coming through, you have got to have a few guys who have been around and can teach said kids. I'd not be opposed to signing two or three bullpen guys to 2-3 year deals. You are going to need the stability assuming the Sox actually are ready to make a move in 2020. If not? You deal them. And there seems to be a good selection of bullpen guys to choose from this year. Like Hahn said, you can't control when guys hit the market...when they do you damn well better be ready to go, timetable or not. And if you think I'm overstating the outside pressure all I can tell you is that a high level member of the front office agrees with me when I was in touch with them a few weeks ago. The Sox have got to start moving forward they said or fans will start turning on the process.

Positively Adam Dunn like.

I really wonder after last night, given that JR watches all these games closely, if he may be having a serious conversation with Kenny and Hahn over Machado now. I didn't think the Sox had a chance for him but again after the antics JR may be saying, "no way...move along from this head case."

While I personally would love for a completely new front office on the baseball side of things as well as a new field manager and coaching staff, that is simply not going to happen at this time. In fairness to all concerned you have to give the people in charge of the rebuild an opportunity to succeed or fail under the new guidelines / circumstances. There simply hasn't been enough time to see one way or the other which way this is going. Injuries haven't helped, numerous injuries at both the major and minor league level are complicating the situation. Simply put, more time is needed...as hard as that is to stomach. Now if they are still looking like goofy buffoons in 2020, unable or unwilling to master the basic fundamentals of the game, unable to attract any quality free agents to help move things along....then people must be unceremoniously fired. Period. End of story. The other joker in this entire situation is of course who may be owning the team in the next few years. New ownership immediately changes all the dynamics and equations.

Some talk Arizona may be interested in moving Goldschmidt.

Just another one in a long, long series of stories over the past six months from various web sites and Sports Illustrated showing that analytics may be harming baseball more than helping, turning off fans and making the game boring to watch. Personally I agree with those reports.

Well Fulmer and Smith aren't going to be part of the future anyway so if the Yankees want them for Gray, fine with me.

It's Bruce Levine. Take anything he says with a TON of salt. Let's get more reliable confirmation of this first.

12 in a row for Milwaukee, hottest team hitting the post season since the 2005 White Sox closed it out on a 16-1 run.

There are certainly possibilities but you never know with kids...some make it, some flame out spectacularly. My hope is that the Sox sign three reliable guys who have some experience if for no other reason to teach the kids. You can't go into a season with a bunch of kids and maybe's in the bullpen if you want to show any improvement not only to the team itself but to the fan base. Remember the motley mop up crew blew 16 games last year where they had a lead in the 7th inning or later and lost. That's pretty bad. Next year if the team is still poor (probably) you may be able to ship out some guys who are doing well for prospects but again, my hope is, that if you assume the turnaround starts in 2020 and you have some veteran guys doing well in the pen, you hang on to them. Again assuming you've signed them to a two or three year deal. Let them stay and be the linchpins when the team gets good. It's not like the Sox don't have salary room in spades to take some gambles.

Unless the pitching staff, ESPECIALLY a brutally bad bullpen improves in 2019 you're going to be looking at 93+ losses again anyway regardless of what happens offensively.