Lip Man 1

Hurt thanks for the support! LOL Seriously to me it not a question of being "for" the owners or "against" them, its trying to improve the quality of the play on the field as well as improving things for the fans who in part make it possible for these folks to make the money they do and get the stadiums they play in both owners and players. Improving those conditions given the financial state of MLB isn't too big of a price to pay in my opinion.

For the good of the game warm weather teams and domed sites are going to have to bite the bullet and play more April home games than teams in the North and / or colder weather cities. Pay each team that has to go through this "inconvenience" X millions of dollars out of the MLB central fund for it. With MLB a 10 Billion dollar a year business they can easily afford it. As long as you pay them they'll fall in line for lost revenue because the kids are in school. Fans (who pay the freight and drive the train) shouldn't have to sit through 35 degree weather to watch baseball. Players should not have to try to play in it and risk injury because of it. Start the season later. You can play regularly scheduled split DH's on a regular basis, to make up for the time lost as well and still be able to charge two admissions (or even better require every MLB team to play a real old fashioned DH). Or you can actually cut the season down from 162 games back to 154 or 145 or so. And this actually has been reported as being discussed at the highest levels in MLB over the past season or two. That is still plenty of games to determine teams that deserve to go to the post season. These are simple common sense solutions and you'll see better baseball. (Ever try to throw a breaking ball in 35 degree weather, or try to hit an inside fast ball in it? I have and it's no fun either way...) And if you are to believe those who feel the climate is changing at some point MLB may have to address this issue regardless of if they like it or not. Just my opinions.

I didn't realize there was a long range forecast out already for March / April 2019. We'll see.

I think it is asking for trouble again to have such an early start to the season. And 14 home games in April in what will probably be brutal weather can't possibly be making the marketing department or organization very happy.

Covey is useless regardless if he starts or comes out of the pen.

Thank you

Any new information on Dunning? Last tweet I saw from him said he was heading to Arizona but that's all.

Just playing devil's advocate...by 2020 Rodon may be traded because of his agent and Dunning and Hansen may not be ready because of lost developmental time due to injuries. That leaves four from your list, which means the Sox would need to get another starting pitcher

L Garcia is always hurt.

This post reminded me of the Underpants Gnomes from "South Park..." Phase 1 = Collect Underpants Phase 2 = ? Phase 3 = Profit

Little: Keep in mind I said all things being equal. Like Caul said if the Sox overpay...sure... but if the money isn't different (or not that great of a difference) the franchise right now in this off season doesn't have a lot going for it but potential...and that may not be enough to entice guys who want to win now. We'll see.

Caul: That's only half of the question. The other half is would someone take the Sox money (all things being equal) given the state of the franchise right now. The rebuild certainly has promise but there are no guarantees and these guys want to win usually right now, not three years down the road.

No they don't but since they probably aren't going to be "contending" for at least two years that really isn't a big deal now and Rodon's clock towards free agency is ticking. So my question respectfully stands, do the Sox let him walk for nothing? No easy answer there, that's for sure.

About the only thing I object to with Rick's bullpen usage is having three or sometimes four guys used to get through an inning.

NWIN said: In the meantime, you can't keep trading away the few major league caliber players you have. It's all about who Rodon's agent is and the history the Sox have had with him as well as his philosophy of taking guys to free agency by and large. if he's healthy I'm sure the Sox don't want to trade him but with the odds of him resigning low, what should they do? Let him walk for nothing?

Nice comeback.

And so it begins...keep your fingers crossed.

I don't think anybody relishes the idea of trading Rodon, especially if he realizes his great potential and turns into a star pitcher. But the reality of his situation is this...as long as Scott Boras is his agent, the odds are tremendous he will take him to free agency. That's his M.O...his job is to get as much money as he can for his clients. Now take into account the Sox are one of three teams (I think) that have never given out a nine figure contract, if Rodon starts to blossom he very well could command that on the open market. The Sox can't put themselves in a position where he walks and they get nothing for him. Now the joker in all this is that who knows who will own the Sox around he time he becomes a free agent. It could still be JR, it could be someone else. If it is someone else all bets are off, the situation could be radically different. The other factor is the overall state of the rebuild. I was hoping the Sox would make a big improvement in 2019, contend for a wild card in 2020 and get really good in 2021. That could still happen if the Sox are aggressive this off season but with all the injuries to key minor league prospects (and who knows what will eventually happen with Dunning and Hansen) their development has been stunted, time has been lost that you can't get back. I'm thinking now 2020 for when they make a big leap in the win column, 2021 when they contend for a wild card and 2022 when they should be good. Just my opinion. I honestly hope though the time table gets speeded up, when you are about to have your 6th straight losing season (last time 1944-1950) and ninth losing season in 12 years (last time that bad of a stretch 1968-1980) with everything else impacting the franchise (poor TV ratings and a new contract coming up, attendance, lack of media coverage, Cubs success in the same town and fans wondering about the ability of the front office to successfully execute the rebuild) you can't go forever and expect the fan base to still be there.

This from the White Sox web site: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/ken-williams-supports-rick-renteria-coaches/c-290752190 Both Kenny and Rick have unequivocally said he's doing a good job. I don't expect he'll be going anywhere, for better or worse, as long as this front office remains in place.

Don't forget Dunning and Hansen (if they are healthy)

That was some catch by that kid. Hope the Sox give him a look next year.

Bullpen tried to give it away at the end (nothing new about that) but did just enough to hang on. Nice job by Rodon.

Had that huge win for the team in Boston in September 2005. Always wondered what could have been had he remained in the organization.

A rare win against a putrid Tigers team.

Fair point but the odds are overwhelming that they unload the club.