Lip Man 1

From what I understand former Sox announcer and long time WGN TV sportscaster Rich King is going to be involved in the Sox spring web casts. He's retired now and living in Arizona. Great to hear that Rich is back in the game!

Anibal Sanchez signs with the Twins. One year, 2.5 million.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 07:58 PM) What will be your opinion come Opening Day 2019 and the White Sox payroll is next to nothing? Personally I can give a tinker's cuss (ya like that phrase?) what the team payroll is in 2019. Honestly I could care less. My personal opinion is they still won't be ready to really compete anyway in 2019. They'll be better, maybe a game or three over .500, but still not ready. THAT takes place in 2020. So again to answer your question, I DON'T CARE... talk to me in 2020 and if they have turned the corner and are starting to "win" I don't care what the payroll is, how big or little the profit margin is or even who owns the damn team. I only care about one thing and one thing only....WINNING GAMES!

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 05:00 PM) In case some people don't understand what I think about the future of this team, this is how I see this playing out. JR is not going to spend any money on this team the next 2 seasons. The White Sox will have one of the lowest if not the lowest payrolls in MLB. He will put the team up for sale sometime in 2019 and the new owner will takeover in 2020. The new owner will be buying a White Sox team with a low payroll and no big long term contracts on the books. The value of the team increases with no big money on the books. JR bought the White Sox in 1981 with those same circumstances. In the meantime the next 2 seasons the team is going to be "Mired In Mediocrity" again. This is total and complete nonsense. That's the polite way of putting it. JR WILL NOT SELL, he's said that repeatedly, publicly. He is keeping this team until he is dead then his family will put it up for sale, period. End of discussion. Tax purposes basically prohibit him from selling the club while he is alive. JR is a tax expert, he knows the rules and the loopholes. Why is that so hard for you to understand, honest question...not trying to be snarky. I don't care much for JR myself, but he's bought in on the rebuild and the money WILL BE THERE starting next year. No guarantees they get anybody to sign with them but the offers will be out on the table and they will be aggressive.

Wish him the best so the Sox can trade him in July but I fully expect, given his history, that he'll be back on the DL around Memorial Day.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 13, 2018 -> 12:35 PM) Problem is, I don't expect the White Sox to spend any money this 2018 season nor in 2019. You were also saying ad naseum that JR was going to be selling the team. How's that worked out for you? We'll see how your latest "prediction" turns out. My guess...you come out wrong again.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 2, 2018 -> 03:03 PM) Hate to bust everybodys bubble but I talked to Scott Merkin at Soxfest. He claims as long as Machado wants to play shortstop the White Sox as of now have no interest in him. The White Sox like Tim Anderson at shortstop. So unless Machado wants to play 3rd base the White Sox have no interest in signing him to play shortstop.. Oh well. PLENTY of other top free agents out there who are going to be available and the Sox will have PLENTY of money to interest them with. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Terrific hiring.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Feb 7, 2018 -> 01:54 PM) Another year "Mired In Mediocrity". Wait Til Next Year!!!! Actually another year building "closer to being very competitive for the foreseeable future..." Which sure as hell beats the "mired in mediocrity" we've seen for the last decade. Yet again (for the 1,234,323 rd time with you) ownership is NOT changing, the front office is NOT changing this was the best that could be done under those circumstances.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Feb 3, 2018 -> 09:46 AM) Of course the current deal expires after 2021. 2022 will almost certainly be in this team's competitive window. Let's hope there's not another strike then. Shades of 81 and 94, both times the Sox were rolling, there was a lot of fan excitement and things were looking very promising....then... It couldn't happen three times when the Sox were good could it?

With all this speculation now coming out, given the anger being felt by the MLBPA and players, about what happens when the labor agreement expires after the 2021 season, if JR is still with us, it'll be interesting to see if his views have changes any since the early 90's (which changed considerably from when he bought the team in 1981.)

From my interview with Bart Johnson. I asked him if there were any indications in spring training that the Sox were going to have the type of season they did in 1977: “Not that I can remember but I do think Oscar (Gamble) was a big part of the reason we did so well. He was a professional hitter who had tremendous confidence in himself. I remember a spring game where Oscar came up and got a single. When the inning was over he’s back in the dugout talking, ‘lousy single...I’m a home run hitter!’ “I also remember a time that spring when we were just hammering a pitcher; we were just beating him around. Oscar’s in the dugout telling everyone, ‘easy, easy we want this guy to make the team remember!’ (laughing) Oscar couldn’t wait to face this guy when the season started.”

Believe I just saw where Matt Albers signed a two year deal with Milwaukee.

Supposedly a good teammate as well from the guys I've talked with. RIP.

My guess on the Sox 2020 rotation is: Kopech, Lopez, Giolito, Hansen and Dunning. Rodon will be traded by then since he will be going through the free agent process because of who his agent is.

Just saw this today, take it for whatever it's worth to you: "WGN Radio will sign the team but Ed Farmer cannot be involved with the game broadcast and JR is balking but he also has no place to go. WMVP has no interest at all." It would be supremely ironic if WGN after having and promoting the Cubs all those years now becomes the White Sox station.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 14, 2018 -> 11:28 AM) This has been known for the better part of a decade now. It has been "speculated" for the better part of a decade now...but actual QUOTES from Cub front office folks have been few and far between. I'm very, very, VERY sorry that I wasted five seconds of your busy day by posting this trying to provide some information for other fans. I assure you it will not happen again.

Since it will impact the White Sox in ways that can't be determined yet, I thought I'd post it here: Crane Kenney at the Cubs convention on their future media plans: "If the Cubs are successful, it could have a domino effect in the market, with Kenney saying the team is “probably 80 percent inclined” to leave its NBC Sports Chicago partnership with the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox. “We like controlling our own destiny,” he said. “You start adding partners, it becomes a little more complicated.” ---------- The Cubs are going to start their own TV Network, that's pretty clear. What it means for the Sox since their deal is up at the same time is unknown from an advertising standpoint and an interest standpoint and a rights fee standpoint.

Keith Jackson R.I.P.: http://www.espn.com/college-football/story...son-dies-age-89

Cooper on the Sox pitching outlook: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/white-sox...018/c-264580588

No issue with this move. Possible trade candidate in July.

Better him going to the Astros rather than the Yankees.

Good move by Rick. More possible trade pieces come July.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 4, 2018 -> 10:43 AM) Meh, that's not a case of forgetting about the White Sox. That's ESPN promoting to their viewers and only showing popular teams. Nobody else cares about the White Sox, so they didn't include them. There are no facts listed that would require them to be on the graphic. Little: There's an old saying...if something happens once it's a fluke...twice, it's a coincidence...three times? You've got a trend. They weren't required to be mentioned but would it have killed them to do so? Especially since the drought was longer than Boston's? And especially considering their previous omissions? Let's put it this way, the folks in the front office already know about it and have contacted that organization about it. They obviously felt it was meaningful.

Just how stupid are these folks? https://patch.com/illinois/southside/espn-f...ld-series-again I mean it's not like you can't easily cross check stuff.