Lip Man 1

I have no idea if any of this is true or not. I will say though, that IF it is...it represents a significant and radical change in "philosophy" for JR. For decades the Sox have openly said they are not in competition with the Cubs. Remember "we're Chicago's American League team?" to cite one example. I've always strongly felt and said the Sox ARE in direct competition with the Cubs and by doing nothing for decades basically giving the city and home market to them they are partially responsible for their own irrelevance. Mark

And with that the Sox are now "officially" going to rebuild since there are very few players worth a damn left on the open market. Let's just hope they don't screw this one up. Mark

Given the state of the franchise and front office, it is hard to argue with anything that was written. The numbers speak for themselves on the field and in the stands. Mark

Dodgers now contesting tonight the reports of their financial issues with MLB. We'll see where this goes. Mark

Rosenthal tweeted a few hours ago that the owners "concession" on the compensation issue hasn't made progress with the MLBPA. Mark

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Nov 28, 2016 -> 04:13 PM) Bulls***. They'll get it done or get an extension. Winter meetings are going to happen. Maybe but I'm reading that unlike the past 21 years when the MLBPA basically gave the owners everything they wanted, this time they have some core points they aren't willing to move off of without the owners giving some significant concessions. We'll see. It would be "typical" Sox luck though that in an important off season for the future of the franchise a labor disagreement would seriously screw things up. (See: 1981, 1994...) Mark

One of the issues I think over the last 15 years or so concerning the lack of development by Sox minor leaguers is how capable in fact, the Sox minor league staff is overall. Can someone more familiar with the minor leagues try to answer the question of basically how good are these people? Can they actually teach the game? Remember years ago, to cite one example, the one season Hawk Harrelson was GM, he insisted that all Sox minor league instructors be former major league players...I don't think that's the best way to assemble a staff, especially if they can't teach. So I'm just curious what the minor league experts at Sox Talk thinks about the staff in general and do they think this is a better overall staff then in years past? Mark

I thought about this a few days ago when I heard about the issues. My concern should there be a lockout is that, like in 1995, when it is resolved teams will only have a very short window to make trades, signings and so forth. Any organization, especially one as limited as the Sox front office is, needs as much time as possible to evaluate, compare and think about what they want to do. I can't imagine Kenny Hahn having to make snap judgments and rushed trades. That won't end well to be sure. Mark

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Nov 22, 2016 -> 08:06 PM) Lol, such a typical comment from you. Ranaudo is nothing special, this isn't really a loss, but you continue to fail to recognize that depth is your friend. When the depth is bad in the first place and the temptation to use him is there because of the whims of the front office, its best that said "bad depth" is as far away as humanly possible from the organization. Mark

Good. Don't want him anywhere near the organization. Mark

I guess the way I'll feel when it happens (and now that McCann and Reddick are off the table it will) is that only the White Sox could be forced to trade a generational type talent because ownership and the front office were to stupid to put a successful team around him. Mark

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Nov 9, 2016 -> 02:01 PM) The Sox cater to geriatrics now? No wonder the organization is failing. The Sox cater to millennials now? No wonder the organization is failing. Mark

More mediocre over the hill guys to take the team to another 4th place finish. RIGHT UP KENNY'S ALLEY!! Castro I can see but those other two? No thanks. Mark

QUOTE (oldsox @ Nov 6, 2016 -> 05:33 PM) Furcal had the same problem and had surgery and came back. Todd Helton similar injury at same time, and he tried to rehab it at first -- unsuccessfully. Surgery works, usually. Still, he (Saladino) is in danger of being finished. Hope not. That's why I say to the folks who say to deal Lawrie that they need to wait and see if Saladino can even play this season first. (And that's assuming Lawrie can as well. The last news I read on him was that the Sox doctors cleared him but he feels something still isn't right with the ankle / knee / leg) Mark

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Nov 6, 2016 -> 03:58 PM) You think it's that serious? Yes. You are talking about a pro baseball player with a bad back. Remember Joe Crede? I had a bulging disc in my lower back five years ago and I was in a cast from my shoulders to my groin for six weeks. (I could remove it for showering though!). I'm not a pro athlete either and it was difficult. A herniated disc is much worse than a bulging disc. The next step with a disc if it doesn't respond to injections or treatment is surgery. And the Sox have been very quiet about this...no news, no updates. Mark

QUOTE (soxforlife05 @ Nov 6, 2016 -> 01:22 PM) I think a Trout for elite pitching swap makes a lot of sense for both teams. Not sure if they would have reservations about dealing a fan favorite. If we could add an Encarnacion or Cespedes and a catcher in a trade for Lawrie we could start Saladino at 2B, LF/DH Melky and have all the lineup holes covered. That would be a top 2-3 offense on paper playing in the USCF bandbox for half the season. Except one of the last things Robin did was announced that Saladino has a herniated disc in his lower back that did not respond as well as they hoped to treatment. Right now having no additional info I don't even know if he can play in 2017. Mark

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Nov 5, 2016 -> 10:19 PM) What is SI smoking? Why would Cespedes go to Philly of all places? The story said "The dark-horse Phillies could land a center piece for their rebuild and level a devastating shot at their NL East rival." Mark

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 5, 2016 -> 09:23 PM) The Cubs song is ridiculously bad. But that Sox song is way worse if it's possible. Geez, what's with Chicago teams. Get rid of that song, White Sox. I disagree. Love the song, a reminder of when the Sox didn't play second fiddle to anyone, even in their own city and were very, very good on the field. Mark

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 4, 2016 -> 09:53 PM) Is this song real? Where did you find this? It's real, by a Polka group called Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers. It was released in 1959. I always enjoyed the song myself. Mark

Sports Illustrated this week had their list of the Top 10 free agents this season: Here is the order: 1. Cespedes (Best fit according to SI: Phillies) 2. Chapman (Nationals) 3. Encarnation (Red Sox) 4. Jansen (Dodgers) 5. Turner (Dodgers) 6. Trumbo (Blue Jays) 7. Desmond (Orioles) 8. Ramos (Angels) 9. Fowler (Nationals) 10. Reddick (Astros) Mark

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 4, 2016 -> 09:47 AM) BTW, how old is he? 80 Mark

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Nov 3, 2016 -> 02:37 PM) LOL. JR must have been the mastermind of that. Some quick research shows the teams would split roughly 30% of the gate. Of course cubs would get 100% of concessions. My ticket prices of $150 I think were way low, so the Cubs must have made out quite nicely. One of the coaches here at Idaho State flew to Chicago over the weekend and paid $800 dollars for a fourth row seat in the left field bleachers for Sunday. She also grabbed a BP home run. $800 dollars! Mark

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Nov 3, 2016 -> 02:20 PM) Do you not understand the concept of depth? I often wonder. JB Shuck sucks, but it never hurts to have guys with MLB experience in the minors. There is depth and there is wasted space. Big difference in my opinion between the two. The issue for me in keeping these stiffs around is that history shows sooner or later they'll be called back up to the big leagues with the Sox and stink up the joint yet again. Just look at how many times guys like him and Leury Garcia is another one, who keep getting called back up. Time to cut the cord...permanently. I'd sooner take my chances on a kid who may turn out to be something then a recycled bum who obviously can't do the job. Just my opinion. Mark

QUOTE (flavum @ Nov 3, 2016 -> 09:19 AM) Shuck off the 40-man. Outrighted to Charlotte. http://m.whitesox.mlb.com/roster/transactions Guess that'll mean he's back on the big league roster sooner or later. That's how these things work. Guys who should be outright waived keep hanging around. Mark

Nice thought but not happening. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. As long as JR is around, Kenny is his "guy." Mark