SCCWS

Jack: Red Sox were 3rd in MLB in stolen bases.

JACK: You did not overthink this. " If I had to pick who the next 40-40 player is, the only players capable are Trout, Jose Ramirez and Moncada." Mookie Betts had 32/30 last year.

“Our fans would have been much more disappointed in our inability to keep this next core together,’’ he said. “We would have overextended ourselves had we gone to an uncomfortable level.’’ I think there is a problem w KW's thought process. Harper and Manny are established MLB stars. So yes, you do pay an established star rather than save the money for players who are not proven. Maybe signing Manny would have made it impossible to sign a couple of players down the line. That is the gamble you take when you have the chance to sign a 26 yr old face to your franchise. This was not signing a good player to fill a hole. This was a chance at your stud for the next 6-8 years. Now if they take the Manny money and sign 2 or 3 high quality FA's next year then maybe they can regain face.

I believe Boston promoted Benintendi from AA and Betts went right from ST. I also think Yankees's Judge got promoted from ST.

Jack: Or they picked the breakdown lane but do not want to say it.

I cannot speak for sports agents, but I have been involved in numerous multi million dollar negotiations. In most, both sides realize that during a bid process there will be more bids in the future. If I ever found a salesperson who fed me pure BS, I would not allow them any future bids. It happened maybe twice to me in 25 years. As much as companies are in competition, I would always share info w my counterparts in other companies. Now in Sports there are media reports which can skew the process with rumors. But lets say if Lozano told JR the Padres offered $325 and then they announced a $300 settlement, what happens the next time Lozano has a FA. I am sure JR would tell his fellow owners Lozano lied during negotiations and cannot be trusted. Maybe contract negotiations in sports are totally unethical but this is not a one time event and I think both sides do not want to burn bridges for the next one.

In 2018, only 6 teams, including the White Sox, did not average 20,000 fans. It is probably not a coincidence that 5 of the 6 had the lowest payrolls in MLB. The outlier was Baltimore and we know why their salaries were high and their attendance low.

Understood, but if the Bulls attendance has not been impacted by reducing payroll and on the court success, does he have motivation to drastically increase the White Sox payroll . Understanding he is competing directly against the Cubs, something the Bulls don't have.

I agree as well. But not living in Chicago, I looked at the Bulls attendance. They are 4th in NBA in attendance with the 4th worst record. So maybe Jerry figures if he draws in the NBA w a shitty product then he can do the same in MLB. Obviously the Bulls are the only NBA team but there is some competition on attendance w the Blackhawks.

I would say that tweet is BS but look at this tweet from last November: Rich Harperts Retweeted Rich Harperts‏ @rich_roberts 8 Nov 2018 More Rich Harperts Retweeted Dennis Lin good smokescreen here by the padres, who are definitely pursuing machado and will sign him.

Only problem is Jose is usually a better hitter after ASG so we better hope he has a good spring.

Chris Sale said they suck

Madrigal has not even played at AA so his arrival is not imminent. This year is a big year for Moncada. He needs to prove he can hit consistently and reduce his SO. Putting pressure on him to play another position is a distraction he doesn't need. Also, the Sox have been working Madrigal at SS some so that is another reason to hold off for now.

Machado probably hasn't signed yet. So there is always the same 1% chance he changes his mind.

Hopefully they gave Alonso an opt-out so he can move to SD.

Agree but the idea was to surround him w enough talent like Eloy , Anderson, Moncada etc. to have a good team. Now his personality is a different thing.

Chicago is certainly a haven for crime. But Nashville has one of the highest crime rates in America based on it's size. Do your research as to where to relocate to in that area. Good luck to you and your family in your new locale. Certainly the weather will be a bonus.

You underestimate Boras. I bet Harper will get $325-350 before it is over which could be as early as tomorrow. tomorrow.

Maybe the Phillies really wanted Harper. We shall see

A few thoughts as this settles in: Kenny saying he was stunned Manny chose San Diego is scary. You got to think the agent said last chance can you beat this. Lost in our disappointment, are the Phillies. Their owner said they would spend crazy money. Does that mean that they would not top 300/10/5? Or does it mean they really wanted Harper more than Manny? Who said Manny didn't like the West Coast? White Sox offer +Friends/Family did not overcome San Diego offer. In the end, all the "insiders" were on the outside.

Which is why I said the blame is on the front office since we don't know who made what decisions.

I disagree. We have no clue what transpired in the process. We can blame the entire front office but we have no idea if Jerry, Kenny or Rick was mostly to blame. Remember, if Jerry thinks Kenny and/or Rick screwed it up, he can fire them. But as I posted last week, Jerry turns 84 next week so for all we know he may not know what Kenny and Rick do.

Huh??? Who wants those type of fans? They are the ones who arrive in the 2nd inning, need a scorecard to know who is on the home team and leave to beat the traffic in the 8th.

But really aren't the White Sox from an attendance and payroll standpoint are also a small market team?