BlackSox13

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 06:08 PM) Big difference between speculated interest and actual interest. Coming into the offseason, no one would have thought the Sox would go after someone at 22-25 per Exactly. Too many fans bought into the media hype, especially the local media. All do respect to Chuck Garfien ( I kinda like the guy) but this thread was started due to a tweet from him.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 06:03 PM) i do not do facebook nor twitter. but you do make a very compelling point. You are wise. I use Facebook only for keeping up with bands on new releases and tour dates but I do get feeds from the Sox as well. Otherwise, I have one friend and that's my wife.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 05:50 PM) you know, you may be right, i was sooo pissed from last yr where they the sox failed on Kang.... i even posted it on a pm to someone.... damn i wish i could remember who.. i just was angry.... there would not be another kang for a long time to come. my other one i am looking at is someone i haven't even talked about.... but that will be for another time. when the cespy thingy is done. I remember there were a few SoxTalk members that really wanted Kang. I honestly don't remember how I felt at the time but I think I was kind of 50/50 about Kang but not really sure. I'd have to go back and take a look at the thread. Anyhoot, I hope the Sox take a serious look at Hernandez. Don't get me wrong, not trying to sound like he's going to be the next great sensation in baseball, just want to see the Sox take some more risks in the international market. Kang turned into a bargain and I think Kim will too.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 05:32 PM) true.... but they all take directions from the chairman of the board. but when the team has problems getting fans, as someone said, business 101. To be honest, if Cooper really did say that ( I have my doubts) then some Sox fans need to grow a thicker skin and stop being such pretentious whiners. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Have you seen some of the ignoramous comments left by fans on the Sox site or on Facebook? Whiny toddlers looking for something to rip the FO about but if the FO has anything to say in return the fans instantly turn into the role of playing the victim. From what a few SoxTalk members have said, the same stuff happens on twitter as well and especially lately. I won't register on the Sox site because of the moronic comments left by fans on literally every article. I will admit that some of the comments are pathetically funny to read.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 05:34 PM) exactly.... nothing venture nothing gain. let me put it this way as well, the unknown commodity, Jose Abreu. I really think the Sox missed out on a potentially good international signing in Hyun-soo Kim. Another ball player with high OBP potential and I think he will easily outplay his contract which is peanuts. Hopefully the Sox get after Hernandez and sign him. Couldn't be worse than fricken Avi.

In the end though, Cooper has just as much right to rip the fans as the fans do to rip the FO. As a fan, I am not in the least bit offended by Cooper's words. I see nothing wrong with people speaking their minds.

I have no clue how his numbers would translate but I would take a chance on Hernandez. A left handed batting outfielder with high OBP potential sounds great to me and could slot well in the #2 slot in the lineup. Hopefully the Sox can make something happen.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 03:50 PM) Oh... The agony. Have you tried Chocolax? Might help.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 01:57 PM) Something weird is up, IMO. The Sox have been cold calling people (not just fans) yesterday & today asking them if they plan to attend Sox games this year. I could be wrong but that doesn't seem like a normal thing to do. MLB Network keeps bringing up the Sox name when talking about Cespedes & today, Nightengale reported in his journal thing that the Sox had been in on Upton before he signed with the Tigers. Most teams are throwing low year offers at this point. At some point soon, a team may offer 4-5 years & he'll probably take it. I think it's due to the pressure being applied from the sign Cespedes twitter account!

What's funny to me is that some are so focused on the gloom and doom of possibly not signing Cespedes that they forget the Sox got a huge upgrade at 3B and big upgrades at 2B/C. Plus they are still actively searching for an upgrade in the outfield so hope is not lost yet.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 01:06 PM) But entertaining. As I said before, come here to watch a NASCAR race, lots of boring time but when there is a wreck, it's entertaining. This is like NASCAR at Bristol. A wreck at every turn!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 01:02 PM) What isn't said in reply is how having Lawrie and Frazier walk in 2 years helps the White Sox "build a team". Through specifically the Frazier move the White sox said bluntly they have a 2 year window before a major offensive piece hits FA. They need to act like that. If they weren't prepared to act like that, then they managed to make their job of "building a team" much more difficult. Doesn't adding Frazier and Lawrie make this team better and more competitive over the next two years? Should the Sox have stuck with what they had last year and watch attendance continue to fall due to the same old s*** on the field? Cespedes isn't the only player capable of upgrading Avi/Melky. Correct me if I'm wrong but are you one of the fans that said relying on the free agent market to build a team is not the best way of building a team? A sentiment that I do agree with you on. Again, if I'm wrong please correct me on it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 12:57 PM) I guess what I don't understand is the logic that another team signing a player that was a longshot from the get go to be a White Sox totally ends the White Sox pursuit of upgrades. It's really bizarre. Agreed. Cespedes is not the only player that would upgrade the outfield so the search continues if in fact the Sox are unable to work something out with Cespedes. It's not like Cespedes is the only player that would be an upgrade over Avi/Melky, lol.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 12:21 PM) If the white sox weren't willing to pony up for what it takes for this roster to be competitive in the next 2 years then why did they trade for 2 different guys who are free agents in 2 years? The White Sox are trying to build a team, not build a team around Cespedes. As ive said a few times in this thread already, Cespedes and his demands were not realistic for the Sox in the first place so i never counted on the Sox signing him. Sure i hoped like a few others but never did see a fit. The Sox needed upgrades at 3B and 2B so they went out and traded for the best of what was available. You know as well as the rest of us that the 3B market had little to choose from. Should the Sox have signed Freese instead? Or signed an old veteran like Rollins for SS/2B? Should the Sox have not made those upgrades and rolled with Saladino at 3B, Alexei at SS and Sanchez at 2B? That recipe didn't work in '15 so the Sox had to make changes from what was available on the market and I think they did pretty damn good in their upgrades at 3B/2B. Too many fans are mentally looking at the trades of Lawrie and Frazier being based around the assumption that the Sox would or even could sign Cespedes, a player that has said since last September he was seeking 6/150. Bad assumption...

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 09:06 AM) If he went to the Angels on a 6 year deal or the Mets on a 1-2 year deal, can we really be upset about it though? If he stays in New York it's because he wants to be in New York. If he happens to get a 6 year deal, the Sox were never entertaining a 6 year deal anyway. Oh wait nevermind. Of course this fanbase will be mad. Lol, yes they will be mad. Agree with your points. If Cespedes wants to be in NY or gets his 6 year deal from the Angels then its no fault of the FO.

The Sox need to think about trading for Tyson Ross! http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/san-die...-stanton-011916 "Tyson Ross hit the ball harder than Cespedes, Donaldson in 2015"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2...agent/78993474/ "Yoenis Cespedes should cash in after Upton's huge deal"

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 06:20 AM) then they have 14 mil.... which if this team is penny pinching should make them happy. but on the other hand, fixing the remaining problems could add additional money to the coffer of the sox. Problem is that the left over 14M gets a team players like Melky/Fowler , not Cespedes/Upton. Just a general comment to the board: As for the ideas of back loaded escalating contracts or deferred money contracts. They are nice ideas but the signing player has to agree to it and not just the team. We have no idea if Cespedes would be interested in those types of contracts .

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 12:52 AM) Then why would they keep putting "band-aids" on the core instead of prioritizing players with 4-6 years of control? It's like we keep punting the football hoping to buy time for the minor leagues to start producing more impact players...but, in the meantime, how are we going to replace Frazier, catcher, SS, potentially 2B, DH and another two outfield spots all from inside the organization? Anderson, clearly, is the plan for SS. But if we can't afford the prices now on the FA market, you can't assume Frazier will sign a team-friendly contract any more than you could have assumed it about Shark (and that would have been ANOTHER huge disaster had a long-term extension been signed in late July). Trey M., Anderson, mystery at catcher (no real strong possibilities in the pipeline even for 2018), Engel and May? Lots of things can change and WILL change in two year's time. Obviously, as Avi's the longest tenured player on the current roster. That said, it's hard to project ANYONE but Anderson and maybe Trey as major league regulars at this point in time. Because there wasn't much available for 3B and 2B upgrades so Frazier and Lawrie were acquired. Would it have been better to stick with Saladino at 3B, Sanchez at 2B and Alexei at SS? No and can you imagine the amount of complaining that would be going on if they had? Imo, I was fine with Sanchez at 2B but it was time to move on at SS and we all know the Sox desperately needed a 3B. The only realistic alternative for 3B was to sign Freese.... As for Frazier and a potential extension. Frazier is more possible since he has not come out and insisted he is going to free agency no matter what, Samardzija did. All I'm saying is that the possibility exists but I'm not counting on it. In fact, if I remember my words correctly, I have said that it's possible the Sox could extend Lawrie and/or Frazier if they like where they play and the Sox like what they get from those players. Whether or not it happens remains to be seen. As for Engel and Trey, they are too far out to count on or when they potentially project, if ever, into the Sox lineup. Neither have played above A ball yet so its not fair to the players to place any kind of time table on them. May. Unless the Sox find an alternative to Melky in LF, I think May could replace Melky in LF either in '17 with Melky going to DH or '18 after Melky is gone. Hard to say right now until we see what May can do at AAA this year.

JR is going to be 80 years old soon and isn't going to do a rebuild so the "three year window" , "rebuilding on the fly" , "retooling" stuff will continue as it has for the last 8 years or so. I really think KW and Hahn are in a tough spot and I wouldn't want their jobs. With the 120M budget they have to work with, there isn't much of a margin for error. Just one or two bad contracts can really hurt a budget like that. I was hoping for a rebuild last winter but then I realized JR's age and realized it will not happen.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 11:04 PM) Only if the deal is longer than 4 years. If its only 4 it would work. I know there is no MLB cap but we know the ownership has one and if cespedes is dead money for 3 years it will cripple the finances. No doubt. The contracts of Danks and Dunn turned into albatrosses pretty quick. Even LaRoche's short two year contract has hindered the financial flexibility after the first year of the contract, lol. The Sox unwillingness to go long term with Cespedes could be a sign that they have learned from their past mistakes, I hope. It's time for the Sox to stop signing bad contracts and start making wiser decisions.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:39 PM) Last time he said that, the Sox did win the division. No s***? I couldn't remember what the year was when he said that.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 09:38 PM) And say avi will be the MVP lol Booyah!

I don't know what Sox fans are so worried about. Tomorrow, KW will take to the podium and declare Detroit made this move in an effort to be as good as the Sox.

Despite the insane money Detroit has wrapped up in a handful of players, if I were a Tigers fan I'd be pretty happy right about now. I don't know how Upton's defense and bat will translate in that park but if Upton can find the gaps with his bat he'll have plenty of doubles and some triples with his speed. Scary looking lineup on paper.