ChiSoxFanMike

QUOTE (Baron @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 11:17 AM) Ah Study Hall...the best part of High School. Good times. lol yup. 45 minutes of doing absolutely nothing.

If the Sox do sign Cespedes, I want it to be in the next ~25 minutes so my friend and I can celebrate in study hall together.

I want something to happen NOW.

It would be very disappointing if that guy was wrong, but it's probably just some idiot on Twitter trying to pretend like he knows something that everyone else doesn't.

I have a feeling that something will happen soon.

I wonder if Desmond would be willing to transition to playing outfield. If he is, that's an interesting possibility.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 02:15 PM) Am I absolutely lost at this point. There is some weird stuff going on in the White Sox media right now. I will say that. Weird is good. I like the sound of this.

I think the only reason why some Sox fans (myself included) have started to panic is because Upton just went to a division rival. If he would've went to an NL team or a team outside the division, I don't think the demand for Cespedes would be as high as it is right now.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 01:18 PM) Bold prediction: this thread gets to 300 pages before Cespedes signs anywhere. How is that bold? lol

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jan 19, 2016 -> 10:58 AM) If they lose out on Cespedes, give me Jackson and Pearce and call it an offseason. That's 3.3 fWAR you're adding, better D in CF, and a good platoon option with LaRoche and bat off the bench. Add Fister and Lincecum to that package and I'd be ok with it. But if the Sox got both Jackson and Pearce, what would happen to Shuck? What about Avi?

Hypothetically, if Cespedes' camp told the White Sox FO that they would accept a deal exactly like Upton's, would the Sox do it? Would you guys as fans be ok with it if they did?

They should just sign him to a 6 year/$125 million deal with payments of $10 million in 2016, $15 million a year in 2017-2021, and $5 million a year in deferred payments from 2022-2026.

SoxFest will be very interesting this year if the Sox don't acquire a big name outfielder.

Yep. I'm nervous now. If Hahn doesn't fork over the dough for Yo, we're f***ed.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 04:33 PM) He has my vote as pick to click for leader of the "Sox lost out on Cespedes" meltdown I'm not going to meltdown if the Sox lose out on him. I'll be disappointed, but I won't blow a gasket.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 18, 2016 -> 03:46 PM) People got the hashtag #cesPAYdes trending on twitter. Fans have been calling and tweeting the White Sox all day telling them to sign him. It's pretty funny actually. The constant pestering probably means nothing to Jerry/KW/Hahn, but it's worth a shot.

Someone actually created this account on Twitter lol

Dan Hayes is SO full of s***. So full of it.

We are all at level 5 in the stages of grief lol.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 10:24 PM) I'm going into my 2nd season in a keeper league with some good friends that are really dedicated. We did an auction draft with a salary cap at 275. Once you draft a player for that given amount of money, you can choose to release him at the end of the year or sign him to an extension. Example, I drafted Harper for $24, so I'm extending him 10 years which will be 28 in year 1, 31 in year 2, 34 in year 3, 36 in year 4, 37 in year 5 and a dollar increments after that. We also have a a draft at the beginning of June (3 players). However, you don't get to keep these players. You do get their rights for the next draft. Say someone drafts someone for $5, you could steal him from that team. I'm currently keeping Freddie Freeman, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Starling Marte, Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Martinez, and Danny Salazar. I have the rights to Maikel Franco, Fransico Lindor, Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Matz, Lance McCullers and Stephen Vogt. Thanks for the post! I've never been in an auction league myself, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Just from a keeper standpoint, I'd definitely try to hold onto Freeman, Harper, Stanton, Martinez, Carrasco, Lindor, Rodriguez, Matz, and McCullers. If you can keep all those guys, that's a hell of a core.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 16, 2016 -> 10:48 PM) Can't spend what you don't have. I'm sure 2016 season ticket sales look bleak right now. We aren't talking about an extra 5 million or so. 100-125 million is a huge amount for a team that might already be at their budget. It's a double edged sword in my opinion. While 2016 season ticket sales could look bleak now, signing Cespedes could cause more people to buy tickets to watch more games at the stadium (I know I'd buy more tickets if he was on the team) as the team would appear to be much improved over recent years. That paired with a potentially hot start to the season could cause more people to become interested in the team, hence making the Sox more money.

In my opinion, Cespedes is a very low risk move for the Sox. Yes, it's a lot of money to commit to one player, but that's all he'd require. Sacrificing a draft pick/minor leaguers wouldn't be necessary to get him, and it's important for the Sox to build up their farm system. Furthermore, I believe that this is the Sox time to compete if they intend on doing so. It isn't every day that a team has multiple stars like Sale, Quintana, Abreu, Eaton, Rodon, and potentially Anderson and Fulmer all on EXTREMELY team friendly contacts for the next 4-5 years. As it stands now, the Sox have a solid team, but not a playoff worthy one in my opinion. Cespedes would change that. Like I said, it's an awful lot of money to give to one player, but I believe that Cespedes is worth it. It isn't a coincidence that just about every team Cespedes is on has been competitive for the most part and they fall apart once he leaves (i.e., the A's and Tigers). Cespedes is a game changer no matter how you put it and he would completely change the lineup and team that the Sox have as a whole. The argument could be made that the Sox would be in trouble if he busts, but if he does, so what? The Sox would be in a great position to have a major selloff in 2018 or 2019 if they aren't competitive anyway, and Cespedes could just be added to the trade list. If necessary, trading Sale, Quintana, Rodon, Abreu, Cespedes, etc could rebuild the farm system and rejuvenate the franchise in a blink of an eye. In other words, while the possibility exists that the could bust if they sign Cespedes (well, they could bust without him too), I 100% believe that it is worth whatever the Sox would have to pay him to bring him on board. The division is wide open and the Sox would have as good of a chance as anyone if they can land Cespedes. Detroit is a wreck and have no farm system, Kansas City has just about a 2 year window left before their stars go elsewhere, Cleveland is decent but who knows how they'll be in the future, and Minnesota has good young prospects but not enough pitching to do anything significant. This is the Sox chance to become relevant in Chicago again and I think they'd be foolish to pass up that chance just because of money.

Here's my daily obligatory "I have a feeling that something will happen soon" post for today.

Is this the biggest thread in the history of this forum?

This contract makes literally no f***ing sense. Why not use that $70 million to try to lock up one of their stars (Hosmer, Moustakas, Cain, etc) rather than signing an aging NL pitcher? I don't get it, but more power to them.