Ohtani Watch: Dodgers sign - 700M over 10yrs

[Lip Man 1]

46 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

And yet, somehow, left in a cloud of controversy, dishonored in the eyes of the team who benefited from that production, as a warning to caution against doing it again. 

Guess it depends on your point of view.

Belle's deal had a clause (don't know who insisted on it) that if he wasn't one of the three highest paid players in baseball he could opt out of it if Sox wouldn't renegotiate the deal.

The Sox wouldn't so he left.

The side note to this was around the same time Frank Thomas took less money he said in order to try to give the Sox some flexibility to sign Belle and have enough to get Ventura to stay.

Neither one happened and Frank was pissed. I remember writing about it at the time. 

[caulfield12]

28 minutes ago, fathom said:

It just feels like it won’t be Toronto now

Dave Roberts is going to be under a lot of fire if they lose him...but not quite as bad as situation for UPenn president losing $100 million ongoing donation.

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, chw42 said:

Maybe some old timers here can tell us how exhilarating it was when Jerry signed Albert Belle.

We made the store we worked at put on sports talk so we could hear news about it. No real internet, then. 

[caulfield12]

8 minutes ago, WestEddy said:

We made the store we worked at put on sports talk so we could hear news about it. No real internet, then. 

CBS Sports Radio?  

[caulfield12]

Getz specifically said "runway" very pointedly in his Fedde introduction quote.  Then the Padilla roster clearing.

Now Ohtani Toronto flight rerouted and Midway bound.

[South Side Hit Men]

The Sox signed DeJong. We should be grateful.

[MiddleCoastBias]

Man, imagine being a Jays fan watching this all unfold today, thinking it was happening.

It's like us when Machado had that custom black mitt made, or when he was seen in the batting cages with what looked like a Sox hat in blurry photos, or when Hector said the deal was done, or Harper's name was on the banner in the United Center, or that photo of Harper wearing a Sox hat from years ago resurfaced, or 

[caulfield12]

17 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

The Sox signed DeJong. We should be grateful.

And gave us months of false hope and three separate ESPN banner headlines with the Machado/Harper/Wheeler "Friends & Family" offseason.

 

 

At this rate, Willie Wonka's going to take over Toronto before Shohei does.

Edited December 9, 2023 by caulfield12

[South Side Fireworks Man]

White Sox need desperately need starting pitching.  White Sox desperately need Left Handed Power hitting.  White Sox desperately need a superstar to attract interest and draw fans and make the team seem relevant.

So of course, Reinsdorf has no interest in Ohtani.  Reinsdorf sucks and so does his entire organization.  And Sox fans are conditioned to just accept it.

[WestEddy]

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

CBS Sports Radio?  

No, the old WSCR - 820. 

[hi8is]

10 minutes ago, South Side Fireworks Man said:

White Sox need desperately need starting pitching.  White Sox desperately need Left Handed Power hitting.  White Sox desperately need a superstar to attract interest and draw fans and make the team seem relevant.

So of course, Reinsdorf has no interest in Ohtani.  Reinsdorf sucks and so does his entire organization.  And Sox fans are conditioned to just accept it.

It doesn’t matter… I don’t Ohtani would come here for 750 million bucks. I mean… what would you rather do… play for the Dodgers for 570 million or the White Sox for 750 million. 😆

[Lip Man 1]

46 minutes ago, South Side Fireworks Man said:

White Sox need desperately need starting pitching.  White Sox desperately need Left Handed Power hitting.  White Sox desperately need a superstar to attract interest and draw fans and make the team seem relevant.

So of course, Reinsdorf has no interest in Ohtani.  Reinsdorf sucks and so does his entire organization.  And Sox fans are conditioned to just accept it.

I disagree Sox fans simply accept the status quo, they are royally pissed across the board. But the reality is they can't do a damn thing that will drastically move the needle. Even staying away from the games in droves won't do much because of the local, national and international media deals as well as advertising deals that are raking in money hand over fist.

Nothing will change until JR is gone, it's that simple for fans and I'm guessing they know that so they are biding their time and hoping eventually the situation will change.  

[South Side Fireworks Man]

1 hour ago, hi8is said:

It doesn’t matter… I don’t Ohtani would come here for 750 million bucks. I mean… what would you rather do… play for the Dodgers for 570 million or the White Sox for 750 million. 😆

Your point is well taken, but again it comes down to Reinsdorf and his organization sucking.

Regardless, Reinsdorf  preemptively stated that they wouldn't even make an attempt to sign the best player in baseball.

[Eminor3rd]

2 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Guess it depends on your point of view.

Belle's deal had a clause (don't know who insisted on it) that if he wasn't one of the three highest paid players in baseball he could opt out of it if Sox wouldn't renegotiate the deal.

The Sox wouldn't so he left.

The side note to this was around the same time Frank Thomas took less money he said in order to try to give the Sox some flexibility to sign Belle and have enough to get Ventura to stay.

Neither one happened and Frank was pissed. I remember writing about it at the time. 

Right, I think that’s exactly the point of view I’m proposing. 

[fathom]

Really hope the Cubs aren’t being secretive and go and get him.  Kaplan was highly critical of him the last two days.

[caulfield12]

4 minutes ago, fathom said:

Really hope the Cubs aren’t being secretive and go and get him.  Kaplan was highly critical of him the last two days.

Critical of ownership front office or Ohtani secretive process?

 

On the Cease front...still have to wait on Yamamoto Snell Burnes Glasnow and maybe Bieber if the Guardians think the return is strong enough.

[fathom]

1 minute ago, caulfield12 said:

Critical of ownership front office or Ohtani secretive process?

 

On the Cease front...still have to wait on Yamamoto Snell Burnes Glasnow and maybe Bieber if the Guardians think the return is strong enough.

Basically saying Ohtani is very stubborn and has no flexibility with the press.  He implied Ohtani isn’t interested in the Wrigley circus.

[caulfield12]

1 minute ago, fathom said:

Basically saying Ohtani is very stubborn and has no flexibility with the press.  He implied Ohtani isn’t interested in the Wrigley circus.

Yet somehow the mystery and aura of the guy still comes off as more interesting than Trout.

Like the whole sleeping 16 hours per day thing.

Then again, he's doing things never thought possible since the Babe Ruth Boston Braves days.

It's like the almost total blackout or lack of news and resulting media circus just creates more interest (and frustration.)

[caulfield12]

The only thing this bizarre day and night is missing is an exclusive SoxTalk interview with Lars Nootbaar about his take on the whole Ohtani situation...

[Y2Jimmy0]

3 hours ago, Middle Buffalo said:

As long as he’s not on the north side, I’m fine with wherever he goes even if it means in Sox division.

This is insane 

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

4 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

This is insane 

You want Ohtani to be a Cub which is equally insane.

[Y2Jimmy0]

1 minute ago, YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! said:

You want Ohtani to be a Cub which is equally insane.

Why would that bother me? The Cubs and White Sox aren’t rivals. I’d also prefer the best player on the planet playing here in Chicago. That would be awesome. Way better than on the west coast. I’m pretty certain he’s not coming here though. 

[YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES!]

1 minute ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

Why would that bother me? The Cubs and White Sox aren’t rivals. I’d also prefer the best player on the planet playing here in Chicago. That would be awesome. Way better than on the west coast. I’m pretty certain he’s not coming here though. 

If Ohtani came to the Cubs, you might as well start calling the Sox the Nashville White Sox.

[DirtySox]

I mean. The White Sox are going to be irrelevant the next couple of years regardless. Who cares if Ohtani is on the north side?

Edited December 9, 2023 by DirtySox

[caulfield12]

8 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

I mean. The White Sox are going to be irrelevant the next couple of years regardless. Who cares if Ohtani on the north side?

Then there's always the old you can't invest all your payroll into 1-2 players argument...or that his pitching career after second TJ likely to only last 3-4 years.