I understand they had to give a lot of young players their shot this year. Most of them were the lottery ticket types. I don't think they will be cashing in on a single one. Maybe Davidson.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Right now the Sox' biggest competitive advantage is payroll. A team that gave a shit about winning would use that resource. Not by signing free agents but by taking on overpaid stiffs in exchange for prospects.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Might you have a specific player in mind?

there were loads of overpaid bums available in the offseason. The Dodgers for one were desperately trying to shed salary.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

THIS. hitting and pitching develops....takes time. Basic defense should NOT be something they develop at the major league level. This is exactly why you cannot expect to be a championship caliber team with Tim Anderson as your starting SS.

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It will take some hard selling to be able to get one of the premiere free agents to accept playing for a team with such a bad record

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Hatchet does not make a terrible point but you have to beware. You get a contract player like that and he can be cancerous to your young guys.

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Elections have consequences.

Nope. Just cash.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Yup. You really think Jon Lester cared that the Cubs were coming off of an 89 loss campaign? If he did, he cared a lot less when he was offered $150+ million and knew he would be under contract until he was 36 (possibly 37).

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Hell just cut the guy.

I'll tell you what pittmike. Sox do just the opposite. They sold a top prospect (Fernando Tatis) to the Padres for cash. Cheap cheap cheap.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Isn’t that what Papa Ricker is there for because he sure as hell isn’t there for his in game managing.

There is no excuse for shitty relief pitching. Its not like these type of guys are expensive. Nothing breaks your starting pitchers more than pitching your ass off and then the other guy(s) come in and blow it for you.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

Relief pitching is many times luck of the draw.
What do you call a relief pitcher that's reliable, durable, and consistent?
A starting pitcher.

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C'mon now Lucas. Don't give these runs back.

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They’ve shifted into two hits tonight.

Isnt cash a problem as well?

Do you really think the Sox are going to outbid other teams for a guy like Machado?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Question. Is Volstad paying the Sox to pitch? This guy is brutal.

This team is not losing because of defense. This team is losing because they have 3-4 legit major league hitters in their line-up, terrible relief pitching, and half of a starting rotation. This is a terrible team and a very long way from ever becoming even decent. NOt to mention a bullshit asshole who owns the damned team.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

No. They went into this season with only one legit relief pitcher with good stuff. Jones. The rest of these schmucks should not have even been given a major league roster spot. That is all about the cheapness of the White Sox. Reinsdorf is horseshit.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

I agree that Jones is the only legit reliever in this pen. Soria is OK, but is no longer a closer. Bullpens are a crapshoot generally speaking, and why would ANY owner waste money on a bullpen when the team likely isn't going to win anyway? There are MANY things you can chastise Reinsdorf for due to his penny pinching. This year's bullpen is not one of them.


Volstad should be DFA'd today.

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This assumes the two franchises are equal in terms of fan bases and future interest and that is a wild assumption. They can and always do fill that dump up north while the White Sox play in front of 2000 people on a not uncommon enough basis. They are building hotels and ruining the neighborhood in the name of the Cubs up north. The White Sox may not even be in this city once the lease is up on that taxpayer owned stadium in that crappy neighborhood.

If it were just money, then it will have to be along the lines of the Albert Belle contract (the only big payout in this franchise's history which lasted all of two years and ended because they didn't want to pony up one million more). It would have to be about 25% above the going rate like Belle got. So if Harper or Machado or Arenado but normally expect $30 million you're looking at paying out $35-$40 million.

I don't want to put a damper on your enthusiasm though. There is the possibility that all of history will be turned on its head and superstars will sign with this franchise for a reasonable rate.

Yeah. This is a really reasonable take. Belle got 25 percent more than his next offer? Do you have proof of that? You are just pulling this out of your ass.

They outbid everyone when Abreu was a prospect free agent, and they have a ton of payroll flexibility.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

No, chill. It's all about cash. Do you think the Mariners and Yankees are equal? Why do you think Robinson Cano signed with the M's?

Because M is for Money.

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Sox aren't paying $250M to anyone so who cares?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Or when A-Rod signed with Texas. Or when the Marlins paid for the 97 World Series.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Maybe not. Nobody knows for sure.

Even if they offer a guy like Machado 3 years $80-90 million he might sign here.

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Reinsdorf is not going to live forever. His entire business philosophy has been other people's money. So why does he care about a long contract as an 80-year-old?

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

He doesn't care about winning so why would he spend his and others' dough? He's run this investment cabal this way for 37 years. Not changing it even if he is gonna croak.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Do not speak in absolutes. You don't know this for sure. Neither do I. Neither does Ruffcorn.

7 Championships over 37 those years.

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Been waiting for a Wirtz-like shift....