I'd take Bum ahead of any other pitcher on the market. Why? His make-up first of all. Secondly, he is healed after his not pitching related injuries. I'd give him a 4 year $80M deal.

_________________
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

_________________
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 don't care about the other 29 teams.

It's obvious that the Sox have to overpay by an enormous amount to get even a second tier free ajent to come here.

_________________

Exactly. There is a zero chance Cole comes here. Zero. And MadBum for 4/80 or 5/100 is crazy. He'd get shelled in the Sox bandbox. I agree he has a great demeanor but 4-5 years is a major risk plus I doubt he'd come here anyway unless JR pays a big time premium which everyone knows he won't do.

Yup... Did the other 29 teams miss the post season 14 years straight; have a tiny payroll ?

_________________

If Cole was offered a massive raise from what any other team was offering.. he'd probably come here.

_________________

Then when we overpay for a free agent too early ala Heyward we will bitch like Cub fans right?

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Will. Not. Happen.

That’s the thing Mike . If Theo were targeting Wheeler and was outbid you’d been the first one on here with some snarky remark about the great Theo and Ricketts budget . The Sox are in an infinitely better position to sign free agents and especially pitching which they desperately need and while I don’t think Wheeler is anything to write home about , the larger issue is they didn’t get yet another person they targeted .

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Bibgo.

_________________

Mike is like a lot of Sox fans, they aren't really Sox fans..they just hate the Cubs.

_________________

5:35pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests otherwise regarding the White Sox, writing that they’ve been zeroed in on Wheeler and have yet to even enter into negotiations with Bumgarner’s camp.

You are just being silly. I am not going to commit suicide as the first couple pitchers of the off season sign. If this is all the same at end of Jan you will see me bitch loudly.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Madbum will get beaten like a drum in an AL hitters park.

_________________

I am telling you he will be worse than Shields.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Won't be that bad, he's always been better than Shields and he wasn't getting torched in a huge pitchers park like Shields was at Petco... But he'll be bad.. Shields trade was a firable offense, I said it at the time.

_________________

Phillies sign Wheeler even though the Sox offered more. So are they gonna find someone else????

That's too much for Wheeler, I figured he'd get a 4-72$.. he's a nice 4th starter, average 3.

_________________

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

Right and even if a #3 these babies here are crying we didn’t go 4-5 for $125M.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

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

Wrong. Sox are still another year away from having to spend a ton on pitching. Questions need to be answered on the pitchers here and also those coming back from surgeries.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

You make no sense.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

When you lose out on your top target every year, it's a pattern of incompetence.

_________________

You think the Sox are a year away of needing to spend money on pitching and I am the one who makes no sense?

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

No it isn't. Wheeler and Hamels were not worth anywhere near the money that they got. There are probably ten to twelve pitchers right now in free agency that would be very good additions for the White Sox. They need to get value. They also have some trade possibilities.

_________________
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

Why are we talking about Cole or Wheeler? They are gone. And I'd pay Bum 4/80 because I think he is the best pitcher out there. The Sox need two lefties. Good lefties. Bum offers toughness and leadership and is a WINNER to lead a staff. Yeah he will give up home runs. So what? If no one is on base when someone hits one, who cares? Verlander to me has been the best pitcher in baseball for awhile and gives up a load of home runs.

I would then go out after another lefty who gets a lot of ground balls. Once again, changing the make-up of a starting rotation in terms of arm angles, velocity, out pitches, etc. is huge in a rotation.

If someone wants to pay more than $80M or thereabouts, then fine but I think that he is enough of a bad ass to like the challenge. It also puts the end of his contract at 34 years of age which would still allow another potential contract. Like I said, his arm is solid and he can do 190-210 innings with some decent certainty.

_________________
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 think that it is encouraging really because it does show that they are willing to spend money which is quite a departure from memory. If they targeted Wheeler, I am actually glad that they didn't sign him because that isn't the guy that they needed. They need two left handed pitchers. Go for it and go for it big time. If I were Hahn, I'd sit down with Bummer and tell him what their plans are for the next four year. I'd commit to him that I was going to use him to get another top left handed pitcher along with help for the bull-pen. make Bum the centerpiece and feed his bad ass ego.

Do it, Hahn. Make your splash and then follow it up with other pieces. That is how you win. Bummer is a bad ass. He's a guy you hate to face and a guy you love on your side. He is mean and I love mean in pitchers. Hahn needs to go for it.

_________________
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

Nope. This is the time to spend on pitching. We are not talking about a science experiment here. We are talking about having a dynamic hitting team next year. Probably will be among the top three over-all in all around offense. They need pitching and there are 10-12 good pitchers out there. We need at least three. They have the money and it is time to make the move. No excuses.

Their division is getting weaker and now is the time to contend. No time for faint hearts and penny pinching.

_________________
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

Of course it is. Wheeler was their target and they supposedly offered more guaranteed money than Philly.

I don't think Wheeler is worth that either, but when you keep not getting your target it's clear you have to overpay because you're the White Sox.

And I'm tired of value shopping.i want my team to splurge once every 20 years or so.

_________________