Manny Machado picking most guaranteed money, not White Sox
If the White Sox were going to miss out on Manny Machado — and there was never a point where the Sox were a better bet than “the field” — there was only one way to diminish the sting:
Lose out while offering the most.
Wait, wouldn’t that hurt more? Only initially, in that there’s an inherent insult when money isn’t even good enough to get somebody to pick you, but the self-assessment that follows is healthier. The White Sox would’ve done what they could with the resources they had. If those resources weren’t enough, then the next step is to improve the things within their control, then try again.
If the White Sox went all this way with Machado only to stop short, then it would’ve all been for nothing. Not only would they have lost out on a solution for a decades-long problem, but they couldn’t even point to how well they swam in the deep end. Some may say a loss is a loss, but this consolation prize has truth going for it. Fans could blame the White Sox for a lot of things, but not their willingness to put up money. That precedent can be useful under future conditions.
But as details leak in about the deal Machado is finalizing with the Padres … it certainly appears that these three months could’ve been spent more constructively.
The reported size of the contract itself is the pre-winter placeholder for all our discussions because of the convenience of round numbers: 10 years, $300 million. Could you get him for 8 years and $250? Maybe. Would you have to go to 12 years and $350? Who knows? Everything orbited around that initial figure, which is what he apparently has agreed to.
There also doesn’t appear to be any strange backloading or an onerous amount of opt-outs, preventing a team from amassing depth at a position to compensate for a player’s abrupt exit. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports says there’s just one after the fifth year.
If the Padres went to, say, 10 years and $350 million with an opt out every other season, with no signs of blinking during the raising portion, maybe you fold and live to play another hand.
But if you believe Ken Rosenthal’s account, the White Sox weren’t willing to guarantee market rate.
This is the offer made by a team that has a lot else going for it. “We’re winning now. You help us keep winning, and we’ll all be happy.”
The White Sox are not such a team. They have no special appeal aside from payroll space, some of it cut away by the acquisitions of Machado’s brother-in-law and close friend. The Padres also only had financial flexibility going for them. They leveraged it better than the White Sox did.
Until we hear some details that make San Diego’s offer a lot richer than it initially appears, the White Sox are going to struggle to save face. And they shouldn’t start trying to shifting the blame toward players who haven’t even gotten paid themselves.
When you screw with Eloy Jimenez’s service time to spread out arbitration years and team control windows in order to better accommodate a major investment, there’s at least a winner of the financial zero-sum game when the ink dries. When you don’t call up Jimenez for half a season, further slash the payroll, then do nothing meaningful with that prized flexibility except remind everybody that underpaid players eventually have to get more money, the good faith is damn near impossible to find.
Kenny tldr, as ever: “We’re cheap and we blame the fans for the fact that we’re cheap. Come out to the ballpark.”
Even Jim is pissed…He is normally calmer than the rest of us.
Thank you for the 12 years of writing about the White Sox.
This sounds ominous
He’s moving to 3B.
Guess I’ll have to start reading penonchair’s White Sox blog.
At least the Bears are good again…
The Sox fucked up the stars aligning perfectly by trying to get a good deal. Following this, their instinct was to have one FO guy say they couldn’t compete financially with a small market team, and the other FO guy tell us how proud they were of their offer. Seriously.
We shouldn’t be surprised that we were were bum rushed by the Padres. How many times have we won our division filled with the dregs of MLB?
We made the Indians better by acquiring Alonso who has little use to us. We also signed Jon Jay, and the Padres are laughing now as they didn’t need to make such, on hindsight, infantile moves to get their guy.
I predicted a couple of years ago that Hahn was going to screw this rebuild, because he already did it before.
It’s one thing if we got outbid by the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox or Nationals. They are historical big spenders. If you have told me that Sox biggest competition was the Padres, I would have laughed and bet the house on Machado being on the Sox. The Sox wouldn’t go to $300 million? They weren’t serious to begin with then. What a joke of a franchise, Jerry please sell the Sox and Bulls. Please.
Did anyone think Machado (or Harper) was signing for less than $300 million back in October? It’s not that they got ‘out bid’ it’s that the front office completely and utterly does not understand the free agent market. They apparently thought* that Machado wasn’t going to sign for the amount of money that everyone who follows baseball thought he would sign for and what Machado did, in fact, sign for! So they just went around all winter low balling Machado expecting him to take their offer? HUH?
*And here’s where collusion might kick in.
Even if people thought that they might sign for less, it wasn’t worth the White Sox banking on that. We had tons of cap space. If this rebuild failed, we could still carry a 35 mil contract and have a payroll under 80 mil if we needed to. We could have had a deal like this done on January 10th and Hahn and Williams thought it would be funnier just to fuck all of us.
The thing about the prisoners dilemma is that defecting is a winning strategy.
Jim (and the rest of you) are feeling more measured than I am. My instant analysis:
Fuck the fucking White Sox. I’m tired of rooting for the shit team fielded by a shit org.
This. I’ve been a Sox fan since my dad took 6-yr old me to my first game in 1975 at old Comiskey. But times have changed, and I have other things to follow which look increasingly more and more worth my time when compared to the Sox and their frustratingly incompetent BS.
Imagine if this had happened before Sox Fest. I would have brought tomatoes to throw….
That’s why I switched to the Brewers after watching the dumpster fire last year. Fool me once . . . no, make that since 2005.
A few things:
1) If they wouldn’t go to $300 million, why did they spend the entire offseason chasing after a player they were never going to pay? Unless they turn around and sign Harper (lol) they just wasted an entire offseason chasing after a player they themselves admit they never had a realistic chance at signing!!!! #theFOdoesnotknowwhatitisdoing
2) The opportunity cost for wasting the last 100 plus days chasing a player they weren’t ever going to pay is astronomical. Again, I don’t love every move the Reds have made this offseason, but they knew they weren’t going to pay Machado what he wanted so they went out and did things to improve their team in 2019 and beyond (arguably). The White Sox 100% could have traded for Puig, Roark, or Gray. I’m not endorsing these moves collectively, but they are an example of what could/should have been done instead of wasting everyone’s time. #theFOdoesnotknowwhatitisdoing
3) The spin here is a disgrace and the Sox should be ashamed of themselves. This isn’t Machado’s fault, nor the Padres, nor Eloy’s, and trying to pull this over the fans is a joke. They’re rightfully getting grilled (from what I’ve seen) for this half-assed attempt to not take ownership of their failure/being cheap. (for any Bulls fans out there, this is basically the failure to sign Melo in 2014 all over again). #theFOdoesnotknowwhatitisdoing
4) Rick Hahn is in a gots to go situation. The failure to sign Manny is on ownership; the dumbass attempt to continue to go for Machado even though ownership wouldn’t pony up the resources is on Rick. This goes back to point #2 above. If Hahn is so smart, why are his L’s more than his W’s? He’s basically GarPax only more articulate and doesn’t assault his employees. #theFOdoesnotknowwhatitisdoing
5) The Sox had (and I guess have) an insane amount of payroll flexibility and have failed to use it this winter. This is impressively horrible. How they have made the team WORSE beyond 2019 and maybe 2 wins better in 2019 even though they have tens of millions in payroll flexibility is an accomplishment of failure. #theFOdoesnotknowwhatitisdoing
6) Fire Rick Hahn.
But we need the oodles of cap space to pay all of our young all stars (once we’re done keeping them in Charlotte of course!).
Ho-lee shit.
This team fucking DARES YOU to support it.
I think they want to see how bad they can really get and still have people in the seats…
I guess in the end, the White Sox put themselves in a position where they had to sign Machado, and then failed to do so. Impressive. At least they didn’t bid against themselves!
The only way they can save face here is signing Harper, but that would require the Phillies falling down a flight of stair or something. What a disaster.
I think you are exactly right. By making such a public spectacle of courting Machado, and only him, they painted themselves into a corner.
The problem with a Harper deal is, if they couldn’t go $300MM for Machado, they certainly can’t do it for Harper, can they?
The White Sox front office should be very embarrassed by this hot mess they made for themselves. But don’t expect to see any FO changes made…
But don’t fucking worry, we’re going to hear all about how Jake Burger is the 3rd baseman of the future, Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada are going to be All Stars, Lito will win the Cy Young, and Adam Engel will learn how to hit a fucking baseball at 27 years old. Everything’s fine. Multiple championships are one the way.
I don’t think the White Sox want to have fans…..
Fuck all these mother fuckers.
The good news is that the Sox improved defensively at 1st base this offseason. The bad news is that they will be a horrible team with two 1st basemen.
I think I’ve heard this exact statement before…
There are so many rabbit holes to go down here its incredible. The problem is they are all bad, they all lead to the same conclusions. This team is in the wrong hands from the top to the bottom.
Suicide is painless.
Not for your relatives
Fun fact: career suicide is a nonsensical concept in a Reinsdorf organization. It’s like considering the weight of yellow.
At least Man City is good
Who?
Premier League Soccer
White Sox:MLB::Spurs:Premier League
Putting my $ on the Sox attempting to polish this turd by stupidly signing Abreu to an extension.
My saved ticket money is on Hahn getting the extension and Williams being promoted to patron saint of the White Sox.
Abreu for 3/30, there’s a 3 and a 0 in there; seems right.
If I could more than plus one the comment “this team dares you to support it”. That should be the slogan for this season…or decade.
I’m also mystified that a multi-million dollar business entity that is staffed by people with multiple degrees in business are unable to do better PR. I can’t believe they decided to go with “We can’t sign Machado because someday we might need to pay Eloy”
Yeah, that was the cherry on the top of the f—ing sundae, for sure.
Yeah, how painful will it be now to demote Eloy to AAA to start the season? Not only will you not spend the market rate for a FA superstar, but you’re screwing your league minimum rookie.
Taken in tandem, it’s pathetic.
And for anyone saying it was an overpay of a contract, stop. ZIPS projects Machado to produce the same exact fWAR as Paul Konerko produced in his whole career in just the first 4 years of the contract.
I am as disappointed as anyone that we didn’t get Machado.
But there are at least three factors you should consider when you make a comment like this:
1. Paul Konerko hit a grand slam at home in the World Series.
2. Paul Konerko has a Championship ring. How many rings does Machado have?
3. Paul Konerko wanted to play for the White Sox, and took less than he was worth as a free agent to do so. Machado?
You shouldn’t talk about Konerko like he was some sort of journeyman, shit player.
1. woosh
2. None of those three things you typed proves Konerko was a great
player.
3. The guy we traded for Konerko turned out to be a better player.
FJR, golden opportunity in this stagnant market gone; need a miracle to contend soon with all of our prospects hitting simultaneously. Convinced we’re never going to sign anyone (assuming Harper to the Phillies) until Jerry dies so we have to win with the Kansas City miracle strats.
Note: I still don’t hate the team (or even Rick Hahn) as whole, that seems like a bit of an overreaction.
Best strat now is just to go like 50-112 for 5 years in a row or something, become the (old) Devil Rays or Marlins; be back after those 5 years are up.
Also shoutouts to the Padres, having signed a horrible player to a long term deal they weren’t scared of signing a good one the very next season.
Having seen the team win the World Series when I was 17 I’m guessing I’ll be 87 or dead by the time they win the next one.
I don’t hate the team, but I also don’t see much of a reason to buy any tickets for this year. If the front office and ownership don’t want to spend the necessary money to demonstrate that they’re a real live MLB team going places instead of looking like they’re going to do what they always do and cheap out then bargain hunt and end up paying more $/WAR that way anyway, then I can spend my money elsewhere.
Tickets are cheap and might be some pleasant surprises. Hopefully Elloy will live up to at least some of the hype.
Sox tickets are cheap but the beers are still 10-11 bucks a piece once there, and drinking will probably be necessary to watch this 2019 squad. I can spend that money on orchestra tickets, or going to the botanical gardens, or lawn seats at ravinia, or drinking beer somewhere else, or a host of other activities.
I’m not giving Hahn a pass, I hope he gets gonorrhea.
If they couldn’t afford $300MM, it’s a wonder they offered potentially $350MM.
A creative way for Reinsdorf to potentially save a few bucks. What a joke.
Since they won the series, the Sox have had four winning seasons, and nine losing seasons, including the last six straight.
Clearly, what was called for in this situation was a too cute contract offer to the guy who could single handedly boost the trajectory of your team in the hopes of not just signing him, getting him on what Would later be called the platonic ideal of team friendly contracts. It’s like they didn’t want to bid against themselves, but they were intersted in competing against themselves to see how much of an advantage they could get over him.
you’re forgetting at least two offseasons they’ve won in the past 10 years!
Doesn’t this latest news from Rosenthal actually overturn the whole Sox/Jerry being cheap thing? If they were willing to go all the way up to 350mil with incentives? I mean doesn’t it make sense? You should only get paid more if you actually perform.
If anything this isn’t on the sox or jerry being cheap, this could actually be on Machado for not being willing to try to get more money. In that case, oh well, his choice.
Maybe Machado really never wanted to play here, but if the Sox couldn’t find it in themselves to just pay what it fucking took here, in this most advantageous market, with so many high spending teams willingly sitting out, then yeah, it’s cheap. If they couldn’t guarantee that last $50 million, and instead tried to give themselves extra options to get his services without maybe possibly committing to those last dollars, yeah, it’s cheap. His services cost what they cost, and the Sox chose not to pay it.
Perhaps I just have a stigma against guaranteed money. Almost feels stupid that players can demand that without having anything to show for it. Especially players like Machado who has actually said before he doesn’t want to hustle.
Maybe some people are right, this is a blessing in disguise. Ah damn it I don’t know…
His entire career up to this point is what he has to show for it.
Obviously, no one’s panting for those last years where his salary is blocking your ability to make a move in a pennant race (pause for bitter laughter), and his knees or whatever are shot, so you can’t find a trading partner, but sometimes you just take the risk, and this is ABSOLUTELY THE TIME you take that risk.
It also rules that Kenny came out and immediately shot any desperate hope that the Sox might pivot to Harper right in the heart.
I gotta wonder: if the Sox has just offered 10/$300M in December, would Machado have accepted? I think the answer is probably yes.
I think the answer is probably no. He never gave the slightest indication he wanted to play in Chicago, if the press is to be believed.
No
This is simple.
The White Sox wouldn’t guarantee market rate.
Ergo, they cheaped out and lost the player.
What human being is going to turn down guaranteed money??? Most people want the sure thing, not the could-be.
It’s as much about his ego as it is the guaranteed money. He wanted the nice round 10/300 largest-ever FA contract. And the Sox brain trust couldn’t figure that out.
I agree He is no “Johnny hustle” and my last memory of him is missing Sale’s slider by a foot for the last out in the WS. He would have never come here under any circumstances. It will be interesting to see if his presence really turns the Padres into a powerhouse. I personally doubt it and I would not be surprised is he isn’t an albatross around their neck.
The Dodgers traded for him thinking he would put them over the top. He couldn’t, and he won’t put San Diego over the top to a championship, because they do not have the pitching in the pipeline that we do.
Pitching wins the post season. People who are all caught-up on WAR should go back and look at the leading players by WAR on the 2005 White Sox.
Mark Buehrle 4.8
Jon Garland 4.7
Paul Konerko 4.0
Aaron Rowand 3.7
Jose Contreras 3.6
Freddy Garcia 3.5
FOUR of the SIX leaders in 2005 were starting pitchers.
Pitching wins championships. Pitching and defense win close games.
Machado would have been great to have, but it’s not the end of the world.
Of the top six WAR leaders for the Red Sox this past season, five were position players.
The best possible overall product on the field is what wins championships, and having Machado significantly increases the overall product on the field.
I agree on the good all around teams winning, and while I think he would have improved our lineup significantly, it just isn’t so clear to me that he would put us that much closer. We would still have an unbalanced lineup, a substandard defense and a pitching staff that doesn’t know how to get hitters out.
Goddamn it. So pissed. Can’t even articulate how angry I am. I am such a sucker thinking they wouldn’t screw this up. Why did I get my stupid hopes up again?
The silver lining is that the Sox were willing to spend $30 million a year on Machado. Hopefully, their players progress in 2019, and they are able to plow that $30 per year into other finishing pieces for 2020. (a starter, a power bat, bullpen help, ect).
I am not sure how’s that a silver lining
Where have you seen it reported the Sox were willing to spend $30mil per?
250 over 8 years is more than 30 mil per.
Oh yeah, Z101 digital’s Hector Gomez. Haha
Sure sounds like he was way off on that one.
F Hector Gomez. It’s bad enough he was wrong but now he’s spinning it as “My source was right” because of the potential incentives. Please, dude. Enjoy the un-follows.
I think Rosenthal has said something along those lines too. They added vesting options (i.e. potential additional years) and incentives for the “up to 350” number we’re hearing after the fact. But the Padres gave him 300 guaranteed and the Sox only offered him 250. Bet the Padres gave him a fat part of it as signing bonus too in order to lower his state taxes paid.
Saying they could afford to go 8/250, but not 10/300 because they have to pay the young studs coming up doesn’t make sense. Those kids would be FA’s by the time the Sox were done with that $31.25mil X 8 guarantee. Sounds like even good old Hector is backtracking on that being an actual guaranteed offer.
It doesn’t matter if next year there are more teams in it. It’s already been tossed out the Yankees want Arenado if he doesn’t resign with Colorado. Do you think he wants to play for the Sox or the Yankees?
Do you think we will get into a bidding war for a guy like Rendon who is going to be 31?
Do you really think Bogaerts isn’t going to resign to the Red Sox?
This only made sense because so many big money teams were blocked by payroll, the only thing we could offer and we lost to the fucking Padres because we wouldn’t guarantee some extra money? A horseshit decision like that does nothing to convince future all stars you really want to win.
I think all the players you listed will test free agency. Why wouldn’t they? They get one bite at the free agency apple in their career. Of course they will take it. If the home team offers the most, they will offer it then
At least we can project the White Sox 2020 or 2021 payroll at around $150 million.
No one really knows if having one player like Machado is worth have 2-3 above average players. The Yankees didn’t seem to think so. I think the Sox had a position and stuck to it. But because it didn’t work out for one player doesn’t mean the rebuild will be a success or failure. That still depends on the multiple other players in the core getting better.
Free agency golden years are the past
Machado got paid. It seems like he had two pretty good offers too.
There is a reasonable argument to be made for the White Sox, in the position and market they are in, signing *both* Machado & Harper, so for them to cheap out on one of them is just beyond the pale (hose).
I am so sorry you are all stuck writing about this shit every day, only for it to end this way, and are now stuck writing about a season that will have a cloud hanging over it until snow is back on the ground, only for this all to start all over again with new free agents we surely know won’t wear our uniform.
I’ll keep my Patreon pledge going even as I turn my back on the team, because otherwise this is thankless work and you all deserve better.
They should change the name of the stadium from Guaranteed Rate to Incentives-Based Field! AM I RIGHT?
Looking for a new team to root for, any suggestions?
Padres seem to have a bright future.
Brewers!
Can’t believe Jay and Yonder weren’t enough to swing the deal in the Sox favor.
I am hoping that Machado pulls a hissy fit in July and demands that Jay and Yonder join him on the team. The Padres are in a panic. Hahn then demands and receives Mr. Tattis jr. back for Manny’s pals negating a trade every Sox fan wishes he never made.
It sucks so much that even our ludicrous fantasies just have us moving from square -1 to square 0.
Can’t get the tweet to embed, but someone compared them to Drama and Turtle from that crappy tv show, which I thought was great, in a kicked in the nuts kind of way.
Is there an opt-out of the fandom for relatively new White Sox fans?
Less than 5 years and someone can switch teams?
Asking for a friend.
If this was a sane universe where cause and effect were tethered in some meaningful way, I’d say this is rock bottom, so you might as well wait and see who the new GM is before cashing in your chips. But anyway, good luck with your search.
Tell your friend there is no opt-out, he or she is in this for life. Some of us have watched shit like this go on for parts of seven decades.
I had so many years of bitterness ahead of me! Go White Sox!
For me, my fandom is unwavering. That also doesn’t mean my support is.
I’ll never adopt another team, but I may spend a season the injured list.
You know, whenever the Sox cheap out on something, you always see frustrated fans saying “F*** JR” or “I’m done being a fan.” I always roll my eyes at that kind of reaction, even when I’m frustrated. But after losing this one and reading KW’s absolutely absurd, insulting and embarrassing public excuse, I have to admit this is the first time I actually think to myself whether it’s enough to question your fandom in the franchise.
This is a new low.
Who would have thought the Sox off-season peacked when they got Alex Colome?
This is clearly way worse than losing out on Torii Hunter. It’s way worse that missing out on Miguel Cabrera. I think it might be worse than being at the last game against the Rays in ‘08, when Tampa basically ran a listless Sox team off the field. This team has produced a remarkable number of gut punch failures in a remarkably compact time frame. Maybe that’s the new market inefficiency?
Can’t wait to file in to the park for the opener to watch the team ride around the field for introductions when there is no chance of playing so Jerry can pocket the extra $25K from Chevy.
My first full focus season was 2012, that was fun. I have yet to rediscover “fun” since then! (with the exception of Humber’s perfect game and the beginning of 2016)
Today was not fun, and I fail to see when it will ever be fun again under Reinsdorf.
I rue the beginning of ’16. That false hope led to the trade that will not be mentioned.
I resent that their way of kickstarting the rebuild in 2015 was adding Samardzija, LaRoche, Robertson, and Cabrera then…freezing. I resent that their idea of an encore was Frazier and Lawrie.
I resent that instead of sucking it up and spending like a big market team, they produced White Flag 2: Electric Boogaloo.
I resent that they’re feeding us horseshit excuses about Jimenez’s defense and not paying Manny now so they can give discounted extensions to their prospects in the nebulous future.
This truly is the rebuild deserved by everyone who cheered it on.
I’m sorry that your introduction to White Sox baseball was the Ventura Era followed by the teardown.
But hey, you’ve now had the full White Sox experience.
Maybe they’re saving us the pain of caring when there is a strike in ’21?
Now THIS is the glass half full way of looking at this.
For anyone who still cares about the White Sox and feels like turning the page quickly to a more certain future, let’s focus on those prospects getting ready for a productive 2019! And then, let’s ignore the fact that half the farm injured their 2018 away–the odds of a repeat in poor health MUST be low!
Wait… Bones are already breaking down at Camelback?
Awesome.
We can all think of what might have been when the Padres field a left side of the infield of Machado and Tatis, Jr. But at least we’ll have the memories of Big Game James.
Dear San Diego,
Here’s 80 bombs a season.
Your welcome,
Rick
Rich Hahn’s resume is so bad. It’s basically Hector for Eaton and a bunch of extensions to good players. Then not messing up the trades for said good players once he failed in every other aspect of his job. He doesn’t have a good free agent signing. He has a nasty habit of losing trades, or at the very least, not winning them. And he can’t draft nor develop young players (most of the players worth a damn in the rebuild were drafted/signed by other orgs).
Hahn’s a con man at best; a Cub fan still at worst. Time for him to go.
Before today’s fustercluck Hahn said something like “we are not done yet” (I think he said it at SoxFest)
I wonder what is the next brilliant move Hahn has under his sleeve before the season starts.
We should have a poll on what would be the most “Sox move” to complete the offseason. I would vote for signing Adam Jones to above-market deal and then having a press conference stating that he was one of their main targets along because he plays the game right way and that he brings a lot of what Harper would bring but also preserves the Sox financial flexibility.
Honestly if they aren’t going to sign Harper (and they aren’t) they should just sit out the rest of the offseason and then fire the entire FO on April 5th.
James Shields: Part II
Frankly, on it’s own, trading prospects for Joc Pederson feels pretty Sox. Not gonna win you games. Feels like a .220 28 79 special with a fat gut and puncheable face.
But if the F.O. really wants to put a cherry on top of this off-season:
White Sox signed RHP James Shields to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
They’ll go back to Kenny Williams style– signing washed-up stars for cheap and hoping they get a tad more life out of them.
Might as well be a Pirates fan. At least they’re courteous enough to not pretend that wins matter more than profits.
haahah love this comment
Let’s keep this train wreck moving…..
https://670thescore.radio.com/chicago-white-sox-luis-basabe-broken-hand
That’s called adding injury to insult.
Too many posts about the money. What superstar would ever want to play for this front office and coaching staff? It begins there. Until there are major changes at the top, I’m outa here.
The Sox easily could’ve found 50 million more reasons why a superstar would want to play for them, is the thing.
Everybody is lining up to play for the notoriously above-the-board A.J. Preller and renowned manager [googles] Andy Green.
You’re the first to mention that here, but it seems to me that avoiding the notoriously deceitful Preller would be worth at least 50-Million. 🙂
Everyone stop sugar-coating it – what do you really think? ?
Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again
I’ve had some time to think about it so you won’t be getting any more F bombs from me over this stupidity.
A lot of good points have been made thus far onthe logical incoherence of the Sox position and their BS damage control so I’ll just add a couple of things.
My faith in the ability of this rebuild to lead to any semblance of sustained success has been shattered. They’ve proven they’re unwilling to do what it takes to field a complete team and avoid the same mistakes that led to the stars and scrubs roster that kicked off this rebuild in the first place. It’s the same half assed mentality that leads to you pissing away the division yearly to the Twins because you refuse to fill the 5th starter spot. It’s the mentality that builds an 85 win ceiling in a team who contends if things break your way. It’s the same mentality that prevents you from ever opening up your window of contention to allow for sustained success and results in a 118 year old franchise never making the post season 2 years in a row.
As pnoles pointed out, This organization is willing to spend 40M on Colome, Herrera, Nova, Alonso, and Jay, but not 30M on Machado. Roster construction still escapes this front office.
My brother and I have split mlb.tv for years and will not be doing so this year. There’s no point in supporting this joke of an organization.
Me and my brothers also have a split mlb.tv subscription, and I am planning not to renew it, but mostly because they unilaterally decided to stop supporting LG TVs which was the smart TV I decided to buy last year. So I am screwed.
On the plus side, Charlotte will be in Indianapolis twice June so there are two chances to see Eloy play now. There’s no reason for him to join the team in April now.
That’s a cool stadium with the train rolling by that old factory down the right field line.
Listening to Chuck Garfien was annoying– saying fans should be proud the Sox aren’t cheap and offered more than they ever have. It’s like bidding $1 million on a house worth $2 million; don’t pat yourself on the back saying it was the most you’ve ever bid on a house, when you know it won’t close the deal.
This is such a Reinsdorf move to try to save a few relative “pennies” with the offer they made. They need to have the highest offer when you’re a team that people aren’t dying to play for. Geez, this was so predictable, and yet still annoying AF.
Garfein is basically state run media…I suppose it is his job to spin…He should be tuned out when it comes to things like this
This is why independent beat writers are important.
Gloveonkeyboard
Carrying that much water can’t be good for his back.
Vinnie Duber is the worst of the lot. The next insightful comment he makes will be his first. Insufferable justifying today.
Reminds one of the old saying, “Close only counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and farts.” 🙂
The whole premise of this rebuild was somehow, with the same cast of characters in the front office (Jerry, KW, Hahn), things would be different this time around.
I judge this abject failure through that lens. This is the same old spin, same old weak excuses, same old refusal to spend market rate. This was a chance for the White Sox to lay down a marker and say “things will be different this time around.”
Instead all they’ve shown is they will be exactly the same, and if they couldn’t put a winner together with the previous rebuild, why should we think they can do it now?
My ‘care’ level for this team is at zero.
The Sox are the Expos in 1991 right now – good young core but no history of getting the big FAs, about 10 years away from the last time they made the playoffs, and a passionate but fickle fan base.
They might also be the Expos in 2030 if they contribute down this fan murdering path.
It has been three years since the trade of Chris Sale. The Sox roster looks like the worst in the AL…there’s no way that should be the case at this point. In addition, the Sox minor league system doesn’t look particularly talent-laden anymore.
It would be a hot-take to say the rebuild has failed, but the current state of the organization cannot be viewed as an acceptable result given the assets, time, and available payroll the Sox have had. It seems like this is probably a predictable result given that it’s not clear that the organization made any significant changes in terms of scouting, player-development, or team-building philosophy since failing to surround Sale/Q/Eaton with enough talent to play even .500 ball.
Actually, I take it the slightest bit back, the Robert signing is the one thing they did that was out of character. But rather than presaging a new approach, it feels more like that was all the innovation they had in them and they now hope to never again have to agree to a deal they aren’t totally comfortable with.
The fact that the Sox gave up actual money and minor league talent for Alonso and Jay is really unbelievable to me. The saving grace of course is that those guys and Nova all have short term deals so that the Sox have financial flexibility in the future. I look forward to seeing what the Sox will spend that money on, given that a 26-year old 5WAR SS/3B wasn’t good enough. I imagine it will be a spectacular acquisition.
If anyone wants to suggest some good Netflix stuff or whatever to binge-watch, let me know. I could use something.
I thought the 4th Season of Narcos was pretty good….
On Netflix, Bojack Horseman if you haven’t seen it yet. But that’s a tough one to binge. American Vandal really captured the essence of high school, social media, and documentary TV. Altered Carbon was OK.
The Good Place on NBC is one of the best shows on TV.
Fargo and Baskets on FX if you haven’t seen them.
Could catch up on The Expanse before its 4th season premiers on Amazon.
Counterpart on Starz was a brutal show to watch weekly but might play better as a binge-watch. Black Sails was a decent Treasure Island prequel on the channel, too. American Gods season 1 was good if you like the surreal, season 2 starts soon. Worth subscribing for a month or 2 to watch them.
True Detective Season 3 started off watchable but lost its way about 3 episodes in. Recently rewatched The Sopranos and it held up. Westworld if you haven’t seen it.
The Leftovers. Truly great show (especially starting around episode 5 of season 1 through the end of the run), solid name for the White Sox this year, and this Machado debacle might make the first season of The Leftovers feel less crushingly depressing by comparison!
Tom Perrotta wrote The Leftovers. I love all of his books. Read them all, you can’t go wrong.