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Showing posts from February, 2016

On Adam Eaton, Bad Thoughts And The Perils Of Social Media

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Adam Eaton got into some shit on Sunday night when he tweeted about Chris Rock and the general tone of the Oscars broadcast. As you would expect, Chris Rock didn't pull many punches when it came to addressing the lack of diversity not just in those nominated for an Oscar this year, but in Hollywood in general. While Eaton deleted the original tweets, what he basically said was "why does everything have to be a black and white issue?" As typically happens on Twitter when somebody expresses an honest thought or question, people reacted to his tweets. Some positively, but most negatively. And they should have.

White Sox Power Rankings: Early Spring Edition

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Power rankings are the shit. Everybody loves ranking things, and power rankings are the best way to rank something because there are no rules. You basically just get to rank things however the hell you want, using any parameters you so desire. And even though there is no scientific basis to them, the world just can't get enough power rankings. That's why I'm going to be doing White Sox Power Rankings all through the year. Once the season actually starts I'll likely do it once a week, but I'm going to do a couple before the season starts too. What I'm going to do is pick 10 people associated with the White Sox, and then rank them however the hell I want to. It's highly scientific. So let's do it.

So Which Outfielder Can The White Sox Trade For?

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On Friday afternoon there was some interesting news from Bruce Levine following Dexter Fowler shocking the world and re-signing with the Cubs on Thursday. According to Levine, the White Sox not only offered Fowler a contract, but they offered him a contract worth more money than he ultimately accepted from the Cubs . The key difference was that the Cubs put an option in Fowler's contract, which means he can be a free agent again next winter. The White Sox didn't because, and I'm sure this will be a shocking accusation, Jerry Reinsdorf probably does not like giving players opt-outs. Anyway, what I take away from this is, if it's true, the Sox were willing to commit at least $17 million to Fowler for the next two years. Which means they have some money left to spend if the price is right. Now, the problem is, there are no free agent targets available that are worth that kind of money, but there could be in a trade.

The Five Stages Of Avisail Garcia

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When news broke that the Orioles were going to sign Dexter Fowler on Tuesday, the reaction from a lot of White Sox fans, particularly on Twitter, wasn't exactly a surprise. Fowler became the latest free agent outfielder to sign with a team that wasn't the White Sox, joining Alex Gordon , Justin Upton , Jason Heyward (though that was never going to happen), and Yoenis Cespedes . And the masses, they were angry. Some were angry because they really like Fowler, and thought he made a lot of sense for the White Sox. Others were angry because Fowler signing with somebody else was just further proof that Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox are cheap. All were angry because it was just another sign that the White Sox are headed toward another season of Avisail Garcia , who is the real root of the problem, whether it's fair to him or not. And I think it's time we all talked about our feelings when it comes to Avisail, and how we're coping with the idea of hi

What You Need To Know About The Jimmy Rollins Signing

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Last week I wrote about the beginning of White Sox spring training , and what aspects of it I was actually interested in following, and would pay attention to. One of the things I mentioned was signing somebody, but the main focus of my post was the battle for the shortstop position. Well, that battle got a bit more interesting on Monday morning. #WhiteSox have agreed to terms with infielder Jimmy Rollins on a minor-league deal w/ an invite to camp. — Dan Hayes (@CSNHayes) February 22, 2016 Okay, so what do we make of this? Let's break it all down.

The Only Things That Matter To Me During Spring Training This Year

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I don't like spring training. It bores me. Every year, as I sit through the winter, I long for spring training to finally get here, and when it does, I'm disappointed. It's one of the few things I can count on every February, aside from some leftover chocolates The Lady doesn't want. For me, spring training is just another sign that the baseball season -- the real baseball season -- is that much closer. Inevitably I'll try to watch a game that the Sox are streaming online, or one that's actually televised, but again, I get bored quickly. Still, even if I don't truly enjoy it, what I try to do every spring is find a few different things to actually give a fuck about. It helps the whole thing go by a little quicker for me. So, with pitchers and catchers officially reporting on Friday, I figured I'd write about the things I'm actually going to pay attention to.

What You Need To Know About The Mat Latos Signing

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The White Sox did a thing! No, it wasn't signing Dexter Fowler , or even Ian Desmond if you're into that kind of thing, but it was a free agent signing. And it did address an area of concern that I've expressed my desires to see addressed quite a few times, even while the majority of Sox fans have kept their eyes on the outfield situation. The White Sox signed Mat Latos to a one year, $3 million deal to add much-needed depth to the back end of the starting rotation. Latos isn't my dream scenario of trading for Carlos Gomez and signing Yovani Gallardo , but it's still exactly the kind of move I wanted the Sox to make, even if it's not the biggest possible impact at the spot. But let's break this all down a bit with the relevant info.

Why I'm Not Interested In Yasiel Puig

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On Thursday MLB.com's Scott Merkin, a lovely man who cares a bit too much about Michigan athletics, posed a question to the White Sox universe . If the White Sox are interested in Andre Ethier , which seems to be the case if we can trust Phil Rogers and Bruce Levine, why not trade for Yasiel Puig ? I mean, it makes sense. If the Dodgers are looking to clear up their outfield logjam by getting rid of Ethier, shipping off Puig in a trade would provide the same relief. Essentially, what Merkin wants to know is, if you're looking to get drunk, why buy the Jim Beam when there's a bottle of Bulleit Rye right next to it? On the surface it seems like an obvious choice, but there's a lot more to it than that. While I'd definitely prefer the Bulleit to Beam, I'd rather have Ethier than Puig, and I'm not exactly dying to get my hands on Ethier. I just don't want Puig.

So Let's Talk About Andre Ethier

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It's been a while since we've had ourselves a new White Sox rumor. The Sox were continually attached to free agent names like Alex Gordon and Yoenis Cespedes , but those never amounted to anything, as both chose to stay where they already were. That left Sox fans heading into February with no real idea of what to expect. Were they going to go after Dexter Fowler ? Ian Desmond ? Were they just going to lick their wounds after missing out on top free agents, and stand pat? We really didn't know until Rick Hahn said during SoxFest that they weren't done trying to build the roster. He made no promises, but Hahn certainly gave the impression he was still active. Hell, he said on Friday that he'd been on the phone before making his way to the festivities.