TCS Morning 5: Robbing Peter to pay Paul

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"You don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul," has become a recognizable Rick Hahn phrase during his three-year reign, and it's not my favorite one to hear, since it's deployed as an explanation on why he's hesitant to do something. GMs are always more fun when they're making moves, even if they're doomed to fail. 

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TCS Afternoon 5 - The Calm Before the Storm

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The title of this article is in reference to the MLB hot stove as a whole, not necessarily the White Sox. The last week has seen a flurry of debate surrounding various quotes from the organization. Twitter and our staff have been speculating wildly about what the White Sox will or won't do.  It is unclear what will happen, although I have my suspicions.  However, there have been some small moves that may give us a clue as to what sort of marketplace Rick Hahn will be navigating this winter.

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TCS Morning 5: Who knew the best shortstop in the AL was available?

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Collin did the thankful job of recapping the Alexei situation so I didn't have to Thursday, which is good, because that means it didn't devolve into 900 words of blubbering, fan-hating snark, and a 10-minute video posted at the end that's just me pointing my finger at the camera and hissing.

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If not Alexei, then who?

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The White Sox declined the $10 million option on Alexei Ramirez on Wednesday, a somewhat surprising move that seems to create another black hole on an offense that already has question marks at second base, third base, catcher and right field.

Of course, it’s entirely possible we still see Ramirez in a White Sox uniform in 2016. The White Sox had to act on his option by Wednesday, and with teams able to come to terms with free agents starting on Saturday, they may still come to terms on a deal before everything is said and done.

Ramirez had the worst season of his career in 2015 and, as essentially a replacement-level player who will be 34 for basically the duration of the 2016 season. He’s also only a year removed from being an All-Star caliber shortstop and, quite frankly, there aren’t a ton of appealing options outside of Ramirez should the White Sox choose to go in another direction.

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TCS Morning 5: OHH MY GOD IS THE WHOLE OFFSEASON THIS BORING?!?

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Just to add to the sense that the White Sox could struggle to rope high-level candidates into this bench coach gig, Doug Padilla confirmed that Sandy Alomar Jr. did not even agree to interview for the position. This was kind of the indication already, since it would have been poor form to speak publicly about misgivings about the opening after interviewing for it. 

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TCS Morning 5: Staring at the stove, which is not yet hot

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It is nearly the deadline for activating club options, also known as the long-awaited decision day on Alexei Ramirez's future with the White Sox. Or, is better said, it's the deadline for determining whether their desire to purge $9 million from the 2016 payroll outstrips any interest in shopping the veteran for talent in return, or any interest in just not giving 600+ plate appearances to Tyler Saladino.

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