The White Sox signed an outfielder and his name is Austin Jackson
/Our long, regional nightmare is finally over. The White Sox have signed an outfielder
Read MoreWhite Sox & Jimmy Rollins Agree to Minor League Deal
/The oft-posed question of “are you really going to go into the season with Tyler Saladino as starting shortstop?” has a murkier answer than it did last week. The White Sox have agreed to terms with Jimmy Rollins on a minor league deal and an invite to big league camp.
Read MoreWhite Sox Sign Mat Latos
/The White Sox signed a pitcher who in a recent podcast this author compared to a malformed male organ. The author stands by that, but likes the signing nonetheless.
Read MoreMy Response To Those Opposed to Signing Dexter Fowler
/My response to the objections I have seen raised to signing Dexter Fowler.
Read MoreSoxFest displays a White Sox club with serious ambitions, and an incomplete roster
/Cat Garcia was reporting from SoxFest all weekend. Her first article for The Catbird Seat is a recap of Rick Hahn and Robin Ventura's comments on the state of the White Sox. Follow her on Twitter @TheBaseballGirl.
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Should the White Sox attempt to upgrade with Ian Desmond?
/Ian Desmond would represent an upgrade at a position with offensive need, much like Dexter Fowler. Should the White Sox pursue him?
Read MoreWith The Rockies Trade ... What Else is Left?
/Dexter Fowler is still out there, but with the Rockies clearing their outfield logjam, what else is left to save White Sox fans from Avisail Garcia?
Read MoreAn Attempt at Optimism for 2016
/Happy New Year! I want to thank everyone who stops by to read our stuff, and I want to thank James, Matt, Collin, and Ethan for allowing me to periodically drop by and spew vitriol at interludes between their pleasant, funny, and insightful commentary. Here’s hoping the 2016 White Sox give them happier things to discuss than in years past.
Read MoreTCS Afternoon 5: There is an Art to the Building up of Suspense
/Transactions have trickled in slowly since the close of the Winter Meetings, but there have been a few non-White Sox transactions (or very-close-to-transactions) this morning.
Read MoreDioner Navarro? Ok, then
/That new catcher replacing Tyler Flowers is Dioner Navarro.
Read MoreRick Hahn and the Magical "Rebuild"
/This morning, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine published an article with quotes from Rick Hahn claiming that the White Sox will treat this offseason as a rebuilding effort.
Read MoreThe Small Market Fallacy - A Guest Post by Mike Musary
/Guest author Mike Musary chimes in on the current debate over whether or not the White Sox truly are a small market team.
Read MoreIf not Alexei, then who?
/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.
Read MoreHardly, Hardly, Hardly, Hardly Pay Anything
/On Wednesday, MLB Trade Rumors published a list of the largest contracts in each MLB team's history. As could probably be assumed, the list was full of face-of-franchise studs- Giancarlo Stanton, Clayton Kershaw, Troy Tulowitzki, Alex Rodriguez (twice!)- as well as a fair share of major albatross contracts- Albert Pujols' Angels deal, Vernon Wells' Blue Jays disaster, and the Twins' extension of Joe Mauer. One thing that stands out is most franchises have by now given out a mega deal, with 22 of 30 teams (including financial lightweights like the Rays and Marlins) having inked a player to a deal of at least $100 million.
Read MoreSearching for optimism after a season of abject misery
/The 2015 White Sox season was not good. In fact, it may be better described as bad, terrible, disappointing, sad, awful, or any combination thereof, probably best mixed with profanity. After a 2014 season with encouraging signs abound and an offseason full of additions, a team expected to contend finished the 2015 season with a laundry list of embarrassing "accomplishments."
Read MoreAdam LaRoche needs to keep walking
/Stashed away in the loathsome wilderness of the National League for all of his 11 years in the majors, Adam LaRoche has been more or less interchangeable in my consciousness with Nate McLouth, Nuke LaLoosh, Chesty LaRue, The Mighty Boosh, and Lyle Overbay. And yet, he's been plugging away as the typical adequate hitting first baseman we theorize about but never pay to watch. He owns a career .263/.340/.472, 113 wRC+ batting line that he's jumped back and forth across like a metronome.
Read MoreThe Rotation Is A Problem
/A starting rotation of Sale-Samardzija-Quintana-Danks-Noesi is rather hilarious in its division between strengths and weaknesses. Pros: Sale, Samardzija, Quintana. Cons: Danks, Noesi. Given that the team didn't give up too many future resources this offseason - a second and third round pick for Melky and David Robertson, and the useful, cost-controlled fringe starters / bench players surrendered in exchange for Samardzija - normally I would say they can just keep riding out the upswing and roll with what they have. But, their main acquisition this offseason - Shark - will only be here for 2015, and it doesn't make sense to add him and other guys like Melky, Robertson, LaRoche, Duke, etc. etc. only to hamstring your chances at competing by leaning heavily on Danks and Noesi.
Read MoreProfessional bench solutions
/I knew I was supposed to strongly approve of the Emilio Bonifacio signing when it was originally announced, but I had a hard time getting particularly excited for it. A light-hitting utility man most prominently featured in center field and second base, and mostly anticipated to provide veteran stability to the latter, Bonifacio carries a slappy .262/.319/.341 career line after fluttering down from a hot start to a .259/.305/.345 season in 2014.
Read MoreWhite Sox Sign Emilio Bonifacio
/Yesterday marked 21 days since the White Sox made a MLB transaction, which inspired me to work on an article assessing potential depth signings to improve the team. Perhaps the player I focused most on was INF/OF Emilio Bonifacio, who reportedly signed with the Sox today for one year/ $3 million with a club option for $4 million and a $1 million buyout. Of course, this signing forced me to scrap last night's post.
Seeing as the article was not published, I cannot take credit for giving Rick Hahn the idea to sign Bonifacio, unless he has access to the TCS drafts folder and made the decisionbased on that access. This said, it is a shrewd move by Hahn to fix one of the last major holes in this White Sox squad: depth.
Read MoreSo Who's Going To Sign Scherzer?
/In the offseason after the 2013 season, we saw two Scott Boras clients - Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales - turn down qualifying offers and play hardball for a long term contract for big dollars, only to have it blow up in their face. Each wound up taking a 1-year deal worth less than the QO after the season started, and then posted abysmal numbers. Boras made himself the biggest agent in sports in part because he knew that if he stuck by his demands for his players, one team would blink and come up with the money. But with these two players, the strategy didn't work out at all. Jon Lester has signed with the Cubs for 6-years, $155 million, while the number being floated as Scherzer's demand was $200 million. Is anybody actually going to come close to that number?
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