How The Cubs and White Sox Should/Should Have Sold Themselves to Tanaka

So the Masahiro Tanaka battle will be drawing to a close over the next week, and really could wind up ending over the next few days. The Cubs and White Sox, along with the Dodgers, Yankees, and the Diamondbacks. The Angels are supposedly in, but haven't made any sort of formal offer. Just being in Chicago gives the Cubs a very strong negotiating point, but the Dodgers and Yankees are in even larger cities. However, not all hope is lost. Both Chicago teams have their chance. If I were to weigh it, I'd say the Cubs have a better shot than the White Sox, but neither team is out of it at all, and the White Sox could very well be the team to land him. The chances are that the money will be very similar among all of the offers, so a sales pitch is going to be very important. Here is what I bring up for each team.

Stupid Things Sports Fans And Journalists Say, Part 1

Here it is, this is my venting on the stupidity of sports fans and journalists. This is what drove me to take my much needed hiatus from reading anything outside of scores and really just watching the games, and nothing else. I'm really not an arrogant person, but there is just so much stupidity, some that is just accepted without anyone really thinking about what they're saying, like they're just repeating points that ESPN tells them to make. Here is where I say what is stupid, and from there explain why it is stupid.

John Sickels Rates Cubs Prospects

I went on a bit of a hiatus again. This time for different reasons. I just pretty much became totally disenfranchised with sports journalists and sports fans in general it has nothing to do with fans that understand how things work and whatnot, but just people who either don't think before they say things, or just say things that are unbelievably stupid. I had to save my sanity and realize that being around it just wasn't worth it for me. I watched the games, even rewatched some, but ignored any analysis or comments from fans on articles. To be honest, it was a good decision on my part. I hate to sound arrogant or like I'm putting myself above others, but there are a lot of really stupid people out there, and the fact that some of the really stupid people I was escaping were people who were paid to write and talk about this stuff....well, it shows yet another thing wrong with the world. Anyway, I'll have an article on this and just general fan and sportswriter faux pas behavior before too long.

Now, to the matter at hand. One of my favorite times of the year is when John Sickels releases his lists of top prospects for organizations. He goes team by team and puts them out there. Today he released his Cubs list, and before too much longer his White Sox list will be out. It probably won't be very soon, but within the next couple of months, which in the grand scheme of things isn't a long time at all. The list can be viewed here.