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Sale Trade Eliminates White Sox' Best Marketing Tool, Signals Full On-Field Rebuild

The White Sox trading P Chris Sale to the Red Sox for prospects "isn't just an indicator" that the team is rebuilding its roster on the field, as it also "sends the team's marketing department back to the drawing board," according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS. Sale has been at the "forefront of the team's promotional efforts the past three seasons." The White Sox since '14 have had an "entire seating section at the ballpark named after him -- the 'K Zone for Sale' seats down the left field line -- where fans could get ticket deals and Sale T-shirts on games when he started." With the possible exception of 1B Jose Abreu, Sale's "electrifying starts have been the most worthwhile thing to watch in awhile for a South Side team whose ticket sales have declined in nine of the past ten seasons." Losing a player who has finished in the top five in votes for the AL Cy Young for four straight seasons "complicates the ticket sales challenge for the Sox in a big way." That is "especially true" while the Cubs "appear to be on the verge of a sustained run of success." Ecker: "Who will pick up the marketing torch that was passed from Frank Thomas to Paul Konerko to Sale? The search for the next player face of the franchise is on" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 12/6). 

TIRED OF MIDDLE OF THE PACK: In Chicago, Mike Imrem writes Sale's exit signals the White Sox "finally are all in on a rebuild that has only just begun." White Sox Senior VP & GM Rick Hahn said, "We don't view this as a quick fix. This is the first step in what likely will be an extended process" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 12/7). Hahn said that White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf and Exec VP Ken Williams, as well as VP & Assistant GM Buddy Bell and Assistant GM Jeremy Haber, have "talked about taking this path 'for a long time.'” Hahn added that "being stuck in the middle -- neither great nor bad but not quite good enough to win -- is the worst place to be" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/7). ESPN's Aaron Boone said the White Sox "made the right move by finally moving on and turning the page and starting to rebuild their organization" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN2, 12/6). MLB Network's Kevin Millar said, "They have been stuck in the middle with some high-paid guys and nothing's happening. So you know what? Go get the farm system going. Do what you've got to do" ("Intentional Talk," MLB Network, 12/6). ESPN's Sarah Spain: "They've finally looked across town and said, 'Hey, look what the Cubs did?'" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 12/6). In Chicago, Paul Sullivan writes, "Kudos to Hahn for starting off the rebuild with a bang, and giving Sox fans something to argue about during the holidays" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/7).

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