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CHICAGO - Whether hes out on the town or simply checking messages, general manager Rick Hahn can sense the excitement and optimism surrounding the Chicago White Sox.The voice mails in the middle of the night have changed in tenor, which is nice, he joked Saturday at the teams fan convention. Thank you.Its been a big off-season on both sides of the town with the Cubs and White Sox making a series of moves that have their fans believing years of losing are just about over.The White Sox think theyre in position to compete for the AL Central championship after a dizzying off-season in which they made key additions to their lineup, rotation and bullpen.Now, there is a decidedly different vibe. While Hahn insisted the work is not finished, what was done is extensive.Chicago added some left-handed pop by signing Adam LaRoche and bolstered its rotation by trading for right-hander Jeff Samardzija with one year left on his contract.The White Sox also signed closer David Robertson and outfielder Melky Cabrera, along with reliever Zach Duke. With ace Chris Sale and AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu back, hopes suddenly are soaring around a team that finished fourth in the division at 73-89 last season after winning just 63 games in 2013.Everybody cant have a $200 million payroll, manager Robin Ventura said. You have to be able to be in that transition. You know youre going to take your lumps. We also knew there would be a point in time where were going to be aggressive and go out and fill some needs. The last couple years were tough. However, that has gotten us to this point.Where they go from here still remains to be seen. But the White Sox at least made their intentions clear this off-season. And the questions from fans were nowhere near as testy as they were during last years session with Hahn and Ventura.They were lighter. They were specific about the roster.One fan asked if the White Sox were maxed out payroll-wise and if they might try to sign James Shields, a 14-game winner for World Series runner-up Kansas City last season.Vince Coleman is your only news right now, Hahn said, referring to his announcement moments earlier that the White Sox hired the six-time NL stolen base champ as baserunning instructor. Are we maxed out? Lets put it this way: Ive gone back to that well a few times and Ive gotten yeses each time.This is my 15th season with the club. Every time weve been in position to contend and missing a piece come June or July and weve gone with a sensible acquisition, the expenditures been improved. Ive been told a target. I know where we are vis-a-vis that target. I (should say its) the third target since Ive moved past the first two.Hahn recalled chairman Jerry Reinsdorf giving the green light to kick the reconstruction into a higher gear during three days of meetings with team executives, the manager and pitching coach Don Cooper. Shortly after that, Hahn said he contacted Oakland about Samardzija — a White Sox fan growing up near Chicago in Indiana who later played football at Notre Dame and pitched for the Cubs.He thought that trade would be completed during the general managers meetings. It wasnt finalized until the winter meetings. Hahn said he hated to give up infielder Marcus Semien in that deal, but it was a price he had to play to add an All-Star between Sale and Jose Quintana in the rotation.About the same time that trade went down, the White Sox agreed to a $46 million, four-year contract with Robertson. Hahn said they were not the highest bidder for him.He also said Abreu was onboard with the LaRoche signing right from the start even though it meant bringing in another first baseman, a Gold Glove winner with Washington in 2012. Hahn said he discussed the possibility with Abreu before that deal was finalized.Within 45 seconds of me laying it out, hes like I got it, I got it. Yeah, absolutely. Makes us better, do it, makes us better. What are we gonna do about the pitching? Hahn said. Wholesale Rangers Jerseys . McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. Cheap Rangers Jerseys China .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. http://www.cheapnewyorkrangersjerseys.com/ .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. Cheap Adidas Rangers Jerseys . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Cheap New York Rangers Jerseys . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. REGINA -- Brendan Taman and Corey Chamblin are now tied at the hip. Taman, the Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager, signed an extension that keeps him under contract with the CFL club through the 2017 season. Last month, Taman re-signed Chamblin as the clubs head coach for the next four seasons. "Corey Chamblin is a big part of making me look good," Taman told reporters Wednesday. "I had a lot of faith in him when we hired him and he continues to show that." However, Taman also received a promotion, adding the title of vice-president of football operations to his job description. "Im excited about this," said Jim Hopson, the Riders president and chief executive officer. "I think we have a good team, a good organization and weve got some people who are very important to making us a good organization and Brendan is one of them. "We need continuity so with Brendan and Corey under contract through 2017 I feel really good as I look to the future." Chamblin guided the Riders to a Grey Cup title last year, just his second with the CFL club. Taman certainly did his part, not only hiring Chamblin as head coach in 2012 but strengthening Saskatchewans 13 roster by acquiring slotback Geroy Simon -- the leagues all-time leading receiver -- from the B.C. Lions, hiring George Cortez as offensive co-ordinator and dipping into free agency to add such proven veterans as defensive linemen Ricky Foley and John Chick and defensive back Dwight Anderson. Saskatchewan finished second in the West Division with an 11-7 record -- Calgary was first with a league-best 14-4 record -- before downing B.C. 29-26 in the conference semifinal. That set up a showdown with the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium that the Riders won 35-13. Saskatchewan capped its season to remember by beating Hamilton 45-23 before a rabid Mosaic Stadium gathering of 44,710.ddddddddddddIt was the Riders fourth Grey Cup title but first one on home soil as well as being Tamans first CFL championship. "Last year was obviously a pretty special year, thats not a secret for anybody," Taman said. "I was in the boardroom (Tuesday) and looked at our Grey Cups on the wall and I went from 66 to 89 to 07 to 13. "Theres 23-year gap from the first (to second), then theres 18 years and then theres six years. My goal this year is to make that less than six and ideally that would be one if we can do it. "Everyone has the notion that we went all-in last year and were very aggressive and thats very true. But this year is no different. Were driven to win in this business and this organization has been very successful over the last while and were going to continue to strive to do that." Taman, a native of Saskatoon, has been the Riders general manager since 2010 and his previous deal was set to expire following the 2015 campaign. "Obviously its a real special day for me to do this," Taman said. "I wanted to be here for a while and in this business thats not always the easiest thing to do. "Any good organization has sound, consistent relationships at the top. Jim is a great leader, we have a really good relationship, we have an open dialogue all the time. Hes a huge part of our success in this whole organization." Taman also praised the work of player-personnel director Craig Smith, football research and development co-ordinator Terry Baskier and assistant GM Jeremy ODay. Taman went so far as to say ODay -- a former Riders offensive lineman -- will be a CFL general manager one day. "Im so fortunate to work with him," Taman said. "Hes such a bright guy. "He brings a lot to the table and puts me in a good light because of how good he is." 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