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Hoping and praying for the best possible outcome. Be strong Danny .

I'm not concerned with Shields since he is a sunk cost gone after this year but they could've passed on Miguel Gonzales and the numerous relief guys they signed and put in the minors for the most part and attempted to sign some of the available relief pitchers and starting pitchers with better track records and guys like Moustakas and Logan Morrison for very cheap and for the short term benefit of making the Sox competitive and attractive to free agents without messing too much with the longer term potential. If you are still not competitive enough by the trade deadline you have better pieces to move.

I agree. You have to see it through. However when opportunities present themselves such as the bargain basement prices for FA's this off season things can be adjusted on the fly. The Sox could have been a better team this year with minimal spending and without upsetting the timeline for success since many of those I mentioned earlier signed for 1 or 2 years, The only thing that would have been affected is giving some iffy position players the chance to show they are more than what they have already shown or some guys like Miguel Gonzales , Robbie Ross and Chris Volstad and some other relief pitchers chances to catch on with other teams.

And last time I checked the Sox hitters were worst in baseball at hitting with RISP. That was before the 11 run game but still have to be way way down there.

I know they will have the money but the question remains will the free agents we want and need take it ? I remain skeptical if the Sox patience with sacrificing winning for development of sketchy talent doen't reap some dividends.

You know the answer to that. You look at age , defense and offense in minor leagues and in the show. So what if you lose a DH ( Davidson) there are tons of those available . If Delmonico cant play better D he is also a DH. Engel is also getting to the age where results matter. I want these guys to become stars too but odds are they won't and won't even be starters for many, if any, major league teams. You scout them , you know their age and history and you come to a conclusion. It isn't hard and you play the odds. Just saying the way I suggested is just an alternative reality. No way of knowing how this all plays out. But if it plays out the way I'm hoping it doesn't ,with the Sox not signing any major FA's, I will be disappointed and look to the 2017-18 offseason and 2018 season as the main culprits. If the Sox can still win a Championship without big name free agents then I will be extremely impressed and will have worried about all this for nothing .

Shields actually is well liked and pretty funny and also good with the young pitchers. Dane Dunning credited Shields with adjusying the grip on his curve ball. You can be of value other places besides on the field. He will be gone soon enough.

Good luck Fark . Get well soon. Hope it's not anything life threatening.

Just baseball being baseball. I like saltiness. I see a little of Rickey Henderson in Anderson. Let him get under Verlander's skin . Verlander has to find his motivation somewhere since the Sox bats were dormant. Besides some of what Verlander said was right . He had the last laugh picking Anderson off. Veteran smarts outwitted young players aggressiveness. Live and learn. Baseball being baseball.

I totally understand what this year is about but I can't say I'm 100% in line with it. Other teams on the rebound like the Phils and Braves were a little more proactive in improving their teams. The Braves picking up Preston Tucker from the Astros is paying early dividends. I really like what the Twins did this off season. They got starters and relievers most of whom I thought would be good fits for the Sox and got most of them at bargain prices. They took advantage of the down market to nab Logan Morrison. They got Ordorizzi, Lance Lynn, Rodney , Duke and Reed. They signed Michael Pineda even though he will miss this year . They spent around $52M for all that and with the Reed and Pineda deals both being 2 years and Ordorizzi signed through next year also. Reed was easily available for the Sox because he only wanted to be on teams in the Midwest. It is no secret I advocated signing Moustaskas and thought JD Martinez would also be beneficial. I advocated more moves with the hopes of being fairly competitive this year in order for key free agents to consider the Sox an up and coming team. It's much harder to convince them of that if the Sox approach 100 losses. The Sox could have made some hard decisions on the Davidson and Engel types on the roster rather than give them another year to develop. I know many of you think that money will determine where free agents sign but it is also about winning. It's hard to pass up big bucks and winning teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox. Those teams are doing all they can to avoid luxury taxes and be viable players for the upcoming free agents. They are our competition for all those guys everyone seems to think the Sox have a shot at. Apparently the Sox tried to trade for Yelich and made a late run at Logan Morrison and we all remember the idiotic idea of trading for Machado in the hopes of resigning him. The Sox payroll is the lowest its been since 2004 and next year the commitments are very low so in theory the Sox will have plenty of money available or free agents. The Sox could have made moves this off season cheaply to either be more competitive and have a small shot to make the playoffs or have better pieces to sell off. I guess my main point is would it have been so bad to make earlier decisions on guys like Davidson, Engel, Delmonico and try to be more competitive ? Chances are those types will not develop into long term starters or even very tradable pieces any more so than guys they could have signed in the off season. The only thing the Sox did this off season was save more money and delay the inevitable decisions on players who most likely will not succeed. Most of those guys are flawed either defensively or offensively . I want the Sox to be a more attractive destination for free agents but I am losing hope that if the Sox put a lot of eggs into the free agent market and end up without a couple of big name players they are screwed and I will blame it on too much losing.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 12:02 PM) I'd like to see Leury in CF full time. Engel just kind of sucks. Keep him around as the 4th OF if need be, but he shouldn't be getting everyday at bats. Any update on Cordell injury from yesterday? I've supported Engel in the past but also thought Leury should be the opening day starter in CF even suggested he was just as good as Engel out there which drew the wrath of many.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Apr 16, 2018 -> 10:00 PM) Not like we have a ton of options on the bench (besides Garcia for Engel). Unless you mean the order order or odor ?

Hey Ricky just keep sticking to the same lineup. It's working like a charm.

QUOTE (Footlongcomiskeydog @ Apr 14, 2018 -> 02:59 PM) This Albies kid looks like he is going to be a special player. He is only 21 and already looks light years ahead of Moncada. Would have to go back in the wayback machine to see how many around here believed Albies could be as good as he has been. The way I remember it is Acuna was the one everyone liked and most were down on Albies because of his lack of power. Both Acuna and Albies were constantly mentioned when talking about trading Quintana maybe even before that .

If any starting pitchers go down wouldn't mind the Sox giving Dickey a try. He actually had a 2 War last year and a decent ERA (NL) and 190 innings. Sox have had a decent history with knuckleballers. Has he officially retired ?