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A little off topic, but is this an actual team/fan thing?

If some of the guys like Meidroth, Vargas, Sosa, Quero and Baldwin don't turn into (at least) average, 2 bWAR players, if Colson and Teel don't grow into 4+ bWAR dudes, if they can't develop a couple of 3+ bWAR starting pitchers, then what are we even doing? All I'm describing is natural development. Sure, Colson may play a full season and put up 2.5 WAR. That would be a step back. But imagining that nobody's going to improve beyond replacement level just seems unrealistic. I think this team is roughly a 75+ win team at this point. If the kids continue to develop, as you noted, if some of these young arms become effective or find some success quickly, a .500 record wouldn't surprise me.

MLB NBC just announced their 20 game Sunday Night Baseball package for the coming year. Don't hold your breath looking for the Sox on it...because they aren't. 😉

Agreed and the other benefit is that Illinois taxpayers won't be on the hook.

Wow. He was on PEDs? And that bad?

I'll say this, I obviously hope you're right and I'm wrong!

Max Kepler 80 game PED suspension.

I certainly think some guys will regress vs. their 2H production, but a lot of that is already reflected in the Steamer projections I highlighted above. But generally speaking, I do expect talented young players to get better over time. And that very much holds true on the defensive side of the ball for catchers and guys that are still somewhat new to positions like Baldwin (and maybe Vargas). Overall, I’m very optimistic about the positional group, but would like to see one more OF addition to improve the floor of the team. The pitching doesn’t look good on paper right now, but there is a tremendous of young arms that could enter the mix at some point and change the calculus. I am also very high on Burke (I know you are not) and view Kay as a complete wild card who could perform better than most think. All that being said, I still think another SP and RP is needed. This bullpen could actually be decent with Newcomb and one more high leverage arm added to the pen. Ultimately, you think there is zero chance of competing next year while I think with a few more additions there is some theoretical chance of being a fringe playoff team. By no means do I think it’s likely, but W-L records are highly impacted by luck and if we have some good news go our way and have a few breakthrough performances next year it might just be possible.

Thank you! The Bears have spent most of the last 3 decades fielding very mediocre and frequently getting embarrassed by their arch rivals. This is only their 7th playoff appearance in 30 years. ...and yet, fans in Chicago are as rabid about the Bears as ever (even before this year's resurgence). Let's get real. While they'd much prefer ending up in Arlington Heights, having a stadium in Gary/Hammond isn't going to slow their popularity.

Why would they have to do away with the song? Is the state going to sue them? Its going to be Illinoisians in an Indiana stadium cheering for Illinois' most popular football team. People will continue to sing the song aside from a couple butthurt reddit bros. The Dutch national anthem sings about honoring the King of Spain, who hasnt controlled the country for centuries. I think Chicagoans will be fine.

A sub .200 hitter with a 30% K-rate is the last thing the Sox need in LF. Lee's value is his defense behind the plate - moving him off that makes him completely worthless.

100%. It doesn't matter where the stadium is. If Illinois really has no interest in discussing Bears situation in 2026, I honestly think they move to Indiana. Agreed. I'd actually prefer it living in the south burbs.

I'd be surprised if Quero moves. They'll need a ton in return to move him and I'm not sure the offers will match that yet. Pitchers don't love throwing to Korey Lee

Ah got it. That makes sense. And Indiana is a petty state. It's the reason they keep spending money on the succession plan knowing damned well it would never happen. It's all for show, which is why the Bears are an attractive target.

He's saying that Indiana would see a larger benefit than Illinois since they are going from 0 to 1 rather than 1 to 1.

Not even close. The Bears can go 0-for the next ten years and they will remain popular.

They would get just as many sell outs in Hammond as they would in Arlington Heights.

They would gain a bit more than Illinois, as they would have 50k-70k people spending their money many Sundays a year in IN that normally wouldn't. In IL, no difference between spending it in Chicago or Arlington Heights. It wouldn't be enough to come close to offestting the cost of building the stadium the Bears want and maintaining it, but still something.

#98 is back!

Quero packages with Robert makes sense for all the wrong reasons. The Sox won't eat money and will get a meh return because of it but better than just Robert as a pure salary dump.

If it is a true trade, it has to be Quero unless a guy like Lee is a throw in to another deal. Romo was a waiver claim, which tells me that is about what Lee's value is going to be.

They need to stop being so damn greedy and just put it all on MLB.TV with no blackout restrictions and be done with it. Stop making it so damn difficult to watch baseball games.

Ah shucks. Well good for Lee he'll probably find a home somewhere. The Sox have been a sneaky good org for catchers even through all the awful rosters the last 10 years.

Was on the radio in NYC yesterday. Some highlights: Wants to expand to 32 teams but only until the A's and Rays stadium issues are finalized. Wants eight, four team divisions. Does not want cities with two clubs to be in the same division (so no Sox/Cubs in the same one) Called out the media for assuming there will be games missed in 2027. (I got a laugh out of that one as he is ignoring history as to what happens when owners insist on a salary cap)