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I want 99 for Vaughn

agreed, I think they're my NL team

Absolutely amazing. What a model organization the padres are

So are we at the point now where we are going to cherry pick everything someone we we don't like says in order to make them look like an awful person? Cause that's kind of where it feels like we're at right now.

I actually didn't know Herb Lawrence is black

He won the world series 10 years ago you act like he has not managed a game since 1957 He has a good staff around him and he has a history of success. You can hate him all you want but to act like the guy doesn't know baseball is asinine.

If he has a media obilgation on day 1 of spring training, he should make it on time. He's the manager, it isn't going to change, but Tony is an ass who will eventually b**** about the media, yet he treats them this way. In the Celebrity Death thread I posted a tweet from an older writer who was covering HS sports in Oakland back when Tony was managing the A's. This guy got bumped up to cover the A's one series against the White Sox. The Sox beat the A's and Eck in the 9th. The headline, which the writer has no part of said Eck blew a save. He didn't. The story had it right, the headline had it wrong. Tony went after this guy the next day. The tribute was to Pedro Gomez who was this guy's competition who told Tony to lay off the guy, quit trying to embarrass him, he knew damn well the guy wasn't responsible for the headline. If you treat people like shit, don't be expected to be put on a throne by he same people.

One could even say... disrespectful to the game.

Fun fact. Tatis' contract ends in 2035. The Mets would still have to pay Bobby Bonilla one more year afterwards.

It isn't popular to say, but I am OK with what they did in the EE signing. It didn't work out, but instead of trying to force a guy who might not have been ready into a role, they spent only money to sign a guy that carried no obligation past one season, and still had guys like Collins and Mercedes, as well as Vaughn as back up options if they wanted to use them. I wish they had done more EE style moves in this off season to give this squad more insulation and protection against injury and failures.

If you look at what Hahn and the Sox have done this offseason, I think the failed EE experiment last year, and to a lesser extent the Gio Gonzalez deal, led the Sox in a different direction. For $13M (prorated though it was), the Sox got a .157/.250/.377 anchor in the middle of their lineup. Had they brought up Andrew Vaughn last year, he likely could have hit better than that for next to no money. Zack Collins probably could have done better with EE's 181 plate appearances. So might have Yermin Mercedes. But once they committed to that kind of contract, they weren't just going to cut him or not play him. They left Renteria out to dry with not much choice other than to play him most of the time. Sure, RR moved other guys through the DH spot, including Grandal when McCann caught. But EE still got 44 of 60 games to drag the Sox offense down. And at the end of the year, they had nothing to show for it. Didn't win a playoff series. Didn't help develop a longer term player. Didn't save money they could use for more productive things. I think it was that contract and experience that led Hahn not to go get another temporary bat to place in front of Andrew Vaughn, when Zack Collins might serve well as a DH until Vaughn covers his service time for an extra year of Sox control. At catcher, they signed Lucroy for depth, but only gave him a minor league deal so as not to block Collins from playing. On the pitching side, they did add Rodon, but only for $3M, because their hope is he's just a bridge until Kopech is ready. In short, I think the Sox decided this year to make sure their young trio of Vaughn, Collins, and Kopech will have no veterans in their way once service time issues are resolved.

Yep poor guy’s dad never made any money in his life. Tatis Sr made about 17 million in his career

Depends a lot on how many times people come after me for not bowing down and worshiping the ground he walks on.

You're 24 hours late pal!

You short selling Mercedes? Im going to buy up all the inventory and diamond hand it to the moon.

During his first turn with the Sox, Tony was not a popular guy. That didn't make him a bad manager,; he just wasn't all that popular. Fans didn't like the way the firing was handled, but I didn't hear too many people call for his return. Maybe things will turn out this time around, but I don't expect a love-fest between LaRussa and the fans. Maybe not a love fest with anyone else either. If the team wins, it won't matter. If the team doesn't win, that will be a different story.

Ya'll have lost it. I'd prefer he spent that time coaching the players than speaking to media, personally. If he was in the cage or bullpen discussing things with guys, so be it.

“Unlike Bauer”....that’s one of the most inaccurate comments I’ve seen posted. Bauer tries to be more interactive with fans and supports players being more entertaining on the field.

I am here too. Let him try the spot until Vaughn is up. If he's producing, you dont have to rush Vaughn. But if Vaughn is ready maybe you can get a poop prospect.

Call me crazy -- I'd entertain bringing in EE again ... I know he wants consistent AB's so he may just rather sit out than get a short leash/playing time, but I'd imagine you can get him for $2-3mm. He could fill in at DH for a month or two - if it's going well keep sprinkling him in, if it's not? Cut bait. Not saying I'd actually do the deal - I'd just consider it. : Ducks head:

Exactly. If he is as great as many think, doesn't get hurt, and becomes an all time great, he may have cost himself $100 million, but it's $100 million he would never use. $340 million vs. $440 million will make no difference in his life. Down the road with his heirs, yes. It's a no brainer for him to sign IMO. This is a huge risk for the Padres. It will probably be the last contract of the kid's career. You wonder if he will be able to stay healthy and motivated.

They’re going to pay Luis Robert $40 million (combined) in 2026 and 27 when he’s 28 and 29, his last two peak years going by the traditional 27-29 as that peak range up until the steroid era. In my lifetime, though, Konerko and Frank Thomas were the only homegrown players they kept into their 30’s. I have watched a lifetime of some of my favorite players become increasingly more expensive, then leave. This is fine for the Rays or A’s, but Chicago deserves better. And, all things considered, stars win in the postseason. The 2005 White Sox are one of those rare exceptions. In the age of super teams, that’s becoming ever more difficult. Luis Robert has the best chance of all, but still might end up being closer to Mike Cameron, Eric Davis or Devon White with power.

Tatis, Jr., has played exactly 76% of one full big league season and put up a 6.5 fWAR. Extrapolated out, that would be an 8.4 for a full season, done earlier than Trout. Since you’re not going to be able to acquire Trout, who would be a better option in the game to invest that kind of money in? And what would be the impact on the Padres’ fanbase if he walked in four years?

Not exactly. Moncada, Robert and Jimenez are the same type of calculated risks. Nobody can guarantee Luis will be a 5-6 fWAR performer. If you count the original signing deal and the extension, there’s nevertheless at least a chance it goes wrong. A year ago, Moncada looked like a sure thing vs. Machado, right? Jimenez is also an injury risk and he’s never going to be able to put up massive fWAR numbers due to defense, base running, etc. The thing is the Padres can afford to do this because of their pitching depth, at the major league level, Clevinger in 2022 and in the minors. They’re staking claim to being one of the best 2-3 teams in baseball for another 5-6 years, and their best pitcher, Gore, will be dirt cheap his first three years. The White Sox have their risk in veterans Grandal, Abreu, Keuchel and Lynn (lesser extent). If they don’t make it to the playoffs or advance a round, they’re going to have a tough time coming up with enough money to entice Giolito. It would be around 50% bigger than the largest deal in team history, which just got inflated by Tatis’ deal and another $5-7 trillion in the US economy. Unless Kopech, Cease or someone like Kelley becomes that next ace, you’re going to have to buy one at top dollar on the open market. Not the White Sox game. It’s also pretty clear we don’t have the trade capital to pull it off, because they need to keep Kopech and Vaughn. Overall, if Robert, Kopech and Moncada become stars, the White Sox will be fine. Two of them is enough for the Central. Just one puts the whole contention window at risk. (Now you can obviously argue that Myers and Hosmer are risks too, but if they were really concerned they would have dealt Myers at peak relative value this offseason.) The Padres are investing in their future, the White Sox are waiting for the payoff before they will invest further. From a typical business standpoint, that approach is certainly preferable if you want to have the very best product in your industry. It’s definitely a better way to get the fans on your side than hiring Tony LaRussa.

TLR: Johnny Cash:

Dollar Bill JR is probably thrilled that someone else is paying for this kid. He probably wakes up in a cold sweat thinking about someone asking him to pay that.

I think it's a bit of both. They aren't as good as this stretch indicates but they aren't a lottery team either. I still think they're one good #1 defenseman (unless Beaudin/Mitchell/Boqvist can develop into that) and top line player away from becoming quite the team. DeBrincat, Kurashev, Mitchell, Hagel, Beaudin, Kubalik, Suter, Reichel when he gets here, Dach, etc. is a good nucleus of young players to help this older core potentially squeeze one last cup. Oh.. and it's looking like they got a goalie too (Lankinen).

Nuisance? That's either incredibly stupid, or a statement to focus on winning a world series and anything that detracts from that is a nuisance. It's a world wide crisis. Why are we even thinking about playing or winning baseball games? Or, we can focus on winning a world series. I think teams are screwed no matter what they say.

An out of touch manager and an out of touch owner. Great pairing for each other...they both are clown shows

The Sox record with FA DH's is worthy of an ESPN docudrama.

The only hyperbole on this thread comes from your post, some stupid bullshit that adds nothing to the discussion.

Lol, TLR said he preferred his HoF over managing tells me everything

And post Covid economic recovery, with the Mets, Angels, Rangers, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Cubs, etc., bidding...and revenues stabilized, how much more does he get on the open market? A superstar turning just 25/26, like Harper and Machado two cycles ago, at the absolute peak rather than beginning descent at 29-31. Think of the Lionel Messi deal. Think of worldwide vs. local/regional impacts. He could very easily be the face of the sport because Trout eschews the limelight, Tatis embraces it.

It’s a calculated risk. Of course, the injuries are always the biggest factor, but still less so than for a pitcher. It’s going to be a long time until anyone beats Cole’s deal. Pitchers are even more unpredictable, and now there’s going to be a ball change and god knows what the impact will be from an injury-perspective. For the fans of SD, it means no backing down to the Dodgers, period...and that starting him on Opening Day, 2019, instead of fighting for that extra year of control was worth it for the general good will/partnership they created. As it stood, the Padres only had four more years of control remaining. It demonstrates commitment. They don’t plan to bail at the earliest convenience, like the Marlins did with Buehrle. It’s planting a flag in the ground and answering the Bauer deal with one of their own. For Tatis and his family, it might end up costing him $100-150 million down the road, plus endorsements that would be more likely on the East Coast in NY or Boston. That said, with digital media becoming increasingly prevalent, being on the West Coast isn’t a killer like in past years. The equivalent for the White Sox would be extensions for Giolito, Vaughn and Anderson (old deal torn up) announced today in succession.

Did the South Side really get 14 inches by 103rd and Pulaski? Is it true Midway had 21 inches? Was Midway closed? That kind of stuff intrigues me.

I don’t know what to make of this team. They are a lot of fun but it’s sort of hard to figure out what they look like moving forward. Is this for real, or has this just been a hot stretch against bad teams? Is JC actually the right guy behind the bench? What happens if/when Toews comes back? I really didn’t think I’d be watching a lot of Blackhawks hockey this season but here we are lol.

It's an average of 25 million for a kid who could have gotten a 400 or 500 million deal in free agency.

between this and trubisky instead of watson/mahomes i feel like i’m being sports punished.

340 million dollars plus Shields, steep deal.

The $ will be spent....in San Diego

This seem like a horrible extension to anyone else? Hasn't even played a seasons worth of games yet. Makes our deals look a lot better but we shall see.

sox won that trade

I don't know about you guys but I think we really need a few more TLR threads today

It is interesting that the Sox seem to have learned their lesson and stopped blocking the progress of young players by blowing money on meaningless veteran filler. I think they let the pendulum swing a little too far in the opposite direction at the expense of depth, but I'm excited to see the Vaughns and Kopechs of the world show what they can do.

If anything I have a higher view of TLR after that interview. He was 100% honest with both organizations about the DUI, it was Jerry who didn't tell anyone. TA is open to him moving forward. It is on TLR to prove everyone wrong on and he is aware that it's all on him.

Can it read 0.22?

DL? Ok Boomer.

And this is why they should have been more active in the FA market last few weeks

Now begins the terrifying stretch where injuries are the only major news for a couple of weeks

So it would become a problem when we no longer have Bauer, thus freeing up money for Giolito? Meaning this would be the perfect time to add Bauer?