SoxBlanco

To the people saying we shouldn’t screw around and let other teams enter the race, what exactly do you want the Sox to do? Let’s say our offer is 8 for $250 right now. If we said, “Alright, let’s make it 8 for $275,” do you think he would all of a sudden sign? No way. They would just say that’s not enough and we’d be in the same spot now, except with a higher offer, which is exactly what Lozano wants. You have to ask their side what it would take to sign. I’m sure that number is astronomically high, but then you negotiate, which is I’m sure what has been happening. I also think the opt outs are causing a problem right now. I’m guessing Lozano wants one after 3 years and we are refusing to give that.

The point of my post was not to compare Quintana and Shields, because there’s no argument there. My point was that it’s ridiculous to claim one front office is clearly better than another because of one trade.

And the Cubs got absolutely boned in the Quintana deal. Does that mean Hahn is obviously better than Theo?

I’ve been waiting for a leak like this with opt out specifics. After what Hahn said today, I think the hold up might be as much to do with opt outs as it has to do with the dollar amounts.

Not if Lozano is refusing to accept anything that isn’t close to what he wants. No reason to offer $300 when no other teams are even at $250 right now.

This is exactly how I feel.

They aren’t missing out on both.

I think almost everybody on this board thinks we will land Machado. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t disappointed that nothing got announced today.

palehose1 is not a user here. It was a user from MLBTR.

Did Yolmer FaceTime him too?!?! ?

Last night, raBBit said this...”paleose1 is legitimate and an impressive guy.” People directly asked him what he meant, and he didn’t answer. It seems like he was purposely being cryptic and having fun with the fact that he had inside information. And to me, that’s completely fine. I don’t lose any sleep over it, but I think that’s what people are referring to.

Pitchers and catchers report in 18 days.

Bernardo Flores will be discussed as a legitimate piece of our future rotation after this year (not an ace, but a nice back part of the rotation starter).

Agreed, which is why I said it means something is close. Aren’t we saying the same thing?

That’s fair, but when the eyeballs make an appearance, I take that to mean he has heard something is close to being announced. Obviously “close” is subject to interpretation. If nothing gets announced in the next few days, then I’ll be right there with you saying he was wrong.

The burner account and Chili suggested SoxFest. RaBBit and WSD just suggested something was happening, but not necessarily at SoxFest.

I've wondered the same thing. He must completely change his approach with two strikes to just protect the plate, and because of that, he hits into a lot of weak outs with two strikes. That's just a guess, though. I haven't watched him play much at all.

Would you rather have a guy with a career .228 BA and an OPS of .800, or a guy with a career .290 BA and an OPS of .690?

Do you know all the details of the transaction?

You’re back! So what was the update you got?

No way in hell we give up that much for Joc.

I bumped the starting pitching thread when I saw some discussion start in here about the 5th starter. Curious to see people's thoughts on who we should get.

For the Sox, pitchers and catchers report on February 12. Position players have until February 17.

Assuming our 5th starter had to come from one of these six options, rank your order of preference: 1. Dylan Covey 2. Manny Banuelos 3. Gio Gonzalez 4. Clay Buchholz 5. Wade Miley 6. James Shields

I had him in fantasy while he was on the Titans. Had some monster games for me. Probably over the hill now, though.