SoxBlanco

Completely agree. But to be fair, they are not claiming they will make or win the World Series. They are just claiming they are a sleeper. Stranger things have happened in sports. For example, I think the Sox winning the World Series next year is more likely than a basketball team coming back from 23 down with 9:10 remaining to win a game...and that happened last night. But yeah, there is no realistic chance the Sox are winning it all next year. And getting +3300 odds isn't even close to worth it.

Adding Alonso and Jay absolutely told Machado that we really want him. And I’m sure the pitch to him when he visited was very impressive. Manny knows how badly we want him.

In the beginning of the offseason, I would have agreed with you. But I don't believe that's the case anymore. I think Manny wants to play with the White Sox at this point because of Alonso and Jay.

I've been saying it for a while now, but I truly believe Manny has known he will be playing for the Sox for at least a month now. His agent is just trying to get him the best possible deal.

Obvious picks: Madrigal and Robert My personal picks: Gonzalez, Flores, and Bush

I would hate that trade, if true. I do not want to give up one of our top 5 outfield prospects for another outfielder that we will control for only two years. And we probably won't be competing quite yet during those two years. I'd be fine with the Fulmer, Bummer, Laz rumor...but not Rutherford.

The improved bullpen should add about 5 wins from last year. Eloy should add a few wins as well. The (hopeful) improvement of Moncada, along with some other minor additions adds a couple wins. Giotito can't be worse, so there's an extra win or two. Without Machado: 12 extra wins from last year (74-88) With Machado: 17 extra wins from last year (79-83) If we add another starting pitcher or another decent piece on top of Machado, we could be looking at somewhere around the 80 to 84 win range.

Agreed. I don't think this is anything new, which is why I'm confused as to why you think this happen in the next day or two. (Unless you believe the security stuff)

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I’m genuinely curious how often you think it happens. For example, how many times do you think the Sox had to remove a pitcher this season due to an injury?

I don’t think you described that very well. Let’s say the deal is 7 years for $210. After the third year, for example, the player can opt out only if the team doesn’t “swell” the contract, like adding on two more years for $60 more. So all of a sudden, the 7 year deal becomes a 9 year deal, unless the team doesn’t want to, at which point the player can opt out (but doesn’t have to).

I think Manny will be playing for the Sox this year, and I’m actually more worried about what the opt-outs or swell-opt will be than I am about whether or not we will sign him in the first place.

How often does it actually happen where pitchers need to be removed because of injury?

Great call. And if it’s the playoffs, that pitcher is out for the rest of the series. If it happens in a game 7, he is out for the next series. If it happens in game 7 of the World Series, so be it. I’m not worried about making World Series game 7’s less boring.

Great post. I feel very similar about all three guys.

My thoughts exactly. The opt outs will be very creative.

I never know how to rank guys. Should it be based on raw talent? Should it be based on a higher ceiling? Should it be based on who is more likely to contribute to the major league squad at some point? I am going to rank them the following way: If I woke up tomorrow and found out one of them has been traded, who would I be most upset about? Here is my list: 1. Luis Gonzalez 2. Micker Adolfo 3. Blake Rutherford 4. Luis Basabe 5. Steele Walker

If I was a lawyer, I would totally try his arguing skills in court: Your honor, this man should be convicted! I’m sure there is a law somewhere that says so. Anyone who has confidence in him being innocent must be his friend.

Has to be an O

Gotta get more vowels. I’ll guess I

I think the number one reason they are promoting him is their feeling that he will be better as he moves up, based on his patience and knowledge of the zone... “You don't want a guy in the lower level that shows patience and the ability to judge the strike zone well -- you don't want him to compromise that because of umpires or bad calls at the Double-A level. As he goes through the system, I think you are going to see, as he gets to Triple-A and the Major Leagues as the strike zone shrinks, he's going to be better off offensively.“ — Hostetler

This is possible, but pretty unlikely. It would mean the Sox had a cap of $300 and thought that was good enough to be in it from the beginning, while the Padres also had a cap of $300 and they decided to sit out until late January. The much more likely scenario is that Manny wants to play for the Sox and his agent is doing everything in his power to increase the price.

And I completely agree with this, as well. Sox are in great shape right now.

Couldn’t agree more. Sitting back and waiting is our best move right now, but that’s what makes it so frustrating.

I’m not at all scared by San Diego. If they were a true threat, they would have been it in from the beginning. They might drive the price up, but I’m not worried about them outbidding the Sox. And I also believe Manny wants to play with the Sox more than he wants to play with the Padres.

The main difference between the Sox and Padres is that the Sox have been in it since the beginning. The Padres are in it now because the bids seem to be low. While nobody truly knows how much either team is willing to spend, that makes it seem pretty obvious that the Sox are willing to spend more.