SoxBlanco

Agreed. That’s why we need to add another arm that isn’t a bargain signing. Go trade for Castillo or one of the Oakland pitchers. We’re not automatically screwed because we didn’t land Gausman or Ray.

Of course. Well, definitely better than Keuchel and probably better than Cease, but I guess nobody knows what he will look like next year. But the point is that those guys wouldn't have guaranteed us an ALCS. I really wanted one of them also, but we're not doomed now. Bassitt is an example of somebody who could be just as good as those two guys. Hell, who would have thought Rodon would be as good as he was last year? Most people were furious that we settled for him last offseason.

Love this post. Those two guys are no different than having Lynn or Giolito on the mound (as long as we’re not facing the Astros, I guess). The only guy who I thought would really put us over the top in a playoff series was Scherzer. If we can trade for Bassitt, that would still be one hell of a playoff rotation.

Ah, I thought you meant the Sox were trying to sign Kershaw. So who ARE the Sox going after?

Ha, good call!

Or SoxTalk is just better at Googling "MLBTR Free Agent Predictions" than the front office. Either way, they better adjust and land Conforto.

Also, they could have misread the market for Conforto. Probably thought they could get him to sign already for much less than it will actually take.

In all honesty, I don't think there are as many fans as you think who were claiming "this will be the year" that we sign the big free agents. The issue is that once the talk started regarding our payroll possibly increasing to about $200M, people started to get their hopes up. But in reality, it doesn't take much to raise that payroll to $200M. Were people getting their hopes up that we would finally raise the payroll? Absolutely. But does that necessarily mean their hopes were high for one of the big names? I don't think so. If you polled everybody here, I'd say at least 90% did NOT think we would sign Semien. Same with Scherzer. Conforto? Absolutely, I think at least half of us (myself included) believe we will sign Conforto.

My day is going to be even better because not only am I excited for what you described, but I am also excited to read your responses to those fans.

Did the person you thought we would sign go elsewhere yesterday?

Ray Ray, would you be happy if we signed Conforto and one of Scherzer/Ray/Gausman?

Don’t kid yourself. You’ll be checking for updates in the bathroom.

Thanks. Yeah, that’s kind of what I figured. Hell, if JR is willing to go up to $200M, maybe he’s willing to go to $215M. But I guess the problem with that is the payroll would only increase over the next few years.

What kind of payroll are we looking at if we sign Scherzer and Conforto? Assume we swap Kimbrel for Segura in that scenario, so we’re not freeing up any money with a Kimbrel trade.

I apologize to everyone for my performance at games this year. Only made it out to two games…one was today and the other was the brutal Lynn game against the Cubs. I tried my hardest and it wasn’t enough.

We didn’t go ALL IN this year.

Yes, I did read your first paragraph. Funny how no Cubs fans complain about the Chapman trade. If we had won the WS this year and Kimbrel was lights out, nobody would be questioning the trade. I don’t disagree with everything you are saying. I just hate the hindsight criticism. And people can say they hated the trade whether we won or lost, but I promise you nobody would be complaining if we won the WS.

Yes, of course. Rick made moves trying to win a World Series. Craig and Cesar decided to suck once they got here.

We had two Cy Young candidates in August, plus a guy named Giolito. If Grandal’s defense is the problem, then nobody should be upset with Cesar as our second baseman.

And if we went that route, there would have been so much bitching about the lack of making a deal.

Jesus. You are the worst.

Yep. And by saving McCullers for game 5, you give yourself a chance at the absolute best case scenario, which is winning game 4 without him and having him available to start game 1 of the ALCS. I would be saving McCullers for game 5 without a doubt if I were Dusty.

Found out late last night that I will be in attendance today. Gonna try my hardest to bring home a W.

Couldn’t think of a better guy to start this must-win game thread. Also pumped because that means you’ll be starting the game thread for game 1 of the ALCS. @Chicago White Sox, really sorry about your dog. Let’s get this W.

I wanted Sheets at first too, but it wouldn’t make sense. I’d rather save him for a pinch hit for Engel (or Leury) later.