Look at Ray Ray Run

With interest attached to the deferrals I really don't understand them. You still, technically, should be putting that money to the side if interest is going to be owed on it. Maybe the Nats think they can make more money than the interest rate they gave him on the money to offset some of the costs on their side.

Cubs beat writer making fun of the Sox because theres nothing to actually talk about with the Cubs.

I think they sold off a lot of shares to buy the Cubs, like 400+ million worth. Also, they dont own 100% of the company. They have like 9% left, so the old man will net about 2-2.5 billion. They retain that stock with the sale, and would have to sell their remaining 9% to get that full amount. Either way, it was a good day for the ricketts as Schwab is trading higher and they earned about 20% by doing nothing.

This times a million. This should also be a cautionary tale for all the "who cares how much, just get the player" supporters. The cubs are in talks of trading one of the best players in baseball because they; 1. Can't afford to extend him due to terrible FA deals to Darvish and Heyward. 2. May have created ill will with the service time management. This is the Cubs too - who are spending near the luxury tax threshold. Sox fans can say they dont care and all they want is tomorrow, but if Yoan Moncada is walking away because they spent 260 million on a pitcher who broke that's not something everyone will willingly accept.

LaRoche didnt cut his beard and it was long and hideous Pretty sure this is not a rule. Crede had long hair for like 2 years.

Huh?

Who forgot?

Dude the Marlins didnt even exist until 1993.

Yeah, I said that. Which makes the Ray's not going for it this year even worse. There arent many years where only 1 other team in the division is trying to win.

I'd prefer Oakland's model to the Rays model. I don't really think the Marlins have a model, so impossible to evaluate at this point. Regardless, it is 100% embarrassing for the Rays to not be pushing their chips in for next year.

Last year was their first trip since 2013. Which is my point; the Rays have very small windows given their division and the talent within it. The Rays have so many assets that they could literally trade 5 of them to get star MLB talents and still have a deep and talented farm. This is what the Rays should be doing; it's not though. This year they have a real chance to be GREAT, but they traded away a very good MLB outfielder to get another prospect. It's maddening, and it is certainly not a commitment to winning it all and Sox fans are envious of them while ridiculing the organization for not giving Stras 250 million.

Thanks for this. I find it odd that this is from 2015; the data surrounding framing has changed so much even since then. I wonder how big their sample was to draw that conclusion; I think most catchers in general drop off around 32 so maybe those things are just correlated.

How has it worked out well? How many titles do the Rays have? It's funny to read what Rays fans think of the way the team operates and what White Sox fans think. I always find it humorous how envious Sox fans are of the way the Rays do business. I posted this earlier today, but the Rays just traded Pham to get another MIF prospect; they already have 3 elite ones. This is where someone could counter and say, yeah but they can trade these assets to go all-in when the time comes. Well, the time has come - the Red Sox stink, and the rest of the division besides the Yankees is blah. What did the Rays do? Accumulated more prospects and didn't help the MLB roster. The Rays never go for it; ever. At some point, you need to trade your assets to try and win. Say what you want about Beane, but he maintains a competitive window while constantly trading for all-in pieces (Ces, Lester etc etc) even if it hasn't worked out for him. The Rays are really smart, but they're maddening to follow. They never actually take the final step for contending, and they continue to stockpile pieces without ever trading them for elite MLB talent.

I'd be shocked. This is the Rays best window to compete in the last decade. They have the pieces to do it too. If the Rays can't hang onto a pitcher like Snell at his cost (after signing him to a great extension) while trying to compete then they should just contract that team. At some point, the Rays need to try and actually win it all with all these assets they've accumulated.

Framing stats are like 7 years old; how do you have aging trends from a stat that hasn't been around long enough to even evaluate aging? Not saying it doesn't exist, I just have not seen it. Just because Strasburg is good it doesn't mean giving him 7/245 is smart; that's the issue here. At some point you have to have a ceiling on negotiations, regardless of how much you want a player. I'm not saying they shouldn't overspend the market anywhere - they were willing to with Wheeler for example - but you can't just expect them to overspend the market on every target because some guys may have higher valuations with one team than they do across the rest of the league; this very easily could be the scenario with Stras and his ties in Washington. Am I mad that the Sox didn't offer Stras some absurd 7/260 contract? Of course not, that would be a horrible signing for an organization in which salaries matter - regardless of what Sox fans want to think. That's far too much risk attached to a guy who has never had a 6 WAR season. Now would I give Cole 7/280? Sure. Absolutely. I think he's much less risky and about as sure of a thing as you can find in the modern game.

Yeah, I'm not sure why people think Snell would net less than Sale. Snell has more control than Sale had, and while Sale had been better more consistently, and he's nearly as good in terms of ceiling and level of performance. Snell would cost a boat load; it would cost a Vaughn/Madrigal/Stiever type package. Moncada was the #1 prospect in baseball and Kopech was the #2 arm prospect.

There are nearly twice as many position players with WAR's > 5 the last decade as pitchers. A position player has held the WAR crown like 20 years in a row. Position players are more valuable than pitchers. Elite pitchers are certainly more rare - at least consistent ones.

7 years 245 million is a lot of money no matter how you look at it. If you think the Sox payroll is going to be 160ish million, that's 21% of their payroll allocated to an arm with a lot of red flags. If you're going to play at the top of the market, you should be paying Cole whatever he wants; not Stras. That's just my opinion.

I'm not sure why you're being critical of another reporter posting information that might not have been accurate.

Except every other team in baseball thought he was worth less than 118 million.

Again, you can't ask the organization to be intelligent and responsible and then ask them to throw 260 million dollars at a guy who is worth about 180 million. They either become a good and smart organization in all facets or they don't. Sox fans are really bipolar. I want them to make intelligent and savvy decisions, supplement their core with effective and talented players, and I don't want them to just spend money and not care about the expected value in return solely to show people they're going to spend. That's how you destroy the future of the team. You don't build up the core for 4 years of complete misery, only to throw all the value you get from your young controllable assets at a SP who has an injury history that would make any doctor cringe. If you want to sign Stras for 7 years 260 just to say the Sox did, go right ahead. It doesn't prove anything. Only winning does.

Cool. Sorry my opinion on the Phillies has had such an impact on your life.

Did you want the Sox to sign Stras for 7 years 260+ million? I certainly didn't want them to do that.

I think people wanting to blame the White Sox for not signing Stras can move on now. The Sox would be complete idiots to sign him for that deal.

Doesn't matter if it's front loaded or not, honestly. The way baseball does the cap distribution, front loading doesn't really help much down the road. I imagine, if anything, the Nats put a 10 year deferral in place at about 5 million per. Maybe less, but I would guess that's the only thing creative they do here.