poppysox

Back in the day...Moncada would have the added pressure of being the man everyone is counting on. I love that there is a minimum of pressure to carry the team on any player. Jose got in great shape last year and that for sure was the primary reason for his outstanding MVP year. However, it certainly helped that he had lots of help so as not to feel the need of carrying the whole team on his back. All of our guys make up a "team" instead of the pressure that comes with the small personal slums that are sure to hit everyone during the daily grind the season presents.

So far...Katz has been the most exciting addition this offseason. Fans were willing to give Coop hugh credit for his ability to "fix" our pitchers. I see no reason to think Katz is not able to fix a few of these guys as well. Lopez and Cease have tons of natural ability. Katz showed the ability to get Giolito back on track..so why not Lopez and Cease.

I am anxious to see what Katz can do with Lopez. A young arm like Lopez would seem to be the ideal project for a young coach to earn his stripes.

I agree with you that the three work together on most acquisitions. Rick is the contract guy and a very good negotiator. Ken is the main baseball skills evaluator with Jerry being the money guy. Rick comes from a Harvard Law background...not a ballplayer at all. He certainly could not and should not be the talent evaluator. Pretty sure Kenny should not be doing the heavy-duty contract work either.

I was one of those like you that would do the slow burn every time Madrigal was mentioned in these pretend deals. Now I just keep my nose out of the discussion until there is really something to get upset about. I trust RH won't be trading either guy mentioned without us getting the upper hand in the deal.

You can add Eloy, Yoan, and Madrigal to your list of likable players. This is the most "likeable" team in Sox history for my money. The fact that they are good players really adds to the enjoyment of watching WS baseball.

Very hopeful that we have one of those coaches in Katz.

In 2 out of 3 cases we would have been better off being shut down. Once again proving that some of the best deals are the ones you don't make.

I take the position of "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." "

It seems a lot longer than 12 days.

You could be right....but I think they will let him catch every day at AAA.

Suzuki, Flowers, and Molina in that order.

Need to see the pay grade of each position to know for sure.

Senior Vice-President and General Manager is RH current title. Sounds very lateral to me.

It was suggested that Cease and Stiever would make a fair deal for Darvish...I disagreed. I believe it is an overpay considering the Darvish salary.

That was the payoff for Sale on a very affordable contract. Darvish is not going to get a Sale like return IMO. I guess how someone interprets who is a top prospect is subjective.

I am fine with Darvish but we should only push a token player into the pot. We would be taking on a really big salary giving the Cubs salary relief.

Nail meet hammer.

I like that he is edgy. We have lots of nice guys. Edgy is a good counterbalance to all that nice.

Thanks for the tip. I did not know this site existed until I saw this post. The website is very well done.

I had been holding out a small glimmer of hope. Sorry to lose him but it was inevitable once Grandal was signed. He did sign for a couple million per year more than I had envisioned. Good for him...nice guy!

That is a little-used option that should be used by all of us more often.

For most of the offseason, I thought Q would be the 2nd starting pitcher added. I now lean toward James Paxton as the best available in that bracket of not Bauer candidates.

Quite probably.

Many forum members are underestimating Eaton IMO.