poppysox

I have a love for players who can catch the ball and in Madrigal case he takes pitches and works the count, hits behind the runner, has high OBP, excellent bunter, doesn't strike out and can steal bases. Yeah...I love that kind of player.

If we offered $130 and he took it...if he was hurt in SP and unable to answer the OD bell...these same people would be blaming RH as being stupid for overpaying for such a mope. RH just can't win with some of these posters. Hindsight is never wrong.

That's a good bet.

20 million per is inline with his probable value. They need salary relief and we can offer that. Prospects shouldn't enter the equation.

IMO you need to trade for or draft and develop your stars. Free agency works great for filling the holes with solid players at reasonable cost. When you use free agency to buy your stars you overpay and the affect of that overpay comes back to bite you halfway through the contract. Grandal is an example of a very good FA signing. I have no doubt he will be a very nice addition for the duration of his contract. Albert Pujols is a good example of a top super star of the highest quality possible invariably can't live up to the extreme contract. I understand that nothing in baseball is 100%. There are a few examples of super star signings working out more or less. There are numerous examples of these overpaid super stars hamstringing their respect clubs for years.

The Angels & the White Sox each won 72 games last year. Interesting to follow if super stars surrounded by crapola or stars surrounded by solid players wins those games and championships.

Don't forget Robert.?

This would be excellent.

I agree with you that our big need is two starters and two relievers. Obviously we all want those 4 pitchers to be the best we can get our hands on. If they are only average plus...that will be a massive upgrade over last year. We had 72 wins last year with upgrades in Center, Right, Catcher, DH, 2nd Base and both Starting and Relief pitching. After we see who those pitchers are we will be better able to judge the win total. I would guess somewhere between 85 & 90.

I've already said I have no problem with Mendick...just think Sanchez will get heavy consideration once he finds the 6M isn't available elsewhere.

Who said anything about love. Just making a prediction.

We shall see.

If we hold the opposition to 4 runs or less we will be in most games with our offense.

I still think Sanchez will be back for 4 M. Mendick is fine but a GG bench is not without merit.

T This is where I thought we would be. Compete for the Division in 2020 and shoot for the moon in 2021. We will do it but it's frustratingly slow. Still need two serviceable starters and two good relievers.

Cole will face the same future as Price & Sale. It will be just wonderful for 3 or 4 years then the bottom falls out. I also don't care about Jerry's money but pissing it away won't make the club better.

Good Points.

It is normal for deals to come together in the few weeks following the winter meetings. Teams like Boston propose something the WS hadn't been thinking about and free agents learn that teams are not beating down their door.

Rick is probably waiting for Ryu & Keuchel to figure out they are not going to cash in big just because the top 3 guys did. A watched pot never boils...have a little patience and Rick will get er done.

I agree...it's all about the pitching.

It is a shame that people who are all fans of the same team so often get involved in rather nasty dialogue.

I have used 16 M as how I would value him but I realize it is subjective. Like you...I see no reason to help Boston out unless there is some reason to do so. Ryu and Kuechel are probably more reliable at the same money as Price. We need money or players to equalize the deal.

Probably a #3 starter at a #1 price tag. If Boston wants salary relief they need to except the fact the pot needs to be sweetened by them. Their pitcher is overvalued by approximately 50M.

Somewhere between those two extremes is probably where a good GM needs to land.

I thought that was determined he would need some Charlotte time to find himself.