Snopek

I get where you're coming from to some extent, but a thing I dig about this board is seeing people come at stuff from different angles with different opinions. I don't agree with a lot of it, and I don't have to. Most of us aren't reporters or journalists with our credibility on the line if we're wrong or don't have confident takes on everything. We're just dumb fans taking guesses, and it's fun as hell.

Wow, this conversation is still going huh. Look, if some of you enjoy factually stating exactly how the offseason will play out instead of letting it play out, fine. Not my thing, but fine. But to be bothered that others aren't doing the same? Like, who cares? The need for some to be the smartest person in the room takes so much joy out of this board, and the internet in general.

Why can't people just approach the offseason however they want?

Sure does feel like any SP addition that really moves the needle will come via trade, but we’ll see.

What a concept.

Right, hence my bit about me being a more likely signing than Ray. I was just surprised to learn that he was on that Tigers team. For the record, I’d definitely be willing to sign for 1 year + option. And you’re definitely not buying high on me.

I just learned from baseball reference that Robbie Ray was on the 2014 Tigers. Not that I’m implying I think the Sox are in on him. They’re more likely to sign me than Ray.

I was initially ready to disagree with this, but yeah, the list of flops does appear to be much longer than the successes.

The cynic in me wonders if this is JR getting the "look, we tried" piece out there, but the optimist in me wonders if having TLR around is extra motivation for JR to spend. Either way, it's fun to entertain the possibility.

I'd love to see something come out that says so and so "prefers the tall buildings of Chicago."

I enjoy the speculative tweets you share and hope you continue to do so. I also hope you can ignore the condescending reactions that some of the super duper smart folks on here provide.

Paying a lot of money for a very good player is pretty easy to imagine.

I imagine this bodes well for Rodon. Not the same situation, but similar high risk/high reward.

I know I'm in the minority, but I enjoy the rumors. It's a stupid, fun and harmless way to break up the offseason monotony. And no, I don't care how credible someone is or isn't. It's Twitter. Who has the energy to keep up with that?

As the saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's trash we're all bad at this let's suffer together."

Your plan sucks

Would y’all be happy with this offseason? 1) RF: Conforto 2) 2B: Escobar 3) Backup catcher: Manny Piña 4) SP: Alex Wood (incentive based contract for IP) 5) RP: Resign Tepera And for those of you that have a better feel for budget and contract expectations, is this even in the ballpark of being realistic? Would these moves require offloading most of Kimbrel and/or Keuchel’s contracts? I think it’s hard to effectively fill all holes in an offseason, so there are definite flaws here (SP and RP depth).

Hey, you did it. I appreciate it. Interesting paths here, but I'm still having trouble drawing too many conclusions about expected performance for these 4, at least in a definitive manner. Which goes back to the Cesar thing: I'm not necessarily surprised that he regressed (and if he is indeed in career decline, it wouldn't shock me), but I disagree that it was obvious and the Sox should have seen it coming. IMO there are too many variables to identify some trends so definitively. For the record, being okay with the Cesar addition (at the time), does not mean I was okay with not adding a RF. They could have done both. And with that, I think I've filled my quota for Cesar Hernandez talk for the next few years. Back on topic, Michael Conforto is a great fit for the Sox and also his mom is a three-time Olympic medalist in synchronized swimming.

Well no cuz you haven’t done your fun/mildly condescending “back of the baseball card” breakdown for those guys yet. That’s what I was waiting for, so that I can understand what the difference is.

I generally agree with this, but my assumption is that those types of veterans might prefer to play for a more obvious contender at this point in their careers. I’m not exactly jumping up and down with excitement if I’m a Tigers fan, but I think it’s a decent move. Plus, they’ve shown the willingness to spend when they consider their window to be open.

This actually feels like a pretty separate discussion from your specific comments about Cesar's clear and obvious regression. I'm still wondering why Cesar was an absolute lock to fail and Atlanta's pickups were not a lock to fail, despite having worse profiles?

I don't get the point of posts like this.

I think the A's and Reds targets are fairly obvious, but I'm curious who is considered most available on the Marlins. No doubt they have a surplus of young pitching, but I'd assume a team like the Sox is looking for someone with a bit of a track record. So that's Alcantara, but it'd be wild if he was traded. Pablo Lopez would be fun. Elieser Hernandez feels like someone that doesn't move the needle enough for a contender. After that, it's a bunch of talented but unproven dudes.

It’d be neat if being a GM was as easy as you make it seem.

Every offseason usually does not include being in a title contention window and JR’s handpicked manager/friend having a say in roster construction. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as cynical as the next fan, but this is sort of uncharted territory. We don’t know for certain how things will shake out.