greg775

I think your first two paragraphs are perceptive. I can read how this is going. Jose is going to eventually cut emotional ties with the Sox. Obviously he wants between 15 and 18 million for three years or who knows, maybe four or five? If the Sox can't even go three years, 15 mill a year (which I believe is probably his low end of the spectrum knowing athletes' egos nowadays and his vast production on lousy Sox teams) he'll eventually be insulted. You wait, at some point, Jose will get impatient if this doesn't get done.

Thanks for the info on Rice. Much appreciated. I did not know Mt. Carmel kept it rolling w/out Lenti. They are in 7A playoffs? I'm glad Rice is in 8A for some reason. If somehow we beat Minooka could the semifinal be at Rice?? What do you think of our soph quarterback? Is he destined to have a bad game ... simply because he's a sophomore? Are u an active Rice alum? Do you go to the annual stuff for alums? I love BR and need to take a tour of the facility when I come in next if I can get in. It was locked last time. Is that old indoor swim pool still there?

I hope behind the scenes that Coop is truly still the best coach. Because if our staff remains the same (maybe add one "pretty good" starter one reliever in free agency knowing our cheap front office), our staff will need work. It's time for coop to overachieve with his staff.

I wish we had a real manager and real coaches because we do have some amazing raw talent. We also have holes that can bury us. it'd be nice to have some great manager figuring things out a bit.

Great win tonight over south Elgin. Can we beat Minooka?? Looks like Badke has totally changed the team in the course of the season. They are running the ball and playing very good D. Like the old Rice teams. Now it seems like Badke is wary of passing at all, lol. Not ripping him. He's our coach the next 25 years I'm sure if Rice is smart. Carmel firing their coach Lenti after 12 state titles a couple years ago ... insane!

Some of you guys are starting to worry about payroll again which is silly since Jerry has saved so much cash during the tank.

I swear, I just wish people would wait to see decline rather than predict decline for players because of age. There are guys 35 years old raking in MLB still in baseball's postseason for instance. It's like Jose is 50 and something and we're offering him a mercy contract if we give him the 3 years greg thinks he deserves.

Thanks Harry. Is there any way we can ride the new QB's arm and Willie's speed at receiver and the LSU signee to greatness this postseason? Any way we can beat South Elgin? There's a slight chance I may be at the game BTW. 5 p.m. Saturday.

The devaluing of Abreu on here is just the sports cliche of the unknown (anybody else) being more sexy than the known (Abreu). 33 homers and 133 RBIs. Hmmm if we could trade for somebody on another team who did that or grab a free agent who went 33/133 last year, this board would be frothing at the mouth ready to pay 18 mill a season for multi seasons for such a person. Don't some of you understand you are falling for the cliche when you diss Abreu? p.s. Lets say you owned a restaurant in Chicago and had the best chef in the City work for you the last 5 years and he/she was just consistently good to sensational and your restaurant was popular. Now he/she wants a bit beefier contract and instead you bring in somebody from California with exactly the same credentials. ... not always a wise move. My guess is the familiar chef cooks better broth, brother. And the familiar chef is the one you want to sign for 3 more years.

20-30 games being on the DL isn't that many nowadays. How many games did Moncada and Eloy miss last season. It's a new era: guys get hurt ... a lot.

Thanks Harry. I wonder if the kid who started the season at QB, Ben Somers, will transfer for his senior year. Did he play another position last week in our first-round victory?

I have a sneaky suspicion our front office thinks of Avi the way the most of this board does. I just get an anti Avi vibe and feel there's no way we reacquire him. Any insiders back me on this? While I would love the return of Avi, I bet you Hahn or KW believes he's a stiff. Just a gut feeling. Insiders?

Yep, wait til next year. That's what the Sox front office likes us to say. There's always next year ... then next year ... and next year.

That's actually a series of good points by Y2HH. The buster was great because as somebody who took the opposite position on most matters (being more conservative than liberal) I learned a lot from reading others' posts. There were a couple posters out to get me, accusing me of a whole batch of positions that I didn't actually hold. I think because of the harsh reactions to some posts, reactions to many of my posts and others, they had to kill it. It wasn't worth it because people were downright insane in their anger in the buster. I think issues such as the riots in St. Louis and other cities got the blood boiling (people got mad at me for being furious at the disruption of traffic by the protestors) but it was educational to see different peeps' positions on stuff rather than everybody agreeing in some political lovefest in which everybody had to agree with each other. I can see why they killed it though. This is a baseball board and a sports board.

Oops. Another unpopular Sox raking in awards. He wins gold glove and Abreu wins RBI honor. This is a tough crowd on this board. At least BA leader Timmy is well loved (yes by me too).

All the money the Sox have given to stiffs the past few years like Jay and Alonso and you are worried about a few bucks here and there? As low as the Sox payroll has been for Jerry, why not give a fan favorite like Jose some well deserved cash? The guy led the AL in RBIs and hit 33 bombs and we act like he's going to need a wheelchair to get to the plate in 2 seasons.

5 years 90 for the same stats as Avi, 27 HRS, 80 RBI and the same age. ... Interesting. What makes this guy so valuable compared to some of greg's faves who don't make a lot of cash? Hit .289. Baseball intrigues me. I guess he'd be fine to fill our RF vacancy. I did read Cubs fans want to re-sign him so there's that.

Good. I like what you are writing here.

You know, somebody should get the word to the writers to start examining advanced stats. No mention of Jose's average defense at first base (yes I contend he's average, not some oaf over there) and no advanced stats at all, not even OBP or slugging or anything. Here's what was written by the Trib. ... "If Abreu declines and later signs with another team, the Sox could receive a draft pick. The Sox and Abreu could also work out a new deal. Abreu led the American League with 123 RBIs in 2019. He became just the second Sox hitter to finish first in the category, joining Dick Allen (113 in 1972). Abreu also led the Sox with 33 home runs and 38 doubles. He had a .284 batting average and played in a team-leading 159 games. Abreu, 32, made $16 million this past season. He made it clear several times during the season that he wants to remain with the Sox. “If the team doesn’t sign me, I’m going to sign myself here,” he told reporters through an interpreter before an Aug. 19 game against the Twins at Target Field. I still say this Jose thing defies logic. I've never seen fans more "concerned" about what could happen and how a guy "could" enter rapid decline than I have in reading posts about Jose. Almost all the guys Sox fans are talking about acquiring have just as many possible red flags AND they don't have 123 RBIs in their hip pocket. Hey Ron, how bad would the Sox lineup have been this year with Jose and his 123 RBIs?

It sure "looks" as if they want him one year then Vaughn takes over full time at first and Jose drifts off to another team. Is Vaughn some magician with the glove to go with a great bat? Is he Hosmer-like on defense or just another guy?

BS. I've been a fan for so many years it'd make your head spin. Season tickets in the fifth row at old Comiskey for many many years. Access to luxury box at the Cell for many years. Close ties to one of Jerry's most influential (former) partners who has passed away. I am a true fan if there ever was one.

I hope he sees this as an insult and leaves. I'm sick of the Sox cheapness. Maybe he can go win a WS with somebody else. Many of you will get your wish and we'll all be happy. One year? I'm happy he gets 18 million clams but as a Jose fan I want him to get his three years. I'm OK with him leaving. I'm about over this mess called the Sox. I got my one title in 05. Maybe some like Ron will get their wish and get a defensive whiz at first, somebody like Gail Hopkins who can save some runs.

This will be an interesting signing cause the consensus of the board has been that Abreu will be lucky to get two years, maybe an option for a third year. Nobody is talking 4-5 years. If somebody really really likes Jose I wonder if they'd commit five years to him. I'll stick with my prediction of 2 years 26 million with a third year option, but again, none of us really know what the market will pay for Jose. I'm so used to reading negative stuff about his defense I figure he'll be lucky to get over 10 mill a year for 2 years. But the baseball world might value him more than we think. We shall see.

No, because he did win the WS and he has all the pictures and tapes to look at from 2005 to prove he's a success. When Jerry bought the Sox, their last WS appearance was 1959 and only other WS titles were 1906 and 1917. So his legacy in his mind is that one WS title.

Harry ... is Rice's coach desperate? He is playing a new QB and moved Willie to receiver? Wow. Is there pressure to win with this group? That'd be neat if we are peaking at the right time and can win another playoff game this week.