greg775

Some team is going to gobble him up if we release him. I hope it's not the Royals. Think about it, his bat is potentially potent and I don't want to have to face him 19 different games with him on KC or Cleveland or Minnie or Detroit. He's not exactly a stiff, folks. You may not like him, but he gets hot and the last two years for the most part when healthy he's hit the ball. Hope he goes to the Pads or some other NL team.

Hope that's a joke. Be kind to each other. I have a fear of fire, too. It's the worst possible trap to be in. Bless you, Ed Farmer. Safe trails ahead!

This is the best take on the situation. Give him his one year arb money. Sox can afford it and it's a nice check for a good guy/All-Star or fringe All-Star. How can ANYBODY argue with this correct take?? Hibbard with the post of the week.

Now that's my kind of fan. Excellent post, sir.

I did forget Illinois did make the NCAA title game under Weber, but time is flying by. That was 2005.

You should find the thread. I stressed I realize it WOULD NEVER happen. But I better not go there again.

I don't understand how it works. If he's ticketed to make 16 million this year in arbitration, he's probably not in any hurry to sign a 4-year deal for 48 million which probably is fair to both parties. Will he just take the 16 mill? Then sign with somebody in the offseason?

I was wondering about the Illini football and bball programs the other day. ... Shouldn't they be powerhouses in theory? You've got Chicago basketball phenoms to recruit. You have Catholic League linemen to recruit and skill players from all over the state, including QBs galore. My question is ... a.) will the Illini win a Big Ten (and/or NCAA) title in football or bball in the next 10 years? How come U of I sports aren't dominant? It has to be more than questionable coaching hires. Are you hopeful that in the future the Illini start to perform better in the 2 big sports? I mean compare Illini football to Nebraska football. Illinois has homegrown talent. Nebraska has to go all over the place cept for linemen. Doesn't U of I have inherent advantages? My uncle was a standout pitcher at Illinois.

That was taken out of context IMO and led me to take a vacation for a while.

Fathom is one, smart fan. He is correct again.

That would change the rebuild a bit. Robert, Madrigal and Cease are 3 of the huge pieces of the rebuild. To trade them for one veteran is wild. Trout turns 28 in August. Love him but ...

That's a fair post. I didn't know you were willing to praise him much at all. I'd just like to see him play with Eloy and some of the others when we become contenders. I'd rather have he and Avi be our veteran presences than some guys from other teams.

If we sign both those guys I'll be a happy camper. ... Regarding your post, nice that a guy who takes a 3 month vacation from the board is still remembered nuff to be quoted.

I don't know why the Sox would go this far with Avi and not give him one more chance to blossom. His knee allegedly will not prevent offseason workouts for him. He turns 28 in June. Still young enough and has some life in his bat. I've read he's good in the clubhouse and he's fun to watch play. He fits the criteria of a guy to keep around at 8-10 million a year. Eloy, Avi and whoemever in cf is a decent outfield. Now if we get Harper, fine, dump Avi.

Why was it a bad atmosphere? Were our fans bad? Where was the game?

Hopefully he wants to move to the AL and play for a Chicago team.

You are probably right. I hope if we dump him we acquire somebody with some pop in his bat. I personally wouldn't mind seeing Avi in the same lineup with Eloy and Abreu and Moncada and Anderson and Harper a full season if we get him.

I should just send you a PM, hope the mods don't mind the discussion here. I was curious ... Rice has about half the kids attending as when I went there I think somebody said recently. Does this have everything to do with tuition (man, if you have one kid by the time he gets out it's $40,000 clams, wow!) — or are the family dynamics changing to where there are fewer kids in the neighborhoods? Are parents having fewer kids? Also ... when I went to Rice you basically had to go to Rice. A lot of my buddies who were non Catholics went there in fact. There were no acceptable public school options. Evergreen Park HS was a non entity, nobody went there (I don't even know if you were allowed to go there if you lived in Chicago proper) and Morgan Park and Fenger were a non option. Parents were scared to send their kids there at the time. Nobody in Mt. Greenwood went to St. Laurence or Rita or MC over Rice. Yes some went to Marist but none in the Q of M grade school boundary.

You really think so? I dunno about that. His production has been pretty good the last 2 seasons when healthy. And he's still fairly young. What's he supposed to get in arbitration this season anyway? Is it 10 mill? Sorry that I don't know this. I tried to look it up. (Didn't he just have a scope? Not all that serious).

Great point Dick. I usually really enjoy your posts. Greg is not a fan of tanking and the lottery makes sense.

It's interesting to me that many fans now think Tommy John surgery is no big deal in terms of returning from, and Avi's leg problems pretty much render him worthless (a nontender certainty to many). I realize a ton of pitchers have come back from TJ, but it's still a matter of who you like and who you don't. Cain has had a ton of leg injuries too and come back each time. Personally I've enjoyed watching Avi play when healthy. I kind of enjoy the guy's game.

Great post. I will say I started out despising Shields, but by the end of his Sox tenure I liked him for a.) his effort. b.) his performance; wasn't gawd awful anymore and c.) his tutoring of the younguns on the pitching staff. Hail to you Mr. Shields. You earned your Sox paycheck. Thank u.

Great great post. I mean fan is short for fanatic. Message boards generally show you how important winning is to a pro sports fan. Or a college sports fan. My take is if there are zillions of dollars involved, I want my team to win and win now. I'm a fan that gets upset at the price of games and food/drink/parking at games so yes I DEMAND my teams win or try to win. Now we go down to the high school level? I am a Brother Rice football fan. If Rice loses in the semis to Marist will I be the least bit mad? Hell no. They are high school kids trying their best and playing football, a game that is fun to watch when executed properly. Would I ever be mad at a Brother Rice player or coach for screwing up? Hell no. I appreciate them. Even in a dismal season. But the Sox?? Give me victories as our fans give you owners millions of dollars. Just.Win.Baby. (Or try hard at least and contend).

Why? Here's what I found: "Martes, 22, underwent surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a surgery that typically has a 12- to 16-month recovery. Martes threw 54 1/3 innings for the Astros last year, going 5-2 with a 5.80 ERA in 32 games (four starts).Martes threw 19 2/3 innings this year, mostly in four starts at Triple-A Fresno. He walked 17 batters in 18 2/3 innings for the Grizzlies, including eight in 4 1/3 innings in his last start for them on April 29. He threw one inning in a rehab assignment on Aug. 2 in the Gulf Coast League." What makes Martes even a solid prospect. I get it; Avi is considered no good. So why did the Astros want him if he has little to no value? Just an old school non advanced stat person shaking his head at what constitutes a decent player nowadays.

Harry, is this true? Rice has won a state title before (81). That was a huge game. Rice also was runnerup one year (85). Big big games. Now Marist reached a state final and got killed by Loyola and lost a lot of games that year (2015). That was a big game. Why is this biggest game in Rice history? It's not quite for all the marbles. Will Rice win? Does anybody have a strong feeling? Harry, are u attending the game?