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If Dodgers sign Pollock that has to take them 100% out of the Harper Sweepstakes. Nationals have no legitimate chance either. The Harper sweepstakes is really going to come down to the Phillies and White Sox as I've stated before. Phillies with the hedge since we will likely sign Machado and won't put up a ton of money like they do. I think Harper is better off here tho since the AL has the DH.

Here's a question: If you were booking Raw, who would you have as WWE champion now? It can be anyone on the Raw roster currently or potentially a NXT call up? I'm struggling to find an answer. Reigns and Lesnar = Hell no. They've killed the title picture on Raw. Rollins might be the best option. McIntyre seems like a decent option (but has fallen off in recent weeks, especially with the fans -- fans don't seem to care about him). Ambrose maybe. I actually like his heel work, but fans/other smarks have been shitting on it. I don't see any reasonable candidates from NXT. Braun Strowman perhaps, but as we saw - he's been owned so much by Lesnar that it just isn't credible at this point and I think the fans have since sailed beyond the Strowman ship. He will need some time to repair. Finn Balor has not been built up properly to be the champ. So, by default, I'd go with Rollins in some shape or form!

I think Machado is ours. We have all our cards in on him. His camp is just trying to drive up the price as much as they possibly can and I am confident we match it.

Yeah -- The Indians bullpen might cost them the division if their not careful.

Are you guys going to the Royal Rumble (I think it's in Arizona)?

"Humbled to officially announce I have accepted a position with the Chicago White Sox Player Development Staff. Looking forward to see how Santa Claus uses this in my life to continue to build meaningful relationships inside and outside of baseball while I pursue my passion of the game." ^^This is what I read and this is why it's so cringe, but hey -- no problems here... I'm glad that the W'Sox are hiring an apparent data enthusiast.

That's fair. I mean, I don't know jack sh*T about this entire fiasco. I thought we'd have Manny signed a week or two ago. I'm still holding out hope that he signs this week, but at this point it's out of my mind. I'm just trying to enjoy it and the longer it goes on the closer we get to opening day.

If Manny had a reasonable/good offer right now, he'd sign. Problem is, it doesn't seem like he has a good offer in hand. White Sox being cheap, but perhaps correctly based on the market. Will see if their shrewdness pays off with a lower-than-expected contract to Manny, or if it bites them in the ass and ruins this franchise.

Agree that the twitter post is cringe worthy. Hope this guy is better at understanding baseball compared to deciphering life.

And you realize what expectations are, correct? Especially for a #1 prospect in baseball, one that we sold Chris Sale for?

u guys need 2 talk mochado not fame of halls

The Nationals are NOT and were NEVER "in" on Harper. It isn't happening. They can be considered as "in" on harper as the Kansas city Royals are. DONE. Buster is clearly putting out bullshit here as well. But you guys will continue to theorize all possibilities in an endless attempt at torturing yourselves in this thread.

Smackdown was enjoyable per usual. As much as I hate the McMahons being on TV, Miz is the fucking coolest thing ever -- the angle with Shane and Miz is actually working well and has been booked quite nicely. I know it will likely result in Miz turning on Shane or something for a Wrestlemania match of sorts, but I'm digging it right now. AJ and Bryan aren't getting a lot of time on camera, likely due to the past few months of feuding, so I think that's a good thing. Lynch is always great.

P.S. : Pay up for Harper while you are at it.

I just can't help but feel that RAW would be so much better without Lesnar (and of course without Reigns).

WWE Raw with all of its terrible booking decisions in the past few years finally had a damn good Raw. I mean, it took a Braun Strowman injury (I assume that's why he's being replaced) and a completely fucking random push to Sasha Banks for things to get moving, but the entire night was filled with storyline development, twists and turns, and some added freshness with new faces. Additionally, there was critical moments like Lashley winning the IC Title and Finn getting a shot at Brock after overcoming the odds. Finn, in particular, was booked extremely well. He was made to look weak where no one respected him in the early going, but used his natural baby face tendencies to win his qualifying match against Jinder who called him out, and then go on to win the fatal four way. Of course, this just means he will be fed to Brock, but still, in this day and age that's about as nice of a spot as you can be in on Raw, unfortunately. The Ronda/Banks developments were good, although tarnished by the fact that Banks has been toiling away behind the scenes for over a year now. The Women's Tag Title announcement was finally made for Elimination Chamber. Overall, dare I say it was finally an exciting event and while there is of course plot holes -- it was a great attempt at coherent storyline writing. Please, more of this. One caveat I'll add is what the fuck are they doing with Ambrose. I don't necessarily have a problem with him losing his title tonight, but they've really put water on the fire that was the shield. Rollins is weaker due to the feud and so is Ambrose.

Some notes: ON LARS SULLIVAN: What the hell is WWE thinking here? Does *anyone* have faith in Lars? Let's put some details here: Lars was/is supposed to receive a HUGE push. He's been in commercials for a while now and was reportedly supposed to debut on Raw last week and start a big push towards wrestlemania in a match against John friggin' Cena. Every-single-person I've talked with does not really like Lars as the wrestler. But it gets worse! Lars reportedly had an anxiety attack and completely no-showed last weeks raw. This seems to be a push from HHH and Vince is now giving him heat due to this. I don't have any idea what their thinking with Lars, do you? I see him as a small asset to the company and if used right could have a career, but to get a rocket push to face John Cena at Wrestlemania??? Come on... There's a list of 50 superstars I'd rather see face Cena at WM over dull-Lars. We need better gimmicks and more interesting characters, not more stereotypical huge monsters. In other news I kinda like the Shane and Miz storyline. Miz has cemented himself as a true character in WWE and is pretty amazing at what he does. Smackdown continues to deliver while Raw continues to go to absolute hell. It's truly night and day here.

It will be cool having Machado and Moncada in the same line up. Could think of some good songs with those names. A long with Yonder, Yoan and Yolmer.

Just to amuse myself. 1b Abreu/Yonder 2b Moncada 3b Machado SS Anderson C Wellington OF Eloy and Dogshit SP Gio/Lopez/Rodon/Nova/Dogshit BP Decent Hm. Would want the team to add Harper (or I guess pollock) as well and find one more SP.

I agree with this and think that there is some danger here. Seems like the Sox are content on playing risk/reward with Machado. I'd guess that they could get the deal done for sure by upping their offer to a respectable amount, but since no one is pushing them they might feel like they can get him more on their terms. Playing really dangerous if that's the case. As a Sox fan for all my life, I've seen how poor this organization has been ran and the amount of failure it has gone through. I was ready to switch teams or not follow baseball in 2015/2016 (whenever the rebuild began), but the front office made those moves that gave me hope. Going into this off season I had no illusion that we would sign one of these premier players. However, the W'Sox continued the pressure and are now sitting 1-2 in Machado and are also one of the only 2 clear suitors for Harper. The Phillies are the other team here so it becomes a two team show for these guys. We have to get one. If we don't get one it will be a colossal failure on the front office at this point. I will stop rooting for the White Sox and move on. 100%

No, perfect world, Harper + Machado both go to the White Sox.

Can't say we have good news today. Reports seem to be pushing that Philly has 'stupid money' and will come away with at least one of the two. I really want both, but obviously will accept one to us and one to the phillies. I seriously hope that the White Sox front office is putting up the money. If they fail to get Machado it's over.

Some WM HOPES on the card UNI-Title: Lesnar vs. AJ Styles SD Title: Bryan vs. Cena Raw W: Lynch vs. Ronda SD W: Asuka vs. Charlotte part II IC Title Ladder: Rollins vs. Ambrose Meh. I don't really know. I know we likely WONT get Lesnar vs. Styles, instead will probably get Lesnar vs. Rollins in some shape or form. We likely won't get Bryan vs. Cena as Cena was rumored to be in a program with Lars Sullivan of all people... but I wonder then who could face heel Bryan as a face? Can't go with Styles for what would be the 100th time. Lynch vs Ronda at this point is a long-shot. There is rumors it will be a triple threat of Lynch vs. Ronda vs. Charlotte. Still good, but a 1on1 is always preferred. Not happy with the direction their starting to go now. Not sure what you do with the Ambrose/Rollins story, that has been butchered now.

Is it because he's 'boring' or due to size? If it's because he's boring I'd contend that his booking is the problem. The guy has a natural babyface flare and is super cool, however he hasn't been in ANY serious storyline since his call up and immediate title match. He'd be a ton more interesting with something going for him, however this is WWE... they have no fucking clue on how to book a babyface.

Could be due to bias of being a White Sox fan. I'm sure phillies message boards are filled with their rumors on the two.