fathom

I predict the Usos don’t win

Another thing to consider is San Diego is a bad hitter's park, and with around 100 games being played on the west coast, that's a lot of late games for his family to have to watch back east.

I'm fine with it after 3, would love it after 4.

I don't think it would be them with the opt-outs...more the Phillies or even Yankees.

Wanting very early opt-outs and the Sox not wanting to do so has always been an important obstacle that's been looming.

That mlb.com article isn't exactly random. With that said, I do agree that the last 3 months should have taught us something. I've shared tweets from all angles over the last few months for people to read and develop their own opinion.

I think that's about the worst approach he could have.

Yep, if they lose out on both guys and one of them goes to Padres, there should be no excuses and the fan base should be absolutely livid.

I'm just adding information that's out there, but this article on mlb.com contains this quote: There's belief that a Padres offer for Machado would likely top those of the other contenders. https://www.mlb.com/padres/news/manny-machado-being-courted-by-padres/c-303972722

FYI, this guy was one of the first to mention the Padres being in on Machado. Here are the contract figures he's heard:

thanks, there have been so many reports that have come out and then refuted it's hard to keep track

So Passan is reporting this is the 2nd time the Padres have met with Manny this offseason. That's.....not good http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25999336/manny-machado-san-diego-padres-meet-second

This would be infinitely worse than missing on Miguel Cabrera, as you can't make teams like your prospects more than someone else. This is all about money if it's between Sox and Padres.

Hahn can’t let himself become the Padres whipping boy. That would be awful.

well the rumors are that Manny would only meet with them if they were willing to possibly meet his asking price, so I think their interest is more sincere than many thought.

People really should be taking the Padres more seriously. Yes, I'm sure he doesn't want to play on the west coast....but I don't think he wants to play in the midwest either.

yep, it's a pretty great situation to be in IF you're not at your final offer. If you are at your final offer and trying to run out the clock, then that's a scary situation.

It's possible

I don't think they would prefer him, as they fear the Nats getting him back in this situation. Phillies also have a lot more pieces on the infield than they do in the outfield, IMO.

One thing that I believe shack mentioned in one of his articles is the importance for both the Sox and Phillies to ensure that the other one doesn't get Bryce or Manny for too cheap of a deal. That's important because they don't want one of them to get Manny, for example, and then have enough to go get Harper. If the Phillies already know the Sox are at a high price for Manny (i.e.280) and won't be able to afford Harper also, then I could see them falling out of the Manny sweepstakes.

That he said the Phillies haven't talked to Manny in weeks? That's very believable

You've never heard of former Sox pitcher Shack McDowell? That's who this is.

Why do people assume safety net means they have the 2nd best offer? My thought was it means they have the highest at this point, but they're looking for someone to top it? Thus, they know they can't fall below what the Sox are offering.