CaliSoxFanViaSWside

Look I know in the late 80's MLB had to pay out a lot of money for losing basically 3 cases of collusion . Uberroth united the owners and Selig and Reinsdorf were at the forefront of it. That's always why I'm so anti-Reinsdorf. I also know that since then there have been more collusion grievances that arbiters never ruled in favor of the players and others that went nowhere for lack of evidence. I would never say the owners aren't a tricky bunch of bastards like the owners of so many multi billion dollar industries. Arbiters weigh the evidence and make a ruling for one side or the other so the arbiter has to be pretty convinced there's enough evidence to rule in favor of the players. I also know that owners hated Fay Vincent because he didn't support them and saw the players side of it . Vincent just cared about the game , not one side or the other. I know the owners also hate maverick owners like Ted Turner or Cohen but Cohen did get approved and that there is a salary cap (OK luxury tax) and caps on what you can spend in the international and the college draft. These things were done in the guise of competitive balance which is true to an extent. No matter what the owners do there will always be competitive imbalance because there are very rich teams and then all the other teams on varying degrees of operating capital. Losing money unites the owners more than anything and that's how Uberroth convinced them to unite and collude for 3 years basically telling them they were idiots to put winning over profits. I sure wouldn't put it passed the owners to be colluding again. I am not that naive but to take a stance that collusion is 100% happening now is a lot more bold than my common sense approach that any opinion I have is based on lack of access to the knowledge needed to say I am 100% sure there is collusion now. My stance is that everyone else here has that same lack of knowledge and 100% conviction in your opinion should be tempered by that lack of knowledge. I am not carrying water for the owners or the players. I am neutral because of ignorance regarding current events in that regard. If our opinions differ and you think you have the knowledge to help the MLBPA go right ahead. Otherwise you are just spitting into the wind.

Damn if I had sources I could be a wise twitter pundit like you since I said the exact same thing a few posts up. And congrats ,too.

Ok Mr. Know-It-All . Perhaps you are the attorney that can prove collusion beyond a shadow of a doubt. A least I can admit I am ignorant whereas you seem to know every teams financial status and that owners are conspiring to hold down salaries. You're just an armchair quarterback like the rest of us with an over inflated opinion of your own opinion. You may have the last word on the subject.

Perfect fit for the lineup, not so sure about the perfect fit for the team since starting pitching should be the 1st priority.

As do we all but we might have to wait a while.

Didn't the Sox offer Wheeler 5/$118 to Wheeler ? Now admittedly Wheeler was younger but still a pitcher who the Sox hardly ever offer long term contracts. If the Sox are truly in on Springer I wouldn't be surprised to see them get him. Of course the situation can change if they splurge on pitching instead and that would probably mean they are out on Springer. To me it all depends on what they do 1st with their money.

Ahhh you caught it before I deleted it. I thought it was wild but kind of stupid too. Bryant only has the 1 year left so I opened up a huge hole at 3rd base after Bryant leave. Hendricks is signed through 2023 with a vesting option for 2024. Moncada is like a total mystery to me especially after his Covid season. On one hand I want the Sox to send him to a top cardiologist to make sure he is OK after his Covid bout. Then on the other hand if they are going to trade him I'd rather they not know that he is damaged goods . Let the onus of a complete physical fall on the acquiring team. Of course it's all moot if they have already sent him to a top cardiologist. Stupid to open a big hole at 3rd base and take a possible future superstar who is one of our few productive LH bats out of the lineup but if future Moncada is the Moncada of last year it wouldn't be so stupid.

Nice theory but a pretty hot take. Billionaires screwing the multimillionaires that they are paying. Both sides have powerful people with each trying to squeeze every dime out of the other. We can't even begin to understand how much money the players or owners make As employees, the players are pampered unbelievably compared to how the rest of America's working force is treated. They get the best medical care . It's a very rare thing that people are actually happy in their jobs and doing something they love that doesn't put them in a foul mood when they get home to the people that love them the most. I love the game and since childhood admire the athletes right or wrong in doing so. I have been vocal about Reinsdorf's reign at the helm but that doesn't mean I'm 100% sympathetic to the players either. Maybe it's because they built up the neighborhood and started a TV network that they can't afford their players ? That ownership group appears to be a wee bit over extended. But I digress. Factually I am so far removed that ignorance doesn't even begin to describe my lack of knowledge. I would imagine it's that way for most of us.

The last time he pitched over 120 innings was 2016. I will guarantee he won't pitch 120 innings in MLB next year. We'll just agree to disagree.If I was his financial advisor I'd say take the money and run. Maybe his guru or spirit guide would suggest your plan. I'd even be willing to bet $4 for me every inning under 120 innings and $5 for you every inning over 120 if a full season is played.

But this is something entirely different which is why many are projecting a much higher number of non-tenders than usual. All the financial reports about teams losing a combined $3B is telling possible non-tenders to take less or be non tendered and take your chances on an over-saturated market. I'd guess plenty of non-tender candidates are being offered less than their projected figures right now and if not accepted then it's adios.

I think we have to seriously consider that COVID could affect the rest of his career. We have no idea how bad it was maybe he or his Doctors don't know that either yet. I mean ,we think it wasn't that bad. After all he didn't miss too much time but maybe his stamina never returned or there are lasting affects to his cardiovascular system. :Nearly one-fourth of those hospitalized with COVID-19 have been diagnosed with cardiovascular complications, which have been shown to contribute to roughly 40% of all COVID-19-related deaths. But two recent studies suggest heart damage among those infected may be more widespread. In JAMA Cardiology, an analysis of autopsies done on 39 COVID-19 patients identified infections in the hearts of patients who had not been diagnosed with cardiovascular issues while they were ill. Another JAMA Cardiology study used cardiac MRIs on 100 people who had recovered from COVID-19 within the past two to three months. Researchers found abnormalities in the hearts of 78% recovered patients and "ongoing myocardial inflammation" in 60%. The same study found high levels of the blood enzyme troponin, an indicator of heart damage, in 76% of patients tested, although heart function appeared to be generally preserved. Most patients in the study had not required hospitalization." https://www.heart.org/en/news/2020/09/03/what-covid-19-is-doing-to-the-heart-even-after-recovery

Nothing that they think or want to do is unrealistic. Having success doing it that way is another story. His career has been spiraling downward and if he isn't careful he could be out of baseball in a couple years.Take the best offer and pitch. Re-establish that you can pitch without injury in any capacity. If he gets a few million that goes a long way if he plans his financial future carefully in the event of more injuries. Blind faith in your abilities mean nothing if you can't show it. He's still coming off TJ surgery , he can't pitch a full starters load anyway. Accept reality in the face of adversity. If he believes so much in himself, sign a one year contract just to show you can still pitch effectively which means throw strikes and stay healthy in any roll. If he can't do that he won't have a future.

If he limits his options he'll get less money. Realistically speaking he's going to accept the best offer to do whatever the signing party wants him to do.

I agree.

Maybe Moncada has a better season to make up for any regression. I don't see Abreu regressing much.

Mazara's projected arb. salary is $5.6- $5.9M. When you say "huge discount" I'm not real sure $2-3M qualifies as huge which could nullify that he has zero trade value. More than likely you are right but if Springer doesn't re sign with the Astros they are going to need a RF and a CF . So if we non tender Mazara we could be battling Houston for Pederson , Jackie Bradley Jr or Mazara at a slightly, not huge, reduced rate.

The Astros have a lot of young arms on their 40 and some eventually will have to be moved. I'm pretty sure they just added 4 of them to their roster to protect them from the Rule 5 including Forrest Whitley. Maybe a package deal where we end up with McCullers and another one of their pitchers. They also hit the jackpot on arms in the 2017 draft J.B. Bukauskas, Corbin Martin, Tyler Ivey, Peter Solomon, Brandon Bielak . Cristian Javier and Enoli Paredes came from way outside the top 100 to pitch high leverage innings in multiple playoffs. Framber Valdez threw perhaps the most dominant curveball of anybody on the planet in 2020. Astros’ arms are highly regarded. Much of this is from here https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2020/11/23/21589366/lance-mccullers-jr-is-quietly-facing-a-pivotal-2021

What do you think of McCullers as a trade target ? Guys like Lynn and McCullers would cost less to trade being rentals and give another year for our youngsters to develop if they can be had without losing most of those youngsters.

So that would be around $570K. I've had discussions with people on the board here who say Rodon will get a few million while I thought more like you. Mazara doesn't have the injury history of Rodon . I guess we will see eventually.

If Mazara and Rodon are both non tendered who do you think ends up with a bigger contract ?

I don't really wish to get into the whole Mazara argument again. I stuck up for him after we traded for him and throughout the season then finally gave up on him before the playoffs because he was basically putting up the same numbers as all our other failed OF's during the rebuild (Cordell, Tilson,Jay). But despite that if he had just had a productive season like his previous season he would have been well beyond the stats of those bums. Remember in 2019 he hit .288, OBP .344 , .500 SLG. ,and .844 OPS against RHP that would have been great for the 2020 Sox and he was a better fielder than most anticipated. Those numbers suggest he could be very good against RHP and was young enough to think there was even more upside. But my main point is I think McCullers is someone worth pursuing and Houston has a very well earned reputation for developing pitchers and teaching them high spin rate breaking balls and Lopez' curve has been MIA. He could be worth a shot to the Astros. I don't want to get stuck on who Houston might want back for McCullers. He is a good groundball but also a high K rate pitcher and has been developing his pitches including a cutter late in the season . His K/BB ratio is among the best but his barrel % went up . It will be his 2nd year coming back from TJ surgery so he could be poised for a very good year but because of his injuries he's never pitched more than 128 inning but he did pitch 70 innings including the playoffs last year.

I beg to differ. How many non-tender candidate young OF's have the potential to hit 30 HR's like Mazara ? Houston would get him without competing for him in the FA market and his salary would probably be less than McCullers projected arbitration salary. It's possible that Mazara's and Lopez arb. salaries combined would be less than McCullers and they get 3 years of service compared to 1 for McCullers. But anyway here's the latest on McCullers https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2020/11/23/21589366/lance-mccullers-jr-is-quietly-facing-a-pivotal-2021

If the Sox want to go the trade for a rental route you could do a lot worse than the 2 Lance's , Lynn and McCullers, Jr. Astro's need OF's maybe offer Mazara and Rey Lopez for McCullers. That way Houston could just not non tender Mazara and they replace a pitcher who came back from TJ last year but has an injury history with a healthy arm like Lopez who isn't a FA till 2024 ,so he's got 2 more years than McCullers.

Exactly and coming off Tommy John you could expect some arm fatigue . You can severely underestimate a rookie pitcher who is also coming back from TJ surgery. That is 2 things he has never done before, face big league hitters and come back from TJ surgery. It had to be a huge adjustment for him.

Someone's tweet said it was him if we are talking about maloney.adam. He could be gone for the holidays but for a guy who said he didn't have time to be a burner account he had 33 posts here on Tuesday ( the last day he posted) spanning from about 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM.