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Fuck yeah!

Who did we pass? Marlins?

I’m just glad we don’t have to read the weird fanfic posts like last year posing Hahn as this hardass negotiator against hapless players and agents.

Convincing rich people to give him large amounts of money for counter intuitive plays against the market? Seems like he’d be bad at that.

I unno, smart money would be on them signing the run down pitchers with small markets they think are great value.

I love Jose. I think we can express our love for him in different ways, like giving him a big statue or producing a buddy cop movie with him and Moises sierra. But maybe we don’t have to do like a long term deal.

that’s not what his paragraph says.

Seriously, the stomping on the grave of the red sox is very strange. They did that to win a world series. Laugh at the red sox, not the tigers. In addition, the red sox really aren't in that terrible of shape. I guarantee you they can cobble together a winner in a lot faster time than the white sox since 2012. The red sox won 2 world series since 2010. That is better than any team in baseball. In both cases they ended up in short order appearing to be bloated with contracts and on the verge of a prolonged drought. DD certainly left it in worse shape than Cherington, but they still have a ton of talent on the red sox. They need to re-prioritize, build up the farm with some good drafts/intl luck, but they are fine.

You seem to continue to struggle to grasp that I can have opinions on how the sox should run, and how they should operate should they run that way with me being confused on how the sox actually operate. - I am aware that the white sox are unlikely to implement a high payroll. My point with the luxury tax is that there is no structural reason why the white sox should be a low payroll team. They choose to do so. - As evidence that is a choice for them to behave as a low payroll team, I brought up the padres, who for years operated under similar self-enforced constraints and suddenly have changed. Did they get a windfall of revenue? Not that we know of. Nothing really changed, their very rich owner just decided to pump more money in the team for fun. - The padres would actually be a fine team to emulate. They have a top 3 farm system and manageable payroll. - The Rays are great because despite constraints, they focus on areas where they can generate value with fewer resources. You don't necessarily have to be low payroll to do that, as the Yankees and Dodgers have shown. And that they cannot utilize a higher payroll doesn't mean no teams that can should not: the dodgers and yankees both have high payrolls and also put a lot of resources into scouting, development and international. The Red Sox did this under cherington/theo as well, but certainly went harder after players with big contracts to sometimes poor results. - Despite that, the red sox have won 2 world series in the 2010s the Rays, Yankees, Dodgers have won 0. - There are not that many world series teams to act like any one blue print is to be followed, but it's also true that players like Betts are not often available. And having top players is helpful.

Again, I don't give a shit about the white sox terrible front office. There is no reason why the white sox cannot afford a large contract considering their construction and current salary commitments. It is a choice they have made. There is no reason for me to hold to their terrible choices when deciding how the white sox should operate. Signing a high cost player would not push the white sox into the luxury tax, one of the only real constraints in MLB to roster building. Take a lesson from the Padres. "b-b-but Hosmer! B-b-but stadium bonds! B-b-b-ut Wil myers!" They are still a team considerably below the luxury tax threshold that can choose to operate with a higher set of salaries. The white sox at any moment could also decide that. That they won't is not something I am going to validate as "the correct decision" by saying acquiring one of the best players in baseball is bad because the white sox won't sign him. The problem isn't with me there it's with the white sox. Take it up with them.

My idea is not born from depression and hopelessness. It's borne from taking advantage of one of the best players in baseball being available, and then re-signing him. And then having one of the best outfields in baseball. None of that should prevent them from actually creating a real international operation, or a real player development operation, or a real amateur draft operation and building out a proper youth pipeline. He is only a rental if you don't re-sign him. And the idea that losing a prospect like cease "dooms the rebuild" is the equivelant of saying if cease turns out to be as bad as he performed this past yera, then the rebuild is also doomed. And if one pitcher dooms the rebuild then you are already fucked. The problem is you are all so adament to make sure the rebuild lasts from 2024-2027 that you are shortening the window that could occur from 2020-2023 - one that is much more realistic as it is before the core pieces become very expensive. Many posters on here have no problem factoring in the risk losing financial flexibility but do not factor in the risk of losing time/seasons - which is also valuable.

I may be wrong, but I see Benintendi as a guy that was between approaches. We probably take for granted players like Jose Ramirez, Betts, and Lindor that can just say "oh I'll start pulling the ball more and lift it and hit home runs" and it works. I think if he goes back to what he was he'll find more success. And what he was was a good fit for the white sox, this was a decent walk, great k rate player, which we sorely need to add and why some think Reddick would be a good option for RF as a placeholder. And while I can't be sure, there was enough writers that alluded to it that I think defensive metrics really struggle with defense with the green monster, and I think he's a much better defender than he's graded out as.

Yes, I definitely think the smart money is on pitching this offseason, position players next.

No, you are misunderstanding something. My advocacy for Betts is what I would do with this team if I had this roster. I refuse to contort my brain, at least this early in the offseason, to limit my options for how this team can change based on Hahn and Co's considerable limitations. It's too depressing to quibble over Eric Thames.

If you could identify a single thing this board has guessed and been way off on every offseason it’s how much teams will give up just to rid themselves if bad contracts. But I’m sure this time it’s different, with one of the richest, most well run franchises in the game.

I do that deal in a heart beat

LA took on $250 million dollars 7 years ago, and AGon was market priced at the time. Benintendi is underpriced. Boston is also not in a binary world where this is the only deal possible to get out from their salary issues. They can likely shed much of the price salary without giving up a young cheap asset. OR they can give a non-ML roster asset.

Well that's not the point, rather that people often think removing salary from a team is worth more than it is. The Red Sox would not part with benintendi and price and just say thank you for taking the salary off them. They'd just as soon, in my guess, swap price for a lesser priced, poor contract veteran than just completely lose both to replace them with FAs.

This is where our sweet sweet boy danny salazar comes in.

I mean the real answer is dustin pedroia But I would take that contract from Sale. I also would take that Price/Benintendi deal but that reminds me quite a bit of the mets deal last year and I think you are still parting with more pain than people anticipate.

Maybe getting JR pot committed by trading prospects for Betts is what Hahn needs to do to get him to spend for a top player.

Bulls/sato are good

That’s what I thought he would get before this year and I think it makes sense - but just feels like everyone thinks he’ll make more.

The question wasn’t “is it realistic”, it was gauging how people would react to “incomplete” team of it received an elite upgrade.

Yes actually. April would be rough, but I’d be happier than with the above.