bmags

I obviously think the dodgers are better at scouting and development than the white sox (I think 2/3s of the league at least is), but my point was the dodgers specifically have been drafting injured or post-injured players with success in bringing them back with good or better stuff, and sometimes not but the big successes stick out. They aren't the only ones, pearson and jeff hoffman. But it's not always so obvious at the time, some decent evaluators started rethinking the 6' rhp around 2015: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-black-swan-theory-of-drafting-pitchers/ Then BP or someone recently looked at it and due to risk basically said take 6' RHP...just take them in the second round.

I think the worst thing about the padres late push is it validates the players waiting for late entrants because otherwise it really felt like whatever they signed for in late feb was basically same they could have got in january.

This has been a thing with the dodgers though.

Hostetler has said Zack was #1 on their boards. It was not a particularly productive draft yet, but still questionable.

Yeah I’ve really wanted Sox to avoid early opt outs, hoped for a swell opt at year 4

New York and Chicago calcs aren’t same. Chicago has declining population and great fundamentals but still immature tech ecosystem. It is worth more investment to add population and build an economy like that than NYC

Tulane is wonderful, but that market has nowhere near the MBA and engineering pools to tap that the Midwest in places like Chicago or Indy has (Purdue, u or I, Michigan for computer engineering, Northwestern, u of c, Indiana, notre dame for mba/business)

I agree with caulfield.

Actually now reading the article that does make me nervous.

I think you are off on the meet his asking price, it was he needed to provide a formal offer for a sit down. They weren't just doing meet and greets this late in process.

It needs a talent pipeline too. Indianapolis and Rochester are the only ones that would be able to provide that drawing from chicago, u of i engineering, umich engineering.

My skepticism has 100% to do with being able to afford him. While I did not think we could outbid the phillies head to head for one guy, I do think we could easily outbid the padres.

I would do that every day.

Ah, I thought he switched because he was trying to hit 500 hr

good way of putting it.

For FA in general, has there been a free agent that has regretted jumping the market for a deal?

Yeah I thought it was good news. I really have a hard time believing that there are other teams that will offer high value, long term offers other than the white sox and phillies. It's also why I just can't see waiting changing improving the situation for either player and hope it wraps up by mid week next week at latest.

This may be a fan concern, this is not a Reinsdorf concern. After all, he could say " you said you wanted this, bryce harper just signed for x, our offer is much more in line"

Sure, this is more charitable. But at the very least, he will not be actively subverting another teams negotiations to ensure they pay more

This, and especially so for our owner.

Jerry Reinsdorf's grand dream isn't signing both harper and machado, it would be signing on of either and orchestrating a market that underpaid the top players and kept labor prices in check. That's better than a world series.

I disagree. I think the clearly negative player sentiment right now is due to the sox and phillies both know they can come away with one, and are in a prisoners dilemma game except they are both avoiding bidding up each other so they can get the players at the best possible prices.

Honestly this sounds every bit as crazy as Charles the Cat's unwavering confidence the cubs are about to sign harper and shed heyward

I will take what we can get from him now.

It's kind of amazing Hriniak and thomas isn't it? You had this hulk of a man that hit the crap out of the ball and he had him try to slap line drives down the middle. I wonder what would have happened to thomas in today's environment with more emphasis on pulling the ball, and if it may have played too much to his strengths and made him more one dimensional (ala 02-05 thomas)