Jack Parkman

Not at all. lol. born in the West Suburbs, been in Elgin since I was a toddler. I don't really defend him per se, I just realize what he is since the trade, which is a complete lottery ticket and I wish that people would realize that he's still got talent and that anything they get out of him is gravy. I'm rooting for the guy. He's gone through a ton of adversity and I hope he can push through and be successful as a pitcher. I've liked him since he was a draft prospect and I wonder how his career would have been different if the Sox would have had the stones to draft him instead of Courtney Hawkins.

I tried to stay positive through 2017-18 but Kopech's injury pushed me over the edge.

Nah, it was 2015 when he switched. Balta and I were pretty vocal in ripping the FO throughout the 2016 regular season. I was actually half joking when I said that Tatis would become an uber prospect on the day of the Shields trade. Nobody could have thought it would get THIS bad.

This is how I categorize it in the AL: Ace: ERA<3.15 most years and 210+K #2: ERA of 3.15-3.40 and 180-200K #3 ERA of 3.50-3.80 and ~160-175K #4: ERA hovering around 4.00 plus/minus 0.2 and~140-160K #5: ERA 4.25+ and <140K So I guess by my own standards, Giolito would top out as a very good #3 if he reaches what I think his potential is. I think it is possible for him to eclipse the 180K mark but unlikely.

Me too. Anyway, GarPax are more compentent than tweedledee and tweedledumb in the Sox front office. We should make a Dumb and Dumber with Hahn and Kenny. I'm embarrassed to have bought WSD's Hahn shirt. I'm going to wear it with a circle with a line through it around his face and the words FIRE above his name. Before this offseason, I thought that Kenny was overruling Hahn and telling him how to do his job. Now, I think he's just as much of a clown as Kenny is.

He should change it to Sell Jerry Sell!

That's acceptable. I can organize it but can only financially contribute minimally.

Anyone in for the Nelson Muntz billboard on 35th and the Dan Ryan ? That would be more satisfying than going to 4-5 games this year.

I wasn't talking about results, I was talking about talent/stuff. We all know the results weren't there last year. The talent is still there. It is a matter of whether or not he learns to harness it. My defense of him is based on talent and not results. He's too talented to punt on him at 24. That is my argument and that is and always has been my point. In July and August last year the dude had games where he was electric. Even if successful, he's probably going to max out at 170-180 ks. What you're looking for is weak contact early in the count and command.

If they weren't going to offer either player $300M guaranteed, they were never serious. It is black and white as well as binary. Offer 300M=Serious. Offer less than 300M=Not Serious. There was one team that was actually serious with Machado and that is why they got him. I cannot consider any dollar amount less than 300M a "legit offer" and to insinuate otherwise insults my intelligence as a fan. The fact that they think it was a legit offer shows how delusional they are. Did they offer $300M guaranteed to either player? No. Therefore, they didn't make a legit offer. No amount of GM speak will convince me otherwise.

No, he was really good in the lower minors. He got messed up shortly before he made his MLB debut.

Agreed

I'll tell you what is awful about it. Giolito WAS good. The Nationals broke something that didn't need fixing. In doing so, they completely messed up the guy's delivery. Now he's been trying to find what he lost, and is searching for answers. The Sox are trying to help him on that process. If the Nationals didn't break him, he wouldn't have been available in a trade anyway. This is the truth. He's more of a lottery ticket. The other two + a high end lotto ticket was a fair deal for Eaton. Giolito still had the reputation during the trade, and most didn't know how damaged he had become. I think the majority of the posters here bought into the old scouting reports on him and had unreasonable expectations of the guy. I had zero from the beginning. He's always been a reclamation project, and if you aren't willing to accept that, whatever.

No they weren't quit buying the FO's bullshit. They never intended to land any of these guys.

Absolutely. The Sox should be a mid-market team. They don't behave like one. They behave stupidly. They rob from player development/analytics to fund the big league team, and when they have a lower payroll they just pocket the savings. If they aren't going to invest into Player Development, 7/2 FA, analytics and scouting/better draft philosophy, then nothing really matters anyway. They have to be better than everyone else there in order to compete, and JR refuses to get with the times. They should make their budget based on spending the proper amounts in these areas, and be honest with the fanbase.

I think Sale will hit the open market because they have to make a choice between him and Bogaerts. I believe they choose Bogaerts, unless Sale is willing to sign and Bogaerts is hellbent on testing the market.

Cue the Who.

I think that of the potential big FA, the following will end up reaching the market: 1. Sale 2. Cole 3. Bumgarner 4. Castellanos I believe Goldschmidt, Bogaerts and Rendon will re-sign.

Both of them. The fact they weren't willing to go to that point for either player is infuriating. They lied to the fans faces. Those contracts are bargains for those players.

This is very true. We aren't going to speak like unicorns farting rainbows constantly. My timeline: 2015-11/2016: Extremely skeptical 2/2017: Less skeptical 8/2017-8/2018: Cautiously optimistic 9/2018-1/2019: On the fence Now: Extremely skeptical again They fooled me completely. You know the saying. I won't get fooled again. I had distrust in their ability to identify talent in 2016 and they've done nothing to prove that notion incorrect since. I must operate under the assumption of incompetence until proven otherwise.

If JR isn't willing to even spend on the things necessary to be successful on a budget(J2 FA, Scouting, analytics, player development), Hahn's hands are tied and he should resign.

Reinsdorf has descended into Bill Wirtz territory. Been saying it for the past half decade, and I continue to believe it. Bill Wirtz once said "I'm not interested in winning championships. They're too expensive"

I love baseball too. I'm going to watch the games but I won't go to the ballpark with my own money. I feel stupid for trusting Hahn when he said they'd spend the money. I never thought they'd rebuild, and the fact they did that made me somewhat gullible. If they weren't going to spend the money on these guys, they should have never rebuilt. They should have kept their guys and continued to piecemeal it. @Harper2Sox Time to change your handle to Sell Jerry Sell.

Yeah, but so far he's been striking out vs. MLB pitchers and raking vs. AAA pitchers. It is kind of concerning.

I'll be buying the Show but fuck going to games unless they're free or dirt cheap. Not buying any gear either. The talent has to come to fruition for me to change my mind. I'm not holding my breath.