Lillian

Please stop. If this team is not going to be competitive for a year, or two, why trade for Pederson, who has just 2 years left on his contract? If that is the next move, of this front office, then I will join those, who insist that they are totally inept. Joc made sense, if they had acquired Machado, and were attempting to make a run at the Division, this year. They might have had a chance, if they also signed one top of the rotation starter. However, under the circumstances, now facing this team, Pederson makes no sense.

You can't possible believe that the Sox would even bring such a ridiculous and uncompetitive offer to the table. They aren't stupid and had to have known where the bidding would begin. The guy turned down $300 million from the Nationals, right at the beginning of the off season.

It seems implausible that Boras would let Harper be so transparent, as to purposely eliminate a suitor, in a competitive bidding situation. That would be so foolish. Even if he prefers another location, or team, why reject a bona fide contender for your services. Boras would surely want to string along the Sox front office, just to drive up the price to the eventual winners.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict the following: While I won't predict that the Sox will win the Harper sweepstakes, we will discover that they were very much in it, right up until the end, and with a respectable offer, which will at least save face.

That may also be true, however how else do you explain that our front office has suddenly lost interest in their previously concerted and determined effort to sign him? Has he done something to turn off Sox management? Have the anticipated contract numbers and conditions greatly exceeded their original assumptions?

Could Banuelos be that guy?

I agree. The fact that they have gone dead silent suggests to me that they are in this hunt. I'm confident that we will hear all about it, when it's all over, whether they sign him, or not. The insiders are not continuing to insist that the Sox are not in it. They have just gone silent. It's as though the Sox don't exist. Very suspicious, indeed.

Not many collegiate players have won the Golden Spikes award, in their sophomore seasons. This guy seems to be an exceptional talent. However, we'll see how his junior year goes. I understand that first basemen are not normally good choices, when picking high in the Draft. At least he is considered a very good defensive first baseman.

Just to add one more possible right handed, middle of the order bat, to my list, it's likely that we draft Andrew Vaughn, with our 3RD pick. Unless Rutschman somehow falls to us, Vaughn is probably whom the Sox will select. By the way, have you noticed the hot start, he's having? That kid can hit. It looks like the conference may have decided to simply not pitch to him. He has 14 walks, versus just 3 strike outs, in the first 7 games. At any rate, let's hope Hahn has a trick up his sleeve and can steal Bryce, at the last minute. Give him 10 years, $375 million, with an opt out, after year 4 or 5. If he turns that down and signs with the Dodgers, I wouldn't fault ownership, or our front office. That is a serious bid. You can't make a player want to play for a team.

Nice prospects, however I don't expect either of them to develop into middle of the order hitters, do you?

All of this talk about other future opportunities to acquire a free agent, not named Bryce Harper, continues to ignore the fact, which I constantly stress. What do Goldschmit, Martinez, Bogaerts and Rendon all have in common? I'll give you a big hint. It's the same thing that they all have in common with the one guy, whom we can pencil into our future middle of the order. Look, I understand that some of you think that I'm obsessed with "left handedness". I'm not. If I'm obsessed with anything, on that subject, it's the need for balance. I wouldn't want the lineup to be all left handed, any more than I want it to be all right handed. Ideally, there is a balance, especially in the middle of the order, from where the most run production is supposed to be generated. Moncada still seems to profile best as a lead off hitter. You know that I have hopes for him to become the second coming of Rickey Henderson. I love his speed and his eye, but I don't envision him as a slugger. Give me a switch hitting, high OBP, speedster at the top of the order, who can also hit the long ball and you have a championship caliber table setter. So, if Moncada stays at lead off, who are the best candidates, in the system, to fill the 3, 4 and 5 spots? Eloy and.......?.....? I would include Robert, Burger and Adolfo as guys who profile as middle of the order hitters, if they develop into better than average Major Leaguers. Guess what they all have in common. Surprise, surprise, they're all right handed. There are two possibilities, who bat from the left side. Sheets and Collins could fit there, but realistically the odds say we shouldn't count on both of them. We'll be lucky if one of the two pans out. Harper fills the void, and would be a fixture, in the middle of the order. The top 2/3 of the lineup, consisting of Moncada (SW), Madrigal (RH), Eloy (RH), Harper (LH), Robert (RH) and Collins (LH) could represent a nicely balanced and formidable offense. When you add the fact that Harper hits from the left side, to his critical age factor, he is the obvious best fit for this team. One has to believe that Hahn sees this. That's why I'm confident that they are still in this hunt. Forget about waiting until next year's free agent class. Just sign Bryce!!!

So would 4 years, @$45 million per, do it? If not, then he must really not want to play for the Sox. We know that it isn't the city. He likes Chicago.

How much would you guess the Dodgers would offer?

If he wants to take a short term deal, how about 4 years @ $40 Million per, no opt outs? After 4 years, he can go across town and play with his Buddy Bryant, if he's still a Cub. The Harpers wouldn't even need to sell their house.

This is precisely the point, and well stated. I'm all for players being paid fairly, but it's a two way street. Another way to illustrate the point is to remember that there is virtually no risk to a player that a team will not honor its contract and pay the money guaranteed. However, there is no assurance, what so ever, that the player will be able to deliver on his expected performance. Under those circumstances, players need to give a little on the nature of their opt outs.

I assume that most of you would agree that this is simply a matter of opinion. There is no absolute, correct answer to the question, regarding what kind of opt out would be acceptable. In any case, as hopeful and optimistic as I am that the Sox are covertly pursuing Harper, I seriously doubt that they would agree to an opt out, after just 2, or 3 years, on a 10 year, $330 + million contract. That is probably a deal breaker for ownership, given the fact that the team is not yet ready to contend, even with Harper.

If Harper is given a 3 year opt out, it ties the Sox hands, in the event that some other potential acquisition might surface. It's one thing to offer a short term, 3 year contract, but quite another to be on the hook for $330 million +, but not have any certainty as to when the player might leave. Such a deal does not make sense for the Sox. He would be a critical component of that window of contention and if he were to depart, they would then have to scramble to find his replacement, which would not be as easy as some have suggested. How many middle of the order, left handed bats, with a career OBP of .388 are there, in any off season? All of the amounts of money and conditions which go into making these contracts, are arbitrary, so there really aren't a lot of rules. However, it just seems a little unfair and not very equitable, for the player to demand that the team commit to 10 years, while he is only willing to commit to 2, or 3.

My question was directed at that very obstacle. If the increased amount, for the critical 3RD and 4TH years, were sufficient, that would mitigate the inherent risk of Harper opting out. It is the risk that he leave, just when the contention window is wide open, that makes the opt out so objectionable. If you can greatly reduce that risk, then the Sox may be willing to grant one. This probably wouldn't be allowed, but just to illustrate, what if the first 5 years of the deal looked something like this?: Years 1 & 2 @ $35 Million per Years 3 & 4 @ $45 Million per Year 5 @ $35 Million It wouldn't be very likely that he would walk in year 3, or 4. And if he left in year 5, that would be fine, as that is when the young core would be reaching that stage, where they would have to start being paid.

What is the greatest disparity, allowed by the CBA, in years 3 and 4, over the rest of the contract,? That might be the best way to help ensure that he doesn't opt out, after the 2ND, or 3RD year. Pay a little less in the first two years, so that the annual salary could balloon up to $40 million in years 3 and 4. Under those conditions, the opt out, being demanded by Harper, would not be a problematical.

If they have already begun to explore the possibilities of using synthetic materials, one might imagine that they may ultimately discover a material that works even better than what they now use. Perhaps one day they will create a "super tendon". What do you think? Maybe that will happen and as a consequence, pitchers will put too much stress on their shoulders. "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature," as the old commercial said.

Do you think that it would be feasible to modify the procedure, in a way that would be less risky and simply insert something to strengthen the UCL, so that it would reduce the risk of a future tear? Perhaps some synthetic, or biomechanical part could be devised.

At what age does the elbow epiphyseal plate close? (Whatever that is) LOL

Maybe they will ultimately determine the optimum time to have the TJ, in a young pitcher's life and just make it routine. If they performed the procedure, before the injury occurred, would the results be the same, or even better? I understand that such a practice would be very radical, but if it made the elbow stronger and dramatically reduced the incidences of UCL tears, maybe it would make sense. Is there a better way to perform the operation, if there is not already a tear? I'm thinking something like a "bionic arm". Would the procedure be any less risky, than when performed on a torn UCL?

Years ago, before Tommy John Surgery was available, I don't remember anywhere near the number of pitchers having this injury. It seems to have become the rule, rather than the exception. Very odd, especially since today's hurlers don't throw nearly as many pitches. This paradox has puzzled me, for a long time. Just strange.

Since you're trying to compare Arenado to Harper, it might be useful to look at Bryce's career stats, at Coors' Field: In 75 plate appearances (admittedly too small of a sample size): AVG .387 OBP .489 SLG .627 Interesting, I just checked and Arenado has very similar numbers, hitting at Washington's Park.