Lillian

This assertion has been made countless times, on this site. However, I'm sorry, but that is not necessarily true. It has always been assumed that Harper would cost more. Moreover, we don't know how much more that Sox originally valued Harper, than they did Machado. And finally, if they have been determined to sign one of these 2 players, there has to be a little more urgency, now that only one remains. They may now value Harper even more than they did originally, given the current state of the fans base.

It's only a "1% chance," if the Sox don't want him. What do you suppose the chances of that are? There are few teams interested. The price is lower than anticipated. The Sox have the money. They should be motivated to "fix" the mess, which they created. Harper doesn't like the idea of going to Philadelphia. So, still think the chance is 1%?

It seems that Moncada is being more aggressive, and not taking the close pitches. A single and a triple, hitting right handed. Very nice to see.

It's interesting and perhaps quite telling that the tone of the comments has become very cautious. After the Machado fiasco, it's understandable that no one wants to go out on a limb, or set themselves up for another disappointment. The most common theme, I'm reading here now is; "I'd be shocked if the Sox signed Harper". Personally, that would not be shocking to me, at all. What would be shocking is that the Sox' front office is not going to make any serious effort to do so. It would also be shocking if Harper had no interest in signing with the Sox. There aren't enough suitors for him to be that picky and it is pretty widely assumed that he's not crazy about going to Philadelphia. We also know that he likes the city of Chicago and the Harpers' good friends, the Bryants, do live there. No, it wouldn't be a shock, if he ends up on the South Side. If Hahn can't close the deal, I'll be disappointed in him and ownership, more than in not having Bryce on the team. However, in any case, not even trying is the only thing that would be really shocking.

I don't understand exactly why that is true. The Sox did offer a big contract. The fact that they missed does not demonstrate that J. R. is primarily concerned about the future direction of free agency. If that were his main concern, they would not have even entered the Machado "sweepstakes".

The market is already almost there. That would only represent a small increase. Moreover, I really think that, at his age, J. R. has less interest in the future of free agency, than in increasing the value of his franchise and winning another championship.

Oh, believe me, I haven't forgotten about Moncada and I know that his strength is hitting from the left side. However, I don't view him as a middle of the order hitter. His greater potential is as a lead off hitter. It's there that he can utilize his speed and good plate discipline. He profiles much better there, than as a slugger. I have always hoped that he would become Rickey Henderson, "incarnate".

Unless you believe that Collins and, or Sheets could really blossom, all of the best potential middle of the order bats in this organization are right handed. Eloy, Robert, Adolfo, even Burger. Acquiring Harper fills that void. Eloy and Bryce together, batting 3RD and "clean up,' would just be HUGE.

Yes, I thought the same thing. The Phillies wouldn't have much recourse, because they couldn't reveal their illegal collusion. For the Sox, it is simply a matter of honoring their word.

If the Sox don't make an effort to get Harper, at these better than anticipated costs, that is the only thing that could explain it. If they promised the Phillies not to pursue Harper, they wouldn't have much choice.

Is that true? Is the contract for Colome really that bad? I was kind of pleased that we acquired him. Am I missing something?

I don't want him either. I was just trying to brace myself for another "stupid" move by this front office.

If the Dodgers were to acquire Harper, which one of Pollock and Pederson are they more likely to try to move? My guess would be Pederson, as he is best suited for a corner OF spot, which belongs to Harper.

As I think about it more, the acquisitions of Jay and Alonso may not have been as counter productive, as we all assume, providing that the Sox intended to sign Harper, all along. Aside from the potential to help bring Machado as well, which failed, they could fit, if Harper is signed and the Sox intended to make a run for the Division, this year. We understand that they are both only going to be on the roster for one year, and they aren't really holding anyone back, except Palka, who would be replaced by Harper, anyway. They would have a decent lineup, with good balance, from both sides of the plate: 3B Moncada. SW CF Jay. LH LF Eloy RH RF Harper LH DH Abreu RH 1B Alonso LH C Castillo RH 2B Sanchez SW SS Anderson RH If Santana is really healthy, he is fine as a middle, or back end of the rotation starter. for one year, until Kopech and Cease going the rotation, next year. The Bullpen has been fixed. The point is that Jay and Alonso could be useful, if they sign Harper. Without him, their presence is indeed counter productive. So, yet one more argument for a scenario, in which they have always intended to pursue Harper, even though they brought in Manny's 305 Club, which did at least serve to conceal, or confuse their true intentions. It's the kind of stealth and 4 D chess, which is probably beyond our front office, but we won't know, until Harper is finally signed, if ever.

Vaughn is right handed and played some third base, I believe in high school. He is an excellent fielding first baseman and has a strong arm. In fact, he was also a pitcher. I asked some time ago, about the feasibility of his switching back to being a third baseman. Any thoughts?

Perhaps, however it still does not explain how, or why, they would not be pursuing Harper. They had to know that he was going to get more than Machado and that it would likely take a record deal. That assumption seemed pretty universally believed, when this process began. Yet, there was Hahn, with all of his bluster and bravado, insisting this was a new era and that they would be aggressively pursuing a big free agent. Sorry, I just don't get it.

With the exception of the collusion scenario, I still don't understand how the Sox could not still be covertly involved. No one has yet to offer a plausible explanation for why the front office would have made such obvious and publicized overtures toward Harper, when this year's free agency began, and then suddenly bow out of their earlier pursuit of a marquee star. Hahn may be some of the things which we accuse him of, but he isn't stupid. This still does not make sense to me. The only thing that explain it would be that the Sox colluded with Middleton, and promised not to pursue Harper. Otherwise, I have to think that they are still in this thing, albeit as quietly and surrepticiously, as possible.

I'm with you, as long as they would indeed release Jay. I'd rather have Span in center, than Jay, but not both of them.

Regarding this notion that we shouldn't be following this Harper free agency, because we are only setting ourselves up for another huge disappointment, I have a completely different perspective. My interest in these details is not merely to know whether, or not, the Sox acquire at least one super star, out of this crazy off season. I really want to know what kind of an organization it is, to which I have given my allegiance, as a fan. Is the owner really not interested in winning, but only in making money? Is Hahn really disingenuous and, or incompetent? The answer to those questions can only be discerned with some knowledge of how these negotiations are being conducted. So, here I am, still following "Harper's Folly". Don't waste your breath, cautioning me not to set myself up, to have my heart broken. At this point, I don't care as much about acquiring Harper, as I do about acquiring some understanding of what the Hell is going on, here!

"CWSpalehose" expressed his suspicion that Middleton and Reinsdorf have colluded, by agreeing that the Sox would not pursue Harper, if the Phillies promised not to pursue Machado. That scenario is intriguing because it provides a plausible explanation for, what otherwise is their inexplicable abandonment of their determined attempts to sign Harper. I've been reading the rules regarding MLB collusion. They are not the clearest, or easiest set of rules to understand. Would a "gentlemen's agreement" between 2 owners, regarding their respective player acquisition targets, clearly be considered collusion? It's one thing to conspire regarding limiting the length, or value, of contracts, but quite another for one owner to simply say, I won't pursue X, if you won't pursue Y. Is there a legal mind here, who could clarify this issue?

And if he turned down that offer, I would not fault management. However, not even trying remains completely perplexing.

Boras probably won't let him sign for anything less than what Machado got. He will talk Harper into holding out for a record deal.

They wouldn't dare. They can't be that stupid.

I'm sorry, but I can't encourage anyone to boo the players. I still like the idea of making signs, to hold up at the games. It would be interesting and might be effective to have fans get into making creative signs, with appropriate messages. But, please cheer for the players, and let them know that we understand that it's not their fault.

Our players have nothing to do with this failure of management and ownership. Please don't take out any well deserved anger on them. Think of anyway you can to take it out on those who deserve it. Perhaps holding up signs, in the stands, with creative messages would help a little. Messages such as; "WE LOVE OUR PLAYERS, BUT NOT MANAGEMENT". Or; "HOW DO WE DFA THE FRONT OFFICE?" Or; "TRADE HAHN & K. W. FOR PRELLER". The TV cameras will never show them, but the fans will see them and it might catch on. It would be great to see lots of fans coming up with good digs, at the ones who deserve it.