Lillian

Perhaps A. J. was more of a jerk than I thought. In any case, that does not however, make Machado any less of one.

I think the exact Ozzie quote was: "If he's on the other team, you hate him. If he's on your team, ... you hate him, a little less". Comedic timing was one of Ozzie's gifts.

Touche! LOL. Aside from "being left handed," A. J. was a very smart player, with a high baseball acumen. He could grate on opposing player's nerves, and I know that he had a reputation of being "one of the most hated players in baseball". If I had to sum up my impression of the difference between the two players, in respect to their character, I would say that A. J. seemed to enjoy playing a villain, but Machado seems to actually be one. With A. J. it was often a "work," in the tradition of Pro Wrestling, something for which he had a fascination. I think he enjoyed the theatrics. By contrast, Machado seems to be serious about being a jerk, at times. At any rate, it's all very subjective.

I just watched the "Manny Machado being Manny" video again. If the Sox don't sign him, watching that video might be a good way to get over the disappointment. He can be a hard guy to like, at times. I appreciate guys who play the game hard and play to win, but some of the stuff he has done is hard to appreciate.

Machado is not that good of an on base % hitter. The OBP projections from FanGraphs and Steamer have Eloy starting out at about where Manny is now. I suspect that Eloy will surpass Manny, in a couple of years, in that one category. I'm guessing that Eloy will ultimately be a .300 hitter, with an OBP closer to .400. However, of course, it's too early to tell.

Yes, and I suspect that Eloy is going to emerge as the stronger leader, in any case. He seems to be such a magnetic figure, with an infectious personality. If he becomes the star, most people envision, he will likely become the team leader. He is very likable and would make a terrific role model. He is "the bess".

I assumed that it was probably about the "dirty player" moniker and, or his comments about not being "Johnny Hustle". Those couple of plays at first base, where he kicked the first baseman's ankle in one instance and stepped on another's foot, looked really bad. I have been concerned about his character, from the start, because the Sox have a lot of young Latin players. It would be a shame if he were to become their role model. They all seem to be such good kids, and hopefully they would not be negatively influenced by any one player, with questionable character. To me, that might be the biggest benefit to having both Alonso and Jay around. They are purportedly really great guys and have mentored Manny, for a long time. They would likely keep him in line.

Never mind, I found this article, which I can read, without subscribing to The Athletic:, although it doesn't really give a specific description of the Dodgers' disillusionment, with Machado: https://www.dodgersnation.com/rosenthal-dodgers-out-on-harper-machado-and-explains-their-spending-practices/2019/02/02/

What was it about Machado, that caused the Dodgers to "become less enamored of him"? Was it what we all saw, during the Playoffs?

OK. You convinced me. Good Night.

Because the person might have been given permission, but not to disclose who they are, or their source. At this point, no one can point a finger at anyone. Look at us. A few of us are speculating about who, and the rest of us think that's crazy. None of us know anything, just wild guesses. Again, complete plausible deniability. But again, the question is; Why do this?

LOL. Well, if it's a prankster, the prank is working. I'm not staying up all night. I'll just wait til the morning, and likely not be greeted with any "real" news.

Yes, but wouldn't that entail disclosing their identity? They wouldn't want to make this official. This way, it's totally unofficial and anonymous. Hell, I don't know. It is weird. If turns out to be true, then I will be very curious as to who this person is, which I suspect that we would never know.

I'm just trying to attach a motive to someone, regarding tweeting such a message. It's anonymous, so that pretty much negates the idea of an attention seeker. Why would someone do this, and who is the most likely author?

Setting aside all of the other factors, which would be part of any consideration for one of J. R's sons to tweet that, can you see how they might desire to anonymously and secretly provide some good news to the fan base?

Well, they aren't putting their name to it. That's just some of us speculating. They have complete plausible deniability.

I don't know. I was trying to figure that out. So what do you think? Is this some kid, playing a prank?

I wasn't referring to Jerry Reinsdorf, but rather one of his sons.

Tell us more. And, would it be permissible to disclose that? Also, would it be disadvantageous for the Sox?

I'm buying it and still think that this burner Twitter account is the Reinsdorfs. As I said earlier; perhaps Machado's team was trying to maximize the leverage of Sox Fest, knowing that the front office would have loved to have been able to answer all of the fans' questions about Manny, in the affirmative. Now that Sox Fest is over and the Sox didn't give in to Lozano's demands, I think Manny signs soon. The Pederson trade has other contingencies, as we have discussed, on both sides. My only question is; Would such a tweet be in violation of the CBA?

I'm surprised to hear that the new pitching philosophy does not like the sinker. What is the rationale behind that? I always considered it a very effective pitch, resulting in lots of ground balls. I remember when our family had our Atec Casey Pitching Machine, no one could ever square up sinkers. I'll have to Google this one, as I'm quite curious.

That the Sox didn't get Machado or Pederson,....YET. LOL

Perhaps the Machado camp thought that they could use Sox Fest as leverage to pressure the front office to up the offer, in time for the Fan Fest. Now that it's over, and the Sox didn't cave, maybe they will be more willing to come to terms.

Without violating the CBA rules, how difficult is it for the front office to verify a claim that some team has made an offer? Please don't tell me that Lozano can simply make up a story that the Padres have made an offer. There must be rules governing what the agents are allowed to do, as well as what ownership may do.

It wouldn't be "$70 to *$80 Million annually". Isn't it more likely $65 Million to $75 Million? Nevertheless, that is a lot, for just 2 players.