Dick Allen

I hope to God they are in, but to think they are because Nightengale said they aren't is a reach. I'm pretty sure if he said they were, this thread would be hopping like crazy.

It takes 2 to tango, and I can't see Boras playing along, perhaps losing some leverage.

With the owner using the term stupid money, not landing Harper or Machado is a failure that would knock whatever they did to average at best.

Rick Hahn couldn't have been shocked. He said when he went to bed on Monday, he thought the odds were less than 50/50.

Maybe they screwed up the directions and are supposed to be at the other side of the facility.

Yes. They came in second for Logan Morrison last season. I'm surprised Rick hasn't mentioned it.

Constantly mentioning trading with the Cubs as a feather in his cap, is a pretty silly Rick Hahn trait.

Do you really think Scott Boras of all people would keep the Sox on the down low and make sure everyone knows who else is involved? He isn't going to do them any favors. And it isn't like he knows for sure JR would make the best offer. When does that happen? That's about as silly as thinking the White Sox are such the destination, free agents who are supposed to sign record breaking contracts, would accept $50 million less because they so want to play in an empty stadium with no one watching on TV, no one listening on the radio, and the biggest newspaper in town with no beat writer. The White Sox are so insignificant in Chicago. Think what they must be everywhere else. Signing one of these guys would go a long way towards changing that. But the White Sox still require it's done on their terms, so it isn't going to happen.

I think it's sad for the franchise they put their fans through this. Rick Hahn was actually asked at Soxfest if the Sox would go for both. He said it wouldn't make sense financially. Some took that to actually mean, what do you expect him to say, it's obviously a stealth yes. No means yes, yes means yes. People hear what they want to hear. There is no reason to think the Sox are in the middle of this right now. Be excited. Be hopeful. Be ready to be letdown. Again.

What's sad is some actually believe the Sox have a shot here, when the only news is the offer might not be as high as anticipated, and the Dodgers have jumped in. No writer has the Sox bidding now. Even Heyman, Boras's water boy. They had SD in the mix for Machado.

The Sox are telegraphing not going after a 3rd baseman next year by going through with moving Moncada there unless he busts. They wouldn't dare move him again, would they?

There is a lot of weirdness to this offseason. One of the Cubs signees said he had no offers for a couple of months, then one day he had 3 or 4 for the same amount.

I was watching MLBN and Eric Byrnes was talking about free agency. Obviously for the most part, he was a hack as a player, and kind of out there anyway, but he went through it and gave some perspective of what players think. With Harper, training in AZ is a big bonus since he lives in LV. Playing for LA or SF would be ideal. Playing for the Phillies and spending 6 weeks of spring training in FL is not ideal. All things being relatively the same, the Sox would have an advantage over Philadelphia with him. He did say Trout would be the opposite. Philadelphia could be sitting pretty for him.

That's what I said when Machado signed. Give him the same contract he received only 10% higher. Give him the 5 year opt out. If he opts out in 5 years, your team is supposed to be stacked then anyway, re-allocate the money. If they were serious about signing them, this is a discount. Machado was right at projection.

It turns out Scott Boras and JR hammering out the biggest contract in mlb history was just as absurd as we always thought.

Jay was here for one reason. He got $4 million because that is what would get him signed right away. Apparently the Sox thought his $4 million would be more than paid for by the friends and family discount they thought was coming their way.

I think when the White Sox met Lozano on Monday, they understood they were giving their final offer.

If he was willing to go higher, I have no idea what he was waiting for. It seemed pretty obvious it was coming to a conclusion. Even Hahn admitted he went to bed Monday night thinking the Sox chances were below 50/50.

I don’t think that was a big deal. It had been in the works since the end of last season. Had they signed him. He would have gone back to second.

Shack quoted KW earlier, and in that same sequence where he used the sunglasses and shock, he did say they couldn’t build a winning roster and guarantee him $300 million. So second place and comfortable.

And whatever they say, it doesn’t matter. They lost. You either sign him or you don’t. It was interesting to me how badly the Sox wanted their final offer out there. Rosenthal had it, and Hahn when he was on with Lawrence Holmes, who would normally not comment on something that that, said it was accurate. I quest that made every who thinks they tried and thought it was a accomplishment to come in second happy.

The problem is he shouldn’t be shocked if that wasn’t just for show. They were $50 million short, and same executive said they cannot guarantee him$300 million and build a winning roster.

Nice.. too bad your hobby as a fake insider was short lived.

Yeah shack is all over the place. He posted to another poster he would rip the front office if they missed on both. Now people doing exactly that need to find a new team to cheer for,

Position wise Arenado and Rendon seem to be the prizes. If they make it that far. If they need a 3B next year it means Moncada either couldn’t handle it, or they would move him again.