Dick Allen

I am sure before it becomes official, Manny is going to have to take a physical, probably in NY, maybe in Tampa. Who knows what his schedule is like.for all we know, he might be on vacation right now. There are many reasons it could be delayed. Obviously one could be that the report is fake. But the White Sox going after Encarnacion sends a signal that something has changed.

They are talking about a press conference on Jan.7. Of everyone on this board, I know you are the most invested in at least one of these guys being a White Sox. I think you even thought both. It might be time to at least start preparing for the worst.

BTW, when it was announced DiDi was injured, I did post it made it a lock Machado to NY. So if he does sign, I do hope everyone, including all the national guys give me credit.

I would think it would be due to the holidays. This would be one of the biggest signings in history, and people are doing other things. It would basically be the Friday night news dump , I take a bus to work in the morning. It is empty now , usually standing room only. The office is a ghost town. Turn on the news and it is the back ups on the telecast. Watch TV, it’s re runs. i think it is as simple as that. James McCann, that’s the type of stuff you can announce now. Machado and Harper, you need to wait until people return to their normal schedules.

I don’t know why leaking someone agreed to a contract would be beneficial. Couldn’t the White Sox just ask his agent if it is true?

Normally, I would agree, but this is about the most quiet time for baseball. A signing of this magnitude calls for a big press conference, and they want as many people paying attention as possible.

If Dan Clark is accurate, the White Sox have been informed they are out. If the White Sox are still negotiating,Dan Clark is full of it.. I don’t think anyone believes Dan Clark has any information the White Sox don’t have.

Maybe , but in years past, if they ever were involved, they were definitely one of the mystery teams. and KWs quote about the pieces they need being available now, implies In the future there will be less attractive alternatives.

If Machado signs for anything significantly short of a record breaking deal, the White Sox either weren’t offering him one, or the current regime has run them into the ground so far, players won’t even take their money. Just like making ARod a Ranger, Cano a Mariner, and getting Pujols to leave St.Loius, there is a figure that would make Machado and Harper play for the White Sox. Whether that figure ultimately makes sense or not is another debate. But it does exist. The thing that will get me with this failure, if that is what happens,, is how they went away from their Jerry Krause-like secretive MO. While if they land the player, it’s great, if they miss out, and especially if they had very little chance anyway, it only disappoints the fan base even more.

What do they gain by announcing it. Isn’t an alleged pursuit of Edwin Encarnacion a giveaway? Besides, someday,maybe even during our lifetimes, the Sox will be the team the star is signing, I am sure they would want the pleasure of making the announcement.

Sure it is. Most “sources” aren’t nearly as engaged right now as usual. Dan Clark apparently had access to a player.

Yes, not that difficult this time of year. But it seems as if it is starting to crack. If if you were the Yankees and Many agreed to sign, then came back a couple of days later and said, hey, we still have been negotiating and you need to kick in more cash, how would that go over? People still put value on their word.

Your last paragraph isn’t accurate. You may have posted about landing theses guys more than anyone. Your heart appears set on it occurring, and there have been no insiders that have ever given the White Sox more than a punchers chance. This might be BS, it might not. But all of a sudden the Sox seem interested in players that don’t match up with a Machado signing, and it is from an insider Morosi, who you would bank on. Things are lining up not how we wished. It is getting to be that time we all accepted it, and get pleasantly surprised if it turns into something different.

Then keep your pursuit low profile like it has always been. Now they want everyone talking about and thinking about these guys being White Sox, when reality would make anyone realize it was very unlikely. They set up their entire dwindling fan base for disappointment. Even someone like me who originally laughed at the thought there was the slightest chance either would be signed. But hey, they did pick up Yonder Alonso.

EE is a 35 year old 1.0 fWAR player last year making $20 million, and the Sox are in the middle of a rebuild with 2 vet 1B/DH who are cheaper, and at this point, maybe better, but at the very least not significantly worse. So why not get him? Nothing could make less sense.

If he has agreed to sign with the Yankees, it would stop the negotiations.his agent is one of the top guys. If he agreed to a contract but was still negotiating with other teams and it came out, he would be looking for a new line of work. That is not how it’s done. If Dan Clark is correct, the White Sox know this and are moving on. But there still is a chance he is full of it. As far as his rep, if Bruce Levine reported last night the White Sox had signed him and he was the only one, there would be a party on this board. Yet, one could make one of the longest threads in this sites history just stringing together all the Bruce Levine is full of shit posts. I hope it isn’t true, but it seems to be gaining legs from all ends.

Think about it, if the White Sox wouldn’t have half assed an all in, and refused to count on Mat Latos in the rotation, instead signing or trading for someone a bit more reliable and more worthy of all in status, they would probably have never even bid on Machado because they never would have made the Shields trade.

The White Sox had to know with their performance and irrelevance, they were behind the eight ball bidding for these guys. But The thought there is nothing they can do is incorrect. They can offer enough money to make just about anyone a White Sox. If it took another $25 million why would JR care. Chances are he won’t be signing the checks 10 years from now. If they weren’t prepared to blow away the competition with a contract, they were fooling themselves thinking this could get done.

Either way it sucks. If they didn’t make the high bid, that is so White Sox. If they offered $50 million more and he turned that down, that has to start the alarms as well.

I would think he probably would be in an Encarnacion trade, although I really don’t think there is much to this rumor.

When the Bulls lost a coin flip and wound up with David Greenwood instead of Magic, that stung. But had they won that flip, they never would have been bad enough to draft Jordan So maybe we will someday look back and think missing out on Manny opened a door to something better. But right now it feels like White Sox business as usual.

I don't know. 3 months can ruin a season. If no injury, they may spend their cash elsewhere.

If DiDi doesn't get hurt, do the Yankees even pursue Machado?

Not necessarily. You are always going to need help from the outside if you really want to win and not just be a good team. But, I do think there is reason to be leery of White Sox prospects. Until a couple actually play like advertised, it's hard to buy in.

No. My logic is if he had a deal in place with anyone, it would have leaked by now.