Dick Allen

Why do you think he plays good defense?

Olney is staying the Sox are not going to break records. It might explain why he laughed when others mentioned the White Sox. So much contradiction out there. I find it lunacy to trade for Alonso if you are not prepared to win the bidding. His info has to be wrong. We will see.

Hahn for some reason felt it necessary to dance around the trade with writers today, denying it had anything to do with Manny. He just thought Alonso was a great fit , yet he never discussed him with Cleveland until he was on his way home from the winter meetings, They has set up the Manny meeting then, so I think he knew what he was doing, and throwing $9 million at a prayer is nothing the Sox voluntarily do. He had an inkling.

As I have stated I now think this trade shows the White Sox will sign Machado. It makes no sense if they don't, and while Rick Hahn may be a crappy GM, he is a bright and reasonable man. They didn't want to risk perhaps $8 million on Avi . I doubt he would piss away $9 million if he didn't know something that he can't quite say yet.

I doubt it. I think Abreu being RH vs Alonso, Palka, maybe Harper all LH Is also a factor. If I was betting this looks like all in on Manny and saing uncle on Harper

He is saying Alonso or Abreu will DH, So if the Sox sign Harper, Palka has no spot unless Alonso or Abreu have no spot. So it is pretty easy to deduct either no Harper or no Palka. Its obviously an easy choice if they have one, but it is looking more like they don't.

His response was silly. He should have left it at the press release. Except for Ron who has a strange unconditional hatred of Jose Abreu, everyone knows why this trade was made.

Hahn also said Abreu and Alonso will split 1b/dh, and that Palka was in the OF. So that either means out on Harper or Palka is basically been Jabari Parkered.

I just think Hahn was told this will help matters. If it was just a stunt.they could have offered Manny a choice, Alonso as teammate or an extra $9 million in 2019.

I get that but there are going to be people OK with failure because of perceived effort. Effort is for kids. In the real world you only get trophies for results.

Yeah, he would be better keeping his mouth shut. If he was serious and a 30 something 1b with a WAR barely above replacement level is baseball wise a move to take them where they want to be in 2019 and beyond, it should take them to the unemployment line. He probably is saying these things out of respect for Alonso.

It is their job to make the White Sox a desirable destination . There are probably less than 5 teams in MLB that could offer Machado the most money and the chance to play with friends and family where it wouldn't be a slam dunk he says yes. I think he will say yes, but if not it shows how pathetic the team has become. There is no chance he would say no to several teams. It is a results oriented business. If your best is consistently not good enough, it is time for someone else to give their best effort.

The problem is perception and reputation. If the White Sox bring in a relative, offer the most money, and still don’t get the player, it is bad. There aren’t many teams where that would happen. It would be another incident showing the difference beeen successful organizations and the White Sox. But I am going with it is going to work. I think Hahn is too bright to be played, and I think he was lead to believe this, plus the pot being right, gets the job done. Don’t forget Morosi said Manny would sign first and he predictedWhite Sox.

Of course it makes sense if it works. If the Sox are flying blind on this and just did this out of desperation and it doesn’t work, then you are right, it will be ridiculous. I am just a little surprised the National guys haven’t took this and run. The White Sox weren’t looking for a 1 year DH. They weren’t looking for a 1 year 1B. They weren’t looking to help the Indians out of a financial pinch. Yet they acquired Alonso and ate the entire contract. It’s onky a coincidence he is Machado’s brother in law. For all the so and so it the front runner, they percentage breakdowns of teams chances, this trade is clearly a big clue. The White Sox have to be the favorites for Manny right now.

I saw Cashman on MLBN. He has so many options. He was talking about signing. 2B and making Torres the SS. As a cheaper alternative to Manny. It is as if they the Dodgers the Cubs and Red Sox have final say over everyone else over where guys are going to play.

Cleveland traded him to the White Sox for nothing. Maybe there is another team that will take him for nothing, but it’s pretty doubtful right now, because the Tribe probably would have sent him elsewhere if only because of the small chance he could come back to haunt them.

The only scenario in which he will reach it is if the team wants him to reach it. Which means he is having a big year. If he is his usual mediocre self, he will sit vs,. LHP, he will be n the bench for Palka some, and he will hit down in the order, all limiting his plate appearances. There is no worry with it. If the option vests, we all will be happy it did.

4 White Sox reach that total last year. Matt Davidson wasn’t one of them. Anderson, Moncada, Abreu, Sanchez. The only way he will reach it is if that is what the White Sox want. It is a non issue.

And word would get out that he is a snake. There is obviously a lot of BSing in negotiations both ways,, but the vast majority of these guys, Boras included, do operate ethically. I doubt Machado’s agent would risk having his name dragged through the mud, harming future negotiations with all teams.

Alonso and Palka had the same fWaR and Abreu was higher, so it might improve the team, as I think Palka may be due for an unkind correction. But, doesn’t Abreu not hit as well as a DH? And isn’t like Alonsois a gold glove type, and what, you go from 65 o 66 wins? They would be better off handing out $9 million in $100 bills around the city. i think the Sox would have a hard time getting their money back if Machado signed with the Yankees today, and they put Alonso back on the market. And all of this is dismissing Alex Call as a legitimate prospect. That’s probably accurate. No one seems too upset he is gone. But if he develops into a serviceable player and this was only a stunt, and it blows up in the White Sox face, that would be another kick in the balls.

Does anyone really believe Alonso was brought in for some reason other than Manny Machado?

It doesn’t matter. It will be $9 million spent that doesn’t help the team. That is $9 million they cannot spend elsewhere. And since you have been a White Sox fan a long time, youwill remember KWs favorite lime you can’t spend $1 when you only have $0:50. The $9 million might come in handy some time. On top of that, you just did the Indians a solid with their payroll crunch. if it works, and I now have every reason to think it will, awesome. If it doesn’t, it was stupid. And I have not ripped the move. If it fails, I will.

The Sox will offer opt outs. They were either the first or one of the first to offer one to a high priced free agent. It may not be as simple as the player saying he wants to become a free agent. There will most likely be steps the team can take ie adding more money that cancels the opt out.

The Sox have Abreu playing 1B, and Palka a LH DH. Hahn has stated over and over again how this winter is about long term pieces not short term fixes, if even Alonso can be considered a fix. Picking him up is about 1 thing and 1 thing only. If that doesn’t happen he blew $9 million for what? Wouldn’t spending even less than that been better to see if Avi Garcia could hit .330 again? Not only that, he helped Cleveland at least a little bit with their payroll problem. if the Sox don’t sign Machado after spending $9 million to do so, they are a joke, if it makes Machado a White Sox it is a great move. It is that simple.

Than a joke? If they miss out on both, they still will be irrelevant.But this trade actually has made me more optimistic. I am no fan of Hahn, but I don’t think he would make this trade just as part of his presentation. He must know more than that. There is no other explanation for this acquisition. He is short term, and his position is already covered by players better and/or younger than him. This must be part of the tax the Sox have to pay to keep him from the Yankees. If it is not, this winter has been a total bust for them.