Dick Allen

One thing Boras doesn't want is for Harper to sign soon and have Machado get more cash later, which if the Phillies or White Sox are still out there, and really as engaged as reported, is a really good possibility. The only way he could spin it is where Harper signed is where he wanted to be.

Yet the White Sox have a worse record than any other team the last 6 seasons. EVERY TEAM has been better than them.

Yeah, 2013 called and said, good idea. He was an 0.5 fWAR last season. Adam Engel was an 0.2. This would be a ridiculous signing.

They have actually been linked to all 3 of those guys.

It does you no good to let it out you actually think you will land one of these guys. The Phillies owner will never live his line of spending stupidly down if they fail and the guys they sign instead don't get the job done. What the White Sox leak out really means squat. The fact is, they leaked out enough to stick their necks on the line. If they don't convert, the backlash they get is well deserved. If they don't offer enough money, it was unrealistic to think they had a shot. If they do offer the most money, and the player looks elsewhere, they created the undesirable situation. If they leaked out nothing, we would think they have little shot, so we all go about our days. Now they leak enough to think it very well may happen. If it doesn't, think of all the time they made you waste. And I know some will say that isn't on them. I disagree. They know their fully engaged fans are totally into this whole process right now.

It would’ve let them off the hook with me. There would be a reason they didn’t take that offer, and that reason is KW,RH, and JR’s fault.

Yep fucked it up so much they won a World Series, and it is so bad now winning only 95 games is unacceptable everyone gets fired. i would much prefer it the way the Sox do it. Win 78 games when you are “going for it” or “all in”. Then rebuild and lose 100, and rave about prospects acquired with 6.00 ERAs or 200 strikeouts. Then rave about the prospect developed who strikes out like Ron Kittle but hits homers like Julio Cruz, but he is nice and dumps water on his head in those rare instances the team wins.

I don’t get it either, but it happens all the time.

Heyman who is basically a Boras spokesman, said there is maybe a 5% chance he signs this week. So there is nothing close, and maybe not even a formal offer yet.

If any of these tweets were true, the main guys would know by now because the teams that were out would let them know.

It depends. This isn’t a typical free agent. He is 8 months older than Tim Anderson. There is a decent chance he hasn’t peaked yet.

Exactly. And if your best shot isn’t good enough, it is time for someone else. If Theo or the Dodgers or the Yankees or the Red Sox were sitting on the White Sox payroll and they decided they needed Harper or Machado, they get Harper or Machado. If money is no object and you can’t close the sale, sorry White Sox and White Sox ownership need someone who can. They put their eggs in this year’s basket, show us what you’ve got.

Rosenbloom who recently retired tweeted Boylen=basketball Bevington

It is amazing the draft pick and pool loss doesn't come up anymore, especially for a catcher over 30.

Castillo is under contract for just one more season. I think Collins could be used behind the plate every now and then. Someone mentioned like Gattis. That seems pretty plausible. Besides, Sox catchers usually get hurt, so who knows. By May 1st, Collins may be the starter.

The Blue Jays will wind up paying him about $105 million for about a 3.0 WAR. Not even 1,000 plate appearances.

One thing it shows is Grandal doesn't appear to have a future coaching catchers.

Toronto still owes him about $40 million. How done must he be if they don't even want to see if he can recoup some of that? They paid him $20 million not to play in 2018, $20 million in 2019, $14 million in 2020, and 2015 has a $4 million buyout. That is $58 million for no games.

My source told me Thome showed him around. Then they went to White Castle, and Harper said if Thome could down an entire crave case, he would sign with the Sox as long as each team employee took a bit of a paycut. Being the HOFer he is, Thome downed it in record time. They should be signing something today or tomorrow. It depends on when an acceptable marketing firm is found.

If the White Sox made people who are probably barely making a living wage take a cut to sign Harper and Machado, that would be one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard. I am pretty sure if that was true, my days of being a White Sox fan would be OVA.

You know one thing, Ricky already knows our Chuck is going to ask him that, and the response has already been crafted.

I say just offer him a billion with opt outs every year, and be done with it.

Or maybe $415 million

He said Harper to the White Sox yesterday until there was a snag. Now they have to wait for the new marketing firm to arrive. This guy is solid.

JR is beloved by his employees. These clowns are lucky they get to do what they do. They wouldn't do that to the guy who lets them do it. I think that although now they claim that 2018 was going to be the hardest part of the rebuild, losing 100 games was not what they had in mind. I think they thought most of their youngsters would have taken bigger steps, and they have to do something to hopefully get them back on track and give some fresh air to the fanbase. Now they have to leak what they hope gets their fans excited. As long as they sign one of these guys, it will work. If they don't, they are going to suffer a lot more backlash than if they had just operated stealthy as usual. They have basically set themselves up to fail.