caulfield12

He has a track record of nearly 15 years with KW...

Because they didn’t commit to a thorough change of their evaluation systems, and their system-wide philosophy...at least not in the same way teams like the Astros and Cubs did. They haven’t proven they are going to invest money like the a small market Indians did in a Top 5 manager like Francona. Everything here is basically riding on, what, comparatively? The judgment, development skills and talent evaluation of KW, Getz, Hostetler, Fabian, Paddy and Haber? We have never had massive investments in scouting, compared to most other organizations. We STILL haven’t fixed gaps in the Dominican Republic, Pacific Rim, etc. Jesus Pena is still basically the last Dominican prospect, if you want to call him that, we produced...back in 2011-12. I don’t see how those results would be much different if Dave Wilder was running things from jail. I guess we have 2-3 Latin kids in our Top 15-25, but it’s still an overall disappointment, outside of Tatis, Jr.

The White Sox had him as the best collegiate hitter, period...heck, they were saying this as early as his first run with Team USA. If they’re wrong about him and Cease, Kopech, Robert, Collins, Burger, etc., even TWO WHALES isn’t going to be enough to build a World Series-winning team. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/white-sox-talk-podcast-nick-madrigals-college-coach-says-guy-going-be-superstar

It’s not like Mr. Bean accidentally bidding an item up at auction...he also has to be authorized to spend that money by an owner who doesn’t 100% trust him to spend wisely.

Capitan...

But not everyone could have signed Keppinger, LaRoche and Bonifacio...

Depends on 8/9/10 years also...but I’d say $325/330 is the very upper bound and $350 million is at least defensible (from an ownership perspective). Still, if it’s the Padres and not Phillies or a larger market team, it’s an incredibly enduring psychological blow to a fanbase who was dreaming “what if?” for almost the entire offseason. There won’t be tangible any reason to have faith we will actually be willing to overpay that star player next offseason, that’s for sure.

See Alex Gordon, Cespedes, Adam Dunn, Tanaka, etc.,...but that’s guaranteed not to sell any tickets or get anyone to tune in at home.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/sd-sp-padres-wil-myers-hair-outfield-0217-story.html Wil Myers is all ready for the Battle of the Best West Coast Hair with Harper and Hosmer.

$240-260 million has to be more likely given Padres’ financials, or the inclusion of deferred money in that package...or Year 2/3 opt out or swellopt or whatever. They have to be willing to go to at least $300 million or this entire 2+ year planning this out and adding Jay, Alonso, Colome, Nova, Herrera while keeping Castillo (to dump Narvaez) was all pretty much pointless...

https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/2/14/18225033/why-scott-boras-should-ultimately-land-bryce-harper-in-philadelphia-phillies-free-agency-hot-stove There’s no doubt that, in any other normal off-season, the winter that Klentak and Co. has had would be lauded by the fanbase. The Phillies have improved themselves quite a bit with the trades of J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, the free agent signings of David Robertson and Andrew McCutchen, and the contract extension to Aaron Nola. The Phils are much better and, as currently constructed, will be a better team in 2019 than they were last year. But without one of the big fish in the boat, it feels like the entire catch up to this point has been disappointing. This whole process has become annoying and stressful and taken the joy out of the entire process. Certainly, it’s not the Phillies’ goal to make this whole thing fun for us, their job is to get the player they want at the price they want. Nevertheless, this hasn’t been a joyride, and it has taken the fun out of much of this off-season. 63 people are talking about this This is what you would expect Klentak to say, and if one is just talking about year-over-year improvement, he’s right. Adding this caliber of talent and locking up the team’s most important player would be a successful off-season. But no Machado and no Harper makes for a crushing disappointment and would, in the eyes of most fans, submarine all the good work that has been done up to this point. The whole reason Bryce Harper picked Boras to be his agent wasn’t so that Boras could find a nice home on the west coast for Harper to live so that he could be close to his hometown of Las Vegas. Harper didn’t pick Boras so that Boras could work out a cheaper deal for fewer years just so Harper could play in a city he thinks is prettier or has nicer sushi. The reason a big league ballplayer hires Scott Boras, one who is the face of the sport and is likely setting himself up for the biggest payday of his life, is so that Boras can get that player the most money possible.

More like ESCAPE ROOM. I don't know if there's enough energy left over for full-out PANIC at this point in time. It's either a sense of relief we FINALLY sign Machado (overlaid with concerns about him exercising an early opt-out) OR pretty much total nuclear meltdown/Chernobyl/Armageddon/Thanos snapping his fingers if they swing and miss with almost EVERYTHING POSSIBLE working in their favor in terms of market conditions (and considering how disappointing 2018 turned out).

Cheap Charlie

We're not entirely sure (yet) if we love you back...not enough data.

That 100 hours was JUST for the “two whales theory” and its various permutations. Another 50-75 for various witty retorts, hot takes and f-bombs. The bar has been set. You’ve seemingly got your work cut out for you staying ahead of Fathom and SS2K5 during the regular season...especially if Machado doesn’t sign. Can you maintain your place on the side of positivity and light with Eminor, or will the dark side seduce you like it did Balta? Do you really want to take up the sword again that any perceived failure this year would inevitably be replaced by sweet vindication next FA cycle?

???

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cubs-pitcher-joins-chorus-friends-210628893.html Btw, we've not yet entered trade negotiations with the Cubs for his services, at least not yet...

If Iowa BB can win two games in a row with desperation 3's, including tonight from the corner baseline that somehow banked perfectly in after being deflected to him by a teammate...then f@&k it, might as well be the year we shake up the baseball world and sign two whales and let it all ride.

Picking the Padres or White Sox gets a lot more raised eyebrows than any of the more commonly-expected large market clubs. For all we know, Gomez is only out there with his Sox cheerleading to scare the Phillies into bidding against themselves. What we he really lose if Machado signs elsewhere?

But sign too low and they affect 100's of future player salaries and their own agent commissions. Unless this is just about getting opt outs after 2 or 3 years that nobody other than the Padres or Yankees might be willing to provide.

Marketing. He would be more recognizable than any name but Abreu...and that’s providing Jose the benefit of the doubt.

Without Kopech and Cease, sure...but with Eloy, the bullpen additions, Moncada (and/or Giolito improving), Lopez continuing to progress, they should be 5-7 games better. How one feels about Narvaez repeating his 2018 season is another significant factor.

Cease, Robert, Madrigal and tracking the #3 pick are the other main reasons to be excited about this season. Maybe cheering for Renteria to be replaced...by Madden, lol. Not sure how Sox fans would feel about taking “seconds” two times in row from the Cubs, but he is already outselling every single White Sox player’s jersey. And the media (mostly) adores him.

Keuchel theoretically would do well out there...Gio wouldn't be a bad sign, either.

Impressed with Thome, Kopech’s flowing locks, fan of Giolito/López/Dunning from his time in WASH, blown out of the water by video presentation, loves city of Chicago in summertime, has heard only good things about Renteria, etc.