caulfield12

This is the best argument that supports Jack Parkman and should give the White Sox pause...but they’re probably in too deep with all the moves they made. It really seems like Harper would be the best leader/role model for the group of talented incoming position players. It also allows you to keep Madrigal, Anderson and Moncada together in the same infield, although that might not be as ideal defensively as Madrigal/Anderson/Machado. Harper means you would have to get a near Gold Glove level defender in CF between Jimenez and him (potentially leading to more injuries to LUIS Robert). “I talked to one guy who is into baseball. He’s a scout - I’m not going to name names, but he’s a scout. And I asked him the Machado-Harper question. And this was a month ago, so it was before this [Machado’s quotes about not being ‘Johnny Hustle’]. And I said ‘Who would you take?’ I said ‘I would take Machado.’ He said ‘I would take Harper.’ He said - it was exactly what you said Joe - he said ‘I think Machado, the way he is wired, that if he gets the big money, you’re gonna lose him. If he gets the big money, he’s just going to set back.’ And look, his talent, he’s still going to produce, but he’s a guy that’s just going to take the money and check out on you. He said Harper, he has his own warts, but he said ‘Harper’s a guy that is so ultra competitive, inherently competitive, that he’s still going to go out and play hard all the time.’ He said ‘I can’t guarantee that Machado would. In fact, I would almost guarantee you he would not.’ “ https://94wip.radio.com/manny-machado-bryce-harper-wip

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25897858/bryce-harper-meets-san-diego-padres-sources-say

The problem is he really enjoys Toronto, has the makings of at least a Finals team out of the East and the organization just doesn't overbid for executive talent. Unless you were a glutton for punishment or Don Quixote, why would you want to go to the Bulls? You pretty much need to bring in two superstars to go with Markannen and Carter as your complementary players. I'm not even sure getting Steve Kerr as the coach would make one iota of difference.

Clevinger is actually the one who improved the most last year. By ERA+, Bauer was by far the best, Kluber second and Clevinger not far behind, then Carrasco and Bieber/Plutko. It’s possible they try to make Salazar a closer with his nasty stuff and the obvious bullpen needs. But you can also be sure they’re mulling a return to the rotation and then adding at the trade deadline with the financial flexibility derived from dumping so many high salaries (all bad contracts are gone but Kipnis, and he’s still capable of another 4-5 war year if you look at his track record.)

Shelby Miller, Miley and Kelley, etc. Of course, whenever we win the offseason or win trades, it almost never turns out that way in reality...other than Jimenez and Cease so far.

Unless Santana can return to their rotation and stay healthy, but it also increases their outfield WAR by 2.5 - 3. And they’d be getting a lot more back than Joc, If it was Verdugo (plus ?) instead and he blows up, the Indians really win that trade because it also frees up another big salary to reinvest in the bullpen or keeping Ramirez long-term.

Thomas’ was a season-ending triceps injury in May (David Wells criticized him for not playing hurt) , but the point still remains that Machado could also blow out his elbow on a throw, tear his Achilles’ tendon, blow out his ACL, etc. No way either guy signs a one year deal...their agents would never accept it, nor would the MLBPA.

Except Machado never said he wanted to play for the Mets, it was speculation his wife preferred NYC. He has always wanted the Yankees, but it wasn’t an either/or proposition.

Then he would just take another one year deal to go back to Milwaukee, with Shaw moving back to 2B...

The only ones you can argue over López are Cease and a healthy Kopech...and the ghost of Hansen.

Would the Sox bid the same on Luis Robert today, knowing how fragile he has been? Would they draft Burger? Rodon? (Thinking about Kolek, Aiken and Rodon at the top of that draft must make scouts wince...granted, those are pitchers.) We can go back to Frank Thomas’ Achilles injury in 2001...for bigger dudes (Machado qualifies) , there’s still a risk those players won’t be exactly the same upon returning. Would he have enough lateral quickness and first step burst to still play Gold Glove level at 3B? That’s a significant aspect of his value proposition. Shohei Ohtani as just a DH if he were a FA this year again? What about accidents like Jayson Williams with the Bulls, Aaron Rowland with his motorcycle, Jose Fernandez, Yordano Ventura, Oscar Tavares, that Angels’ rookie pitcher Adenhart... Now while all these probabilities are not great, they are risks most agents and players aren’t willing to assume...to leave $200+ million on the table and assume you will be able to better your negotiating position in the future.

If Porzingis is 100% healthy. Hopefully building his next playoff team keeps Cuban busy.

Apparently, we need Kardashians/Jenner’s to date MLB stars instead...and the various reality t.v. shows built-in around that. And a baseball wives show as well. In all seriousness, you would think someone in PR for MLB would be able to come up with something that’s not about making baseball more like a video game or app that young people could respond to.

Porzingis makes sense as part of the trade package for Davis if the Pelicans are smart enough to turn down Kuzma, Ball, Ingram and picks. None of those three are going to be huge difference makers down the line due to inherent flaws in their games. Ball is tempting, but there’s no certainty he can fix his shooting...but the Jason Kidd comparisons are there. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2818308-jimmy-butler-is-always-keeping-score?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial "Whatever you want from this game, win and you can have it," Jimmy Butler says while wearing a 76ers hoodie and sweats, having recently left the team's practice facility. "Name it. You want money? You want a max deal? If you win, I guarantee you have a better chance of that. You want the finest woman in the world? I guarantee: If you win, you're going to have a chance at that. You want all the cars, you want the big house—whatever it is—if you win, I guarantee you'll have a chance at that. Winning is that trump card that everything can be at your fingertips, but you got to win."

The Padres are a threat because their ownership group is about as popular as Loria in Miami. They almost would prefer to see Machado opt out after 3-4 years, but desperately need him right now for credibility with the fans. Of course, the biggest problem with this is either player would be suppressing their offensive numbers because of PetCo...it would be easier (for example) for Machado to play SS for the Rockies and then move to 3B, replacing Arenado and putting up the massive offensive numbers before going back out onto the market in 2020 or 2021. Just not sure the Rockies would risk alienating Nolan. Also, it still seems like a lot of work to sign for even three years with a team you really don’t want to be paired with. And the Dodgers are a massive roadblock in that division, compared to the Indians. Plus the national media doesn’t pay much attention to the West Coast teams, other than both LA teams and SF. Finally, marketing deals in SD compared to his presence in a major market? Almost negligible.

How can you know if they have the ability to sign him without doing any research about their finances? Sure, if all they have to do is pay $200 million, they can wing that if they figure out a way to clear Myers’ salary, which won’t exactly be easy. Once they get above $250 million, it’s just not going to make sense when they have the clear #1 farm system in baseball and can probably move Urias or one of their other prospects over. Heck, they could simply trade for Franco of the Phillies, thus opening that spot up for Machado if the Phillies can’t convince Harper to leave Washington.

The Cubs are already at $229 million. You can’t force Harper on them...after watching Darvish and Heyward, most of their fanbase is at best neutral and many are openly against another mega contract, instead preferring to invest in extensions for their own players. The a Red Sox just won a World Series being over the first tax threshold. The Dodgers are proving big spending doesn’t guarantee a World Series win.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t get out we’re offering Harper significantly more than Machado...

Read the article. Why would Lozano or Boras have anything to lose? Do you realize how much debt Moores passed on when he sold the Padres? The ONE problem the White Sox have never had to deal with is debt overhang and paying for stadium renovations...

https://www.gaslampball.com/2019/1/22/18192839/a-look-into-the-padres-finances-has-opened-a-rats-nest-of-questions-ron-fowler-please-dont-be-evil Ummmm...not really. Almost 10% of their budget each year goes to paying down debt and stadium renovations. $144 million to Hosmer, big salary for Myers and $27.5 still this year on paying off bad deals from 2024-15 cycle. Their franchise is worth roughly $800 million less than the Sox. I would venture to say that any SoxTalk poster would have a difficult time arguing how the Padres could be in a better position financially than the White Sox...at least with Philly, we KNOW they have the ability to meet or exceed our spending on just one huge contract. SD, not so much.

But the two year timeframe for Realmuto doesn’t really make make sense for the Padres without Machado...would anyone be on board giving up Cease and Robert for a two year Realmuto rental? Even Cease and Dunning? Maybe Dunning and Collins (both are already connect to Florida/Miami), might have to throw in an outfield prospect , too.

They’ve also raised their fWAR by over 9 this offseason, the most of any team in the Central by far.

The problem with lowering your prices so dramatically is that it becomes much more difficult to raise them again...and think about movie prices, health care, gas or food prices, university tuition or cable tv rates, everything tends to rise in price over time. And a lot of the parking and parking related employment is not owned or controlled by the teams themselves, for example. The biggest problem is how do you define tanking? The White Sox were bad in 2007 and 2009 and 2011 but had high payrolls. Was that tanking or just general incompetence? Let’s call it inefficiency. Well, those who run each team are Ivy League trained to exploit every niche and inefficiency, it’s why the free agent markets have been suppressed the last two seasons as teams look at ways to generate WAR as cheaply as possible. Or we can blame the Royals creating a bullpen so dominating that the goal was simply for the starter to advance the game to the 5th or 6th with a lead and hold on from there. Then every team starting copying it...reliever salaries rose (but war/$ invested hasn’t kept up)...to the point teams like the Rays, Brewers and A’s were starting games with relievers and projecting that was best wat to get out to an early lead. It’s no different from massive infield shifts or pitch framing, it’s a way to gain an advantage, just like cheap high OBP hitters was for the early 2000’s Oakland teams.

If Beale Street Could Talk is definitely worth checking out...pretty sure the low box office/awareness level is what hurt it’s Oscar chances, but then almost nobody watched The Artist (past years) or Roma, and The Favourite hasn’t exactly raked in the dough, either. Glass was “okay” for the first 75 minutes, but that ending just makes one aggravated with the director (yet again). Still undecided whether The Upside gets thumbs up down, it’s right on the borderline. A little Kevin Hart goes a long way, but there are a lot of people out there who seems to like him because most of his movies end up turning a profit other than that recent one with Tiffany Haddish, Night School I think it was.