caulfield12

That would be true in probably any other division but the AL Central. Of course, a lot depends on the Detroit/KC rebuilds and whatever the Twins are doing (retooling on the fly around a young core).

https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/2/25/18238854/phillies-bryce-harper-contract-john-middleton-matt-klentak Really good read...sorry if previously posted.

That bridge with Sale won’t be crossed again. Cole will be at least $175+ million (If no higher) if he repeats his 2018.

Wondering what the Sox marketing and ticket sales departments are thinking about right now? Prayers answered or the apocalyptic nightmare is just beginning again...?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SbjPCwwgJtQ

Beckham had just 38 games in AA and 7 in Charlotte his second season. 14 games at Kanny his draft year, that seems insane in retrospect. Not even one-half season of minor league ball. Then another 206 gp in the minors since busting.

If that came out with evidence to back it up, there would be a fan revolt...

We can bid up to $299,999,999.99.

"One-hundred-percent," Martinez told WEEI.com when asked if he had an idea there would be a second straight offseason where free agents were being drastically more undervalued than in years' past. "I knew it was, Why wouldn't it? They got away with it last year, why wouldn't they do it again? What's going to happen? Nothing. It's embarrassing for baseball, it really is. It's really embarrassing for the game. You have a business. They say, 'The market is down, the market is changing.' The market is higher than it's ever been. People are making more money than ever, and they're trying to suppress it. It's more of a race towards the bottom now than a race towards the top. You can go right now through everyone's lineup and you already know who's going to be in the playoffs. What's the fun in that? We might as well just fast-forward to the end of the season." https://sports.yahoo.com/red-sox-star-j-d-193817731.html

Bogaerts too, but the critical need is likely to be one veteran starting pitcher...a #2, at worse a 3 (feel like Im describing whatbTodd Ritchie was supposed to be back in the day.)

Sure, with Buehrle and Garcia, they were firmly established. But nobody expected Garland and especially Contreras to be so dominant. Or McCarthy to get some huge momentum shifting wins down the stretch run. Without the Loiaza trade and picking up Jenks for nothing, we still might have come up short.

Which puts us right back in 2005-2016 mode all over again. A Shark here, Frazier there...a Cabrera/Robertson/LaRoche group or Dunn every half decade. That’s not going to work like it did in 2005. Look at what has happened to the Twins and A’s in the post season, that’s our future fate unless everything goes exactly right...which happens about every 50 years for this particular franchise.

Let’s just say the number was less than ten...and those who weren’t drinking the Kool Aid were getting ripped nearly every day for not trusting this “new” front office operating style.

We have the speed...but defense, fundamentals, contact rate (the most strikeouts in MLB history) and absolute lockdown bullpen, not so much.

Narvaez was our highest last year, unless it was Abreu, Anderson or Moncada (bwar or fWAR). We dumped him for a reliever when the majority of rational front offices wouldn’t have agreed to even assume his existing contract.

Let’s just call that player a star or even a “superstar.” And move it back down to 5 fWAR as the cutoff. We can cite a Trout or Harper failing to succeed in the playoffs, but you just can’t compete with the quality depth of the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox and Astros.

You were one of the few who weren’t taken in...and I’ve been a Sox fan since 1978. Luis Robert signing for that $60+ million (bearing out StL, the draft philosophy changing and bonuses ramping up, drafting Boras clients)...there was certainly ample evidence to believe things just MIGHT be different this time around. In 6 weeks, most of the outrage will have calmed a bit and we’ll be stuck with cool cynicism and apathy around here. The White Sox have no clue how many fans they drew back in the last 2-3 months...and how many they might never get back again if the rebuild turns out to be a total bust. It will be something like 1/4th to 1/3rd of those remaining. The sad part is they easily would have jumped up by 25-50% with Machado, and turned around the prevailing storyline that the rebuild was stuck or even going in the wrong direction.

Did we get Hanley Ramirez to the Indians and Jose Iglesias to the Reds on minor league deals with big league Invites?

I’ll let Fathom rattle off all the ways the fanbase got punked in this Machado chase...it was a lot more than some banal general statement of interest this time around.

Well, this basically describes the 2004-05 offseason in a nutshell. When you look at removing Magglio, CLee and Valentin off the books, it wasn’t an exactly an explosion of new spending, other than Freddy, El Duque, Contreras...all the imported position players came in with reasonable or below market value deals. So lightning in a bottle it is. Of course, we likewise had the best farm stpystem in baseball before that 2003-2006 run. Lots of similarities, other than trading 3 studs...at that time, we had the much more maligned White Flag deal that brought in Foulke, Caruso and Howry.

El Gran Titan de Bronze was also Contreras’ nickname...a noted Cuban cigar manufacturer.

Are we sure they weren’t in Vegas just to gamble? http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26075139/dodgers-re-enter-bryce-harper-sweepstakes-interested-short-term-deal Looks like ESPN is running with it...LA wants Harper to sign a shorter term deal.

Robert could get there, too, if he can hit 20-25 homers...he definitely has the frame and leverage to do it if Alexei could pull it off at about 165-170 pounds. Adolfo would be my third choice...his defense will be a bit limited due to speed, but he could put together a huge season of outfield assists like Avi and Eaton have recorded in recent years. Basabe, Rutherford and Gonzalez would be tied for 4th, although they seem like 1.5-2.5 guys at the current moment. One could break out in unexpected fashion, although I certainly wouldn’t bet a Greg house on it. Let’s not forget we likely get two more shots with high first round picks...one pitcher (to replace Rodon) and one position player in all likelihood.

Without that one superstar, we’re the 2008 White Sox heading into Tampa without Quentin...and the once again disillusioned fans simply aren’t going to buy into a weak AL Central division championship leading to any type of playoff success (see Indians’ fans current mood despite four titles in a row). Heck, at the moment .500 baseball isn’t even assured in 2020, let alone a playoff run.

2 p.m. One team has to get their first ST win, as Giants are 0-2. Location: Just down the street from Paulie’s place in Scottsdale Battle of southpaws, Manny Bañuelos vs. our old friend Derek Holland WGN 720 AM, MLB.com is picking up Giants’ broadcast