Chicago White Sox

And if Bowden actually heard this, then it’s from before his tour because there is no way in hell he talked to Manny’s friends last night before his Athletic article was published. Regardless, when it comes to the Yankees, we need to play to win and that means making an offer well above what we think he gets from them.

Care to elaborate?

No doubt, though I have wondered if Hal’s comments about the Johnny Hustle stuff “not playing here” created any sort of animosity towards the organization. These guys all have massive egos and it’s not far-fetched to think Manny didn’t take that comment too well, especially if the Sox & Phillies have been buttering him up and telling him he’s the best at everything.

Gotcha, and fully agree. Definitely seems like a plant on Machado’s side unless Manny immediately called up all his buddies last night and told them this and then they somehow called Bowden this morning to tell him.

What just happened here?

God I hate Jim Bowden. Not that I don’t believe him necessarily, more that he’s a complete hack. But I don’t see how this changes anything, because unless you believed Joe/Chili’s rumor, this what we have been assuming. The Sox (or Phillies) need to make sure there is enough separation in their offers to prevent him from fulfilling his dream of playing for the Yankees.

I guess we play chess differently then ?

This is going to be a long fucking day. I just need something, anything to scratch that itch. I’m literally fiending for some Machado rumors.

Exactly, we have to be prepared to overpay to some extent. And quite frankly, I don’t think the Sox trade for Alonso on a nine million salary unless they’ve already communicated they won’t be beat. Yonder is nothing more than a tie-breaker at this point, but a potentially valuable one if us and the Phillies end up around the same spot.

Lol...let’s not speak of those days in the “Endgame” thread, I’m trying my hardest to keep things optimistic here. But in all seriousness, I truly believe the organization is operating much differently today than it has in the past. Signing a 20 year old Cuban amateur for $50M was the tipping point for me, as that was fifth largest free agent expenditure in franchise history. I think Hahn has much more leeway and financial might to accomplish what his goals in free agency now.

And guess what, Hahn ain’t playing checkers bro. Adding Alonso was like taking out the Phillies’ queen. Now it’s time to knock their king off the board with a fat stack of cash and land our Moby Dick once and for all.

Unfortunately the dry spells result in too much bickering and the mods are forced to shut things down and start anew. Hopefully this is our last Machado thread until he actually signs a contract.

I believe Rock lost his source, so even if he ever returns I’m not sure he’ll have much inside information.

Alright, with the last thread blowing the fuck up, figured we needed new one. Hopefully we get some better discussion in this one. edit: Latest scuttlebutt is on dodger talk podcast the host heard from a person close to manny he's considering white sox.

This board definitely needs a real rumor. Hopefully we get some heat tomorrow and can have some real discussions.

raBBit has proven to be pretty well connected in the past. And didn’t you just claim the Cubs had something big in the hopper and then absolutely nothing happened? I’m not sure you have the right to be calling other people out at the moment.

I’m surprised Ottavino still hasn’t signed after there being some smoke with him last week.

Thanks raBBit. Glad to hear Machado is more open to us now than he was at the start of the process. Also, it does seem like the Yankees aren’t going to do something crazy with Machado, which provides an opportunity for the Sox & Phillies to kind of blow them out of the water and force Manny to pass up on a lot of money. I agree the Phillies are the wild card here and likely the bigger threat assuming we’re prepared to spend big.

What you hearing raBBit?

I see us and the Phillies maxing out around 10/$350M with the Yankees peaking around 8/$240M. I think your proposed opt-out structure and front loading make a ton of sense.

Into the Spider-verse was excellent. Aquaman better than most DC shared universe films.

Just a reminder, but most rumors come with an agenda. Occasionally a player or agent may let something honest slip, but most of the stuff we’ll hear in the next few days will be plants. There is zero reason to panic regardless of what is said unless someone like Rosenthal confirms a team is close to finalizing an agreement.

I really think there should be some momentum with Machado this weekend. I’m sure at this point he’s ranked the three clubs in order of preference and knows how much money he’s willing to forgoe (if any) to play for his favorite.

Nothing worse than a slow point in rumor and the endless refreshing of SoxTalk that comes with it.

Probably nothing legit until tomorrow.