The Sir

Don't really care about the headline here, and I don't think anyone else should. Just want to say that's the weirdest get-up I've ever seen on a dude. He looks a James Bond villain. I suppose rich people get to have really odd tastes.

If I wanted to read politics, I'd go to a political website. That shit invades enough of our lives; can we have just one place where we can talk about a damn sport and not that crap? Thanks.

This is bucket...

This would be our most interesting acquisition of the off-season, if we complete it. Fills an actual hole on this team, assuming he can be passable in CF.

Took me a second to see what you did there (brain just fills things in without seeing the actual words), but I agree completely.

You sound like you've done this before.

You kid, but if only someone had used that to lure Aaron Hernandez to the Bears, maybe he wouldn't have hung himself with the bedsheets from his cell.

I agree, dude's been insane with us, and I think Cubs fans are going to regret that one hard. But I don't know about "untouchable". I don't think Jose Quintana would merit him today (especially not with how he's played for the Cubs). If Sale and Eloy both performed the way they have to this point, we would have been absolutely justified in identifying Eloy as the starting point if the Cubs wanted Chris. If he, a super promising but still unproven prospect, is untouchable, then so is the second best LHSP in the game. That's the non-negotiable price for a star like that. Edit: Regarding Eloy, is there a good article on how he transformed so much after the trade? We got a good MiLB player, but he totally morphed into something else after we got him. I'd be interested in reading about that.

Yeah, I’m kinda abandoning this ship at the moment. Rodgers was one of the best examples, outside of Benintendi, but no one was really crushing it that year. Even highly touted guys like Meadows we’re starting to reveal some serious flaws. There wasn’t a Vlad, Eloy or the like, just destroying the high minors. I stand by my point that guys like Sale shouldn’t be traded for anything but the best, and you certainly shouldn’t settle for anybody in the least bit flawed, but looking at it, there probably wasn’t a true phenom like we have today in MiLB that year.

The latter part of that is fair, although I do think the Rocks in particular could have offered a great headliner with several solid surrounding pieces. As for hindsight, I looked in my post history and apparently I posted this on December 6th, 2016: "Yeah I'm disappointed. Benintendi is way more interesting than Moncada, who strikes out at a horrific rate and whose MiLB OPS was about 75 points lower than Adam Eaton. Kopech is years away, Basabe strikes out a ton and hit .258 in the low minors, and this sucks so much I'm not even bothering to look up Diaz. Screw this front office." A little over dramatic, but my current criticism of Moncada isn't hindsight on my part. I've been playing this particular note on him for two years.

I'd love to. I want this team to win. But my pride has nothing to worry about if he strikes out one third of the time.

That's fair. Looking at it, 2016 really didn't have the seeming future superstars (by stats at the time) that 2018 did in Eloy, Vlad, Kyle, and some others. That hurts my argument a bit. Looking back at it, in 2016, I probably would have been happier with an insistence on Benintendi (I've long thought that) or a package based around Brendan Rodgers. That wasn't available, but that sort of statistical production, solid scouting report, and absence of clear flaws is what I think should have been demanded for a player of Sale's caliber and contract status. Potential with an IF isn't good enough. Oh, and to answer your question, a future HOFer absolutely warrants trading a Top 10 guy, and not one that has lost luster.

I think you're missing my point. Moncada had a BIG flaw. It existed at the time. It still exists. Lopez has overperformed and that's great, but the talk at the time was that he was bound to be a reliever. Another flaw. I was silly to mention Kopech's off-field stuff. I should have mentioned his walk-rates and overall rawness. Agree that Giolito is a project. Basabe K'ed 28% of the time at AA last year. Wouldn't think too highly of him, yet. Dunning has really taken off, but IIRC he was the third piece and sort of an interesting add-on. The main point is philosophical. Chris Sale, a proven MLB ace with a team friendly contract, should return an absolute "can't miss" prospect. I've mentioned example names. What we got, AT THAT TIME (this isn't hindsight, this is all based on what was said and known THEN), was a heck of a lot of potential, IF we could work with them and mend some issues. I reject that thinking.

I'll stop beating a dead horse, but it's not hindsight. The problems existed at the time. It was obvious that the dude K'ed a ton. We all knew that when we acquired him 2016, and if I hadn't been such a lurker at that time, I would have said as much. Vlad Jr, Robles, Kyle Tucker, they have all excelled in the high minors (or MLB) and their scouting reports/peripherals don't hint at underlying flaws. But for as much as we gave up, we didn't get those types. We got Moncada and his Ks, Lopez and his likely future as a reliever (overplaying that so far- cool), Giolito and his somewhat "fall from grace", Kopech and his off-field issues, etc. The best guys we got were Eloy and Cease, who have both exploded since joining our organization. Yet, frankly, Sale and Eaton should have been good enough to acquire guys who were already playing the way those two have for the past year and a half.

There were indicators, at the time, that Moncada had swing-and-miss issues. His K-rate was about 22% in A-ball in 2015-16, and 31% in AA in 2016. This isn't to shit on Moncada, and again, I still have hope for him (it all lies in getting those Ks down). But why, if you're getting one of the best pitchers in baseball on a team friendly contract for several years, can you be allowed to surrender anything less than flawless? Benintendi and Devers and Mookie weren't on the table, but why?!!??! You're getting Chris Sale. Show us the fucking money!! I just feel like we need to have higher expectations as a fan base. That's all.

And? Does that explain his poor play the previous year? Does it explain his drop in velocity? If this is a sign of things to come, are we going to feel better when he sucks but it was just because of injuries? I'm not trying to rant at you, but we have way too much acceptance of mediocrity in this organization, and it's why we suck constantly. To go off-topic, the Sale trade comes to mind. I have hope for Moncada still, but he was the top piece in that trade. The Red Sox were getting one of the best pitchers in baseball, and in return, we get "hey this dude has a LOT of potential but that swing-and-miss could be a fatal flaw, hope it works out for you!" No. You're getting the best, and so are we. No flaws. You want Chris freaking Sale? You better give us someone who is as close as possible to "can't miss" as it can possibly get. Vlad Jr, Devers, Robles, whoever. But I'm tired of us getting back less than we deserve, and then coming up with excuses, be it in trades or FA. Let's demand, and get, what we are damn well due.

For Herrera, documented drop in velocity over the last few seasons, and it shows in performance. 2017 was putrid for him, and K rates have fallen with his velocity. After going to Washington last year, he gave up 24 hits in 18 IP. He's not the once dominant fireballer who helped make the Royals so great. Colome is just...unremarkable. A right handed reliever with a career WHIP of 1.21, and it's gone under 1.15 just once. Yet, thus far, he is our prize acquisition.

Meh. So far, all we've done this off-season is acquire scrubs. Colome, Nova, Herrera, McCann, Alonso. And frankly, the bullpen is the last piece a team should build. With a few exceptions, nobodies turn into studs and back into nobodies before you can even learn their names. Think Politte, Hermanson, and Cotts of oh so many years ago.

Honestly, no. I think the people actually conducting these negotiations have way more intel and would not base their actions on Twitter reports aimed at fans. Also, Lozano wouldn't let it happen.

Oh, what the hell... Machado signs with us for 7/$230 on Thursday.

You gotta think, though, that the people involved know so much more than we do. I'm sure if Manny's thinking about signing with New York, his agent is telling our FO that, in a bid to draw out a bigger offer to swing the choice. These guys aren't working with a few vague tweets like we are, so I'd bet if they're not upping the offer, it's because they know it's not necessary.

Sweet, this never-ending drama totally needed a shove towards reviving the Filibuster. Thanks, buddy!