Tony

lol

Not trying to give Pedro more credit that he deserves, but my assumption is those roles will somewhat sort of themselves out based on performance. Because there are very few "standout" arms on paper in that bullpen, when he talks about using his "best leverage guys," I think he's going to have to find out who those guys are based on performance. But I've always held the stance that even if you have one of the best closers in the game, if you're up 3-2 in the 8th inning and the Dodgers are sending up their 2-3-4 hitters, I'd much rather have my best pitcher in the bullpen on the mound for the 8th. If you bring in a lesser pitcher in the 8th and he blows the lead, there is no game to save in the 9th.

Given the makeup of the roster, I don't have a problem with this approach

So dumb. They are basically going to have him read a press release to cameras. Just release a statement then

Then don't believe it. See, how hard was that?

While I don’t follow the Sox as closely as I used to, I don’t think Pedro is trying to sell to the fans. I really believe he thinks all the ra-ra bullshit is going to fire up his players and the team. It won’t, they will be terrible, but I think he believes in taking this ultra-optimistic approach with the media is the way to go. He was in WAY over his head the day he was hired, but he was most likely one of the only candidates that would accept the job

Said all along, in previous posts in this thread, if he bet on baseball, or even if it wasn't Ohtani but his interpreter was, the story totally changes and we're talking about much bigger implications. I totally agree, and have been on the same page this whole time. I'm also good and have no issue with MLB or whoever else doing a bigger investigation. Find out the real story. My whole point was, at this point, there has been zero evidence of that, or that it was even Ohtani making the bets. Because of that, I don't care. If more details emerge and there are links to bets on baseball, my opinion will drastically change.

Then you guys have a blast clutching your pearls over Ohtani betting on the Chiefs in Week 13. Go nuts. Until there is more meat to this story, where Ohtani bet on baseball…don’t care

Guys, I get all of that. I’m not confused by the case. He used a bookie, which is illegal. I understand. Again, how does that impact what I think of Ohanti? Does anyone think he is a bad person because of this? Ideal situation? No. Not a great look. But if Ohtani decided he wanted to use a small portion of his mega contract to lay big money on an NFL Sunday with a bookie? I just don’t care.

So if it wasn’t on baseball, say it WAS Ohtani making these bets but it was on the NFL. Why do I care? It’s his money and it’s not like he’s buying illegal weapons. I’m not saying people are wrong if they care, go nuts…I’m just missing the real intrigue.

Just like with Pete Rose, the issue is obviously "Was Ohtani throwing games?" That's what all this goes back to, and of course would be a mega deal if it were true. Without proof of that...does anyone really care? I mean we're all reading the story because it's around the greatest player in the sport, and it's a scandal, but if Ohtani was making huge bets on sporting events through a bookie...why should I care?

But my hope would be Poles takes BPA at 9, if they aren’t over the moon on any of the DE’s in that range. If they can’t find a trade partner, and someone like Rome is there, if they love him…then take him.

I have no idea what the Bears FO is thinking, but if Turner AND Odunze is there at 9, I have a hard time thinking they pass on Odunze, but who knows.

I still don't think that is a bad break for the Bears. The current starting LDE is Demarcus Walker. They have a large void at that spot and desperately need an edge rusher to go on the other end of the line with Sweat. If the Bears love one of Turner or Verse, I could see them staying at 9 and selecting one of them, and filling a large hole. I could also see them absolutely trading back.

What players are making is only relevant to what teams are willing to spend. By all accounts, if Yamamoto is a bust, that isn't going to stop the Dodgers from replacing him with another high end pitcher. The White Sox? Not so much. Also, your logic isn't sound and in fact fairly dumb. You're inferring all of this is in a vacuum and the Dodgers just decided to offer him 325 million because they wanted to pay as much as possible. He was incredibly highly sought after because of his past performance. It's the exact same reason Erick Fedde signed a 2 year, 15 million dollar contract, that is what the market believed he was worth.

Probably will come down to how much they love Odunze if he is there, vs. Turner/Verse. I would guess that is what they will be deciding on, and if there is a compelling offer out there to move down and get some more picks in the 2nd and 3rd.

From a pure stats standpoint, Braxton Jones had a PFF grade of 68.7, ranking him 33rd among 70 qualified OTs. Darnell Wright was at 62.4, ranking him 52nd among 70 qualified OTs. LT can absolutely be upgraded, but I believe there are better uses of that pick at this point.

Still don't know why you aren't GM. Your eye for talent can't be beat.

7 7 wins.

Good chance Alt isn't there, and the next best LT is Fashanu, who is projected to go around 14-15. So I think going nuclear if they don't draft a LT at 9 isn't the best approach...

I heard today Kiper has 20 WR in this years draft with a 1-4th round grade on them. I know Kiper isn’t what he used to be, but others have discussed how good of a draft class this is for WR. I still think I’d prefer an edge rusher at 9, it’s a bigger need for this team over the next 2 years, but if one of the top 3 WR are there at 9, would be hard to pass on them. I would also add the 4 teams that were in the Conference Championship games this season…no one had a better WR than DJ Moore. And you could make the argument the only WR better than Allen is St. Brown. (Diggs looks washed at this point) That isn’t mentioning teams like GB and Houston, who had explosive offensives with no highly selected WR’s on the roster

Watch that number skyrocket when the old man finally goes...it all starts at the top

Also wonder if Poles doesn’t try and get back into the 2nd round by trading next years 2nd and maybe a 5th next year, just to balance things out a little bit more. They have 4 picks in 2024 and 9 in

It absolutely does, but they have a gapping hole on the other end of Sweat, and I don’t know how you fill that spot with a true impact player unless it’s a DE no matter what in the 2nd round. With so few picks, and one already accounted for in a QB, Poles has to execute this perfectly.

I’ve seen a bunch of mocks the last two days, and in every one the Bears could either see Odunze or one of Verse/Turner. I still think Poles wants more picks and probably moves down, but if they stay at 9, they’ll should be able to grab someone who plays a huge role for them. I would get more excited from Odunze, but simply because he’s a WR and plays an offensive position, drafting the right DE is probably much more rational from a team needs perspective