26 minutes ago, hogan873 said:

I don't either, but I just can't stop.  I might need counseling...or a few beers.

I brew beer... I'll send you one and we can drink our sorrows away

10 minutes ago, fathom said:

Harper won’t sign with a rebuilding team though. He wants to win, and right away.

Eh, he will take the most money just like Machado.  The Phillies were 2 games under .500 last year.  Yes, you can assume they will be better than this but there is no guarantee that they will be a playoff contender.

Just now, Harper2Sox said:

Eh, he will take the most money just like Machado.  The Phillies were 2 games under .500 last year.  Yes, you can assume they will be better than this but there is no guarantee that they will be a playoff contender.

They’ve actually added above average players this offseason....not family friends.

I went from

I don't want Manny he doesn't hustle even in the world series, Harper is the marquis player to shoot for

to

The Sox traded for Alonso and Jay because they think they can sign Manny, Ok he is the better overall player anyway and we have plenty of outfield depth in the minors

to

San Diego, wtf, plus the Sox won't go to 300 guaranteed plus they don't believe in Opt Outs!!  Ok I always wanted Harper more anyway and the Sox certainly realize Harper is a face of the franchise type player who will make them relative again so they will pay him.  I know I don't really believe this but one can dream right??

6 minutes ago, bmags said:

I’m pretty certain Sox won’t even call Harper, but I’m deep down I’m still holding out hope until he’s signed.

If this ain't the truth dammit ?

So I guess Rosenthal said on MLBN that if Harper is "priced above Philly's valuation of him" they will walk away. Could be posturing but if they get cute like the Sox did, maybe we can pull a Padres. 

 

 

I have been thinking about this since yesterday’s drama unfolded and I have come to two reasons for optimism that they are actually trying on Harper (albeit unlikely).

 

1) The Sox wanted to get Manny for under 300 million.  Bryce however, rejected that before free agency started.   They always knew he was going to want/need that.  

 

2) What would they gain from pivoting in that press conference to saying, “Now we are shifting our attention to Harper”. They gain nothing by that.  They keep negotiations close to the vest like they like (who here yesterday at this time would have thought the Sox would have made ANY offer that COULD reach $350 million? And they avoid another giant let down back to back if they don’t win again.

Again, I am not saying this is likely, but it is explainable.

I can see it now, offer the same contract they did to Manny to Bryce... Then the Padres swoop in and Preller is crowned.

I'm truly concerned that the Sox front office and ownership doesn't understand the difference between a 10 year contract given to a 26 year old and a 10 year contract given to a 29/30 year old.  There is every reason to believe Harper will still be a very productive player at 35 (overpaid yes, but still a good contributor to the team).  But it seems the Sox have a problem with going 10 years as a principle no matter what the circumstances or age of the player.

They were willing to guarantee Adam Dunn's age 34 season.  Enough said.

Just now, Orlando said:

So I guess Rosenthal said on MLBN that if Harper is "priced above Philly's valuation of him" they will walk away. Could be posturing but if they get cute like the Sox did, maybe we can pull a Padres. 

 

 

It is a tough call. They walked away from Corbin. They walked away from Machado.  Does that make it easier or harder to walk away from Harper. 

That probably depends on if the White Sox panic, or stick to their guns.

The only hope that I have is the Sox still met with Harper despite knowing he rejected a $300 million offer from the Nats.

Edited February 20, 20197 yr by soxfan2014

I just have a feeling that once the off season is finished we find out that the Sox valued Harper more from the start. Just a suspicion. There was a point a couple of months ago when I thought Harper was the guy. They met twice. The leaked UC photos. 

Just now, soxfan2014 said:

The only I hope have is the Sox still met with Harper despite knowing he rejected a $300 million offer from the Nats.

Awesome point. Not once but reportedly twice.

4 minutes ago, MysterySource5000 said:

I have been thinking about this since yesterday’s drama unfolded and I have come to two reasons for optimism that they are actually trying on Harper (albeit unlikely).

 

1) The Sox wanted to get Manny for under 300 million.  Bryce however, rejected that before free agency started.   They always knew he was going to want/need that.  

 

2) What would they gain from pivoting in that press conference to saying, “Now we are shifting our attention to Harper”. They gain nothing by that.  They keep negotiations close to the vest like they like (who here yesterday at this time would have thought the Sox would have made ANY offer that COULD reach $350 million? And they avoid another giant let down back to back if they don’t win again.

Again, I am not saying this is likely, but it is explainable.

Exactly.  The fan base is already pissed.  No need for them to say we're going all in on Harper and fall short which will create more backlash.  If they are going to go after Harper, they need to do it quietly.

14 minutes ago, shipps said:

They aren't planning to go for Harper at this point and they have made that very clear. The most they will try to do here with Harper is make it look as if they have a seat at the table but they are so out of touch with the public perception of them its all laughable.  

Exactly how have they made it clear, that they aren't planning to go after Harper?

24 minutes ago, fathom said:

Harper won’t sign with a rebuilding team though. He wants to win, and right away.

Just like Manny doesn't want to play on the West Coast?

(I'm just giving you shit, when in reality, I have zero confidence we will sign Harper)

And let's say there's a miracle that we do sign Harper. The FO is going to say he was their number 1 choice all along, and they were hoping to get both Machado and Harper.   

1 minute ago, Peacock Wrestler said:

And let's say there's a miracle that we do sign Harper. The FO is going to say he was their number 1 choice all along, and they were hoping to get both Machado and Harper.   

And that would be amazing and I guarantee you the fans would quickly forget about Machado whether it was bs or not

 

5 minutes ago, Peacock Wrestler said:

Exactly.  The fan base is already pissed.  No need for them to say we're going all in on Harper and fall short which will create more backlash.  If they are going to go after Harper, they need to do it quietly.

That’s unreasonable to expect their spot at the negotiating table for Harper to be a secret. It’s going to leak out eventually because it benefits Boras’ client for more teams to know

Edited February 20, 20197 yr by Flash Tizzle

5 minutes ago, Lillian said:

Exactly how have they made it clear, that they aren't planning to go after Harper?

They already stated they could not go to $300 mil. They low balled their top priority. They aren't going to now pivot to someone even more expensive who  wasnt even their top choice. Their actions with how they dealt with Manny speak volumes for now and years to come. This is a bad time to be a Sox fan.  

1 minute ago, Flash Tizzle said:

 

That’s unreasonable to expect their spot at the negotiating table for Harper to be a secret. It’s going to leak out eventually because it benefits Boras’ client for more teams to know

The Padres were a mystery team with Machado for a long time.  Heck, they even visited him and it didn't get reported for a few days after.    

1 minute ago, Orlando said:

And that would be amazing and I guarantee you the fans would quickly forget about Machado whether it was bs or not

I would forgive them even through that obvious lie because an even more important lesson is they learned very quickly that the fucked up negotiations and wanted to make it right at all costs

1 hour ago, Orlando said:

 

 

First legitimate and appropriate tweet Olney has made in quite some time.

Just now, Flash Tizzle said:

I would forgive them even through that obvious lie because an even more important lesson is they learned very quickly that the fucked up negotiations and wanted to make it right at all costs

But they believe they gave a better offer to Machado. It clearly wasnt close to the Pad's offer but thats what they believe and think their fan base will believe.