On 1/14/2019 at 4:13 PM, xSouthsider2 said:

Forgot to mention... Sorry, I have NO sources.

All you will get from me is my opinions. Opinions based on all my years as a Sox fan. During that time a few great times, especially 2005, something I had thought would NEVER happen in my lifetime. But I want MORE WS wins. No more Dybzinski falling on his ass with what would have been the winning run in 83, with Cy Young winner Lamarr Hoyt waiting to pitch game five and put us in the WS in 83. No more allowing those bastards in Toronto to steal Black Jack McDowell pitches and keep us out of the WS in 93. No more having a pitcher with no balls starting game one in 2008 and immediately losing a three run lead that Dewayne Wise gave us with a three run homer in the first. And no more losing two double headers to losing teams in September and blowing a pennant in 1967, and then starting 1968 with 12 straight LOSSES.

So, my opinion on Machado? We sign him for over $300 million "IF" Hahn and KW play their cards right. Can't mess this up. I hope they know this. They have put us in too deep to not succeed. We get neither "whale" and we look like losers to the rest of baseball. 

Just for the record it was 10 straight losses to open the 1968 season. let's not make it any worse than it was.

Hopefully come spring training we have 2 whales leading the way for the young guys. Jerry is control of what happens good or bad

Jayson Stark is tweeting that what he and Ken Rosenthal have heard consistently this week is that the Harper / Machado derby could drift into February before being resolved.

11 minutes ago, Gtrams42 said:

Basically someone who deals with the numbers of the contract. Not saying who but there are whispers that this was their plan all along. Supposedly they knew they had a really good grasp on Manny so they went hard at Harper at the beginning and let the Phillies spend more time on Manny and focus less on Harper. Now the Phillies are playing catch up. Possible endgame is Manny, Harper and a pitcher

 

Just now, Lip Man 1 said:

Jayson Stark is tweeting that what he and Ken Rosenthal have heard consistently this week is that the Harper / Machado derby could drift into February before being resolved.

I find it hard to believe what will likely be the 2 largest contracts in North American sports history will sneak up on people. I think we'll know days in advance a deal is close, about to be signed, etc. There is zero indication Harper or Machado will sign anytime soon.

16 minutes ago, Gtrams42 said:

Basically someone who deals with the numbers of the contract. Not saying who but there are whispers that this was their plan all along. Supposedly they knew they had a really good grasp on Manny so they went hard at Harper at the beginning and let the Phillies spend more time on Manny and focus less on Harper. Now the Phillies are playing catch up. Possible endgame is Manny, Harper and a pitcher

You have the same source I did. I'll just say I ended up being wrong on the christmas eve surprise.

3 minutes ago, maxjusttyped said:

I find it hard to believe what will likely be the 2 largest contracts in North American sports history will sneak up on people. I think we'll know days in advance a deal is close, about to be signed, etc. There is zero indication Harper or Machado will sign anytime soon.

There's a few basketball players that would disagree with that.

14 minutes ago, Gtrams42 said:

Basically someone who deals with the numbers of the contract. Not saying who but there are whispers that this was their plan all along. Supposedly they knew they had a really good grasp on Manny so they went hard at Harper at the beginning and let the Phillies spend more time on Manny and focus less on Harper. Now the Phillies are playing catch up. Possible endgame is Manny, Harper and a pitcher

That would be some pretty good shit right there.

6 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Jayson Stark is tweeting that what he and Ken Rosenthal have heard consistently this week is that the Harper / Machado derby could drift into February before being resolved.

At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if it bled into the first week of March. 

Just now, bschmaranz said:

There's a few basketball players that would disagree with that.

In terms of total value in the deal, I suspect Harper and Machado will be #1 & #2. In terms of AAV, you're right.

1 minute ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

You have the same source I did. I'll just say I ended up being wrong on the christmas eve surprise.

Do you mind sharing what that Christmas Eve surprise was supposed to be?

I really believe that if the Sox sign Manny, they will circle back to Harper and attempt to make a deal. Whether or not it actually happens is another thing, but I don't expect the hot stove insanity to be over when/if Manny signs here. 

Adding one is a huge win for the franchise, adding two puts you in a much better spot competitively down the road. You get to rely less on the volatility of prospects with 2 known quantities. Sure, it's possible these guys flame out, but the odds of that happening are worse than the odds of them being productive players IMO. Think of the possibilities... the Sox's if/then scenarios become a lot less volatile, and opens the door for many many possibilities when inevitably we hit on some prospects and miss on others. 

Now to put down the pipe. I seriously doubt we get both. Machado to the Sox probably pushes Philly into finally putting their crazy money where their mouth is. It could get out of control quickly, and it would be tough for the Sox to keep up, IMO.  

 

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if it bled into the first week of March. 

And yet it wouldn't surprise if it's exciting conclusion was tomorrow.

9 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Jayson Stark is tweeting that what he and Ken Rosenthal have heard consistently this week is that the Harper / Machado derby could drift into February before being resolved.

Just brutal off-seasons for baseball. 

10 minutes ago, Gtrams42 said:

Hopefully come spring training we have 2 whales leading the way for the young guys. Jerry is control of what happens good or bad

That's reassuring.  We can fully blame him for 2009~2018.

If the Sox land both Harper and Machado wouldn’t it be pretty close to the same deal or exactly the same deal? I’d be worried that Machado might be a tad bit upset if Harper ended up getting more from the same team he just signed for. Hopefully Machado isn’t one to let something like that bother him.

7 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Do you mind sharing what that Christmas Eve surprise was supposed to be?

I’ll say Ottavino

12 minutes ago, Buehrle>Wood said:

You have the same source I did. I'll just say I ended up being wrong on the christmas eve surprise.

 

10 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Do you mind sharing what that Christmas Eve surprise was supposed to be?

Would love to know as well. Can you at least say if it was a trade or FA signing?

5 minutes ago, iamshack said:

I’ll say Ottavino

Yeah, that's the most fitting guess. 

Wouldn't put it past Boras to drag this into February. JD Martinez didn't sign until February 19th last year and Boston was pretty much in a one team race to sign him. There are some similarities between the Boston/Martinez and Philly/Harper negotiations.

31 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Just for the record it was 10 straight losses to open the 1968 season. let's not make it any worse than it was.

Although I was a child at the time, I remember that streak well.  I also remember that horrible call in Boston (Agee was safe) in August of 1967 on NBC National that started the collapse.  
 That was quite the post by xSouth detailing the specific events that haave  frustrated Sox fans over the last 50 years.

Edited January 16, 20197 yr by GreenSox

3 minutes ago, BlackSox13 said:

Wouldn't put it past Boras to drag this into February. JD Martinez didn't sign until February 19th last year and Boston was pretty much in a one team race to sign him. There are some similarities between the Boston/Martinez and Philly/Harper negotiations.

Something in baseball is broken when the league is posting record revenues and only 1/2 teams are seriously interested in 26 year olds on a HoF trajectory.

1 minute ago, maxjusttyped said:

Something in baseball is broken when the league is posting record revenues and only 1/2 teams are seriously interested in 26 year olds on a HoF trajectory.

24 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Do you mind sharing what that Christmas Eve surprise was supposed to be?

 

6 minutes ago, maxjusttyped said:

Something in baseball is broken when the league is posting record revenues and only 1/2 teams are seriously interested in 26 year olds on a HoF trajectory.

Then the league had better figure out how to re-balance the luxury tax