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Astros should sign Puig. The are going to break the record for fights anyway. Might as well have him there to protect the stars.

"Our opinion is that this didn't impact the game." - Jim Crane "I didn't say it didn't impact the game." - Jim Crane 55 seconds later

2/22, 2pm, Angels, webcast 2/24, 2pm, Dodgers, NBCSC 2/25, 2pm, Giants, webcast 2/27, 2pm, Mariners, webcast 2/28, 2pm, Indians, webcast 3/2, 8am, Angels, MLBN (3/1 game) 3/2, 2pm, Padres, webcast 3/3. 2pm, A's, webcast 3/5, 1am, Brewers, MLBN (3/4 game) 3/5 2pm, Rockies, webcast 3/6, 10pm, Cubs, MLBN (delay) 3/8, 3pm, Royals, webcast 3/9, 2am, Padres, MLBN (3/8 game) 3/9, 3pm, Reds, webcast 3/10, 3pm, Rangers, webcast 3/13, 3pm, Cubs, NBCSC 3/14, 3pm, Dodgers, webcast 3/15, 3pm, Mariners, MLBN 3/17, 3pm, Brewers, webcast 3/19, 8pm, Indians, webcast 3/21, 2pm, Dodgers, NBCSC 3/22, 2pm, Dbacks, NBCSC 3/23, 840, Dbacks, NBCSC 3/24, 240, Dbacks, NBCSC

TBH, as much as it pains me to say it, Calisoxfan is a top tier poster and one of the best around.

I live in Michigan and I'm shopping in Saint Joseph this morning wearing my Sox jacket. Three strangers come up to me to tell me this is the year. We seem to be catching on.?

I try not to be too superstitious, but I just won the auction for the Reynaldo Lopez game-used jersey on MLB.com. Last time I won an auction, it was for a game-used Lucas Giolito jersey last April, and we saw the season he went on to have... Just throwing it out there.

After 47 wins the Tigs should give Puig a short-term OF home . The speeding story needs to conclude.

Alex Bregman is a pint sized douchebag.

Exactly, the Cubs want to shed payroll and the Rockies would want long term assets.

Bregman is like THE ORDER OF BLAME ACCORDING TO ME IS... THE ORGANIZATION THE TEAM . . . . . . . . me. But only slightly

A Bryant/Arenado trade makes absolutely no sense for both sides.

College baseball starts tomorrow. There are a dozen pitchers I expect to come out and announce their presence with authority. This is going to be a really fun spring.

Hopefully before there are any more hints at Steve Stone being racist without any evidence.

have a good evening.

White boomers? There are also poor white kids that can’t afford to play baseball.

Hey, I'm mostly kidding with you. It's just baseball. That said, you spent a couple hours, and several pages of this thread to go over the speeding issue. [Seriously, look back at your posts from the other day.] You also didn't cite any links, and chose incidents from several years ago. I understand those who complain about the man's past. But, I believe men have the ability to grow and to learn from their past, which is why I asked Puig's critics to cite something from the past ~6-12 months, with a link. At the end of the day, Puig is just flat-out a better player than Mazara. But it won't matter, because Mazara's here now. For better or worse, he'll probably fall on his face this year because he's about as mobile as a drunk Paul Konerko.

Agreed, although that may just be a job for Hahn. The couple times Keuchel has spoken on the Astros, he’s partially said some ok things, and then he says the wrong thing. He needs to stop saying “that’s what baseball was at the time” even if it’s true. He knew his team was cheating at the time, and he needs to own it, or just move on with his new team and win the right way.

This is the crux of my view as well. With a butcher already committed to in LF, bringing in a statue like Mazara is a problem that can't be bridged easily. Giving Mazara the starting RF role is a mistake, IMO. Adding in a 37 year old Encarnacion effectively "blocks" Mazara from being hidden at DH, and it constipates the 1B/DH depth chart. By contrast, Puig's issues can be bridged by: 1. The "makeable incentives" part of a contract to help keep him in line, [i.e. cash to him and to his charitable foundation if he toes the line], 2. Insuring the contract [i.e. if he steps out of line/is released, Lloyd's of London covers some of the contract], 3. Signing redundancy in the 26 man [i.e. a Corner OF/DH type that can play some corner OF, instead of yet another 1B/DH type like Encarnacion], 4. Trusting that men can evolve and mature [i.e. the issues from when he was 22 won't pop up now that he's 29 & with 3 kids], 5. Trusting that Abreu and Grandal are in fact good leaders that have vouched for who he is NOW, 6. Trusting that Ricky can do what he does best, which is to keep a harmonious and engaged clubhouse, and 7. [EDIT] Trusting/verifying that he's been humbled by the past few years and the lack of suitors this offseason. I'm not sure there are [EDIT] 7 ways to bridge Mazara's 59 wrc+ v. LHP, nor his ineptitude at defense, nor Encarnacion's inevitable date with Father Time.

Based on no other information in terms of skill or requisite space needed to sign prospects, Sox need to trade for cap space so they can get this kid and Colas, load up on Cubans and have just nightmarish speed on the paths

Pillar just got $4 million from the Red Sox. He can play CF but it makes me think Puig should be able to nab a contract worth $5 to $10 million from some team.

Dyan Yamel Jorge seems to be a contact & speed oriented SS. Apparently he was running between 5.9 and 6.1 in the 60 yard during his showcase. To put that number in perspective, our draftee James Beard (who was compared to Billy Hamilton) was the fastest player in last year's draft and he ran a 6.2 60 yard. CJ Abrams is listed as an 80 runner on pipeline and he ran a 6.29 60 yard. Dyan was the starting SS for Cuba in the 2018 u15 World Cup. Check the video in that link. He is wearing a Sox shirt and the scout on the right seems to be wearing a Sox shirt too. I did see another video where he wasn't wearing any Sox stuff, so that showcase in the video above was probably just at our DR facility. https://u15bwc.wbsc.org/en/2018/player/22171 Stats from the World Cup. He had a pretty good day against the USA.

Starts in 2 minutes.

It’s funny to see/hear Cubs fans complaining about the possibility of losing Bryant because of money. I’ve heard Kap, Silvy, Parkins, and a few other complaining on their shows. It’s a little hard to feel bad for a team that outspends 90% of the league. i hope nobody bails them out. I don’t want them to get anything for Bryant.

Gio is Gio. Other Gio is Gonzalez or Gonzo. This is the way.

I forget that mute doesn't work when quoting is used. doh! Enough with the speeding thing. Good lord. Focus on baseball.

This confusion is going to happen all year

This article is from 4/2019 and is very fair about Puig's days with the Dodgers. Near the end of it , it says Puig still thinks he knew the league well enough to not use defensive positioning cards when he got to Cincinnati. You do know he was suspended twice in 2019 right ? Puig was involved in bench-clearing brawls in each of two Reds losses to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first one in the top of the fourth inning of a 7–5 defeat at PNC Park on April 7, 2019 resulted in an ejection and a two-game suspension for extending hostilities.[58][59] He reenacted his actions just under four months later on July 30 in the top of the ninth of an 11–4 loss at Great American Ball Park, minutes after news broke that he was going to be traded to the Cleveland Indians.[60] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasiel_Puig https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-yasiel-puig-dodgers-legacy-reds-20190414-story.html It's a long article with quotes from temmates Other links to various suspensions over the years. https://www.mlb.com/news/chris-archer-yasiel-puig-suspended https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/dodgers-yasiel-puig-suspended-fined-obscene-gesture-indians-fans https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/la-sp-dodgers-puig-suspend-20180815-story.html For older stuff there's also the Molly Knight Book : The Best Team Money Can Buy. She's done plenty of interviews on the book and Puig so here's one https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles/dodger-report/post/_/id/15540/a-qa-with-author-molly-knight

....but my joke last month was hilarious wasn't it???

Strange behavior indeed. On the very slight (like Jim Carey "So you're saying there's a chance") chance he's right, it would be funny to see Stone and the others who vehemently denied it respond.

But it won't matter, because Mazara's here now. For better or worse, he'll probably fall on his face this year because he's about as mobile as a drunk Paul Konerko." I mean, that's the real truth. Puig isn't happening. I thought he might earlier in the off season, but the Sox have made enough comments that basically confirm that he'll be our RF. I still think the man has significant talent, however my issue is that it's a very Sox move. It always seems like the Sox are stuck in 2003 mode or something while much of the rest of the MLB is adjusting. Like the Rays are out there with Kiemeirer (butchered the spelling) and Margot in the OF with such plus defenders (not to mention Meadows). Any ball hit to the OF is going to be caught. Meanwhile we're trotting out Eloy AND Mazara. And don't get me wrong, you have to sacrifice somewhere. Not everybody is Trout. So you're going to have people like Eloy who are an offensive monster and meh in the field, but my problem with Mazara stems from the fit. Where's the fit short OR long term? So let's say all of a sudden he does breakout ... he hits 35HR, drives in 100, etc. Is that really a long term solution on a championship team ... to have Robert act like Superman while Eloy and Mazara man the corners? With Vaughn and the extension to Abreu he can't really shift to the DH. When someone makes a prediction thread for the year I'll go in more detail, but this team's big issue is that it's a station to station team (young inconsistent pitching will be the other issue). But this is going to be AJ, Konerko, Thome type of baseball which can be frustrating (and fun). There are going to be innings where EE, Abreu, Eloy all single back to back to back and then we strikeout and ground into a DP and get nothing out of 3 hits. Mazara, Grandal can be added to that list. We can have 5 guys in a row who can't run. Thank god we balance it a bit out with Robert and Madrigal being added. (also Moncada and Anderson). But ideally to me our RF is more like George Springer. That type of lineup - station to station and somewhat all or nothing hitters can win you baseball games in stretches, but it also isn't conducive to winning consistently which i think is going to be the biggest problem this year. Winning consistently. We'll see flashes but not consistency. So that's my issue with Mazara.. and also why i think Puig is a better fit on this team. I'd gladly dump Mazara to a bench role in favor of Puig, because even though neither are likely to work out, at least you can squint and see how Puig could be part of the longer term solution for the Sox

If true, this would be a pretty decent development https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/one-scout-thinks-white-sox-prospect-andrew-vaughn-way-better-paul-konerko

Yolbert getting a bit underrated by some I see.

Yoan is 6'2" and does look short next to those two?.

Fair enough. Bad form by me. Apologies. Pitching will make or break this rebuild.

Yup. It does. TA does great work with underprivileged kids to offset the finances so they can play. When he speaks on this I think we should listen. TA speaks from experience.

that dude has one of the quickest load mechanisms I've seen. Very efficient. Doesn't waste motion.

Man, that Nugenix is amazing. Trims you down and hardens your wood.

I'd rather not

Speaking of Vera, this shit ain't subtle.

Thanks, I've been waiting to share some tips. I'd recommend staying in Tempe if you're younger or single. It's about a 30 minute drive from Camelback but at night you can walk to Mill street and enjoy the nightlife and scenery. If you want something quieter Scottsdale is nice and has a number of resorts. Driving is easy in the valley for the most part. I wouldn't worry about being "too far" from anything. If you rent a cheap car you can get to everywhere you need to be in under an hour. As far as seeing the games outside the Sox, I'd recommend hitting up Talking Stick that place actually feels like a MLB park. If you have kids it's a must as they have a huge kids area. Great beer selection as well. Peoria sports complex is...interesting. There is a place outside there that is a must visit IMO called the "moon saloon" that has some of the cheapest drinks around. Think they had $2 beers and $4 well drinks when we went there prior to the Mariners game. I haven't been to the Cubs' stadium but it's supposed to be on the best. Tickets are usually pretty pricey tho. I usually like to go the first week of March. The weather is milder (usually about 70-75 day and 45-55 at night) and you have a better chance of seeing both the main guys and the youngsters. By mid march most of the young camp invites will be sent to their affiliate and many of the regulars will be getting rest days already. Don't bother to purchase tickets in advance unless you're in a large group. And don't bother with anything other than "lawn" or "general admission". The ushers are VERY relaxed in spring training, especially at Camelback. You can slide up right behind home plate about anytime after the 2nd inning. For autographs at camelback usually the Sox players sign on the 1st base lawn side starting about an hour before the game and then when the guys get pulled they will often sign on their way back to the clubhouse. For stuff to do outside baseball I'd recommend climbing Camelback mountain (steep but short and a great view) and if you're into hiking Tom's Thumb is a great hike a bit outside the city of moderate difficulty. For food in Tempe I recommend NCounter, Pedal House brewery and La Bocca. La Bocca is a really great wine and pizza bar. A bit pricey but excellent food and service. Eating outside there with a glass of wine and a solid piece of pizza after a day in the sun and baseball is pure joy if you're coming from a harsh winter.

That would be amazing.

Good luck hitting .335 again if you don’t think walks are important.

Manny Banuelos signed with the Mariners; hate to see such a talent leave the organization.

I pick and choose what I pay for as well. I pay for The Athletic because it's awesome. ESPN comes with my Disney Plus subscription and I have to have Baseball America. FutureSox is basically still free. Everything we did before, we are still doing. It's rankings week. Our patreon subscribers are getting separate articles with each of our individual rankings all week. They will also get insider content and weekly podcasts all year. I completely understand not paying for it. I get it. I have a good international source and I'm the only person who has published the names of the 6 players I listed today. I'm sure that will come out eventually and when we do the International Preview, there will be more info on them free for all to consume. For now though, the only people who will see the names are patreon subscribers or someone that takes the names from the post and puts them somewhere. I'm a teacher. That's my full time career. I don't need the money. The site does though and every little bit helps.

Numbers are up on the Sox site. Gio Gonzalez is taking McEwing’s 47. Madrigal starts with 92. Hopefully 1 on opening day. They didn’t update McEwing, Menechino, or Coolbaugh. Unused- 1, 5, 21, 22, 25, 45, 46, 49 Madrigal would look good with 22. 1 is too cliche for the little guy.

I don't give much public financial advice, but I realistically see Tesla with a 1 trillion dollar market cap within the next 6-8 years. I am pretty heavily invested into Tesla though. I am a firm believer in not only the social move towards renewable, but also a big believer in the battery technology and loved him moving much of the production in house. With further growth in the Chinese market, and his contracts in Germany for driverless cabs, the expansion is coming fast. Efficiencies on the production side need to increase, but I'm invested into Tesla for the battery technology - not for cars.

Don’t make a movie that an entire sex and/or age group doesn’t want to see. You don’t see chewing gum companies manufacturing dog shit-flavored gum, do you? Cuz they know it won’t sell. Just like how the production company should’ve known that the majority of men weren’t going to see a movie called “Little Women.” ?

You were also wrong about ba and rbi but besides that it was a great post!