I would rather have one World Series, followed by 50 straight seasons of 60-win baseball than 50 straight playoff appearances with no championships.
In other words, #2 without a doubt.
It's honestly tough to say. You would possibly lose one of the teams interested, but the team that misses out on Machado could be desperate to land Harper. For example, if Machado picks Philadelphia, I think the White Sox would increase their offer to Harper. They need one of them.
Sorry if I missed it in this thread, but did you hear anything about today? Was he definitely still in Chicago all day?
Thanks for all the updates you’ve provided.
What would your lineup look like if we landed Machado and Harper? For the sake of consistency, let's assume these are the 9 starters:
Castillo, Abreu, Alonso, Moncada, Anderson, Machado, Eloy, Engel, Harper
Where did news of the Monday meeting come from? Everybody has been saying it here, so I’m sure there was an original source, but I’m not sure what the source was.
Completely hypothetical here, but what if you knew trading for Alonso would increase your chances of signing Machado from a 25% chance to a 75% chance. You pull the trigger and Machado ultimately signs elsewhere. Was it a bad decision to get Alonso?
Look, I agree with you. I’m not trying to argue the other side. I’m just trying to present the other side because I don’t think it’s as ridiculous of a question as it might seem. If Machado signs with the Yankees, the Indians’ chances of winning the 2019 World Series go down. If he signs with the Sox, I don’t think their chances change. Of course, this would be a long term deal, and that’s why I ultimately agree with you.
What if they think their best chance to win a World Series is in the next couple years, and Machado to the Yankees would make that tough? They could think Machado to the Sox still won’t make us better than them.