RTC

This is an interesting thought. Is it possible that his statement not only shut everyone up, but also had ripple effects on chatter beyond just Manny?

.... and I'm an idiot.

The strange thing is that not only has any Manny chatter gone dead, but it seems like all noise about Harper, Keuchel, Ottavino, and Kimbrel went silent as well the last week or so. And not just relative to the Sox, but in general. It's feels like Thanos snapped his fingers.

Huh? They had TWENTY-TWO guys last year that were between 0 and 1. You want more?!? EDIT: Just realized you may have meant more players with over 1 WAR. Totally agree on that. Sorry if I misunderstood. (Also, I used bWAR for my numbers because that's what you originally used. You can't switch to fWAR now for Bummer because the numbers look better. Bummer was -.1 bWAR) That said, just my opinion, yes, I would take one 2.3 WAR guy over a -.1 and .5 and day. By the very nature of using WAR, the -.1 and .5 guys are much easier to replace, and should actually be somewhat easy to improve on. But that's just my opinion, others may think otherwise.

I hear you, but I didn't mean to imply teams have no Palkas. This is why I suggested looking "depth" on contending teams, not "individual guys". I'm sorry if it came across that way. But the players you bring up sort of reinforce my point. - From everything I've read this winter, upgrading over Gattis is a priority because they want better production than .4 WAR. Honestly they probably would've loved to have Joc Pederson at DH with his 2.3 WAR. - Marwin Gonzalez at 2.5 would have been the third best player on the Sox. Marwin friggin Gonazales - And their utility infielder (Marisnick) put up 1.7 WAR, which is what the Sox starting 1B put up. - Astros had 20 players at 1.0 WAR or higher. Sox had 10 (FYI, Dodgers had 17, Red Sox had 17) - Astros had 10 players at 2.0 WAR or higher. Sox had 5 (Dodgers had 13, Red Sox had 10) - Astros had 5 players at 3.5 WAR or higher. Sox had none (Dodgers had 6, Red Sox had 6) I hear what you're saying, I guess my point was in the scheme of constructing a lineup the Daniel Palkas of the world aren't worth losing any sleep over - there's bigger fish to fry. That's all. The Sox problem is not whether to keep Palka or not, it's that they don't have enough players that are significantly better than Palka or Gattis.

This. Absolutely this. I get liking a player on your team. Even one that you know is not that great. I really liked Chris Getz when he was on the Sox, for reasons I really can't explain. But I knew he wasn't even remotely an answer to anything, with the possible exception of the question "Who are the mediocre players on your team?". You can like guys but be realistic. BA nails it above. If you want to see what depth looks like on a team that contends for a championship these days (not in 2005), look at the lineups for NY, Boston, or Houston. I think maybe it's just that Sox fans eyes have glazed over because we've gotten so used to watching a big giant pile of meh (#miredinmediocrity). When we see anyone that shows even the slightest bit of talent we get excited. Some people are so intent about hanging on to guys like Palka or Leury or "giving them a chance to show what they've got" while the Yankees are trying to figure out how to upgrade from a guy (Andujar) who would be one of the best players on the Sox, because they want even better. And, no, I'm not saying Joc Pederson is the second coming of anything. But compared to Palka, Joc does more things better. Plain and simple. He's a bridge for a couple years which, AT BEST, is all Palka would be. And Joc is a better bridge. Another thing that I think folks are missing is competitiveness in 2019. I totally get it when anyone thinks why bother with Joc because they're not competing in 2019 anyway - just see what Palka can give you (but see my points above). I think what everyone is missing is I'm really getting the impression that the Sox think they can compete in 2019 if they get Manny. So whether any of us think that's realistic or not, if that's what they believe, well, there's your answer as to why they'd want someone like Joc.

I am conflicted by the fact that I can handle all the actual Machado news just fine, but I have to drink to follow this thread ...... I blame all of you.

This awesome. The off season has officially crossed the line into fun-bad. I did! And there was less blood shed than in this thread.

- It would make NO sense for Lozano to put 7/175 out there because, if anything, he wants any offers (imaginary, real, or otherwise) to look higher so he can up the bids from other teams - It makes very little sense for the Sox to leak an offer THAT low since it sort of makes them look bad/cheap. Which can only mean one thing: no one knows what the hell they're talking about. #occamsrazor

I’m so sorry. Prayers going out for you and your entire family. Perspective folks.

True, but looking at that lineup, even with adding Machado AND Eloy it shows how far they still need to go. Think about Boston's lineup last year or Houston's the year before - that should be the target.

We have too much emotional momentum built up in the Manny direction. Changing direction at this point might violate some of the laws of physics and would likely cause a tear in the space-time continuum. If Manny signs elsewhere, then we can redirect the emotional BTU's.

For anyone who is struggling with sanity, keep these points in mind: - Huge contracts take a TON of negotiating. And the degree of contract we're talking about here is almost unprecedented in this sport. - In said negotiations, it is the JOB of agents on one side and billion dollar organizations on the other to work out the terms that are most beneficial to them, regardless of how long that takes. - People involved in these negotiations make a LOT of money because they have negotiating skills the average person doesn't have, and the temperament to let things play out. (i.e., the casual fans who thinks they could be a GM really don't have the stomach for it.) - If either the agent or the braintrust of the organization lets the stress level of a bunch of idiots in a discussion forum affect their decisions and/or timing, they should be fired. - In this day and age social media is ubiquitous and is used as one of many negotiation tools. - Social media is ONLY used as a negotiation tool BECAUSE a significant number of people pay attention to it. If no one paid attention, all the social media agent vs. org BS would eventually evaporate. - This could be done tonight or it could take another month. - It is totally in your power to turn the computer off. Your choice.

I've suspected all along that neither one of them would want to share the signing headline wherever they ended up. They both probably want their news day.

... and Richard Roeper gets no love and hi8is neglects his children. Or something like that.

Option C - Elvis returns

BFF’s

After some recent talk here about some seriously bad music, now someone is speaking my language!

I wish I could

If I'm including "guy who gave me ulcers at 3B but they really seemed to genuinely think he could play 3B because they used him there for at least several games until they found out how much he sucked" --> Wilson Betemit

Yeah that was what I was thinking when I said what I did. I'm not sure Tulo is much more than a bench bat at this point, maybe start 20 games or so. And I think he might know it. So then it's not a matter of worrying about my next contract it's more about where can I win. Just not sure the signing means much as to who the Yanks sign to start at SS or 3B.

Why does everyone assume Tulo would be a stater? I know this is not what we as Sox fans are used to, but really good teams sign guys like that to fill out bench roles, especially when you can get them for league min. And, if I’m Tulo, I’m getting paid millions either way so why not just sign with the best team that makes me an offer? Effectively, every offer he has is for $20M, it’s just a different portion that’s being paid by the Jays.

If only we knew someone with a relationship with a mortgage company.......

So, just to join the feel good Soxtalk reunion tour apparently occurring in this thread; long time lurker, never registered. Until now. Like a lot of you I’m sick of the media not giving the Sox even the slightest chance at landing Harper or Machado. I don’t participate on Twitter, basically because I’m so old I fart dust, but I am hereby requesting assistance from all of you who are. I get that the odds might be against us, but if the Sox do sign one of them I would like all of you who are on Twitter to relentlessly, repeatedly, publicly, unapologetically, and with total impunity rub it in their collective face. Reveal them for the pond scum they truly are. If the Sox somehow manage to sign both, go nuclear on their ass! Thank you for your assistance. Carry on.