LittleHurtCG

Trade makes a lot of sense for the Cubbies. Only a year deal and they can just cut him down the stretch if he continues to suck. If he has a good year he can be flipped at the deadline to an outfield needy team like the Sox or Twins.

No. The logical move was to fire Hahn and company after 2016 no matter what direction they chose.

Blind luck and few savvy trades and free agent signings and the Sox could have had a chance. Instead they rebuilt and became the Minnesota Twins for two seasons and the whipping boy of the AL West in the postseason. Tanking wasn't the only way.

I'm saying their were paths for the team to strike lighting in a bottle in 2018 when Sale was still in his prime. I showed a path on how that could work. Crazy things happen in baseball all the time. How many "experts" had the Sox winning it all in 05? You seem content with the results of the tank job which is fine I suppose. Most of the hardcore tankies I talked to said the Sox were on the path to be juggernauts like the Cubs and Houston.

Sorry you can't see any alternatives. That seems to be the problem with many of the hardcore tankies. They don't seem to understand that baseball isn't yet played on spreadsheets and prospect ranking aren't gospel.

You have no idea on whether or not they would have sucked if they never tanked. Things could have been much different if a new front office and scouting team was brought in. Again, they tanked a whole freaking season only to draft Nick freaking Madrigal. Lmao.

Sounds pretty good damn good to me.

You gotta fit Grandal in there somewhere as well.

Chris Sale was an absolute stud. Miss watching that guy pitch every day on the South Side. Best Sox pitcher I've ever watched in person.

Tanking is a legit option if you know how to draft, scout the international market, and develop players. The Sox cannot do any of that well therefore tanking is not an option for them. Another tank job by the Sox will only give the gullible fanbase hope.

No more tanking. It is not the way. Losing 95 plus games only to draft guys like Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn doesn't work.

Flip Santana in the offseason after his strong 2017 to a team in go for it mode. Get a guy like walker Buehler or Jack Flaherty

Well you might not be able to see it, but I certainly can. I haven't see any AL Pennants or World Series banners yet with the rebuild either.

Cleveland likely outguns them in 2017 for sure. 2018 is another story as the division was wide open. Sox get in and anything can happen as Boston doesn't have Sale.

Maybe? You asked for some ideas and I gave provided some.

Don't know about most significant offseason of a lifetime. Was he not alive a few years ago during the Machado/Harper debacle?

I understand the phrase lighting in a bottle perfectly fine. It is the only way this organization as currently construced will ever win a championship. They can't draft and develop players worth a damn and they can't afford to eat at Michelin star restaurants every night like the big boys. Lighting in a bottle with a veteran team is the only way.

No. Like you said they could have signed Charlie Morton and found a way to get a guy like Ervin Santana a couple years earlier and while he was still good.

Trading Carson Fulmer and Carlos Rodon for Nelson Cruz. Trade for a guy like Jonathan Schoop at trade deadline. Sign Justin Turner and Kurt Suzuki. That is a start anyways.

Sale didn't have TJS right away and Q was still a valuable player. We don't know know what would have happened if the Sox didn't go into tank mode. We do know that they tanked in an attempt to copy the Cubs and Houston and failed miserably.

I just gave you something. Sorry if you disagree. They could have done a number of different things besides tank. They could have continued the 2005 approach and struck lighting in a bottle again. Sale and Q was a nasty 1 and 2 punch in the rotation. We will never know what would have happened if they didn't tank.

I agree 100%. There is no incentive for the FO to do anything creative. There is no fear of losing their jobs. They can and will do nothing.

Didn't all the MLB teams just get a bunch of Disney $? JR and company can the raise the budget and make it work if they really wanted to. Billinoiaires always seem to find a way.

This FO can't get creative. They don't have the talent or skills to do that. They can and will RH speak all day long. They have been doing it for almost a decade now.

How long of a timeline do you give the new coaching staff to fix all the Sox broken players?