hogan873

I never really thought Arenado would have been an option for the Sox. I expected him to re-sign with the Rockies or for someone else to pay him big. The extension now was a bit of a surprise, and it's great for him and the Rockies. Puts more pressure on teams like the Sox to make moves. Hopefully they are pushing hard for Harper.

I took shack's post of the door being wide open to mean that it was wide open for the Sox, meaning they could offer enough to be the high bidder. The walking slowly towards the door makes me scratch my head, though. Does it mean the Sox are approaching Harper with a deal, or is Harper approaching the Sox because they have made a great offer?

Hey! I have gray in my beard, and I'm...oh wait. I'm old as fuck.

Only speculation, but they might be willing to guarantee more for Harper for two reasons: 1) They were always willing to guarantee more for Harper if he ended up being their main target. 2) They are willing to guarantee more for Harper because of what happened with Machado. Personally I think Harper does more for the team from a marketing standpoint, and he may be worth more because of that. Regardless, I hope the subtle potential bombs from yesterday actually mean something. I do think the Sox are more involved with Harper than we're being led to believe. They were obviously interested in him from the beginning, so I don't know why they would be out now.

You can most likely have both. This disappointment won't be quite as crushing, but it will still hurt.

Thank God baseball is back. I know it's very early spring training, but seeing what some of these guys are doing so far is exciting. I hope Robert can stay healthly, because he could be something special.

The Sox, if they actually are still in on Harper, are the only AL team to be interested. Could that possibly be a bit of a factor for Harper? He could slide into a 1B/DH role eventually. There could be more flexibility with an AL team. Unless, of course, the NL does adopt the DH.

I like Palka a lot...as a hitter. But you're right about the defense. That's why I wouldn't be against adding someone...only if the price was low.

I know...but there's the last shred of optimism in me coming through.

I was thinking about this over the weekend. If the Sox don't miraculously sign Harper, should they make any other moves for the outfield? I'm torn. I don't see a ton of value in signing a veteran unless possibly hoping for some production that could be used to trade at the deadline, or adding that veteran for stability. I'm not too excited about the Sox current outfield outside of Eloy when he comes up. What does SoxTalk think?

If it's true what bucket said about the Sox giving Manny's agent the offer and then not hearing from him again until after the decision to sign with the Padres was made, I could see the Sox operating in "pissed off" and stealth mode.

And there would be no excuse for it. They were obviously interested in him at one time. Unless Boras has told them that he will not sign for less than something that is ridiculous, they should still be in on him. The hopeful side of me says that they learned their lesson with Machado and are keeping any negotiations quiet. The realistic side of me says they've already written themselves off.

If this is accurate, there's no reason for the Sox not to be involved. 10/$330 would be a great deal for Harper considering a few months ago it was thought he'd could get a $400M contract.

First, I want to ensure that I am not a front office apologist. I'm very disappointed in the Sox not landing Machado, and I'll be disappointed if (when) they don't land Harper. I guess I never 100% expected them to get one of them, but my hopes were pretty high recently with Machado. My hopes were never high with Harper, so I won't be surprised when he signs elsewhere. All that being said, I love being a Sox fan. I don't cheer for Hahn and KW. I cheer for the guys on the field. I'm really excited for the future, and I can't wait to see what these guys do over the next few seasons. I don't go to many games, not so much because it's too expensive (it's not) but more because it's a pain getting there and back. I do, however, watch just about every game. I track the stats of the players, follow the guys in the minors, and talk about the future of the team to my family ad nauseam. I have more Sox shirts in my closet than anything else. So, yeah it's been hard being a Sox fan recently. But to say it sucks being a Sox fan: no, not for me. I'll deal with the pain for a while in hopes that it all comes around as planned.

I keep reading that the Sox spent X amount of dollars on scrubs and didn't pony up the extra $50M to secure Manny. The money they spent/are spending on these guys had nothing to do with how much they were willing to guarantee for Manny. It had everything to do with refusing to guarantee the money. They have the money, especially considering that money wouldn't be spent for 9 years.

Yeah, I don't think it would end well for them. For me, it's hard to see him go anywhere but Philadelphia unless he takes a shorter deal.

No problem with this. If he's healthy he'll most likely be part of the team when the season starts. If it means fewer Covey sightings, that's a good thing.

I've thought from the beginning of this nightmare of an off season that Harper is the bigger name and would do more for the team in regards to recognition. He's also the better power hitter, and with the short porch in right field, he would hit a ton of home runs. Machado as a player was a better fit. He'd fill a position of need, and I think he's a better hitter overall. Signing Harper only creates a good problem with having a lot of outfield depth.

Harper, Keuchel, Gio. Arenado, Rendon, and Sale next year.

Yes it is.

The most logical place for Harper to sign is with the Phillies. I believe that only the Phillies and Sox are interested in a long term deal. There are other teams, at least rumored so, that are interested in short term deals. The Phillies will most likely offer more than the Sox would (if the Sox even make an offer). I don't know how much I believ about him not being excited about playing in Philadelphia. We had heard that Machado didn't want to play on the west coast. Well, for $300M, he's playing on the west coast in a very hitter unfriendly park.

Whether the show's actually over or not, I hope he signs somewhere soon just so this can be over.

The Sox need one more starter. I agree that a 3-4 year deal for Keichel makes no sense, but a one year deal for Gio would be okay depending on how much.

I can't disagree. There's a lot of young talent on this team, and it will be exciting to watch them. It's not the players' fault that the front office is a bunch of clowns.

Yeah, unfortunately it doesn't make the team better enough. Plus, none of those guys are long-term improvements.