hogan873

Scrappy little dude like him could do it. It would be quite the feat, but not impossible. Love the confidence, though.

Did he not get any offers from MLB teams better than 2/$17MM? Or did he prefer to return to Japan?

This team as it stands right now is really good and probably the best in the division. What's really frustrating is that the team is a starting pitcher away from being one of the best in the AL*. Whether we want to believe Nightengale's tweets or not, the front office has never given us a reason to be hopeful of going that extra mile. And I suppose that all comes from the ownership and the willingness (or lack thereof) to spend money. *Keep in mind that the starting pitching is one injury away from being in trouble.

Well, if the Sox fed info to Nightengale so he could tweet what he did in order to temper enthusiasm in their fans, it worked. Well, it did more to piss off fans, but the result is the same: We're convinced they're not going to spend another dime.

To say the Sox spent $54 million on Hendriks is ridiculous. Signing Cruz (or any DH) would affect the 2021 budget, to which $11 million is allocated for Hendriks. Nightengale sucks, feeding info from the Sox or not.

There probably isn't a person who isn't high on him. Sorry if my post seemed to question if he's good. My point is, regardless of whether he makes it to the Sox in 2021 or 2022, I can understand the team's reluctance to sign Cruz to two years. But, should the Sox sign someone to be the DH for 2021? Do we believe Vaughn will be in the lineup at some point in 2021?

I think so. It seems like many believe he could be up at some point this season. I'm not necessarily disagreeing. My point was asking what the Sox actually think about him.

That lineup hits 220+ HRs without breaking a sweat.

So, it seems like SoxTalk is really high on Vaughn and expects him to be the team's DH as early as this season. Are the Sox as high on him? Do we believe that their plan is to have him take over the DH role at some point in 2021, or is it more likely that he spends the year in the minors and is the DH beginning in 2022? Either way, I can see the resistance to giving Cruz two years. But, I fear going into 2021 without a plan for a DH other than the dreaded DH by committee.

Or he becomes a trade piece.

So, does Bob just spew shit, hoping something ends up being true?

No, it's not. Keeps him out of the AL, and lets someone else pay $38MM a year. He's a great pitcher and worth a lot of money, but that would tie up a shit ton of payroll for several years.

True. However, we haven't heard of any football games with fans being super-spreader events. MLB will most likely have a plan that will allow fans, but they will defer to local restrictions always.

At this point, it seems more likely that Bauer will end up on a short deal somewhere for $25MM+. The list of teams he could end up playing for is short, and the list gets even shorter if he wants a long term deal.

It's entirely feasible for stadiums to have limited capacity of fans by opening day. Football has shown that it can be done, and with the vaccine being rolled out, the risk will be lower. I still don't expect full capacity of fans until late summer, but starting off at 10% - 20% in April seems possible.

I’m fine with Wainwright as the #4/#5 starter. Solidifies the rotation with experience, and he’s pitched well recently. It’s not exciting, but it’s help.

Milwaukee was probably reading this site and was like, "Dude, I know we basically agreed on Stiever, but these Soxtalk clowns love Crochet. Give me the phone. I gotta call Rick."

I play RBI Baseball on my iPad. It's the best mobile baseball game, IMO. Fairly realistic as far as stats, but overall it's probably harder to hit and easier to pitch. So, you end up with a lot of low scoring games. The 2020 version is worlds better than previous versions. Much improved gameplay, different pitching and hitting views (vs. always from behind the plate), and finally allowing you to pick specific pitches instead up just fast or slow. Rosters are continuously updated, and you can add free agents and make trades. It's worth the $6.99 for the app. I play it every day, so I get plenty of use out of it. It's really cool that TA will be on the cover. Much deserved.

Yeah, I like the idea of Paxton/Richards/etc. as a bottom of the rotation starter while keeping the farm intact. Come trade deadline time, the Sox should be in a position to upgrade if necessary. I just think the cost for Burnes is going to be too high, as it sounds like one of Vaughn/Kopech/Crochet/Kelley would have to be included.

Odd...

No doubt Burnes will cost quite a bit to acquire, and the Sox have the players to do it. Unless it's an absolute steal, there will be some heartache (maybe a lot) if the Sox do indeed pull off this trade. I wonder what the consensus was of Padre fans with what they gave up so far this off season? The best comparison would probably be the Musgrove trade, but I think Burnes will cost more. If Kopech, Vaughn, and Crochet are truly off the table, are we okay with Madrigal plus 2 or 3 top prospects for Burnes. I'd have to think we would be; the rotation gets so much better instantly.

Last I saw, there was talk of allowing fans in "pod" seating with groups socially distanced. Local regulations may be stricter, but it certainly sounds like MLB wants to have fans able to attend spring training games.

Yeah, not enough of them anyway. I just looked it up and saw that since 1789 only 20 members of Congress have been expelled.

One more SP is almost imperative, and I think they'll sign one soon. As far as another bat, it makes sense to grab one, but I don't think it's as important. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if they add one. I'd be disappointed if they do not add a pitcher for sure.

I think we're going to learn some very disturbing things about the Capitol attack over time. I wouldn't be surprised if a few GOP lawmakers are arrested and/or expelled from office.