MiddleCoastBias

No mention of the number of MLB.tv subscription cancellations on February 19th? That's a shame.

I keep reading all of the names out there and I can't help but be excited about just about everyone we're connected to - we have a real opportunity to improve our club tonight. Going to be a fun night, folks

I feel like teams are going to wait until after Kimbrel signs (and thus after the draft) to read for Colome. Whoever loses out on the Kimbrel sweepstakes will have to pony up a prospect for Colome. I imagine contenders' priorities likely lay in spending money without giving up a player first, and then trade prospects for Colome as a consolation prize.

Finally, a topic (and thread) to be excited about! We're going to take our lumps this season, but I'm excited to watch the draft boards as we get closer to the picks. Great write-up, sounds like we've got some exciting players to choose from in what should be an easy decision to make when it gets to our pick.

I don't care - give the people what they want, bring back Cody Asche!

So who was starting that GoFundMe to put a billboard up on the highway by the stadium, again....?

100%. It also shows other free agents in the coming years that we intend to be serious. This will help is attract a pitcher when it's time to contend, get our version of when the Cubs signed Lester right before their run. We'll likely need a competitive and proven vet pitcher to cap off our rotation and this signing would help move the needle in that direction.

I feel like he can take a look at Ian Desmond's offer from the Nationals a few years ago and that what he eventually had to settle for as a good example of why NOT to wait for free agency.

It's a fair question, and I think the FO is set up in a lose-lose situation after making such a vocal and visible push for Machado and failing so publicly. Half of the fan base would be pissed that we failed again, and the other half would be pissed if we said he didn't try.

Because they're paid professionals with influence and Shack is... not?

Why do people keep asking this same rhetorical question, get the same answer from people that choose to believe the Sox might be in it, and then reply "no, we were never in it." You ask for an answer - some people value different things differently and we don't know how they arrive at their valuation. Just because they wouldn't pay X for Y doesn't mean they won't pay Q for R. Harper may have a different value to them (marketability etc etc) that they didn't see with Machado. This isn't reversing course - we don't KNOW their course.(obligatory retort: "but do they even know?")

I believe Ricky said the main starters will be doing back-field practices and warm-ups this weekend and won't be appearing in games for a few days.

But who would win in a fight, 80 Adam Engels or 1 Bryce Harper, hmmmmm?

Definitely exciting to see what we have coming up. I always try to make it out to Pawtucket, RI when the PawSox host the Charlotte Knights and these last two years have been a must. I've got that series circled in my calendar already.

We don't need a reason.

Look, I get why we shouldn't have a lot of optimism in this FO to actually outsmart anyone and make a play for Harper. But if I'm the Sox, I WANT Nightengale putting information out there saying the Phillies are bidding against themselves so that we can try to sneak in with a winning (panic?) bid that beats what the Phils consider "good enough".

I've lived in Boston for two World Series while my Sox haven't even made the playoffs. It would be so easy to just slip into the crowd and cheer for a perennial winner, but I can never change my colors. I'll keep supporting the White Sox, despite them making little effort to support us as fans.

Fair, and yes, that gets back to your main point - misses on all level of FAs.

I think it's only fair to be noted that 2+ years of that list we weren't even pretending to compete. We took a look on a lot of lotto ticket guys in recent years, but that's no defense of those early swings and misses.

And we need to forward this thread to at least ten people in the next 24 hours or be cursed with bad luck forever. Can't run the risk, you guys.

Yesterday my girlfriend took a photo of the two of us, and in the reflection of my glasses you can clearly see I'm holding my phone with Soxtalk's page open.

"if"? IF?? What happened to WHEN, Dan?

The answer to that was that it would make the Phillies drive up the price for Harper if they knew we were in on both. But that raises the better question - if we know that would drive up the price on Harper, why the hell would Harper and Boras want to keep this quiet? Facts is facts - this has to be bullshit.

He may not be as direct with his certainty, but Hector sure seems to latch onto any Machado/Sox nugget and have a "hey look at this *wink wink*" comment on it. I get the impression that he's really hooked into the idea that Machado is going to the Sox and everything he tweets about is a soft effort to say "look at my info, I'm right".

I'm curious, has anyone seen if Yankees fans are giving Hector the same treatment that we have Dan Clark?