CWSpalehoseCWS

At least we know an end is coming. That's better than sitting in the dark wondering if this drags into February.

That’s a good point. Very real possibility.

I don’t think Harper to the Dodgers or Cubs is realistic until either of those teams move some dead contract weight. They are both players in his market, but they have a lot of dominos to knock over before being able to offer Harper the deal he’s looking for. Has there even been any solid rumors attached to either of these teams attempting to lower payroll? I know we’ve seen some random rumors, but I can’t recall any big media guys running stories about them.

I could totally see Adolfo starting in WS to get his comfort level of playing the field back to normal - but only a short time. I haven’t given it much thought how this would affect WS though. They’ve been relatively patient with most of not all of their top guys, which is why I think they play it closer to the side of caution. I think we see a starting OF of Rutherford, Booker, Basabe, and Gonzalez in Birmingham + using the DH to get everyone consistent playing time. Fisher has been really terrible as a guy with no position, so he’s really a non factor and massively buried on the depth chart. Wouldn’t be surprised if they just cut him or force him to 1B. Once Eloy’s called up, that could change things, but I just don’t necessarily see the Sox aggressively pushing Basabe at this point. Personally I’d like to see him have more prolonged success before being promoted. I think he could be an impact-solid regular in the long run.

True, but this also comes across as a agent leak to up the other offers from the Sox and Phillies.

So based on this thread title.... can we get Thanos to snap his fingers and make the Yankees and Phillies disappear?

Another reliever off the board.

Plus Kaplan is such a massive homer, I think his opinions affect his insight.

I wonder if Pollock could be a guy that gets a Moustakas-type deal?

Man I remember those, though I was only a lurker here with no account. Those were my WSI posting days...

But he hasn't even had a full season at Birmingham yet. I would think the Sox would want him to get some more reps down there. He didn't exactly light the world on fire after he got promoted. Newly acquired George and Bennett can both play the OF, and are age appropriate organizational filler. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a FA addition with S.T. invite.

A short meeting would signal to me that they were pretty far apart on something. Hopefully this works out the way we all want it. It’ll be interesting to see how long his Phillies meeting is.

I don’t get the constant Michael Jordan references. Do people not realize the Sox and Bulls are owned by the same person? Plus he never played in the MLB... seems irrelevant to all this.

"the smart thing they did is sign Alonso" ... NO... they did NOT SIGN Alonso. They traded for him. That literally is one of my biggest pet-peeves. There is a difference - get it right.

How the hell did he get $11M? Angels must be nuts.

Monday is Christmas Eve. I could see this dragging until late next week.

This a a tough one. So many guys off the top of my head, I'm not sure I'd be able to actually rank them... 1) Nick Swisher 2) Adam LaRoche 3) Alex Rios 4) Jeff Samardjiza 5) Mark Teahen HM: Orlando Cabrera, David Aardsma, Brett Myers, Mike MacDougal, Manny Ramirez, Joe Borchard

Kitty O’Shea’s

Then in that case, coupled with his age, I’d much rather have Manny/Harper.

He seems like the type of player the Yankees would throw money at. I also wonder how much of the Coors effect pumps his stats. Aren’t his home/away splits pretty drastic?

It is the professional thing to do though, especially for the agent and his future clients. Gotta be patient and hope for the best.

1. Mark Buehrle 2. Frank Thomas 3. A.J. Pierzynski 4. Joe Crede 5. Chris Sale I was born in ‘89, so I didn’t really have the pleasure of getting to grow up with with guys like Hoyt, Alvarez, McDowell, Ozzie, etc. but the 5 listed were by far the most emotionally invested players I ever got the pleasure to see in-person.

This makes sense. Cubs could offer him the league minimum and a chance to win the job out of ST.

Definitely seems like the Marlins screwed themselves again. If the Braves aren't pursuing him, who's left? I'm glad the Sox did not trade for him. I'd be willing to bet the conversation started with Cease, and in that case I'm glad it probably ended with him as well.

I think the only way the Sox can get Machado is if they offer more years + more $ than the Yankees. Having Alonso and Castillo on the team help, but they will still need to beat the Yankees offer to have a chance, especially if he's that dead set on being a Yankee like we are all hearing.