Jose Abreu

Man, if I had a nickel for every time this adage has been incorrectly employed in this thread. Especially given that what you're arguing for isn't really "the middle"

But does anyone remember that we even extended Aaron Bummer a few weeks later?? Because I forgot until today.

That's what I've been thinking too. Can you imagine the difference between what is basically a guaranteed 95-110 wRC+ bat in Madrigal being replaced by the sky high ceiling of Vaughn? The defensive drop-off might be worth it at that point

It means absolutely nothing. Abreu has gotten reps at 3rd base every day for the last 6 years

FWIW I know people who claim to have had it twice

When this happens, it should be over. But I'm not convinced that it will actually outweigh the desire for revenue.

Another interesting thing to note is the balance of home/road games. Instead of playing 5 home games and 5 road games against divisional opponents, the Cubs play 3/7 3/7 and 7/3 7/3. With our luck, the Sox will have to play 7 times in Minnesota and Cleveland.

Also, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's possible that he's just showing symptoms and/or feeling under the weather and is thus understandably not practicing. This would be especially likely if it's true that today is the first day he was not with the team

I hope you’re right but Von Miller, Freddie Freeman, etc have been pretty open about how tough it has been for them despite their fitness and otherwise good health

hoping the emphasis on “today” means he’s just under the weather

Which part? The quote is from the Sox press release itself and the last part is what I believed was evident from media availability and his Instagram stories. I think it's far more likely that the players who have it are ones people wouldn't think of, like Andrew Romine, and that the immediate jumping to star players is just typical Sox fan pessimism. That said, even if "lesser" players have it, that's still a big deal and I truly hope they get through it quickly and without pain. I just think we should pump the brakes on assuming it's certain people

I don't have any evidence for this, but with each passing day I believe more and more that the virus barely spreads (if at all) outdoors, but is quite dangerous indoors. It would explain so much.

That's just the way Fegan writes. He is sidelined with a personal issue but nobody really knows what it is and whether he'll play this season

On the contrary, I think it's obvious that he doesn't have it. They said the 2 players who have it never entered the Sox facility, and Moncada was at the park multiple times over the past few days (but not during the morning sessions)

The tweets are from accounts with like 8 numbers in the handles. That should be red flag #1 that it's just people (probably Cubs fans or miserable Sox fans) trolling. I hope Kopech and his family are ok, but I doubt this personal issue has anything to do with retirement

I'm not sure how economic feasibility can be determined when the economic data is purposely veiled from one side of the negotiation. Between that and Manfred's slip, I think it should be obvious why the players fought so hard to keep their right to file a grievance.

I understand your concerns, but I would be shocked if it's not released by the end of 2021

It doesn't help that they replay the same ~30 or so episodes constantly! There are some old ones that are hilarious that rarely air. Regardless, I agree with you and Tony that Sox games will be a far better watch. Another thing I'm excited for that I don't think has been explicitly mentioned is walks. Grandal and EE walk a ton, and Mazara is roughly league average in that regard (which is a huge upgrade over basically everyone else in the lineup). I also think that their presence will have a positive effect on Eloy, Robert, etc.

Fair point, but I'm hoping that we're less affected by this both because of how low the payrolls have been for the past few years (might be wishful thinking) and because the proportion of our revenue from attendance/concessions and whatnot is probably lower than that of most other teams

Even buying out the last arb year and signing him for like 5/55 (i.e. not "a lot") would be a bad choice IMO. I know there's hope for Adolfo, Basabe, etc. but I still think the long-term RF is gonna come from FA/trade, and there are so many good options in the near future that would make settling even worse

Probably. I'm worried that Mazara puts up a 120 wRC+ in his 50something games and the Sox feel a need to lock him down long-term to be safe

Yeah, the common argument that keeping a player in the minors for 14/162 games might "cost you a win" usually doesn't work since the player in question is not worth an extra ~12 (162/14) wins over the vet starting at his position. However, in a 60 game season, regardless of how good or bad the rookie is compared to the vet, I don't see why you'd take the risk.

25/60 starts, or 42%, is a lot. That isn't a reduction of a backup catcher's impact, it's a giant increase.