FT35

Problem is—they have such a bad record of identifying talent that the pieces they get back for Robert would likely NOT get them back to the playoffs. Or they would mishandle them like all the other “can’t miss talent” we’ve assembled. Robert was a win for them—a guy who actually worked out. Those players should be especially valuable to our franchise since they don’t come around often—and the high-caliber players won’t sign with us as FAs. Yes—you’d get a haul but, it’s highly likely that “haul” will bust too, and we’ll just lose out on Robert in addition to that. He’s about the only thing this team has going for them. I just don’t like the idea of “at least you get SOMETHING for him” when we all know deep down that “something” is bound to fail.

It does for sure. But being rewarded for that strategy seems to have hurt our long-term operations. “Getting lucky” is the hope because that’s the way they tasted their only success.

What stings the most is the fact that the more inept the front office proves to be, it becomes more and more obvious that even our World Series title was more than likely of the “catching lightning in a bottle variety” rather than the result of any sort of lasting baseball intelligence.

Exactly. This trend will only increase the number of good players who decline to sign with us. It’s not worth the risk.

Don’t forget 1998 Albert Belle…

11 moves. Very revealing just how much of our active roster is interchangeable with AAA-level players at any given time.

It really shouldn’t come down to 1 day or 1 game. His entire career of delivering disappointing results should be the determining factor.

Rick Hahn will stay. Every other GM option would quickly see and out Jerry as a reason for the tradition of failure. Rick is the best of the yes men.

Looks like the Royals are missing Pedro and their coaching staff bad! ?

I wish Piscotty nothing but the best. If you fail at bringing in top talent—this is the consequence. This is what happens when top talent doesn’t want to play for you. Agree—Jerry isn’t willing to offer enough money for the premier talent—but it’s the other way too—money is not enough for the great players to sign and play here. They will have to way over spend AND convince premier talent to punt on their careers amounting to much. At least for the first several big name contracts until they find a winning formula and it gets easier to sign guys. We all know that’s a ship that will never set sail with this owner/front office.

I think mine was the Ronald Belasario experiment. The Robin Ventura bullpens defied reason.

This might be why the front office focused more on coaching than anything else this off-season.

It’s coming. Hendricks to Houston for Abreu.

I like the first part, but to hang the credit for a WS title on a single player doesn’t bode well. To win a WS, you need all active members of the team pulling just as hard. Maybe a bonus for MVP, or WS MVP, but the title is the team’s accomplishment.

Exactly!! It’s hard not to cling to any hope you have when you have little actual hope!

True...but how often do you see a superstar make or break a team in the first year he's on that team? It usually takes a couple of years for everything to click...the new face of the franchise to click. Signing him now burns that "wind-up" year before the official window hits. You make that happen in the year Eloy comes up and hopefully rakes, then maybe you have an outside shot at stealing a post-season birth from someone and REALLY jump starting things. That's why it wasn't the who as much as the now in this particular situation for us. Also...no offense to any other top FA that is actually obtainable, but there aren't many faces like Harper's. There will be other studs available, but Arenado seems likely to re-sign, Trout will cost a billion dollars, there's pitchers but those usually settle with top contending teams, and by the time the future rolls around, all the big money teams will be in the mix for the top available FAs and that's when it will be make or break time for us. It's the NOW factor that ruled the moment for the White Sox this off season--they controlled their own fate. If they fail on Harper, they will have to get very lucky somehow to have all the elements align like they are now.

It's not. However it was a great way to jump start that process and add several "WAR" at one time, without it costing prospects. So you keep your depth and you keep your prospects and only pay from what the surplus is...cash. Since we are so low, it would provide us with a nice safety net should 1 or more of out big prospects fall off (likely). Obviously it would be great if all the prospects take off and perform as we believe they can, but you grab a superstar to give you some insurance, and to put a face to the process--give the fans something they can get behind and stay interested in until the winning comes along. It also gives the young players some reason to believe...wow that's Bryce Harper in the locker next to me. This is for real--this is going to happen--people in the organization believe in this process enough to go sign a monster contract.

This is some great original dumpster content here!! Who here didn't immediately picture the difference!?

In my opinion, the Santana signing is a good one. 4.6 WAR in 2017, 3.9 the year before that. He's had several years where he's hovered around the 3 mark. Using the $9M/1WAR equation that everyone has been using for Harper and Machado estimates, that should put him in line for a 27-41M/year salary. We got him for $4M--IF he makes the team.

Totally understand from a baseball perspective! But now...let's say it's a business first game 2nd. Would you pay an "employee" to provide say a more reasonable $175M worth of value over 10 years for his baseball contributions, then give him an additional $150M over the next 10 years to generate a half a billion dollars for you over the next 10-years through other non-baseball related "sales" activity?

Yeah I mean, we're still fielding a team with the likes of Adam Engel, Daniel Palka, Yolmer Sanchez, Yonder Alonso, Nicky Delmonico, James McCann, Leury Garcia, Jose Rondon...the small uptick in Machado's baseball numbers over Harper's might not really translate to more wins... BUT a Bryce Harper signing would possibly convince more people to actually come watch a team who fields players like Adam Engel, Daniel Palka, Yolmer Sanchez, Yonder Alonso, Nicky Delmonico, James McCann, Leury Garcia, Jose Rondon... Maybe with that money we could go out and buy A pitcher.

Honestly, at this current moment in time, the argument of who's better is irrelevant because Manny is no longer available. Since we missed on Manny, we're in a much different position as a franchise--a position that NEEDS Harper more than ever. We're now in a position of missing out on a star in a once in a lifetime market sans all the powerhouse teams. If we DON'T get Harper, we could be facing a situation where the only shot we have at a superstar is developing one. I don't like our chances...our player development is low and we won't have any fans coming to games to generate revenue.

While signing a top free agent can put a team over the top, literally signing your team's core through free agency historically fails more times than not. Remember the Marlins' Reyes, Buehrle, Heath Bell signings? Lost 93 games that year. How about the Angels spending over $310M on Pujols and CJ Wilson (The top SP on the market that off-season)? One post-season appearance since. We all thought the Yankees were dynasty contenders after they spent nearly $400M on Tanaka, Ellsbury and McCann in 2013. Still hasn't led them to the promise land. OH...and Melky, Robertson, Samardzija (trade) kinda goes without saying around these parts.....

As evident by their astounding record of success over the years..........I think only the Marlins have spent more and won less.

2 things...an observation and a question. Observation: Again...I believe this is 99% moot, but I think right now we have a rare situation with Bryce Harper. This might be a case where you ask yourself...Bryce Harper isn't a $350M baseball player, but how much is he worth to THIS franchise right now given the events of the last week? Bid accordingly. Question: Hearing a lot about the "seat at the table" jargon. I guess I was unaware that it was an accomplishment to have a seat at the table. Is it a common thing for free agents to deny meeting with teams who declare their interest in paying them millions and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars? Is there ANY sort of element of accomplishment that one has by securing a "seat at the table?" I would think there aren't many MLB teams right now that are in a more lowly state as we are, but we had a "seat at the table" with these guys. Would think that would come down to a simple phone call and a Outlook calendar appointment setup, but maybe I'm wrong.