FT35

I mean yes...that's the "right" thing to say...but you know...I'm kind of ready for the wrong thing to be said if it's the RIGHT thing to say--it's RIGHT if it's true. Come out and fight for your job. The FIGHT is what we've been missing for a long time. Wet noodle blanket statements of "whatever I need to do to help the team" do nothing in building the right culture. Come in to camp, fight for your position with a World Class athlete and WIN it outright...THEN do whatever you can to help the team with your ACTIONS not words. I think this is what Tim is doing!

Call me crazy, but I think Tim Anderson has a shot at becoming a star. He's kind of become written off because he didn't light the world on fire his first year, but I'm telling you...kid's got talent, edge and the will to win. I actually love that he believes he's just as worthy at being the SS as Machado. It shows that he believes in himself and his abilities. My hope is that Tim Anderson is our "caged animal" and busts out soon!!!

I could get on board with this. The thought would be if they make a decent jump in 2019 through big FA adds and internal growth, that they will add more before 2020 crunch time--possibly giving them a push down the 2020 contending path. Like another stud SP, more bullpen specialists, another couple bat upgrades. I think if that all happens, you'll see the competitive team shell starting to form. One that might be clear enough that they can begin considering moving prospect assets to help the MLB cause.

HA! Well...it's my understanding that they would prefer to contend at some point in the near future--next couple of years for sure! Otherwise...I'm not sure they would be going after guys like Machado if it wasn't the goal to contend soon. Judging by the timeline of things--if I had to guess, the plan would be to play well this year, and contend next year? Just sayin, I don't think Engel will have a spot on those contending teams when they arrive. Do you?

This is all correct. I love great defense as much as anyone, and I love watching Engel go get em in the outfield. But when you are contending, you need players who are both. And if you have players who aren't both, then they have to be able to hit more than anything. I'm not sure Joc Pederson is the answer, but he's a massive improvement over Engel. Honestly, I will cherish my 2018 Topps Adam Engel baseball card of him going over the wall to snag a HR away, but he is no where near our roster when we start to compete. I doubt he would make many MLB rosters--the opportunity was with us during the rebuild and mostly because he got hot in the Arizona Fall League a couple years ago. I honestly think, if that doesn't happen, we don't give him the extended look in CF--even with the immense amount of skill he brings to that position defensively. The hope was that he would come around and show a little of that AFL spark at the plate, and it just hasn't panned out. Omar Vizquel changed everything for that type of player. NO ONE thought he would be able to hit at the MLB level but you had to give the guy a shot because of his glove. Then something clicked and he found an amazing niche offensively and boom...you have a tremendous asset. You have to give guys like Engel a look to see if that could happen--but unfortunately...it didn't. There aren't many Omar Vizquel's out there. True lightning in a bottle.

Anyone think our supposed offer would increase if we knew of an actual team who has outbid us? If true, think it's a perfectly priced offer that no one else seems to have beaten. I'm starting to think it's the current market value for Manny Machado (plus a little room to bump up if there's actually another team willing to beat it).

Unless they sign Machado. If that happens, they won't need a convention to get the reporters out. It will be a national news break and will call on the same local reporters who were at SoxFest to report the signing at that time. Manny signing with the White Sox is bigger (to more people) than SoxFest, so anyone (who matters) covering SoxFest will cover that story if/when it happens.

I agree. While it would be a nice publicity opportunity, I doubt a team is going to risk rushing the largest asset acquisition in team history so they can save face in a question/answer session at Sox Fest. If you think about it like this: what's it going to take to get Manny to sign now? Oh I don't know...reports of the offer are at least 75 million dollars lower than he's looking for. So...do the Sox press the panic button and shell out an additional 75 million dollars simply to "get it done before Sox Fest?!" Uhhhhh....no. I really don't think we would want our FO to do something like that just so WE could feel better about the whole thing as we browse through the new 2019 Sox gear selections...or stand in line for a Yolmer signature... If I'm Rick Hahn, I go ahead and field questions/frustrations from fans for an hour to keep from rushing that move!

I'd much rather have Marte. How about a 3-way where Sox get Marte, Pirates get Pederson and LA gets better in other areas? Plus...Marte WAS in one of those photos with Machado........

Ah! Love it! That makes total sense now!

Anyone know how Pederson is related to Machado? Blood or just friends from LA?

Which here's the other thing...72 hours? How long does it take to pull up the Word document from the first offer and change the 1 to a 2? I'm in the wrong business...

No no...it’s Machado’s dad in the video. Plain as day!

Absolutely. Always thought this was in play. People's interpretations of technicalities/terminologies. Sooner or later the need for a tweet became larger than a person's willingness to stick to their rule about only posting correctly termed details. It became mush quickly.

Forget the hat for a minute...the child...is he a relative? If so, he’s next to sign.

They’ll have to tell the everyone they got him for 8 years/$14 million at some point.

Shoot...I'd take AJ himself at this point...

Sounds like he was trying to steal a 20% cut off the million...

Exactly. I think the leak is from the Phillies to Boras/Harper camp--see how cheap the White Sox are? Stop holding out for Machado to sign with them and take our offer for Bryce now. Annnddd...don't even think about Harper to the Sox because it won't be that much more than the crap they are offering Manny. Save your time, have Harper sign with us now.

I'd absolutely give it to Dan Clark.

Honestly...in my humble opinion, I believe the biggest issue right now is the media and the lack of credible reports. It's tough to make a case for or against owners with no truths to base it on. Reports coming out are nearly 100 million dollars apart in reported value--depending on the "source." I'm sure the players union will have their seat at the table with some firepower when the 2 sides eventually meet for labor discussions, but most of what makes it to us fans is straight-up bad reporting. People having to "tweet" to stay relevant. Many of us bite and start attacking teams and blaming them of collusion--I don't think that's responsible either. Owners backing off on their offers is a natural response to an agent trying to create a bidding war. It's not collusion--it's simply not falling for the agent's tactics.

Nice try...you’re in till the end like the rest of us...

I think the only reason Machado's supposed $250 million offer looks "small" is because it's apparently for only 7-8 years. Add the 2-3 additional years in on that like Harper's 10-year and you're well over $300 million as well...and that's what boxes the other teams out--the average yearly cost to acquire him.

Weren’t there multiple FA signings that went into February last year? (JD Martizez et al?) Caused Boras to go on his rant about tanking teams being bad for baseball and the free agent market...he’s gonna play his games with these GMs and Harper is the perfect hand to play his cards with. Especially since the GMs in the running are coming off tanks/rebuilds.

I’m really sorry to hear this, man. Peace be with you. Praying for you.