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Did you read Nick's post? "We talk constantly about 'emptying out the farm'. Who have we lost really? Can the traded players start for us? You don't think for Sale giving up Kopech and Moncada was a bad trade? Is it now a bad trade because of Sale's new contract? That's not the trade's fault. Have you looked at what our roster would look like with the players traded away?"

I will call it a lock that he is better than Brian Johnson or any other internal option the Sox have for 2020...

It's like people want to stop all the talk about emptying the farm. It really isa big deal. you can be happy about the results of 2018 and how those trades factored in, but that doesn't mean you have to rationalize that the Sox didn't give up anything. It's not even true none of those players would be starting for the Sox this year. In no version of reality is Brock Holt superior to Yoan Moncada or Brian Johnson better than Logan Allen. The real issue was the Sox traded away long term potential for short term success. It worked as well as it could in 2018, but the short term success also now appears to have been even shorter than originally hoped for, and one year later the Sox have reached a point where they could use some serious help from the farm...

Or Weber or Owings. Personally, I have no faith in Ockimey. He's hitting .213 in the International League. And while he does have 25 HRs, so does former MLB backup catcher Rene Rivera. It's just not the accomplishment it used to be. Chavis, Dalbec and Travis are all better options, and I'm not wild about a couple of them...

So are you saying that because we got Sale and Kimbrel, Dombrowski didn’t empty the farm? Things worked out for 2018. But are you saying the Sox couldn’t use: 1) Moncada over Brock Holt? 2) Logan Allen over Brian Johnson? 3) Manny Margot at minimum wage over Jackie Bradley at $10-12mill in 2020? 4) Michael Kopech to replace Rick Porcello? Or in the bullpen next season? It’s ok to be happy with how 2018 turned out, and it’s ok to say the trades were worth it. But why do people keep insisting the Sox didn’t give up anyone good? The only player included in the deal for Kimbrel or the one for Sale whose had his 25th birthday is Carlos Asuaje, who was a throw-in at best...

Why give up on Trevor Kelley already? Call up Kelley and leave Ockimey off the roster...

I would be extremely surprised if anyone gave JBJ a contract with an AAV of $10mill. AJ Pollock, who is a better all around player, only got a $12mill AAV one year ago...

Getting Johnson to the bullpen is a good start. Next we need to get him to another team's bullpen...

It might help if Jay Groome could brush his teeth without tearing a tendon...

Well, the empty farm is also his doing. Well spent, but certainly his doing...

Anyone insisting Pedroia is tarnishing his legacy by not retiring and walking away, for one...

My daughter's favorite song...

Frankly, if 10 or 15 other GMs can build a competitive team for well under $200mill, why is capping spending at $243mill supposed to be such a handicap to Dombrowski?

And yet teams are. That's why the Sox deadline and offseason were so boring...

You're probably right when it comes to Cain, Buxton, and Kiermeier. Thy're not going anywhere. Billy Hamilton? Uninspiring hitter, but easy to get. Currently he is on the Braves' bench awaiting pinch runner duty. As they are loaded in the OF, he is unlikely to play much defense, but he certainly is good out there. Pillar was acquired for peanuts by the Giants. He makes about $3mill less than Bradley and has one fianl arb year left. The contract-laden Giants might look for any chance to drop payroll, and their price for him was Derek Law and Alen Henson. That would be like to Sox giving up Hembree and Tzu-Wei Lin. Lagares and Maybin will be free agents. There will be options. Whether or not JBJ is anyone's favorite player, the bottom line is Mookie is irreplaceable. I can nominate CFs to replace JBJ, and at the very least, people will argue, with some agreeing and some disagreeing. I can't think of a RF where we can have that same type of argument with Betts. There just isn't anyone. So if the Sox need to keep either player, the choice at which one you try to keep is obvious to me. Bradley is probably th safer answr, as he should be much easier. Although it's not like he has been all over taking an extension, either. And his agent isn't known for hometown discounts. Yeah it feels like dealing Lynn to California in some ways. But even if the Sox tender Bradley, his agent is Scott Boras. So if you tender him and guarantee Betts leaves, all you're doing is increasing the odds that both leave after 2020 anyway. The biggest reason is the Luxury Tax. Say Bradley gets his $10-12mill. That doesn't mean he costs the Sox $10-12 mill. Depending on final payroll, that could be as high as $14.5mill to $16.8mill. My thoughts were that Bradley just isn't a $10-12mill player. Do you think he is a $15-17mill player? That's what Henry would be paying. If the Sox bring back Betts and Bradley, the amount the Sox pay Bradley plus his luxury tax hit could be nearly 70% of what Sox actually pay Betts. (Assuming $25mill for Betts here.) That's not insurance; that's a drastically disproportionate pricing scheme. Bradley does make baseball sense. He's a good player. But the financial impact does matter, too. A lot of these decisions have to transcend baseball quite often. It is a business after all...

I don't think the Sox can afford a prolonged rebuild. They have too many high-priced contracts as it is. And with Bogaerts, Devers, Benintendi and Vazquez all with the team for the next 3 years, they do have a solid foundation. All they need with Mookie is to decide to pay him. And despite his "off year," Betts is all but irreplaceable. If you think Bradley's Gold glove defense and .730 OPS is going to be tough to replace, what about Mookie's Gold Glove defense and .900 OPS? I also don't think the Sox need Bradley more than he needs them. Not sure where that is coming from. The only differences between Bradley and Kevin Pillar are 30 points in OPS and $3mill in salary. And Pillar was acquired for a failed former top prospect and a career borderline middle reliever. Replacing Bradley with a cheaper version is one of the few types of players they can afford. The Sox might keep Bradley, but it actually doesn't make much sense if they want to reset and try to sign Mookie. Betts is a generational talent and potential Hall of Famer. Bradley is a glove-first ninth spot hitter with the occasional hot streak. You don't build around the latter...

At least we didn't go down. Hopefully the Sox have some Jeff McNeil types who struggle in the PCL but somehow can excel at hitting Major League pitching...

Don't you typically site Vegas odds? Do you think those guys aren't math whizzes? Jeff Sagarin has Bachelor's in math from MIT. They don't get any nerdier than MIT...

Done that. Trips to Wrigley are a comparative nightmare. First of all, while it isn't cheap, at least Guaranteed Rate has parking lots. The train ride in can be fun, but getting back is a lot easier driving if my daughter is all worn out and can't stay awake. We'd all rather she not sleep on a train. And GRF is less crowded, and the concession and rest rooms are less packed (and the rest rooms have been updated since 1912). And Cubs fans have been crazy the last few years. A few years ago they put in the new scoreboard, which blocked some of the rooftop bleachers across the street. There was all kinds of lawsuits from the rooftop owners, apparently angry and complaining they could no longer steal gate money from the Cubs. One game I was in RF foul territory facing the scoreboard sitting next to my daughter, who was maybe 8 or 9 at the time. As she was reading the scoreboard for pitches and velocities, I could see on the rooftop across the street underneath it. In giant letters, someone had painted "BITE ME" so large it could be read by someone sitting in the RF foul seats several hundred yards away. I spent the whole game hoping my daughter wouldn't drop her eyes down just enough to notice it...

Obviously every win helps. But while the Sox shouldn't look ahead, it's ok for fans to do so. And the Sox have a 4 game series in Tampa that is ultimately the most important series left in the season. The best way to ensure gaining ground is winning head-to-head games...

What do any of us know about heart and confidence and momentum that doesn't apply to Tampa and Oakland?

But it happens every year. It's just more pronounced this year due to their being nothing else and the complete lack of activity of DD...

I am thinking of more of a Reload than a Rebuild. To me, "rebuilding" is a really nice way of telling your fans "we aren't spending any money, so keep those expectations low." The White Sox have been in a rebuild fo a while, and the expectations have been low, but the White Sox are actually a fairly smart organization. I go to their games plenty of times because, well, you should see how cheap the Sunday ticket prices are. An "expensive" ticket sometimes costs all of $7. That's like the price of a fast food value meal. And for the cheaper, "less interesting" games - $4 per ticket. These are not typos. This means on some Sundays, I can take my entire family to a White Sox game and spend less on tickets than I would if I were to go by myself to watch the Schaumburg Boomers or the Joliet Slammers. (These are baseball teams.) But if the Sox rebuild, will they be so generous to their fans? How do you get people to go?

While I do lack their optimism, it's good to encourage the True Believers...

Oooof! Thanks for reminding me..