JoeBrady

I'm glad we agree. As far as I am concerned, it's still impossible to know what caused the split. Not trying to prolong the debate, but it could be: Bregman was insulted, or at least annoyed, by the no-trade issue. I don't blame him. We have no other IF prospects other than Arias, and he set to replace Story. Most of Bregman's value will be used by the end of year 3, so why sweat years 4&5?. Bregman could've been upset by the lack of a back-and-forth negotiation. To me, it's a game of numbers, but I've seen a lot of people get upset when you don't meet in the middle. And finally, the RS numbers might not have been competitive. That happens. But I cannot comment on that without knowing what the numbers were. If my not-to-exceed umber was $150M, and Boras tells me he'll sign today for $155M, I'd roll my eyes and sign him. But if we had $140M, and he had $160M, then it is a bridge too far.

You said we wouldn't acquire a 2B/3B. When challenged, you said we wouldn't acquire a 2B/3B with an .820 OPS. When challenged, you changed that to a .780. I was saving this to the end, but you're wrong on all three accounts. What we really need is the best all-around 2B/3B. Would you be happy with a guy like Suarez, with no glove, or a guy like Paredes, who is okay with the glove?

Jimi & Eric, certainly. But my musical tastes run more to towards Sly Stone and Santana rather than Jeff.. They exceled in everything, so they didn't get as much credit with the guitar. And I'm not too much into VH, but Eddie could pluck pretty well.

I'm guessing the majority here likely agree. I'm still trying to talk myself into Baty, despite being a lefty.

And five minutes later, complaining about JH being cheap. And when we acquire another big bat, he will say the same thing. He's a one-string banjo.

When you wake up, you'll need to translate that to English.

Glad to be of assistance. The research is easy. Trying to model what will win is key.

He never tried to think it out. He said we would add no one. I challenged him and he folded. Then he changed the goalposts to an almost unattainable .820. I'm happy that he admits he was wrong.

but without knowing how much, it is difficult to compare the two deals. So is the 'monstrously deferred' an exact amount, or an estimate, or a concept you pulled out of your butt? I said that, without knowing the number, it is difficult to compare. So I am 100% right, unless of course, you have a better estimate of 'monstrously deferred'. It's okay for you to admit that you have no idea what the RS number was. Seriously, if you don't have a number, then you don't know. It's okay to admit it.

I agree and I agree. I don't they'd have beaten the O's offer at that price regardless of Bregman. And I think you have to have a number not to exceed. If you think a player is not worth one penny more than $165M/5, you can't go to $175M/5. If that's your thought process, then your not-to-exceed price should be $175M. When you buy a house, it is the same deal. You're going to miss out on some properties. But other opportunities will present themselves. Or maybe you'll call their bluff and you'll be right.

I'd add that Muncy projects to .784, Machado to .773, Riley to .794, Bregman to .761, Suarez to .737. Even HOF Ramirez only projects to .830. Acquiring a 3B with a .820 is just one more fantasy.

The PV of the Cubs deal is only $154M per Cots. I assume the $165M includes deferrals, but without knowing how much, it is difficult to compare the two deals.

IMO, $165M/5 was too high. But otherwise, I'm fine with that process. Confident in their offer Wanted to avoid bidding against themselves

I think almost everyone is on the that same page. More of the disagreement comes from whom we should trade, and whether we should focus on OPS, fielding, or both.

But is the prettiest girl at the dance the same one you want to marry (as long as we're going down the analogy hole)? In a RW example, almost everyone will say that Alonso will out-perform Contreras over the next two years. But a fair amount of people would expect Contreras to have a similar WAR/$$$ value, and most people won't like the final three years of Alonso's deal.

I'm never serious about anything. It just reminded me of the Married with Children when they go to their HS reunion and Al is making fun of the math geeks, and the math geeks are sitting with the hottest girls in the room.

Another wager I'd glad make-that we get a 2B or 3B with an OPS higher than league average.

The only current 3B with an .820 over the past three years (min 1000 PAs) is Jose Ramirez and Max Muncy. There are some excellent 3Bs out there (Bregman, Machado, Riley, Chapman) that aren't all that close to .820. My assertion is that we will acquire a quality 2B/3B and I am willing to wager on it.

Why would they do that? Do you really think they are going to trade assets for a mediocre replacement when we already have a mediocre replacement?

I couldn't care less. When I hear from Bregman, then I might care more. Just a couple of quotes: "(The Cubs) offered more money," Heyman continued when asked what the biggest difference this offseason was. “They made an offer to Alex Bregman early in the offseason and said, ‘Here it is,’ and (Bregman’s) camp kept going back, saying, ‘That’s not our market, our market’s higher than that,’ and it made Alex a little bit mad and they would not move,” Pierzynski said during a recent episode of “Foul Territory.” “The Red Sox, literally, would not move and would not budge and really wouldn’t negotiate until it was too late.”

AJ got his info from his network inside the MLB industry. Only one of these two versions can be right. Either AJP heard it from a first-hand, unbiased source, or he's just passing along a rumor. Who is the 'network insider'?

If that's your acknowledgement that I am right, thank you.

link? 1=winning team had both more HRs and higher OBP. 2-winning team had more HRs 3-winning team had higher OBP World Series 2 ALCS 3 NLCS 1 AL Division Series 1 AL Division Series 1 NL Division Series 3 NL Division Series Wild Card Series 3 Wild Card Series 1 Wild Card Series 1 Wild Card Series 1

Not me. Nothing is better for mental clarity and acuity than than having a stake in the game. If anyone thought we were sticking with the current roster, they would take me up on my offer (assuming they no philosophical objection to wagering).

You lost: you can stop dancing now. They aren't trading for a dumpster product and starting him at 2nd or 3rd. You know that. But the fun part is, I know you know that.