Thusly Boned

it's not about "Torres", it's the perceived value of each piece. Chapman is only signed through the end of the year so the concern is that, while he is a tremendous value, we may be parting with more value than we should for the marginal short-term upgrade I understand the criticisms of the trade but i think there's a bit of hyperbole being used in this thread. I mean, Chapman is really [expletive] good. Yeah, the rumored price is tough to swallow, but this would be a massive upgrade to the weakest part of the team, if only for the rest of the season.

i am already prepared for the trade to not be a thing. Yeah, it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if this came to nothing.

Perhaps not, but there's something else going on beyond a swap of Torres/Chapman. It may be that the trade is being expanded, it may be an extension, but I really believe there's more to it.

well its definitely not going to be straight up. The Montgomery trade was exactly the type of transaction I've come to expect from this front office. Giving up Torres and more for the rest of the year of Chapman seems out of character and kind of surprising. If it was just the exchange of named players, I have to believe this would have been done hours ago. There has to be more to it.

I have to imagine that was one guy's delusion and a few other guys maybe entertained it. But I can't imagine a rational human being or beings thinking such a thing. This being said, The Rangers are reportedly very interested in Sale, and I could see them sending Profar, Gallo, and Brinson. If they want to make things interesting, they could expand it to include Robertson and/or Abreau. I don't know that a return based around Profar/Gallo would do it for me. There's a lot of bust potential with Gallo, and I don't think Profar is ever going to be the star he once projected to be. One more reasonable guy over at WSI suggested a deal with Boston for a deal headlined by Moncada. I have to think they'd have a shot at getting Moncada and two of Benintendi/Devers/Kopech, plus some filler. More if they packaged Sale and Robertson. Boston's rotation isn't going to cut it, and I they might be willing to give up a haul for a 27 year old ace. I guess it depends on how "long term" the White Sox are going to start looking, if you take Hahn at his word. Gallo and Profar would probably slide right on to the White Sox roster, but I like the Red Sox prospects more.

Counter offer: Pound Sand I wouldn't be able to counter offer as I would have laughed so hard that I hyperventilated and passed out.

FIP and xFIP are both up a full point over last year (and are career highs), k/9 down three (and a career low this far), his k/bb ratio is well down from the past couple years and and his contact rate is up. His ERA is down a tick, but his LOB% is up. His babip is down a fair bit, but his LD% is not. If that's not less effective, I'm not sure what is. Plus there's my strong but probably baseless feeling that his stick figure frame is going to fail hard under the stress of his delivery one of these days.

The luminaries over at WSI were discussing a potential trade of Sale to the Cubs, and some of them seem to think that Rizzo and Bryant plus a prospect would be a fair return. If Sale is actually dealt, there will be some very angry and flummoxed folks over there. I mean Sale would net a very nice prospect haul, but expecting multiple young superstars is lunacy.

After tomorrow, they have three against the Dodgers, three at the Mets and four at the Marlins. Meanwhile, we get the Brewers, White Sox and Mariners. I'd be somewhat surprised if 2-3 games aren't added to the lead over that time.

No one cares about humidity when it's between 40 and 80 degrees 360 days a year. Fat man says FALSE. Well, it's not like Chicago or Iowa are dry and cool (or especially Florida). I'll take Seattle weather over both for avoiding hot, swampy, summer doom.

That's an absolute gut punch of a game for the Sox. I was watching some of the middle innings and Sale was just dealing, so I was sure the game was all but over and I switched to another game. When I saw the final I was shocked. No idea how Ventura justifies not letting Sale at least start the ninth.

For a second he sounded like he was going to flip out, but retreated into his typical pouting silence.

I see the Bucs dealing for a SP, and McCutchen seems to be coming around. Of course I don't think either Pittsburgh or St. Louis have a real shot at the division, and it's not going to be easy for either of them to nab a WC spot. On the other hand, the Mets' rotation could continue to crumble, and that would make things a lot easier.

Odds are they're going to get hot again. Next bunch of games: 3 vs. Milwaukee 3 vs. Philly 2 vs. Seattle 3 @ Milwaukee 3 @ Atlanta 3 vs. Cincinnati 3 vs. San Diego I wouldn't be surprised if Pittsburgh is leading the WC race come the middle of August. I still think that they're the second place team in the Central at the end of the year.

We can be grateful for Mike Matheny and his intransigence in the face of logic.

I just wonder what the reason is. Is it an "I don't want to poison my body" type situation? Or maybe a history of alcoholism in his family that makes him overly cautious? I mean, I don't drink much...but it's mostly a taste aversion...and I certainly can't say I've never had a drink... I don't know how applicable it is to Bryant, but as someone who also has never drank, it's a combination of things. Upbringing(my parents didn't drink at all), picky tastes(I don't try a lot of new food/drink regardless), personal conservatism/willpower(I have a hard enough time not eating all the Oreos the same day I open the package, no need to risk that portion control with alcohol), and social circles(my friends either don't drink or do so rarely). Yeah, never drinking isn't as inconceivable as some make it it seem. My father never had a drop in his life, primarily because his father was a raging Irish Catholic drunk and that caused him to detest alcohol. And he ended up being as non-religious as one could possibly imagine. I drank pretty heavily when I was 18-21, but it's quite easy to imagine a scenario in which I never did, it I hadn't fallen in with a certain group of acquaintances. I've been pretty much sober since I was 21. Of course that's just never having a buzz or being drunk; never having a drop pass your lips would probably require a confluence of circumstances, as you say. But from what Kris said about his religiousness, I doubt it's the result of being a hardcore zealot.

Isn't 12.5 as big as it has been over the second place team? Regardless, that doesn't refute the notion that 6.5 is a big lead. I think the point to remember is that even with the last two to three weeks of hot garbage, the lead is still 6.5 games. Unless you expect this to continue unabated, I thin that's pretty comforting. Yeah. It was 12.5 at its most. So we've lost 6 games. So if everything that's just happened over the last three weeks happens exactly the same over the next three weeks, then we'd still be leading the division. That's not to suggest that 6.5 games is an insurmountable lead or anything. It's just that there is a lot of baseball to be played. And a lot has to happen to blow a 6.5 game lead. So having that cushion is nice. Baseball is a game of ebb and flow, and we're feeling some serious ebb right now. 6.5 isn't an insurmountable lead, but that 12.5 will probably prove to have been, when all is said and done.

They had a 15 game lead 3 weeks ago. Isn't 12.5 as big as it has been over the second place team? Regardless, that doesn't refute the notion that 6.5 is a big lead. I think the point to remember is that even with the last two to three weeks of hot garbage, the lead is still 6.5 games. Unless you expect this to continue unabated, I think that's pretty comforting.

It's semantics, but a lead of 5+ games constitutes big in my book. 10+ games is enormous.

I've long felt that when it comes time for the FO to address the rotation beyond 2016-17, they will do it it via trade.

I haven't consigned Soler to oblivion like many here have. That said, The offense isn't the problem, and the rotation will probably right itself. The bullpen is a different story.

Oh, absolutely. There's a reason I turned the game off tonight. But I still believe this is the best team in baseball by a decent margin. Oh my! This team as it is playing currently is probably closer to the bottom than the top. I can't see how anyone who has been watching this team the last 3 weeks can have an optimistic outlook on this season at this point. I mean they aren't just losing some series here. The complete collapse of the rotation combined with the nightmare of a bullpen doesn't seem to inspire a lot of hope. Well if you're mentally defective and can't see the forest for the trees, then sure, I could see how you would feel that way. This team may not be 24-6 great, but it sure as hell isn't 4-15 awful.

Oh, absolutely. There's a reason I turned the game off tonight. But I still believe this is the best team in baseball by a decent margin. lmfao no Once the starting pitching normalizes a bit we'll be fine, but the stretch has exposed some serious flaws (bullpen) that are going to need to be addressed. Will we be the best team in baseball at the end of the season? I feel pretty confident about that. But right now this team is in a serious ebb phase.

We're probably still going to win the division handily, but this is absolutely infuriating, vexing, and nearly vomit inducing.

This is not fun.