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Thusly Boned

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Everything posted by Thusly Boned

  1. Thusly Boned
    I fully expect any contract Ohtani signs to have opt outs. With the uncertainty around his pitching after a second elbow surgery, it'd be shocking if he didn't angle for at least one, honestly.
  2. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, if Hoskins is the biggest addition of the offseason, that's not gonna be good. But there are lots of potential trades out there, and outside of Ohtani/Yamamoto, there aren't a lot of other names out there substantially better than Hoskins. And I think some people are really sleeping on Hoskins; he's not Trey Mancini. If people have gotten themselves into a "if we don't get Ohtani or Yamamoto this offseason is a failure" mindset, that's a them problem. There is simply too much competition from the other major market teams to bank on those two. It'll be disappointing, but those were always gonna be fights the Cubs had no guarantee of winning even if they make the best offers (in terms of money). I'm also guessing we see one or two significant moves no one is even talking about right now. There are multiple avenues to substantially improving the team this offseason, and I'll wait until the shelves start looking bare before I start calling for people's jobs. Or if we find out that there wasn't really an effort made on some of these fronts.
  3. Thusly Boned
    A lot of less than thrilling conjecture out there, but I think I'm gonna wait until a few of our potential targets come off the board before I come down with a case of the vapors.
  4. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, I loved what Cody brought last year, but I'd have to see another season as good or better before I'd feel comfortable giving him a $200M+ contract, after a couple godawful seasons followed by one very good one. I've heard He/Boras are seeking $300M, which is just insanity. I don't think he'll get either of those numbers from anyone, though. We'll see.
  5. Thusly Boned
    I really wanted Turner, and was scared to death of Correa, and considered it a dodged bullet. Time has made the Swanson signing look pretty good. That said, I might still rather have Turner. Bellinger was a home run, but was an easy risk to take. Mancini was a bad move, Hosmer was a no risk flyer. Smyly was a mostly bad mixed bag. Barnhart was exactly what they expected, I think, and they did the right thing by cutting him loose when Amaya established himself (somewhat). Fulmer was okay, but the injury wasn't entirely unpredictable. It turned out bad, but it's hard to fault them for Boxberger. I think the jury is still very much out on Taillon. He could be bad, or he could be the pitcher he was in the second half and that contract will look pretty good. Or in between and it'd be a wash. I think one of the latter two is more likely than him being awful for the next few years. I don't have a ton of complaints, really. I'll be really disappointed, but even if the Cubs don't get Ohtani or Yamamoto, there are a few offseason paths to being the clear favorite in the NLC next year.
  6. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, the media is definitely not thrilled about this; they wanted a three ring circus, are getting essentially nothing, and are trying their best to manifest one.
  7. Thusly Boned
    One of the only things I'm reasonably confident about is that the near absolute dearth of anything of actual substance to report re: Ohtani is probably driving reporters/writers who make their living on being "in the know" crazy to the point where they're all throwing horsefeathers at the walls. It'd be more amusing to me if having nothing with any veracity to read weren't driving me crazy as well.
  8. Thusly Boned
    I'm almost certain it would be a one year deal with options. But like you, I think it would be a good fit, as I think he can still hit. His defense sucks out loud, though.
  9. Thusly Boned
    Well yeah, it's all speculation (some more substantiated than the rest), like I said. But he and his agent have to do their due diligence to the process, at the very least just to maximize the deal he gets. There's a game to be played. When looking at what is likely going to be the biggest contract in American sports history, you don't just take the quick out. Even if he had no intention whatsoever of leaving LA, he wasn't going to sign immediately.
  10. Thusly Boned
    No one knows for sure, but one thing that seems pretty clear is that he has an aversion to media scrutiny, and would likely prefer a "low key" home city. It's been speculated and rumored that he flat out would not play in NYC, and I have to imagine that's a big part of why. Chicago isn't NYC, but it's not LA or Toronto, either. Additionally, it's been said that Shohei is a creature of habit, and probably was never really looking to make any radical changes from the life he's led stateside since he first arrived. And then there's the weather, but who knows hoe much he cares about that. It's all speculative, but it seems a given pretty much all the major players here were prepared to give him $500-600M, and at that point, it really comes down to the other stuff, and I've felt the whole time like Jed & Co. were sailing into the wind here even if they were willing to pay. EDIT: All that said, I am still clinging to hope here, because I really feel like the pursuit has been sincere. I'll let it go when it is reported he's signed somewhere else.
  11. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, as the process has gone along, I've increasingly felt like the Cubs weren't really going to be outbid here, or "out-efforted", but that they are working against factors they can't control (geography, demographics, media intensity/scrutiny, etc.). I may be proven totally wrong, but I would not be the least bit surprised if the winner doesn't turn out to have offered the most.
  12. Thusly Boned
    I just want to know what a Yamatomato is, and if I can eat it But seriously, I think it was a given Yamamoto wasn't going to get done during the winter meetings, since he as only just posted and started meeting with teams. I'd guess we're a couple weeks off on that front. But the Ohtani thing is excruciating, especially since it is mucking up the whole market.
  13. Thusly Boned
    We don't know exactly what Shohei's sensibilities are, but Toronto is a great, cosmopolitan city, the media is likely to be a lot less intense/demanding. And the Jays are competitive. That said, if he really prioritizes winning, making it of that division is gonna be a taller task year in and year out than the NLC. But we don't really know just how much of a priority that is. If he wants a place where he can avoid being under constant media scrutiny, Toronto may have something over both LA and Chicago. All that said, I don't think anyone really knows what is going on here.
  14. Thusly Boned
    As if it isn't obvious to everyone, but the most hilarious aspect of this dumpster fire is that in a lost season, where the only thing of real value to accomplish is development/assessment, they simply refuse to do even that. Fields may not be the guy (probably isn't), but the staff seems hell bent on making that determination as murky as possible by confining him in a cage of inane offensive playcalling. If he is to fail, let him do it spectacularly. Or maybe he actually succeeds. But my guess is we won't be allowed to find out, and everyone will be left forever second guessing whatever decision is made after the season. The whole thing is just a master class in incompetence, and if I hadn't emotionally distanced myself from the Bears long ago, it'd probably be making me insane.
  15. Thusly Boned
    Well, there's enough time left for one final indignity, I suppose.
  16. Thusly Boned
    Well, there's no way you could have known what you were suggesting based on what we saw. You *were* just feeding your own narrative based on an assumption. I don't have a real horse in the race, I barely care either way, but as an observer of these threads it's pretty clear you have a strong bias, and your input is as predictable as anything. But hey, you do you, I guess.
  17. Thusly Boned
    Acting as if he knows things he doesn't (or otherwise feigning expertise) is Kyle's entire schtick. Or he's just trying to get people's goats, but it's pretty tedious either way. Not sure why you all even humor him.
  18. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, I really came of age as a Cubs fan during the Harry era, but tbh he was hard to listen to most days. By the time I was in my mid-late teens (not long before his passing), I was already pretty over him. He was kind of charming, but also a hot mess, and I think that in that way he mirrored the product on the field. And not in a good way. Recently I've started playing random old games on YouTube while I am working, and it's a mix of potent (almost breathtaking) nostalgia and being shocked at just how rough Harry was most of the time. It's kind of like trying garbage food you liked as a child: the first bite or two really takes you back, but you kinda want to toss the rest. Better in memory than experienced again. Len has been my favorite for sure, and that likely had almost as much to do with the fact that his tenure overlapped the Cubs becoming consistently good as it did with how he called the game and his banter. But he and J.D. were a top shelf duo, for certain. I think Boog is just fine, it'll take some time to really appreciate him. It did with Len as well.
  19. Thusly Boned
    No way he's going for anything less than $200MM plus the posting fee, and most teams aren't going there. In a vacuum, maybe, but you have many teams in dire need of starting pitching, including just about all the major market teams. Barring something truly unforeseen, there's going to be a full scale bidding war, and the Cards (and most mid-market teams) are getting priced out. Probably early. And if reports are to believed, the Cardinals never even intended to shop at the top of the market.
  20. Thusly Boned
    Unless Nootbaar has $100MM or so to kick in, I doubt it matters. I just don't see STL getting in the neighborhood of what it is gonna cost.
  21. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, I listened to the "highlights" of that presser and it only reinforced my thoughts. I know a lot of Cards fans were certainly not reassured.
  22. Thusly Boned
    From an outsider's perspective, it seems like STL was a victim of their own success in recent years. For so long, their way of doing things (spending prudently, trading from their mid-tier of prospects, developing their top prospects) just worked out, and in 2023 the juice ran out, and there were no continencies. It's been coming for a few years, and really manifested last year. Their system hasn't produced any really good SP, and they've been reticent to spend. If they don't suddenly discover the willingness to really spend or to deal from their pool of top prospects, they're looking at another 4th or 5th place finish next year. Mozeliak can't afford to be risk averse at this point, but it sure looks like he will.
  23. Thusly Boned
    The Price pursuit is definitely an outlier, and they still lost. It's not just the $200MM+ it's gonna take, but the posting fee. I just don't see it. Whatever STL offers, someone else will offer more. Not only that, but living in STL, as you say. If Yamamoto comes to the central, I think it's the Cubs, who would almost certainly outbid STL, on top of being a better city, on top of the Cubs having a prominent Japanese player on the roster (for what that's worth, if anything). All that said, I think it's fait accompli that Yamamoto ends up in NY or LA, and lazy and cliché as that prediction is.
  24. Thusly Boned
    I like to think it's not just my bias, but I have Yamamoto to the Cards at near zero chance. Like 0.0001% He's 1 or 1a on the list of available SP, the Cardinals don't give big money to SP (historically) and all of the big spenders are gonna be in. I just can't see it happening; I'd be gobsmacked.
  25. Thusly Boned
    Yeah, it's not looking good for them. I see a lot of their fans saying things like "this is fine if we get Yamamoto/Snell", but that's just pure copium; they're not getting either of those guys. I see Mozeliak going after Gray/Montgomery and calling it a rotation at that point. Snell would be a reach, Yamamoto I don't see as even being a remote possibility for them. Maybe they trade for Cease, but their realistic TOR options are few. They're not swimming in the deep end of the pool.
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