Soul

You need more praise for this. This was excellent. Changing the letters is a great touch. Holy crap, just saw this. That's your best, OMC. =D>

I don't care about being right. I just know that if Theo would require giving up our best prospects, I have absolutely no problem with keeping our prospects and going for Rickett's 2nd choice. The choice isn't between Theo and anarchy. wait, what? i was not referring to anyone in particular, otherwise i would have quoted you. i am just as guilty in this thread (as well as everywhere else). and where did the epstein/anarchy bridge get created? there are no fewer than five GMs other than epstein (some moreso, even) that would do just as good of a job (and will not require compensation), something that i now trust the cubs owner to not only recognize, but have the determination for future successes to not compromise the ball club one way or the other. and while ricketts may seem schmuckish in going full fledge towards that red sox model he always has spoken of, i don't think of it as a homerish pursuit by any stretch, meaning that while boston fans may think they have all leverage of getting players awesome and sweet with cash money, they are only somewhat right. epstein is the guy ricketts wants. but he's not going to turn the gun on himself over it. wish red sox fans could imagine the actual amount of leverage they have in these negotiations as follows: ricketts allowed jim hendry and mike quade to run this organization while it was floundering and fans were not coming to the park nearly as much as had been the case, knowing that he didn't understand his new found ownership, and working with the wisdom to come to grips with growing pains with a certainty that it would lead to, ultimately, a relatively, vastly increased revenue streaming business. that ricketts has gone so far in his tenure without immediate reactionary responses to the heartstrings of not only fans, but himself as a fan and business owner (as he lost money and, at first, credit) should go to show that his plan is structured enough that ricketts does not merely have epstein as the only objective and that the fans reaction, in the short term at least, is of little concern, comparatively. all that said, boston is going to get something. probably something worth their while, in spite of the atrocious media bufferings. Yes, that seems reasonable to me. As for the board being "inane opinion fodder," well......that's just message boards being message boards.

If that's how people in Boston reason things through, then maybe we shouldn't have expected any different behavior from Luccino/Henry.

I can't accept losing to the Vikings at home tomorrow. They're the last place team, we are at home. I'm expecting to win. We need to win. Peppers or no Peppers.

OK. The card they hold is that we want Epstein, and they know it. But the reality is, we're in a position of being an unsuccesful baseball team. One more year of badness, in the face of a huge future boost, isn't out of the question for us. Remember, they don't control him forever, and we know it. Also, he clearly doesn't want to be there anymore, and the whole Boston organization knows it. Have you ever tried to work in a place where you didn't want to be, and everyone knew you didn't want to be there? Uncomfortable is an extreme understatement.

God. 1 hour and the whole thread goes into a convulsion of weirdness. This is still likely just posturing, and will be worked out. Let's not get all up in arms about ultimatums and speculation until we see how things actually work out. It's Friday night, obviously everyone has gone home to their families and not much is going to happen (in all likelihood) until next week. I think the Cubs have the bulk of the options here. I'm sure we don't want to just stick the Red Sox with nothing -- so it becomes a matter of negotiation. I'm willing to let it play out.

Yes I would. I'm tired of them losing their ace and winning the world series. They did it in 06 and they're possibly going to do it again this year. Why would it be better if they were better? Because it seems like everything has to go exactly perfect for the Cubs to win a World Series (or even be in the position the Cardinals are in now). However, once again, the Cardinals are in a season where they shouldn't be contending for a World Series and are knocking on the door of a pennant. Obviously they both would be frustrating, and it would suck for the Cardinals to be running away with the division during the regular season, but for me it's more annoying that they're in the position they're in because of the ineptitude of Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Brewers over the last few weeks. I don't even care anymore. I just want to live in a world where they aren't good. Any reality where they somehow win is painful to me. Especially when we aren't in the playoffs to have a say in the matter. Theo - please rescue us from this nightmare.

Wait, what? They need to hire a new manager and deal with coming off a disappointing season, potentially trying to deal away bad contracts and dealing with expiring ones and singing new FA. In short, they have a lot do do and leaving the FA in turmoil isn't going to help at all. The Red Sox very much have motivation to get this done quickly. Like I said, they can officially name Cherington the GM anytime. He's already acting in that role, and presumably he's working on all the things you mentioned. This Theo stuff isn't holding up any of that. Sure. Then Ricketts gets pissed off, pulls out until next year, and rapes them to holy heaven once they don't have him under contract anymore. Go for it Red Sox.

Not sure about the exact timing of the press conference, but I'm on board with your logic. This is pretty much what's going on, IMHO. Maybe Ricketts humors them with a throw in or two, I don't know. I like how he came in with a low bid, though. That was savvy -- at least compared with what I've seen from the Cubs in the past.

THIS. Exactly what i've been saying they have zero leverage. Take Cash and a box of baseballs and like it Sox! Olney's been spot on about this thing from the beginning. He's right about this too.

God the Cards are going to the world series without deserving it.....again.

That hurts.

We won. On to the next game. That is all. Typical Hawks' fashion-- we take it on a flurry of goal-scoring activity that the opponent can't recover from.

Alrighty. YES, the Cardinals can be beat. And YES, in their building. Because they aren't all that good. Now win the series, Crew.

Everything just seems like Sunshine now! Awesome!

Braun SO wants to put this thing away with the 2-R HR

This one has potential. Whether it reaches the Soriano thread remains to be seen, but it's got some oomph.

This is meaningless. So, he hasn't announced officially because there's nothing to announce offically? Wow, such a revelation. I'll guarantee everyone in that front office knows what's up.

I've got the volume down. Not sure what that weird footage of the Crew bullpen was...

Party time still in full effect in my general vicinity. Stop being so negative people. It's just negotiation. You stroke a little ass, everyone goes home thinking they're happy. In the end, Theo's our GM and 2 years down the line nobody even remembers what was "given up" in the negotiations.

I'll cut him the slack. I'm in a good mood over this whole thing.

Uhhh... I'm not sure he realizes that Earl Weaver was awesome. And our GMs were not. His point is pretty clear, and correct. If he thinks Lynch/Hendry/MacPhail were of like minds with Weaver, I'm not sure what he thinks the "Moneyball" (I hate misusing that term for this, but it is what it is) era is about. His point is that we're excited about Epstein because he brings a large change in philosophy, which is absolutely the case. He just used the wrong example to illustrate it.

Hah, chase that bad one upstairs, Ryan.

Uhhh... I'm not sure he realizes that Earl Weaver was awesome. And our GMs were not. His point is pretty clear, and correct.

4-2 Crew.