Bregman has signed with the Boston Red Sox

Thank you for the clarification. It brought a smile to my face because I love making Cubs fans and Yankee fans miserable.

 

Not to derail your post because it’s spot on in general with a lot of the local sports journalists that we have right now. IMO, they aren’t great at their job. The one guy I will give credit to for his efforts is Ari. I’ve had a chance to talk to him personally at the last two TRISTAR events. He is really trying to create/establish his own sources. I don’t put Brian McTaggart in this category because he reports what he is allowed to share unless he is on MLB radio or Network. He is a little more open, and it’s very obvious when he is doing it.

With all that said, I sure do miss Mark Berman. I’ve enjoyed his retirement tweets though.

 

Don’t you just love it?

 

Sort of. My best friend is a Rangers fan and he's always disliked Bregman. I'm like, dude, he learned Spanish so he could talk to his teammates. I get a grudging 'yeah' out of it.

Honestly, I get the hate from the cheating scandal. And I never go to the old 'everyone was cheating' excuse. I don't think that makes it any more acceptable, even though I know it was true. But I wish these other fans would acknowledge, without me saying anything (because I don't) that their teams, especially the Yankees, have done some shady ****, like the Goldilocks balls to Aaron Judge in 2022. Again, it doesn't make cheating ok or better, but the vitriol against the 'Stros is unwarranted to a degree, because everyone was doing it. Own your ****, people. I do.

 

There isn't really a line between gamesmanship and cheating other than whether you do it or your opponent.

 

Bregman does have a punchable face. It's his smirk. I love that punchable face, but is punchable.

 

The thing that gets me is that Bregman was 23 years old and in his first full season in MLB.

Was he supposed to stand up to Beltran and Cora and stop them?

Altuve didn't participate and I just laid out Alex's situation.

Who else is still around? McCullers? Did he participate?

I don't hear anyone talking about Correa or Springer anymore.

It's time for the media and fans to let it die.

 

Damned if you do (Fiers), Damned if you don't (everyone else)

 

I have this feeling that the Bregman situation will come to a close by next week. I also have a feeling that it'll be Detroit or us and that's it. Dana is pretty much ghosting Boras. Will that make Bregman speed up his decision and relent or stick to his ego and go with the Tigers? Tune in next week.

 

I still think that Alondo is the key.

If he goes back to the Mets, then Boras calls up Crane and says "OK, we will take 6/$168" and will end up with the Astros for somewhere between $156-162

If Alonso goes to a surprise team then Boras goes to the Mets and says, " Bregman is the piece you need to pair with Soto and compete with the Dodgers and you can have him for 7/$200M" and they negotiate and if he can get Cohen to go $170M or more then Alex is a Met.

 

No way Crane increases the offer. It is more likely he declares the Astros off season concluded tomorrow. Friday at noon at the latest.

 

From what I've read the Cubs offer is for 30 mil each yr with an opt out after yr one, two and three (4 yrs total). They may include a vesting clause that if he reaches certain milestones that an additional 5th yr could be tacked on.

 

That's not better than our offer, is it??

 

A long term contract scares me honestly. He's going to be 31 when the season starts, and declining is going to happen. It's inevitable. There's that clicking clock of decline with age as an athlete, and it won't stop, even if you want it to.

 

I’d sign him for 200mil / 6 from may-November. Including the month of April on any contact is a no go.

 

If he takes that deal, essentially banking on performing well in Wrigley (an awful home park for his skill set), in order to hit the market again after the 2025 season, thinking he will magically get the deal he's wanted all along... then he's dumber than any of us think.

Of course, all that depends on if the Astros offer is indeed still on the table for him.

 

Not even remotely close.

 

Tough choices for old Breggy:

$100M/4yrs with opt outs to play for the Cubs, who have almost no chance of winning a WS (or even making it deep in the playoffs) because of the Dodgers. Their home park won’t play well to his skills.

~$170M/6yrs from Toronto or Detroit, fringe contenders. Their home parks won’t play well to his skills.

$156M/6yrs from Houston, a real contending team. Daikin plays to his skills, although it wouldn’t matter since 6 years likely takes him to his retirement.

 

If this is what's in front of him then it's got to be Detroit right? Most money, most years, a team on the rise, and reunion with Hinch.