Pancake Bear

It is retarded.  From what I gather I guess he’s saying it’s impossible that Arte will work with Boras ever again on account of the Texiera thing.  That even tho literally 30 seconds earlier he talks about a similar situation with Angelos and now they’ve done business AND they talk about how a deal with Harvey just got done.  
 
i mean he thinks he won’t sign here, that’s fine but these reasons are nonsense. 

Not only inaccurate, but I think not so smart. As the premier free agent (along with Rendon) in a rather tenuous market, there is always the possibility that the longer a free agent waits to sign, the more uncertain their contract will be - especially if he waits until all the other good pitchers sign. 
Right now Cole sets his own market. He will easily get the largest contract for a free agent pitcher in baseball history, quite possibly $20-30+ million more. But that could  change, depending upon how the other contracts unfold.
In other words, right now Cole is virtually guaranteed a 7/$220-250M contract. If he holds out into January or February to get $260-280M, he might, but he also has a chance of slipping a bit, if teams fill their needs.

almost any team can decide that and outbid anyone yet no team has been willing to do so for a long time.  If the yankees or dogs want to do that, then so be it.  And it takes two to tango.  The player has to agree regardless of the amount offered.  I'd be more worried about a team like the white sox making some sort of crazy offer than teams whose payroll is already over 200m.  

Man watching all the videos being posted where there are audible bangs and clanks....   They are so done...

i welcome that.

Lol, no it's not... He actually doesn't do that, it's what I've always liked about him.  If anything he tends to bring expectations back after the NY media machine starts the hype.   He's more Eppler than Dipoto when it comes to sharing his thoughts, he will engage and reveal nothing... It's actually a point of criticism leveled at him by some of the NYC press.
I don't know if you remember but the entire "Corbin will be a Yankee" thing started because he mistakenly mentioned having spoken to Corbin's agent when he was asked about whether they were going to bring AJ Happ or reached out to him.

I sincerely doubt he’d be willing to spend much if anything over 200m. I also don’t think Cole will take less out of some childhood desire to be a Yankee, certainly not 25-60 less.

If they were, it would be leaking. Why do you think the only team to come up publicly on this in recent years is the Astros? Either they’re way better at it than everyone else (which gets them noticed), or way more careless about it. 
Either way, I hope MLB drops the hammer on them. 

I sincerely doubt he’d be willing to spend much if anything over 200m. I also don’t think Cole will take less out of some childhood desire to be a Yankee, certainly not 25-60 less.

That’s correct. It also ups to 5m per if they win the WS, I believe. 

Both Canning and Sandoval are better than what we saw a last year too. With Canning, he lost his mentor in Skaggs and that hit him harder than most, and once things started going downhill, he started incorporating more of what Doug White was pushing and that guy wasn't qualified to coach anything.
And with Sandoval, he came in amped and was one of the few guys that White actually helped unlock some velocity, though I openly wonder if it was White or three actual introduction to assistive technology. At any rate, now all Sandoval needs is some actual coaching in how to pitch and more reps and he will be good to go.
Mickey Calloway will be able to help them both keep their emotions and mechanics in check throughout the game. Specifically with Canning, I think he'll benefit been time from Joe Maddon, remembering how much fun this game is.

I think LaRussa was the worst GM in my lifetime. And I lived through the Reagins era! If LaRussa is the next GM I think I'm done with baseball for awhile. 

I feel like even if the Yanks and Dogs are in on big name guys, they won't be the teams with the highest offers.  They'll be more measured in their approach as opposed to going all out for that big fish.  

I think they're planning on Ohtani, Heaney, and Canning as being locks for the rotation. Unless they go with 6, they don't have room for anyone else, or you're leaving no room for Canning. If you do go with 6, the last guy will be on and off the rotation. That's probably a role better suited for the rest of the minor league options (Barria, Sandoval, etc.) than Canning, I would think.
As far as Grandal, I doubt he would say, "Yeah, we want to make a big upgrade at catcher." Why advertise it? They went after him last offseason. I doubt the interest has disappeared, but I don't think Eppler is all-in on Grandal. I'd see it as a, "Let's monitor it, and if we can make it work, we'll take a shot at it" situation. Everyone thinks Stassi should be gone, but I don't see Eppler dumping him that quick. So if they replace anyone, it'll be Smith. 
If they see Bumgarner as anything close to Cole, Strasburg, and Wheeler, they're crazy. He's a clear tier below Cole and Strasburg, and there are legitimate reasons to see him below Wheeler also. Bumgarner has this reputation because of his WS history. It's the name. That shouldn't automatically put him in the top tier.

I don't get it...
We are going to see posts started in "outrage" over what Billy "should" say but 1) he's getting asked questions by reporters so it's not like these are press releases or something and 2)  he's going to give very generic answers that "may" leave some opportunity to read between the lines a bit but that's it.
If you are getting upset by what Billy is saying then I'd suggest not reading his comments anymore because you're getting upset over nothing.
It's all about his actions, what he ultimately ends up doing, and who is on the field come opening day.  Otherwise you are basically dogs barking at passing cars...

I do like that there's no specific commitment to a 6 man rotation. Given that the 6th starter is needed twice a month, that sounds like a perfect spot to start inserting Sandoval, Barria and Suarez into the rotation. Felix Pena is moving to the bullpen, they could even have him start those days.
There's no reason to diminish the workload of Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler with a 6th starter. Keep them on the normal routine, and just have Ohtani go on Sundays. That way he can DH Tuesday through Friday and we can keep his bat in the lineup 2/3 of the time.

I'll say this now... as much as I want two legit arms and a bat, if we signed Cole and Wheeler and Arte/Eppler said they were out of money and didn't make another big signing or major trade I would feel pretty good about rolling into 2020 with Cole, Ohtani and Wheeler as the top three, with Canning, Heaney and Sandoval to claim two of the remaining spots. 
The team could still make some good low cost moves like Martin Maldonado or Jason Castro at C, a right handed OF bat to platoon with Goodwin in (Adam Jones, Cameron Maybin, both of whom can play CF if needed in a pinch) and possibly a utility bat first guy who can DH, play 1B, 3B in Howie Kendrick or Todd Frazier. Maybe even an Eric Thames who can play 1B/DH and play some OF if needed. 

You can’t really expect a major league GM to come out and say publicly “yeah, our catching sucks so we’re looking everywhere for a better guy.” It’s going to severely weaken his ability to deal with other teams or free agents. It also is going to create problems in the clubhouse between him and the guys on his roster.

I think they're planning on Ohtani, Heaney, and Canning as being locks for the rotation. Unless they go with 6, they don't have room for anyone else, or you're leaving no room for Canning. If you do go with 6, the last guy will be on and off the rotation. That's probably a role better suited for the rest of the minor league options (Barria, Sandoval, etc.) than Canning, I would think.
As far as Grandal, I doubt he would say, "Yeah, we want to make a big upgrade at catcher." Why advertise it? They went after him last offseason. I doubt the interest has disappeared, but I don't think Eppler is all-in on Grandal. I'd see it as a, "Let's monitor it, and if we can make it work, we'll take a shot at it" situation. Everyone thinks Stassi should be gone, but I don't see Eppler dumping him that quick. So if they replace anyone, it'll be Smith. 
If they see Bumgarner as anything close to Cole, Strasburg, and Wheeler, they're crazy. He's a clear tier below Cole and Strasburg, and there are legitimate reasons to see him below Wheeler also. Bumgarner has this reputation because of his WS history. It's the name. That shouldn't automatically put him in the top tier.

That sounds like the same logic that let Nolan Ryan walk. I’d rather have Cole and Wheeler than Wheeler, Odorizzi, and Teheran. Easily. 

That sounds like the same logic that let Nolan Ryan walk. I’d rather have Cole and Wheeler than Wheeler, Odorizzi, and Teheran. Easily. 

I think they're planning on Ohtani, Heaney, and Canning as being locks for the rotation. Unless they go with 6, they don't have room for anyone else, or you're leaving no room for Canning. If you do go with 6, the last guy will be on and off the rotation. That's probably a role better suited for the rest of the minor league options (Barria, Sandoval, etc.) than Canning, I would think.
As far as Grandal, I doubt he would say, "Yeah, we want to make a big upgrade at catcher." Why advertise it? They went after him last offseason. I doubt the interest has disappeared, but I don't think Eppler is all-in on Grandal. I'd see it as a, "Let's monitor it, and if we can make it work, we'll take a shot at it" situation. Everyone thinks Stassi should be gone, but I don't see Eppler dumping him that quick. So if they replace anyone, it'll be Smith. 
If they see Bumgarner as anything close to Cole, Strasburg, and Wheeler, they're crazy. He's a clear tier below Cole and Strasburg, and there are legitimate reasons to see him below Wheeler also. Bumgarner has this reputation because of his WS history. It's the name. That shouldn't automatically put him in the top tier.

1B: Mo Vaughn
2B: Rob Wilfong
SS: Tim Foli
3B: Shea Hillenbrand
'C: Josh Paul
LF: Hambone
CF: GMJ
RF: Raul Mondesi
P: Tim Lincecum

Dude.

That sounds like the same logic that let Nolan Ryan walk. I’d rather have Cole and Wheeler than Wheeler, Odorizzi, and Teheran. Easily.