The Critic

I refuse to allow myself to think about surrender until it becomes clear that the Sox won't stay in the race. The Royals, Twins and Indians don't look CLEARLY superior enough to make me think that way yet.

Mixed feelings. If the Sox are dead-set on letting Magglio leave after this season, then I'd like to at least get some good prospects for him. I'd prefer a quality major-leaguer, but the only teams who will go after Maggs are teams in the divisional races, and they're not going to swap ML players, they'll be looking to add talent to get them over the top. The Sox need to recover some players like the ones they traded away for Alomar and Everett - guys who are fairly close to making contributions on the major-league level. On the other hand: If the Sox have any intention of re-signing Maggs, then PLEASE don't let him get away. He is a quality offensive player whose defense improved quite a bit last year, in my opinion. He's in the prime of his career and he is a given on a team with few "givens".

And a line of commentary implying crude sexual bribery towards RPS would somehow NOT be rude or impolite?

WOW, it's taking every ounce of self-restraint not to make RUDE and IMPOLITE responses to THAT line..... must...............resist............... fight...............back..................joke................

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Setting a fire if it's 60 degrees????? ....lightweight....

I'll be leading my normal life and checking SoxTalk to see if anyone posts anything interesting about the Fest. It is REALLY too bad that RPS doesn't plan on going this year - it would be a VERY interesting Q&A with KW if a drunken RPS ( like there's any other kind ) tried to rush the podium! And of course, I'm sure Maury would try to get Dorn's autograph!!

The point ( for me, anyway ) is not the source, or whether or not Frank will attend SoxFest. What bugs me is how easily I can believe any story about Frank and his hurt feelings. The Big Hurt Feelings! New Nickname!!! I'm just tired of hearing stories every off-season about him and his moods.

K-Mart....what an original nickname!

Oh wow, a pissy Frank Thomas....what were the odds of that???? Ugh. For such a huge man, he sure has thin skin.

Uhhhh....dog is kinda 1999, isn't it? Shouldn't it be "Who is this new pizzle they sizzled and is he off the hizzle?"

I have a feeling that they'll look through the dumpster and pick out some battle-weary, cheap, used-up veteran arm to compete for the #5 slot. Not sure who it might be, but there are a bunch of oldsters who fit that description out there. I'd rather they tried a couple of the young'uns such as Rauch, Cotts or whoever in that spot at first, to see if they have anything to offer. I don't really see Rauch dominating anyone, though - I'd be happy with "servicable" or "innings eater" out of him at this point. And I also believe that Dan Wright should work out of the pen.

Are you KIDDING ME???? LOOK what he did for Florida last year!! The Tigers are the team to beat now!!! All they need to do is get Sparky Anderson to manage them again and they're GOLDEN!!!! All this is for I-Pudge is a cash grab. One more year to get his bucks. Next year he'll be somewhere else - HEY, next year the Sox clear out a bunch of payroll, don't they??? He could probably fit into next year's 43 million dollar salary cap! Then the Sox could give I-Pudge number 72 and we could all watch cwsox snap!!! Just kidding, Vince!

Fisk was "Pudge" in Boston. Fisk was "Pudge" growing up. It's not a Chicago thing. and I don't want an 8-to-10 million dollar catcher. I think Olivo is going to do just fine. The Sox have bigger holes that Pudge money could fill.

I say they are DUE for A HUGE hot streak!!! Two, or dare I dream?.....THREE!!! wins in a row is NOT out of the question for the IndianHead Warriors!!!! They'll be ticklin' that MAGIC 20-win plateau in late February for SURE!!!! .....or not.....who knows....who cares....they're dead anyway..... Here Comes The Lock, the mighty LOCK-OUT!!!

YEAH!!!! ETIQUETTE IS FOR SUCKERS!!!!! FROM NOW ON, EVERYTHING IS CAP-LOCKED AND DOUBLE-SPACED!!!!!!!!!!!! SCREW YOU GUYS!!!!! AND IF YOU BAN ME, I WILL COME BACK AS MY OWN COUSIN AND YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT!!!!!! MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

See, THIS is just the kind of thing that makes P.Bateman go crazy! You ain't gonna catch ME vowing undying love to any of you psychos!!!

Actually, there's a lot of non-Sox MLB chatter on Pale Hose Talk, which I do NOT mind, to tell you the truth. I wouldn't even mind if the PHT board was renamed "Pale Hose and MLB Talk". It'd be easier to have all MLB related posts on one forum than flip-flopping back and forth from PHT to the Sports Bar and back all the time. I mostly come here to bash the SlackHawks - nice THREE-SHOT second period against the Winged Wheel, by the way....no fluke victory over Detroit last night! 2 wins, 4 losses vs. Detroit for the season series, just as it should be. Red Wings = great NHL franchise, great RECENT past successes, committed to winning Slack Hawks = great DISTANT past, let top players get away on a regular basis, committed to a lockout in September.

THANKS, JR8! Okay, here's my two cents: Why ANY self-proclaimed Sox fan would start a thread about Chicago being a "one-team town" is beyond me. If you feel that way, then go root for someone else. Free country and all that. But IF you are going to continue being a Sox fan, then even to YOURSELF it cannot be a "one-team town". Are the Sox frustrating us with the lack of movement, the self-imposed poverty cap, etc.? YES. Are the Cubs making some nice second-tier acquisitions to fill some holes on what looks to be a very good team? YES. Does this mean that our Cub fan friends ( if we allow ourselves to associate with such people ) are going to have some fun with us this year? Probably. But to contend that the Sox are irrelevant or non-existant just because a National League team has gotten better is knee-jerk panic. Avoid the knee-jerk reaction at all costs. By the way, as has been mentioned before, USCF is anything BUT a bad ballpark. It is a beautiful park that just keeps getting better with the USCellular money being pumped into renovations. As for the neighborhood, it has been GROSSLY overexaggerated by the Media Cabal. Is it the Gold Coast? No. But neither is the surrounding area beyond a few blocks' radius of Chewing Gum Park. That fact goes under-reported by the local media as well. If you're afraid of a few minorities, then yeah, I suppose Cellville is a PRETTY SCARY place. But since I grew up in a "changing" neighborhood, and have great friends of all races, I'm not too frightened by minorities. So RELAX, Sox fans. The White Sox DO exist, and they WILL participate in the 2004 American League season.

Actually 11 wins away. Hope Maddux goes to StL, but I think he'll end up in blue pinstripes.

Any guy named after Thurston Howell's wife had BETTER be tough. Does this hire excite anyone?

My question is, if he buys the White Sox ( SELL JERRY SELL ) would he tear down USCF and build Trump Stadium? If so, is it a dome so that ridiculous sweepover doesn't unravel?

I, for one, am NOT surprised. One look at McEnroe and you just HAVE to think, "That guy's on the juice". He's GIGANTIC! He's ENORMOUS! NO!!! HE'S.................GINORMOUS!!!!!!

I'm gonna go with 83-79 since that seems to be their average W-L record for the past decade. Hey, why mess with a sure thing???

No, we won't have the same complaints. No "Tub O' Goo" complaints. No "Jurassic Carl" complaints. No "Trash Garbage" complaints. No.................Robbie Alomar complaints. ( How could we let him get out of here without a catchy nickname??? ) And we're really not doing Heather any favors by dragging this thread back out of the grave - after all, her Dad lurks here and does NOT approve of such language!!!

I'd say none, if they grab Hidalgo. He's a good offensive player - I'm kind of surprised that Houston is that eager to get rid of him. Must be purely a money issue.