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I say start him. We need a power lefty in the rotation.Everybody but us in the AL seems to trot lefties out there every other night.

It does suck the games when the foes trot out lefty starters and it nullifies Thomes's greatness. We do need to do better versus lefties. Can we is the question? Pods can't hit a lefty and neither can Jimmy T. Nor can AJ.

I didn't mean to imply he's been cheap of late. He was willing to up our payroll and it paid off in a World Series. I'm saying it appears the owners are taking it to the next level again and from what I've read in the Trib our management is appalled and going to let all the cogs from our Series team walk. Our pitching cogs. So I'm saying in the future ... if Jerry doesn't want to keep spending and have us in the top echelon of payroll, sell the team. But as of now ... I give Jerry credit for having a big enough payroll. That's why I won't ever refer to him as Reinsdor(xxx) again. I will always be grateful for he, KW and Oz giving us a title.

Not to be a doomsayer either, but our bullpen remains a question mark. The former Royals MacD and Sisco are not necessarily studs. They could be ... but they remain question marks. Same with Thornton. Our team is one big question mark like most teams. The only thing that appears certain is we will again score runs in the same vicinity of last year. We won't score more, but we should have the same offensive ability. Starting pitching, bullpen, defense all could go either way. Speed ... we seem slow.

Baseball is back on the big big salary kick. Amazing how the owners can't control themselves. Amazing. Look for ticket prices to continue to skyrocket. Jerry needs to be willing to keep up or see us fall in the standings. Gotta spend some money. If the Giants can pay Zito that kind of money ... wow. You can't win pennants with pitchers who are prospects. Gotta have some Buehrles, Jose's, Freddies to go with the Charlies. Pay up, Jerry, or sell the team.

The Trib columnist was saying BMac was a good quote and had a head on his shoulders and wasn't afraid to speak his mind. Probably pissed off KW. I was not a big BMac fan but resigned myself to the fact he was gonna get his shot next year after the trade of Freddie. Once we dealt Freddie, BMac should have been given his shot.

I just wish Juan would get a clue at the plate. He seems to have incredible natural talent.

I wonder if a team will let Clemens skip spring training and come pitch in late May or June. What a primma donna. No team should be desperate enough to take this ego maniac on his terms.

If Cintron had 10 stolen bases in limited duty, couldn't he add some speed to the lineup if our regular ss? Dump Juan.

I know. This year is one big question mark. Maybe all years are, but this one seems more than most.

--I expect Thome's numbers to decline only cause he had an incredible season. --Pods I fear is finished. -- BA can't hit, folks, but he CAN field. --Uribe has talent, but must be a headcase, cause he hasn't improved. When he gets hot, he's hot. But he's a bad undisciplined hitter. I see Crede, Iguchi, Konerko, Thome, Dye, AJ being great as usual. I wish we'd play Cintron every day. Screw Uribe.

Random thoughts on the Sox outlook ... I say it's Cintron time. Dump Uribe. We need another outfielder. Could he be one of our minor leaguers Oz likes so much? The bottom line is nobody knows if we are going to continue the mediocre to lousy play of the second half or get some good starting pitching, great defense and clutch hitting like we did the year before. I think it's a stretch to say our starters are 1-4 some of the best in baseball. Not after last year. Vazzy was not great. Mark was horrible the second half except for some gutty outings late in which he was hit hard but still managed to keep us in the games. Jose is now a question mark because of health. Jon is pretty much a stud. We still could use another lefthanded starter and have two of our five be lefties. If Mark B pitches as he did the second half of the season, we're cooked. We can't overcome that.

It's gonna be Charlie. I hope he's ready.

I don't think anybody would have wanted Kenny fired for that, especially if it brought us another playoff/Series. He gambled in standing pat during the second half and that didn't work. Now like Arvia wrote, we appear to have a lot of holes for the coming season. I don't think anybody calls for KW's head anymore, not after he brought us a World Series title. I think he and Oz deserve lifetime contracts for that. But it's puzzling what he's doing for the coming season. If Pods is finished as a productive leadoff hitter and Anderson continues to struggle, and our starters pitch as they did much of last year, we are screwed. I think everybody was hopeful BMac would be the stud pitcher we need next year. Now we've cut two proven starters from the mix. Is the knuckleballer destined to start for us this season??

The bottom line is like Rogers wrote, the Sox could have addressed some needs with a trade of BMac instead of stockpiling prospects. I thought KW was all about winning titles NOW and he didn't trade BMac for Soriano last year when Soriano could have helped us get our head out of our ass the second half and maybe win a repeat title. We should have gotten Young in the trade for BMac.

Forget Mariotti though. Rogers is more rational and he is also questioning this trade big time and the direction the team has headed, calling it unwise and "arrogant."

I know NOTHING about this case. But if Uribe is involved in a murder, uh I don't want him on the team. Get rid of the bum if that is the case. That said ... I have no idea of the facts of the case. But involved in a murder?? If true, Cmon. Get rid of him.

And how in the world do you deduce that? Here's Rogers' take. Good stuff. By Phil Rogers Chicago Tribune chicagosports.com CHICAGO — Hey, Brandon McCarthy. Danks for the memories. Sorry. That’s the office-party eggnog talking. Or maybe it’s just a case of being punch-drunk from White Sox general manager Ken Williams’ ultra-aggressive, shop-till-you-drop (even if you don’t need anything) trades. Say this for the man: He’s certainly swinging for the fences this winter, trading known quantities for pitchers with big upsides but no guarantees. The five-player swap that sent McCarthy to Texas for left-hander John Danks and right-hander Nick Masset carries huge risk. But Williams concluded that the potential reward in adding two power arms for one polished workhorse was worth a roll of the dice. Good luck on that. Texas GM Jon Daniels expressed the situation well. “I don’t have any doubts about John’s ability,” Daniels said of the highly regarded Danks. “But until you do it in the major leagues, there is always some uncertainty.” It’s surprising the Sox would trade a 23-year-old with the potential to win 15 to 18 games every year. It’s not shocking, however, with veterans Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez still in the rotation. But it would have seemed more logical to use McCarthy as a chip that would bring back a significant outfielder, like Tampa Bay’s Rocco Baldelli or Toronto’s Alex Rios. To trade your one young starter after you’ve just seemed to have opened a spot in the rotation for him, and to get back only unproven players, well, that takes chutzpah. Williams still could use the surplus of pitching prospects he has created to pull off a trade that brings immediate improvement to one of three positions: left field, center field or shortstop. But the reality is he has now made four trades since November without addressing his most glaring needs. On the surface, the McCarthy deal is another part of the Williams/Jerry Reinsdorf plan to replace, rather than re-sign, Buehrle, Garland and Vazquez (along with the recently departed Freddy Garcia) before the 2009 season. This is a despicable plan, not just because it puts economics ahead of competitiveness but because it guarantees that guys who brought a World Series parade to Chicago are going to be leaving town too soon, maybe still in their primes. When this organizational strategy was revealed this month, I used the word “arrogant” to describe it. Williams, however, believes he is merely being “prudent” and “forward-thinking” to get ahead of a pitching market that is throwing big four- and five-year contracts at No. 3 and No. 4 starters. It’s going to be fascinating to see if Williams and Ozzie Guillen can get the Sox back to the playoffs while substantially changing a rotation that has led the majors in innings pitched the last two years. If they can, Williams will be worth his weight in World Series rings to Reinsdorf. All we can say now is that he is rounding up talent. Danks, a 21-year-old Texan who was the ninth pick in the 2003 draft, is the fifth first-round pitcher the Sox have traded for since last March. He follows Matt Thornton, Mike MacDougal, David Aardsma and Gavin Floyd. Left-handers Gio Gonzalez (a compensation pick after the first round) and Andrew Sisco (a second-rounder) just miss this list. And even 20-year-old right-hander Jacob Rasner, seemingly just a body in the McCarthy trade, is a project with a high ceiling. Danks, Masset, Floyd, Gonzalez and Sisco arrive at a time when the farm system is short on power pitchers. They join knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, Heath Phillips (a bargain-basement Buehrle) and low-90s right-hander Lance Broadway to give Guillen and Williams an array of possibilities.Danks is generally considered to have the highest ceiling in this group. The Sox will sell him as a future ace, and no one doubts he can be a No. 2 or 3 starter. In his 26 starts between Double A and Triple A last season, Danks showed a plus curveball and a fastball that was generally 90 to 92 m.p.h. but could spike to 94. He’s only 6 feet 1 inch, but some scouts believe he has room to add strength and gain a little velocity. Masset is an even harder thrower. His fastball was generally 95 to 96 last season as a starter and reliever while skipping between Double A, Triple A and Texas, but reports have had him at 97 to 98 in Mexico this winter. His most impressive numbers there were 22 strikeouts and only two walks, as he’s sometimes had trouble finding the strike zone. Of the eight pitchers the Sox have added this winter, Masset and Aardsma have the best chance to contribute in 2007. They join Bobby Jenks, MacDougal and Thornton in a potentially eye-popping bullpen. McCarthy, as candid as he was consistent in a quick rise through the farm system, will be missed. The Rangers paid heavily to get him because Daniels felt he could safely project him into the third spot in the rotation, or fourth if he signs Barry Zito. Few professional athletes are as open, honest and friendly as McCarthy, and that might have scared Williams a little. He is a guy who will say what is on his mind, and that made him something of a square peg for the Reinsdorfian round hole. It’s true that he was inconsistent and sometimes confused in his 2006 stint as a bullpen guy and a starter-in-waiting. But don’t forget McCarthy went 7-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 16 starts between Triple A and the big leagues in the second half of 2005, including wins at Texas and Boston that helped keep the Sox’s wheels on the tracks. During that stretch, there wasn’t a pitcher in baseball as consistently good. He’ll be a star for the Rangers if he pitches half that well. The Sox continue to amass quantity, but only time will tell about the quality.

Mariotti is a moron, but I have to admit I thought that column was right-on, probably only because I agreed with him for once. He's always too over the top, but he is right about the fact Kenny was working too hard over the holidays. He should have waited a few days before pulling the plug on that bad trade.

Of course I'm serious Tony and instead of wasting time saying that why don't you ask me what's wrong with that post? Or ask a follow up? Tony are you saying you don't see an obvious change in philosophy regarding the Sox wanting to let the high priced pitchers walk? You don't see the Royals trot prospects out there every year and the prospects suck? And that the Yankees go with veterans over prospects every year? Sorry in your world everybody doesn't agree with tony.

Maybe an proven big league outfielder plus a middle reliever. Just some proven major leaguers. Maybe package Brandon and another guy or 2 for the Rangers' ss Ozzie likes so much. I know, he's untouchable, but maybe not. Maybe we could have had a blockbuster to get Young. Or a blockbuster to get the A-Rod everybody seems to want so much. Hopefully those prospects we got will do well, and maybe Brandon is overrated, but couldn't we have gotten Young from Texas with Brandon and maybe one or two of our top prospects as well as Cintron? This new change in philosophy might work. Keep a high priced everyday lineup and talented lineup, let our expensive pitchers walk, and hopefully these young guys we're acquiring will be the next Buehrle's, etc. If they flop, however, we will suck because pitching is the name of the game.

It's apparent our front office panicked that our team is growing old and soon to lose all the veteran pitchers to free agency. So it appears we are going to keep our expensive everyday players and try to develop the next Buehrle's, Contrerases through the stockpiling of young pitchers, figuring some will pan out. Interesting philosophy but the Royals have been trotting out young pitchers for years and all it gets them is 100 losses. Even though their lineup of course isn't as good as the Sox. And the Yankees dont worry about prospects and they seem to make the playoffs most of the time. I'm just surprised the front office immediately changed philosophy.

Merry Christmas to all. I was going to start a new thread but figured I wouldn't. Does it anger you when people say Merry Christmas over Happy Holiday? I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and if it's your relgion Happy Hannukah as well!

Our division. ... Tigers are tops unless the tired factor hits them as it supposedly hit us. They are tired for playing 2 weeks longer than we did. Cleveland is still a threat. The Tribe may be back. Arguably the Tribe has as good a team on paper as our Sox do. Minnesota is always up there. You'd think the loss of Johann would cost 'em though. KC is still KC though it's not good that the Royals play us about even every year. Unless Kenny Rogers starts to suck I think Det wins the division and you know how tough it is to get the wildcard in the tough A.L. We're hosed.

With all the prospects we have, I would make the knuckleballer our fifth starter. And if I was Boone Logan, I'd be working on correspondence courses to get my college degree, assuming he has none. Cause I hope to never see that guy pitch in Cell Field ever again.