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Good point fathom. Let's just hope spring training really is meaningless. The team certainly did nothing of note except lose meaningless games. What I like is potentially our bullpen is looking good if Bobby still has it. I envision MacDougal being effective setup man with those other guys getting one or two outs when need be. If MacD sucks, all bets are off I feel. What I don't like is we had potentially a good fifth starter in Brandon and/or Freddy. Instead we now have a guy who appears to be a major question mark at best in Danks. Hopefully the second lefty will help balance our staff a bit. And hopefully our big four will return to dominance. Pods however is one year older and likely slower. Just one catcher in AJ which is nobody's fault of course. A major question mark in Erstad, just like BA was a major question mark last year. Infield looks good if it stays healthy. Thome must stay healthy.

Wow. Those stats are horrific. Hopefully Jose will set the tone with 7 strong innings on opening day.

To those of you who have watched a lot of spring training up close and personal and studied the stats as well ... How do our four starters look? Is Mark throwing gopher balls like he did the second half of last year or does he look rejuvenated? Is Jose the Jose of the first half last year? Does Vazzy look good? And does Jon look like an ace? Obviously our season depends on those four starters and the team defense behind them. If they can't go 7 strong innings we are hosed. Are we looking at domination on the mound this year?

It's good to have two lefties in the rotation. GO DANKS!

Good point Tizzle. But you know they are not going to play him if he can't throw anybody out. He simply won't play. Because of the injury, he's obviously a wasted acquisition. We need to pick up some veteran who has been axed. Why not Widger?

If we have fifth starter problems this season, we should want KW's head for getting rid of Freddie. If this Molina guy is an automatic out, we're going to be hurting big time when he plays. I say catch AJ 130 games even against lefties. Can he handle 130?

I know it's not Sox news, but why do you think Reed's skills didn't translate to the big leagues? Was there any sign in the minors that he couldn't hit? He has nothing in his bat, no pop in his bat, correct?

Thanks for the update chsoxfan. I believe you fully but how is BA hitting .290? That's way better than last season. Has he attacked the ball at all? Or is he still that tall lumbering at bat guy who looks like a pitcher at the plate?

I hate to say I've been stuck at work swamped all of march and haven't had time to check the stats. But I've just now checked them and I'd say, Yes, I wish BA would be starting ahead of Erstad. Hopefully with all the lefties in our division, BA should play a lot. He hit 290 in the spring, did BA with a better on base than Erstad which should have given him the job. Hope Darin doesn't suck in April and May. We have to stay pace all season with the Tigers, Indians, Twins and maybe even the Royals, who have our number.

Who cares what the minor leaguers think about how Anderson has been handled? The minor leaguers should try to make the majors and shut the bleep up. Anderson sucked at the plate last year. He sucked. Plain and simple. If he produces, baseball men like Oz and KW will play him. He he continues to be an automatic out, he won't. Personally I wish we still had BMac as No. 5 starter, but as far as Anderson, he needs to produce or get what he deserves, the bench.

No offense, but having a lot of veteran position players ... wouldn't we be better off with a fifth starter who the Sox know can pitch? Do we really believe a 21 year old is gonna last six, seven innings in the big leagues per game ... in our tough division? I really hate to be a pessimist, but I wonder. Those of you who have seen the guy pitch, are you convinced he, at 21, is gonna do the job? I mean many on the boards freak at veterans like Vazzy imploding after six innings. Aren't the odds much greater of Danks doing what Logan did at the start of last year than Danks winning games for a team that supposedly is a contender??

Does anyone think Owens/Sweeney will ever get a chance? If so, when.

I heard this rumor on the radio. The Sox will trade Mackoviac and Boone Logan for Aaron Rowand. Then we'll trade Rowand for Brandon McCarthy. Take it for what it's worth.

Like many of you said the Roward rumors must forever die. I liked the guy but he ain't coming back.

Since the Sox are sticking with Pods another year, I see him as a major key. He's got to have a big year and not get caught stealing as many times as a year ago. We have so many question marks. I don't think Oz will be dumb enough to play Erstad all the time. I hope not. He'll be a serviceable Mack type I hope.

That quote from the agent today means Mark is gone. Why did they even report that the 2 sides were going to talk if the agent still wants a 7-year type deal? I had hope that he wanted to be a White Sox and would sign a Vazzy type deal for the 3 years with a 4th option. Good luck to Mark if he gets hit hard again this season.

I think it would be great for both sides if this contract came to pass. If Mark really wants to be a White Sox this would be fair. He should sign it before the start of the season, also, like Vazzy. No matter what the parties say, his contract will be in all the articles, especially Moronotti all year long. If Mark gets rocked, it will be contract talk. If Mark pitches a gem, there will be contract talk. It's not going to be pretty. He should pull a Vazzy and sign for three and the Sox should give that option you speak of. Isn't this a no brainer for both sides??? If the Cardinals want him so badly then they can make KW an offer he can't refuse. SIGN MARK NOW THIS IS A DISTRACTION THE SOX DON'T NEED.

That's a little harsh. He isn't garbage. He is getting fifth starter money, isn't he? I trust our GM and scouts on this one. They obviously think the guy is better than Freddie, better than a lot of four and five starters in the league and worth it. I don't think they'd just throw away the money. I do hope Oz and Coop and KW make a decision EARLY this season. If Vazzy is just a six inning pitcher, then make him that and get his ass out of the game before he implodes. He looked unhittable for 5 innings at times last year. Why let him go 7 if he's going to get rocked in inning No. 7??

I was talking to a former minor leaguer tonight and he said tightness is common in the spring. I'm not saying Bobby isn't really hurting and could be out a while, but this guy laughed when I expressed concern and said tightness is no big deal. For what it's worth anyway.

Can Erstad steal a base? Can he run or is he now a plodder? We got enough slow guys clogging up the basepaths.

Don't worry, be happy. He'll be OK.

We can't win a pennant with Erstad, Mack and Dye outfield. Even though it pained me to watch Brian bat most of last year, I was really hoping he'd be the guy to win the job in cf. I hope Oz is just trying to fire up Brian.

I'm in agreement, and I bet Oz is also. Cause Oz pretty obviously tired of Brian a year ago. Hope he can have the same opener he did last year, then build on it.

I'll bite. Good article. I hope he has a great year. He's still a great prospect. Crede didn't tear it up right away and he's great now. It was encouraging to read what Walker had to say.

I agree it's too early to predict 'til we see if anybody gets hurt, etc., in coming weeks. As of today, I have a feeling we're going to win the division. I don't know why, though. I hope Detroit slips this year. I am tired of the Tigers and Kenny Rogers.