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I feel honored to have so many posts on the No. 1 fan site in the country if it is credited with starting such a rumor.

i just dont see how this trade helps us at all. i cant see this thornton guy producing at all Joe was about ready to retire. We were never going to play him. I hope he does well. His quotes have always made him seem like a decent guy. We were never going to play him for whatever reason and we need bullpen help. If Coop can make this guy throw strikes, maybe he can help. It says he throws hard. With he and Jenks, it could be really special. We're going to need some bodies in the bullpen. p.s. how is Marte doing this spring with his new team??

Thanks for the update, jordan. Good news on Thome.

I also have a feeling we may lose a lot of those one run games we won last year. How can that continue two years in a row? However, I think our strong starting pitching will remain great and will lead us to the division crown. Hopefully the sox roster is strong enough to win the division. Uribe-emerging star. Scott P - I fear an off year or injjury plagued. Iguchi, good year. Thome- Have a bad feeling. Dye - Another good year. A.J. - Same as last year. Anderson - I have no idea. No feel. Crede - Better year than last year. Becoming a star. Mark B. - The same. An All Star. Contreras - If healthy, even better regular season. Jon - I think he's going to excel again. Don't think he's a fluke. Vazquez - He'll do fine. I sense for some reason McCarthy will be this year's Hermy. Filling in as a closer if Jenks is inconsistent. I can't see Jenks closing all year. Oz will play the hot hand and we'll win the division over a Detroit team that will overtake the Tribe.

I hope Joe plays well for Seattle. That would be wild if he and Reed are both in the starting of. Hopefully this lefty we got can throw strikes. We could have some smoke in the pen with he and Jenks.

Haven't followed spring training as closely as I'd like. My question is, how has Thome fared this spring? Has he hit for power? I know he was hurt last year, but he didn't really have any power numbers in his few at bats. Just wondered if he had the power stroke working or if he's been lousy.

Too bad about Hermy. Out outfield could really be different this year without Pods out there and w/out Aaron.

The DL would not be good. I have a gut feeling (no pun intended) Jenks will not be a stud closer all season.

How's Hermanson's health? Considering it's a long season, I hope both get a lot of save opportunities. I thought it worked out well last year. When Hermanson ran out of gas or got hurt or whatever it was, Jenks came to the rescue. Hermanson had a ton of saves during the meat of the season. I like Hermy.

Carlos Beltran, Coco Crisp or David DeJesus Graffy Olivo as backup catcher ones I never want Piazza Sosa Wakefield

It did fly by so fast. I hope I can see the World Champs in person at least once this season and not just at Kauffman Stadium. GO SOX

I was very angry about Maggs leaving too. I was so wrong on that. And even Carlos Lee. I was so wrong about that. KW and Oz are quite the combination. I think they've earned lifetime contracts with the World championship. I love reading these threads. Seeing Thome's name so much I couldn't help but wonder. I wonder how long Oz will go with him IF ... I said IF ... he produces as badly as he did last season before that injury finished his season.

Is Jermaine Dye one of the most underrated players in baseball? Do you like him or think he's just average? I read this alarming stat on ESPN: "The 128 strikeouts he posted last year were a career high, while the 49 walks were the lowest total among the five seasons that he has logged more than 130 games. Perhaps the most telling stat, however, is that Dye hit just .240 with runners in scoring position." I like the guy especially after the Series, I am no ingrate and tip my cap to him, but wondered if you all thought we could do better?

Mariotti was on some video clip on ESPN this past season claiming that the Sox 2005 postseason run 'lacked the feel-good quality of the 2003 Cubs.' If this is true, he should take the next boat to Cuba and write for their paper a while. Give me a break. The Sox postseason run was legendary and amazing and the city paid attention, all of the city paid attention. It was awesome and he is an idiot to say otherwise if he did say that. He should lay off this year also as we are defending champs.

But the fact that the name Joe Borchard is mentioned in that article makes me want to shoot myself in the face. That made me laugh. Funny line. I liked it. Didn't Joe go 5-for-5 for us in September games last year? I kind of like Joe. He should get a shot to play everyday somewhere and see if he's a young Thome or a stiff.

Has Moyer signed with anybody? I realize he's not a reliever and throws too soft but I was just wondering.

This might sound dumb but I think our only weakness is only having one lefty in the pen. I think we need a reliable lefty to go with Cotts. How can we get by with only one?

I can't imagine anybody being too upset this year no matter what happens. We're coming off the Big Show. I watched a special on Ditka last night and it showed him crying at the press conference when Bears fired him. It made me wonder. Will Oz someday get fired?? Managers are hired to be fired, but this guy brought us a World Series, something unheard of in Chicago, moreso with the Yankees buying themselves pennants all these years. Can you envision Oz EVER getting fired like Ditka did? I think it'd be a tragid day for chicago sports.

'I'm not living as a bitter bird, and I don't want you to portray it like that. I'm not bitter. I just wish it could have ended like it should have ended -- and that's with mutual respect.'' I prefer to look at this final quote. Sure he ripped the Sox management some, but he said he's not bitter and didn't want it portrayed that way. I see it as an honest interview. He'll be back someday as a coach unless he and Oz truly hate each other. Oz probably won't be here 20 years. That's a rare bird nowadays.

Great post. Joe would be by far the best No. 9 hitter in baseball. I can't believe a guy with his potential for extra base hits would hit 9th. But if it makes him even better with the glove, so be it.

Sun Times and Southtown seem to be my favorites online.

How many Sox are in this tournament? Think it will be fun to watch or will nobody tune in? I would think it's be fun to go to the games live in California.

Good answers. On paper it seems like we are going to be great again. But considering all those one run games we won a year ago, anything probably can happen.

Do we have any options besides Anderson? I hope he starts and is great I just wondered who is his backup. It begs the question. is this guy going to be great this year or will he have similar or worse numbers than Jeremy Reed had his first full season in Seattle? Reed didn't hit for average and didn't knock in runs, and never got on base, other than that, he was an all-star. My other question: Do you think Jenks will shine this year or could he be lousy?

Back in the day, Piersall was really funny as Harry's Sox sidekick. I haven't heard him in years since I moved from the greatest city in the world. Good for Jimmy to remain relevant until the age of 76.