Yossarian

Contreras was traded by the Yanks because they considered him to be a stubborn, weak willed head case who melted down in pressure situations. To me, he is a more dramatic version of laid back Jon Garland, who is also weak willed and melts down in the crunch. We have Buerhle and Freddy. After that our rotation gives me hives.

The White Sox of the last few years have proven time and time again that they wilt under the slightest amount of pressure. Time to "back up the truck."

You had me going there for a minute. On another note, quite a gem by Contreras tonite huh? I was really glad about his early success, but face it the guy doesn't have the best track record. Let's see if he can bounce back.

My answer is when we clinch the division. This team has not shown that it can finish the job and therefore will probably be mostly dismantled at the end of the year. Ozzie and KW have said as much.

I don't think Garland is ever going to reach his so called "potential", in fact I think he's been about as good as he's ever going to be. Additionally, I don't want Soriano. I guess "none of the above" was not an option here.

What is it with that guy? He hits anything and everything. His hits tonite were almost all of the dinky variety, he places bat and ball and deposits where you can't get to it. He's a throwback to the ballplayers of the early 20th century.

I am the one, the only, the real Jack Sparrow.

JR's generous offers are full of incentives, backloads and "diminshed skill" clauses. I don't know if Maggs got a "generous" offer or not, I just know I sure as hell wouldn't assume it.

Politicians lie, what a shock. Clinton lied about black churches burning in his home state of Arkansas. Gore lied shamelessly about taking tobacco subsidy money after his sisters illness. He also lied about his fathers civil rights record in the US Senate. And then he invented the internet and was the inspiration for the sappy novel that became a sappy movie called Love Story. Kerry's "seared" in his brain memory of Christmas 1968 in Cambodia is a big fat lie. Hell he even accused "President" Nixon of sending him there only Nixon wasn't even President yet. All right you want balance? George Ryan lied about his involvement in the license of bribes scandal, among other things. Although the evidence is incomplete and sketchy and would never hold up in court, George W Bush may have lied about his Alabama National Guard service. To the best of my knowledge he didn't lie about his 1976 DUI arrest in Maine, but he sure as hell didn't volunteer anything. Clinton no doubt lied about "inhaling" and he seems to have lied to his draft board and GW is mute on his wild and crazy days of youth. Politicians lie all the time and that is one reason I for one, am so fed up with the two major parties at this point. It may be an over generalization but I think comedian Lewis Black is onto something when he says that the Democrats are the party of no ideas and the GOP is the party of really bad ideas. One good thing. I'm glad there are still competent researchers and historians out there who can correct the historical "mistatements" of people like Ahnold, Gore and the great prevaricator himself Bill Clinton. Historical knowledge which is almost extinct among the masses is also fading in the so called intelligensia. By the way sweet ole Bill may have had a heart attack today and the Christian in me wishes him a speedy recovery, although personally I have no use for the man.

I can just about guarantee that this team will miss Ordonez and miss him badly. I always liked Maggs. He just did his job, and made no waves. Except to ask for the big bucks but what MLB player with stats like his doesn't these days? It sounds like his knee injury is of the career threatening variety. Anybody here got the inside scoop on that? In any case, this Sox fan is gonna miss him and I for one wish him nothing but the best. If he was healthy I think the Sox should have made him a strong offer, not a JR "special" with all kinds of incentives and backloading. His injury changes everything. Nothing at all good about this. We lose a very good guy. You see how well we've done without him and Frank in the lineup.

Amen to that.

Another mighty fine post in my estimation.

Ain't that something how two views of a message board post, or anything else for that matter can differ so widely? Very little consensus in life these days.

Wow. There is so much BS, superficiality, invective and just general nonsense on message boards and then there is you. Another mighty fine post. I agree with just about everything except Uribe, and looking at our options there, you may be right about that too. Do you have any clout with Sox management? That is a plan here my friends, and a workable one at that. First two are on me should we ever meet. I've been thinking that the Sox are sliding and looking at a 86-89 scenario or even worse a 68-70. This type of thinking gives us a fighting chance at least. Especially the very last paragraph.

I just saw it. Too funny for words. You laugh to keep from crying. Think I'll watch it again.

He hit .375 and fielded flawlessly.

Very good point. Maybe he will get to manage in a style more to his liking. Still Mariotti or not, and yes he is a first class (fill in the blank), losing two Hall of Fame players in the heat of a pennant race is not a good thing. I'm not giving up by any means, but honestly haven't the White Sox and their fans had enough grief down through the years. I didn't care much for the hiring of Ozzie and he still has me shaking my head at times, but he brought energy and ended the corpseball of Manuels last couple of years. I just hope that Frank and Magglio will heal properly so they can again be the scourge of AL pitchers while still being on our side.

The idea of rooting for the Cubs triggers the gag reflex in this Sox fan.

Agree, agree and agree. Especially on the last point. I wouldn't jump off any bridges if the Twins get Benson. He's been very inconsistent throughout his career and doesn't seem to have the necessary edge or killer instinct to be a mound ace.

It takes a while, sometimes a good while to judge a trade. This is looking good so far. Stay healthy Freddy.

Perhaps that is why he is not getting that sharp movement on his pitches. Still, if he doesn't turn it around it looks more and more like last year is an aberration. With Buerhle and Garcia going strong, and Garland somewhat improved, our post season hopes would soar if Loaiza could get back on track.

Just when you thought it was all over and done with here I am. I'm not here to defend or condemn NCorg or his antagonists. I just wonder if its ever been considered how many people, real good Sox fans and nice people have left one, two or all of the three main WS message boards? I realize that people can easily change their board names, but there are so many names I miss seeing. The MLB board was full of fights, trolls and posters of the mind numbing banal variety. This place was a refuge for so many who abandoned the wreckage that was Whitesox.com. I do miss the old Sox.net but things do change. This site is a monster compared to that one of days gone by. I guess I'm just a simple guy, but one of my greatest thrills in life has been the comraderie I've found with Sox fans, most complete strangers, mainly at the old and new ball parks. There are literally dozens of posters I've enjoyed reading on this and the two other main boards, but overall WS message boards have been a major disappointment. Maybe it's the general nastiness that exists everywhere today. A sense of mindless brigadaccio and anger in every part of the body politic. Too bad. I also wonder. Do other teams message boards have these type of soap operas?

Zambrano needs professional help. "Anger management" alone will not suffice.

It's more than I make. The best you can hope from me is that I buy the first beer. You're right about Garland. You watch this guy pitch and you're left wondering if and when he's going to put it all together and be the stud you know he can be.

Looks and sounds very much like a dry run. I'm glad we have all these PC regulations about who can be detained and questioned. Aren't you too?