aboz56

Not a problem at all. Here's my take, if you care to hear it: The guy is a major pain in the ass, but he's the kinda guy you love to have on your team. A grinder as KW would say. I feel the same way about AJ Pierzynski. They irritate the hell out of us as Sox fans, but I am pretty sure a lot of Sox fans would welcome him if he came to the Southside because they are both winning ball players who can get the job done.

This is quite random, but okay. Whatever floats your boat. Welcome aboard.

I guess I should take the high road on this, but we always don't do what we should do, right? :fyou

Who are you planning on them putting in CF then, Matsui?

Your last sentence is rather humorous to me. You're not my father, I will question whatever I please. And if you don't want to answer the question, you don't have to. You surely have a lot of opinions of an event you've never attended. And that is great that they are not your idols and all of that other stuff you said... Again, I was just asking how many games you go to. You seem to be so negative that I am surprised that you even attend any games. You are quite welcome my good lad. Is it just me or do I sense a smart ass tone in this?

Just out of curiousity, which are you, a casual fan or a serious fan? Have you ever been to Soxfest? How many games do you go to a year? And despite what you have read, about 75% in the Q&A sessions was positive stuff, the negative stuff just gets blown up because the papers want something to write about. I was there, Steff was there, 2k4 was there, several others were there. We all saw it. It wasn't for the most part people showing up to complain. It was a good time and for the most part a positive weekend.

I got a lot of stuff signed, but I would never sell any of it. It's all going up in my room and around my house (including the Mark authentic jersey). I would say that I spent the majority of my time getting autographs, but I also got to enjoy the Q&A stuff. But yes, I did get that sense from a lot of the fans. Pretty much the people who were waiting to get in at 1:30 on Friday when I arrived at the hotel made it seem like they were just there to get first in line to be assured of getting autographs and then be able to hop into the next line to get more. I got there a little early each day but still made out fine on both the autographs and being able to enjoy everything else at Soxfest.

Is that the one where Aboz and 2k4 asked back to back questions? That had to be the highest rated portion of the show, wait it wasn't on TV...

Obviously you weren't at Soxfest. The fan base seemed to be fine there.

I think a deal similar to Tejada's deal is fair, but he's not worth Vlady money. If we do lose him after next yr, they'll sign someone to replace him. The free agent market next yr is going to be loaded with talent. I don't know why he seems to think the market is going up again, I can see it being even worse next offseason. I want him to stay with the Sox, but not at the expensive of the team remaining competitive with such a limited payroll. We cannot continue to make him 25% of the payroll, it won't work.

This was already posted.

That is true, Konerko is due 8.75 mil next yr.

THey peaked with SCIENCE and have gone down ever since. Enough said.

What starting pitching would Seattle had if they did this deal?

Rafael has been one of the stars of the Mariners’ deep bullpen. The razor-thin Dominican lights up the radar guns with his fastball, which reaches into the upper 90's. He also features a hard slider and excellent control. Originally signed as an outfielder back in 1996, Rafael hit just .220 in two seasons of rookie ball before being converted to the mound. He enjoyed instant success with the move, posting a 23-16 record with a 2.83 ERA during his minor league stint. An All-Star in the California League in 2001, Rafael made his major league debut in 2002.

Sign me up for that one in a heartbeat, are you kidding me?

Cheat, anyway you could make me one using the pic of me and Buehrle? Would be much appreciated...

Ship him West So long Franky I hope...

While it would be devastating if he leaves, I think if we keep Caballo, by then Reed will be ready to step in and our rotation is going to get downright scary in 2005 when Honel arrives.

All the time Steff, if only to protect myself from you...

I believe MLB coordinates most of the scheduling, not the White Sox.

This doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, it makes sense. I've seen Rauch deal with fans here at games in Louisville and the guy is a complete asshole. I even tried to get him to sign for me and even stir up some Sox talk with him, but the guy was completely non-receptive and a jerk. For that reason I'd love to see other guys make it in front of him including Cotts, Person or even Grilli. I thought it took a lot of disrespect to act like that towards fans like Rauch did, especially the White Sox fans who come out to see Charlotte here at the park in Louisville. Borchard and others set a great example of their appreciation for the fans, this guy was completely the opposite.

He wasn't mentioned very much at Soxfest either. Looks like the Sox and BA are both down on him. I'm still going to go out on a limb and say he'll break spring as the 5th starter, but at this point, it doesn't look like a strong possibility.

I would say they are in the bottom 3rd in terms of prospects because they don't appear to have a lot of guys who are going to make an impact in the immediate future besides Reed, Honel and maybe Cotts.

Rex, another board??? Not giving Soxtalk top priority... Just kidding...