aboz56

Well I got that Gray jersey signed by mostly everyone except Manos and Lee (I got Lee on a bat instead) and then I bought an authentic Mark jersey which he signed. Also got a personalized ball from Mark and he signed the gray jersey as well...

Steff wasn't rude at all. She was getting cut off constantly and she just stood up for herself. I commend her for asking great questions in a respectful way.

Now that I've gotten some rest, I feel it's my duty as a Soxtalk member to share with everyone the questions I asked this past weekend and the answers I received. At the seminar featuring Hawk, DJ, Valentin and Buehrle: I asked Mark what the difference for him was between the first half of the season and the second half: Mark basically said that at the beginning of the year he was using his sinker too much and experimenting with pitches when he should have just stuck with what had made him successful his first two seasons of the year. In addition, Mark made it clear that some of the comments he made in the papers last year about the fans booing him were directed at just those fans, not all of the Sox fans. What really made me happy during this session was that about 2 questions after me, a ten yr old girl came up and said to Mark that when he was being booed, she was still cheering for him. At the session featuring Harris, Crede, Hawk, DJ and Rick Hahn: I commented to Crede that even though he struggled the first half of last yr with the stick, he's got the best glove at 3B I've seen. I then proceeded to ask Hahn about last yr's draft and to comment on the 4 players who I liked the best out of last yr's draft: Anderson, Sweeney, Valido and Nanita. Rick seemed impressed that I picked out those 4 names and proceeded to talk a bit about each guy and said that it's likely that Anderson, Sweeney and Valido would likely start a Kannapolis and that Nanita would most likely start at Bristol due to the wrist injury he suffered at the end of last season. He also commented that he expects Anderson to be at 100% for the start of spring training and that Sweeney may be the best athlete out of the entire draft last year. He also thanked the scouts who investigated Sweeney's signability and did the job to figure that the Sox could grab him in the 2nd round and sign him. At the session featuring Hawk, DJ, Ozzie and KW: I first asked Hawk and DJ what their favorite stadium to call a game at was (besides the Cell) and asked KW about the chances of rule 5 draftee Jason Grilli competing for the 5th starter spot. Hawk and DJ both said they liked Boston and NY the best besides the Cell. Then KW said that he should have mentioned Grilli earlier when talking about the 5th starter spot and they feel he has the arm to compete for the job and that's why they went ahead and spent the 50K for him in the Rule 5 draft. However, he also said that the Rule 5 is usually a crapshoot so you never know. Hawk chimed in and said that Rule 5 players sometimes do work out and the best examples he came up with from his experience in management were Bobby Bonilla and Scott Radinsky. Overall, the Q & A's were great except for the fans who were rude for no good reason. I thought Steff asked good, tough questions but didn't come off as being a jackass like some of the fans did. I was disappointed in some of the tone that some of the people were giving to the guys who were obviously being put on the spot. I'll have my pictures from all 3 days up in the next few days... AB

i'm back from the fest, I'll have my pics hopefully up sometime later this week with Esty, Mark, Aaron and a few others. also have to say it was great to meet steff, 2k4 and some of the other posters on the board. i am a bit tired from the long sunday and plane ride home so i'm sure i'll have some more to say soon. ab

Someone should ask KW at the Q&A what grinders he has added this offseason....

He's always one dive away from a month or two stint on the DL. That's why they want to get him out of the outfield ASAP.

The Dodgers have no chance...

I am seeing your messages, but when I repond it says you are not available...If you have an allow list, make sure you have me on it....

Hey I am trying to message you back, it says you are not available for some reason but you are online on my buddy list...

Not on the list....

Let's put it this way: no trade is going to be made that is going to force Jeremy Reed into a starting position at the big league level this season. If the trade you are discussing was to be made: Perez, Mota and Miller for Mags, that would leave us with huge question marks in the outfield. And bearing another trade would leave either Borchard or Reed in right field. The Sox are not going to go into the season with that as a possibility. Add that to the fact that Rowand is not even a sure thing in center, if that trade was to be made, we could be majorly screwed.

I'd have to go with American...

You have no idea whether Reed is good enough to play at the big level yet. The highest level he's played at AA thus far. Borchard had a great year a few seasons back, got rushed, now look at the guy. He's got no confidence in himself. There is no way the Sox are going to rush Reed. He's got too much confidence and had too great of a year last season for the Sox to mess any of that up. I doubt that you've ever even watched Reed play a single game, therefore I doubt you're totally qualified to make an assessment on whether he's ready to play at the big league level. I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, I'm just being realistic with ya.

The only possible move I see is the possible resignation of KW after baggio asks him to step down tomorrow night at the Q&A...

Any footage from the parties?

Yea, I got no awards from the Soxtalk year end awards. Here's to the voters... :fyou

I just asked Jas and he obliged. Guess you'll have to ask him...

Here's the jersey I wear to the game, except it's in red:

I don't have anything on the back of it, so I figured I might as well get it signed and have it framed to hang up here in the house. It would make a really nice piece I think. I would get a cheap jersey signed but I think this one would look a lot better.

is it okay to insert a sox4lifeinpa joke here?

This is an entry from a kid I know in virginia, I found it to be pretty damn hilarious. Enjoy if you've got time to read it... I'd bet anything that he's not related to me. His blood isn't the same that runs through my veins, his heritage is not similiar to mine, and we don't have the same parents. No, it's all a coincidence. A conspiracy, even. We just happen to have the same last name, come from the same family, look similiar, and have identical personalities. They say he's my brother. But the world often lies. Like that kid who told me girls don't have cooties. And while I might get involved in my fair share of idiotic situations, my brother is definietly ahead of me in that category. But today, I believe he leaped out of that category altogether, and made a new one reserved for himself. It's called "how to be a moron: for dummies." So Einstein walks in the door this afternoon, after coming home from a movie, wearing a short sleeve shirt, which I'm sure got along extremely well with the negative tempatures and several inches of snow outside. My mom asked where his jacket was, being the reasonable parent that she is. His response was slightly hesitated, as if he was planning another mode of attack. But there was no attack to be planned, because every side of this battle was surrounded by stupidity. I don't think I'll ever forget the words that escaped his lips. If I ever write a book, they will be included. Some how, some way. Oh, my jacket? Well, see, while I was in the movie, I spilled a TON of cheese on it. So I just threw it away. The statement rolled off his tongue with ease, as if he was trying to cover up for an accidental fart he had just unleashed. My mom remained speechless for a few seconds, unsure of how to react. Should she be glad that her 12 year old son had made it this far, and had yet to kill himself a freak glue accident? Or should she be pissed that he threw away an article of clothing as if it was a used condom, and had somehow missed the invention of the washing machine? Unfortunatly for Stuart, my mother chose the latter. What resulted was my brother almost being magically transformed into Picaso, afer his ear almost got pulled off. By my mom. As she dragged him by his earlobe to the car, I couldn't help but giggle. And by giggle, I mean laugh. And by laugh, I mean I needed a fresh pair of pants. I've never seen my Mom peel out of our driveway, or any other parking lot for that matter. But as the tires squeeled, and the smoke rose, I knew my brother was in for a treat. He was getting treated to a rather large treat, actually. Straight from hell. Because after having his ear ripped to shreds, he was driven back up to Regal, and forced to search through the trashcan and retrieve his cheese-infested jacket. And when they got home, Mom stuffed Stuart in the washing machine, added twice the recommended amount of detergent, and let him drown for being so retarded. Ok, so maybe I am a chronic liar. But that's exactly what I would have done.