C.Rector

Just a few hours ago, on Julie Swieka's show on WSCR, she was ranting about football players celebrating in the end zone saying that all fans don't like it, just as if she spoke for all of us. Well, a caller made the points that he (A) liked seeing players celebrating touchdowns and (B) was tired of folks dumping on black players for celebrating in the end zone, but not doing the same about white guys doing the same. Well, Swiecka got angry with him and terminated his call. Later, I got to thinking about Swiecka's thin-skinnedness with the caller especially in the light of the way that she's conducted her show in the past. For instance, when white pitchers such as Mark Buehrle or Jon Garland or even Danny Wright were pulled out early from a game, Swiecka tended to minimize it by saying that well, nobody's perfect. However, if a Hispanic pitcher such as Bartolo Colon or Esteban Loaiza got pulled out, then she really rode on them. This was especially true with Loaiza who she frequently ran down and claimed was overrated and going to become a bust at any time now. Whenever white players such as Graffanino, Crede or Konerko screwed up either in the field or in GIDP's or by swinging for the bleachers when going for a plain old hit would have been the better option, she either didn't mention it or just said that they had a bad day, no big deal. However, when a minority player such as Lee, Ordonez or (especially) Thomas messed up, she had no mercy on them. The same goes for coaches. When Cartwright was still around, she frequently wondered aloud if he wasn't stupid because, for instance, he didn't have 2 certain players on the floor at the same time. She just continually ran him down for being a losing coach. However, she has yet to say anything even remotely critical about Scott Skiles even though he has a losing record thus far. Although its true that she has been critical of both Dick Jauron and John Shoop, that ciriticism pales in contrast to the abuse that she's heaped on the likes of Greg Blache, Dusty Baker and Jerry Manuel. The same also goes for White Sox GM Kenny Williams and his Cubs counterpart Jim Hendry. Lately, she's been just gushing all over Hendry saying that he's been really active and is continually on the cell phone talking to other GM's. OTOH, she's been riding herd on KW, claiming that he's been lazy and doing nothing, making the Sox, "dead in the water." Actually, as visitors to this forum know, KW has been continually on the phone talking to, among others, Dodgers GM Dan Evans. Granted, outside of the Uribe trade (that Swiecka has hardly even acknowledged thus far), KW has not finalized any deals as of yet, however given the way that KW has conducted these negotiations, it appears that he's mastered the art of trading. That being the case, its quite possible that KW may very well pull off a blockbuster trade. If so, it will be very interesting to see if she gives KW the kind of credit and praise that she's heaped on Hendry. All of this is interesting since the Cubs have indicated that they're not interested in any more trades while KW keeps plugging away while Swiecka claims that he's nothing but lazy. Is it really a coincidence that KW is black while Hendry is white and there's a longstanding racist belief that blacks are shiftless and lazy? Has anyone else here noticed this?

What makes you think that the Trib isn't in it for the money?

Have you considered the possibility that since JR forced Ozzie on him, that KW is deliberately not making any deals to bring the kind of talent to the Sox to ensure that Ozzie will fall from Reinsdorf's favor and bring about the end of the Ozzie Era?

Who cares how good they are in the clubhouse? Its what they do on the field that counts. As for Sullivan, he was a disaster for us. Graff at 2nd base won't work out so well for KC since his real value is being able to play at all infield positions well. Limiting him to just 1 position like that diminishes the potential that he could otherwise bring to the Royals.

I don't doubt that next year's team will have the talent to compete, its the competancy of the new manager that I doubt. Jerry Manuel was fired even though he did not have a playoff-caliber team until mid-season when Alomar and Everett both came on board. OTOH, Terry Bevington had playoff-caliber teams in both 1996 and 1997, but both of those teams failed to make it because of...........Terry Bevington. For what its worth, I predict that 2004 will be a replay of '96/'97 complete with talented team and incompetant manager. Meanwhile, JM will be collecting his $1 Mil. option from the club and be watching the Sox, wondering just why he wasn't allowed to have a team that good for a whole year when he was in charge.

Just calm down and wait until Opening Day before getting all upset. There should be some real deals by then and if not, the farm system has some good players to fill in the roster with.

http://www.firejerryangelo.com/default.asp Although I do disagree with its call for firing Dick Jauron (although both Blache and Shoop can go), this is a website that presents the case against Bears GM Jerry Angelo quite well. Hopefully, the McCaskeys will see this website and get rid of the incompetant Angelo. Here's the best part of the website, the Blunders of Jerry: http://www.firejerryangelo.com/blunders.asp Blunders In no particular order, here is a list of flagrant blunders by Jerry Angelo. He should be penalized the full amount and fired from the team! * Cuts Blake Brockermeyer forcing us to stretch and draft Marc Columbo in the first round. Thus begins the destruction an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL in 2001. See Marc Columbo blunder below for more detail. * Lets Tony Parish go in favor of Mike Green * Makes Brian Robinson one of the top five highest paid defensive ends in 2002 * Signs RW McQuarters and Azumah to big $$ contracts, they combined for 1 interception in 2002. * Forgets to check a box requiring teams to provide compensation for Warrick Holdman if they sign him to an offer sheet. Subsequently the Bears have to pay through the nose in order to match Kanasas City's offer leading to the departure of Rosevelt Colvin. * Forgets to check a box requiring teams to provide compensation for Dwayne Bates. Dwayne Bates is signed by Minnesota and enjoys a comparable, but slightly more productive year than Dez White. * At the end of 2001 despite the availability of QB Drew Bledsoe and the Bears need for an upgrade Angelo said Bledsoe, "is nothing special" and re-signed Jim Miller to a five year contract. Jim Miller was cut the following year. * Drafts CB Roosevelt Williams in 3rd round. What might have been? CB Derek Ross. Williams was cut the following year. * Releases Big Cat Williams in favor of Aaron Gibson or Bernad Robertson (subsequently cut) * Declines to resign Rosevelt Colvin -- must think Bryan Knight can replace him. * Trades Ted Washington away in favor of Alfonso Boone -- hurting team chemistry, morale, and negatively effecting Brian Urlachers efficiency. * Signs Kordell Stewart who goes on to have the worst debut of any free agent QB addition * Doesn't give Paul Edinger a qualifying offer and is forced to match the Vikings large $$ contract offer * Extended John Shoop's contract * Signed the substance abuse quintet of: Bryan Robinson (DUIx2), Damon Moore (DUI), Damien Shelton (banned substances), Paul Edinger (DUI), and Rahib Abdullah (DUI). * Who can forget such memorable roster additions as: QB Henry Burris, TE Luther Broughton, DE Keith McKenzie * Drafted one offensive lineman in 2003 in the seventh round with our final pick. * Decided Hall of Famer Mike Singeltary wasn't good enough to coach our linebackers. * Replaced two-time special teams pro-bowler (2001, 2002) Larry Whigham with Cameron Worrell. Worrell missed his first blocking assignment against San Francisco resulting in a blocked punt and a subsequent touchdown. * Cut Skip Hicks (56 car 341 yds 1 TD 6.1 yd/car for Titans) in favor of Autry Denson (1 car 4 yds for Chicago) * Signed the criminal sex offending duo of DT Christian Peter and K Jimmy Kibble. * BUCS Blunder: Part of the brain trust that traded QB Steve Young to the 49ers for second and fourth round draft picks. * BUCS Blunder: Part of the brain trust that traded the second overall pick in the draft for ... QB Chris Chandler (the love affair contines to this day), who was cut midway through the 1991 season. * BUCS Blunder: Signing WR Alvin Harper to a lucrative contract. * BUCS Blunder: The much heralded and now maligned trades for RB Gary Anderson and WR Stephan Starring (who?) * Drafts Marc Columbo with our first round pick. Considered a second round prospect by draft experts. The same draft experts who appear correct in their analysis that Columbo needed to add strength in order to compete at the NFL level. Columbo was not durable enough to last more than five starts in the NFL and will not appear in the 2003 season. What might have been? QB Patrick Ramsey or RB Clinton Portis. * BUCS Blunder(s): Amassed the talent that produced 10 consecutive losing seasons. Ted Philips must have missed that line of the resume. * Potential blunder: Traded #4 overall pick, the fruit of Jerry's labor, and passed on QB Byron Leftwich. * Potential blunder: Traded #4 overall pick, the fruit of Jerry's labor, and passed on LB/DE Terrell Suggs who had as many sacks (4) in his first four games as the entire Bears defensive line had through the first five games. * Potential blunder: Drafted DE Michael Haynes in the first round. Haynes has contributed a total of four tackles through the first five games of 2003. * Signs Mike Green to a five year deal averaging $2.4 million per year. Tony Parish signed a five year deal averaging $2.8 million per year. Do you think the 49ers would trade Tony Parish for Mike Green, even if we threw in a third round pick? We don't think so either. To make it even worse there was no drop off in play with Bobby Gray filling in for sore groined Mike Green. In fact, we won two games without Green in the lineup.

From: http://story.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=64&p=2&c=212191 The 15 Most Tortured Cities in Professional Sports 1. Cleveland, OH Not one title in any sport dating back to 1964, when the Browns defeated Baltimore 27-0 in the NFL Championship game. The Browns actually won five NFL Championships from 1945 to 1964, but have yet to even appear in any of the 37 Super Bowls played thus far. To make matters worse, the city was dealt three painful losses in four seasons to the same team, the Denver Broncos, in AFC Championship appearances in the late 1980’s. The Indians have not won a World Series since 1948, and have been there and lost three times (‘54, ’95, ’97) since then. The Cavaliers have yet to even appear in the NBA Finals, and were shown the door in the playoffs by Michael Jordan and the Bulls several times throughout a successful run in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s, which included crushing blows in 1989 (“The Shot”) and 1992 (won 57 games, lost in Eastern Finals in six games). My worst fears were easily confirmed. There isn’t even a close second. 2. Buffalo, NY The city of Buffalo only has two major sports franchises, the Bills in the NFL, and the Sabres in the NHL. Despite that fact, they come in as the 2nd most tortured city in pro sports. The Bills were one of the best teams in all of football from 1990-1998, yet came away with nothing. As a matter of fact, they came away with a record that will likely never be touched, when they lost four consecutive Super Bowls in 1991, ’92, ’93, and ’94. The Sabres, who have been in existence for over 30 years, have never won a Stanley Cup, and have only made two appearances in the Finals. They lost in 1975, and then in cruel fashion in 1999, when they were ousted by the Dallas Stars on a goal that replays later showed should not even have counted. 3. Seattle, WA Seattle was awarded all three of their professional sports franchises in the 70’s, and has only one title to show for in all three of the sports since then. The Supersonics defeated the Washington Bullets in the 1979 NBA Finals, after losing to the Bullets the prior season in the Finals. They went back to the Finals in 1996, pushing the Bulls to six games, but eventually losing. The Seahawks have yet to even appear in a Super Bowl, or even come close for that matter. Aside from some recent successes, the same holds true for the Mariners, who have yet to appear in a World Series. 4. Atlanta, GA The Braves did win the World Series in 1985, but aside from that, the city has never celebrated another championship. The Braves have been lucky enough to make five World Series appearances in the last eleven seasons, but came up losers in 1991, ’92, ’96, and ’99. The Falcons made their lone Super Bowl appearance in 1999, only to lose to the Denver Broncos. The Hawks have yet to ever make an NBA Finals appearance, and the Atlanta Thrashers are the NHL’s newest team and have expectedly had their struggles thus far. 5. Minneapolis, MN World Series titles by the Twins in 1987 and 1991 are all that the city of Minnesota has to show for, despite having teams in all four of the major sports for some time now. The Twins also appeared in the 1965 Word Series, but were defeated by the Dodgers. The NBA’s Timberwolves are the newest of the Minnesota franchises, and their inability to get out of the 1st round of the playoffs is now well documented. The Vikings, like the Bills have appeared in and lost four Super Bowls. The Vikings did not do it consecutively, but in an eight-year stretch from 1970 to 1977. They have not been back since. Minnesota used to have the North Stars in the NHL, who went to the Cup Finals and lost in 1981 and 1991. The North Stars moved to Dallas and have since been replaced by the expansion Minnesota Wild. 6. San Diego, CA San Diego has just the Padres and the Chargers, but neither has been able to win a championship. The Padres went to the World Series twice, losing in 1984 to the Tigers and in 1998 to the Yankees, winning only one combined game in those two trips. Aside from those 2 seasons, the Padres have never even gone as far as the NLCS in their team history. The Chargers have appeared in the Super Bowl one time, but were torn apart at the seams by the 49ers in 1995. Aside from that season, and a little 3-4 year run of success in the early 80’s in the Dan Fouts era, the franchise has accomplished little in their history. 7. Indianapolis, IN Another city with just two franchises (the Colts and the Pacers) and without a championship to their name. The only time the city has come close was a Pacers NBA Finals appearance in 2000. And this from a city and a state that prides itself on its rich basketball tradition. The Colts have had little success since moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis; with a 1995 last second AFC Championship loss to the Steelers being their closest brush with success. 8. Kansas City, MO Kansas City has the Chiefs in the NFL and the Royals in MLB. Both have won championships, but the city has had little to cheer about for the last fifteen years or so. The Royals beat the Cardinals in the 1985 World Series, and also went and lost in 1980. The Chiefs have to go all the way back to Super Bowl IV in 1970, when they handed the Vikings the 1st of their four Super Bowl losses. They also appeared in the 1st Super Bowl ever, losing to the Packers. 9. Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia has four major professional sports franchises that have combined for 12 championships. One problem. Those same four teams haven’t won anything in nineteen years. Their last taste of success was the 76’ers 1983 NBA Finals victory over the Lakers. The Sixers also won titles in 1947, 1956, and 1967. The Phillies last title was in 1980 over Kansas City. Before that, you need to go back to 1930 to find the last time the Phils won the World Series. They went and lost in 1983 and 1993. The Eagles won some NFL Championships in the 40’s and also in 1960, but have never won a Super Bowl. They appeared in one, losing to Oakland in 1981. And the Flyers won consecutive Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975. They have been back four times (’76, ’80, ’85, and ’87) but have lost each time. A lot of history, but none of it has come in the last twenty years. 10. Charlotte, NC Charlotte has really evolved into an auto-racing town, and that had a lot to do with the Hornets being moved to New Orleans. While in Charlotte, the team experienced little to no success. The Panthers second season in existence was an exciting one, as the team made an improbable run to the NFC Championship game, but they have yet to make the playoffs since then. The NHL’s Hurricanes also made a shocking Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2002, but were easily dispatched by the Detroit Red Wings. 11. Cincinnati, OH The Reds have won five World Series titles (1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, and 1990) and have been to and lost another four. The Bengals have been to two Super Bowls (’82 and ’89) and lost to San Francisco both times. For the last 12 years, the city has really fallen on hard times as the Reds and Bengals have both regressed into obscurity, until the Bengals current run this season. 12. Milwaukee, WI If not for the Packers 1997 Super Bowl victory, Milwaukee would rank much higher. The Brewers have not won a title since 1957, and the Bucks haven’t since 1971. 13. Houston, TX The Rockets have made four NBA Finals appearances, winning it all in Jordan’s two years away from the game in ’94 and ’95. The Astros have never seen the World Series, and either have the Oilers/Texans franchises. 14. Washington, D.C. The Redskins have three Super Bowl titles to their name (1983, 1988, and 1992) in a total of five appearances. The Bullets/Wizards last tasted success in 1978, and the NHL’s Capitals were swept by Detroit in their only Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1998. 15. Oakland, CA All three teams (the Athletics, Raiders, and Golden St. Warriors) have won titles, but the last one came in 1989. The city lost the Raiders to Los Angeles for a period of time, and the Warriors have fallen off the face of the earth.

Question: Were you talking about how great Loaiza is before the 2003 season or did you wait until Loaiza was 5-0 before doing so? Frankly, before 2003 I had never heard of Loaiza before or if I had, I had forgotten about it. Also, where do you come by this info about Estes refusing to pitch relief or being delusional about his prowess? I've heard allegations like that from Cubs fans but have not seen any evidence to back those accusations up.

I'd imagine that's what a lot of folks would have said this time a year ago if it had been reported that the Sox were fixing to sign a pitcher named Esteban Loaiza who had a lower than .500 W-L record. If it worked with Loaiza, then there's no reason why it couldn't work with Estes. Also, please stop with all the juvenile threats about if the Sox do a certain move, then you'll boycott the team. That kind of garbage is getting really old.

You don't suppose that Frank asked to be traded in light of Ozzie trashing him at the press conference?

Are you not aware that the Sox are upping their payroll from $51 Mil. to $58 Mil., an increase of roughly 14%? In any event, high payrolls does not guarantee success as the experience of such teams as the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers have shown. Its how well the payrolls are managed that makes the big difference. Remember, the Florida Marlins payroll in 2003 was about 10% smaller than that of the Sox, yet the Marlins won the World Series while the Sox did not even make the playoffs. Payroll is not destiny in professional sports. If you continue to believe otherwise, then go to Sox games so that they have the money to make the expenditures that you desire.

The reason why you never heard about salary concerns about the Bulls is that the people of Chicago have supported the Bulls far more than they have the White Sox. As a result, there is always enough funds around to pay for new players to fill in the gaps. The fact that the Bulls are currently not doing so hot just goes to show that money alone does not solve all your problems. Its how effectively that its applied that counts.

Well, he didn't put up solid numbers for us and since his cumulative BA is only .262 it would appear that he did so well in Boston either. It would not be one bit surprising that he falls on his face at his next team. In any event, its really GM Kenny's fault that he was even on the team in the first place. The Sox already had more than enough players for 1B and/or DH anyways. KW really should have gone for a new pitcher with the money that he wasted on Daubach.

I've gotten tired of seeing excuses made for players who didn't do well by saying that Manuel didn't make the best use of them. Why does JM have to be the scapegoat for everything? Also, these players are making a lot of money just to have fun. Since they all make at least $300,000 per year, they should be able to contribute to the team effort and if they don't, its their fault.

Here's another reason why Pete Rose betting on his own team was/is wrong: When he doesn't place a bet on a game, he's in effect communicating to his bookie and others that he doesn't think that his team is going to win. That type of info is helpful to gamblers.

How is it such a bad thing to lose Sullivan who consistently struggled for us and Colon who's never had a single 20-win season? Ditto for the washed up Alomar.

Could the moderators please do something about all these factually challenged little punks who think that if they spout all the vulgarities and angry faces with middle fingers up that they want, that it makes them to be Big Man?

Why all the negativity? Other than Graffanino, who apparently has delusions about being able to play well on a daily basis, the other guys who aren't coming back to the team were basically rent-a-players. So, the team's core is still in place. Now, if the departing players included the likes of Frank, Buehrle or Marte, then there really would be grounds for alarm.

How do you know that the Sox won't take the AL Central next year? Do you have some sort of crystal ball? Or is that your need to babble like an immature little punk is more important to you than being able to wait at least until Opening Day to make your pronouncements concerning the quality of the 2004 team?

You guys seem to forget that Jauron goes to church with the McCaskeys and is their great and good friend. Look for an arrangement under which Shoop goes but Jauron stays for at least the last year of his contract. In any event, Jerry Angelo shares a good part of the blame for the lackluster Bears. If Jauron is fired, then he should be as well. Then the positions of coach and GM should be combined into 1 position so that the coach also determines the personnel and drafting. There lies the direction to success.

Lately, a lot of folks have been getting all bent out of shape both on the internet and on talk radio about how the Sox aren't making any deals, how the Cubs, Yankees and Fake Sox are making deals and the Sox aren't. Allegedly, the Sox by not making any deals outside of Uribe/Miles, are letting themselves slide behind the rest and how disaster looms in 2004 as a result. Relax. The Sox still have one of the best minor league systems in MLB and have lots of promising players up and coming through the system. Players like Kris Honel, Jeremy Reed and Ross Gload who can fill whatever gaps there are next year. What KW can't get through deal-making, he can get from the farm clubs. Just relax and at least wait until Opening Day 2004 until making any conclusions about the merits of the Sox team. Your heart will thank you.

Actually, the AL East will be harder for either of the 2 Evil Empires to win next year. Both Baltimore and Toronto have solid clubs and the Orioles are definitely adding to payroll this year. As for Tampa Bay, they have a lot less dough than the other teams to work with, but the Devil Rays have a pretty solid outfield and look to be picking up some lower salary but good players like Graffanino and Everett, so its not out of the question that they might finish around .500 and play the role of the spoiler in '04.

Get your facts straight. The payroll for 2004 is going up from 2003's 51 Mil. to 58 Mil. That's a 14% increase folks even though inflation in 2003 was only about 2% making that rate of increase about 7 times the rate of inflation. Not exactly a modest rise. In other words, the rise in attendance is directly translating into an increase in payroll.

Why not at least wait to see how the new Bulls perform on the court before judging this trade to be a colossal failure? Remember as GM, Paxon has a lot more info on these players than any of you do, so he may very well have gotten a lot more value for Rose than you guys think. Or is that a lot of you just get your jollies out of badmouthing the folks who are trying to bring you the best possible team that they can? Are your lives really that empty? Finally, Jalen Rose is a cancer and a definite liablilty for any team that he's on. Yet, some of you seem to think that Paxon is a moron because he did not get another team to give up a gem for our trash. Give the guy a break. He's only in his first year as GM. At least wait and see how his moves pan out first.