SoxFan562004

This is the type of energy and excitement that Manuel's camps lacked

I know Bonds trainer admitted to dropping off illegal performance enhancing drugs to "baseball players" Dan and Terry on the Score have reported this a few times

I may be wrong, but wasn't there a thread on this site that said the Dodgers aren't interested in Thomas and their GM called him "An American League player"? This is just sloppy reporting by Rogers, I guess the old saying is true; "Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story"

There's a real interesting article about Takatsu in the Trib and on Chicagosports.com Basically talks about him getting use to new surroundings. I like the fact that Ozzie is encouraging players to talk to him even though he doesn't speak English well... it may sound silly but at least he won't feel like an outsider, the other players seem to have a good attitude about treating him like everyone else

Hell I'm excited. This is going to be a wild division since there's no clear cut favorite... and Ozzie is going to make this season interesting... For better or for worse.... After the late August/September swoon last year I'm just looking forward to a new attitude from the manager

I think an easy way to help fix the arbitration process is allow the arbitor to award a median price, because I think now one side wins. If the arbitor was allowed to award a salary between the numbers the sides present it would make for a fairer system and cause less angst between players and management... Also, look to see what % raise this was for Gagne... Courts and arbitors often look at the percentages involved in situations rather than straight up numbers (ie if he was asking for a 600%, the arbitor might of felt that was excessive) This is why punitive damages are often lowered by appeals courts, if it is too high of a percentage over actual damages then the court will often reject it.

This is why I'm giving KW a semi-pass on this off-season... He had a ton of large contracts (I know some were his own doing, but now it's a different market) There's a possibility KW could leverage all his free space under the Sox imposed cap (which should be about 30m, not counting anything they may get from the new cable station) into a solid off-season next year... I think sticking with what has now, which I believe could still win this horrible division, is better than making stupid trades and getting big money contracts back (ie, the rumored Erstad deal)..

That's true, but Dan and Terry on the score were talking about how players who haven't been using steroids may benefit if players are scared off steroids. -Along that same line they brought up the topic of whether or not Frank should be looked at in a higher regard since he put up great numbers during his prime without steroids

I think the teams you highlighted are correct, -but if Boston signs Nomar to an extension then probably no... also I don't know if Boston is going to want to have 20m in right field with Manny and 14m in left with Mags, that's just an awful lot to have in the outfield... -I think Dodgers are most likely (maybe wishful thinking since I'm a Dodgers fan) -I think the White Sox are a possibility still as well... with every contract coming out (Vlad, Tejada, and now Pujols (SP?) Mags has to realize he won't be getting 14-15 million, so if Sox are willing not to defer a ton of money I can see him re-signing

I still hope the Cubs sign him because I don't think Maddux is going to be the Greg Maddux of old and I hope we get to see the flop before our very eyes

I know that Good King George has endless amounts of money, but that's what makes the MB contract great for the Sox, it's not really a financial burden, espicially since it's one of the few contracts on the books after 2004. If MB is trade bait I just think that other teams could give more than NY can player wise

I agree with the people who say the Yankees can still be beat... Now I'm not saying the A-Rod deal wasn't a tremendous addition, but NY has a lot of questions.... Starting pitching (their 4th and 5th starters aren't solid), 2nd base, outfield defense, 1st base defense (and I argue Giambi's health and my opinion that he was a major client of BALCO). So why the Yankees are undoubtly the team to beat on paper I still see a possibility of them not making the World Series

The other thing that doesn't make sense is that the Yankees have very little left to trade... I think the Sox might have been intersted in Soriano, but he's gone and it seems like the Yankees very thin farm system is going to take another hit to complete the A-Rod trade. If MB puts up his average season for the first half, and with his reasonable long term contract, I don't think the Yankees could offer a reasonable package for him

WSCR is reporting that Maddux rejected the Giants offer (No numbers given) and Hendrie is expected to offer him up to 15m for 2...

Tonight on their updates WSCR is saying that Maddux and the Giants are talking.... Take it for what it's worth considering the source, but this is another source saying this (I believe someone posted a CA radio station was saying this as well) No numbers being thrown around, but this could be the Giants throwing out a smokescreen to try and draw some attention away from Bonds trainer being indicted

If he is a stat freak it will be interesting to see what his take on Maddux is.... I know Maddux stats last year weren't overwhelming and he's only about a 6 inning pitcher... However I imagine this is why Maddux said he won't be signing to Feb. 17th the earliest... I'm bet the Dodgers told Boras their GM situation would be straight by this weekend so they can make an actual offer

Boras is going to get close to what he wants for Maddux (or at least the offer, Maddux could always want to play somewhere and sign for less), he got $40m for I-Rod and $11m for Millwood... .the man gets what he wants...

Link?

MB- 16 EL- 12 JG- 18 SS- 10 Rauch- 15 I think Rauch has a chance to have a really good season... He pitched strong down the stretch in the minors last year which could be a good sign that he's healthy...

For what it's worth WSCR is saying Boras and Hendry spoke yesterday and are scheduled to speak later in the week.... and ESPN 1000 is also saying they talked but no offer was made, the Cubs may make a new offer later in the week but Hendry has to go to the Tribune brass to add money to any offer I think what's happening is Boras is waiting for the Dodgers to clear their GM situation up so he can get a firm offer from them, then he can take solid numbers to the Cubs for a counter offer.... But if the Cubs offer 14-15m for 2 years I think Maddux will just sign with them with out getting any other firm offers

I really like Maggs a lot, but if he thinks he has similar market value as Vlad and Tejada he is getting horrible advice.... He is a very good player, but to compare himself to one of the best players in the game and a top 4 short stop is just insane.... I think 11-12m a year for 4 years is a fair deal... However, it is good to see Maggs say he is interested in staying in Chicago... I don't think we've seen that before this statement

For what it's worth WSCR is saying if the Maddux to LA thing goes down they might be interested in Frank Thomas (I know how iffy all these reports can be, but for those of you at work without a radio.... that's what's being reproted) -Also, Levine said the Cubs are probably not going to up their offer very much to Maddux, but even if LA offers more he could still sign with the Cubs

My problem with a lot of so called "insiders" is that a lot of times their sources use them to get stories out to serve their own purposes. With regards to Levine I think he took a big hit in credibility with the A-Rod thing a few weeks ago... He was sticking by his story even after the teams came out and denied it... If those are his real sources it's proof that some of his insiders are iffy

From what I understand is the Bulls, White Sox, Cubs, and Blackhawks have started their own cable station, basically replacing Fox Sports Net... This means they get to cut out the middle man and theoretically everyone makes more money (Similar to what the Yankees have in NY, but with 4 teams) What I heard is that it should have the same area coverage that it does now.... Comcast has signed on I believe... It wouldn't make much sense for the teams to do this if they didn't get basically the same area coverage and make more $$$$

In my opinion KW kind of asked for this reaction.... He and Reinsdorf have come out in the press and said basically if White Sox fans support the team we will add payroll.... If that's going to be their direction fine, but Sox fans should then be able to explain to him why they might not want to support the product.... Dan Bernstein on WSCR was talking about this last week.... In my opinion KW has challenged the fans so the fans are answering back I totally agree that people should be civil and ask sensible questions which don't ramble on