Chisoxfn

But I don't like reading, lol. Well in that case throw my vote out, because I would quite obviously go with Paul Konerko. And I'm a huge Gload fan.

If the Sox don't go the route of one of the 1/2/3's out their. You have Paul Wilson who pitched very well for the Reds last year. Guys like Wilson Alvarez, Paul Byrd, Jaret Wright, and then David Wells (not a 4 or 5, but he's not a guy thats been mentioned and he probably wouldn' be welcome back in Chicago, but he had a good year last season with the Pads, of course it was a pitchers park). All I'm saying is, if the Sox do go the route of dealing Garland, you could pick up one of these guys. Plus of course Elo or someone else. The price tags will very on all, but you'd have to think at least a few of them will be able to signed to very affordable one year deals. Me, I'd deal Contreras before I dealt Garland.

How long is Williamson gonna be out for? I was under the assumption he would be back at one point, but I must be wrong. I wouldn' want any of the others unless it was a base minimum salary with incentives.

Gload if it means we have one of the big 3 or RJ in our starting rotation.

Ben Maller.com mentions that Sexson quite possibly already has a contract worked out with the M's but that the two sides will hold off announcing it for a while.

Technically put: Anderson, Beltran, Guerrero but ya, its still the best outfield in our generation if its healthy. I stick to what I've said and thats that Guillen will be so far out of Anaheim it isn't even funny. They may be saying one thing, but they don't want GA in CF.

Was listening to the radio just now and they had some reports from the GM Meetings (which begin tonight). - Carlos Beltran's agent informed the Angels he is looking for a 10yr 150 mill deal. Angels appear interested. If in fact he is really looking 15 mil a year for 10 yrs, Beltran may just become a little more affordable, especially if a team is able to pickup an affordable insurance on the contract. - Shawn Green for Sosa deal is now being discussed as a 3 way with Sosa ending up in Colorado in exchange for Shawn Chacon and Charles Johnson; Dodgers are also talking about a Green for Piazza swap. - Jason Kendall (rumors out their about the Sox possibly being interested) is also being pursued by the Dodgers. Dodgers are said to be offering a package involving Yhancy Brazoban. Should be an interesting Gm meetings. They also made mention of all 3 of the big 3 being on the block in Oakland. Said to not hold out the fact that Beane may move more then one, depending on how seroius he is in regards to a rebuilding project (Personaly I don't buy this one bit ,cause he'd be a freaking fool to do something like this).

I don't know, I don't think any team is going to give them prospects for Kendall unless they pay 70% of the contract and at that point they might as well just keep him. However, if they were to give the Sox Kip Wells then you may see something happen. I think the big thing is they want to do what they can to get the long term contracts off the books so they will be in a position to sign some of their younger players to contracts (ala the Indians of old) to ensure they will stay their and that the Pirates can actually begin to build a core. Like I said, 99.9% of me says Thomas isn't going anywhere, but its no secret that KW and Thomas don't get along and with all his injury issues you could at least see some type of deal making sense. Sox would be getting rid of two ugly (albeit it short term contracts). As far as the 10/5 go, I forget if this was just a myth or not, but I thought the new contract Thomas signed basically waived his 10/5 rights and allows him to be dealt anywhere (I remember this always being mentioned, but I'm guessing its probably untrue). I have no flaw with Thomas, I think if healthy he'll put up good numbers, but thats a big ???.

Well heres something I highly doubt would happen, but I'll throw it out there anyway. What if the Sox just pawned Thomas/Everett off for Kendall and the Pirates paid a good portion of the final few years of Kendalls contract. Basically the Sox give up two bad contracts, who could potentially be produtive players and get Kendall and some cash back. Obviously when Thomas is healthy he's still productive, but I think we all have doubts whether Thomas will finish his career in Chicago (personally I think this could be it). This then gives the Sox some options and you can keep Lee/Konerko. I don't know what you guys would rather do, but I think I'd rather keep Lee and Konerko then have Thomas and one of the others, soley because the other two haven't been health issues. The Sox can then find a left handed bat to go in between, stick Kendall and Vizquel at the top of the order, use Konerko/Gload as a combo 1st/DH and pick up Dye or something along those lines. And of course pick up some pitching, maybe offer up some of our best prospects for one of the big 3 or just go the FA route and make a heavy push for someone like Pavano or Clement. Anyway....just think for a second and like I said, this won't happen: Kendall Vizquel Lee Konerko - DH/1b Dye - RF Gload - 1b/DH Rowand - CF Crede Uribe/Harris Another possibility is the Sox then make a push to maybe sign someone like Delgado to DH and keep Gload as a big time bench player. Kendall Vizquel Lee Delgado Konerko Dye Rowand Crede Uribe/Harris Only real flaw is the back part of the lineup is righty dominate. This of course increases payroll, but at the same time, the Sox would have a net savings from the Everett/Thomas deal for Kendall (at least this year) which would basically give them enough to sign Dye for 3 mill or so and then Delgado at maybe 6 or 7 mill. So basically they are adding Delgado this year. You then have Vizquel's payroll added and then maybe 6-10 set aside for pitching. Who knows, maybe payroll is going to be higher then we expect. Anyway, doubt any of this crap happens, but I wouldn't necessarily be against a Thomas/Everett for Kendall deal if you get Pitt to pick up some of his final years of the contract.

He was still able to get it 95-96 on a rather consistent basis. He was flat filthy when he came back.

I'd guess you could unload Everett's contract and take Kendall and hope to convince the Pirates to pay a little more of Kendall's salary on top of that. Heck, Kendall and Omar at the top of the order would be a hell of an upgrade over last years top of the lineup. Add Dye at the right price (obviously the Sox dump one of Konerko/Lee) and find a way to get yourself a good starter and you got yourself a good off-season.

Plus Dye still has a good outfield arm. I think Dye, after finally having a healthy season and getting himself back in gear could very well explode next year. Could be a very good value pickup.

I fully expect RJ to be one of those players that goes above and beyond the proposed resources. I'd bet that the payroll would be around 80 million.

In the playoffs, Randy Johnson > Lieber and Garland and thats big time. Thats what this is about, putting a team together that can win the world series and make the series. This deal goes a long way to doing that. I know the Cubs failed this year with an awesome pitching staff, but they had a crap bullpen and some injuries. I still am confident in the Sox chances and I'd definately make this deal. If Bmac/Sweeney/Anderson are involved I'd think twice. However, give them a prospect like Schnurstein (good 3rd base prospect, but the Sox have Josh Fields ahead of him) and then I'd be alright and I think the Dbacks would be interested.

To add to this, if the Sox could negotiate a deal with RJ to make sure the contract stays deferred (I'm not sure on the rules of this with the new CBA) but I always remember the talk on Griffey was that you could still keep his contract deferred. Then you have actually about a 2 mill (in this years books) positive. This means the Sox could front the potential and take a little bit of a risk to build a world series competitor and see attendance numbers sore. We know the Sox have talked Carlos Beltran. Well what if they land Beltran to play in the OF with Lee and Rowand. Then at the end of the year the Sox have Beltran signed long term, you may lose RJ, but if things pay off you keep RJ and sign him to a new deal (this would mean the Sox went deep and attendance sored). If not you cut your losses, get the draft pick and knwo you gave it your all. Konerko would of been a FA and Garland I think is also eligible for FA. Maybe you don't opt for Beltran but go another route, its still an option. I think if you deal Konerko you can find a bat to semi replace him in the outfield leaving Everett and Thomas platooning at DH. Then next year the Sox could whipe out both Everett's and Thomas contract. Basically put, while the Sox got some money invested in pitching, I'd agree that it isn't wise to get a long term contract pitching wise. So why not acquire Johnson. Konerko is better then Gload, but Gload is a solid player that fits nicely in the 6 or 7 spot in the lineup. He also helps unclog the lineup a bit. You have RJ in the rotation so 1 through 4 your good. Lookin for a bargain FA pitcher if necessary (just a veteran to give you innings and keep you in the game, maybe give him some incentives....make it a one year deal). You have Bmac as the backup plan. Regardless the 1-4 is legitely awesome and you can't predict injuries so just hope they stay healthy. Now you have to figure the Sox bump up payroll this year and sign Vizquel to a 2 yr deal. Then they look to add a big time bat to replace Konerko. Remember, they could add Beltran and then move Lee to DH or another team at the end of next year. You also have Sweeney/Anderson on the horizon in a couple years and could get Everett/Thomas contracts off the books next year freeing up more cash and positions for guys to play. The Sox could realistically go heavy this year, knowing that if things don't work out the payroll will drop back down to a managable number (RJ's 16 mill off the books, Thomas loses about 6 mill off the books after buyout, Everetts 4.5 mill off the books, Lee you can trade and get his 8-9 mill of the books) and you'd still have Beltran/Buehrle/Garcia/Contreras/Rowand/Crede/Harris/Uribe/Gload essentially a solid nucleus still and if they wanted Carlos Lee, to give it another shot. I'm saying this would be a brilliant deal and could open up the gates for the Sox to make one BIG TIME signing. Folks, I guarantee you Free Agents would take notice if RJ joined the ranks of the Sox. You bet your ass those players would see the Sox as more of a contender. What would you say if the Sox did this or some alternative to this: Sox Add: - Randy Johnson (16 mill; 6 deferred) - Carlos Beltran (17 mill) - Omar Vizquel (4 mill) - Cheap 5th starter (1 yr deal 3 mill) - Reliever (1-3 mill) Sox Give Up: - Paul Konerko (8 mill) - Jon Garland (4 mill) The net result on the high end is a 25 million increase in payroll (not counting the deferred portion of RJ's salary). However it is a one year increase. Obviously this would be a little nuts to think of as possible. But if this doesn't work the following year the Sox an automatic drop of (10 mill from Johnson; 4.5 Everett; 6 Thomas; 3 mill from the starter signed to a 1 yr deal; 3 mill from the reliever signed to a 1 yr deal). Thats 26.5 mill alone, bringing payroll pretty much back in line while still fielding a competitive team with a core of attractive players. You then have options of dealing Lee and really dropping payroll or whatever else. Simply put, the Sox could legitimately be in a position to make a heavy push this yer and take a shot. We know it isn't necessarily the Reinsdorf way, but it appears that if things went south, they would have the options to quickly fix the problem and get payroll back in line.

Do it, Do it Do it. I like Garland as much as the rest of us, but Konerko is gonna be gone at the end of the year most likely or at least possibly and we have Gload to step in for him anyway. Garland, yes, its a loss, but Randy Johnson is oh so much better. We keep our prospects and all that other stuff. Assuming the Sox would then spend a little bit of money (they only add like 4-5 million after Garland's arbitration goes through) the Sox can then maybe up payroll a little bit more too. I'd definately pull the trigger on that deal.

Only if your on the tax end. If your in audit your still good. Sarbanes Oxley is creating a much great need for accounting jobs. Plus its forcing the big 4 to turn down business from firms it used to deal with, which then goes to the midtiers, so the mid-tiers get bigger, and some of the mid-tiers smaller clients slide to local firms, making them bigger. Right now accounting is a great industry to be in. I agree with a tax overall and have long been a fan of the flat tax, but I think its going to be a very difficult thing to work in.

Haha, I'm not ready to gloat yet, but I will admit I was talking this game up amongst my friends and told them all to pick the Bears in the pool. All of em laughed at me, but I have faith. I said it entering the game against San Fran, I expect the Bears to go on a winning streak through at least the Dallas game. Lets go get the Titans next week and continue to build on things and see the Bears build confidence and increase their win total one game at a time.

Not to me. Brown has been playing studly the past few weeks without Ogunleye in their. Brown needs to be signed to a contract extension pronto. Last I heard they were negotiating and I'm assuming the Bears still have time to sign him using some of this years cap space.

This is my upset special. Bears will win.

My dad just woke my ass off all bitter cause all they are talking about here is a potential swap of Green and Sosa. They made it seem like it would be straight up. If it did happen, I'd have to wonder what the hell the Dodgesr are thinking. Green isn't as good as he once was, but he has a good attitude and his contract is up at the end of the year. You can't say the same about Sosa. I'm assuming its semi serious cause they had Green interviewed saying he wants to stay here and I guess DePodesta had some quotes.

The way I see it, if someone gets injured by midseason, Brandon McCarthy will likely be the guy we see and I have a lot of faith in Bmac.

It all depends, I'm hoping the 2nd year is an option year, but who knows. I guess we'll see when it happens. However, if he produces like he did this year and is a leader both on and off the field (which I think he will be) then I think he'll be worth 4 mill a year. We'll just have to wait and see.

Here's the thing, don't the Sox need a good 2 hole hitter, which you essentially said Vizuqel is? I think Cabrerra is very similar to Uribe in a sense. We all know I like Uribe a lot so its not a knock, but if we wanted a guy to do what Cabrerra is capable the Sox would look to Uribe at ss (he may be at 2nd though) but the Sox are trying to find a guy for the front of the lineup who can do the little things and is a smart baseball player and thats what Vizquel is.