Chisoxfn

My bad, I don't know what the heck I've been thinking. I swear I read and saw him listed as a free agent.

If the Rangers picked up some of the tab, I'd say its a doable deal. I don't even think the Sox would have to give up any prospects or anything like that.

He's a free agent...and don't call me a nimrod

If you compare their seasons this year, it would be hard to tell a difference in all honesty. Colon still throws a few more innings, but Ponson had 216 himself and had an ERA in the 3's. For 5-6 mill less, I think its a wise move.

If the Indians are looking to sign Castillo, does that mean Phillips is on the market or are they going to finally unload Vizquel and move Phillips to short. Didn't they have someone play pretty solid down the strecth at short for them (Young guy...made some spectacular plays). I just can't think of his name.

There was some mention in the Trib that KW is interested in him.

So did I

Nick Johnson

I was going to say the same thing. If you have some sort of stereo speaker near it or touching it, then thats likely the cause. Just move it away a bit and you should be fixed. If its not that, then there is something wrong with the picture tube and the tv is a goner. Most likely its a magnetic field of some sort, and it causes the outer portion of the screen to get blurry or give off a weird color.

I heard its super expensive to be able to burn a Cd. When are the prices going to come down to like a quarter a song. Right now I think its a buck a song, like Itunes, except I think Itunes liscense is a bit better. But for a buck a download, I could just buy the cd. It is nice to have all songs you like, but usually when I buy a cd, I only get one that I really like, meaning I don't have to hit the seek button all the damn time.

Urbina is over-rated in my opinion. I think the Red Sox did just fine not signing him.

Lol...all 3 of us must of used google or yahoo to pull up the exact same link

I'd think if he could make 3.6 this year, then a deal around 3 mill a year for 2 years with a 3.5 mill option for the 3rd year would be very responsible. He gets a little more security and you kick in some incentives and his contract could be worth a little more. Considering his previous injuries, I'd think that would hold his value down a bit plus it looks as if their are a whole lot of 4/5 guys out there. Pavano would be amongst my top choices cause he'd be affordable, talented and still has some upside since this is the first time he's really been healthy. We could be looking at a guy that could pull something similar to Elo. I wouldn't expect anything as amazing, but a repeat of those numbers would be nice and he's capable of better. Depth in a pitching staff is so key. Teams need front line guys, but you also need a great pen and a good back end cause when injuries happen and everything else, someone always has to step up and teams that have guys in line for that more likely then not are the ones that go to the playoffs and go far. I really like the idea of Pavano/Ponson for about 10 mil a year for 3 years. Compare that to the 12 or 13 we'd be giving Colon a year and I'd think the Sox made a wise choice.

Bats righty...here is a link for his stats Igutchi After looking at them, you can see he was a solid shortstop but I'm guessing he moved for a lack of range or something along those lines. Still, he had some very good years at shortstop. Offensively though, this was his first year, so if any team invests in him, I think they shouldn't pay too much. I would say 1.5 or 2 mill max. He wants to come here and it would be a 100% raise over what he was making. I got a feeling he'd accept this and the Sox would be taking on a risk with a very good upside and if he pans out he would fill in the seats and make the Sox a lot better. If he doesn't, he doesn't cost you much and I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to move him somewhere else at that salary or just let him play d and run.

Played both 2nd and ss in japan the past few years. He's 28, same age as Matsui and is better in all areas except power. He's probably not as good of a defensive player either, but I read where he's a very good defensive player, Matsui's supposed to be a Gold Glover. Let me find the link on him. He'd be a tremendous leadoff hitter and I think he'll be more sucessful once he moves to the majors because he has a great eye and doesn't strike out too much, which is the exact opposite of Matsui. I tend to think matsui won't be near the player many pan him out to be. I think he'll be solid, but nothing great. Igutchi could be a pretty fun guy to watch at the top of the order and he's expected to draw far less attention then Ichiro. Here's a link on him

Weren't there rumors a few weeks ago of Pavano signing a long term deal with the Fish? I'm a big Pavano fan and think he'd make an excellent 5th to go along with Ponson. The question is would the Sox invest the 10 mill a year it would take to land those two. It will put the Sox in a good position, where if Elo struggles or reverts you still have a lot of depth and if Elo dominates and the Sox can't work out a deal they aren't entirely screwed. Maybe the Sox see Cotts moving up well and they decide they can let someone go, then so be it, but they would be left with a lot of depth and I think most of us would like to see Cotts get a full season in AAA. I think he's going to be really good, but seasoning would be the best for him.

The one thing I have always disagreed with KW on is his stance on contracts. It seems like way too often I hear the Sox make these offers or actually go through with them and they are absolutely ridiculous when compraed with market value or the price you could pay someone else for that type of production. If the Sox are going to compete at a 55-60 mill payroll then they need to be fiscally responsible and decide when its worth shelling out a few extra mill and when your better off going with the cheaper alternative. In terms of shortstop I think depending on what the Sox do, they won't need to invest big bucks in the position and considering the depth of the position, a quality shortstop will be out there for 2 mill or less. If they want to spend 5 mill fine, but do it on someone thats worth something like that and has major upside and is already a superior player to Jose...Cabrerra or look to the Japanese player no one is talking about, Itgutchi (Could be had for 2-3 Mill). The difference in production from Jose to someone like Aurilla isn't ridiculous or worth an extra few mill, imo, especially when I firmly believe Jose could be had for 2.5 mill or less. The market is obviously soft once again and I'd hate seeing the Sox put themselves in another nightmare with another stupid contract (ala the Magglio and Konerko contract). When the Sox signed Maggs, they shoudl of never done it where the scale would increase to the point they would be paying him 14 mill this year, because it should be more then obvious that at that point the Sox wouldn't be able to compete at their intended payroll with him. When the Sox signed Konerko, they should of been smart. Konerko had some upside, but he also was still a 5 mill player or so and that type of contract would of been more then fair. Kenny overestimated what he was worth and did so to prevent Konerko to taking the Sox to arbitration, where as of late the player almost never wins. Kenny, Hahn and whoever else deals with contracts, you guys better sharpen up and study what similar players are making and make analysts. Decide whther its worth spending that extra few mill in that area, or investing it in another one. For example...would that extra 3 mill be spent going from Aurilla to Jose or adding another reliever or two to the pen or getting a 5th starter or whatever. I'm happy the Sox didn't sign Colon because his contract was ridiculous when you look at how he pitched. Yes, he's a good pitcher, but he was incredibly streaky and is getting paid like an ace, not just an ace of the Sox, but one of the best pitchers in the majors. Frankly, he wasn't the ace the Sox expected him to be. He was good, but not great. Sure he came on down the strecth, but the games in April, May and June are just as important as the ones in August and September. Frankly, the Sox wouldn't be losing a tremendous amount in production if they went with someone like Ponson who would cost about 6 mil a year less, freeing up room for the Sox to make a serious upgrade to the pen or add someone like Castillo, or add a 5th starter or add a series of players. In closing the key word in the day has to be financial responsibility.

What do you think of the quick reply feature Flash. I have it on these boards, but have never tried using it. Is it something that makes it easier to post and such? I'll work on getting a chatroom of some sort. We used to have one, but it wasn't via invision.

If they are willing to give Jose 5 mill, then they are nuts. I think they could easily sign Cabrerra with 5 mill a year.

I was thinking the same thing. That cover is just jail bait

I'm sure those so called dorks will just consider it a glitch in the matrix

Happy Birthday to one of Soxtalk's Night Owls

Its gotta be because of your new sig

Dempster is one of those guys that's worth a shot, just give him some type of minimum deal with incentives.

GTA rocks