CWSGuy406

Hopefully it will pay off with a Top 5 pick in the draft... I never cheer for a team to lose, but with Quinn at QB - I really cannot see the Bears winning many games...

Unfortunately Norfolk doesn't face Chicago - yet AGAIN - this season. Ruutu would absolutely roll anyone on that Wolves roster... (BTW - are Heatley and Kovalchuk playing in Europe or with the Wolves? They're the only reason I'd go to see the Wolves play...?)

True, he does strike out a lot, but he also walks equally well, which is why I like him. Then again, you're probably right - he doesn't seem to fit into the 'Ozzieball' mold, so he probably wouldn't be pursued (then again, Ozzie does like versataille players - and IIRC, Bellhorn can play a variety of position). I like a lot of players from that Boston team - Damon, Mueller, and Bellhorn, specifically.

What position does Polanco play? I've always thought he was 3B, but on this board, I've seen secondbase and shortstop as well. Is he super-utility?

If our IF next season includes Polanco and Vizquel, I dunno about the rest of you - but I'll be very pleased. I know there are a couple people on this board (qwerty, to name one) who really like Polanco, but adding he and Vizquel would be great. Both are solid contact hitters, and would be definite upgrades. Along that list of IF candidates, I'd love to add a guy like Mark Bellhorn or Bill Mueller. I assume that they will move one of the two with Youkilis at third, but I could be wrong...

I'm sorry if you think that, but Cal Eldred would not have won 18 games at the Cell. If pitchers like Mark Buehrle and Freddy Garcia struggle to put up a sub-four ERA at the Cell, why in the hell would you think Cal Eldred would even be able to put up a sub-six ERA? Until the White Sox organization decides to move the fences back, I think some of us just have to accept that, unless we get a real phenom in here, pitchers are going to give up runs at our home. It's real unfortunate that it's become that way, too, IMHO... EDIT: As knightni has pointed out, this thread has gotten off topic. My apologies for posting off the subject.

LOL. If you're implying that the on-ice team of the Wolves could beat the on-ice team of the Blackhawks - then you know absolutely nothing about hockey. Absolutely nothing. (then again, it's Jeckle posting it - so moronic comments are expected) Let's Go Nor-Folk! Let's Go Nor-Folk! Let's Go Nor-Folk!

.... I would. Lot's of young talent up there, regardless of how s***ty their ownership is... EDIT: And it would help if you actually explained why you wouldn't, rather than just the typical one liners...

Hey - then let's swing another deal that sends Jose Contreras to the Giants for Jason Schmidt and Barry Bonds. Then let's trade Ross Gload for Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds! Damn, we're gonna have an awesome lineup this year!

Ugh... :rolly Jim, at least some of us understand what you're trying to say. Just because a guy has played CF before doesn't mean he's a CFer. Like Jim said, Maggs had played CF before, does that make him a CFer? Mercy, it's like bangin your head against a friggin' wall. Anyways, back to the main point. Addison, I agree with your list, and I'd also like to add Buehrle to that list. He's awesome, and had it not been for pitching at the b**** of a field called The Cell, he'd be a Cy Young candidate - easy. Buehrle really impressed me this year.

Hey - We need to talk about how/when I'm going to pay you. Well, not how, but definitely when. Probably better to do that via PM. It's gonna be a fun weekend!

Can this also be a blessing in disguise for us (I'm thinking about draft picks here)? Say an arbitrator says Maggs is worth 11 million - and Boras tells Maggs, "I can get you five million more." Maggs & Boras then decline arbitration, and we get another nice draft pick? Or is that nonsense...?

Mr. Armchair GM, I'm still waiting for what you would have done. And don't give me "They Should have traded for Manny and Melvin Mora and Randy Johnson and Mark Prior and Eric Gagne" bulls*** either. Give me specific names, who you're trading, who you're trading for. .......... .......... Waiting...

Ditto. If the scowls meant he absolutely dominating the AL - being one of the most feared hitters yet again - then I guess that's true. But somehow, someway, I don't think that's what he meant. Bastards always gotta take their shots at Frank... Those asswipes can honestly go f*** off. (Sorry for the explicits.)

I can see your argument supporting the Packers. However - If you're letting that cloud your judgement on the Bears, you should just back off the subject totally. Because - if you don't see the young talent that the Bears have - the talent that's getting better, week after week after week (who'd thunk we'd have hung with the Eagles without Urlacher, Brown, Tillman, Azumah, Tucker, and Grossman) - than you don't know football. We're young at basically every position. Defensive line - Haynes, Brown, Ogunlye, Johnson, and Harris - all under the age of 27 (IIRC). Linebackers - Briggs, Urlacher, Odom - all very young - again, I think, all under 27. Our secondary is mediocre, but it's developing. Tillman looks to be a future (at least) #2 corner. Azumah is solid, and it looks as if we've found a keeper in the fourth round in Nathan Vasher. Our offensive line isn't old, but it isn't aging either besides Ruben Brown. We have four Pro-Bowlers in Brown, Tait, Kruetz (best center in the league), and Tucker (alternate P-B). We still need a LT, but again - that's what the draft is for. Tight end, Clark and Lyman look to be two strong yet unspectacular players, at WR - we're very young there with a boatload of talent, and then in the backfield, Grossman, Jones, and Johnson. You can defend the Pack all you want, that's fine. But if you don't think that this Bears team doesn't have a s***load of young talent - then you really don't know what you're talking about...

Let this strike last just three or four more months - that way, Ruutu will be able to start off the season on the ice, not on the bench (because of the shoulder surgery following the World Cup). Man, do I miss hockey though...

I usually don't do this, but there was a lot of 'Baseball Offseason Preview' talk in this week's Sporting News. A lot of it is some scrambled news that we already know, but there's also some interesting stuff in there. I'll start off with Ken Rosenthal talking about Carlos Beltran: It's been talked about a little bit here, but Rosenthal seems to think we might make a pretty nice push at Beltran. (I also should say to take everything FWIW - because, like Jim said in his Southtown posts, most of this is just speculationi.) Next, Rosenthal talks about Adrian Beltre, the prized FA third baseman (jumping ahead of Glaus with this awesome year) on the market: I guess the key word in there is could, but Beltre would absolutely kill the ball here. Then again, we've had right handed power hitters before, and it hasn't gotten us too far over the past couple years. However - if a team like, say, Boston, were to pick him up - could we then possibly swing a trade for Bill Mueller? All speculation at this point, and this is probably even more doubtful, with all of the 'Joe Crede's got one more year' ramblings. Interesting enough, I've seen a couple closers that Rosenthal seems to think will be available. Among the names being Danny Graves of Cincy, Jorge Julio of Baltimore, and even Dan Kolb of Milwaukee. Kolb would be a great pickup, but then again so would Julio - Julio would be a nice start to a package for Paul Konerko - JMHO... And finally, Scott Merkin talking about the Sox need for another starter. So -- besides looking at FA starting pitchers, which other ones are on teams that are looking to fill other holes? Does Kenny have the balls to make a trade for - hell, Randy Johnson? Could he actually get a deal like that done? Well - sorry for getting so dramatic at the end, but I post this for discussional and (perhaps) informational purposes only. I saw some interesting stuff in there and thought I'd pass it on to everyone on the board. I probably find the tid-bit about Kolb to be most interesting, I didn't think Milwaukee would let go of him. Who knows, though - it's all speculation, so it could be true, it might not be. I'm just interested in some others' thoughts on the stuff above...

Last year - and I'm serious here - if we would have made it to the playoffs, I honestly believe we would have really been able to make some noise. Colon was dominating down the stretch. Buehrle was pitching well after a poor first half, and Loaiza was continuing his magical run. Boy, I hate to harp on the past like this, but last year - f***, how did we not win that division? If only we'd have made it there... If's, if's, and if's- seems to make up the history of the White Sox...

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the Sox getting a JD Drew type deal for Paul Konerko. You know, we're not the only ones who have access to stats. Other GM's see that PK couldn't even hit .240 on the road... That being said, I'm not implying that we should just trade PK for a bag of balls. I think we can get a nice deal for Konerko - but I doubt it would be the caliber of the Drew deal. Someone mentioned Hairston and Julio for Konerko. IMHO, that's just about right - and if that deal was on the table, I think I'd do it (though I'm not very familiar with Julio...).

I'm willing to bet that nine times out of ten, that will be the case...

You could put up a good argument for both. However - Thomas Jones has shown me a couple of things so far. First off, he's a hell of a blitz-pick-up-er ( ). I've seen a lot of times this season where Grossman (well, now Quinn) would have been absolutely killed had it not been for a nice block by Jones. Second, TJ is very explosive himself. He also doesn't fumble a lot (knock on wood) - or hasn't shown a tendency to. That's probably the most important thing I want from a RB - not to fumble the ball. I'm not degrading Green in any way, he's a hell of a back - but he seems to have developed the reputation - a correct reputation - of coughing up the ball. And until he gets that fixed, he IMHO, is not an 'elite' back (Not saying TJ is one either - yet).

LOL - you're comparing Lovie Smith with Ozzie Guillen? Let's see who the Bears have lost to - the Lions, Vikings, and Eagles - and only one of the games, the Bears lost by ten points +. And - all of those teams are 3-1. And - the Bears are missing a top three MLB, a top ten free safety, and our two starting cornerbacks. Winning isn't really that important this season. Developement is, and in each and every game, I've seen something that I've liked. Hell, I bet most Bear fans on this board wouldn't really be that mad about our losing this year, considered how well we've played without our main guns. And I'll take you up on your bet. Tool... :rolly

I'll go with the Cardinals in six and the Yankees - breaking the hearts of Boston fans all over the nation - in seven, two years running...

And how many games has JD Drew played in the last four years? I'd love to have him, too, and he's often injured as well. Guys get injured, so what? He's still pretty young, and doesn't carry a hefty-enough contract where injury would really screw this team over if he were to get injured in our pinstripes. Sometimes you gotta take a chance (like the Braves did with injury-prone JD Drew... and it payed off...) So there's your ...

And I love it!!!! The Titan offense is absolutely dominating the Cheesehead defense, already putting up 24 point not even halfway through the second quarter. And their first pick, Ahmad Carroll, is getting absolutely killed. Ahahahahaha!!!