CanOfCorn

I was wondering when Angelos would bolster that offense...man it sucks.

I agree with you on some points...but most teams are set at first. Obviously AZ and either Seattle or Bmore aren't (unless the Sexson rumors are true), but this isn't a year of big 1b openings. That could work in the Sox favor, or against it. All I'm saying is, the Sox don't HAVE to trade Konerko, which puts them in a better position overall.

Big ups to Kelvin Hayden who made 2nd team All-Big Ten in his first and only year as a defensive back. Another Chris Gamble? Deion Sanders? Troy Brown?

Season TM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1999 CWS 142 513 71 151 31 4 24 81 45 68 1 0 .294 .352 .511 .863 2000 CWS 143 524 84 156 31 1 21 97 47 72 1 0 .298 .363 .481 .844 2001 CWS 156 582 92 164 35 0 32 99 54 89 1 0 .282 .349 .507 .856 2002 CWS 151 570 81 173 30 0 27 104 44 72 0 0 .304 .359 .498 .857 2003 CWS 137 444 49 104 19 0 18 65 43 50 0 0 .234 .305 .399 .704 2004 CWS 155 563 84 156 22 0 41 117 69 107 1 0 .277 .359 .535 .894 Kind of an aberration. Granted it is the first time with 40 hrs, not the first with 100 rbi, and was within 1 and 3 rbis before that. Sorry, quick, but the boy can hit. Can't run to save his life, but he can hit.

Not to be a jerk, but it doesn't sound too bad to have a 40 hr, 100 rbi guy on your team. That's why we can eek out a little more from some teams, cuz honestly, we don't really have to give him up. Yeah, it will help payroll, but it's not an absolute necessity. I don't think "stuck" is a word you would use for Konerko.

I think we would need a little more than Piniero and Winn. A B+ prospect perhaps. I hear they have this kid Jeremy Reed.

I don't think the S. Jackson guy for Indiana is going to play for a while, you may wanna trade him...

I'm guessing Chuck Long, Tim Brewster or Dan Hawkins. Brewster played here and supposedly is a recruiting machine (at least he was for Mack Brown). Chuck Long for the reasons mentioned above and Dan Hawkins because he took a team with a blue field and made it relevant...at least more relevant than Illinois.

RJ might not make a decision until after the first of the year. By that time, we may have lost out on any or all of the top players available via FA or trade. Gotta get whatcha can, when you can.

If you are going to say that, then it's Artest's fault for the hard foul on Ben Wallace when you are down by double digits and less than a minute to go. Ridiculous? Not any more than saying it's Wallace's fault for Artest going into the stands. Everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. Wallace got the fine he should have for shoving and going after Artest. If it ended there, you wouldn't be b****ing. But it didn't. Artest went into the stands. WHICH IS WRONG!!!

I read this on ESPN's page 2 Top Ten Turkeys of the past year: Nobody is holding players to a higher standard. There is the shoving on the court. The punching on the court. The choking on the court. Although I didn't see the last two. And there is the punching, shoving, choking IN THE STANDS. The standard is set by society. David Stern has no jurisdiction to punish the fans. But he sure as hell can, and did, punish the players. It is up to the Detroit police and Pistons organization to punish the fans. If they don't, you surely can't blame the NBA. Again, it's called inciting a riot and by going into the stands, Ron Artest did just that, which i believe is a felony in itself, forget the battery charges. I'll re quote the part of the article so you know exactly what I am saying:

Sorry, he's suspended. No season play, no all-star play. If he does get voted in to play the all-star game, I hope he has the good sense to turn it down. oh wait, this is Ron artest.

According to ESPN: He Gawn!!!

It has nothing to do with Wallace or O'Neal being good or bad people. It has to do with player vs. fan. If Wallace got into a fight with Artest, O'Neal and Jackson and kept it on the court, they probably would all get 5-15 game suspensions. Wallace threw a punch at a player, not a fan. And since the NBA is so concerned with their image (which they should be) O'Neal gets hosed. if Wallace went into the stands and fought with the fans too, he would probably get a similar suspension to O'Neal (of course, I'm speculating). That's the difference...player vs. fan VS. player vs. player.

Yes, Ben Wallace instigated a fight...with Artest. Yes, a fan threw a bottle at Artest. Yes, Artest should be angry. Maybe even angry enough to charge the fan. But, here are some other things to consider... 1) When you have three people charging into the stands against an angry, drunken mob, that's just not smart. Talk about making it even more dangerous. That's called instigating a riot. 2) Artest escalated it after by being smug and lying on the scorer's table with crossed legs and his hands behind his head. That's not staying out of a fight, that's showing Ben Wallace up. 3) I don't know if you saw the kids after the fight but there was a shot of a kid, probably around 6 or 7 crying. How the hell do you explain to your children that your favorite player just coldcocked someone. Did the fan deserve it? You bet he did. But let the police handle it. Show some restraint. Artest obviously needs psychological help. Stephen Jackson needs some good ol' fashioned jail time and O'Neal basically got the shaft. Bottom line...fans need to show some serious restraint or face the consequences...jail time, loss of season tickets, barred from the stadium, whatever. But, athletes CANNOT attack fans. Fans pay salaries. the actions of 10 fans doesn't mirror the feelings of the other 21,000 people in there. Those fans should be tossed in jail for a good long time. Still, no fans, no game. If Stern didn't hand out such severe penalties, the NBA was going to face some HUGE PR problems. More than Jayson Williams, more than Zach Randolph. Those problems didn't deal with fans in the stadium...fans can divorce themselves of those issues...not this one. I, for one, back David Stern 100% and hope that Artest can get some professional help.

Fired...according to the Champaign News-Gazette. Actually, press conf. at noon Central.

I can't imagine Finley going to the Tigers. He is a West Coast guy. Unless Ilitch totally overpays for a 39 yo outfielder...he'll stay in LA or go to SD or back to AZ.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1929050

maybe he should be ahead of where he is now. But 12 games a year and an average ERA in this era of juiced balls (heh, heh) isn't that bad. I believe he's pitched close to 200 innings in the last three years. That's not bad people.

You're right about the risk being nil...but he's long past his prime...he has no cartilage in his knee and couldn't play t he field to save his life...he has no upside anymore.

And on a related note, Fred Manrique has decided to come out of retirement. He realized he could still compete and the White Sox approached him about being their 2nd baseman. Other 2b's to be offered minor league contracts are Scott Fletcher, Steve Sax and Vance Law, who said he would be willing to move to 2b if it would help the Sox.

That's not all he should be doing...if you know what I mean...

Didn't somebody say in an earlier thread that he pissed off the powers that be in Spring Training? Wasn't he also the player's rep for the Player's Association? I think he ran his mouth off about something...I could be wrong.

He could always be packaged in a trade for somebody else. Just cuz we trade for him, doesn't mean we'd keep him.

I think Glendon Rusch would be a good P to look into. Saw him at an Astros game and he looked awesome. Could also spot start. Also, maybe a Robb Nen. Sign him to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. He has some nasty stuff when healthy.