fathom

What did you people expect when acquiring a pitcher who pitches in the large park in Seattle? Not one baseball expert believed that Garcia would be a dominant pitcher at the Cell. Nearly every person that knows anything about baseball blasted the deal. KW's history of overpaying is coming back to haunt him due to the lack of depth we have in the minors. Anyone that says we couldnt use Olivo, Francisco, or Reed is in serious denial.

This year's transactions will go as the worst in Sox history. I've thought this all along, and I know there's a 50 percent chance I will be wrong. I think Reed, Olivo, and Rauch can be very good MLB players. The thing about Reed is he's the exact type of player we've lacked recently. Great hitter, makes contact, heady.

I still don't get what people see in Everett to justify KW trading away 5 solid to good prospects for him. He would be classified as one of the worst DH in the AL with those numbers, based on a full season.

Yes, the Farnsworth comment was a joke. For some reason, the green didnt work. Sorry.

What do May, June, July, and September have in common? Neal Cotts had an ERA over 7 in each of these months!

I repeat: Cotts is not a MLB pitcher until he learns another pitch. It's not like he has a 95 mph fastball that he can throw past anyone. Maybe we can trade him for Farnsworth.

Off the subject of the Sox game: I tuned in to see Rauch pitch against the Marlins tonight, and I saw something that pissed me off. The first pitch he threw was 94 mph. Where was that this year? Anyways, he looked fairly good. He was keeping the ball down, which is a major plus for him considering where the pitch is starting from.

Uribe is now 9 for 20 in steal attempts. Not exactly efficient.

What an absolute disaster Contreras is turning into for the Sox. The last thing this team needs is a 6 million dollar/year experiment. It's beginning to look like we would have been better off just losing Loaiza to free agency, and spending that money on a proven MLB pitcher.

First, Twins are unlikely to trade Jones to their biggest rivals. Also, Jones is likely to go to a team on the west coast (where he's from). A team like the Padres would make a lot of sense.

s***, I meant it to be Jorge Julio. Sorry about that Steve.

This is the problem with the whole organization right now. The team that you list for contracts would absolutely suck. They'd finish no better than 3rd next year. However, everyone seems to think we'll be big spenders this offseason. I don't see how we're going to do that without creating more holes by trading our better players. We have massive holes at 2b, 3b, RF, Catcher, SP, and RP.....sounds like a good start to building a team.

Many of us could only wish that KW would lose his job!

Were you out of the country last year Josh? Well, in case you were, Dusty went on the record saying he thought minorities performed better in the heat than non-minorities. He was 100 percent serious, but of course the Cubs, MLB, and the media gave him basically no grief for the comments he made. If a white manager would have said something like that, they would have been fired in a second.

That's funny, because I've been thinking about how strong the Twins could be next year. I think Santana will be a consistent 20 game winner for the next 5 years. Their bullpen guys are all young and very good. Guys like Morneau, Mauer, and Kubel are just going to get better. They'll have some money to spend on FA if they let go of guys like Koskie or J. Jones. I'd also be shocked if Radke doesnt go back to the Twins. With the Indians improving as much each year as they have, it's going to be an uphill battle for the Sox.

I can't get too excited about a pitcher's who has his best game and allows 4 runs. The comparisons between Garland and Grilli are just ridiculous, IMO.

What is your nightmare scenario for next year's team? I know this is premature and you never know how things work out, but I was just thinking of what offseason movements would be made that could make me cringe at the thought of our team: - Trade Konerko for a closer like Julio Lugo and Jerry Hairston - Sign a FA pitcher like Hideo Nomo or C. Lidle - Trade Jon Garland for someone like Jose Cruz Jr. Therefore, the team would look like this: 1b- Gload 2b- Harris/Hairston ss- Valdez 3b- Uribe C- Burke/Alomar LF- Lee CF- Rowand RF- Cruz DH- Thomas and Everett sp: Buehrle, Garcia, Contreras, Lidle, Grilli rp: julio, shingo, marte, cotts, adkins, politte I'm just concerned that KW is going to be too willing to hand over starting jobs to the likes of Willie Harris, Jamie Burke, and Wilson Valdez. These guys arent terrible players, but they're not division winning caliber. Now remember, this is not my idea for a team. Rather, this is the type of team that I fear KW might assemble, even though I doubt it. Please share some of your fears in regards to the 2005 roster.

I would be shocked if Benitez doesnt sign with the Cubs. They're going to be in the market for a closer, and Dusty loves to sign those minorities so that they perform better in the heat!

I know, and I don't have a problem if Frank comes back. It seems like he and Ozzie got along good. If we keep Konerko, I'm not exactly excited that we're going to have about 12 million dollars worth of DH players. In regards to the game with Everett in LF, he showed absolutely no range or ability to judge balls in LF. He turned routine singles into gappers, etc.

Everett was playing in LF that game, and his D was absolutely terrible. Everett makes Sosa look like a good fielder.

Considering that Everett seems to have no flexibility at all, I doubt they'd even try him at 1b. If PK gets traded, 1b will be Gload's job.

Yes, Olivo sucks against righties, but rakes lefties. Considering the high amount of lefty starters in the AL central, Olivo would not be a liability if he was still on the Sox. I always thought a great idea would have been to get a lefty hitting catcher who could play against tough righty pitchers. The Sox have a very interesting choice to make at catcher now. Is Ben Davis really the answer for full-time starter? I hope Sox mgmt wasnt fooled by one hot stretch to think he's a solid MLB level hitter.

My biggest concern with Everett is his defense. The one game he played in the field for the Sox this year, he was awful. Also, when the Sox played the Expos this year, Everett basically won us the first game by his limited range in the field. If you build your team on pitching, you need to make sure that you have a defense that will prevent singles from turning into doubles, etc.

In tomorrow's Chicago Tribune, there's gonna be an article on how Carl Everett states he'll be back next year not only cause he likes it here, but also cause he knows no one else would pay him the 4 million he's gonna make. With Frank coming back, Everett's gonna have to play in the outfield. With this in mind, Ozzie and KW's plan at getting speed and defense on the team is already defeated. Everett's D in the outfield is just pathetic, and he's not exactly a speed burner on the bases. I'm beginning to think the best move for the Sox would be to not have Frank come back next year, even though it would be a huge blow to our offense. However, the Sox could then use that 8 million to fill in holes in the rotation, bullpen, and even outfield. As it stands right now, it just doesnt seem like Sox will have a lot of flexibility to make moves. Way to go KW!

Screw that. There's a reason why you never trade for a guy who's been "banged" up that year. It's one thing if there's a particular injury. However, Everett was ailing from a variety of injuries. It would be like trading for Nomar. Wait, the Cubs did....and they've had to put up with a variety of injuries also.