3E8

Timo gets a hit with RISP. What a surprise.

You guys see Grilli showing some emotion after that inning? I f***ing love that!

Remember John Rocker? Neither do I.

Cowering in the dugout with his tail between his legs.

It's kind of exciting to speculate who we may be able to trade for, although it will be sad to see Pauly or Carlos potentially leaving the South Side.

Ozzie takes an unprofessional comment and dishes out several in return.

So do you think trades will be made this offseason for these types of players? Or that JR will possibly open up his checkbook?

Timo, Everett, or Borchard. Pick your poison. As you know, it's not always about getting on base either. Timo by far leads the White Sox in productive out percentage, and is 12th in the AL. That's what I think we need on this team, guys willing to play the game right, instead throwing out their back swinging for the fences. Uribe is 2nd on the team in productive outs, Rowand is 3rd.

The following is a personal assesment of complete surprise players from the 2004 season. In my humble opinion, these guys should start everyday in 2005 because they will fit perfectly into our new style of play. Aaron Rowand He can hit, he can slug, he can field, he can run, he can throw. He's a complete stud. Not much to say that everyone here already doesn't agree about. Biggest and best surprise of 2004 season. REPLACES: Vacancy Sox have had in CF for quite awhile. Juan Uribe One word: exciting. Watching him make a play on a routine ground ball is fun! The beginning of the season (and lately) proves to us this guy can hit the hell out of the ball. Above average defense too. Oh yeah, he's only 25. He will get better with age. REPLACES: Jose Valentin at SS. Timo Perez The more I see him play, the more I like. It's hard to deny that Timo has definitely brought a level of intensity that the Sox sometimes lack. Best hitter with RISP in the league. It seems like he is always super-clutch. Does all the little things very well too (bunt, sacrfice, baserunning). A little lazy defensively at times, but does have a cannon. Come on Timo! Come on Timo! REPLACES: Loss of Magglio Ordonez to FA in RF Ben Davis, Jamie Burke Both of these guys flourished after the Sox resurrected them from AAA. Davis is showing the potential everyone has been waiting for, and Jamie Burke is a hit-machine, batting close to .400. Davis is solid behind the plate, calling good games and throwing out runners. Burke's gamecalling is respectable too, but needs a little work. They are both obviously willing to work with coaches and take advice, which is nice to see. Their emergance into the majors has really been something to behold. REPLACES: Loss of Miguel Olivo to trade, Sandy Alomar to age, at C. Ross Gload I know everyone's against me on this one, but I think Gload is an everyday major league baseball player. He's proven that he can swing the stick, batting .300 this year, while averaging even better with runners on base. You can't get enough clutch. Ross is a liability in the outfield, which is why he should start at first. This is his original position and he's fielded it quite well this year. For such inconsistent playing time, it's hard to ignore what Gload's done offensively. Look what happened to Rowand with an everyday start... REPLACES: Loss of Paul Konerko to trade (trust me) at 1B. Willie Harris This one I'm really on the fence about. Willie probably doesn't deserve to be on this list, but he's shown sparks of greatness several times throughout the year. Held a .320 batting average, awesome speed, flashed some leather. He needs to pick up the consistency though. Seems like he'll have one tremendous game a week, then slip into mediocrity, and start feeling sorry for himself. If we can get the Willie next year with confidence in his abilities, then he could potentially start everyday. REPLACES: Underachieving self of 2004 at 2B. Well there's my list. I wish I could put Crede on it, but I can't. I don't know what the Sox should/will do with him next year. Some young Sox pitchers have made good impressions this year, but I mainly wanted to focus on position players. Cotts, Adkins, Diaz, they've all shown some promise. But I mainly think with this core of young and talented starters, the Sox could be in business next year. They bring a new style that isn't about home runs and slow feet. It's about base hits, speed, and playing the game right. Combine them with knowledgable veterans (Thomas, Lee, Everett, 3B free agent?) and HOPEFULLY a free agent starting pitcher, and 2005 could be the most exciting year we've had in a long time.

Valdez is starting tonight at second base and batting ninth.

Haha, sorry about that. I was talking about Billy Koch.

We threw more money than that at a guy who had 'proven' himself. That didn't work out too well.

A multiyear deal for Wright at $4-5 million per year (realistic) would be a steal.

http://www.komotv.com/qt/bouncing_bear.mpg

Same goes for Pavano, but I bet you'd be ready and willing to sign him.

Jaret Wright is a free-agent? KW should give him serious consideration.

Way to go, Dawson.

All it will take is one more Diaz-hosted home run derby for everyone at Soxtalk to jump off his bandwagon. There are way too many knee-jerk reactions sometimes.

Haha, I like you.

I wonder what demographic you're in...

Well I think I speak for Cheat and Tony when I say they agree with you.

I obviously see where you're coming from. I don't believe the Sox will be playing in October. I'd rather go out giving it our best shot. Give me Garcia and Diaz/Grilli instead of just Diaz and Grilli.

Did you read the first page?