jackie hayes

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:06 PM) The last guy that we've had on the Sox who had any balls was Jim Parque. That brawl with the Tigers in 2000 was a thing of beauty, and is the thing I remember most about that season even though we won the most games in the AL (all of baseball maybe, not sure about that) and had several players have great seasons. This team has been severely lacking in the "I've got balls" department, and hopefully the dumping of Magglio and Lee, who are both absolutely sackless, will help fix that. We need AJ to show some of our sheepish players what it takes to win games. Sometimes it takes an asshole attitude to put you over the top, and AJ possesses that quality -- and yes, if directed correctly, it is most definitely a quality. Hold on -- it wasn't AJ's opponents that called him a jerk last season, it was his own teammates. And the pitchers, too, who he should get along with as a catcher. I keep reading things that sound like he just manages to tick off the opposing team in the spirit of a 'gamer'. This is not Torii Hunter we're talking about -- AJ is badmouthed not for a rough play, but for playing cards, for chrissakes.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:15 PM) I would love to have a game breaking WR, but I just don't think that either Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards fit with the Bears system or are worthy of the #4 overall pick. I would pick OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the first round and then hope that Chris Henry is still therre in the 2nd round and grab him. Whether or not that's true, we don't know yet how much the system's going to change between this year and next. We gotta wait and see what happens w/ Shea. One thing that was mentioned (maybe on the radio on Sunday?) is that the Bears also need to improve their te corps. If in the 2nd round you pick between wr and te the best player available, that may work well.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 01:33 AM) I just know he impressed the hell out of me in the rose bowl. I'm also starting to like the idea of drafting Williams out of Texas (LB) cause it would give the Bears a good defensive line and linebacking core with a solid secondary. Either Williams or Rolle would look awful good, plus the step down from Rolle to Webster (the 2nd best corner) is a hole hell of a lot. You mean Derrick Johnson, not Williams. He may be a safer pick, I'll give you that. But our offense is just so sad, unless you make a big fa pickup on that side of the ball, I don't see how you can justify it. I keep thinking about the Ravens, how much trouble they've had despite the great defense. They are still desperate for a wr, after how many years of looking? It's such a big need. And they've had a very good line, and a better rb than ours, and one of the best te in the nfl. (Actually, I'd prefer a lineman if the talent's equal, but not by much, and I think we may get a better player at wr anyway.) Btw, I really like the wr Gage, too (not the soxtalk "gage procedure", certainly ). I only listened to most of the game over the radio -- did he get in the game this week at all? I don't know what the hell Shea's waiting for.

So we're relying on Crede as a power hitter? I suppose that's b/c Crede hasn't yet proven that he's able to do anything else in the ML, may as well. But a guy w/ about 20 hr and a .420 slg as your slugger, that's a stretch. I hope KW never thought to himself that he should try to "downsize" the offense, b/c that idea just sounds absurd.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 3, 2005 -> 10:16 PM) I refuse to say the Sox are favorites for the division. They aren't the favorites in my mind until they finally win the division and are the defending champs. We really won't be the favorites this year, unlike the last few years. A strong return by Mauer will more than answer for AJ, and even though El Duque will help, he won't completely close the gap between the performance of the pitching staffs last season (and Contreras is still a big, big question mark). Especially working w/o Maggs and Carlos, and Frank for who-knows-how-long, this division is now very tight even on paper, and I expect most people will think Minnesota's the favorite. (And that's w/o even considering Cleveland.)

So for all the fans of this, why should I be excited about the Bears trading down? Last time we traded down for Grossman and Haynes -- is that really better than Leftwich, or Suggs? As much promise as Grossman has, he hasn't proven anything yet, and Haynes isn't a starter. IMO, the risk is worth it -- I can imagine that Rolle and Johnson and at least a couple wr and perhaps both tackles will be gone by our first pick if we trade down.

I'd add Sabathia, Wells, and Pettitte. Not that they're better, but they're in his league.

Worst part, you know sales of promise rings will go up over the next week. What is his problem? He just got called out for sounding like a lech over his daughter, so he does it again?

Hey, Jim, if I wanted the complete discography I could just go to rollingstone.com. J/k, thanks for this, I will check him out again.

Will do. Any other suggestions?

No problem. I understand, you lefties are mentally ill, that's all. Honestly, it looks very good, I'm just saying.

Yeah, I get that impression too after hearing KW say that they've been looking at Davis for a while. (I don't know what they saw while looking...) But 2 teams have already said that, and each one gave up in short order. I don't think the Sox will be as patient with Davis. If I'm Zaun, I think that I can probably outplay Davis, so it may be worth the risk. At least if the money's comparable, b/c the Blue Jays don't have nearly the playoff shot that we do. If Davis does pull off the resurrection, I imagine Zaun will be traded, anyway. So it's a risk of a half season of playing time, not too bad.

I don't doubt you, just saying that I haven't liked what I've heard. Give me some recommendations and I'll give 'em a try. I won't pretend to know anything about music, so I'm not judging Zappa. I feel pretty stupid usually while listening to great composers. I do enjoy Mozart, Shubert, and (somewhat oddly I guess) Schoenberg. But then of Beethoven and Bach, I don't like much besides the Goldberg variations. Needless to say, I avoid giving musical advice.

Just asking, why do you think Zaun wouldn't get playing time here? His worst seasons as a pro (and his big downside is that he's spectacularly inconsistent, I admit) were better than the 2004 of Ben Davis.

Just to be an echo.... Use the Zappa stuff. I can't stomach his music, but he is damn sharp, and funny. He's using a slippery slope argument. You might also want to question how effective these restrictions are. B/c the restrictions are voluntary, the effects-on-business argument is weak, IMO.

Looks good, but shouldn't it be '05 instead of 05'?

Nadie dice "Calcetines", solamente "Medias". And that's about the limit of my hs Spanish. I don't really know the difference, but check out the Latin American newspapers, or Univision. It's always "Los Medias Blancas".

Before we do that, you should ask LosMediasBlancas how to say White Sox in Spanish. Something tells me he may know, just a hunch.

His defense was more than a little disappointing. It was flat out awful. Why would the Sox get anything better from him? Thinking about what a defensive whiz Kaz was supposed to be makes me a little wary of Iguchi, too. As TLAK said, this is one for the scouts as far as I'm concerned.

Seems like exactly the right order, and good call on the As. Only thing I'd add is that there are some dark horses that I'd put at 6 & 7, Toronto and the Ms, that shouldn't be left out of the debate, at least based on the rotation. Halladay-Lilly-Bautista-Bush-? looks good (especially since it's an odd numbered year), and Meche-Pineiro-Franklin-Moyer-? can't possibly be as bad as they looked in 2004. Bullpen's a question for each, though.

No, it's very relevant to Jug's question, which has to do with unions in developing countries, not the US. This movement against capitalism is the worst, most counter-productive aspect of liberalism today. Suppose the developing world had strong unions, that demanded $5/hr and weekends off. US companies would pull out of there so fast your head would spin -- cheap labor is the ONLY advantage of countries with bad infrastructure and corruption. These particular jobs would disappear from the developing world. Of course, products in the US would become more expensive. But think about the developing countries -- remember that in the developing world "unemployed" is not a very meaningful word. If you lose your job, you do whatever you can (somehow, you always work) to feed yourself and your family. Those kids working in sweatshops would not walk out of the factory, into the classroom -- they'd go to the fields, some into prostitution. A lot of people would return to subsistence farming, which is much less lucrative and much less steady -- starvation is a lot closer than in the factory. How exactly is this good? Don't you ever question why these jobs are so popular? Why won't unions start now? B/c there are gobs of people in developing countries that worry about food for tomorrow, not next month or retirement. In a situation like that, who would give a f about being called a scab? Would your picket-line show, or would they be doing something to see that their kids eat? When the countries have sufficient wealth (or at least, income is more dependable/stable), and decent social networks to support out-of-work individuals, then you may see unions. The best way to get to that point is more-or-less unfettered capitalism (the same way the US got there -- although some basic safety standards can and should be implemented). Withdrawing capital and telling them to fend for themselves is the best way to totally screw the developing world.

I would have loved to see Miller in a Sox uniform, but I haven't seen anything suggesting he wanted to come here. It's a one-year deal -- good chance he wants to prove himself, then get a big payoff. If that's your goal, you might want to sign with the WS champs, who'll get a lot of publicity and have a very, very good chance of getting into the postseason. (Look what the postseason did for Derek Lowe.) Maybe the Sox didn't have much of a chance. But El Duque a safe choice? Look at his ip over the last 4 years. He was shut down for a couple weeks towards the end of this past season. He's hardly a lock to be in the rotation the full year. Miller is younger, and could be an excellent pitcher for many years. There are a lot of reasons to prefer him to Hernandez, if he was available. Btw, does anyone get surgery for a frayed rotator cuff? (Besides minor, cleaning-out type surgeries.) I didn't think surgery could repair that, but I could be wrong.

Except Garland. Maybe KW has a quick exit in mind for Jon. Or more likely, he figures McCarthy is no sure thing yet; if he comes on like gangbusters, he could probably move JG or El Duque (maybe he'd have to include some money, but it could be done). If he needs more time, then he's got his staff in place. Which sounds reasonable. I'd rather have Hernandez on a 1-yr contract anyway, but not b/c of McCarthy. If and when he's ready, they'll make him a spot.

Well, that missed the whole point of my questions. Sure, he's a good pitcher... But only if he's pitching, man.

Why Eckstein? After that, I think we need to look into Mussina and Brown, gotta complete the set.