Punch and Judy Garland

Navarro is now believed to be an overrated prospect. He's not Pudge. When the D-Back took a good look at him during the last Unit sweepstakes, they had little interest in him. He is not close to the bigs and struggled last season. I think it is certainly possible that Garland and Konerko are moved for Javy (with some cash) and either F-Rod, Gordon, or Quantrill. I bet the D-backs want Rowand involved but I would doubt that happening. This trade would definitely fill some pitching needs (better hope B-Mac is ready for the 5th spot) and concerns but we'd still have no 1 or 2 hitters and we'd even have less thump. I would probably be against this deal, not that the sox care.

I think given the pricetag they paid for him, they will keep him. If he's healthy this year, he's an interesting name in the 05 offseason. Hudson, Oswalt, and the Unit will command more attention but Penny is solid.

Not sure if this got mentioned, but Jurassic was a disaster in Boston. Nto as much staistically but the fans and media didn't get along with him. I wouldn't mind Roberts in CF but I don't feel Rowand is good enough offensicely to profile as a right-fielder, IMO.

I don't think it's as straight as Fatolo's has turned into. I do worry abotu him choking on the three pounds of Copenhagen in his mouth when he pitches.

THis may have been posted elsewhere, but Rosenthal had an article up today saying Ortiz wants Bartolo money (4/51). That's terrible. Furthermore, the leading candidates to get him are the D-Backs and the Nationals who don't have that kind of money to spend. I hope KW has let the Russ Ortiz train sail.

Even if Maggs is running a 4.3-40 tomorrow mornign, we can't offer him arbitration. Ask the Braves what it's like offering a Boras client arbitration. THey had to deal Millwood within the division (weirdly it actually worked out). If we offer him it, I think he takes it and a monster one year deal and then we have to do something stupid like trade Konerko or someone for a B-prospect as KW would have no leverage in a deal. I like draft picks as much as anyone but they aren't THAT important.

I would like to see Jaret Wright come here, no doubt about it. Here is my one concern, and it's not a huge one. The rotation will be in tact for the next two seasons with the exception of Jon Garland should we sign Wright or any other pitcher for that matter to a multi-year deal. If you believe some people (including beat writers and those in the organization) some think B-Mac could be ready at the beginning of the year or soon after. I think it's a smidge too optimistic to think he's the Opening Day 5th starter, but that's because I've never seen him with my own eyes. The point is that it seems there are only three possible solutions besides B-Mac being a bullpen guy or not cracking the rotation until 07. They are the following: 1. We wait until 06 to use him and he gets a rotation shot (Garland's slot) no matter if Judy turns the corner or not. He'd be gone whether he's great or a flop. 2. We resign Judy and move Contreras to the bullpen in late 05 or 06. THis is complicated by Jose making 9 in 06. 3. We trade B-Mac now either for a premier player (in an A's deal) or at the deadline should we be in contention. This is all moot if B-Mac takes a step backward. I just bring this up as one of the by-products of having five starter stability. It's not a terrible problem to have but it should be interesting how it plays out. It's not an easy decision for the powers that be.

If you watched the Expos on the MLB package then you need to go outside more during the summer

It'll be tough for him to come out of the pen the day after pitching both ends of a double header.

I'm not getting the game (getting the awful Niners-Rams game). DOes Hutch's play today kill hope for a Jeff George sighting soon?

The funny thing is that I don't thik that roids made Boston any better or that he needed them. I think he used them for aesthetic purposes and was very vain. I remember reading that the Chargers were pissed that his workouts weren't designed for football but for body building

I thought the Yankees were going to be involved too though.

I think that Bud Selig was right that getting tougher testing a couple of years ago wasn't worth another crippling strike. I think that we will get the type of testing that we want pretty soon. It's sort of oddly assumed that NFL players don't juice. On the heels of Boston and Ricky Williams saying how easy it is to beat tests, you wonder how bad it is in the NFL.

Yeah I can't see how anybody would want to retire #30. There are probably some (morons) hesitant to retire #35. Like I said, Maggs was great. Much the way Jack McDowell was great. But it doesn't mean that you hang their jersey

If Danny Wright can get healthy, he might be able to follow the model of Ryan Dempster. Another guy with great stuff who was inconsistent and got hurt.

Freddy Garcia's first public appearance (I think) is reason enough for me to go. I was hoping they might bring Shingo and Jose but I don't even know if Shingo is in the country right now.

They are/were two terrific players.

Hey we'll go get them. If not, you can always go to soxfest and b****! You win either way

I don't understand the people who want to diminish Tejada. He had a rough ALDS in 03 but he knocked in 150 runs in a line-up that probably wasn't any better than ours. Why don't people want to give Miguel some dap as one of the very best int he game? I've got some ideas, curious on yours.

You could make an argument that nobody is better than Tejada right now given his position, etc. Nobody will argue (I hope) that Edgar is better. If Tejada came into free agency this year he'd be as or more sought after than Beltran. I cannot possibly agree that soxtalk has given the keys of the city to wright. There was in fact a very spirited debate on him and nobody mentioned CY Young or World Series. As far as the Edgar talk again, he's probably a better player than some of his detractors have led on today. I think Qwerty probably had it right when saying that it's not a good contract at 4/40 but not one worht crying over. Listen, the market really looks like it's rebounding so I think that it could be a fair contract. I go to school down in Carbondale and get to watch the Cards every day. He is a terrific defensive player and does everything well. Also, you have to give him the benefit of an increased OPS as our park is a bit better to hit in. Overall, good discussion so far. Some good points made. The one individual who complained about the "winner" label now knows how us stat guys feel when we're told a guy isn;t that good becaus ehis OBP isn't high enough.

Right but 4/40 million isn't an albatross. It's not a superb contract but there are worse ones to be made. Check out Crasnick today who has an article up on how there have been no good deals for teams yet. The market is correcting itself upward after the last few years. There is a chanc ethat $9-10 million for Renteria (who's under 30 I believe) will look like a nice deal when Nomar signs next offseason. Does being clutch show up in the stats? I'm not a stats guy. However, guys like Edgar Renteria and Luis Gonzalez would have to go 0-50 with the bases loaded to diminish as Word Series Game 7 winning hit. That and his rivalry games, all-star appearances, and playoff games shows that he's not going to be very bothered by tough situations. He will be quiet with the media because he does not like to speak English on camera.

Not sure if this is up yet but Crasnick says the Cardinals are favored to resign Matt Morris at a one-year deal. He seems to tbe the pitching version of Nomar Garciaparra. He wants to sign a low base-incentive laden deal and the WHite Sox would be smart to at least pick up the phone on this one. Low financial risk for only one year with the upside being a 22 game winner.

what evidence is that he's clutch? He hade a game winning hit in the 7th game of a world series. Even if you want to brush that aside, he absolutely murders the cubs at times. I think he put up a 5-5 in one of the biggest games of the year in Wrigley. He's a really good player. Is he worth $9 million? Maybe not. But he's probably worth more that $7. It's like the Sports guy Steve Nash analogy. He said that the Suns paid $60 million for a guy everyobdoy thinks is a $45 million point guard. Even overpaying, you still have a $45 point guard. By the way, good call on calling Buehrle and Frank winners. I think Paulie CAN be that guy at times. YOu guys may not want to hear this, but at times Timo Perez was a pretty key guy (homer in FLorida, big hit if K-ROd).

Edgar had a game winning WS hit so I guess that qualifies as a winner. I'm not a stat guy so I do buy into things like "winners" but it's still not hard and fast. There are probably very few guys who can instantly transforn a team, and Miguel Tejada is one of those guys. His infectious energy and 150 RBI's make that 12 million a year look like a steal. It'd sure have been nice to see him play somewhere in the midwest

You won't find a guy who likes Robbie more than me. He's a first-ballot HOF'er in my opinion. He belongs on that short list with a guy like Joe Morgan and a mild cut above Sandberg and Maz. All of that said, it appears over. I think he still can hit a little bit but his range is gone. I want to see him get 3000 hits but it just cannot happen in chicago. Robbie is not a bad guy but I don't think it'd be a good fit having him play once a week. A lot of guys can't make that adjustment. It's time for him to move on and see if he can land a gig somewhere else (St. Louis?)