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QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 7, 2005 -> 07:32 AM) And they are going to pay him a guarenteed $48 million plus $9 million more to AZ, plus Vazquez and 3 other players, including two top prosects. Total cost for the White Sox. $2.25 million. He didn't say best deal for the money. He said best deal. And what the Yankees will make in extra revenue for their likey World Series win in 2005 will more than pay for that $48M + $9M + scrub prospects.

QUOTE(JimH @ Jan 7, 2005 -> 07:20 AM) Yes, a great game. Actually the Sox won 4-0, the wind was howling about 35 mph that day. Just a funny reference I found about that week for Andy Hawkins, cut and pasted from www.baseballlibrary.com ... July 1, 1990: Yankees Andy Hawkins throws the season's 6th no-hitter, but still loses 4–0 to the White Sox. With two out in the bottom of the 8th, New York's Mike Blowers misplays Sosa's routine grounder for an error, and Hawkins walks two to load the bases. Outfielders Jim Leyritz and Jesse Barfield drop back-to-back fly balls to allow all four runs to score. Barfield loses Ivan Calderon's fly ball in the sun and the ball bounces off his mitt. Ken Johnson in 1964 was the last pitcher to lose a no-hitter. July 6, 1990: In his first start since losing a no-hitter, Andy Hawkins pitches 11 2/3 innings of shutout ball only to lose in the 12th 2–0 to the Twins. Hawkins is now 1-6. poor bastard. My 2 favorite moments are the HR that Bo Jackson hit in his first AB with the team after the Royals sold him down the river and left him for dead, and my second favorite is the HR that Frank hit in the 13th inning vs. the Twins. When it happened it looked like Frank hit it about 1,000 feet. It really only went about 400, but judging by the reaction from Hawk and the crowd, you'd think it was still in the air. Being a native left-coaster, I didn't see either of those moments live, but they were definitely great. And to the person who mentioned the Colon/Bonds battles - that was incredible. Bonds erased the first 3 strikeouts in the blink of an eye, and just showed why he's probably going to go down as the greatest player in ML history.

Maybe a couple of wins, but that's not the important thing. Sure his offensive talents will be much-welcomed, but IMO it's his attitude that is the best thing he brings to the table, and that's not something that can be quantified really. Great signing for the Sox.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 10:00 PM) Pierzynski -- A+ -- It will be the best deal of the off-season, for any team Better than the Yankees getting the best pitcher in baseball? :rolly

QUOTE(Wong & Owens @ Jan 7, 2005 -> 06:57 AM) Uh, who gives a rat's ass what any person posting on another board(or this board, for that matter) says about Frank Thomas? Does saying he's good make him good? Saying he's bad make him bad? I guess if this is the type of thing people look to hear, then I'll say this -- I think Johan Santana is the second-best left handed starter in baseball. You're welcome, Twins fan looking for validation. Well, if the enemy is acknowledging the greatness of one of our players, it shows that Frank is that damn good. It validates what we (and every person who has followed Frank over his great career) already know. Frank is most definitely a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and it's always nice to hear people other than White Sox fans admit that. Johan Santana is not the 2nd best lefty starter in baseball, either. He had 1 very good season as a starter. Let's see him do it for a couple more years before we get all ga-ga about him.

QUOTE(Sox1422 @ Jan 7, 2005 -> 05:56 AM) Seems that the Sox still have a little money to play with if they are truly going to have a payroll in the 72-75 million range. I would think if they reaaly wanted Iguchi they would maybe bump up their offer a million or so. The Sox like to make moves at (or even a month or more before) the trade deadline, so they may not necessarily want to "max out" their payroll in January. Granted, if we're playing well and look to be viable contenders, JR might loosen the strings on his purse, but the thinking right now could be to save room for a mid-season acquisition or two, where it's much easier to evaluate where the need for help is. By the trade deadline, we could have 2 of our starters on the DL, so we'd need a starter. We could have Frank out, so we'd need a power hitter. That said, I hope the Sox stay with what they have now. I think they had an excellent off-season, and I think Willie's play last year was good enough to warrant giving him another season to see how he can improve.

QUOTE(CWSOX45 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 05:24 PM) When being compared to the Twins, we are always the "better team" on paper. Over the past three years we all know who really was the better team.... CWSOX45 Correction: The Sox have had the better talent. But never the better team.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 02:13 PM) that Jap 2B If it weren't for the fact that we are onthe internet, I'd swear it was 1945 around here :rolly

Am I the only one that would *really* rather have AJ than Iguchi? I think with AJ, we know more what we're getting, while with Iguchi, it could go either way. Plus, I think Ben Davis at C is more of a liability for us than Willie Harris at 2B. Maybe that's just me, though.

If only the Sox could have a payroll of $80M or so. We could have an extra $15M or so left to spend this offseason. We could still get AJ, that Jap 2B, and we could have gotten another starter like Odalis Perez or Derek Lowe. *Sigh* Oh well. Also, I find it hard to believe that our payroll in 2000 was just $35M, but I'll assume it's correct. Look at the increase in money spent from 2000 to 2001. $27M. What happened in 2000? We went to the post-season. If the Sox can manage to make it there in 2005, hopefully we'll see a sizeable uppage in our payroll for 2006. Maybe not $27M worth, but an extra $10-$15M would be a huge plus for us.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:40 AM) This is the worst part of the year, most of the FAs have been snatched up, not much left to talk about. Players start reporting for ST sometime next month. That's something to talk about! And yes, it's still a little too early to predict what will happen in terms of playoff births. Not so much because of free agents remaining (Carlos Delgado helping a team? Are you serious? ), but because of possible trades that could happen between now and how Spring Training goes. Most of the top free agents have been signed (really only Derek Lowe and Carlos Beltran jump out as major impact free agents remaining - both Scott Boras clients, shocker :rolly ). In the case of the Sox, I guess the FA factor still remains, because we're in the market for a C and probably (hopefully?) a 2B, but mainly we need to see how ST goes. If Frank is good and ready to go, I think we've got a good shot at winning the division. And we'll have to see how El Duque looks. He's another big question mark. I'd say somewhere around mid-March, these predictions will carry much more water than they do right now.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:52 AM) I know, which is why I didn't put "jerk" in quotes. He was called a "cancer", however. Also, "I've never in all my years seen a catcher who didn't watch video before games. He doesn't watch hitters—other than the Twins games when they are on TV." Which clearly implies that he's unprofessional, even though it doesn't use the word "unprofessional". I think "jerk" is a fair summary of their feelings about AJ, maybe even charitable. ("Cancer" is much worse, imo.) And this isn't just one pitcher (Tomko) -- the article states different pitchers made many of the statements. It's not just a personal beef. As for the sportswriter, I don't really care how he feels. These aren't his quotes. Eh, not watching video. Big deal IMO. Everyone's got a different method of preparing for a game. If AJ prefers to play cards to get mentally ready to play, that's his option. It's obviously working for him, as he's been a pretty good major league player.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:50 AM) I'm talking about Sf mgmt keeping Barry Bonds happy. If AJ did give any info on Bonds during the BALCO investigation, would he want AJ on the team? Wouldn't he try and exert some influence? I thought Barry didn't know he was taking steroids? :rolly And I suppose that could be why. I know he had a pretty darned good season for them, so I can't imagine why they'd want him out of there. So I guess it's possible Barry wanted him out.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:43 AM) One thing that isn't mentioned was AJ being part of the BALCO / Bonds thing. AJ and Bonds were playing in an allstar deal in Japan [?] when Bonds' trainer was around. I believe the grand jury took AJ's deposition but didn't testify. Could that play a part in SF getting rid of him, along with his grating personality? Teams/Owners couldn't care less about their players taking steroids. If they did, MLB would have a real steroid policy instead of the slap-in-the-face-of-a-joke one they have now.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:30 AM) 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. I never said AJ was going to sharpen his spikes and carve up the opposing SS's shins breaking up a DP. But we need a guy that's going to bring some fire out there, and if ticking off the opposing team is what AJ brings to the table, that's certainly something the Sox could use. My Torii (nice name for a guy, by the way) reference was simply to show that the Sox did nothing in response after seeing one of their guys get obliterated. Do you think the Red Sox would have watched Jason Varitek (or anyone else) get plowed over and do nothing about it? I'll guaran-friggin-tee you they wouldn't have. I'd say out of the players on the Sox team right now, the ones that have some sack are Rowand, Buehrle, Garcia (iffy one), and who? I'm trying to think here. Crede's a sheep, so is Garland (he's the King of Wool - I came up with that, so credit me if you use it), so is Frank (gets fired up, but usually at umpires and himself), so is Konerko (fierce competitor, but tends to get down on himself more than anything), and so is almost everyone else. I don't know much about Dye, Podsednik, Vizcaino, or Hermanson, but hopefully at least one of them will have some spunk to them. We need AJ more than I thought.

To me, the attitude he would bring to the team alone would be worth the $2-$3M we'd pay him. Like I mentioned in the "Good News" thread, the Sox team over the past few years has been completely and utterly sackless (you need not look any further than Torii Hunter going out of his way to plow over Jamie Burke and the Sox doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to retaliate to see proof of that). AJ is not sackless, and he's not afraid of winning. Oh, and he'll also hit about .270-.290 for you, hit around 10-15 HR (career high 11 I think, but the Cell should be good for him), and drive in around 70. That's light years better than Ben Davis will do if he's the everyday catcher. It's win-win-win if you ask me.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:13 AM) As "sackless" as you think Magglio is, he was a big part of the brawl you mentioned. He gave a flying karate kick to one of the Tigers and was suspended a few games. Lee also was far from "sackless." Didn't remember Magglio doing that in the brawl. Other than that, though, when did you ever see the guy get fired up about anything? He always seemed far too calm to me. It's just the guy's personality, and there's nothing wrong with being even-kiltered, believe me. But, in professional sports, you need to have a couple of guys who are a little wacky and short-tempered. And what did Carlos ever do to make you think he had a pair? Other than get pissed when he didn't get to RBI 100 last season?

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 06:00 AM) players like Carlos Lee don't come along every day of the week Lots of players these days are hitting .300 with 30 and 100. It's not that great of a thing anymore. Players who do that need to bring more to the table to be untradeable, and IMO, Carlos Lee had 0 other assets or any intangibles. He's certainly not a stud in the field, he's not a guy fans pay to go see play, and he's not a playmaker. He seems to stay healthy, but other than that, what you see is what you get. He's not a guy the Sox are going to regret losing, IMHO.

QUOTE(SoIL @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 07:04 AM) This is an interesting thought. I've long thought that the Sox have lacked someone like Jack McDowell. A guy who would go out every start and didn't give a rats ass who he was facing. He wouldn't back down to anybody. I think this is something we've lacked the last few years. Having a catcher, or anybody with this attitude certainly would be a plus for this team. I have concerns about AJ, most of what I've read about him has been negative, but I'm becoming more willing to give him a chance. It could turn out to be a real good thing. 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.

- Our starting rotation is better. And in 2005 we'll have Freddy Garcia (probably one of the top 10 pitchers in the AL) for the whole season, unlike last year when we only had him for half the season. If last season's rotation was a 6 (which is what I'd give it probably), this season's is probably a 7 or 8. That, of course, assumes that El Duque stays healthy. - Our lineup is better. We lost some power with Magglio leaving and Lee getting traded, but we gained some much-needed speed with Podsednik. So we have our best lead-off hitter in years, and we also added a guy in Jermaine Dye who, when healthy, is very capable of hitting 30-35 and driving in 100-110. As it stands right now, I'd say our lineup is slightly better, and the possible signing of Pierzynski would make it flatout better. We need a good catcher and a healthy Frank. Last year's lineup would get 7 from me, and this one could go up to an 8 if we can sign AJ. Otherwise, it's probably a 7.5 (assuming a healthy Frank). - Our bullpen is better. We'll have Cliff Politte back and hopefully healthy, and we've added a very good arm in Luiz Vizcaino. Dustin Hermanson also gives us a versatile arm that can be used as a spot-starter, long reliever, or middle reliever. Last year's pen I'd give a 7, and this one is an 8 or possibly 8.5. So overall right now I'd give this team about a 7.5. That's pretty darned good IMO. We need another piece or two, though. I can live with Willie at 2B..but I cannot live with Ben F'ing Davis at C. We need AJ.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Jan 2, 2005 -> 07:56 PM) Has anything else been published about Frank's return date? I've read a few things that have said he could be out until June. Like I said in another post, I saw him in Las Vegas about 3 weeks ago, and his left ankle/foot was in a cast and he was using an electric cart to move around. He didn't really look good. His weight looked fine, but I don't know if he'll be ready for Spring Training or not.

QUOTE(hi8is @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 12:22 AM) ro ro row your boat all the way to freakin town ladys and gents because this guy is the real deal i know, i should be a sports commentation, tell that to reinsdorff just dont tell im that im... a) a drunk and B) a god awful speller 1) So was Harry Carey, and DJ is high during every Sox game. and 2) What does spelling have to do with doing sports commentary? Based off of what I've seen of you, though, I'd say you're already 10 times better than DJ is. He hasn't gotten 1 iota better since he first started. All he does is agree with Hawk and say things that 99% of the time are either useless, irrelevant, or flat out wrong.

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 01:06 AM) We ought to take wagers to see which one comes to camp fatter: Everett or Uribe Speaking of coming to camp fat, I saw Frank about 3 weeks ago at the Mirage hotel in Vegas (I do security there - I stood behind him and kept the looky-loos away while he played $2,000/hand blackjack ), and he looked to be in pretty good shape. He was wearing kinda baggy clothing, but he didn't appear to be over weight at all really. He had his left ankle/foot in a cast, though, and was using an electric cart to get around. Hopefully he'll be ready come Spring Training because our offense vastly needs his presence. But, from what I saw, I dunno if that's going to happen.

It amazes me how professional athletes can allow themselves to be in anything but tip-top shape. They're paid to be able to perform at the highest level possible, yet so many allow themselves to gain weight in the off-season. It's just amazing. Guys like Shaquille O'Neal get paid MILLIONS to do one thing - play a sport. And staying in decent shape in the off-season seems to be asking too much. It doesn't even have to do with what they eat. If they'd just work out, they could eat whatever they want and they wouldn't gain weight. And oh yes, it certainly is possible to gain 40 pounds in 3 months, for whoever it was who said it wasn't. If someone eats everything in sight and doesn't exercise at all, the weight comes on very quickly.

QUOTE(Yossarian @ Jan 3, 2005 -> 06:03 PM) Me either. Vizcaino is going to have to salvage this trade, if it can be salvaged. I don't understand the excitement over this trade one bit. I know some are happy about the chance to play "Ozzieball" but the Cell is a launching pad since all the changes. This trade could turn out just awful and I'll be glad to eat crow, but as of now it looks like a terribly one sided trade to me. We got Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino, and freed up the money to sign Orlando Hernandez. Even if Hernandez may not be healthy for the whole season, I'll most definitely take those 3 players over Carlos Lee.