Rex Hudler

I don't think that has any bearing at all. Any team that would be interested in Maggs would have him checked thoroughly by a doctor. They would be fully aware of the extent of his injury. And there is no way Maggs agent would allow the Sox to offer him arbitration, submit a $11.2 million figure and then not take them to arbitration. Hell, he would get more than that in arbitration if he can prove he is on track to come back by early in the season.

no idea....... just commenting on Boles himself.

Boles was not responsible for the Dodgers farm system. He may have had input, but he was basically one of Dan Evans baseball people, brought in similar to Roland Hemond, to offer a veteran point of view. I have met John Boles and he is truly one of the class guys in baseball. He will fit right in with Roland as polar opposites of Kenny Williams. LOL

So you are saying a few more losses before the end of the season couldn't hurt? lol

Polanco was originally drafted by the Sox. I can't remember the year, but he and Frank Menechino of the A's were both drafted AFTER Ron Scheuler's daughter that year.

That's funny, Critic.

I am sure this will be a very unpopular post and I am not going to go into a lot of detail here. If you disagree with me fine, but I am not going to argue back and forth on it. The White Sox have tried to find ways to get rid of Frank for several years. The problem is, no one else wants him. Frank is widely viewed as selfish and a negative influence in the clubhouse. Other teams know this as well. That, combined with the fact that he cannot play defense, means there is VERY limited opportunity to move him. When they restructured his contract a few years ago, the Sox were hoping he would decline one of his options so they could let him walk. Unfortunately, Frank knew the market for his services was almost nil, so he stayed pat, taking less money because he knew he would the Sox would not exercise their option. All I will say is that I have gotten information from several different sources, all which have at least a certain amount of inside information. I know this is vague, but that is the way it has to be. The Sox will be a better team once Frank is gone. To clarify, they will be better when they are able to replace him and know he will no longer be there. It may take two years based on other pieces of the puzzle, but there are people in the Sox organization that believe this to be true.

Exactly, which is why I think it may get worse before it gets better.

Actually going into this season, I thought that the Sox would either be much better than expected or much worse. I think a middle of the road kind of team is what was mostly expected. Guess I was wrong in that I thought they would fall on either side of that middle of the road, not directly in it, like they are now..

And how do you know how much money Sox ownership makes? How do you know what their profit margins are? Prove to me they are pocketing large sums of money and I MIGHT listen. Until then, you are just howling nonsense.

I agree....... I hate to say it, but I have a feeling it is going to get worse before it gets better

The point is the whole approach......... using patchwork each year to try and win...... They need to change to more of a 3-4 year plan, but that will piss off all the fans. Throwing money at the problem just masks the problem and doesn't solve anything long term.

Yeah, just like the big dogs that won the last two World Series....... they had payrolls nowhere near $100 million. You can't just throw money at the problem and expect that to be your answer.

I thought the title was about how many hands were needed to count the number of runs the Sox scored in the three-game series. Let's see...... 1, 2, 3, 4.......... yup, just one hand!

Backman is a great manager. The players liked playing for him and played hard. Unfortunately, he wanted the job a little too badly and alienated some people along the way last year. I don't buy that story that came out of Minnesota, but I do know that Wally was led to believe he would get the Sox job and he talked about it. All that said, don't be surprised if he is managing the Arizona Diamondbacks next year.

I didn't see what the big deal was at all...... had no problem with the piece.

LDF, I was referring to next year, but the rest of this year is certainly a start. The pitchers I was referring to were a group of Bajenaru, Diaz, Munoz, Cotts (perhaps in a starter's role?), Adkins in a more primary role, etc...... There is not much chance that all of them will make the club next year. But the Sox need to decide which ones they think are more likely to contribute, then stick with that person.

YES! Why do you think they are almost always Fox' featured game on TV? It's not just ESPN. Those two teams draw the most national interest so they are the most talked about. Like it or not, it is what it is.

Man enough? That's a joke...... But I'll tell you what....... you go on believing what you want and I'll let you win this argument because this is assinine. I have said my piece and I think most people with a half a brain that can see the big picture would agree. It's funny, the only people I ever hear b****ing about ESPN, are people on message boards that are mad because they don't give their team enough coverage. Whether you personally fall into that category I could care less. But what do I know, I know nothing about the game of baseball. Reply all you want now..... my piece has been said and it will fall on deaf ears. Peace

Jim, I agree with you to a point, but I don't completely. Maggs is all but gone. Frank is winding down his career. Rowand just had his first good year and just earned full-time player status. Calling him part of the "core" might be a bit premature. Most Sox fans want Crede out the door, although I don't think they will nor should give up on him. Having Buehrle and Garcia is good. I am not saying they should punt, but that they should give guys room to breathe like Willie and Crede. If they think Uribe can play SS full-time, then give him that chance. I never meant that all of their reserves deserve a starting role. But some of the pitchers need a chance. I still don't see the planning for the future to any organized degree. Yes they picked up Freddy and got him signed. That was good. I am not convinced they got Uribe because they had no SS prospects. They had two 2B and no utility infielders. The Uribe deal was to fill a need this year and if he turned into a starter down the road, that is a bonus. I am not saying there shouldn't be any free agent signings or trades. But to dump your minor league depth every June or July and never get results is very short-sighted to me. And don't give me the argument that "none of the players we traded have done well" because that doesn't fly. You hurt your overall organization when you have no depth. You make it harder to develop quality players or put more pressure on a select few when you have no depth. I am still quite confident that the first Everett trade will come back to bite him in the ass, but it will take a few years to really see the effects of that deal. I am not an "all prospects" kind of guy. I do believe that part of the purpose for the Minor League system is to use those players to obtain Major League players. But I just don't like the direction the Sox are headed right now.

ESPN's job isn't to do something for "us". It is a national show. Sorry if national interest isn't on the White Sox and they don't talk about them enough for you. If you could get your head out of your ass and see there is another world out there than just Sox baseball, you will see that ESPN is quite good. Then again, based on what you have contributed to this thread, my guess is you already know everything so you can't see anything new. I wish I was as smart as you.

I know I will be in the minority here, but I would almost go with the lineup as he suggested (minus Timo). For the last 4 years, the Sox have been straddling the fence, trying to acquire players to make a run for the playoffs, while at the same time, slowing down the development of some young players. The Twins are winning because they were patient with guys like Koskie, Radke, Milton, Hunter etc. Granted to let the "kids" play, you will probably have another year similar to this one, or even a bit worse. But a year like that could allow Garland and Crede to finally get it going. It could allow Willie to develop comfortably. It would give the Sox an opportunity to see if Uribe is the long term answer at SS. It would allow some of the other pitchers to develop, guys like Cotts, Munoz, Bajenaru, etc. They would probably find that not all of them are Major Leaguers, but they may allow guys to develop that may not have if you keep them in AAA or limit their roles. If the Sox stay on the current path of trading away prospects for veterans, they are likely to get the same results. They need to step up the budget and try to put together a winner now, going for it all (which isn't likely to happen, nor would winning be guaranteed) or step back, let some of the kids develop and build a new core for the next 5 years. The core of this team is old. My problem with KW is in this area. I don't think he has a plan for anything more than each season. I think he does everything he can to win for THAT season, not worrying about the next year or the next 3 years. It hasn't gotten us anywhere now and it is likely only to set us back a year or two down the road.

How do you REALLY feel???

I didn't see the game, but based on the play-by-play online, it looks as if he did his part. Got them out of one jam, and only allowed an infield hit before being removed.

I'm sure you are much smarter........