Rex Hudler

But what is the purpose other than to outwardly show jealousy?? Sox fans would be better served not caring what happens on the North side.

I think Sox fans should spend less time thinking and worrying about the Cubs and more time about their own team.

Actually he said they would be #3's on most staffs, which I agree with. Both have been erratic, but both can be dominant. I have no problem with this story. It may be painting a best case scenario, but it is hard to argue with the the potential of that staff. I'd trade their starters for the Sox starters in a second.

That doesn't matter. When McGwire was using andro is was available over the counter at GNC and legal. You can't retroactively punish someone... Just as they can never put an asterisk by anything Bonds has done, even if he tested positive for steroids. There is no way they could prove he was using them then. Even if they catch him now, which I don't think they will.

This is a piece from a current ESPN article where John Smoltz is calling for more stringent testing...... Pretty pathetic, if you ask me...... Under baseball's plan, the first positive test for steroid use would result in treatment only. A second positive would bring a fine or suspension, but a player would have to test positive five times to get a one-year suspension. Smoltz Says Current Policies "not good for the game"

Jim a slider falls under the definition of a breaking ball. I gathered he hasn't been able to throw either. Some guys can throw them, others just can't. I was always fortunate enough to be able to make the ball do pretty much what I wanted. But no matter how hard I tried to teach some guys, they just couldn't do it. I never could figure out why.

Guess it depends on how you define the word..... You could spam about 5,000 emails to Kenny Williams telling him to trade him!

Headcase is an awfully strong word. His problems being mental are because he is too hard on himself. He doesn't help himself because he tries too hard and tenses up, rather than relaxing and letting the game come to him. Headcase to me means attitude problems.

I was Jim. I saw him play one game on TV last year and was not impressed, but that was one game so I figured I should reserve judgement. His numbers were not impressive either. Without having a great deal of info or personal knowledge on him, my first thought is to compare him to Brian West. Here is the BA write up on him.... Brian Miller Born: Oct. 18, 1982 Height: 6-3 Weight: 200 Bats: R Throws: R School: Charlotte (Mich.) HS Career Transactions: Selected by White Sox in 20th round of 2001 draft; signed Aug. 15, 2001 Miller had been rated as the top prep pitcher in Michigan in 2001, but most organizations believed it would be impossible to get him to break his commitment to Michigan State. The White Sox waited until the 20th round to select him, negotiated hard and got him signed. They have taken it slowly with him as he seeks consistency. He has the best arm among the system's righthanders, and when it's on he can be spectacular, as he was in a seven-inning no hitter last year. At times he fights his mechanics, which causes him to have nights where finding the strike zone is a major task. His fastball qualifies as easy heat, climbing into the mid-90's without any effort to his delivery. He has a classic pitcher's body and should only get stronger. He came into the organization with a good changeup and has improved it. His breaking ball is another matter. Some scouts say Miller's arm action isn't conducive to throwing a good breaker, as he has yet to prove them wrong. Miller is on target to advance to high Class A in 2004. He has a ceiling of a middle-of-the-rotation starter. CAREER PITCHING RECORD YR CLUB LG Class W-L .PCT ERA G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H AB TBF R ER HR SH SF HB BB IB SO WP BK AVG AGAINST 02 Bristol APPY R 7-3 .700 4.30 13 13 0 0 0 0 60.2 57 227 262 32 29 3 2 1 2 30 0 63 3 6 .251 03 Kannapolis SAL A 8-12 .400 5.30 25 25 1 1 0 0 125.2 124 480 560 85 74 7 6 2 11 61 1 93 10 2 .258 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINOR LEAGUE TOTALS 15 .500 4.97 38 1 0 181 822 103 8 13 1 13 15 38 1 0 186.1 707 117 10 3 91 156 8

Andy Gonzalez only had one bad year. His previous two seasons were very solid. From what I have heard, headcase is appropriate with him.

I've been thinking about Joe for a week or two now and I think it would be best for him if he can break camp with the Sox as a 4th OF. Expectations would be lower and he wouldn't be playing everyday. While that is not a good prescription for most young OF's. I think it could work with Joe. Borchard's problems are mental, not physical.The physical adjustments in his swing won't come until he can clear his head and stop putting so much pressure on himself. Joe beats himself up after every bad at bat and thinks way too much. He tightens up when he needs to relax. Perhaps getting lost on the bench of the big league roster is what he needs to get himself back on track. FWIW, Borchard has 1579 AB's in his career, not 424 as mentioned in the article. I have no idea where that came from.

25??? What an old bastard!

Right, but no names were released or it is not know if specific names were mentioned. Not all information from court proceedings are released to the media.

How did your dad hear about it? Generally, details of such an investigation are not released, especially when it involves potentially damaging information. I have not seen ANY reports about any evidence that was found or anything specifically related to baseball players in the Grand Jury proceedings. Sounds like the rumor mill, Jason....

I'm not saying he won't make the big leagues..... just that if he is to be considered a "prospect" this is a key year for him. He is at a point where he can become someone with legitimate potential or he could become Chad Durham, who can't hit AA pitching and has found his max level. Having Aaron Rowand, Jeremy Reed and even Joe Borchard ahead of him doesn't help his cause. Like I said....... it's time to move.

No power and three years in Class A........ if he wants to be a prospect, he better get moving....... a big year in AA is a must or he gets lost in the shuffle.

From Jayson Stark's latest column...... Drug-Testing Rumblings Everybody remembers the biggest complaint about last year's debut round of steroid testing (aside, that is, from the fact that there were no repercussions on players who tested positive): Players knew that test was coming -- and also knew approximately when it was coming. But this year, it appears, nobody will know when the testing crew is showing up. Which ought to mean a far truer read on the problem -- and a cleaner sport. Details of this year's testing haven't been finalized yet, and there's a good reason for that: The commissioner's office and the union are still negotiating on them. But indications are that there will be one significant difference from last year: Every player on a 40-man roster will still be tested at least once. But unlike last year, when the first round of testing was conducted almost exclusively during spring training, this year's initial tests almost certainly will be spread out over a larger, and less specific, period of time. So theoretically, it will be tougher for players to beat the test by stopping in January, waiting until they're tested and then resuming afterward. Only about eight players per team are randomly selected for a second round of testing, so the odds last summer were with players who risked a resumption of taking whatever it was they were taking. The Basic Agreement gives management the right to do the testing any time from the first day of spring training to the last day of the season. The fact that the two sides most likely will agree to take advantage of that leeway and make the test dates more uncertain is a clear indication that there's mutual desire for this year's testing to be more accurate and more impactful.

If Buehrle keeps pitching well, he will get that kind of money when he is up for free agency. How much money a guy gets is more based on his service time and relation to free agency, than production. All that said, as much as I like Mark, if I had to make a choice, I'd probably take Wood at this point. I am a bit leery about Mark's steady decline over the last 3 years. I hope it does not, but I am afraid if the pattern keeps up, the Sox will be overpaying him in 3 years.

Now where's my beer? ;-)

Interesting...... here is a question asked by Steve, from Birmingham, AL. I have no idea who Steve is, but I submitted an almost identical question. Weird. Q: Steve from Birmingham, Ala asks: How can Grady Sizemore be 9, while Jeremy Reed is 25? I acknowledge that Reed is a year older, but at the same level, Reed had much better stats and terrific batting eye, along with much more speed. Other than date of birth, what exactly does Sizemore do markedly better than Reed to justify such a ranking? A: Jim Callis: We balance performance at tools. Personally, I value performance at least a little more, though the consensus at BA is closer to 50-50. I like Jeremy Reed, but I find it a little funny that he wasn't anywhere close to the Top 100 a year ago and now there's a lot of clamoring to put him in the top 5-10 prospects in baseball. That's just premature guys, and I like Jeremy Reed. He had a great year, but on the other hand, he might not be a CF down the road, he might not hit more than 15-20 HRs (and even that would be below average for a corner guy) and he doesn't have the blazing speed his SB totals might indicate. Sizemore is a gifted hitter in his own right, and he has more power, better speed and a better chance to play CF. There's not a huge, huge difference, but I have a little more faith in Sizemore right now.

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I was surprised as well. Perhaps his age is what held him back. How he does in full season ball this year will determine where he really stands.

Not sure, baggs...... I can't recall the circumstances. They may have had someone get injured or someone promoted and needed to fill a spot. My guess is that they wanted to challenge Stumm somewhat since he had been healthy all year. His K/IP numbers were 23/25 so that is basically one per. His ERA was 3.60, and if recall correctly, that was skewed by one or two really bad outings. I'll check further on that. He wasn't tearing it up at W-S, but the Sox needed to find out better what they have in him. They had to decide whether to add him to their 40-man roster or expose him to the Rule V draft. Note: He is not on the Sox 40-man roster, as BA indicated.

Ha Ha

Jason Stumm, RHP Born: April 13, 1981 Height: 6'2" Weight: 210 Bats: R Throws: R School: Centralia (Wash.) HS Career Transactions: Selected by White Sox in first round (15th overall) of 1999 draft; signed June 21, 1999 This is the year the White Sox hope to be rewarded for their patience with Stumm, who was compared to Roger Clemens when they made him a first-round pick in 1999. He had Tommy John surgery the next season, a shoulder operation in 2002 and has pitched just 2006 innings in five pro seasons. Stumm has regained the mid-90's velocity on his fastball and Chicago believes he has a high upside, probably as a reliever. But the odds are against him reaching his ceiling unless he can stay healthy. His slider, changeup and command all need a lot of work. The Sox liked how he finished 2003 and expect him to come into Spring Training ready to compete. If he doesn't perform well in the Cactus League, He could lose his spot on the 40-man roster. He'll probably open the year in AA. CAREER PITCHING RECORD YR CLUB LG Class W-L .PCT ERA G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H AB TBF R ER HR SH SF HB BB IB SO WP BK AVG AGAINST 99 White Sox ARIZ R 0-0 .000 3.27 3 2 0 0 0 0 11.0 13 42 47 8 4 2 0 1 1 3 0 9 1 0 .310 Burlington MID A 3-3 .500 5.32 10 10 0 0 0 0 44.0 47 170 199 31 26 4 0 1 1 27 1 33 4 2 .276 00 Burlington MID A 2-7 .222 4.61 13 13 2 0 0 0 66.1 66 252 289 46 34 6 4 1 2 30 2 62 3 1 .262 01 White Sox ARIZ R 0-2 .000 2.25 4 4 0 0 0 0 12.0 6 39 45 4 3 0 0 0 1 5 0 12 0 1 .154 02 Kannapolis SAL A 0-1 .000 2.25 22 0 0 0 8 5 40.0 37 151 165 10 10 1 1 1 0 12 0 45 4 2 .245 03 Winston-Sal CARO A 1-0 1.000 3.60 20 0 0 0 7 0 25.0 28 95 111 10 10 1 2 1 2 11 1 23 0 0 .295 Birmingham SOU AA 0-0 .000 4.50 7 0 0 0 2 0 8.0 8 30 38 4 4 1 0 2 0 6 0 8 0 0 .267 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINOR LEAGUE TOTALS 6 .316 3.97 29 0 5 205 894 91 7 7 4 12 13 79 2 17 206.1 779 113 15 7 94 192 6 Rex' comments: - I wasn't overly impressed with him last year, but he was being brought along slowly. He did throw hard, but he was consistently in the low-90's, not mid-90's. I am looking forward to getting a better look this year and see how he handles himself. I don't recall any breaking stuff standing out, which seems to go with BA's comments. I'll watch for development in that area. The key is to think of Stumm as a guy in only his 2nd or 3rd year, rather than one that was drafted in 1999, due to his injuries.