Rex Hudler

I fear your are correct, but hope you are wrong. I hope he is adequate and think the Sox would be better served with him hitting in the nine hole.

I agree that the guy has to do more than bunt, but think about it this way. If Willie gets 500 at bats and can get 125 hits, he'll average .250. If he can add only one bunt hit per week to that, his average will jump to .298. Just two bunt hits per month, instead of four would jump him to .274. Don't know if Willie can do that, but bunt and infield hits can't be discounted. Add a few walks, hit him 9th in the order and he wouldn't kill us by any means.

Steff, do you know what format it will be emailed to you in? If you want to forward it to me, I can convert it to a PDF which would make it web friendly and can easily be posted without any copying/cutting or pasting.

I think you think too much, Past..... LOL

A 2-9 record with 10 blown saves didn't excite me all that much.

Not if he is allowed to stay over budget for the time being. Just because payroll is at a certain amount now, doesn't mean it will stay that way. Perhaps if the Sox are in the hunt, he can stand pat. If not, then he can dump salary to get back to where JR wants him to be and get prospects in the process to reload somewhat. It's a long season, so a lot of things can happen.

No problem...... You have until noon Thursday. Let's get movin!

I'd like to see how they plan to fit Ponson into the payroll. Trading Konerko would save $8 million, but the Sox are supposedly $4 million over budget. I guess we will find out how flexible that $58 million is over the next month or two.

Steff, it is good stuff.... I have never actually seen a copy of the CBA, so I can't tell you. Wouldn't it be nice if these "rules" were listed as an additional section in the Official Baseball Rulebook? Thanks for looking all of that up. I was surprise at how much I already knew, but all it takes is to forget a little tidbit here or there and you can mess them all up.

The Dodgers were trying to get Konerko earlier, but passed when KW wouldn't give him up cheap enough. If they are re-visiting that trade for less than the Perez and Mota they looked at earlier, it certainly doesn't make me think Evans is getting desparate.

Good luck and I appreciate if you find them if you wouldn't mind passing them on. I have just never had the motivation to search that hard. LOL

I've looked a few times and never could navigate to any of those rules in print. Thanks for the heads up.

Hey Steff, where did you find that stuff?

Murcie, I am in my 30's so you can decide if I am on old man or what. LOL As Jason said, West retired. I believe the list is called Voluntary Retired, which allows the team to retain his contract rights. That won't make a difference because Westy won't return to baseball. Remember, he was facing Tommy John surgery and would have missed the 2004 season if he had not left.

LSU is kicking their ass right now.

I actually umpired Mauck play baseball as a youngster in Jasper, IN.

I just saw Brian West, former Sox prospect drafted in 1999, lining up at defensive end for LSU in the Sugar Bowl. It is amazing to me that a guy that had not played football since 1998, can quit baseball and walk into the playing rotation on the defense in the country and play in the National Champioship Game. Go Westy! He is #54 for LSU.

That's not gonna happen.......

Milwaukee is indeed loaded. They were loaded at AA last year and had even better players at lower levels.

Kudos to KW for being lucky as s***. And kudos to Juan Nieves for helping Pacheco realize his potential and learn the value of working hard.

Not unless the Blue Jays trade him to the Royals......

Thanks for the list. I had never seen that site before. Honel listed at #63 and Cotts at #82. Funny, if Cotts would not have started 4 games in Chicago, I guarantee he would have been in the top 30, if not top 20.

Brando, you are right to a point. However, there is a lot a club can do to better their odds for success, from coaching staffs, to continuity of the type of instruction (i.e. not having a batting coach teach something different in AA than what as taught in A), to how they run their training and strength and conditioning programs, to how they scout players and what they look for. There are many factors, including the type of people they draft. Drinking and drug use is rampant in kids that age and teams that can control or minimize that rather than look the other way will help themselves. I know you will still have injuries and players that don't work as hard as others, but the environment in which the players are brought up can help a team increase the odds of deveolping players that will help.

I don't see him as being the ace, but a team can win without an ace. I figure him for 13-16 wins..... Buehrle for 15-18..... If the other three can win 10-12 then you will win enough games to be competitive....

I think Rowand is more than adequate and don't see the lack of range you so describe. He is not a Gold Glover, but I have no problem trotting him out there everyday, if he is producing at the plate.