Rex Hudler

Beastly, are you just creating topics regardless of merit again?

Deadline is tonight at 9 pm. So tomorrow or Monday we should know everyone.

I agree with you completely..... but that doesn't mean Evans won't deal with KW because he doesn't like him. It means he is trying to get the best deal for his club, while there are still other options.

Funny, Jas, I almost referenced Corwin in my post, but wasn't sure if his good year was his first or second, and I was too lazy to look it up.

I don't buy all that crap. Evans and Williams have dealt with each other before. Evans will deal with KW if the deal is right for the Dodgers. He will not deal with KW out of desperation if he feels he has no leverage.

I think Palmeiro would be a great addition if Konerko can be moved...... not sure how much it would take to sign him, however...

Keep in mind that Miller was playing in High A when he still should have been in High School. He left school a year early and would have still been in his senior year when this past season started. He was dominating High A before his HS class graduated. I am not sure of the details on how he got out early. That said, there have been many guys have a break out season their first full year of pro ball and fall back down to earth, so time will tell if he is legit.

Much more advanced than Rupe at this point.

I don't know a lot about Gutierrez, but don't we already have a guy who may not be able to play CF in the big leagues and strikes out 120+ times a year?

I blame both. The union for seeing things with blinders on and not doing what is good for both their player and the game in a unique situation. And Hicks for making such a ridiculous demand that says saving $80 million in the deal is not enough and demanding cash back in the trade. I have said this before and will reiterate here..... I think the best thing that can happen for the game of baseball in terms of player contracts is to let ARod rot in last place in Texas for the next 7 years. I like ARod as a player, but unfortunately he gets to be a poster child about all that is wrong in regards to stupid owners and greedy agents. Let Hicks own a last place team for 10 years. Make the player who signed the contract wallow in last place (albeit in mucho cash) for 10 years. Maybe next time an agent/owner get into a high stakes game of poker, both sides will think a little heavier about the long term implications, since they have an example in front of them.

We'd be adding payroll with that trade. Won't happen.

Brando, I have no doubt that Wally could adapt his style of managing to the players he has. He played a certain style in Birmingham because he had teams with no power and quite frankly, average hitter overall. His lineup 1-9 was pretty weak, so he had to find ways to score runs. This past year he had some guys that were better at driving in runs, so the running slowed down. I think it is narrow-minded to think that most managers only know one style. Most of them are long-time baseball guys and adapt to the personnel they have. Some don't do it as well as others, however. As far as the veteran players not wanting to play for him, I don't think that would have been an issue at all. Wally is a very likable guy and players love playing for him. He and the players would have adapted an got along just fine. That said, I don't think he was the right choice for the Sox at this time because I don't think he would mix with KW. I do think he will make a good big league manager someday, however.

Wally has had the habit of talking too much, but I don't buy the s*** about him wanting the Sox to lose. He may have joked around with Gardenhire, but losing is not Wally's style. Lots of things can be taken out of context and I have no doubt this was one of them.

The Barons handled Jackson pretty well in 2003. His first start against them was at home and he tossed 7 shutout innnings. After that, he was pretty "human". His stats against the Barons were: W- L- S ERA GP IP H AB AVG TBF R ER HR BB SO WP BK TOTALS 2- 1- 0 4.55 5 29.2 26 111 .234 122 16 15 3 8 27 1 0 You could see potential with him, but obviously those numbers weren't as good as the rest of the season, so I didn't see much in terms of results.

I am a bit skeptical of Miller only because he he has really only been pitching for one full year. He had been promoted to Jacksonville when they came to Barons, but unfortunately he wasn't scheduled to pitch. He pitched VERY WELL in High A before dominating in four AA starts at the age of 18. He will play the entire 2004 season at 19 years old, not turning 20 until November. Brando, I understand your desire to win now and respect that. I agree that there is no way we get both Jackson and Miller from the Dodgers as well. But if you want to call the numbers below "human", then you are way off. Those are eye-popping numbers for a kid who should have still been in High School. 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 Great Falls PIO R 3-2 .600 2.37 11 7 0 0 0 0 38.0 27 136 152 14 10 1 0 1 2 13 0 37 2 0 .199 03 Vero Beach FSL A 11-4 .733 2.49 21 21 1 0 0 0 115.2 103 430 478 40 32 5 6 1 0 41 0 111 3 0 .240 Jacksnville SOU AA 1-1 .500 1.01 4 4 0 0 0 0 26.2 15 96 103 5 3 1 0 0 0 7 0 40 2 0 .156 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINOR LEAGUE TOTALS 15 .682 2.25 32 0 0 145 733 45 6 2 0 7 7 36 1 0 180.1 662 59 7 2 61 188 0

The standard was referenced in how it affects revenues, not payroll. There is a major difference.

From today's Birmingham News...... Backman Not Coming Back Not sure what you are hinting at there, but Backman made a difference in winning more games than any Minor League Manager I have watched. His game management was superb.

That won't happen........ The Red Sox would just begin to repair their relationship with Nomar and all would end up fine.

Exactly..... And it makes it would make it even more understandable if you had heard you were transferring to the area you are from but they spring Alaska on you! I'm not saying that Chicago = Alaska (although neither are places i would want to be in the winter lol), but the point is the same. He could have already come to grips with leaving Boston, rationalizing that going home will make things better, only to have Plan C sprung on him. No need to overreact here.

I believe the pitcher would then go to Texas. Munoz is the name I heard bandied about.

Actually, John's name was Valentin as well and not Valentine.

We both got the date from another board. I thought there was some kind of restriction, but haven't been able to confirm it yet.

I agree with your assessment Capn, but obviously the Twins saw something they liked.

I don't see what it was a bad move..... It looks like it boils down to the Twins liking Stewart more than Jacque Jones. Odds are they move Jones and they are happy.

I can't find this in print anywhere, so I cannot be sure, but I believe that the collective bargaining agreement prevents that. I don't believe you can trade a free agent you signed until a certain deadline. I have heard June 15th, but not sure til I see it or find someone who knows for sure.