Rex Hudler

I have not heard that rumor anywhere but on a message board. I think that is more speculation, than rumor. There has been nothing to substantiate that as being a real possibility. That said, if that deal were available, I'd take it if I were the Sox.

How true....

I was doing a little reading and came across a passage that I thought was interesting when I first read this book several years ago and just as interesting now. It is from George F. Will's book Men AT Work. For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is somewhat dated now (written in 1990) but is one of the most detailed books ever written about how the game is played. In this book there was a passage reprinted from another publication.... The passage was written by a former player and manager, years after retiring and goes as follows: Baseball today is not what it should be. The players do not try to learn all the fine points of the game as in the days of old, but simply try to get by... It makes me weep to think of the men of the old days who played the game and the boys of today. It's positively a shame.. and they are getting big money for it too. This observation was made and written for the Spaulding Baseball Guide in 1916! There are many other examples that the game has not changed and fans have ALWAYS complained about the money the players make. Joe DiMaggio held out of Spring Training almost every season because of contract demands. His hold out actually lasted into at least one season, causing him to miss regular season games over money. It was considered crazy and a major deal when Babe Ruth signed a contract that gave him more money than the US President. There has always been imbalance and "small market teams vs. large market teams". The Washington Senators rarely began a season with a ealistic chances of making the World Series. Same for the old St. Louis Browns (now Baltimore Orioles). Many of the "problems" of today's game, were the same problems of the game in the 20's and the 50's and the 70's. I am not saying the game is without fault, but I think it is interesting to note that the same complaints that are made today, have been made throughout the history of the game. Thoughts? Any additions from you old codgers?

What you have suggested has basically been discussed/suggested/recommended since multiple year contracts became the norm in the early 80's (possibly farther back). It is not a new concept or one that is smart now because of the current climate, it is and always has been thought of as smart business. Unfortunately, the combination of owners and agents seems to throw common sense business practices out the window when negotiating. A perfect example was the talk of escalating salaries and such that led to the 1994 strike, led by the Sox own Jerry Reinsdorf. Shortly after that, Reinsdorf did none other than give Albert Belle a contract that blew everyone out of the water. There are many other examples with other owners/GMs, but the bottom line is the pressure to win increases the pressure to acquire the right players. That pressure makes normally fiscally responsible men spend in a very irresponsible way.

Not so sure about all of that, but since beers were offered, I'll cetainly drink to it.

Not sure.... I think he was 2-3 in one game and had one hit in another, with a couple of 0-3's.

Reed goes 0-3 in loss......... One and Done - Baseball America

Maggs for Pedro?? Somebody is smoking some funny cigarettes again.

Mel will decide by Nov. 13 whether he will return.

Has anyone actually seen a copy of the offer that was made to Mark? I'd be curious to see it, since I missed it and am not EXACTLY sure what was offered and what was not. An actual copy, no. But it was widely reported that the deal was 3 years $11.5 mil guarenteed with upto 5 years $26 million possible if incentives and options were all met. IF that is exactly what the deal was, I believe that is fair. He would average almost 4 million per season and if he pitches well he will earn more in years 4 and 5. If not, then he is a free agent and can take his chances. The concept of a team HAVING to offer a 4-5 year contract that is 100% guaranteed is stupid. If teams want to do it, fine, but there is no obligation to do so. The Konerko contract is a perfect example. If MB would have flopped over the next two years, Sox fans would have been crowing about how dumb that contract was, had it been guaranteed money. It's a catch 22. Mark seemed to have gotten reasonable offer and turned it down. That is his prerogative. I don't think Sox fans should hold hostility against either party in this case. It was a business decision and I don't think either party is screwing the other.

Has anyone actually seen a copy of the offer that was made to Mark? I'd be curious to see it, since I missed it and am not EXACTLY sure what was offered and what was not. I think the details are just from his dad talking about it. I can't imagine Mark would make copies and distribute it. That's my point....... We are getting information that came from Mark's agent, to Mark, to Mark's dad to HSC. I am not saying anyone is lying or wrong, but you know there are always two sides to every story and that when you start getting information second and third hand, the reliability of that information lessens. Until I know what was offered in detail, I am not one to bash the Sox for that offer. Just seems like common sense to me.

It is well timed........ as soon as the WS ends, you have the beginning of players filing for free agency. Now the awards begin, before free agent signings are allowed.

If Everett is back, it is a miracle and the market has completely collapsed. Whoever called who, the conversation saying goodbye was had.

Has anyone actually seen a copy of the offer that was made to Mark? I'd be curious to see it, since I missed it and am not EXACTLY sure what was offered and what was not.

Abo, if you wanted to vent, why post that here rather than email it to the Sox? For that matter, send it to everyone in the Sox organization who you can, so it will get read.

I thought it was a pretty good representation about Sox fans in general, as well as their feelings on Guillen.

Heard this from a little birdie..... Koch is not high on the Mets list at the time being, despite the obvious Howe/Peterson ties. Gordon would be more likely.

Can you be more vague??

Thought maybe you knew Fergie. LOL.. I do. Jim golfs with him every year in Lake Geneva for the MLBPAA charity outing. That's where I met a lot of the older guys. Kenny Sanders, Mudcat, and Randy Huntley call Jim all the time to go golfing. This past year he golfed several times with Paul Molitor and we had dinner with him the week after the AS Game (they were all in Chicago attending the game). I wanted so bad to call him and get the scoop when his name was mentioned as coming to the Sox, but again my "pair" isn't that big For a second there, I thought you were talking about a different "pair". Had to read it twice. LOL

Thought maybe you knew Fergie.

Sorry, brain moving a little slow this morning....

Let's just hope he doen't start the season 0-8. All hell will break loose.

The new guy is a Special Assistant to the GM, not the Assistant GM. A Special Assistant usually has a role more as a consultant. More scouting and talent evaluation than administration. That's probably as good as a guess as any right now. Generally guys who carry that title don't have specific duties. They do whatever the GM wants them to do or whatever project needs to be done at the time. My guess is this could signal a reduced role for Roland Hemond, but that is just a guess? Geoffrey Jenkins?

??

You're both right. Your chances are certainly better to get high impact players if you are drafting high all the time like the Brewers have for many years. But to build a farm system with depth, you have to be good at plucking players that make an impact from the early to middle rounds. To bring this back full circle, the point is the Brewers have been drafting high for several years and not gotten much in terms of results. They have just now stocked their farm system with the drafts from the past few years, so there can certainly be something to be said about the quality of the guy we hired if he has had a direct hand in that (which I believe he has). So the Brewers are getting better results recently than they have in the past with essentially the same picks. Many of their top prospects were not 1st rounders.