Rex Hudler

Cleveland has to now be the frontrunners in the AL Central after signing Mark Wohlers and Jason Bere today!

That's not cynical at all. It is telling the truth.

Hey, Ozzie said he wanted guys who would play hard and play the game the right way, whether they were young or old. Miles and Rowand both fit that bill. If the Sox had the right mix of players around them, having those two guys in your lineup wouldn't be bad at all. They certainly could inject life into a team. Both are what I believe KW would call "grinders".

I was meaning that it doesn't look like they are going to get one at short (unless they get Itchaga or whatever his name is). And lets just say I'm not a big fan of Roberto leading off. Could be Miles........ could be Soriano....... could be El Caballo ;-)

Still want to know if Cora has been working in baseball.

Who said anything about him being a leadoff hitter? There is no rule that says the CF has to lead off Jason. You studying too much lately?

Jerry Dybzinski?

He is referring to the first month of this past season. Normally I would consider that a long enough audition, but taking into account his off-season injury and the fact that he played very well for three weeks from June 10 (his recall) and July 1(trade for Everett) are enough reason to give him another shot. He also played quite a bit, albeit not everyday in July and hit .433. He hit .381 overall after his June 10 callup.

I wouldnt go that far I would....... for personal reasons.......

Has Joey Cora been working in baseball?

I think I may have just become a Yankees fan again....... Announcement Expected Tuesday

Comments that should stay in the locker room. I think that is definitely borderline, Steff... All that does is possibly put him in the hot seat early if things don't go as planned.

Ohhh.. I think Frank is happier than a pig in s*** right now. No doubt Frank has the addresses and phone #'s to all of Ozzie's skeletons... Frank will play Ozzie's way.. ROTFLMAO!!! Frank will play how Frank wants to play and Ozzie will like it. Why would Frank want to start fights? If he does, it proves he is about himself and no one else. Because Frank is Frank and will always be Frank. He will do what he wants to do. At one point, maybe he will realize doing things differently may help his team win, but I doubt it. Call it ego, if you must. He will go down as a great hitter, almost certainly be a Hall of Famer, but rarely if ever be accused of being a team guy.

Will everyone get through their heads that the Yankees will not take Maggs and his one-year, $14 million contract and give up Soriano and Johnson, who will make less then $2 million combined and not be eligible for free agency for 3-4 years yet! To think the Yankees would make that trade is laughable...

Well he didn't really perform in the post season, and everyone around baseball expects stiebrener to make some heads roll. I thought there might be specualtion on which heads might be on the chopping block. Not on the team's official site.... Check the NY newspapers for that kind of thing.

Am I the only one that is not on the "Trade Maggs for Soriano and Johnson band wagon?" Magglio is a proven stud in the majors, the previous season was obviously not his best that he has had considering that he only drove in 99 runs. However he was the only guy that hit considerably over .300 on our entire team. Soriano struck out A TON this year. I don't see him helping us batting in the lead-off spot which is what this team desperately needs. As for Nick Johnson, he's had a couple of decent years. However, I don't think he's much better than Konerko. (That is when Konerko is hitting the way he's capable of.) If we are going to pursue a first baseman let's go after a solid defensive player like Scott Spezio. CWSOX45 Hate to break it to you, but you are way off here. Johnson is a potential stud, and a solid defensive, on-base type hitter with 20 HR power. Soriano struggles at times and strikes out a lot, but his numbers were still better than Maggs, out of the leadoff spot, no less. The Yankees would scoff at the notion of Maggs for Soriano and Johnson. Add the $$ involved and the Sox may have to give up two solid prospects to get that deal. Add to the fact they have the possibility of Beltran, Guerrero and Sheffield, I doubt this kind of deal would be on the top of the list for Brian Cashman.

Why would there be anything on the Yankees site about them wanting to get rid of a player? Of course, there is no mention of it.

He is in Puerto Rico ready to start playing Winter Ball and from what I understand he is healthy, so either the incident you refer to didn't happen or it was overblown. Forkit, I generally agree with you, but I disagree with you on this. Aaron will have to take advantage of what could be his final opportunity to be a regular, but I think the potential is there. Will he be an all-star caliber player? No But I do think he can be a serviceable CF who can bring positive attributes to a club. He has better power potential than he has shown and will hit in the .260-.280 range. He may just be a one year stopgap until Borchard or Reed are ready or he may surprise and keep the job. Or he may fail. Either way, unless the Sox decide to spend some money, I think Rowand deserves the opportunity to prove one of us right.

That is easier said, than done.

Why did he spill the beans before the news confrence? Before every news conference, the subject is leaked by the front office to select media (or sometimes all of them). New conferences are basicallya chance to introduce the new manager, give him his moment in the sun and provide interview time with the media.

Question is, who did Rowand spill the beans to? And then who told the reporter? He didn't tell it to the reporter or he would have been quoted directly.

I am afraid you are correct, which is why I would seriously consider an even swap of Maggs for Soriano if it were available. The Sox may have to package another young player or two to get more than Soriano, if they could even get that much. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the money DOES matter.

That would certainly be a surprise..... but I don't see any indications that Joe Torre will be fired.

Julio Cruz? Scott Fletcher? Steve Lyone? Joey Cora? ;-)

I don't think Steinbrenner will overreact as much as everyone thinks. He has been remarkably quiet since the end of the WS. I think he will take a look at the whole operation and begin to plan with his baseball people, whom he trusts (and listens to more often than not). He will realize that he is not going to be able to sign every free agent out there and that there may not be as many bidders for some of these high priced guys as in past years. It is even possible that the Yankees will retool their club and use a little financial restraint at the same time. Maybe George will see that a team with a $62 million payroll beat him in 2002 and a team with a $55 (est) million payroll beat him in 2003. Perhaps he will decide he needs to spend his money a little more efficiently?