Rex Hudler

Kenny Williams said Colon was not going to be resigned. Where? The Tribune I believe. Perhaps not an overreaction then. However, you can't tell me that if in 45 days from now the Sox haven't signed someone else and Colon finds the market less than expected the Sox wouldn't take him at that time. While it may not be likely that he will come back, it is still possible. Lastly, Weaver should not be considered an option so let's move one, please.

Only one little problem with your little song and dance there Ncorgbl.... YOU have long contended that KW is not, or will be replaced as the GM after the season. Now you are typing KW's goodbye to Bart? Weird, I wouldn't think someone that was strictly a figurehead would have such power. Got any more hot air for us??

Weaver is NOT a quality candidate. Shall we beat this dead horse some more?? And who said Colon is gone?? Think we are overreacting a bit??

I tend to think the same of him as you do. But I also think that it is unwise to give up on a guy with talent too soon. Say what you want, but I feel if the Sox were more patient, Kip Wells would be a really nice piece of the rotation right now.

"looked to be" being the key words........ perhaps he was just at his career best then? Is that possible? His hit to IP ratio was never great. His BB/K ratio and BB/IP ratio were never great. They weren't bad, but nothing, when combined with his H/IP ratio, to make me think he was destined for greatness. Especially since he always had trouble getting lefties out.

Some guys take longer, Killa. That doesn't mean he will ever get there, but some do. The perfect example is the aforementioned Koufax. You could argue that Koufax had 4 inconsistent, bad to average years (plus two partial seasons before those 4) before he finally found his command and became dominant. Koufax Numbers: 1st 6 Seasons Next 6 Seasons (End of career) G - 174 G - 223 GS - 103 GS - 211 IP - 691.2 IP - 1632.2 W - 36 W - 129 L - 40 L - 47 ERA - 4.10 ERA - 2.19 BB - 405 BB - 412 K - 683 K - 1713 I am not trying to annoint Jon Garland the next Sandy Koufax, but major improvements CAN happen for some pitchers later than others.

He's bordered on s***ty. Those "solid" years you were talking about were pretty average if you ask me. He has never been "good" for any extended period of time. At best, he was a decent pitcher that showed promise for a bad team. At best.

KIlla, you are completely wrong about Koch. He was definitely hurt. His feelings were hurt, couldn't you tell?? Medical testing won't detect that, bu I think it was obvious.

You see three pretty solid seasons, I see three pretty average ones. Certainly nothing to make me want to pay him $6+ million in 2004 and over $9 million in 2005.

Sandy Koufax wasn't Sandy Koufax his first few years in the Bigs, if y ou get my drift........... It is accurate to say that Jon Garland cannot carry Colon's jockstrap right now. But in 5 years, who knows what Garland will have done. I still don't see him being as dominant as Bart sometimes is, but there can certainly be some Major improvement.

I just find it hard to fathom that ANY player is worth $15 mil or more a year.

Just for fun.... Mo Vaughn 1999: $5.0M (+$13.0M signing bonus, $5.0M paid initially) 2000: $9.0M 2001: $11.0M 2002: $10.0M 2003: $15.0M (plus remaining $8.0M of signing bonus) 2004: $15.0M 2005: Team option $14.0M or $2.0M buyout Jeff Weaver (anyone want him still?) 2002: $2.4M 2003: $4.1M 2004: $6.25M 2005: $9.25M Darren Dreifort (ouch) 2001: $9.0M (+$2.0M signing bonus) 2002: $9.0M 2003: $11.0M 2004: $11.0M 2005: $13.0M Charles Johnson 2001: $5.0M 2002: $5.0M 2003: $7.0M 2004: $9.0M 2005: $9.0M Bobby Higginson 2002: $5.85M 2003: $8.85M 2004: $8.85M 2005: $11.85M Another for good measure..... I like him as a player a lot, but this is A LOT of money.. Derek Jeter 2001: $11.0M (+$16.0M signing bonus paid over 8 years) 2002: $13.0M 2003: $14.0M 2004: $17.0M 2005: $18.0M 2006: $19.0M 2007: $20.0M 2008: $20.0M 2009: $20.0M 2010: $21.0M

How is Soriano 800k, and when is his contract up? Soriano made $800k last year. His contract is not up. He is still within his first 6 years. I don't even think he is eligible for arbitration, but I may be wrong on that. If he is not arb eligible, I would expect him to make $1.2 or so this year.

Logic says AAA. But anything can happen.

So would I. That may or may not work, depending on the player and the agent.

Only problem with that plan is how do you sit him down when he is in Venezuela? The team negotiates with the agent, not the player.

He was drafted late out of HS, I believe (could have been after his first year at a JUCO). The Sox liked what they saw and thought he might develop so they kept an eye on him during the JUCO season. They then signed him after his season was over, having retained his draft rights until the June draft. The process is dubbed "draft and follow"

Until a couple of dumbass owners blow the doors off by overpaying for 3-4 guys, then the others overreact to grab up the players still available. LOL

Keep in mind that Zambrano labored in AAA for 2 1/2 years before getting to the Majors and only in his second year did he really begin to develop like they thought he would. Sox fans would have already crucified him 10 times over for getting stuck in AAA after being on the fast track.

I think you actually have to attend the first class before you can't change your mind and sign with a major league club. That's what I remember in a few cases when it went down to the last minute. Enrolling in college keeps your options open a little longer, I think. Technically, attending your first class at a 4-year school is the cut-off point. When I said enroll, that is certainly what I meant. If you are enrolled at a school and haven't yet attended a class, something is wrong. I am 99% sure he is enrolled and attending classes on a baseball scholarship at Vanderbilt and no longer available to be signed until after his 3rd year there. JUCO players are different. They are eligible to be signed before the next draft.

Forkit, I agree that too many assumptions are being made. Filing for free agency does not necessarily mean the player will not return to his original club. No one knows what the market will be like this year beyond the same seemingly reasonable assumptions that have been made on here. There are several "big contract" free agents this year, which has to water down the pool somewhat. Beyond that, no one knows how the market will play out. Sure agents are feeling out GM's now, but negotiating cannot begin in earnest until November 10. A GM would be stupid to show his complete hand to an agent right now, so all of this is just speculation. It is that speculation, that I believe will send FT back to the Sox.

Reed Named Spink Award Winner As Topps Minor League Player of the Year Here are the first two paragraphs of the article...... ST. PETERSBURG, FL--Jeremy Reed, who began the 2003 season with Winston-Salem (Carolina League) and earned a mid-season promotion to Birmingham (Southern), is the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year. The best performances in all classifications of Minor League Baseball again this year are being honored by the Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball. Reed, an outfielder in just his second pro season, handled ‘high A’ Carolina League pitching in style with the Warthogs, batting .333 in 65 games, but that was merely a warmup for what was to follow. Following a June promotion to Double-A Birmingham, Jeremy quickly started a 17-game hitting streak that propelled him to a .409 average in 66 games with the Barons. For the season combined, he hit 11 homers and had 95 RBIs. He also managed to throw in 45 stolen bases.

Allow me to be the dissenting opinion here...... 1. The market has changed and "fair-market value" is not what it once was. 2. All players who succeed early earn "less than fair market value" because of the way the salary structure is set up. While I think loyalty is good, unfortuantely the way the salary structure of the game is set up (and the players are just as much to blame for this as anyone), it hits the backburner once agents begin to negotiate. Loyalty also works both ways. 3. Maggs may well be worth $14 million to a team with a $100 million+ payroll, but everything is relative. His value to a team with a $60-$65 million payroll is lessened because of the difficulty it causes in putting together the rest of the team. If Maggs makes over 20% of the team's payroll, it is fair to say that the team will have a more difficult time securing the right mix of players to help the team win. Can that be overcome? Sure But is it likely? No Maggs offensively is a great player. But a game-changing superstar he is not. If a team has only a $60-$65 million payroll, at some point it has to assess a value based on production. In the big picture, can the Sox get the same production for less money or better production via additional players with the same money? These are legitimate questions in the economic environment of today's game. The Sox have to consider trading Maggs because of other contracts the team must bear. If Frank comes back, which it looks like he will, that will give the Sox even less payroll flexibility. If they cannot trade Konerko.... even less. To an extent, Maggs may be bearing the brunt of others bad contracts. All this said, I am not looking for the Sox to trade him, but from a business perspective based on the game today, considering this to be an option is smart business. You may not like it, but it is reality the way the game is today.

He did say they had reservations, but we all know that reservations aside, if the dominos fall a certian way (esp. if Pettite leaves), then big George can kill all "reservations" in a NY minute.

I would guess that Moviel is no longer signable. At this point, I am sure he is enrolled at Vanderbilt.