Wong & Owens

Brown will be hurt for 2/3 of the year, Contreras is overrated, there's no guarantee that Lieber will be the same after the surgery, and Wells is fat and stupid. Sounds like a 2-man rotation to me. They'd probably win the AL with Mussina and Vazquez going every other game though. Goddamn it I hate the Yankees :fyou

I don't think that Pettitte is better at all. You subtract the teams he's had around him,and I think they're about even. I'd take a pitcher with a career 4.00 ERA in the AL for 6 million a year, provided he stays relatively consistent(Buehrle has) and healthy(again, Buehrle has so far) I think Mark has plenty of time to learn some of the things that made guys like Maddux so good. He may not learn them all, and he may not be quite as good at them, but I think you're being a bit of a poessimist by saying that when his cutter's off he sucks, and that he'll be a career 4.50 ERA pitcher. I also don't think a 4.50 career ERA is that bad. Worth $6 mil? No, but in the AL these days, that's not half bad.

Are there any psychiatrists among us that could give a good deal to BIGHURTbeGOOD? Just kidding, BHBG

Now, hopefully the annual Spring story entitled--"Buehrle says something that makes eveyone think he wants to be a Cardinal" will not return this season.

DePaul University, 1996.

Do you know how many quick-n-strong people are out there in the real workd, working as contruction workers, garbage men, military. etc, etc, etc? Tens if not hundreds of thousand. (You seem to be greatly overstating the dificulty of hitting a 92 mph fastball. I can do it with my eryes close and I never played this game until I was almost 17.) ***Quick and strong are two very different attributes.*** And I don't understand your point that there are 10,000+ quicky/strongy folks hauling trash.*** Sure you can hit it if you know it's coming, but can you react quickly enough to it if you've got 4 possible pitches coming at you, at varying speeds?*** Also-- hitting it, and hitting it to the degree you need to to be a succesful MLB player are 2 different things as well. What most of them lack and what sets good major leaguers (are you contesting that Robin has been a good hitter, including 4 season before 2003 mediocrity) apart? ***Ventura's highest BA since 1999 is .247. Yes, his OPS is decent, but we need him in a run-producing capacity, which he is no longer adept at. I tell you what, if Robin has ANOTHER mediocre season, then I might change my mind, but for now I still think he is capable of 790-800+ OPS against RHPs, will give you a gold glove defense at 1B and clubhouse presence ***Again, if he's in the Perez deal, I welcome him back with open arms. But, I don't make any special moves to get him. Uber-prospect? When did Joe "might be a pretty good player eventually" Crede necome Mark Prior/ich Harden? Or even Jeremy Reed? Did I miss a briefing. **He wasn't a nationally hyped prospect ala Prior, but Sox fans had been hearing about him for 2-3 seasons before he got his shot. Most Sox fans I talked to were dying to see him get called up.

2. Alfonseca, Antonio RP CHC --OK, SERIOUSLY, WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU? 3. Benitez, Armando RP SEA-- YES, I STILL THINK HE'S A GOOD SETUP GUY 9. DeJean, Mike RP STL-- IF HE'S CHEAP, HE'S OK 13. Foulke, Keith RP OAK-- IS THIS REALISTIC? 17. Glover, Gary RP ANA -- NAH 20. Hernandez, Roberto RP ATL ---WASHED UP 22. Howry, Bob RP BOS --- I NEVER LIKED HIM 23. Jimenez, Jose RP COL --- YES, AND MAKE HIM A STARTER 26. Levine, Al RP KC --- SURE, HE'S DECENT 29. Mercedes, Jose RP MON --- NO BALTIMORE REJECTS 31. Mesa, Jose RP PHI --- NO FRIGGIN WAY 40. Nelson, Jeff RP NYY --- SURE, SIGN HIM UP 43. Osuna, Antonio RP NYY --- I'D WELCOME HIM BACK. 46. Prokopec, Luke RP CIN --- DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HIM. ISN'T HE AUSTRALIAN? 52. Rhodes, Arthur RP SEA --- WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HIM 53. Rincon, Ricardo RP OAK --- ALSO PRETTY GOOD 54. Rosario, Rodrigo RP HOU --- DID YOU MAKE HIM UP? 66. Urbina, Ugueth RP FLA --- HE'S NOT AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE 67. Veres, Dave RP CHC --- UM, MAYBE 69. Wendell, Turk RP PHI --- THE TOOTHBRUSHER? OK, WHY NOT? 72. Williams, Mike RP PHI --- I'D GIVE HIM ANOTHER SHOT. ONE BAD YEAR OUT OF THE LAST 4?

1. Alvarez, Wilson--I'D ROLL THE DICE ON HIM 2. Ashby, Andy--OLD, BEAT UP, DONE 3. Astacio, Pedro--INTRUIGING, HOW MUCH WOULD HE COST? 4. Bacsik, Mike--NO, JUST NO. 5. Batista, Miguel--YES, I LIKE HIM 6. Burkett, John--OLD, SOFT, NEVER THAT GOOD TO BEGIN WITH 7. D'Amico, Jeff--GUARANTEES 7 STARTS BEFORE HE GETS HURT! 8. Dempster, Ryan--ISN'T HE COMING OFF ARM SURGERY? WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR 9. Erickson, Scott--HASN'T PITCHED SINCE 1991. LET SOMEONE ELSE PAY HIM 10. Estes, Shawn--HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! 11. Etherton, Seth--NO 12. Helling, Rick--IS THERE A MORE CONSISTENT PITCHER OUT THERE? TOO BAD IT'S CONSISTENTLY A 4.99 ERA 13. Hitchcock, Sterling--I WON A CRICKET GAME ONCE WITH A STERLING HITCHCOCK. I HATE HIS NAME, BUT HE MIGHT BE USEFUL 14. Lidle, Cory--THE WHITE JAMES BALDWIN--ONLY GOOD FOR 1/2 A SEASON 15. Lima, Jose--I WILL BECOME A DIEHARD CUBS FAN IF HE IS IN A SOX UNI. 16. Maddux, Greg--TOO MUCH MONEY FOR A #3 STARTER 17. Millwood, Kevin--NOT WORTH WHAT HE'S ASKING BY A LONGSHOT 18. Moehler, Brian--GO AWAY 19. Oliver, Darren--GO FARTHER AWAY 20. Parque, Jim--THAT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY 21. Person, Robert--ALSO COMING OFF ARM SURGERY? DID HE EVEN PITCH LAST YEAR? 22. Pettitte, Andy--NOT UNLESS YOU'RE AN ASTROS FAN 23. Ponson, Sidney--PARTIALLY TORN LABRUM = SCARY 24. Reed, Rick--THE DAD FROM THE BRADY BUNCH? I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD? OH, THAT WAS ROBERT REED. RICK REED IS DEAD TOO, RIGHT? 25. Reynolds, Shane--SURE, IF WE NEED A BATTING PRACTICE ARM. 26. Ritchie, Todd--....................... 27. Rogers, Kenny--HE MIGHT HAVE ONE MORE YEAR LEFT. 28. Rusch, Glendon--I DON'T LIKE HIM, BUT HE'S AS GOOD A CANDIDATE FOR 2004 LOAIZA AS ANYONE. 29. Stephenson, Garrett--FOR THE PEN, MAYBE 30. Suppan, Jeff--POOP ON SUPPAN 31. Tomko, Brett--MAYBE, HE'S A WEIRD ONE TO FIGURE OUT 32. Valdes, Ismael--YES, SURE, I'D TAKE HIM 33. Villone, Ron--NO, NO, NO. 34. Wells, David--ONLY IF IT'S TO SHOOT HIM OUT OF THE SCOREBOARD ON OPENING DAY 35. Wright, Jamey--VERY INCONSISTENT, BUT STILL YOUNG ENOUGH TO PUT IT TOGETHER?

1) I completely disagree. You can do as much homework as you want, and have the greatest hand-eye coordination ever, but if your body doesn't react quickly enough when a 92 mph fastball comes from 60'6" away, all those other things don't mean anything. As the old adage goes, "the mind is willing, but the body is weak." As for those players you mentioned, I would argue that they are exceptions to the rule. How many other players have there been that lost it at 35? More than ten, for sure. As for his 750 OPS in a pitcher's park, I assume you mean Chavez Ravine? He had 109 at-bats, hardly fair to base any of his numbers on that sample size. 2) If you bring in Ventura to bat against righties, then how is Crede supposed to "earn" that right? My point was that you have positions on every team where there is a heavy amount of risk. If you're the Sox, why would you hedge your bets against your uber-prospect, after hearing about him for 3-4 years, after 1.33 seasons--half of which was pretty good? Why not take the chance that he will pan out, and concentrate on the other risky areas where they don't have as much going for them--2B, CF, SP, RP? 3) There was a "buzz" after the Sox signed Belle, the stadium was empty. There was a "buzz" when they signed Wells, the stadium stayed empty. There was a "buzz" when they signed Colon, and the stadium stayed empty(until well into July). Bringing Robin back might do some good for the org.'s image from a player's standpoint, but he'll have ZERO effect on fans' perspective if they don't win. If the Sox are 20 games out at the A-S break, and had signed Ventura, are the fans going to be thinking, "Gee, at least Robin's back so he can finish his career where he started it and had the most success?" Doubt it. I'm all for welcoming him back at $1 million as a toss-in for a Perez-Konerko trade, don't get me wrong, but I am not in favor of burning so much as 1 extra calorie to do so.

I repeat: The Blackhawks are the worst organization in the history of professional sports.

HE GONE!

sssshhhhhhhh******slightly torn right labrum**********shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I'd blow it up and start again, if for no other reason, because in two seasons, the Yankees and RedSox are both going to be real old, with not many prospects on either's minor league teams left. Our division will still be weak, unless Cleveland's kids are really as good as advertised(yes Brandon Phillips, we're looking in your direction).

1) Ventura's bat speed--while never one of his strengths--got even slower last year. If you can't catch up to a 90 mph fastball, you need to pack it up. Unless he ahd some injury I'm not aware of, I'd stay away. 2) Welcome to Major League Baseball if you're not from NY or Boston. With our payroll, we're just going to have to hope that Crede is the goods. 3) A mil is cheap for a fan fav, but a fan fav doesn't work the same way in Bridgeport, as it does in Wrigleyville. If the team ain't winning, having Ventura on the bench ain't going to amount to Jack Squat.

Why on Earth would the D-Rays even consider moving Huff? He's one of the most underrated players out there, plus he's cheap for 3 more years.

A Wham-bulance? If you call it, do a singing, dancing George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley come and whisk you to the nearest hospital?

It worked for the NFL. I'd take the "who's the favorite this week?" parity over "Another Yankee-RedSox Pissing Contest" any day. If the NFL didn't have a cap, there would be no Green Bay Packers anymore, or Buffalo Bills, or any number of other teams that wouldn'e be able to keep up financially with the Dan Snyders, and Jerry Joneses of the world.

You had me up until this statement. Why would we want Ventura back? He's lefty, but he can't run, can't hit anymore, and we have Crede at 3B, and plenty of 1b-men.

Yah, I know, this suggestion is chock full of logistical nightmares. My only point is that when a sports league isn't at least operating on the premise of a level playing field, it's not going to make it forever. Cheap, penny-pinching ownership aside, do you really think that Milwaukee, or Detroit, or Pittsburgh have the resources to keep up with the likes of NY, or Boston, or L.A.? Why would any Brewers, Pirates, or Tigers fans even bother supporting a team under those conditions? They're not, and it's getting worse every year. Where else can things be headed but towards contraction and a salary cap?

I love you

Call me, "I Hate You." Make me 5'8" 245 lbs. I am a human wrecking ball, so slot me in at fullback, and I'll blow up holes for whoever you've got at halfback. Just throw me a pass in the flat every now and then, to break up the monotony.

I've only had the urge to smother cats while they sleep. And it has nothing to do with wanting to know if god would do anything about it....

I know this a practical impossibility, but if the owners could somehow keep their team's stadium, team name and minor league affiliates, and go and form a new league that had a salary cap, MLB would be gone in 10 years. I firmly believe that the initial disadvantage of not having many "star" players would be quickly offset by the fact that every team has a legitimate shot at the title every year, assuming the other obvious pieces fall into place as well.

BigHurt-- Did you eat oil-based, or latex paint chips as a young child? And were most of them in a flat finish, semi-gloss, or high-gloss?

Yep. When you consider that the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox will spend more on their pitching staffs next year than JR will on his entire team, you can be pretty confident that someone will offer him more than he's worth. How can anyone argue against a salary cap, when the Yankees have a pitching staff payroll of 75 million or so next season, and the Brewers have a payroll of $30 million for the whole team, and trade Sexson because they needed to lower it even further. Regardless of what happens with Colon, I'm inclined to not watch/attend a baseball game next season anyways.