BrandoFan

If that were true, then Cubs would have skipped Rusch's start that fell on the off-day, and would have had Clement-Prior-Zambrano in a HUGE (mostly for Houston losers) series against the Astros........leaving their 5-6-4 pitchers Maddux-Rusch-Clement to face the White Sox in Wrigley. Instead, they prefer Rusch pitches tonight against the Astros, which means Zambrano pitches against us. Glad to see where Dusty's priorities lie. f***er.

He better not be a 3B version of Richie Sexson, I'll tell you that much. I am rooting for all 3 guys to be in MLB 2006 All-Star Game.

So nobody was interested in Finley 5 weeks ago?

That's hysterical. Do these two idiots realize that there are at least 3 (Boston, Oakland and Anaheim) teams in front of them that are more talented, and that they were done months ago? Yo Edgar...maybe if you had batted higher than .240 with zero power, your team wouldn't be as compelled to trade your "ace" for "lesser value". The ol' tennis machine malfunctioning? Yo Joel......maybe if you could keep that ERA under 5.00, the Big Terrible Mistake wouldn't have been made. Just a thought.

Ok, say he WERE to ok the deal...... Do you think Sox go after him with 2 months to go in the regular season? Getting Garcia tells me Sox are effin' serious about postseason. Well, Unit (if his knee is healthy) is the great equalizer - he'll take pressure off Garcia and Buerhle as well. Since somebody mentioned Sox might be doing Jones for prospects, that means JR is willing to spend 4-5 Mill for 2-3 months of service. If that's the case......screw Jones, use thaty money to get Randy Johnson - at least make a friggin' ATTEMPT.

True. But wouldn't you rather have Unit-Garcia as 1-2 in Fenway versus Pedro-Shilling than Garcia-Burhle? Or Unit-Garcia-Buerhle-Loaiza instead of Garcia-Buerhle-Loaiza-Garland should Sox reach ALCS? All this talk of getting Andruw Jones......A no-trade clause aside, why couldn't Sox use that money on Unit instaed? You can't tell me Andruw "I went 1 for 17 last year against stud Cub pitchers in NLDS" Jones gives you a better chance to win the Series in 2004 and hopefully in 2005 than Randy Johnson does. Could it hurt the Sox to at least try and get him? Who knows, he may think it could be fun to win a ring in AL as well, and wave his no-trade clause? Weirder things have been known to happen.....

As long as Cubs miss the playoffs, winning the Series is not a must. Even if Yankees and Red Sox weren't so damn good, winning the Series has everybit to do with luck as it does with skill. Even if Sox can pull of a miracle and get Randy Johnson, they could get swept out of ALDS. Such is baseball. Making the playoffs, drawing a bunch of fans, putting the SouthSide back on the national map, on the other hand, is a HUGE MUST........If Sox happen to lose in ALCS, than so be it. Hopefully 2004 is just the beginning of great things to come. Having said that, it may very well be the last year for Magglio, Thomas, Loaiza, Valentin, Sandy and even one of Konerko/Lee with this team, especially if Sox don't have a great 2nd half to this season....Better not f*** it up.

I think Kendall's value as a catcher is superceded by his value as an ideal #2 hitter with speed. Let's face it, Uribe is a free-swinger, and with Willie's inconsistency, having Willie-Uribe as 1-2 against Shilling/Pedro/Vasquez/Brown is a very risky proposition. Willie I could stomach as a lead-off man, but Uribe is a #7 spot hitter. But, damn, that contract of Kendall's is just painful to read. If I am spending that kind of money, I'll be better off begging Randy Johnson to come to Chicago and be our #1 in 2004 and 2005 instead.

Ah Valentin, one of my least favorite topics..... I still do not like his approach against LHP -- WAY too greedy for someone who's just learning the art of lefty-on-lefty for the first time in 34 years. Where's the more line-drive-friendly approach that made him thrive against lefties in Spring Training? Better bring it back. That being said.........15 HR and 43 RBI in just 53 starts? Excellent clutch indicators? Second best ZoneRating in the bigs - and that despite all the April errors? Still quality baserunning? You could definately do worse.

Pierre is a mediocre defensive CF'er and Bernie Williams is one of the worst defensive CF'er in the game if not THE worst. Hello.

Who the hell knows what JR and his bastard frugal partners are planning for this franchise beyond 2004. If they have finally wised up and realize that they could build something long-lasting here, a dynasty that will make back and then some whatever "extra" they would have to spend, to say nothing of raising the value of the franchise itself, which is their main investment.......then great - give up the prospects, take on multiple-year contracts of highly-talented-but-also-ridiculously-inconsistent players, whatever it takes to accomplish that 5-10 year goal. Seeing Garcia in the Sox uni gives me more hope than 2002 and 2003 did combined. First step in the right direction, hopefully Garcia pitching his ass off encourages Sox management to take other risks as well.

He won't be FA until after 2007 at the earliest. He'll be 30 in 2008 and, if he realizes his potential, probably ready to make BIG money. And you know how it is with 30+ yo catchers and health. Miguel won't be back.

People disagree with the premise that Olivo did NOT have to be the centerpiece of this trade if it were made in late May (before tru bidding war broke out), and that's fine. To me, that's just another example of this organization making things more difficult than they have to be in the name of a buck. It was the same way in 2002 and 2003. Garcia will be a big help, but IMO it didn't have to come to KW pulling the trigger at the last moment and possibly (it's contestable) overpaying. Mr. Davis, your table is set. Suprise me.

Would Atlanta, though? If we could pretend 2003 never existed, then they might. But with Konerko, there is always that risk now..... Who would they want from our system to sweeten the deal?

Ben Davis is his own worst enemy at the plate, very high-maintanence swing, crappy pitch selection, but he isn't POS. Good-to-very-good defense. A few years back could hit just fine in Seattle, nothing special, but not Jaimme Burke either. Also has potential to put it all together - 1st round pick and all.

Dynomite arm. horrible luck.

Old thread

Bulls***, unlike you, Bavasi is not a stupid man. With Texas greatly improved and with Oakland and Anaheim (to say nothing of Boston in the Wild Card race) superior talent, Seattle wasn't overcoming an early 12-15 game deficit, which is where they were in April-May. Both A's and Angels are gonna improve their teams at the Break, and Chavez will give them a big boost down the stretch - German couldn't really fill his shoes. Angels got Garret Anderson back as well. You say Boone, Olerud, Martinez were to come back to form. Boone is IMO off the roids, he doesn't have his old batspeed, he is tardy on fastballs he used to kill to RCF-CF and very, very frustrated with himself and his personal life. Martinez is 41yo, come on now. Olerud is aging faster than anticipated. No cameron. Wynn is mediocre. Unless there is a fountain of youth somewhere in the bowels of Safeco I don't know about....... Closer aside, their BP is not that great. Meche, Franklin, Pinierro have all been big disppointments, and Moyer is really old, not exactly someone you would hang your hopes on. Seattle was SO done it's not even funny. And their willingness to trade Garcia (as opposed to younger, cheaper Pinierro) has been there WAY, WAY LONGER than just the last week. He's always been on the block, and the only reason why M's didn't give him away for a bag of balls was that he got off to such a fast start this year, doing things he hadn't done since early 2002, that they realized that he is, once again, a big trade commodity. Then again, circa Diaz's second bombing in Cleveland 5 weeks ago, Reed + Rauch + Morse (Reed still had a .400 OBP despite wrist injury; Rauch hadn't been roughed up by the Angels at that point; and Morse was in the midst of a big power streak) offer wasn't chopped liver, either. Mariners could always go to plan B and get Brandon Inge from Detroit if they wanted a "young catcher" so badly. Then, it was time to go for the kill. Before Yankees re-surfaced with Navarro offer and others joined in as well in time for the bidding season. Maybe you still give up Olivo - or maybe not. I could believe that Bavasi was holding out for more talent for Freddy, but NOT that he didn't know his team was done. Please.

1. It all depends on who the rental is. Freddy G shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as RJ - even the old RJ. Who would you rather have face off with Pedro in Game 1 of ALDS in Fenway? Freddy and his 4.00 road ERA? 2. He is younger? So what, we're talking about this season and maybe the next. If RJ retires after that, it don't bother me none. 3. You want him back? Great, you could always sign Freddy in the off-season....if you want to outbid the Yankees, etc and overpay, that is. Wouldn't have to give up Reed or Olivo.....So, yes, for the time being, Freddy IS a rental player. Freddy Garcia is just what the Sox need. Apparently Randy Johnson wants to stay put, fine. I thought Miguel would be untouchable, but wouldn't mind to give him up for Unit.

Why not Konerko + prospects = Andruw I mean, Braves are dumping salary and have soured (not without reason) on Andruw, right? Konerko is having a resurgent, All-Star season, and they save 4 Mill in 2004-2005 each, and 13 Mill in 2006 and 2007 each. Plus prospect talent of course. Cuz I am not so sure JR is gonna pay Andruw's salary if the deal is for prospects straight up. 12 Mill is a LOT in anyone's world, let alone JR's But who knows, really. Most deals/considerations are never made public, anyway.

Wimpy has moved on. Who do you have in mind? Carmen Defaultco?

You honestly think there is enough room in the booth for two dominant personalities? I say f*** it - DJ is a fixture here now, nice guy, knows a thing or two about baseball even if he's not much of a broadcaster.

Hey why the hell not? If Magglio has a career 2nd half (say, 1110 OPS and 75 RBI) with the Sox and helps Frank lead this team deep into postseason, that would be awesome. Get Andruw Jones with Konerko and prospects if possible. Atlanta used to love them some Ryan Klesko - and Paulie is a 'stache away.

It's not an either/or proposition. It's important to make the playoffs. Bu it's also important to somehow find the way to stun the Cubs and send them into 1999-type tail-spin. God knows, those losers in Houston could use any help they can get. Our playoffs run will only be magnified by their arms falling off (hello Kerry and Mark) and hopefully lots of people tanking in the 2nd half (I am looking at you Barret, Clement, Lee, Alou, Sosa, Walker and Patterson). *says prayer*