BrandoFan

Showing woeful lack of familiarity with the georgaphy and geopolitical climate of the region(s) circa 1990s, are we? To say it was inevitable would be an understatement. We are talking about 10,000s of poorly guarded, dilapedated warhead command points spread out on the vast post-USSR territory.......Not that a dirty bomb and a warhead have much in common, mind you. But you get the idea of how easy it is to "lose" this stuff. This coming from a soul-less, greedy Yankee cretin such as yourself?

Mathew is gone. Boog hasn't been posting for a while. There are others. HSC needs to resume being the best poster one this site. Let bygones be bygones.

Name?

Is there a thread, and if so what is it's name?

He changed his name to ESPNJOHN1 and probably posts on ESPN boreds.

F Boog

Does it have anything to do with the fact that Twins owner Carl Pohlad is estimated to be worth over 20 BILLION dollars? Think about the figure for a second.

Wow, if that's all you can say about him, I guess he is in a GREAT shape. Having someone with above-average IQ and actual charisma as the chief image of this country might be a plus. 1. What do you know about Karl Marx? Die Kapital is so ABOVE your grasp, it's not even funny. If all you know about his ideas is what you took from 20th century totalitarian communist regimes, then you understand very little of it. 2. You need to understand there this is NOTHING wrong with "extended socialist programs" as long as the Constitution, governmental structure and the core of capitalism remain intact. It they will be. Relax. The money that will be taken out of your pocket will be put to good use, mostly. LOL. 3. I don't want K-man.

1. Crede can learn footwork, positioning and subtelties of bunt-fielding and ball-releasing from Robin. The latter never had great quickness or arm strenght, but more than compensated for it. 2. Robin is a fan favorite and is one of the biggest names among the disgruntled Old Guard of Sox fans, most of whom are quasi-boycotting the park. Bringing him back may alleviate fans' wrath after losing Colon, Robbie, Flash, Sullivan, Konerko, etc. Sox need to find any "popularity" edge as they can. When the Clubhouse King Jose and his 5 Million are dropped, we need someone to fill in his shoes if anything else, lol. 3. I simply do not believe Robin is "done". Sorry, I still see an 800 OPS left in him, provided he plays as little as possible against lefties. Even after torrid 2nd half, Joe had only 690 OPS against RHP in 2003. He needs to be challenged. 4. If Konerko is moved and Daubach has no desire to play for peanuts (and he won't), Ventura will fill in nicely at no cost, dramatically improving defense in the process. I don't know about you, but I am f***ing tired of seeing Konerko letting a routine grounder roll right by him because his slow instincts and back won't allow him to bend for it fast enough. Garland alone should put out a hit on him for inflating his ERA by 20-30 points with his s***. 6. ONE MILLION- ONE f***ING MILLION.

Have people SEEN what Lidle had done as an A in 2001-2002? Not f***ing bad, and if he comes at under 3 Mill, we should maybe gamble.

You know what? Sox will never be the type of a team (Cubs, Marlins I am looking in your direction) who finsihes last and beefts up on top 3 picks. As long as we have one of the brighter talent evaluators (do we though?), there's LOTS that can be done with extra sandwitch/second/3rd round. If we continue to draft like did last year or better, before you know we'll have LOTS of Jeremy Reeds and Jon Raches and Neil Cottss running around.

Hence the Konerko, prospects, cash FOR Perez and Ventura

Jason's post was nothing short of sport insight tour-de-force. Bravo.

Sox HAVE been competitive if above .500 record in a worthless division can termed as such, it's true......but after 86 years of futility, and considering every year we are not an elite team we lose a bunch of fans, further reducing our chances at great revenue and payroll for upcoming year........85 WINS IS NOT ENOUGH. But CW has two good points as well: the "fun time at the ballpark regardless of the product" arguement and the "if you don't come, JR won't spend and team won't win" one.

BTW, I meant a pitcher's park Shea, not hitters. That makes Robin's already impressive 1999-2002 production (800+ OPS, very good RBI/ab ratio for a #6 hitter, etc) look a little better. 1. You're right, Robin is the type of player who relies on eye, discipline, homework and hand-eye coordination rather than pure batspeed/strenght-- and that's part of the reason why he never became the player her was supposed to based on college dominance.....but that also should only make the aging process slower because loss of quickness shouldn't hurt him as much as others. Look at 39yo Palmeiro or 41yo Edgar, 40 Galarraga after a 3 years layoff no less, Rickey Henderson just a few years ago, Julio Franco, Gwynn, Ripken, Alou. etc. They are much older than 36yo Robin. The better question should be, does Robin want it bad enough- at his age he has to work twice as hard just to avoid severe decline. And frankly he seems a little too satisfied and passive, kinda like 39yo Mark Grace did in 2002 when I relaized he was done......................In any case, you're greatly exagerating his loss of batspeed- it's not like we are talking about Royce Clayton hitter here. As bad as Robin was in 2003, he still mustered 750 OPS playing in a very good pitcher's park. 2. So we should stop trying to look for ways to minimize the inherent youth risks and make peace with our fate? There is a "risk" (Burhle, Marte suddenly sucking) and then there is RISK (Crede going into one of his patented 3-30 slumps where he can't hit RHP to save his life). I am not advocating getting a 10yo a year replacement in Troy Glaus here........All I am saying let's get a back up like Robin who will give you good defense (great at 1b), clubhouse presence and might bust out for 800+ OPS if you avoid starting him agaionst LHP, that is.. Crede and Rowand should earn play time against righties just like Valentin and Harris should earn the right to hit against lefties. Nothing should be be handed on a sliver platter. 3. I think it's the other way around. Wriggley will be filled up NO MATTER WHAT. While in USCF, everything depends on "names" and "team record" and "buzz"..........Getting Robin back means little if the team is losing, you're right, but if it's not it will generate EXTRA amount of fan good will around the team. Robin should finish his career as a Sock as should Frank and a few others- this team is starved for favorite and it's anti-player reputation needs to be changed. So at JUST one million a year, I do not want to hear this bulls***. Getting Robin costs us almost nothing (risk is low in other words) and the reward is pretty big if he does succeeed, especially if he healthy enough.

no small thanks to him, y'all were able to get ed-aid.

What? I guess our Roman 2.0 doesn't get few points: 1. Many people go to games to ENJOY themselves in the company of friends and/or family. Winning team takes a DISTANT second place to FUN FACTOR.....though the former often does enhances the latter, but whatever. Just like you would go to a cliched comedy like Bad Santa to have fun and you don't care that it doesn't win an Oscar or you go to great america with your kids not caring that it doesn't have the best rides in the world so long as you have a good time........same with sports. well, almost. 2. JR won't go into RED trying to improve team's chances of winning WS. If you don't attend, don't consume or don't even watch the Sox on FREE television (have you seen WGN rating?), there is no revenue and cash flow........So don't expect anything more than a payroll in the bottom half. Keep up the good work, and JR will slash payroll under 40 Mill. That's what gonna happen if this Sox team doesn't produce and if fans don't show up ina renovated park in 2004/2005.

I still remember back in 2001, they were talking about Edwards as a handsome, outspoken JFK 2.0. Then they found out he was a Jew, I guess.....loolo No, serisouly, It's Wesley Clark all the way. Greens have no chance and Dean? Puh-lease. I guess I could with Dennis K....or McCain. Hell, even Leiberman. Anything. But. Bush.

1. Everett brought horrible D, mediocre baserunning and only above average slugging as a Sock. His clutch numbers with us were also only marginally good. Overall, given our finanfical situations, playing him more than 5-6 Mill was unacceptable.....unless Lee is done and Carl is moved to LF. 2. Sullivan is a 33yo RELIEVER with a TON of innings in his arm, a 4.00 career ERA in offense-light NL, with no closing or even set-up experince in his life. SOlid pitcher, but he is a luxury Sox simply CAN'T pay 3+ Mill a year to. Sorry. 3. I think Robbie's near-instantenous dropoff in effectiveness (he went from HOF in his prime in 2001 to a mediocre scrub in 2002) is not due to his age and that he might partially rebound id healthy.....but the fact still remains: for 2 full seasons now, Robbie range and arm have taken a big hit; his baserunning is no longer a huge weapon and his hitting? 680 OPS and inability to hit from RH? Again, I tihnk he was worth 2 Million just to see if he can re-dedicate and revitalize himself.....but there is NOTHING in his 2002-2003 seasons that says "hard to replace". 4. Miles is no walk, no run, horrible defensive player with no big-league experience and 27-yo. Where did you find "good" in him? 5. I saw Hummel play. Can hit LHP a little, but absolutely BLOWS against RHP (75% of pitchers in other words), is SLOW and BAD defensively---I saw him play 3B against the Cubs, and he makes Crede look like a Gold Glove stud. I am talking about getting eaten up alive on "doubles" in foul territory, releasing the ball too late to start a DP, failure to field a bunt, poor positioning and of course an error leading to Cub run.....I shudder to think how bad a SS he is.......Again, no loss, not even close. Good riddance. 6. Almonte will never see majors again. 7. Biddle is personafication of MEDIOCRITY at best. Check his numbers. 8. Leifer? See #6 9. Osuna. See Sullivan, plus injury history. 10. Colon? I already said all I wanted about this overpaid bum.

Pudge of course, though without Beckett they probably would finish a game or 2 behind Phillies and never made playoffs in the first place, so you have a point. If you're arguing that Beckett was excellent, then I agree. Other than Lowell (without whose torrid start Marlins would have been hopelessly burried at the ASB and started to unload half the team) and Pudge, he was Marlins MVP. BUT if you're saying he was more instrumental than Pudge, you're simply wrong. Before the playoffs, Becjett having a low 3.00 ERA in in a great pitcher's park was very good, but Pudge is involved in EVERY pitch, shuts down the running game and was one of the best clutch-hitters in the majors in 2003 despite playing a in park not excactly conducive to hitting success. In any case, it's close, so you have a point. PLAYOFFS: Beckett was excellent in his SanFran start, but Pudge SINGLE-HANDEDLY won 2 games coming through with INSANELY clutch (and as I Sox fan, I've wintness our hitters fail in much less pressured situations all season long) 2-out hits and even had a great collision at home plate. If he fails in just 1 ab, Marlins probably go home. Cubs? Beckett did his BEST to lose the first game, while Pudge hit a 3-run homer to bring Marlins back to life on seemingly an unhittable Zambrano sinker (watch the replay). THEN, he comes through with a HUGE hit in later inning. It's true, that without A-Gone making two beautiful defensive stops on Sosa with winning run on 3rd, Cubs win the game anyway, but Pudge's unbelievable clutchness and effectiveness (I am not even gonna mention him shutting down pesky Lotfon who sparked every single Cub rally against Braves) allowed the game to go into extra innings where Lowell won it. Without him, Cubs win Game 1 rather handily. We know Game 2 was a blowout. In game 3, Pudge had ANOTHER clutch two-out hit to put Marlins on top in the 7th. Yes, Simon ended up hitting an even bigger shot, but Pudge did his best to win that game. Cubs win Game 3. And the Game 4 is a Cubs massacre. So, as you can see, at this point, as good as Beckett was in his one start against SF, his contribution pales in comparison to that of Pudge, without whom not Marlins get swept by CUBS (heaven help the Sox if that happened), but probably don't even make it to NLCS to being with..........Was Beckett MORE valuable than Pudge from that point on? Probably, though, again, without Pudge's 2-out RBI double off Prior, there is NO comeback in Game 6, so Becket's game 5 mastery is esspentially wasted. (I will go as far as to say that if Sox DID sqeeze in the playoffs in 2003 (and I still can;t figure out how it was possible to FAIL in that fashion that we did, in the division that we did) and had had Pudge-like clutchness from, say, Maggs with all other elements staying the same.....we could have just as easily won the World Series as Marlins did. So let's not overrated Marlins now, OK?)

Absolutely. We averaged UNDER HALF of stadium's capacity in the entire year, tooping out at a generously estimated 1,9 Mill. Without half-price s***, without kids days and cheap ticket prices (compared to Boston, for example), we probably don't even draw 1.5 Mill-- and all that with hardly a weekday DAY game. I still remember then World Champs Angels being greeted by some 17 K on a perfect evening wather-wise. 19 K for dvision rival Minny on an even better night. Etc, etc, etc.

I am just thankful I don't live in Israel. Over the next few decades, THAT place will be hell on earth. Poor Jews.

The first priority should be trying to dumb as much of Konerko's salary as possible. If we can get Odalis Perez, we should thank heavens. Koch is untradeable. Then we need to address the ACE pitcher issue because Loaiza is not a #1 nor Burhle a #2 and Garland- 3. Looks like Pedro will not be dealt by Boston and Shilling is off the table as well. Kevin Brown is too old and injured, but might be the best option- again, around the deadline as his full-year salary is too much and Dodgers have playoff aspirations themselves I bet. THEN, provided Lee gets arbitrationa and doesn't get much over 6 Mill, we need to resolve Ordonez issue. If Konerko is still with us, Maggs should be bye-bye, allowing us to use his money on said ace pitcher and USCF-loving Mike Cameron to play CF, provided he costs about 3-4 Mill. Bullpen? Marte, Wunsht, Shownweiss, Wright, Koch won't get it done. We NEED a righty closer/set-up man. ERA under 3.50/good WHIP is a must. That's 2 Mill right there, unless we start throwing Ryan Wing-type prospects.' Speaking of prospects, since we don't have lots of money and Soriano for Maggs/Konerko for Perez are pipe dreams, it looks like we must throw in a bunch of prospects in trades as our currency. There is no indication that payroll will ever exceed 60 Mill in 2004 and might stay under 55 at the opening day. It should be kept in mind that making it to playoffs AND experiencing a rekindled fan interest is a absolutely a MINUMUM goal this season. Another year of underachieving will make 2004 offseason unbearable.

Paying Guardado 15 over 4 would have been a stretch. And over 3? Krazy. Why would you want an aging closer when it's unclear if you're gonna have a team good enough to HAVE many close-able games in the first place? Mexican Eddie has been a legitimate closer (career ERA is still over 4.00 and his save conversion % not THAT impressive) but he's sucked in tie game situations in the last 2 years. All in all, is he worth 5 Mill a year? Maybe maybe not, but SOX CAN'T PAY HIM THAT ANYMORE THAN CAN PAY 10+ MILL TO COLON AND 3.6 MILL TO GORDON. That's the most important distinction that dwarfs any other considerations.

Welcome back, JUGS. Marlins had a scary clutch hitter in Pudge who bailed them out numerous times against SF AND Cubs and s*** down the running game; both teams completely outplayed the Marlins and should have won in 4 and 4 games respectively. And Yankees? Both Game 1 and Game 4 should have gone to them if they convert multiple chances. Do the math. Marlins were a fluke like 2003 Anaheim Mighty Ducks. You can only count on that type of result once every 10 years. It's more wise to take Marlin team for what it is: a 90 win team that got super-lucky with Redman and Lowell coming out of nowhere during the season. (If, say, Valentin and Galrand have career years in 2004, I can easily see 93-95 wins and a chance to do serious damage in the playoffs)