BrandoFan

Like I've been saying, Cleveland has JACK s*** and that the Sox should dominate the division for year to come if they can maintain a semi-decent payroll (around 60mill). When Milton Brandley is your Franchise Savior...

says who?????? you guys really got it all wrong.......thats just a twisted statement brando........ Em...you of all people not appreciating the irony/sarcasm in my reply to Smarmy....Shame. (And I do know how much you gals love Ray-Ray...which pretty much invalidates the racism theor...ah f*** it!)

ws61282, you've brought up very reasonable points, but one of them- - I gotta take a slight exception to: as flawed as both RangeFactor and ZoneRating are, Edmonds is kicking Beltran's ass in both categories in addition to leading him in assists and (fewer) errors. I still think Carlos is excellent, but Edmonds is not just a slowass white boy styling his way into highlight reels-- he's got legitimate GG skillz. (I'd take King Vlad and Giles over them anyday, though.) But, like you sad, this point is moot since JR ain't getting either.

Well could this "attitude" be accountable for the rest of the team's baserunning? I mean, you got guys like CLee who can't run the bases for the life of him, and nobody's questioning his work ethic. Maybe intelligent and aggressive baserunning isn't DJ's thing. Maybe there needs to be a speedy leadoff hitter playing CF, dropping DJ down to #2. 1. Carlos Lee was terrible in 2002. This year he has 6 SB in 7 attempts and the only CS was when Sox botched a would-be hit-n-run and Carlos was left hanging, with virtually no lead from 1st whatsoever. He has also been busting his ass off, taking extra bases, scoring runs from 1st. He's beyond reproach compared to Jimenez who is faster than Carlos , but has been very disappoiting while OB. 2. As far as "aggressive and smart running" not being "his thing".......well, maybe, paying 4 million a year for a one-dimensional underachiever in the future is not a "Sox GM thing" or voting him in the All-Star game is not a "fan's thing"?

Anyone who has ever heard Frankie speak leaves with at least two indelible impressions: 1. He is extremely charming and articulate when not talking about himself. 2. 90% of his rhetoric does center around "I am the greatest...I want my dues and I want them NOW, whaawwwww!!!!!" which Satan's helpers (aka "media") tend to misconstrue as egomaniacal, thin-skinned whining. Silly them. Having said that, I'd take Frank's self-conscious rants over Sammy's brand of megalomania coated in shameless self-promotion and insincerity ANY.DAY.OF.THE.WEEK.

Yes. Blacks like Ray-Ray have the chick market cornered, fo sho. DJ has no chance.

Chicks just don't dig DJ. Heather and Steff hate him too. Perhaps a trip to a dermatologist (and a front teeth specialist) can do wonders for his luck among the ladiez. I agree with Rafa and ws61382 - even with his month-long slump, DJ is still one of the best young leadoff hitters in the game. If he should become aggressive on 2-1/3-1 fastballs, he will be even better. He is too tentative while ahead on the count and takes too many first-pitch strikes down the middle. Pitchers are starting to "cheat" on him like did with Farnk Thomas. However, his defense and baserunning leave much to be desired. On the D., he has cost the Sox literally twice as many runs as Jose the Terrible has (8 to 4 counting the Cleveland game), his range is worse than I expected and his SS arm is overrated if you judge by mechanically poor feeds and bad release. On the base-paths, he's been pretty bad, running us out of innings, comitting mental errors, not taking extra bases and not executing hit-n-runs well. Jose Valentin is much older and slower than DJ and yet he is 3 times the baserunner. So, like I've been saying earlier this year while warding off Jimenez haters, it all comes down to suspect work ethic , and I don't think DJ is working nearly enough on his running and defense at this point. There is no reason for him not to be a 20 SB/good defensive, he certainly has the talent.

It's a shame Royce has been such a bust up to this point in his first AA stint: -14 saves -0.64 ERA -28.0 innings -19 hits, 1 HR allowed -9 walks -37 Ks

We agree on Giles. I am a big fan of Beltran, especially his speed? Between 2000-01, he stole 44 bases while getting caught a grand total of...ONCE. Are you f***ing kidding me?! However I thnk you are seriously underrating Edmond's CF skillz (Edmonds gets best jumps on the ball and his arm is extremely effective, tho Beltran is a more of a natural athlete), while overrating Beltran's offense (over the last 4 years, Edmonds leads him by a whopping 150 OPS points, which is almost as much as the difference between Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds this year). How much money will Beltran be asking? 10-12 mill over 6 years? If A-Rod can get 25 and the only thing he has over Carlos is power, while B beats him in baserunning....surely Boras would want at least half of that don't you think? Not that KC would want him going to the co-divisionee, mind you.... Meanwhile Edmonds is signed through, what, 2005? He is a big, marketable name, his 8.50 Mill tag is quite reasonable, and since his game was never about pure speed, at 32 he still has A LOT of baseball left in him, not unlike Jose Valentin.

I was being serious.

Any word on the rumoured gay lover he keeps?

Anything on Jose? I am doing research, funny should you ask.....

Brando, did we just agree??? How scary! LOL I may be a stupid moron, but there is no need to rub it in, Rex

Wow...I wish I had a grand son. Maybe some day.

Something about talent not being teachable... A true HOF power swing is a rare combinaiton of batspeed, hand-eye coordination, strike zone knowledge and supreme confidence. Joe has none that I've seen of. It's all up to him to prove me wrong. He needs to stop his NFL longing and get to work.

Please no one mention Maggs in centerfield. The last thing we need to do is give the guy a hamstring injury. If Jim Edmonds, Lance Berkman, Larry Walker, Austin Kearns and Biggio managed, think Maggs can too. He is not a full-out hustler in the Rowand mold, so he should preserve himself. He has the arm, gets decent jumps. He ain't Anduw Jones or Tori Hunter, but even those guys aren't on some days. If Willia starts hitting, he wouldn't have to. Rios sucks and is indifferent. Trade him away and watch him thrive on a playoff NL team.

5 knee surgeries reamrk was a border-line joke. Alomar's mid-90's bat and glove wasn't. If anything, Twins should be happy- they are getting an occasional all-star. I still like Olivo better, though. Once again, I am biased like that.

Defense. Inb addtion to his 2B skillz, Willie already has more range than JoBo in CF, and it will only become more obvious as the former gets more playing time at the position. What about Joe's QB arm you say? Considering that Willi gets himself in better position to throw, puts more effort into it and has actually thrown a few runners out at the plate. What has LTP done for me lately? Hitting. Willie has better hand-eye-coordination, the ball jumps off his bat when he connects. He will walk more and K less if he gets regular playing time. If he ever learns to be groundball conscious, he will make for a good CF'er. Joe can't even bunt when he is in the slump. Running. This is where Willie enjoys the biggest advantage as he is arguably top 10 fastest guys in the majors. If he learns the art of baserunning from Jose, he will be unstoppable once OB. Can be a great utility man....Meanwhile Jobo is one of the slowest "fast" guys I have ever seen- poor jumps, awkward rounding the base and sliding. Very medicore at best. Unless Joe improves his batspeed (shortter swing and more loose approach will be a nice start) and starts getting a clue as far SZ is concerned, Sox may have no choice but to put Willie and underrated Maggs in CF this year. YMMV.

Don Mattingly learned to hit with power after he reached the Majors and never bulked up. Hitting with power can be a learned thing, not all about bulking up. Hey, I don't have a time machine either, Socco, but I am going with odds. Both Pierzinki and Piazza are 6'2 yet neither are nowhete near being Gold Glove and I believe Mike was about 195 when he came into the league. This was before my time, so I am not sure. I still say Joe is 230 by the time he is Pierzinki's age and is starting have recurring problems, whether knee, back or other. Time will tell. Also, as he stars hitting for power, he's OBP will take a slide. Alomar Lite in his prime is what this kid will be in 3-4 years. I hope.

Just because Mauer is not ML ready, doesn't mean I want Reed rushed. No, first we need to win this year. Then, we need to let JoBo and Harris play themselves out, either here or in AAA. It's unlikely that both of them fail so badly, but possible. Worst-case scenario, Sox will need Reed to be decent in 2005. Add to it Webster and hopefully to-be-signed Anderson and that other kid, and our CF is not a big concern. With Olivo may never have pure hitting talent of Maer, but his arm can be once-in-generation as he improives his release technique and his speed needs no introduction. Mauer is 215 at 20, if you want him to hit with power and adjusting for natural "bulking" that affects 99% players, if he is not 225-230 by the time he is 25, I'll be surprised. How many Gold Glove catchers do you know that are 6'4", 230 and have no knee problems?

By the time he is 25, hell be around 220-225 pounds. Sandy Alomar Lite- shall we say 5 knee surgeries instead of 10?

1. I never said that Mauer won't some day be an All--Star, I just noted that it probably won't be until 2007 at the earliest. With Sox scrambling to win in this very important year being, pardon me for not being all scared s***less of The SuperJesus whom scouts consider to have a "higher ceiling". Good for him. 2. I think you are underestimating Reed's defense while overestimating Mauer's arm. That's a maybe. You are understimating the value of high-% speed burner like Jeremy; in fact his 480 slugging is closer to 580 if you count SB as semi-legitimate doubles. His RBI production is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. What about his unbelivable BB:SO ratio? 3. You are discounting Mauer's many GIDPs. 12 versus 4 for JR is it? I am fairly sure that JR has beaten more GIDP and taken extra bases wholesale ala Jose Valentin without it being scored as a SB, to say nothing of scoring 11 more runs. This year Reed has been better. I agree with you that both clubs should be fairly happy with what they getting. JR was low-profile and didn't command as much money, so I am very impressed with him versus the Hyped One. I am biased like that.

1. The kid has no power, mediocre speed, has hit into a ton of DP and is in low-A ball-- 3-5 years away from being a good ML'er which Pierzinki already is. Compared to Jeremy Reed, he AIN'T s***. 2. I am not sure about his defense, but if it was anywhere near Olivo's level, I would have heard it by now.

1. This is a do-or-die year. All-Star year. Weak division. Team is remarkably healthy for once. Verdict: far from being over. Let's just hope it never comes to a point where KW would attempt to "save" the team by trading talent away at the deadline. 2. Tuesday the line-up better be as follows: --Jimenez (2b) --Valentin (SS) --Thomas (1b) --Ordonez (CF) --Lee (LF) --Daubach (RF) --Konerko (DH) --Crede (3B) --Olivo ©

Send the f***er down! Platoon Willie Harris in CF with Maggs who can't possibly be worse than Joe. Meanwhile, the latter needs to say in AAA until he can mantain 900+ OPS for an entire season, he was hitting 675 when he got called up enough said...As it stands now, he has too many holes in his swing, his SZJ is unacceptable and too long, loopy swing. If he had Sheffield-ian batspeed, then maybe he could overcompensate and learn in the majors....but it's not, it will only hurt him if he stays here and gets exploited, messing up his confidence....Both Daubach and Konerko get bashed so much (righfully so), but they twice the hitters JoBo is at this point. Hell even Rios has career OPS of 800, so he can't be all bad. All those who whine "Borchard is the future...boohoohoo" in defense of his automatic out-ness...need to be cognizant of a few basic truths: 1) If Sox fail to make postseason and capture the hearts of Chicago fairweather fans, THERE IS NO FUTURE. 2) If Borchard is overmatched for an extended period of time and loses his will to play/improve, HE HAS NO FUTURE. He looks like he is sleepwalking, dreaming of NFL as it is, after only few weeks of play.