BrandoFan

So a walk is an automatic triple or just a double? Valentin and Uribe better turn a gazzillion DP's today or it could get ugly.

All I can say is...go Astros? Incidentally.....Go Cardinals, Marlins, Braves, Phillies, Padres and Dodgers. Cubs must not be allowed to get within a shooting distance of the playoffs, division crown or wild card or otherwise.

This world was great and then you came along.

Well, we all know Sox are losers who crack under the slightest of expectations. Winners become losers when they join this franchise and vice versa. 'White Sox!' might just replace 'Geronimo!'. Etc. Today the odds are against them with Silva on the mound and Twinkies flexing some of that patented killer instinct the last 2 games. Wouldn't be surprised if Sox pull it out today and go on an unexpected winning streak. Let's hope Sox management recognizes such fluke streak for what it is and makes a key addition or two as June rolls around.

Sat. GoG: Loaiza

Btw....I agree with you that Latka dude and Jim Carey can/could be brilliant at times. I can't stand the Canuck personally, but his gift for physical comedy is beyond doubt. (Just watch SNL since Ferrel departed to see what passes for comedy these days.)

No, no, no...I think I f***ed up the title because it's definately not the Andy Kaufman bio. I am talking about the 1991 flick with young Reese W and Sam Waterson, maybe Man IN the Moon (I know it wasn't Paper Moon... or was it?) by that To Kill a Mockingbird hack.

But I thought you loved everything Disney -- it's kinda like that only a little different. It's one of the 3 favorite Reese Witherspoon movies - Election and Man on the Moon are the other two.

What, you don't like The Red-Hood Tale that is Freeway? For shame.

I don't think school officials or the greater media are doing anything that isn't outlined in the Protocols of the Elders of Fabulous. The gays sure are coming and there is no stopping them. Save yourself a heartache, Jauggs, don't resist what is inevitable. Conform or die trying.

No, The Russell is too old for the role. (But I would pay to see Crowe and O'Toole read an Apu post. ) Nothing is gonna save that flick from bloated inconsequential corn-dom. Which is why me and my friends will be there, 1st row style.

I don't think you're giving KW nearly enough credit. I am sure he can yield us a Ben Grieve if they chips fall just right.

Pipe dreaming?

Good to hear. "Max effort" without flawless mechanics = control/health problems. I do wish Munoz had another pitch, for some reason I feel uneasy about 2 pitch starters in the bigs -- unless of course they're like Zambrano, with unhittable fastball. How far away is Yofu? Considering Shingo is making people look awful with just his change and 85mph heater, Yofu sounds like an all star What about Meaux's arsenal? I know he is older and seems to have gotten off to a good start in April. What's your take on Honel and Wing? Thanks.

Watch a game or two, do me a favor. Hitting in the #2 spot doesn't magically cure anything. When Lee was going good in 2000, he was kicking ass from the #7. Until he rights himself (mechanics, confidence and pitch selection), switching places won't help much -- if any. Yadayadayada. Blablablablabl Yadadadada-ing still. Neither Valentin nor Lee have much trade value right now. That's why BOTH of them are here, lol. Unless they jump over the 900 OPS line (they won't), you're gonna have difficulty convincing other GM's to want to give you something really nice in return. BF

f***ing movie if you ask me. Amanda Plummer, Kiefer Sutherland, Dan Hadaya and of course Reese Witherspoon at her youngest and IMO best.

Victim? What are you talking about! Lee's mechanics are awful right now; he lost confidence and his pitch selection has never been his strong suit, something that he shares with the rest of his teammates not named Thomas. He is pulling a Konerko right now, and last year you could have put Konerko in the 2-spot and he still would have sucked. They tried Caballo in the 2 spot already and he was bad - overmatched. Until he stops being so greedy and uppercut-pulling every pitch, he'll descent further and further into the funk. ML pitchers have a different approach to him now, and it has little to do with Konerko -- Paulie had a very good April and yet Carlos still sucked in front of him. Carlos could have smoked Rincon's outside heater for a double to RF, but he chose to pull it and missed 3 straight -- microcosm for the way this season has gone so far for him. Willie Harris is the OBP man. Carlos Lee is getting paid big bucks for 525+ Slugging %. Kenny will get raped by those guys. Not that Billius Caesar is stupid enough to trade for Carlos in the first place. He already f***ed up with Dye once -- and Lee never approached Dye's upside. Both Carlos and Paulie f***ed up. We needed them to put up GAUDY numbers in April and May and thus create REAL trade value....Needless to say, the exact opposite happened.

It's 15 over 2. It's not 6.5 over 1. Teams will and have taken that into account, and that's why there hasn't been a single "good" offer for Lee that we know of this season. You must have misunderstood. No GM wants him who could get the Sox something worthwhile/equal in talent in return. Of course Dodgers might do Lee for Weaver straight up. I don't want Weaver. Or similar trades. Starting pitching is just a hellava lot more important/prized than a semi-one-dimensional LF, so teams will be more willing to give Zito benefit of the doubt as far as slow start. And there is a difference between 25/26 for a soft-tossing pitcher like Zito and 27/28 for a freeswinger like Lee. The former hasn't entered his prime or is just getting ready to. The latter, if historical data is to be believed, is already as good as he is going to get as historical peak is 27-28/6 years in the league. As far as buying low, selling high.....Nice in theory, not easy to execute in the stock market -- why would it be easier in baseball? I don't trust KW or Sox talent evaluators to pull major trades. Lee will snap out of it if he starts driving the ball to RCF, but WHEN and by HOW MUCH is the question.

Zito is Cy Young. Lee is mediocre-fielding, average baserunning LF whose career high OPS is, what, 840 and who hits into DP's. Zito makes a few Mill. Lee makes 15 over next 2 years. Zito is almost 26, Lee will be 28. Of course Lee could be dealt, there will be teams intersted in his talent. It won't be for Freddy Garcia.

Konerko, pound for pound, er, dollar, is one of the worst position players in baseball. Lee is not far behind this season. Noone will take them.

Like so many 5-tool players before him, as soon as he gets a 7 year/125 Mill contract, he won't be stealing more than 15 bases a year, if that. Then you got his 830 career OPS in front of Sweeney, Ibanez, Gonzo.....needless to say, he'll be batting in front of Konerko and Crede -- most likely with bases empty when Thomas is gone Forget about Beltran, NYY is gonna overpay for him and he will pull a Jeter and choke in Noo Yawke. That 16-17 Mill could be better spent on bargains like Reed (300K), Gload (300K) and a couple of ace pitchers in the Hudson mold.

Beltran will stop running as soon as he hits 35 homers and gets his super-contract, which btw, given that his agent is Boras, will not be 14 Mill, but closer to 16-17 over 6-7 years. Never pay for speed. A torn ALC -- and there goes basestealing and aggressive base-running as well as defensive range in CF. Sux could never pay the kind of money Beltran wants because only Bonds is worth it. Beltran is hitting over his head right now. No way he is a 1000 OPS player if asked to bat clean-up. And why on earth would M's want Carlos Lee's 15 Mill? He is a defensive downgrade compared to Winn, inferior baserunner and his 400 Slugging would be 370 in Safeco.

Some mag, Street & Smiths or some such. There a were a ton more of similar blurbs around that time, though. Here's Rauch: "Rauch has shown No. 1 stuff -- just ask the Cubans who faced him in the 200 Olympics.........Tools: Did I mention a lot of top prospects got hurt in 2001? Put Rauch in that category. A shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery sidelined him after just six starts at AAA Charlotte, where it was obvious he wasn;t right. If he regains his 2000 form, he'll have a 93-95 mph fastball and the stamina to hold it deep into games, plus a natural down-hill plane that makes lifting a flyball agains him difficult. He also threw a nice slider and a curve before the surgery; what kind of Rauch returns is anyone's guess" Corwin Malone is another I forgot about. Back in 2000 he was supposed to be in 93-95 range, which is a lot for a lefty. Then there was Rocky Biddle who pitched like a Cy Young against the Cubs in 02...