YASNY

That's what I'm trying to point out. You ARE looking at the financial aspect of it and he is not. He JUST wants a winner and is tired of all the excuses. He's lived it for decades and you've been through it for a few years. You each have different perspectives. The fact is, you are BOTH correct. It's just your point of view that differs.

I totally understand what you are saying. But then, I remember a couple of posts from a 16 year old kid telling TexSox he has no clue about economics. I'm sorry, but that is totally ludicrous. I mean how many 16 year old kids have had to worry about putting a meal on the table for the family ... and then being able to do it every night. I'm not trying to be insulting, and you guys have made some very valid points. I'm saying that leaving the financial aspects out of it, and just looking at it like a fan and nothing more, that I can totally understand where TexSox is coming from.

That was in college. Not professional.

I've heard this before and if memory serves me correctly, it was by some no-name guy in the Texas League and the streak was about 61 games. But, I'm really reaching for this so I may way off.

This streak has been mentioned in every paper and on ESPN every night for the past few days. If the streak ends, it ends. It has nothing to do with a jinx.

I think I may be able to simplify this. It appears to me TexSox is looking at this from one perspective, and this is just simply a Sox fan and a baseball fan. He's tired of financial aspects of the game. Forgot about how much money any player in the game makes and just look at the players skills and abilities, and you'll have an idea of where he is coming from. At least, I think I'm reading him right. If not, TexSox, I apologize. After a few unfruitful decades, you get tired of hearing excuses for not winning. You get tired of rebuilding plans. You get tired of seeing a Goose Gossage become a dominant reliever for other teams, for example. It seems to be a never ending cycle. From Bill Veeck trading off Johnny Callison, Norm Cash and Earl Battey to the infamous '97 white flag trade. As a long time fan, this stuff just really gets old.

A great bit of sarcasm there, TLAK. And he picked up on it without it being typed in green.

I rate the addition of a good LH RBI man just under the starting pitcher problem. Maybe Munoz and/or Borchard can come up fill these spots for us, but then again, maybe not. We need both.

I'll tell ya, I don't want to give up 4 decent ballplayers for a 3 month rental of Beltran. I still think Steve Finley would be the optimum guy for this team to acquire. I feel he would fit our situation perfectly. A good defensive CF with power and RBI capabilities. Plus, he's a wily veteran that has been through the wars and has proven he knows how to win. He's also shown the he can handle the pressure of post season baseball. And considering what we'd have to probably give up to get him vs what it would take to get Beltran, I think Finley would be perfect addition to this team. I'm still in the group that feels our top priority should be a better than decent starting pitcher, but fitting Finley into our line up would be perfect.

I just checked this out, before reading the thread. They've corrected the error and I'm reading the caption going

Why not? We did it for Harold.

All I'm going to say about this disagreement is this. After 40 years of being a Sox fan .... TexSox is absolutely 100% correct!

Today, Carlos can tie the franchise record. I'd love to see him keep this one going for a while.

Trading Jose Valentin would be moronic right now. We need a Steve Finley type of player in addition to Jose, not instead of him.

There is nothing wrong with Beltran. He'd be a great addition to the team. Still, I think for Finley would be much cheaper than Beltran and would add a tremendous presense to the clubhouse as well.

Here's hoping.

We'd all be a bunch of pissed people if the Sox would have paid tub-o-goo all that jack and gotten these kind of results.

Why would Ozzie risk that move if he didn't have to. I can see it in a blowout game, but if he makes that call today in the starting line up and it costs us the game, you can bet we will lose the division by one game.

Yes, a 1-2-3 ninth was something to see. But what was even better was having a feeling of confidence when the inning started. It sure wasn't the familiar dread I felt when it was Billy Koch.

Damn right it has Finley written all over it. He is exactly what this team needs.

Some of these guys have to be Cubs draft picks.

I think we should hold on to Crede. He's got the tools to be a good solid ballplayer. He will put it all together soon. Good 3B's are hard to come by. If Josh Fields can rocket through the system and push Crede aside, great. He'd have more trade value as an established ML 3B.

Hey Bull. We can use a good fifth starter in Chicago!

I wouldn't consider the odds of Loaiza staying with the Sox any better than 60-40.

I wasn't talking about another teams prospects. I was talking about Borchard vs. Reed. And I stick by what I said. As for your assessment that Reed could have a longer career, you may be right. But I'd rather have 5 years of superstar calibre baseball (which I think Borchard is capable of) than 15 years of Mark Kotsay-ish baseball, to whom Reed has been so often compared.