YASNY

I'd still rather have Prior.

You want optimism? Here ya go.... Olivo: A full season under his belt. Look for all around improvement. Konerko: He can't possibly have a season as bad as last year. So, there is an upgrade from the 1B spot. Harris: Jiminez sucked, Alomar was OK. I can see Harris performing acceptably. Valentin: Still very solid Crede: Like Olivo, look for him to improve Maggs: Maggs had a slighly below average year. I expect better this year. Rowand: We had no offense from CF the 1st half, and no defense the second half. I look for ARow to supply both on a consistant basis all year. Lee: He was the best player on the field last year and can get better. Bench: Too early to tell. Let's see how it looks when we head north. Starting rotation: Ok, we took a hit here. I still think we'll be ok. Bullpen: See Bench Overall, I can see reason for optimism, as well as some people's pessimism. But then, that's why baseball the greatest game of all.

He responded to me. Not much of one.

This just goes to show you that Cub fans are not smart enough to come up with an appropriate song on their own.

Career ending injuries? Burn in hell? C'mon guys, it's baseball. Let's have a little perspective here.

Agreed. Totally. Empahatically.

The masses have not received your message, it seems.

His response is posted earlier in the thread.

Those poor por Yankees. *sigh* NOT

Way to be, Ozzie!

Hell yes. Danny won 14 games as our #5 starter in 2002.

No to Koch starting. Absolutely not. It takes more than two pitches to be an effective starter.

Damn. You people that bring realistic things like money into the equation really bring me down.

I don't disagree with you guys on Stweart, or Rauch for that matter. Either one of them may be able to do the job.

I can't pick up the score in the daytime. keep us posted, please.

Frank is Frank. We all know how he is. He says things we wish he wouldn't at times, but sure don't mind those 40+ homers he puts up. I think he's earned the right to be accepted, by the fans, for what he is and who he is.

Aaron Boone would be a good investment for next season. Sign him for a 2 year deal, the minimum this year and something more for next.

Good job. Maybe we make this a daily thing. Every day another Soxtalk member emails Mariotti and very politely gives him a little hell.

I'm usually awake at this time, but not usually online. More often than not, I sleep between 1 and 9 PM.

You may have a point, but I didn't take the bait.

I'm saddened to hear that Julie Swieca has resigned. The few chances that I had to listen to her, I enjoyed her show. I don't care much for J. Hood. I miss T-Dub. He was cool.

I hope Harry Caray comes back and haunts the restaurant until they take his name off of it.

Hilarious.

Rex, I'm fully aware that JM is a columnist. In fact, if you read the text of my email, the column I was writing him about was refered to as a "column" several times. I also understand that he can't write just fluff pieces. But this guy thinks Sosa hung the moon, and Frank is rat crap. His columns, over the long haul reflect that. I just took the opportunity to point that out to him. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on the response to me. He is, I'm sure, a very busy man.

Alas, I tried.