YASNY

Now that, my friend, is one helluva great post! As for the media... I don't have much access to the Chicago radio media, just late night on clear nights. I usually only get my info from the newspapers' websites and from here.

Hmmm ... would we be happy with Alomar and Soriano at the top of the order and at the middle infield spots? Interesting possibility.

I have not seen anything to suggest that the payroll would increase by more than $5 million, at the most.

I don't want to use Marte as our closer. That is wasting him, in my opinion. I want him available when we need that BOG out late in a ballgame. If he happens to finish some games from that point and gets a few saves, fine. But do not limit this guy to just a closer's role. He's too good for that. When it comes to Billy Koch, we will just have to wait and see which Koch shows up in Arizona next spring. Unless, of course, he's traded to the Mets. Which, considering Howe is there and the A's pitching coach is probably headed there too, that may be exactly what happens.

Rex made some very solid points, and I want to add this one to the mix. The things you mentioned in this post, lack of consistency and easily rattled, are just the type of things a pitcher can overcome with experience and maturity. I know he's had 4 years worth of experience, but he's still very young. Perhaps that maturity is the misssing ingredient in this case. Don't give up on Jonny G yet. I do believe he'll be that 18-20 game winner within 3 or 4 years.

The stance being taken by KW with Colon could just be a negotiation ploy. If Colon does, in fact, want to stay in Chicago (I know ... it's probably BS), his agent may just be trying to get more out of the Sox. Now KW, could be, in effect, calling his bluff by saying we have to move on to other options. Colon may decide at this point to accept the offer without risking a depressed free agent market, ala Kenny Rogers last year. Then again, probably not.

That suckiness is going to last till JR dies or retires.

I think trading Konerko for Weaver would be one helluva gamble. One that could go either way. Konerko could rebound to be the hitter he was the first half of '02 or he could just struggle from here on out. Weaver, on the other hand, could just be one of those pitchers that can't handle the New York media glare, but would be a decent #4 somewhere else. Or, he could just totally suck from now on. The difference being, that Weaver supposedly was despised by his Tiger teammates. That has nothing to do with New York. PK is a pretty decent guy in the clubhouse, from what I understand.

Beastly, ask him what the trade was that Hawk said would knock our Sox off. Also, we had someone say that JM recently said Magglio was almost traded in July. Was this true?

Why the f*** are you such an asshole? What else can Kenny do? NO OTHER GM could have ever got Jerry to agree to sign a pitcher to the contract he was willing to give Colon. KW is a gamer, and he is the best thing for this organization. Seriously, what can a GM do if someone decides to turn down your best offer, which mind you , is a very fair deal. KW is TRYING to win here.....unless the crappy GMs we have had in the past. It is a shame you are such a moron you cannot see that. I don't see Killa, in this instance, being an asshole. I see him as a person speaking the truth. We won't get Millwood....we will probably get Ponson(wouldn't surprise me if we did....we've had interest in him before), and KW will make a trade this offseason that blows up in our faces. He traded Sirotka for Wells in 01, and that was the worst thing that could have happened to the White Sox in the media at the time. He traded Kipper, Fogg, and Lowe for the Toad in 02....yeah, that was a great move. And this past season, he traded the best closer in the AL, Keith Foulke(though he is, what I like to call, a choker), a decent backup catcher, and a pretty damn good pitching prospect(who was involved in the deal that got them Jose Guillen) for Billy Koch and two minor leaguers(one of whom could be very, very good someday). KW has gotten slapped around and made into other GM's b****es in those deals. I mean, he got practically NOTHING in return for Kip Wells from Pittsburgh, who got Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hill, and some other prospect for Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton. Wanna explain that one to me? I just can't wait for his big move this year! I agree with you on one point. Killa is not an asshole. As for the rest of it....

From Ron Rapoport's column in the Sun times:

Ok ... before Ozzie gets ripped to shreds here, let's look at this another way. Ozzie has not been able to talk to the Sox about this position because his team was still playing. So, therefore, the Sox could not have told him to be quiet about the job. Second, his team happened to have made two trips to, off all places, Chicago during the playoffs. Chicago scribes were certainly going to ask him about the rumors and his thoughts about the job, coming back to the Sox, managing in general. He answered the questions when asked. Now, that the season is over, he can turn his attention to Sox job, which I'm sure is why these new quotes have surfaced at this time.

I can't wait till Garland wins 18 games next year and makes a nice side dish of crow for all you guys to chow down on.

We definitely need an upgrade at the keystone positions. As much as I've liked Jose Valentin, I feel like his time has passed him by. Robbie Alomar solidified our infield defense immensely, but I know his time is passed. As for CF, I feel like one of Rowand, Harris, Reed or Borchard will be able to hold down the position and effectively produce while doing so. I think that guy will be Rowand. If the Sox can resign Sullivan, I think Koch, Sully and Wright would do a decent job as righties out of the pen. However, Wright might end up as our 5th starter. In that case, we'd proabaly see Rauch in the pen. We've got Shoney, Wright, Rauch, Stewart, Cotts and others that could conceivably nail down that 5th starter slot. Let's hope one of them can do it effectively.

I agree ... Pedro or not, Grady Little should have taken the ball out his hands. Pedro was done.

.291 with 31 HR and 113 RBI. Damn you're right. This guy sucks. What was I thinking?

Those trades that call for paying a portion of the contract usually happen at the July deadline. You are more likely to see a "You take my problem and I'll take yours" type of deal.

For the record, when Gammons comes on SC or BBTN ... I stop and listen to what he has to say. When I go to the ESPN website, I always look to see if Gammons has put out anything knew. Someone complained that Gammons reports rumors .... hell what fun is the offseason without rumors? That's what makes it interesting.

Tom Kelly would be an AWESOME hire. And yes, I can see the Sox pulling a stunt like this. Especially with the Dusty sitaution on the North Side.

I wish you guys would stop b****ing at Beastly. He can post what he wants to. You always have the option of not opening a thread that he starts if you don't want to read it.

Good post here Abo.... This has the potential to be a very strong rotation, even without Colon. I'd hate to try and come up with 2 starters out of Shoney, Wright, Stweart, Cotts, etc etc.... So we really should try and find a quality #3 type starter. Then, if Garland steps up any this year we will have a very solid 1 thru 4.

That Konerko for Griffey deal just might be doable. Just because a player leaves a team doesn't mean they won't want him back. See Jeff Conine for an example.

This all has been being discussed on numerous occasions. But, go ahead and keep beating that dead horse if you want to.

This is going to be a very interesting off season, and when it's all said and done, I don't think Sox fans are going to be happy campers.

Flash is not worth $5M per year to this team. It just doesn't work for us. Good luck to you Flash. And I think most Sox feel frustration with Reinsdorf for the small market budget in a big market locality. If he would really invest in the team, allow the payroll to approach $80M or so, we just might be able to actually get to and win a World Series. But, letting a guy like Colon slip through your fingers sure doesn't send the right message to the ticket buying public.