clujer420

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...sox%2Dheadlines

In a minor league game today, Danny threw 30 pitches, and reported no pain. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...3news&fext=.jsp

Heh...nice conspiracy theory. I don't believe it for a milli-second.

Works for me.

I think if the Sox had not traded for Colon, you would be very right. However, by shocking most everyone and getting a legitimate Cy Young candidate for none of our key players, I think JR filled IMO the biggest hole this team had. This Sox squad has a chance to make some serious noise this year beyond just winning the AL Central (the worst division in baseball). If we can get 2 or 3 pleasant surprises (maybe Rowand, Olivo, and our #5 starter), we'll be playing deep into October.

I was shocked to read that Aaron Rowand only has 468 career at-bats. That's less than a full season's worth, so I now am fully on his bandwagon in saying that he deserves a shot to shine. Given regular playing time and the confidence of the team, he could definitely be an "x-factor" that a team needs in order to go all the way.

Your 2 cents sure looks like gold to me. Agree with every word you said.

More depressing tactics. I'm new here, and I thought CubKilla was one of the more mature posters on here -- thus proving me wrong. Sad but true.

Licking Reinsdorf's ass? Once again you have changed the subject. This time, it has turned homosexual...how sad. And anyway, if pointing out that the Sox addressed several issues and now have a much better chance of winning than they did last season, then I guess I am an ass-licker (but, certainly not the ass of a male - perhaps that is your favorite past time, I have no idea, nor do I desire to). Read this list of Sox needs coming into this off-season, and say the Sox didn't take great strides in improving this team (and, keep in mind, did so and kept the payroll pretty much stable)... 1) Left-handed power. '02 we had Liefer (.230, 7, 26). '03 we'll have Daubach (.266, 20, 78) 2) #2 starter. '02 we had Ritchie (I think he was #2). '03 we'll have Colon. 3) Bullpen. We've added Gordon and solved our closer dilemma by acquiring Koch. 4) Team chemistry. Clayton is out, and Thomas appears to be a new man. Did they address every need? Of course not. Only the Yankees can do that. So if you want a .230 left-handed power hitter with an unproven #2 starter, along with a clubhouse in turmoil and a closer-by-committee situation, more power to you. I'll take '03, and if things go according to plan, I'll take '04 over '03.

If you think JR has done everything possible to win throughout the span of his ownership..... more power to you. If that's your opinion then there is nothing I could post here that will change your mind. Who's talking about the span of his ownership? Aren't we talking about the 2003 season and this current off-season? Don't pull further BS tactics such as changing the subject.

Yeah, really. Steff never said that. Don't use BS tactics such as misquoting.

Get real. The Sox drew 1,675,591 in 2002. Putting money into this team was not realistic. They did what they did (signed Frank, acquired Koch, signed Gordon, signed Daubach, and traded for Bartolo Colon), and did so without increasing payroll significantly. That's amazing, and there is no denying that. Second...so we have 3 question marks -- and? There aren't many teams in baseball that have fewer. You aren't going to go from being a .500 team to having 0 question marks. This team has the potential...POTENTIAL...to score 1000 runs and have 2 20-game winners, as well as 2 15+-game winners. True, that could all fall apart. Time will tell. Kent? You willing to not get Bartolo to sign him? I'm not. I-Rod? You willing to not sign Frank in order to get him? I certainly wasn't. Cruz? Please. So, unless you can name me an impact player that we could have signed without the need to break the bank, this Sox team absolutely did great this off-season considering the financial restrictions we had in place.

Agree..but didn't want LDF to think I don't like him.

I just read some things that I haven't seen mentioned yet, but then again, I haven't read all the posts, so if I repeat something, please bear with me. **Note - my thoughts/opinions are in italics** - Rauch and Heredia have been sent to AAA. Heredia will decide soon whether or not he wants to accept the assignment. If not, he will retire. Manual says he hopes he accepts it because he's a good clubhouse presence and because he wants Gil to be able to look in the mirror one day and say "I gave it (the comeback attempt) all I had." - Mark Buehrle and Danny Wright will pitch today in a minor league game. This could be a very important game, since the rotation is still up in the air due to Wright's injury status. If he pitches well and can continue to do so for the next couple of weeks, Josh Stewart will start the season in AAA. If Wright struggles and can't get ready in time, Josh would appear to be only remaining option, since both Rauch and Heredia have been sent to AAA. - Kelly Wunsch has pitched 9 scoreless innings this Spring and given up just 2 hits

Well..the Angels kind of stood pat, didn't they? I mean, they won the Championship, but it's very hard to repeat in any sport nowadays, so you'd think they would want to improve, and I don't think they have. I, of course, could be wrong. Also, JR is not a fool. He knows that winning is the only thing that will lead to prolonged increases in attendance. The Sox were winning in the early-mid 90's ('93 and '94 mainly), and their attendance was pretty darned good. Granted, they were in a new ballpark, but the attendance would have been good regardless of their stadium. He's seen good days with the Sox, and he's certainly seen his share of bad. If the Sox don't underachieve in '03, I think he will be willing to put some money into this team and solidify our key free agents and keep this team competitive for years to come. "If you build it (it, in this case, being a good team), they will come".

In all fairness, who expected Esteban to perform as well as he's performed thus far? I'd say not many. Jon, at least I thought, was a lock for the #5 slot. All he really had to do was come to camp and put up a decent ERA and show some command of his stuff, and he would have had it. Even now, with Loaiza's success, he still could have made the rotation because of the uncertainty of Danny Wright's status. But, of course, Jon will very possibly have a shot at cracking the rotation later this season if he shows success down in AAA. I just hope he didn't get over-confident and assume the 5-slot was his. If so, maybe it'll be good for him -- a slice of humble pie. If not, he just needs to work on his command and come back strong and prove that he belongs at the ML level. Up to now, he has failed to do that.

Yeah, really...I'd attribute the 20% increase (I too didn't know that...definitely good news) to fans seeing that the Sox want to win with the Bartolo acquisition. I remember when I heard about that trade. I couldn't believe it. Definitely gave me high hopes for '03.

It's hard to tell if you're being critical of JR by posting this, but if you are, take a look at the off-season the Sox had, and then tell me they aren't doing all they can to win in '03. Retaining Thomas, trading for Colon, and solidifying our bullpen by acquiring Tom Gordon and Billy Koch -- I'd say that's a show of a desire to win.

Hey... Did you hear that? I'm not sure what it was. There, I heard it again! OH! It sounds like a violin.

I don't think they're using "crash" in relation to his dirtbike accident as much as in relation to his wreckless abandon on the field. I think a more appropriate name for the jersey would have been his nickname ("Robocop", I think it is). Although, that might get some people mad due to copyright reasons.

As I recall, and correct me if I'm wrong, but the deal was pretty much done until Anaheim backed out at the last second. No? Exactly...and that's the weird thing. KW will be given credit for not trading one of the best young pitchers in today's game to the Angels for Darin Erstad....yet, it was actually the Angels who pulled out. It will either basically be KW getting a ton of credit, or the Angels who look like retards....though Erstad was key in them winning the Series. Either scenario....the Sox look good because of the deal. And Garland wouldn't have looked good in Anaheim red I remember when I first heard about that deal and how it was pretty much a done deal. I was a little divided on it, because Erstad didn't have that great of a 2001 season (after a very good 2000), and neither did Jon. Looking back, even though, as you pointed out, Erstad was key in the Angles' WS win, I'm glad the deal didn't happen. Jon has the potential to be an ace a couple years from now. I just hope it'll be with the Sox.

Freshman year of...high school? For what class? PE?

Well...unless Danny Wright makes an unexpected recovery (we think he's healthy, but he hasn't pitched basically all spring), Loaiza will be #4, and probably either Josh Stewart (or Wright if available) would be #5.

Just found the box score for today's game. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gam...ameId=230319104 Things that stand out.... Loaiza!! Daubach, Thomas, Valentin, Lee, and the 3 relievers (Wunsch, Ginter, Gordon) all had very nice games. Off-day tomorrow, then back to work on Friday.

An essay about how one baseball team is better than another? You're kidding right? What are you, in 3rd grade? Anyway, you should put that recent quote by Todd Hundley in there somewhere. The one about "as long as Sammy hits 2 HR and they're drunk, everyone is happy in Wrigleyville."