clujer420

I don't think Williams was making fun of his injury. I just think he was trying to bring some humor to that bad situation, because I think many people thought he had knowledge of the injury when Sirotka was traded.

In the article, it's mentioned that the writer (Matt Michel) is not totally comfortable giving the ball to Tom Gordon. I don't see why not. He's only had 1 bad outing so far (where he gave up a grand slam - his only runs thus far this spring), and he's looked great in his others. He's struck out the side 2 times I think. 1 for sure. I think he'll be fine.

Chisoxfn, Where abouts in CA are you? I'm down in Orange County, Irvine to be exact. I go to school in Fullerton though. If ya don't know where Irvine is, I'm a little less then 15 minutes South of Anaheim Stadium. Close to Anaheim -- lucky you, won't be much of a drive for the Sox/Angels games. I've got about an hour drive. But, I suppose it evens out, since I'm only like 5 miles from Dodger Stadium. Halos and Dodgers

Well, he pitched for us in the 2000 playoffs, I think, and then we traded him in the off-season for David Wells. So, he hasn't pitched since October of 2000. That's almost 2 1/2 years. And yes, I agree that he appears to be done. That's really too bad.

Chisoxfn, Where abouts in CA are you?

Well, the good thing about Loaiza is that we gave up nothing to get him, and we aren't paying him very much, so if he flops after 10 or 11 starts, we won't have lost too much. With Ritchie, we paid him a couple million, and gave up some young arms to get him. With Wells, we paid him a few million (not sure how much). With Esteban, we signed him to a minor league contract, and if he makes the squad -- which it's apparent he will -- we'll pay him about $500K and probably another $500K if he meets the incentive requirements. That's not much of a risk at all IMO.

Paid him pretty well? Must only get paid that money if he makes the major league team -- and they won't let him make it unless he does great. And like the previous person said, he hasn't pitched an inning yet, so there's not much chance of that happening. :fyou injuries

whenever you want . just bring beer! Beer? :puke

Yeah, my lineup's not very realistic. Realistically, if we're going to get Tejada, we'll probably lose Colon. If not, we'll lose Lee, Valentin, and possibly even Frank. To me, losing Colon for Tejada isn't worth it, and Tejada certainly isn't worth Carlos, Jose, and Frank. IMRO (R for realistic and/or rational), there's no way we can get Tejada and keep enough of this team to make it worth while unless JR decides to do his best Steinbrenner impersonation.

No way can we keep all our top players AND get Tejada, no way, unless you become the Sox owner, clujer. Hey, I tried.

True...I'm a loser for so much more. Self-depreciation -- ain't it great?

Will do. I've never done anything like this before, so I'll get better as I go along, but if there are any specific things I can do to make my updates better, please let me know. I want them to be beneficial for all of you.

Garland better win a lot more than 9 if this Sox team hopes to be playing in October. I'd say we need 15+ from Garland and 12-15 from Wright, and around 10 from our #5 slot. The 4 key players to our success this year are Frank Thomas, Tom Gordon, Jon Garland, and Danny Wright. If any one of those 4 flop, we could be in for a long season.

As I said, you're entitled to your opinion. The "experts" were wrong in 2000, and they'll be wrong in 2003 too.

Well, second place is the first loser, you're right... But, after finishing 13 1/2 games out last season in the worst division in baseball, it would be a bit of a stretch to say that anything short of a WS title is not a success. I think that the Sox MUST make it to the playoffs and at least put up a battle (unlike in 2000) in order to say this season was a success. With Buehrle and Colon at the top of our rotation, I like our chances in the playoffs if we get there. But, first things first.

I suppose you're entitled to your opinion - no matter how misguided it might be.

I just thought of something that made me feel pretty good about Wright being #5. Herm Schneider said "There's still about a half a month left (for spring training), and my goal is to get him ready to pitch five innings and then build from there." When I read that, I realized something. If he's #5, the next 2 games we'll have Buehrle and Colon on the hill. What that means is that if the pen gets a bit stretched out in Wright's start, it's not that big of a deal, because Buehrle and Colon often go into the 7th inning and beyond, so the pen gets a virtual off-day. Even when Mark has a bad game, he always goes into at least the 6th, and I think Bartolo does the same...so I think the Sox will be fine.

Hmmm...not completely absurd. However, I say we shouldn't trade Konerko. He's a young leader on this team, and he's going to keep getting better. He has yet to have his best year IMO. I'd rather have this... Jimenez 2b Tejada SS Thomas DH Ordonez RF Konerko 1b Lee LF Borchard CF Crede 3b Olivo C We're not really dumping payroll, but I don't see the need to. If we're winning, we can carry a larger payroll, and JR wouldn't mind too much. That line-up would be so awesome. I doubt we'll get Tejada, though. Although...the top spenders (Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers) already have their SS slot filled. The Dodgers and Mets would be the Sox only competition, it would seem. The Dodgers have a lot tied up in pitchers, so I don't think they will get him, and the Mets are over the "cap". So I suppose anything is possible.

Ditto, if he doesn't take some big steps forward this year he never will. Also i think Garland needs to step up, he's had enough time in the majors to adjust and with his stuff there's no reason he can't win at least 15 games. Garland should, but he's too young to give up on if he doesn't do it yet. I agree. Last season was Garland's first as a full-time starter, so he should have all the jitters out of his system. There really are no more excuses for him not to post a good ERA with a decent # of wins (he should win 15 or more with this offense and his talent). MLB

Heh, yeah, not a rant at all. It's just that it takes some time and I normally forfeit sleep to do it, so I wanted to make sure people weren't thinking "Damn, what a loser". LOL, maybe you still think that, but it's good to know my work is useful to some of you.

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Stats for Today's game vs. Milwaukee Hitting Miles 1-4; single, 3 groundouts Valentin 1-3; single, run, GIDP, popout Thomas 0-3; run, ROE, 2 flyouts Ordonez 0-2; popout, groundout Daubach 1-3; bb, run, single, 2 strikeouts Lee 1-3; HR, 4 RBI, popout, flyout Graffanino 1-3; HR, 1 RBI, 2 groundouts Rowand 0-2; groundout, flyout Alomar Jr 1-2; double, run, flyout Sanders 1-1; bb, 2-run HR Borchard 0-2; lineout, popout Paul 0-0; bb Nunez 0-1; strikeout Burke 1-1; single, run Valenzuela 1-1; single Hummell 0-1; GIDP Pitching Buehrle 4 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 SO White 2 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 2 SO Sanders 1 IP, 0 hits, 2 SO Marte 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 SO Koch 1 IP, 1 hit Players of the game Carlos Lee (Grand Slam), Mark Buehrle (4 scoreless innings), Anthony Sanders (2-run HR, walk in 2 AB's)

Top 9 Koch in for Marte - Grounder to Nunez for the 1st out - Popup to Hummell for out #2 - Line drive into left-center for a hit ... the Crew is coming back! - Grounder to Burke for the final out Sox win it 8-1 Stats forth-coming

Bottom 8 - Burke (1st AB) looks really good in lining a ball into CF ... if Sandy gets hurt, look for him later this season ... basehit for Jamie - Sanders (0-0; bb) bombs one over the LF wall for a 2-run HR ... he looked good in doing it too. 8-1 good guys - Daubach (0-2; bb, run, 2 k) grounds one into RF for a single Hawk is saying that the Sox are going to score some runs, and their pen is going to give them a good chance of holding onto leads. He says the key will be catching the ball. - Mario Valenzuela (1st AB) rips a liner into CF on the first pitch. 2 on, 0 out - Tim Hummell (1st AB) grounds into a 6-4-3. 2 down, Daubach on 3rd - Borchard (0-1; lineout) skies one into deep right-center for the 3rd out End 8, Sox about to wrap it up, 8-1