clujer420

Know why? They are -- until we (or someone else) proves otherwise. They handed our ass to us last year, and they definitely had -- and still have -- the swagger that we had in 2000. I firmly believe that we have a more talented team, but until we play as a team, we'll continue to eat their dust. If Frank, Mags, Konerko, and Lee go 0-16 in a game, Miguel Olivo and D'Angelo Jimenez need to step up and get some clutch hits, and our pitchers are going to have to be lights out. We can't have the 7 or 8 game stretches where we win 1 or 2 games. We need to be consistent and have multiple people step up at different times in the season, and our bullpen will have to make the 1 and 2 run leads stand. Basically, all the things the Twins did last year is what we have to do in 2003 in order to win the AL Central (and obviously more if we want to still be playing in late October).

I highly doubt KW knew Sirotka was injured. He is obviously aware that players have to be healthy (or if injured, the team you're trying to work a deal with have to know about it) in order to trade them. And had he known the extent of Sirotka's injuries, he would have been afraid to try to sneak one by the league and Jays for fear of being a laughing stock. Secondly, even if KW DID know about the injury, that must mean that Sirotka knew as well and kept his mouth shut about the whole thing. Do you think he would sit by and let the team that was trading him RIP OFF another team? I don't think so. KW didn't know anything. The Jays (obviously) didn't know anything. And Sirotka didn't know anything.

LOL. While this is true, it is completely irrelevant in this instance due to 1 simple fact -- the ump is only 10-15 feet away, so the difference in speeds might as well be nill. The ump makes a judgement call, and unless he's rooting for 1 team over the other, he will do his best to make sure the "tough calls" get divided up evenly -- they say they "call em as they see em", but they're only human.

Well, I missed Mike too -- but he didn't pitch all of 2001, so what good would he have been us? I don't know how he's doing now, but I don't think he'll ever return to what he once was. We got rid of him just in time.

yikes i seem to recall someone who was pretty excited about us getting him early on.....why all the hate........hes not our problem anymore so who cares................lol...... or are you just venting there cw.......... I was excited when we got Wells, and I'm not afraid to admit it now. We were coming off a great season, and were poised to make a run at the WS after bringing in David, a proven winner, regardless of his off-the-field tactics. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong DID go wrong, and it turned out to be a waste of money. That said, I hope he gets traded to the Devil Rays for a couple of prospects -- it would serve the REAL "fat f***ing toad" right.

Hadn't thought of that. I don't know what the requirements are that a player must have to qualify for that. But, will he necessarily be picked up? I don't think it's a certainty.

Yes, ST means very little, and I will never think otherwise, but... Today, the Sox take on the Brewers. The reason that is of interest to me is that Royce Clayton, as you all probably know, is now their SS. That brings a scenario to mind... Let's say Frank is on first, and a grounder is hit to 1st base. Clayton goes to cover 2nd for a DP attempt, but all of a sudden, he sees Frank (6'5, 275, and probably a size 16) coming right at him. Does Frank revert to his days at Auburn and "forget to slide", and tackle the 190 pound (soaking wet) Clayton? Or does Frank sharpen his spikes before the game (in memory of baseball great Ty Cobb) and test their effectiveness on Royce's shin? Or, does MB (today's scheduled pitcher) "lose control" of a 4 seamer and hit Royce in the noggin? Maybe Damaso has a slider "slip"? Most likely nothing will happen - but nothing's impossible.

It sounds good, until you think about it. If Josh is on our 25-man roster, he will never play. Maybe 1 game a week. This will not be good for his psyche. The Sox (and I think Josh, too) would benefit better if Paul is sent to AAA at the necessary time (whenever 'cuts' are made), and let him play pretty much everyday down there. That will allow him to work on things (he's not the best catcher, quite frankly and obviously), and will get him more ready for the majors. Meanwhile, you let Olivo catch the majority of the games (maybe 4 or 5 a week), and let Sandy "mentor" him. If all goes well, Olivo will progress, and Sandy will stay healthy, and everyone will be happy. If something were to arrise and someone were injured, Paul could be called up instantly (how long does it take to make a phone call and hop on a plane/bus?) and the Sox wouldn't have to be without a back-up at all (unless something happened mid-game or something). So, there is absolutely no need to carry 3 catchers. We would benefit much more from carrying either an extra pitcher (someone like Loaiza or Stewart or Heredia -- whoever doesn't make the rotation) or an extra OF (like Daubach or Rios -- whoever doesn't make the roster). Agreed?

Not only that... At least Frank got injured trying to help the team win (diving for a ball down the line hit by Ichiro). David got injured because he's a fat out of shape slob who spends his off-nights out getting hammered instead of taking care of himself for the betterment of not only himself and his family, but also for his teammates that rely on him every 5 days. :fyou David Wells, you hot-air-filled-piece-of-s***.

I just read an article and it said that Alfonso Soriano's contract was renewed by the Yankees for $800,000. Now, that's much more than Mark's contract is likely to be renewed for, BUT... Soriano made $630K last season (so he'd be getting a 27% raise if my math is correct). If Mark's contract is renewed for something in the $400k's, that's a raise of 30 something percent. I feel that Mark deserves a long-term deal, but if the Yankees can't give Soriano more than a 27% raise after the season he had (.300, 39, 102, 41 steals), that makes ya wonder. Thoughts?

Well luck can go either way. Prior can get injured, yes, and never live up to his hype, and what makes you think Buerhle can't go through the same? Well, first off, Buehrle came out of nowhere to make the staff in 2001 and in 2002 was our opening day starter. He wasn't nearly as touted as Mark Prior has been. I mean, Buehrle wasn't even the top rated pitching prospect in the organization! Hell, there are still announcers on ESPN and other major networks that can't pronounce his f***ing name. So, basically, Buehrle came out of nowhere, so his stardom is a pleasant surprise for the Sox. Prior, on the other hand, has a lot of hype to live up to, and is pretty much set up only for failure. But...only time will tell.

Over the last 3 seasons, 2.75 ERA, with 11 blown saves in 98 opportunities (almost a 90% success rate), and 224 K's vs. 57 walks (nearly a 4 to 1 ratio). Oh yeah, that sure is garbage.

Buehrle and Colon vs. Bonds will be very interesting. So will Marte vs. Bonds, actually. And hopefully we can see a Buehrle/Colon vs. Johnson/Schilling matchup. That would definitely be intriguing.

Well, that's what the announcers in today's game were saying. They said that the Sox had a poor ST last season, and that it carried over into the regular season and that they started off slowly. But, they were then corrected by some other scrub and he pointed out that the Sox were something like 26-17 at one point, before falling off the radar screen. Now true, that was due in large part to a hot Konerko and .400 hitting Kenny Lofton. But, I think that too much emphasis is put on how a team does in ST. For the most part, I think players forget all about ST once the opening bell for the regular season dings, but like I said, things such as winning close games can have a carryover, so it's not completely worthless.

Hmmm...I didn't hear that part, and I heard most of the game. Maybe they were bunching them with those crappy teams because they will all be trying to dethrone the Twins -- but I don't know. If they're saying the other teams are as talented as the Sox are, then they are even more pathetic than I thought.

That I agree with. We lost the Central to the Twins last season due in large part to our record in 1-run games. If it was late in the game last year, it just seemed like we choked and ended up losing. And although ST means very very little to me, winning close games is something that can definitely carry over into the regular season. And winning a close game after coming back from 6 down is also a very good sign.

Yeah, I was going to point that out, but I didn't see a need to -- they just stunk. At least they realize they suck, though.

Mario! 9-8 Sox

Kelly wants that 5th spot in the rotation -- 2 scoreless innings baby! He can only face 1 or 2 guys eh?

Well, I know that's not going to be our rotation in 2007 -- but it would be good if it was. It would show that the team was doing well (teams only stay together when they're winning), and would show that the pitchers have developed like we're all hoping they will. That said, if Mark has to make his deserved money in arbitration, it's going to hurt the chances of him being here for very much longer. The reason for that is in arbitration, the goal of both sides is to prove the other side wrong. The Sox will come in and say what Mark did wrong, and Mark will come in and say what he did right. It's not a good process for either party. Hopefully they can sign him to a contract somewhere in the vecinity of 4 years, $12M. That'd be fine with me, and I think most Sox fans would agree. And in reference to all of your questions about 2007, all I have to say is this. The only certainty I have about 2007 is that I will still be a Sox fan -- PROVIDED that management shows a desire and commitment to winning. It starts with the signing of Mark to a long-term deal.

Yes, 2007 is a long ways away, but as an organization, the Sox need to be considering not only the present and immediate future, but the long-term picture of the franchise as well. And while your optimism is nice, it is a bit overboard. 4th consecutive championship? Let's worry about 1 first. I hope in 2007 our pitching staff is as follows... Colon Buehrle Garland Wright Rauch I'll let you figure out the reasons why.

WTF? They just asked the Rangers' assistant GM where Brian Daubach was going to get his AB's this season. Throw these bums off the air! (I know, I know, it's ST internet radio announcers, but come on, this is ridiculous)

I was just about to say that. They are both f***ing retards, Daubach is gonna be a bench player, not that hard to figure out guys, Jesus... Ugh..they can't even read!

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...ex.jsp?c_id=mlb I got there from ChiSox.com -- they had a link.

Good lord, these announcers suck!