Jim Fainter

Next Tuesday is the day. One of the Denver papers predicted the Sox will draft Brian Anderson, an outfielder from Univ of Arizona. Anyone have any inside info on the draft?

The most eloquent presentation AGAINST Affirmative Action that I ever heard was by the late Arthur Ashe.

TO: CWSOX and Brando. First of all, I should never have used the word "unconstitutional." My bad. I knew it wasn't, I just hate Big Brother watching and directing how I think. I'm also not in the business of defending the Marlins, but I am a baseball fan, and I can't help having reactions to what happens around me. It seems to me that the Marlins owner wanted to do two things quickly. 1) Get rid of Torberg and his pitching coach; and 2) hire a reasonably qualified guy to manage for the rest of the season on the cheap. Enter McKeon. Maybe they already knew each other; at least I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Just because McKeon had been hired and fired several times before doesn't make him a bad guy. Just ask Joe Torre and Frank Robinson -- two guys who had both been fired at least twice and who are now achieving success and acclaim in their present positions. And if you think McKeon is too old for the job, well, that is another social subject that we can discuss another time. I realize they did not go through the formal and time consuming interview process designed to achieve diversity, but the job is just for the rest of the season. In a few months the Marlins will be looking for a long term manager, and I'm certain that they will interview several people. Again, I'm not trying to defend them, I'm just looking at the situation as I see it. In my original post at the start of this thread I said that MLB fined the Marlins an "undisclosed" amount. If the fine was 10 or 20 grand, I don't have a problem with it. If it was for $2 Million, I do. It would be excessive. When I brought up Backman, I probably was saying something between the lines. First, I really like the guy, and if we fire JM, he would be my favorite candidate. Second, when you're in the middle of a season, the team might not have the luxury of going through a time consuming interview process. I know I was not trying to start a political or social discussion. The Marlin fine had just happened, and I threw it out there. I was not trying to promote or defend racism of any type, nor was I even thinking about Republicans vs Democrats.

Does anyone know what happened to Guerrier? He had a terrific 2001 season in our system, and wasn't bad last year with Pittsburgh's.

Maggs.

Joe Valentine YTD: 1-1, 23 games, 29 inn, 22 hits, 16 wlks, 28 k's, 3.03 era.

Unconstitutional.

TO: MnSox: We both discussed Konerko. I'm not positive of the rule defining whether or not you can send a veteran to the minors. PK now has 4 full seasons (99-02) and parts of three others (97-98, and 03 to date). I think he can be sent down, although his salary must be paid. I still think this makes sense, assuming he continues to flounder. If he b****es and doesn't report, you don't have to pay him. If he reports and gets his stroke back, no one loses. He is not helping us now. Regarding Colon, someone said that we can't get much for him, because he is in the last few months of his contract. You might be right, but it wasn't long ago when Seattle traded Randy Johnson to Houston for Freddie Garcia, Guillen, and Halama. Randy went 10-1 and got them into the playoffs. If KW is shrewd enough to get a couple of teams to bid against each other for Bart, who knows? I would rather re-sign him to a long term contract, but I doubt if he is interested.

I know I repeat myself from thread to thread, so I'll do it again. Any talk of trading Konerko is just idle chit chat. No one will take him, period. Same with Frank. The important thing now is to concentrate on marketing Colon, because he will have big time value to a team still in contention in July. Unless someone has inside knowledge on Bart's mindset, why would anyone even DREAM that he would re-sign with the Sox for 2004 and beyond? Why would he want to be part of this team next year? I think this is KW's most important job right now. Regarding Jose, I think he is gone after this year. His average normally goes down in the second half, and he is around .225 or so now. $3 Million for Jose in 2004...........I don't think so. Regarding Konerko, if he continues looking hopeless and helpless at the plate, send him down to straighten himself out. Maybe that will wake him up. He needs a wake up call. And if he can't hit at AAA, what does that tell you?

I read where MLB has levied an undisclosed fine of up to $ 2 Million on the Marlins for hiring Jack McKeon to finish out the season. I guess this takes Wally Backman out of the equation for the Sox.

Another Torre memory of years ago was when he won the NL batting title way back when. He had a truly career year for the Cards and hit about .355-.365 or something. Way ahead of the pack. Whenever I saw him that year, everything was a line drive. He never approached those numbers before or since. He did a good job at every position he played, catch, first, third. It was easy to tell that he would manage someday.

He was a great hitter for Boston; lately, he's been ripping off the game.

As I asked elsewhere, why would Bartolo sign with the Sox if he becomes a FA? If we really want to keep him, he needs to be signed prior to 7-31-03.

Why would Bart sign with us next year? I just don't see it.

That A-Rod deal was possible because of the stupidiy of Tom Hicks, Ranger owner. I'm delighted Gary fired his ass. Maybe he'll have his wife do the negotiating and keep the fee in the family. Wouldn't be the first time. 5% of $50 Million is $2.5 Large.

ChiSoxFan: Re: Wells. We were taking trade offers for him before he went down, but KW figured the price would go up as we approached the 7-31 trade deadline. Then he hurt his back, went on the DL, and thr rest is history. No offers, and we had to give him another Million for his buyout that made him a free agent. Yanks got him for nothing.

I wish I knew how he ranks defensively at short with Jiminez and Valentin.

Sanchez has pretty interesting stats at Pawtucket. .391/.484/.577 23 rbi, 14 2b, 5hr, 43 games, 3 errors. Plays both short and second. I want to be his agent.

Frank is NOT a terrible first baseman. He is not bad at all on throws in the dirt. Limited range obviously, and can't throw at all.

About a year ago the Angels were willing to trade Ersadt for Garland.

Remember the David Wells fiasco. We could have trade him for a bunch of prospects, but we kept him, he hurt his little back. and we had to put him on the DL, pay ALL of his salary, pay his buy out, which was a Million, and then get nothing.

I have never said this publicly aboput Joe Torre, but I will now. I think he is a sleep-walker. He could not manage the White Sox, either.

After reading all of these posts from hard core Sox fans, it looks as if you have not quit, I just hope the players have not quit. But this team needs a f***ing winning streak.

No matter how good she is, somewhere there is a guy who is tired of her.

Is Morse a good prospect?