Dick Allen

The White Sox did not renew Man Soo's contract. Ozzie gets to bring in his own bullpen catcher.

My point is Frank could become very difficult, and the Sox would have a hard time moving him, he definitely has the upper hand there. Ozzie could bench him, but that would be a bad situation, not necessarily of Frank's doing. Frank always seems to have fingers pointed at him. Most of the time, for no apparent reason. I'm sure Frank would like to be treated like Ozzie felt he should be treated at the end of his White Sox playing career. That press conference was a joke.

I just didn't like Ozzie's comments about Frank, its time Ozzie grew up.

That could be, but it isn't a good strategy if you ask me. Frank is now totally alienated. Frank is the only one who supposedly is looking for his own set of rules. Where Ozzie gets this, I don't know. They can trade him, but Frank has veto rights, and can really screw them. Frank has the upper hand here, and the tension between Frank and Ozzie could bring the whole team down. Ozzie got a chance to run a team, he ought to give Frank a chance to be a good teammate, before he starts in with the crap.

When the questions about Frank came up, Ozzie should have said he liked Frank, and that Frank was a big part of the club. Any other comments should have been left to the two of them. Showing up a Hall of Famer at a press conference announcing a job you don't deserve was total bush league. Frank will not be Ozzie's only problem this year, and he won't even be his biggest. Frank pisses me off from time to time, but Ozzie needed to handle this situation like a man, something his press conference proved he still isn't.

We have seen many times, White Sox hitters go up to bunt, and fail. Carlos Lee time and time again comes to mind. To expect Frank and Magglio to bunt is ludicrious. Name 1 player who hits 35 homers a year and also bunts consistently. It doesn't happen. Going the other way, that is a different story. The only decent bunter the Sox had was Alomar. I agree everyone should be able to bunt, but it is simply not the case. Asking Frank or Magglio to bunt would be a huge relief to the other dugout. You don't sacrifice your best hitters.

The reason you don't have Frank Thomas bunt, is that there is a better chance he will walk, or get a hit than get a bunt down. Also with a man on first or second, taking the bat out of his hands is just plain dumb. Looks like Ozzie is going to ask his players to do things they are not capable of doing. Read Phil Rogers today, it will show you what a phony our new manager is.

I don't think there is any question that Ozzie was the least qualified candidate that was interviewed. I don't like the move, I think its a mistake, but I hope he does well.

The reason Cito isn't the manager is he wanted a few more dollars than JR wanted to spend.

The Deacon

I think the only way we could get Weaver is if it is through a trade. I would not mind Weaver as our fourth or fifth starter, just aslong as he is happy (or atleast not mad) he is here. I agree. It could be one of those your problem for my problem trades. Weaver was pretty darn good before went to the Bronx. He is an ass, but the White Sox have wanted him since he was in Detroit. If he returned to form, like a Cal Eldred, he could be a steal to get in exchange for 1 or 2 bad contracts.

The funny thing is no candidate was allowed to comment on the process, except apparently Ozzie. If he gets the job, he won't last more than 1 season.

I think he would be brutal at SS. Maybe 60 errors. I'd put him in the outfield.

Does anyone here really think Jose Valentin could get $2 million a year on the open market? If its like last season he may get $1.5 million. I say let him go, unless he wants to play for the minimum.

The trick will be to have these players sign elsewhere before the White Sox have to offer arbitration. Then its a no brainer. But if you offer anyone arbitration, they are going to get a raise.

If he's willing to sign for less than market value, that has to be the minimum. I can't see his market value being very high. Let him take a hike, its time for this team to move on.

That's exactly what we got with Colon for $8.5 million, and at least half the people think he sucks.

The funny thing is everyone hates the Yankees because they sign all these stars. It also happens to be the same reason they hate JR, because he doesn't act like the Yankees.

95% of players are in it for all the money they could possibly make. Anything the say otherwise is complete BS. They have agents they pay, who aren't interested about their client being in a situation where he is comfortable, but rather about maximizing dollars earned. The agents reputation will be ruined if they start having their players sign for less than market value. Valentin signed for less than Baltimore offered him in 2000, but it wasn't significantly less. Speaking of Valentin, I find it quite humorous he says he will sign for less to stay with the Sox if they are going to be a contender. What is the going rate for a .230 hitting SS?

Robin made the correct decision. He got a heck of a lot more money, and got to play in the World Series, something he wouldn't have done here. Believe me, Schueler knew there was no way Robin would have accepted his offer, or the offer would have been even lower. It was a token offer to show the fans they tried.

The New York papers say this trade is a long shot at best. Beltran would have to agree to a contract extension first, something Boras would never agree to one year from free agency. Boras is looking for an 8 year $120 million contract.

Boras is his agent. KW inquired about him last year with Boras. The conversation lasted 15 seconds. I'm sure he is not even a consideration.

That was pretty good. Although I am a big fan of Colon, I am glad the White Sox are moving on. I think Bart is making a mistake. The White Sox don't need to be his safety net, in case the offers he gets aren't as high as he would like. And to wait for him to make a decision, could make the Sox miss a couple of other possibilities.

Bobby Valentine made him s*** his pants. Earlier this year he was talking about how some team changed their philosophy, and they were using hit and runs, going the other way, etc. to win games. Valentine mentioned the team hit 5 homeruns to win the game that night, and Gammons started squirming, trying to get his little lips over his wooden teeth. It was pretty funny. Valentine called him out many times, and suddenly Gammons wasn't in the studio as much.

He would be able to handle it. Steve Garvey couldn't throw at all, and he did fine. But I agree with you, Frank will be back. He would be very foolish to decline his player option.