JUGGERNAUT

BOS, NYM, LAA, & ARZ are the likely suitors for Kong. A Manny trade to LAA would open the door wide to BOS, & ARZ but close the door for LAA. However a Manny trade would also saddle BOS with Glaus' contract & still leave their bullpen as their greatest weakness. I just don't see BOS as a good fit for Kong or vice versa. NYM. Who wants to play for them? A Manny trade would move a big contract off of AZD & open the door for Kong. Tracy would move back to 3B. When you consider what this means to AZD defense it's a big move. But I can't see how the AZD can offer better than a Delgado-like contract to Kong. He's already said if the money is equal he's prefer to the White Sox. So AZD would have to move another contract to overpay for Kong. Which brings up Shawn Green: $8M/2006, $9.5M/2007, $2M buyout/Or $9.5M/2008 Green 2005: .286/22/73 VS. LEFT: .226 / .669 VS. RIGHT: .306 / .887 HOME: .279 / .818 AWAY: .293 / .846 They don't have sign & trade deals in MLB but it's not inconceivable the two teams could talk to one another in conjunction with Kong's agent to essentially pull this off. Because AZD would be put in a position of essentially competing with the White Sox for Kong's services we can expect the White Sox to get the better of the deal in terms of what they have to give up to get Shawn Green. Green adds a new dimension to the White Sox. A LHB for power. The lineup becomes: SPods (LHB) Gooch(RHB - but good vs both LH, RH arms) JDye(RHB) FThomas(RHB) SGreen(LHB) Rowand(RHB) Crede(RHB) AJP(LHB) Uribe(RHB) I know Thomas is questionable but whoever that person is they have Dye in front of them & Green behind them. That's a better middle than we have today.

I appreciate what Kong has done this season as much as any fan of the WC CWS but he is simply too inconsistent to warrant $65M/5 yrs. When a team is thinking about spending that much they have to look at what that player means to the team overall. 1) Leadership: Kong has that 2) PR potential: It's mixed. He's great during the season but shows a reluctance to be a force after the season. 3) Fielding: He's been great this year. Should have won a GG. 4) Running: Offers next to nothing. His presence on the base pads increases the probability of a DP for the next guy. You can look up the stats. 5) Hitting: Again he had 2 poor months. That's been very consistent throughout his time with the CWS. That's not something you expect out of a $13M/yr player. Delgado's recent contract with the Marlins: 2005: $4M 2006: $13.5M 2007: $14.5M 2008: $16M 2009: $16M (MVP & post-season awards)/$12M/or $4M buyout. Total: $52M/4yr. It becomes a $64/5 deal only if Delgado has an all-star 1st & 2nd half in 2008. Else if they still want him it becomes a $60/5 deal. Delgado 2005: .301/33/115 VS. LEFT: .234 / .769 VS. RIGHT: .326 / 1.057 HOME: .283 / .969 AWAY: .318 / .991 Kong 2005: .283/40/100 VS. LEFT: .261 / .956 VS. RIGHT: .290 / .895 HOME: .292 / .959 AWAY: .276 / .863 If Kong doesn't mind sticking around during the off-season to shoot commercials he has a much greater endorsement potential in Chicago than Delgado does in Miami. All things considered the White Sox should offer him a deal structured nearly the same as Delgado's. If he turns that down I think he's making a big mistake. If being close to his family is what matters the most then the White Sox should work some deals with the D Backs so that they can find room to sign him.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...tesox-headlines This person mentions the added attractions that go on IN BETWEEN innings as distractions. He fails to mention that the vast majority of eyes are attentive to the game while it is being played. Can the same be said at Wrigley? As for which fans are worse patrons, all I can add to this is that I've been puked on at Wrigley in the bleachers. That's never happened at the Cell or the old Comiskey.

If the Angels are serious about pursuing a trade for Manny then I think that's definitely going to take them out of the running for Kong. That would be a big blow to Kong's aspirations of landing a $70/5 deal.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/couch/cst-spt-greg021.html It's not just the 12HR in 34AB. When Thomas was in the lineup the entire offense looked much better. May. 30 LAA W 5-4 Jun. 1 LAA L 10-7 Jun. 4 CLE W 6-5 Jun. 5 CLE L 6-4 Jun. 7 @COL W 2-1 Jun. 8 @COL W 15-5 Jun. 12 @SD W 8-5 Jun. 13 ARI L 8-1 Jun. 15 ARI W 12-6 Jun. 17 LAD W 6-0 Jun. 18 LAD W 5-3 Jun. 19 LAD W 4-3 Jun. 20 KC W 11-8 Jun. 21 KC W 5-1 Jun. 22 KC W 5-1 Jun. 24 CHC W 12-2 Jun. 26 CHC L 2-0 Jun. 28 @DET W 2-1 Jun. 29 @DET W 4-3 Jun. 30 @DET W 6-1 Jul. 2 @OAK W 5-3 Jul. 3 @OAK L 7-2 Jul. 4 TB W 10-8 Jul. 5 TB W 6-4 Jul. 6 TB W 7-2 Jul. 8 OAK L 4-2 Jul. 9 OAK L 10-1 Jul. 10 OAK L 9-8 Jul. 14 @CLE W 1-0 Jul. 15 @CLE W 7-1 Jul. 17 @CLE W 4-0 Jul. 18 DET W 7-5 Jul. 19 DET L 7-1 Jul. 20 DET L 8-6 TOTALS: 226-104 SEASON TOTALS: 741-645 Though it accounted for just 21% of the season (34 gms) it accounted for 31% of the teams runs. A healthy Thomas all season long pushes the run total to 900. That's a risk worth taking for $3M.

There is a great re-cap at the very end .. that I missed in the last re-broadcast. It features all the key plays & scores of every game. I hope they include that again on Thur.

PODS ON BASE = high pitch counts by opposition, greater bullpen usage by opposition, & higher winning % by us. Those are winning stats in my book.

I heard an initial offer of 48/4 so we're starting at $12M a yr. That's w/out incentives. I think you can easily blow that up to 52/4 with incentives or 12.5M/yr. I might be in the minority but I think that's the max on what the CWS should pay for Koney. No doubt the 40-40 100/100 is impressive but he's never been a .300 hitter, his OBP is nothing great, & he's a cancer on the basepads which induces the guy following him to hit into more DP's. Outside of showing great poise & skill at 1B this year I don't see much reason to think he's a better offensive player than Carlos Lee. Will Carlos Lee command that kind of $ in a year? What about Derrick Lee? It seems ludicrous to invest 70/5 yrs in 1 player just because OTHER teams are in more dire straits for his services than our own. One of things about this past season that has been overlooked is how well Everett performed when Thomas returned. I think that warrants a further look at that DH Tandem in 2006. Both are coming off lackluster years & should come at a major bargain. I'd say Thomas at $1.5M & Everett at $3M. What this gives Ozzie is the ability to use the DH from both the R & L side of the plate as the season unfolds. If both can stay healthy I think that will prove more productive than letting them go, using a minor leaguer at DH & signing Koney to 70/5. If I were Konerko I would tell my agent this: Kenny I'm willing to accept 48/4 for the good of the team but I want to be rewarded handsomely when the team excels. I want a $1M bonus if the team wins the division, $1M bonus if the team wins it's ALDS, $1M bonus if the team wins it's ALCS, & a $2M bonus if the team wins the WS again. That means in any given year I can make between $12-17M. I'd be more than happy with that. Job security is important too. If I have 1200+ AB's over the 4 yrs I want a player option for a 5th yr tacked on with the same base & incentives. If I have 400+ AB's that year I want a 6th yr tacked on with the same base & incentives. And so on for a 7th yr.

Are you suggesting that the millions murdered at the hands of communist leaders in the 20th century deserved to die? That some how those heinous acts were justifiable? I will grant you that Clinton's bombing of Bosnia displaced millions & that was probably not a justifiable act. But even if 10's of 1000's died in Iraq in support of Saddam Hussein & his Red Army those same people were responsible for 100's of 1000's of brutal murders of Kurds & others who opposed Saddam's tight-fisted torturous regime. The UN had turned a blind eye to such murderous acts for years. Had we done nothing they would still continue today. The WMD argument never sold me on the war. I always thought it cost too much & was against it when Bush announced it. As soon as he did I came up with a figure of $270B before it's done. I was not willing to bear that cost. But I have to say when ABC aired that special report covering Saddam's family members & how they took delight at feeding Kurds feet first into a plastic shredder so they could enjoy their screams I felt sick to my stomach. I was moved to the point of thinking we have to do something to save these people. At that time I was willing to back the Kurds with arms & all we could muster JUST SO LONG AS WE DIDN'T GET DIRECTLY INVOLVED. But such an act would have been vehemently opposed in the UN as picking sides. But in retrospect our direct involvement has not been seen as being any better so we should have simply backed the Kurds. Maybe it would have resulted in a slaughter but it would NOT be blood on our hands. We would do everything diplomatically speaking to prevent such a consequence. I will never agree with it being diplomatically better to get personally involved in these conflicts. We jump in the fire so as to say we are not picking any sides. I think that ideology stinks. What is wrong with the US declaring to any oppressed group in the world we've got your back so long as you embrace the principles of elected governments & capitalism? That is what America is. What value is there in denying? Nations world over will respect you more for being honest about it rather than trying to downplay it & paint yourself as a peacemaker with no agenda of your own.

By the same token you are trying to legislate by weighing exception cases that would be viewed as abnormal over the majority or commonplace case. That's never a good idea. Law should first & foremost apply to the most general case. The one that applies to the most people. All exception cases should be handled by laws specifically designed to handle that exception. Of course there is a cost associated with that so there must be ample number of such cases to warrant such laws. In the cases you mention it's not hard to draft such laws. The presence of police report would be enough to justify an exception. There are two cases that don't involve any domestic violence that come to mind: 1) The wife doesn't want to have any/more children. I don't think the state should be a willing participant to help her avoid discussing this with her dearly beloved. 2) The father of the child is not the husband. It's the result of nonconsensual sex. If it's the result of rape, or incest then she simply needs to file a police report to be granted an exception. There is no burden of proof just to file a report. At the discretion of the wife the husband does not need to be notified by the authorities. 3) The father of the child is not the husband. It's the result of consensual sex. Here's where the greatest room for debate is on this issue. Notifying the husband might lead to revelation of the affair & the end of the marriage. Should the state play the role of an accomplice in covering up the affair or does it have an obligation to notify the husband? It's not as easy answer & w/out question morality comes into play. On the left they will argue right to privacy is essential to keeping an affair hush-hush. On the right I will argue the monetary consequences related to divorce laws makes it almost mandatory for the state to take an active interest in such cases. Say the husband is notified & demands that a test be run to rule out that he's the father. The result of that test can have great bearing on a subsequent divorce case. From a religious perspective infidelity is sufficient grounds for an annulment or similar like sanctioning from a church. So there are severe & important consequences that reach far beyond abortion related to spousal notification. These can't just be swept under the rug in an effort to protect a right to privacy they or may not be legitimate to begin with.

Time for a hypothetical. Hilton & Jolie are looking your way but they don't want to share. Whomever you choose you must remain faithful to. If you cheat on her she will kill you. You die. Whom do you choose?

Isn't this basically what Philly did when it contracted a private firm to oversee most of the city's public schools? I think this is the inevitable future but with it unions will pay a price. Likewise teaching. We are beginning to see the emergence of corporate teacher institutions for tutoring & secondary schools. It's just a matter of years before that makes it's way into classrooms. This is one of the centrally decisive issues between Dems & GOPers. GOPers want to open the flood gates & treat education like a marketable industry. Dems want to keep it a close-fisted institution controlled by the unions. There is not much room for compromise there & already the GOPers are winning the battle with vouchers & the inclusion of private & parochial schools. The bottomline is money. If they can do a better job at a lower cost all the power to them. Americans for separation of Church & State be damned.

She's not so great. There are plenty who are much better. So what if she's the heir to one of the largest hotel chains in the world? She's a tramp. That's pretty obvious. Urlacher was smart to dump her.

Likewise parental notifications is on the list to be reviewed by the USSC. There are many issues that come with teenage pregnancies. How did this happen? Consent with a minor, consent with an adult, rape, incest? Do abortion advocates produce statistics on this? Because without proof that the majority of these cases are the result of consent with minors we are essentially talking about criminal cases. I don't think it's unreasonable to notify parents in such cases. As for consent with minors in some states that too is considered a criminal act. So in general for many cases when a minor aged teen seeks an abortion there is likely a criminal act associated with the conception. Not only parents but the authoritities should be notified. This should not be treated as hush-hush like depicted in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

Though Miers was a hack I can't hope wishing that he would have appointed a woman. My dearly beloved says he had an obligation to do so. Then again it looks like God is helping Bush out. What better way to frame the abortion issue for the moderates in the nation (yes they still exist .. mostly in the GOP) then spousal notification rights? Put away the personal right to privacy for a minute & think of this with a heart of compassion & sympathy for people involved. These are not strangers. He is her dearly beloved. How would you feel if your wife had an abortion & never bothered to discuss it with you? There are some things that just make good common sense for family life. This is one of them. This issue allows the GOP's to paint the Dem's as heartless beyond the cause. That will bode well for 2006 elections.

Note to LCR, atheists in the form of Joseph Stalin & other communist leaders in the 20th century are responsible for nearly 200 MILLION murders. I don't recall reading any such stories about Christians in that century. Note to LCR, atheists in the form of communist & socialists leaders in the 3rd world continue to murder people. I've not been reading the same about Christian leaders. It's common sense that as our global society progresses with education by & large we are moving towards a more peaceful co-existence. China adopting the NBA is a good example of this. The Church in general has been more than helpful in that endeavor.

This is not knew. The US military as well as the Chinese have been experimenting with sound based weapons to upset the balance in the middle air similar to how it's described in this article. I think that technology is inevitable.

It was a weird series for me personally. Something my family understood & shared to some degree. Chicago is my hometown but Houston was my 2nd home right out of school. It was both my single life & my upstart life & living ever so close to the Astrodome the Astros quickly became my favorite NL team. So when my Houston culture came face to face with my White Sox culture it was a dream come true. My White Sox allegiance though is so strong & so loyal that I never once brought myself to root for the Astros. But at the same time I never rooted against them. I just cheered on the White Sox as they made play after play. As White Sox fans in general we should all feel a kinship with the Astros. Both teams rely heavily on their farm systems. It's our currency for growing players & obtaining players. We lack the revenue to throw in cash to supplant it like the beasts in the East. Both teams are 2nd class citizens in their state. It's all glory & roses for the Astros now but when I was there supporting them in the Astrodome the lack of people gave you a sense you were sitting in a giant spaceship like something out of ID4. Both teams are not beloved by America in general. America neither loves us or hates us. They are simply indifferent. Indeed the White Sox play in the ALC & ranked 24th in road attendance. The Astros featuring the Rocket in their rotation & benefiting from the beloved Cards & Cubs ranked only 16th in road attendance. So the apathy for both teams is something both fans feel. Both teams have their own versions of the Big Hurt. Thomas for White Sox fans & Bagwell for Astros fans. I know I've often said that my best baseball dream would be the White Sox sweeping the Cub in the World Series. Some of you have have pretty much seen your dream realized this year with the Cub having a losing season in the year the White Sox dominate the post season & win a World Series. But I have to say now that we are World Champions I'd like to see the Astros face us again this week in Oct next year. Even over the Cubs. They should be proud of what that accomplished. Left for dead by May strong pitching turned them into a Juggernaut in the NL. Then to overcome what many believed to be the best team in baseball this year was unreal. A division rival no less. There's no disrespect in losing to the 2005 Chicago White Sox. No team is perfect. Just as football is driven by giveaway/takeways so is baseball driven by mistakes & capitalizing on them. The White Sox were simply the best this year.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...9p-306483c.html Chronicles all of the moves starting with Uribe.

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES Jilted ego's master aggessive style of play to win a World Series NANANANA NANANANA HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE! The 2005 Chicago White Sox are World Champions! Welcome to the Wonderful Land of Oz! It's not small ball, or smart ball. It's aggressive ball. From the first pitch to the last pitch the team remains aggressive on the mound, in the field, on the base pads, & at the plate. The 2005 Chicago White Sox are not the most surest handed fielders in the game today. In fact they are more prone to muff a lazy routine play than say even the North Siders. But they are without a doubt the most aggressive fielders in the game today. When it comes to hard charging or quick reaction plays this team has no equal. IF: Crede-Uribe-Iguchi-Konerko OF: SPods-ARowand-JDye. If you need the tough play to be made they might just be the best. On the mound aggressive pitching starts with the backstop. AJ must be the most aggressive catcher in the game today. He is fearless & yet he can smell fear. He never stops thinking of ways to win or ways to battle. This guy will make a terrific manager some day. I hope when that day comes it's for the White Sox. It's impossible to be on the mound & not pitch aggressively with AJ catching. As the lead catcher he sets the tone & that simply carries over with Widger. I have no doubt AJ & Widger were close this season & would spend time together sharing notes. There are a lot of ego's in major league baseball & I imagine some are not conducive to an aggressive catcher calling the shots. But the entire staff from Buehrle to BMac seems to have been at the right time in their careers where they were receptive to it. As success was borne early & often that reception grew into unabashed loyalty & confidence. On the base pads there is no one more aggressive than Scott Podsednik. Had he remained healthy all season long the White Sox would have better weathered the August storm. It's a storm we knew was brewing all season long. That murderous cloudy schedule on the horizon as we were enjoying the sunshine of June. But had we not been humbled by that storm we might not have been as hungry in late Sept. Hunger, humility & aggressiveness go hand in hand. Scott's inspiring play in the first half carried over to the whole team. Everybody started believing they could steal bases. Even AJ & Kong. Ozzie called Iguchi his MVP this year & I can see why. A perennial all-star slugger in Japan who knows what it's like to play for it all is asked to give up some of his aggressiveness at the plate so that Podsednik can be more aggressive on the base pads. How many players in this game today are willing to do that? You would think it would weaken his prowress at the plate but it didn't. Maybe it took some homeruns & doubles away from him but it clearly made him even hungrier in the field. Ultimately it's his play in the field that made the biggest difference. Last but not least we have aggressive play at the plate. Outside of Iguchi & Pods the rest of this White Sox lineup consists mostly of free-swingers. But unlike previous years the White Sox had free-swingers from both sides of the plate. You can not overstate the importance of Carl Everett being a true switch hitter & AJ being a solid LH bat. When Carl slumped in Jun Frank Thomas was just what the doctor ordered. Not only did he inspire Carl to hit out of his slump but Frank was more aggressive than ever. His average suffered for it but his homeruns were the difference between winning & losing. Again how can any guy on this team not become aggressive watching these guys play in the field? It's contagious. Which makes Iguchi's loyalty only that much more heroic. Can the 2006 White Sox repeat? Who Knows. I do believe Ozzie & Kenny have changed the face of baseball in the years to come. Powerball & moneyball are going to give way to aggessiveball. Winning & losing will be more about pressuring the opposition into mistakes than trying to outslug them or outpitch them. I don't think this will be a one & done. I think other teams will try to copy this formula. They should be cautioned that it takes a special group of players to master aggressiveball. Hope will spring eternal again in 2006. With or without Kong. I hope he stays. I hope corporate Chicago is calling the White Sox now & adopting US Cellular Field as the new best place to entertain clients & develop a winning business culture for the city. I know they have the power. Having 20,000 season ticket holders by end of November is not out of reason. I would say if we meet that goal then we can afford a 90+ million payroll. But even if we don't aggressiveball is here to stay. We have the personnel now that has mastered it. As players come & go with free agency we have the scouts, the general manager, & the manager to cultivate it. Assuming Ozzie doesn't walk away don't make any plans for Oct 2006. Save your money to be there next year. White Sox Go Wild II is sure to be a winner as well!

I will never understand where this kind of mentality comes from because it is such a grave departure from my upbringing. At an early age we were taught that if you are a man YOU NEVER STRIKE A WOMAN. EVER. Doing so is cowardly & makes you a wimp. Now obviously in today's world where 25% of arrests are females you can encounter a woman who seeks to do you or your loved ones bodily harm & your instinct will be to do whatever is necc to defend them. But that's what I would call an act of desperation of self defense. In general when a woman is hitting you, kicking, you or throws something at you if you are a MAN you suck it up & laugh at her. You channel any temptation to strike back into laughter. It might be a male-chauvenist attitude but I feel it's a healthy one for society.

I think Paulie's gone as well. The articles bidding up his services are getting unreal. Kotex Boy started it with comparing his value to Maggs & now I've just read an article comparing it to Beltran. There's no way the CWS is going to commit $100M+ to Kong. I don't even think they will go higher than $60M. So in lieu of Kong being gone I think Thomas being back with the CWS is a good bet. As for A's rumor I remember a similar situation with the O's the last time around. He turned down more $ from the O's to remain with the CWS. I'm more worried about Frank being able to play than playing for the A's.

Lincoln quotes: "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it." "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless." "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book." "The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party - and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose." "Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes."

Let me simplify this further. What % of viewers or participants of violence in films, or VG's is likely to commit a violent crime? What % of viewers or participants of sexual promiscuity on TV, films, or VG's is likely to engage in underage sex, date-rape, drug usage, adultery, betrayal, or cheating? It's like comparing apples to oranges. BTW, another interesting addendum to this story. Though the PTC hi-lighted FOX shows in this article it's DH that is getting the most backlash & it does seem to to be reducing ratings. I think it's about time. When a series based on the Graduate becomes a top 10 show for 9-14 there is definitely something wrong there.

Not sure. I do know the CDC has weighed in a few times on this. Statistics on this suggest a minority of people practice safe-oral-sex. The average American does not believe you can contract STD's via oral-sex. Of course not surprising when Clinton tried to convince us it's not sex.