JUGGERNAUT

I just have a problem with the whole thought-police concept. I think it's better to allow the slurs but expect people to remind others it's in jest & to not take offense. I disagree with some of you in terms of tolerance levels. I think ethnic slurs should be tolerated the most & racial slurs tolerated the least because of the sensitivity associated with the groups. Sexual is someone in the middle & encompasses more than just gay or straight. Just as an example, I would prefer greater freedom to call Moronotti a d-g-o than gay. Though I can think of other terms good enough for the Sopranos that would work as well. I wonder if the new-schoolers ever read 1984. Maybe they grow up on Harry Potter these days. I don't know. But 1984, Farenheit 411 were mandatory reading back in my day. It seemed the liberals that taught in the schools were more concerned about free speech rights than political correctness or moral relativism. The best way to fight political correctness & moral relativism is to spend your disposable income on that which they dispise. Gangsta-rap, cigs, booze, uncensored comedy, & just about any other media that features insults & sarcasm. Money makes the world go round.

We can only hope that in the grand scheme of things we "old-schoolers" will win out over the "new-schoolers". This whole debate reminds me of the movie Demolition Man. A great flick. If you haven't seen it you should check it out. http://unclebubby.dnsalias.org/wav/demolition_man.htm Friendly: I'm the kinda guy likes to sit in a greasy spoon and wonder gee, should I have the T-bone steak, or the jumbo rack of bar-b-que ribs with the side order of gravy fries? I want high cholesterol. I want to eat bacon and butter and buckets of cheese, okay. I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green jell-o all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal? I've seen the future. You know what it is? It's a 47 year old virgin sitting around in his beige pajamas drinking a broccoli shake singing "I'm an Oscar Mayer wiener."

Yes. It was Wells colorful way of labeling Moronitti as a douche-bag. I'm glad it's allowed.

Personally I think a vote should be cast amongst members here to decide whether we should allow sexual, racial, or ethnic slurs. Especially ethnic since such slurs have such a rich tradition in sports history. If you're old-school. You grew up with sitcoms like Archie Bunker, Chico & the Man, Sanford & Son, & the Jeffersons. All types of slurs were common on these shows. They are common on the Sopranos even. It's a part of America's culture & tradition. It makes life a little more interesting. It's all in good fun. Everyone is denigrated equally & no one is treated sacred. That's old-school. But there are those here who are new-school. Everyone is treated sacred so no one should be denigrated. It's all part of the socialism that breeds like a plague coming out of France. Everyone should think the same, speak the same, & act the same. All speech should be good & supportive of others. Blah, blah, blah. Never anything bad. You use a slur you go to jail. That's France for you. Yet at the same time they say to Muslim women "I could give a rats arse about your religion. You're going to attend school here & you're going to do while bearing your entire face." Hyprocritical to no end. Yet because it fits in their idea of political correctness they can't see that as a form of hate & denigration. Oh there will be those who will argue it's a matter of national security. What a crock of crap! I'm sure they would prefer being finger printed than having to discard a major tenet of their faith. The girl is registered in the school & her parents show up at parent-teacher conferences. It's assenine to believe it's needed for national security. Well I've had my say. Unless it's decided in a democratic manner by a vote of members the new-school admins & mods have the final say. It's their board & they devote their time & energy into maintain it. I have no problem with that & I do thank them for their efforts. All I can do is appeal to their sense of conscience that democracy is a better alternative to socialism on any issue. But if they feel otherwise we should respect that. Giving up slurs in posts is a small price to pay for enjoying Soxtalk. The alternative is WSI & believe me when I say "you don't want to go there." PS> If you need a new word for stupid try baka. It's Japanese for idiot or idiotic.

That is BS. ND dominated college football for just about every decade in it's existence until the rules were changes & D students were allowed to play. Over the years that talent pool has grown from being a small sample to the norm & over that time ND had fallen from dominance. At the same time the D students grew the number of ND academically caliber schools increasing their athletic spending budgets also grew. That's why the analogy to the NYY fits like a glove. ND"s refusal to lower standards so D students can play is like the NYY working with a self-imposed salary cap while at the same time every team in the ALE is spending as much as they are. Yet despite this self-imposed limitation ND still has more BCS & bowl appearances in that time than any other school that doesn't allow D students to play. That's where it's history, tradition, & name recognition is similar to that of the NYY. Even with a self-imposed salary cap the NYY would still draw top talent on that alone. Likewise just like the NYY, ND remains one of the biggest ratings & crowd draws in college football. That's why the networks are crying over ND not being in a new year's day bowl. When ND appears on new year's day the ratings for all the games pick up. You obviously have no idea how much pressure the school is facing to lower it's standards & allow D students to play. This was even discussed in the recent NBC contract negotiations. The writing is so clearly on the way. If Weis can't turn it around then the standards are going to be lowered. Michigan's done it, Ohio State has done it, Pitt has done it, Boston College is expected to do it, & the list goes on. It hasn't hurt Michigan any so ND should do it as well. It's just the reality of situation. Is it sad? Yes. It means college sports are distancing themselves from academics. It means there will be less incentives for high school athletes to maintain C's. But that's not ND's decision to make. It's the NCAA & the conference boards. They brought it into being with the belief it would help these borderline students. But they were nieve. Whenever you lower standards for the few, the standards lower as well for the norm. As for ND being among the elite, they still can beat Michigan. As long as that remains possible year after year that potential remains.

Grili has some trade value. He still finished better than 59 other guys in the AL who pitched less than 52 in. TEX comes to mind. They had 8 guys finish worse than Grili. With a 2-3 record in 8 starts TEX will probably claim him. But the CWS doesn't have to worry about that until after ST. That should help boost his value. With Thomas/Everett expected to start on the DL the CWS has some room to facilitrate a Grili trade in the early part of the season. Let's hope he has a solid ST.

I think Vaz will start with the CWS. The LAD deal started to fall apart after William's said he's not sending Koney to the LAD. That was back when Vaz was going to cost 35M/3yr. The NYY were getting money in the deal & not spending it. With Vaz' price dropping to 23M/3yr (what the CWS was offering Clement) I can see KW pulling the trigger. That's the reason why there is an option A & B on the table for AZ. They are now talking to other teams to help in that decision. I'm lukewarm over it. I've always like Garland. I've always hoped that given the story of how the CWS got him it would always mean so much more if he were to have a breakout season with the CWS. But on the other hand, if you're a betting man than it's more likely Vaz will bounce back to being a K-out king in 2005 than it is for Garland to have a breakout season. I see the way KW is looking at this: Garcia-Buehrle-Vazquez-El Duque-Contreras is the best rotation in baseball. There's no question about that. If he can secure that at bargain prices for 3 years then that gives the CWS 3 solid years to try & win a WS. He's not going to deal Koney unless he can get homerun power back. So AZ would have to come up with something to get Koney. Maybe trade 41HR for say 25HR. I can see KW doing that. If AZ has a hard on for Green then getting Koney from the CWS might be the way to make that happen.

I just have one question to ask all these CWS fans who think the owners are cheap: If they work the trade for Vaz & pick up 24M/3 & pushing the payroll higher than it has ever been will you still feel they are cheap?

What gay person would find that douche-bag attractive? He's just a mean-spirited moron & his time has come. Send him to NY where he belongs. He can spend his remaining days kissing up to the Boss.

I'd have to agree with that. And of course with KW, prospects are ALWAYS included as a bonus Garland still remains at the top of the list simply because more teams want him than any of the rest. Even with the 12M, Vaz is still coming at a price of 23M/3 yr. If AZ thinks that Garland can do a decent job at a price considerably less than that, they'll work the trade because I think the CWS will be willing to spend that on acquiring Vaz. I think Koney is safe, but AZ will expect Garland, another MLB player, & ml'ers.

Why Moronotti should be canned: Who really thinks the fact that Weis is the offensive coordinator of the World Champion Patriors is going to hurt ND recruiting besides the Moronoti. Let me clue Moronoti in on a few realities he might not understand. ND is the NYY of college football. The people crying the most over ND's demise are not the fans but the networks. Yet does Moronoti ever bother to ask why this dismal program continues to get prime-time coverage on ABC, CBS, & ESPN, when it's not playing on NBC? The fact remains that ND grabs more eyeballs in college football than any other program REGARDLESS of it's record. It pulls in the haters & the lovers. There are few in between. Just like the NYY do. If you were to assess a monetary value on prorams then ND would be at the top. Also notice that Moronoti says nothing about ND repeatedly facing a BCS caliber schedule year after year while trying to compete with Stanford academically. All realities he seems to choose to want to ignore so that he can't rant. Chalie Weis was the BEST option ND had. Another Willingham was not going to get the job done. Weis represents the last great hope for ND. If he can't do it, then ND will have to relax it's academic standards for athletes just like it's closest neighbors in MI, IL, OH, IN, & PITT. Meanwhile as long as the Patriots remain alive, young high school athletes around the nation will get to see what he brings to ND. If you think there will be one Patriot telecast the rest of the season that doesn't devote a considerable amount of time to interviewing Weis & his decision to take over at ND then you are as dumb as Moronoti. Likewise, if what ND has lacked all these years are NFL caliber stars then what better person to hire to attract those stars? Which college coach today could possibly have more NFL connections than Weis? Saban? Saban's running the Dolphins now. Weis isn't just selling ND during this recruiting run. He's selling the World Champion Patriots. His Patriots. But Moronoti is too stupid to see that.

I nailed the slime--ball right on the head: Domer Nation's Insight story: Abomination http://www.suntimes.com/output/mariotti/cst-spt-jay29.html I think he might hate ND more than the CWS.

I agree. Perez to Seattle is probably a sure thing. They were trying to play money-ball there this past year & the fans were outraged. They received so many calls that they just said F-it. Spend the money. Win or Lose, the fans will be happier that way. Garcia was a big loss. Perez would help fill that void immensely for them.

I agree that the Sun-Times should can Moronotti's butt as well. When you think of all the good sports-writers who could be writing in that space it just makes you :banghead as to why he has been given it all this time. Who buys the Times for Moronotti's articles? Nobody. Who has stopped buying the Times since Moronotti appeared? Many people. I don't think Moronotti can write an article where he's not trashing somebody. I'd rather the space be given to Slesak. She writes good, informative, & mostly uplifting stories. Something we need around loser-town right now. I've not seen the Moron's column today, but I'm sure it's trashing ND. If he stayed up that late.

Iggy & his agent are forgetting one important detail: Kaz was a bust. There is no way he's going to get a Kaz contract. I agree if KW has enough flexibility to include say 2M/yr in incentives tied to SB's, All-Star appearance, and games played I would say go ahead & sign him. I don't like Cora, but I do like Cairo. I think he's tailor-made for the Cell. But I hope KW is putting his effort into signing Zaun because I think he would make a greater contribution than both these guys.

If you're AZ which option do you pick? A: AZ <- Vaz, Halsey, Gomez, Cabrera + 12M, NY <- RJ B: AZ <- Vaz, Duncan, Navarro + 5M, NY <- RJ I'm going with A. For a franchise that is operating in the red to such a degree that Selig is concerned about it becoming MLB owned & operated the 7M has more value right now. Neither Duncan nor Navarro are going to make a difference in ticket sales. That would drop Vaz price down to 23M/3 or just under 8M/yr. AZ should stick with him. He's had solid success in the NL & if he's willing to play for them they should make him their #1 guy. If he's not willing to pay then if they throw in the 7M that would still drop his price down to 28M/3 or a little over 9M/yr. Again in the NL I think he's worth that much. They should be able to get a pitcher of Garland's caliber & a middle relief guy & possibly a reasonable bat for that value. As for Garland, you need to take back your subpar comments. Even if you don't want to accept the losses argument as the best value of a pitcher then just look at the Sags. 2004 NPERA's 25-3.97 (Wakefield), 26-4.07 (Robertson), 27-4.08 (Colon), 28-4.08 (Maroth), 29-4.10 (Garland), 30-4.13 (Contreras) That beat's out Silva, Lohse, & Lee. 2003 NPERA's 25-3.83 (Garcia), 27-3.92 (Suppan), 29-3.96 (Zambrano), 30-3.98 (Garland), 31-4.00 (Radke) That beat's out Rogers, & Davis. 2002 NPERA's 28-3.80 (Appier), 29-3.82 (Baez), 30-3.82 (Ponson), 31-3.91 (Kennedy), 32-4.01 (Garland), 33-4.07 (Lohse) The bottom line is that Garland has improved in the rankings 3 yrs in a row. He just lacks consistency from being a top 20 AL pitcher. He's coming off his first winning season & I expect greater improvement from him. Is it far fetched to believe that Garland can crack the top 20? No. The D of the team has improved & with a stronger staff 1-5 I he should be more loose. Plus Ozzie is going to be toughening him up.

Contreras 2004 ip, cum era. Apr. 9 CWS 5.1, 8.44 - poor Apr. 18 @BOS2.1, 9.39 - poor Apr. 23 BOS 3.1, 10.64 - poor Apr. 28 OAK 6.0, 7.41 - great May. 4 @OAK 2.0, 9.47 - poor May. 22@TEX 6.0, 7.56 - great May. 27@BAL 6.0, 6.97 - good Jun. 2 BAL 0.2, 7.11 - poor Jun. 10 COL 7.0, 6.75 - good Jun. 15@ARI 6.1, 6.20 - good Jun. 20 @LA 6.0, 6.18 - good Jun. 27 NYM 6.0, 5.53 - great Jul. 3 @NYM 5.0, 6.10 - poor Jul. 8 TB 6.2, 5.64 - great Jul. 15@DET 8.0, 5.17 - great Jul. 20 @TB 7.0, 4.84 - great Jul. 25@BOS 5.1, 5.36 - poor Jul. 29 BAL 6.2, 5.65 - poor Aug. 3 @KC 6.0, 5.49 - good Aug. 8 CLE 8.0, 5.17 - great Aug. 13@BOS 6.0, 5.21 - poor Aug. 18 DET 6.2, 5.08 - good Aug. 23@DET 5.0, 5.23 - poor Aug. 28@CLE 6.2, 5.04 - great Sep. 2 OAK 5.1, 5.10 - poor Sep. 7@TEX 1.2, 5.55 - poor Sep. 12@ANA 3.0, 5.88 - poor Sep. 18 DET 7.0, 5.84 - poor Sep. 23 KC 5.2, 5.86 - poor Sep. 28@DET 5.2, 5.77 - good Oct. 3 @KC 8.0, 5.50 - great 9 great, 7 good, 15 poor. You can open your eyes now Seriously, he's in competition with Jon for the 4 spot. His numbers are not good enough to be anoited the spot. Contreras 2003 ip, cum era. May. 24 TOR 4.0, 8.74, 1R, 0ER - great May. 30 @DET 7.0, 5.40 - great Jun. 5 @CIN 7.0, 4.62 - great Aug. 24 BAL 7.0, 3.62 - great Aug. 29 @BOS 3.0, 5.09 - poor Sep. 4 @TOR 7.0, 4.47 - great Sep. 9 DET 4.2, 4.40 - good Sep. 14 TB 7.0, 4.17 - great Sep. 19 @TB 7.0, 3.84 - great Sep. 23 @CWS 8.0, 3.39 - great Sep. 27 BAL 2.0, 3.30 - good 7 great, 2 good, 1 poor I would put his potential ahead of Jon's. Without question this is the best rotation KW has assembled since he's been GM. It rivals that of the 1992-1993 team.

Apr. 8 ANA 7.0 0.00 - great Apr. 14 @ANA 6.0 3.46 - good Apr. 19 OAK 7.0 2.25 - great Apr. 24 @TEX 7.2 2.60 - great Apr. 30 @DET 8.0 2.27 - great May. 6 MIN 7.0 2.11 - great May. 12 @MIN 7.1 2.34 - great May. 18 BAL 6.0 2.89 - poor May. 23 DET 7.0 2.71 - good May. 29 @BOS 5.2 3.02 - poor Jun. 4 CWS 7.2 3.18 - good Jun. 9 HOU 8.0 3.20 - good Jun. 15 @MIL 7.2 3.23 - good Jun. 20 @PIT 6.0 3.21 - good Jun. 25 SD 9.0 3.20 - great Jun. 30 @MIN 6.0 3.35 - good Jul. 6 ANA 8.0 3.42 - great Jul. 11 SEA 6.2 3.45 - good Jul. 17 @OAK 6.2 3.35 - good Jul. 22 @CLE 7.0 3.18 - great Jul. 27 MIN 7.1 3.27 - good Aug. 1 @DET 7.1 3.35 - good Aug. 7 CLE 7.0 3.37 - good Aug. 12 KC 6.0 3.36 - good Aug. 17 DET 4.1 3.74 - poor Aug. 22 BOS 7.0 3.84 - good Sep. 8 @TEX 5.0 3.79 - good Sep. 14 @MIN 5.1 3.97 - poor Sep. 19 DET 7.1 3.86 - good Sep. 24 KC 5.0 3.95 - poor Sep. 29 @DET 7.0 3.81 - great 10 great, 16 good, 5 poor. Garcia is consistently good! I'm changing my evaluation. Yes Santana is now Cy Santana but Buehrle & Garcia may just be the best 1-2 combination in the AL now. Better than Mussina-Pavano, Schilling-Clement, & yes Santana-Radke. It might not show up in W-L in 2005 because you don't lose Maggs, Lee, & part of Frank for a year w/out a significant drop in RPG but I'm going to say right now that Mark-Freddy-El Duque have the best chance to total more quality starts than any 1-2-3 combo in the AL.

How can a CWS fan put up Santana's stats & not include Marky B's? Unheard of Apr. 5 @KC 6.2, 2.7 - great Apr. 10@NYY 8.0, 1.23 - great Apr. 15 KC 6.0, 3.05 - poor Apr. 20 NYY 2.0, 5.96 - poor Apr. 25 TB 7.2, 5.93 - poor May. 1 TOR 6.2, 5.35 - great May. 5 @BAL 5.2, 5.27 - good May. 11 BAL 7.0, 4.53 - great May. 16 MIN 6.2, 3.99 - great May. 21@MIN 7.0, 3.84 - great May. 27 TEX 7.0, 3.46 - great Jun. 2 @OAK 6.0, 3.30 - great Jun. 8 PHI 7.0, 3.67 - poor Jun. 13 ATL 8.0, 3.65 - good Jun. 18 @WAS 6.0, 4.07 - poor Jun. 23 CLE 7.0, 4.49 - poor Jun. 29 @MIN 8.0, 4.33 - great Jul. 4 @CHC 7.0, 4.15 - great Jul. 10 SEA 8.0, 4.03 - great Jul. 16 @OAK 6.0, 4.12 - poor Jul. 21 @CLE 9.0, 3.86 - great Jul. 26 MIN 6.1, 3.94 - good Jul. 31 @DET 9.0, 3.83 - great Aug. 6 CLE 6.2, 3.83 - good Aug. 11 KC 7.0, 3.84 - good Aug. 15 @BOS 7.0, 3.79 - great Aug. 20 BOS 6.0, 4.00 - poor Aug. 25 @DET 6.0, 4.02 - poor Aug. 30 PHI 6.0, 4.13 - poor Sep. 4 SEA 7.0, 4.12 - good Sep. 9 @TEX 9.0, 4.03 - great Sep. 15 @MIN 7.0, 3.98 - great Sep. 20 MIN 8.0, 4.12 - good Sep. 25 KC 9.0, 4.00 - great Sep. 30 @KC 9.0, 3.89 - great 18 great, 7 good, 10 poor Marky B's a great pitcher who has some really horrible starts each year.

I covet Santana as a White Sox fan. Santana 2004: IP, cum era Oct. 5@NYY 7.0, 0.00 - great Oct. 9 NYY 5.0, 0.75 - good Apr. 6 CLE 4.0, 4.50 - poor Apr. 11@DET 5.0, 5.00 - poor Apr. 16 KC 6.1, 6.46 - poor Apr. 22 DET 6.0, 5.91 - good Apr. 27 TOR 7.0, 5.40 - great May. 2 ANA 7.0, 4.59 - great May. 7@OAK 4.0, 5.26 - poor May. 13 SEA 7.0, 4.47 - great May. 18 @TOR5.1, 4.70 - poor May. 23 CWS 3.0, 5.60 - poor May. 29 @KC 6.1, 5.61 - poor Jun. 3 TB 7.2, 5.51 - poor Jun. 9 NYM 7.0, 5.12 - great Jun. 15 @WAS 8.0, 4.84 - great Jun. 20 @MIL 8.0, 4.62 - great Jun. 25 MIL 7.0, 4.38 - great Jul. 1 CWS 8.0, 4.22 - great Jul. 6 KC 9.0, 3.89 - great Jul. 11 DET 8.0, 3.78 - great Jul. 17 @KC 8.0, 3.55 - great Jul. 22 TB 7.0, 3.44 - great Jul. 27 @CWS 6.0, 3.36 - great Aug. 1 BOS 8.0, 3.30 - great Aug. 7 OAK 6.1, 3.34 - good Aug. 12 @SEA 7.0, 3.25 - great Aug. 18 NYY 7.0, 3.23 - good Aug. 23 @TEX 8.0, 3.13 - great Aug. 28 @ANA 7.0, 3.06 - great Sep. 3 KC 7.0, 2.95 - great Sep. 8 @BAL 7.0, 2.85 - great Sep. 14 CWS 7.0, 2.76 - great Sep. 19 BAL 8.0, 2.65 - great Sep. 24 @CLE 6.0, 2.62 - good Sep. 29 @NYY 5.0, 2.61 - good 21 great, 5 good, 8 poor Santana 2003: Jul. 11 @ANA 6.0, 3.00 - good Jul. 18 OAK 7.1, 2.84 - great Jul. 23 KC 5.1, 3.19 - poor Jul. 29 BAL 5.2, 3.49 - poor Aug. 3 DET 6.0, 3.46 - poor Aug. 8 @DET 8.0, 3.19 - great Aug. 13 CLE 8.0, 2.96 - great Aug. 19 @CLE 8.0, 2.92 - great Aug. 24 KC 6.0, 2.85 - good Aug. 30 @TEX 6.0, 2.72 - good Sep. 5 TEX 4.0, 3.10 - poor Sep. 10 @CWS 6.1, 3.03 - good Sep. 15 @CLE 5.0, 3.11 - poor Sep. 20 DET 5.2, 3.17 - poor Sep. 25 @DET 5.0, 3.07 - good Sep. 30 @NYY 4.0, 0.00 - good Oct. 5 NYY 3.2, 7.04 - poor 4 great, 6 good, 7 poor It would be more of a surprise for Santana to digress in 2005 than to improve. That's reality. CWS fans just need to deal with it

That is exactly why I would not start Iguchi at #2. We have no idea how he's going to hit in MLB. Kaz was suppose to be an all-star & he didn't pan out too well. So far the Japanese OFers have lived up to expectations much more so than the IFers. Rowand AB/R, AB/H 4.82 4.42 Apr 6.67 3.53 May 5.33 2.67 Jun 4.53 2.97 Jul 3.72 2.84 Aug 8.23 3.69 Sep Uribe 6.1 2.54 Apr 5.19 3.30 May 6.35 4.5 Jun 11.4 8.14 Jul 6.33 3.45 Aug 5 2.83 Sep Player, SB #1-Pods #2-Rowand #3-Thomas/Dye #4-Koney #5-Dye/Everett #6-Uribe #7-Iguchi #8-Crede #9-C I agree Rowand should be #2. That's 87 SB's combined in the top 2 spots. I also like the fact that there's good speed at 1,2,6, & 7. That should maximize scoring potential.

When did this expand to include the NYY & BOS? If you're including them then definitely it's 1-NYY Johnson, Mussina, Pavano, Wright, Brown 2-BOS Schilling, Clement, Wells, Miller, Wakefield 3-CWS Garcia, Buehrle, Hernandez, Contreras, Garland 4-MIN Santana, Radke, Silva, Lohse, Mays It's a given the NYY will get Johnson & upgrade their 5th spot with either a healthy Brown or a new acquistion. Getting a solid 5 is a never a problem for the NYY's. Hernandez as a number 3 makes them a little better than the Twins. But if you were to ask amongst all of those names which are the most likely to have breakout seasons it's likely Contreras & Garland. In other words the CWS has more upside in those 2 than any other team can claim with the bottom of their rotation. They are battle tested in the AL & positioned to improve. I'm now thinking the M's are going to buy Odalis Perez' services. They near pitching to compete in that div & they haven't done much to improve there.

Garland: Apr. 9 @NYY 8.0ip, 1.13 era - great Apr. 14 KC 6.2ip, 3.68 era - poor Apr. 21 NYY 7.0ip, 3.74 era - good Apr. 27 CLE 6.0ip, 4.55 era - poor May. 2 TOR 7.0ip, 4.15 era - great May. 7 @TOR 6.0ip, 4.43 era - poor May. 13 BAL 7.0ip, 3.97 era - great May. 18@CLE 7.0ip, 3.62 era - great May. 23@MIN 7.0ip, 4.09 era - poor May. 28 ANA 7.0ip, 3.93 era - good Jun. 4 @SEA 7.1ip, 3.79 era - good Jun. 9 PHI 4.0ip, 4.73 era - poor Jun. 15@FLA 6.2ip, 4.67 era - good Jun. 20@WAS 8.1ip, 4.64 era - good Jun. 25 CHC 5.1ip, 4.84 era - poor Jul. 1@MIN 7.0ip, 4.61 era - good Jul. 9 SEA 7.0ip, 4.41 era - good Jul. 15@OAK 7.0ip, 4.38 era - good Jul. 20@TEX 6.0ip, 4.45 era - poor Jul. 25 DET 6.0ip, 4.52 era - poor Jul. 30@DET 6.0ip, 4.59 era - poor Aug. 5 @KC 7.0ip, 4.74 era - poor Aug. 10 KC 7.0ip, 4.70 era - good Aug. 14@BOS 6.0ip, 4.69 era - good Aug. 19 DET 2.2ip, 4.78 era - poor Aug. 24@DET 7.0ip, 4.79 era - poor Aug. 29@CLE 7.0ip, 4.91 era - poor Sep. 3 SEA 7.0ip, 4.92 era - poor Sep. 7@TEX 0.1ip, 5.01 era - poor Sep. 10@ANA 6.1ip, 4.94 era - good Sep. 16@MIN 7.0ip, 4.99 era - poor Sep. 21 MIN 6.0ip, 5.11 era - poor Sep. 26 KC 8.1ip, 4.95 era - good Oct. 1 @KC 6.0ip, 4.89 era - good 4 great starts, 13 good starts, 17 poor starts Vasquez: Oct. 9 @MIN 5.0, 9.00 - poor Oct. 16 @BOS 4.1, 8.68 - poor Oct. 20 BOS 2.0, 9.53 - poor Apr. 8 CWS 8.0, 1.13 - great Apr. 16@BOS 5.1, 3.38 - poor Apr. 21@CWS 8.0, 2.53 - great Apr. 25BOS 6.0, 2.63 - good Apr. 30 KC 8.0, 2.55 - great May. 6@OAK 5.2, 3.73 - poor May. 12ANA 7.1, 4.10 - poor May. 18@ANA 7.0, 3.58 - great May. 23@TEX 6.0, 3.67 - good May. 28 @TB 6.0, 3.88 - good Jun. 3 BAL 7.0, 3.75 - good Jun. 8 COL 7.0, 3.54 - great Jun. 13 SD 8.0, 3.43 - great Jun. 18 @LA 5.0, 3.44 - good Jun. 24 @BAL 7.0, 3.38 - good Jun. 29 BOS 6.2, 3.42 - good Jul. 4 @NYM 5.0, 3.50 - good Jul. 9 TB 5.2, 3.57 - good Jul. 16 @DET 4.1, 4.02 - poor Jul. 21 TOR 6.0, 4.05 - poor Jul. 26 @TOR 6.1, 4.06 - poor Jul. 31 BAL 5.1, 4.16 - poor Aug. 6 TOR 8.0, 4.12 - good Aug. 17 @MIN 6.2, 4.29 - poor Aug. 24 @CLE 7.0, 4.32 - poor Aug. 31 CLE 1.1, 4.62 - poor Sep. 5 BAL 7.0, 4.59 - good Sep. 10 @BAL 2.1, 4.94 - poor Sep. 15 @KC 7.0, 4.75 - good Sep. 20 TOR 6.2, 4.77 - poor Sep. 25 @BOS 4.2, 4.89 - poor Sep. 30 MIN 6.2, 4.91 - poor 6 great starts, 12 good starts, 14 poor starts Jon beats Vasquez easily with price v performance.

I've always hated the blue. It just made the White Sox look so blah & so disconnected from nature. It contributed greatly to the feel of being inside a ball mall than a park. With the seats changing to forest green it will feel again like a park.

I disagree with using statistical avg's to measure Garland because he's such an on-or-off pitcher. There is little in between. His starts usually resemble extremes. Either quality or poor. But last year he had more winnable starts than any prior year. It would be better to look at Garland's MOB avg for his quality starts vs his poor starts. I think MOB is a better indicator than WHIP or K/IP for a starter. In the Sag's Garland ranked 29th w a 4.10 NPERA. But in MOB he ranked 19th. Only 18 starting pitchers avg's less men on base per start than Garland. That's definitely improvement & that's a better indication of how good his quality starts were.