JUGGERNAUT

Since this is my catch all thread I couldn't help but add the Standings today: CHW 8-4 W2 (best start in the past 12 yrs (back to 1992)!) OZZZIIEEEE! MIN 8-4 W5 (those damn! Twinks pull off 5 straight wins) DET 7-5 L1 (Wait until White goes down) CLE 4-8 W1 (What we all expected) KCR 4-8 L6 (No pitching) HOU 9-4 W3 (but the Cubs will win the ws :lol) CIN 7-4 W2 (kicking Cub booty!) PIT 7-5 W3 (above the Cub?) CHC 6-6 L2 (Favorites to win the WS in 4th place :lol) STL 6-7 L1 (worse than the Cub) MIL 6-8 L3 (What we all expected) How the SOX & the rest of the ALC rank in RPG & NPERA: RPG EVERYDAY PLAYERS: adv KCR #2 13.18 Beltran KCR #3 12.62 Blanco MIN #8 10.41 Belliard CLE #10 09.02 Hafner CLE #12 08.86 White DET #14 08.76 Mient MIN #19 08.04 Maggs CHW #22 07.66 Offerman MIN #25 07.43 Sweeney KCR #28 07.16 Pena, Carlos DET #30 07.06 I-ROD DET #31 06.89 Thomas CHW #33 06.75 Randa KCR #35 06.65 Koskie MIN #37 06.61 Konerko CHW #38 06.57 Gonzo KCR #39 06.42 Lee CHW #40 06.41 Jones MIN #41 06.36 Gerut CLE #47 05.79 Higginson DET #49 05.49 Guillen DET #53 05.33 Lawton CLE #54 05.30 Valentin CHW #56 05.12 Blake CLE #57 05.10 V Maritnez CLE #58 04.95 Guiel KCR #60 04.88 Vina DET #62 04.83 Vizquel CLE #64 04.74 Monroe DET #71 04.28 Santiago KCR #72 04.17 Sanchez DET #73 04.05 Rivas MIN #79 03.69 Graffanino KCR #85 03.56 Guzman MIN #90 03.27 Harris CHW #93 02.94 Berroa KCR #97 02.76 Crede CHW #98 02.76 Crisp CLE #103 1.90 Escobar CLE PART-TIME PLAYERS: adv CHW #02 11.99 Olivo CHW #4 11.78 Ford MIN #6 08.80 Broussard CLE #10 07.71 Uribe CHW #15 06.81 Alomar CHW #19 06.29 Inge DET #20 06.20 Laker CLE #21 06.01 Punto MIN #22 06.01 Hunter MIN #24 05.85 Harvey KCR #26 05.15 Munson DET #27 04.84 Merloni CLE #29 04.04 Rowand CHW #31 03.68 LeCroy MIN #33 03.46 Lopez KCR #39 02.72 Perez CHW #42 02.09 Stairs KCR #44 01.99 Cuddyer MIN #53 00.22 Norton DET BENCH/DL: adv CHW #1 94.28 Mauer MIN DL #2 28.73 Bowen MIN #3 19.56 Young DET #8 15.60 Gload CHW #9 11.55 Relaford KCR #18 3.37 Stinnett KCR #21 0.68 Infante DET The rest are too low to mention. NPERA STARTERS: adv CLE #6 02.01 Sabathia CLE #9 02.49 Gobble KCR #10 02.54 Robertson DET #12 02.65 Buehrle CHW #13 02.85 Schow CHW #15 03.00 Bonderman DET #16 03.01 DAmico CLE #17 03.12 Davis CLE #21 03.35 Garland CHW #22 03.42 Maroth DET #23 03.48 Santana MIN #24 03.50 Stanford CLE #33 04.26 Radke MIN #38 04.69 Silva MIN #41 05.12 Johnson DET #44 05.93 E-LO CHW : does not include 4/18 game #45 05.93 Lohse MIN #46 06.03 Anderson KCR #48 08.72 Cornejo DET WEAK STARTERS/MID/LONG/CLOSER RELIEF: adv MIN #5 0.67 Fultz MIN #6 0.85 Jackson CHW #11 1.11 Romero MIN #14 1.35 Reyes KCR #21 1.73 Field KCR #25 1.93 Levine DET #26 1.94 Grimsley KCR #27 2.08 Cerda KCR #28 2.10 Cressend CLE #29 2.17 Betan CLE #30 2.29 Sully KCR #39 2.89 Rincon MIN #42 3.21 Walker DET #45 3.50 Esteban DET #46 3.57 Carrasco KCR #47 3.68 Jimenez CLE #48 3.77 Camp KCR #50 3.95 Pulido MIN #51 4.06 Politte CHW #55 4.55 Durbin CLE #56 4.74 Koch CHW #59 4.86 Roa MIN #60 5.14 Lee CLE #63 5.53 Wright CHW #67 5.82 Nathan MIN #72 6.96 Marte CHW #74 7.43 Westbrook CLE #76 8.02 Patterson DET #77 8.16 May KCR #82 9.77 Colyer DET #83 9.79 Affeldt KCR #86 10.60 Knotts DET #89 16.83 Riske CLE SHORT RELIEF/DL: big adv CHW #4 0.21 Adkins CHW #10 2.82 Cotts CHW #12 3.29 Lee CLE #18 4.25 Takatsu CHW #21 5.88 Leskanic KCR #24 8.30 Appier KCR #25 8.39 Mulholland MIN #28 9.31 Urbina DET #29 10.70 Greisinger MIN #30 11.24 Stewart CLE #34 13.09 Thomas MIN

Doubles are now worth 20 pts. The rash of doubles on Sat pointed out the flaw. Harris hits a single & steals 2nd = Harris hitting a double. A homerun with RON 1 (10+50+10=70) < 3 doubles (20+10+20+10+20=80) Both score 2 runs but the 3 doubles leaves a RON 2. A homerun with RON 1 (10+50+10=70) < 2 triples,& a single (30+10+30+20=90) Both score 2 runs but the single leaves a RON 1. I think the difficulty as well as the odds in defending 2 triples & a single is of greater value than 3 doubles even though the 3 doubles leaves a better scoring situation. After the first series I'm impressed with the new scoring system. DW(34.0)=34 SS(10.1)=10.1 EL(03.8)=3.8 SS pitched 300% better than DW, & EL pitched less than 200% better than SS. That's what you would expect in comparing a 3 er to 0 er to 2 hit CG Shut-out. I think EL's peformance might rank the best in the year which is another nice thing about the scoring system. It will be tracked all season long. On the offense side things are much better represented as well. The old system rewarded too much for bases earned on non-hits. In the old system a BL walk = 400% the value of a walk. Now it's a little over 100% the value of a walk. The bonus for runs scored as a result of a hit is big change as well.

APR 18 @ TB : E-LO 2 hit CG! W5-0 PoG: Estaban Loiza (9IP, 0R, 0 ER) AoG: Estaban Loiza (9IP, 0R, 0 ER) BoG: Jose Valentin GoG: Wille Harris (care of Brandofan) =============================================== Bats: (Incremental hit values) Hits: 1B=10, 2B=20, 3B=30, HR=50 Hits-Ron: 5 pts for each base + BONUS 5 pts for run scored Non-Hits: 1B=5, Non-Hits-Ron: 2 pts for each base earned Runner: SB: 2B=10, 3B=15, RS=20, -5 pts for each CS FP: 2 pts for each base earned in the field of play EL(3.8)=0+0+0+15+10+0+10+0+0 WH(57)=27+30 FT(20)=5+15 MO(41)=2+5+2+32 AR(40)=20+20 JV(74)=50+24 PK(50)=50 CL(20)=20 ============================== CHICAGO SOX 1ST -W Harris singled to center. 10 -W Harris stole second. 10 -M Ordonez grounded out to second, W Harris to third. 2,2 -F Thomas walked. 5 -W Harris scored on J Gonzalez' wild pitch. 5 WH=27 FT=5 MO=2 TAMPA BAY 1ST EL=0 CHICAGO SOX 2ND -A Rowand doubled to left. 20 -M Olivo walked. 5 AR=20 MO=5 TAMPA BAY 2ND EL=0 CHICAGO SOX 3RD -J Valentin homered to right. 50 JV=50 TAMPA BAY 3RD EL=0 CHICAGO SOX 4TH -P Konerko homered to right. 50 -A Rowand doubled to left. 20 PK=50 AR=20 TAMPA BAY 4TH -C Crawford walked. 5 -C Crawford stole second. 10 EL=15 CHICAGO SOX 5TH -J Valentin doubled to deep right center. 20 -M Ordonez grounded out to second, J Valentin to third. 2,2 -F Thomas singled to deep left, J Valentin scored, F Thomas out stretching at second. 20-5, 2 -C Lee doubled to center. 20 JV=24 FT=15 CL=20 MO=2 TAMPA BAY 5TH -T Martinez singled to right. 10 EL=10 CHICAGO SOX 6TH -M Olivo tripled to deep right. 30 -W Harris doubled to right, M Olivo scored. 30,2 MO=32 WH=30 TAMPA BAY 6TH EL=0 CHICAGO SOX 7TH TAMPA BAY 7TH -A Huff singled to left. 10 EL=10 CHICAGO SOX 8TH TAMPA BAY 8TH EL=0 CHICAGO SOX 9TH TAMPA BAY 9TH EL=0

APR 17 @ TB : Schow pitches a dominant start! W4-1 PoG: Scott Schowenies (7IP, 1R, 0 ER) AoG: Scott Schowenies (7IP, 1R, 0 ER) BoG: Juan Uribe GoG: Magglio Ordonez (care of Brandofan) SS(10.1)=17+10+5+0+0+5+34 CP(10.5)=9+12 DM(10)=0+20 FT(31)=11+11+9 RG(51)=24+7+9+11 TP(14)=10+4 JU(54)=20+24+10 CL(45)=26+9+10 SA(25)=20+5 JV=5 WH=10 MO=20 =============================================== Bats: (Incremental hit values) Hits: 1B=10, 2B=20, 3B=30, HR=50 Hits-Ron: 5 pts for each base + BONUS 5 pts for run scored Non-Hits: 1B=5, Non-Hits-Ron: 2 pts for each base earned Runner: SB: 2B=10, 3B=15, RS=20, -5 pts for each CS FP: 2 pts for each base earned in the field of play CHICAGO SOX 1ST TAMPA BAY 1ST -D Rolls singled to left. 10 -R Baldelli walked, D Rolls to second. 7 SS=17 CHICAGO SOX 2ND -F Thomas walked. 5 -R Gload singled to center, F Thomas to third. 10+10,4 -T Perez hit sacrifice fly to left, F Thomas scored. 10,2 -J Uribe singled to center, R Gload to third. 20,4 FT=11 RG=24 TP=10 JU=20 TAMPA BAY 2ND -J Lugo reached on bunt single to third. 10 SS=10 CHICAGO SOX 3RD TAMPA BAY 3RD -C Crawford reached on infield single to first. 10 -C Crawford caught stealing second, pitcher to first to shortstop.-5 SS=5 CHICAGO SOX 4TH -F Thomas walked. 5 -C Lee singled to center, F Thomas to third. 10+10,4 -R Gload hit by pitch, C Lee to second. 7,2 -T Perez grounded into double play, shortstop to first, F Thomas scored, R Gload out at second, C Lee to third. 4,2,2 -J Uribe singled to center, C Lee scored. 10+10,2 -S Alomar Jr singled to right, J Uribe to third. 10+10,4 FT=11 CL=26 RG=7 TP=4 JU=24 SA=20 TAMPA BAY 4TH SS=0 CHICAGO SOX 5TH -F Thomas walked. 5 -C Lee walked, F Thomas to second. 7,2 -R Gload hit by pitch, F Thomas to third, C Lee to second. 9,2,2 FT=9 CL=9 RG=9 TAMPA BAY 5TH SS=0 CHICAGO SOX 6TH -S Alomar Jr singled to right, S Alomar Jr out stretching at second. 10-5 SA=5 TAMPA BAY 6TH -R Sanchez singled to center. 10 -C Crawford grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Sanchez out at second. 5 SS=5 CHICAGO SOX 7TH -J Valentin walked. 5 JV=5 TAMPA BAY 7TH -A Huff walked. 5 -J Lugo singled to right, A Huff to third. 10+10 -B Fordyce safe at first on error by shortstop J Valentin, A Huff scored, J Lugo to second. 9 -C Politte relieved S Schoeneweis. -R Fick walked, J Lugo to third, G Blum to second. SS=34 CP=9 CHICAGO SOX 8TH -C Lee singled to center. 10 -R Gload bunted into fielder's choice to catcher, C Lee out at second. 5 -T Perez singled to right, R Gload to third. 10+10,4 -J Uribe grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Gload scored, T Perez out at second. 10,2 CL=10 RG=11 JU=10 TAMPA BAY 8TH -D Rolls walked. 5 -R Baldelli hit by pitch, D Rolls to second. 7 -D Marte relieved C Politte. CP=12 DM=0 CHICAGO SOX 9TH -W Harris singled to center. 10 -M Ordonez singled to center, W Harris to third. 10+10,4 WH=10 MO=20 TAMPA BAY 9TH -Bottom of the 9th inning -E Perez walked. 5 -G Blum singled to left, E Perez to second. 15,2 DM=20

Dude, chill! You're the GOG man. I was busy this weekend. I'm updating everything now. I will update Thurs for Val but remember that's the last game in the old system.

APR 16 @ TB Wright is better, but still the HR king. L 3-0 PoG: Shingo (Mr. Zero) AoG: Shingo (Mr. Zero) BoG: Wille Harris GoG: Carlos Lee (care of Brandofan) =============================================== Bats: (Incremental hit values) Hits: 1B=10, 2B=20, 3B=30, HR=50 Hits-Ron: 5 pts for each base + BONUS 5 pts for run scored Non-Hits: 1B=5, Non-Hits-Ron: 2 pts for each base earned Runner: SB: 2B=10, 3B=15, RS=20, -5 pts for each CS FP: 2 pts for each base earned in the field of play DW(34)=50+75+0+20+25 NC(12.5)=15+10 ST(0)=0+0 BK(0)=0 WH(30=20+10 FT(20)=5+10+5 MO(15)=10+5 CL=5 ================================ CHICAGO SOX 1ST -W Harris singled to left. 10 -M Ordonez struck out looking, W Harris stole second. 10 -F Thomas walked. 5 WH=20 FT=5 TAMPA BAY 1ST -Bottom of the 1st inning -C Crawford homered to right. 50 DW=50 CHICAGO SOX 2ND TAMPA BAY 2ND -T Martinez walked. 5 -J Lugo homered to left, T Martinez scored. 50+20 DW=75 CHICAGO SOX 3RD -W Harris singled to left. 10 WH=10 TAMPA BAY 3RD -C Crawford safe at first on error by pitcher D Wright. 5 -C Crawford caught stealing second, pitcher to first to shortstop. -5 DW=0 CHICAGO SOX 4TH -F Thomas singled to center. 10 FT=10 TAMPA BAY 4TH -A Huff walked. 5 -J Cruz singled to right, A Huff to second. 15 DW=20 CHICAGO SOX 5TH -M Olivo singled to left. 10 MO=10 TAMPA BAY 5TH -R Sanchez singled to center. 10 -C Crawford singled to center, R Sanchez tagged out at third. 10 -R Baldelli walked. 5 -N Cotts relieved D Wright. -R Fick walked, C Crawford to third, R Baldelli to second. 5*3 DW=25 NC=15 CHICAGO SOX 6TH -F Thomas walked. 5 TAMPA BAY 6TH -T Martinez singled to center. 10 -S Takatsu relieved N Cotts. NC=10 ST=0 CHICAGO SOX 7TH TAMPA BAY 7TH ST=0 CHICAGO SOX 8TH -M Ordonez walked. 5 TAMPA BAY 8TH BK=0 CHICAGO SOX 9TH -C Lee walked. 5

I'll say this again for those who weren't paying attention: IT's NOT THE RAW NUMBERS, BUT RATHER THE COMPARISON TO OTHERS THAT SHOWS THE VALUE OF A PLAYER! Pointing out that Maggs has ranked in the top 11 in RPG in the AL the past 3 yrs does NOT suggest he deserves to be paid in the ranks of the top 10 that precede him. There is a MAJOR drop off in production from the top 5 to the next 5 & then the next 5 after that. Take a look & learn: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/alb03.htm #01 8.61 Delgado TOR #02 8.50 Ramirez BOS #03 8.17 A-ROD TEX #04 7.99 Nixon BOS #05 7.91 Giambi NYY #06 7.88 Thomas CHW (-09% below Delgado) #11 7.34 Magglio CHW (-18% below Delgado) If you are going to suggest that Magglio is deserving of top 10 $$$, then how can you suggest Thomas is not? http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/alb02.htm #1 10.31 Ramirez BOS #2 10.19 Thome CLE #3 09.56 Giambi NYY (-8% below Ramirez) #4 08.24 A-ROD TEX #5 08.15 Sweeney KCR #6 07.88 Magglio CHW (-31% below Ramirez) #9 07.59 Delgado TOR #22 6.10 Thomas CHW http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/alb01.htm #1 11.30 Giambi OAK #2 08.79 Thome CLE (-29%) #3 08.60 A-Rod TEX #7 07.60 Delgado TOR #11 07.20 Magglio CHW (-57%) http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/alb00.htm #1 11.77 Giambi OAK #2 11.29 Delgado TOR #3 11.20 Ramirez CLE #4 09.41 Thomas CHW #12 7.76 Sweeney KCR #23 7.10 Magglio CHW Are you seeing the pattern here? The top 10 adjust to the scale of RPG for that year. This is what separates them from the rest of the pack. In Magglio's case he doesn't adjust to the scale, but rather his 7.50 avg adjusts his rank. In other words, if Giambi & company avg around 9.00 RPG Maggs avg's around 7.00. That's about a 28% drop off in production. Even the year Thomas avg'd a 09.41 it was still a 25% drop off from the leaders. What the RPG scale shows is that when those top 5 guys suffer DL time the scale shrinks. When they are healthy the scale grows. Maggs has yet to grow with the scale in terms of production. Now this is just the AL. If you look at the NL Maggs 7.20 avg or if you prefer is 7.34 RPG of 2003 is no better than 11 either. That means there are 20 hitters in MLB baseball that have outperformed Maggs. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/nlb03.htm Check any year you want & you find about the same. A player who consistently avgs betw 7.10-7.70 RPG ranks betw 11-15 in both leagues. Now consider that Maggs is making 14 MIL this year. I didn't do the NL but in the AL he's in the top 5 in $$$ for position players. Frank is not even in the top 20 at 6 MIL. There is absolutely no question based on Frank coming off a 42 HR season that he is grossly under paid this year. That stings more when the same team is paying a guy top 5 $$$. A guy you outperformed the year before. The SOX should be offering Maggs Sweeney type $ & not a dime more.

I voted 60/5. There is one poll option missing which is basically the lowest he'll expect: 70/5. The thing about Maggs is when you consider the SOX budget of 60 MIL, how much of his presence equates to victories? This is one of the reason I'm doing a game by game & season long evaluation. When we are tight on $$$ it's imperative we stretch performance for every dollar. I like Maggs but I believe is asking price is WAY TOO MUCH for the SOX to pay. Right now he's in the top 5 in salary of position players in the AL. Even if you add pitchers he's in the top 10 overall. Yet his production is not top 10 caliber. Right now Beltran is kicking his ARSE in RPG. It's early yet, but Maggs appears to be slipping back to his 7.50 avg. Beltran is way above avg. #03 12.64 Carlos Beltran KCR #15 09.14 Magglio Ordonez CHW 2003 RPG: #06 7.78 Thomas CHW #09 7.46 Beltran KCR #11 7.34 Magglio CHW Now why is Thomas above both of these guys? Thomas: 087R, 146H, 42HR, 105RBI, 100W, 0 SB, 546 AB, 258 OB, 400 OUTS Beltran: 102R, 160H, 26HR, 100RBI, 072W, 41SB, 521 AB, 234 OB, 365 OUTS Magglio: 095R, 192H, 29HR, 099RBI, 057W, 09SB, 606 AB, 256 OB, 419 OUTS If the SOX are willing to spend 70/5 on a player how can you argue for Maggs over Beltran? In this case KW should wait. Offer Maggs 60/5 with incentives worth 10/5. Total value: 70/5. ANA has overpaid for Anderson. CHW should not make the same mistake with Maggs. The franchise player for the CHW right now is Mark Buehrle. He has Cy Young potential like that of Maddux because he is not a power pitcher. Based on the way this year is going, the next franchise player is likely to be Miguel Olivo. A catcher with that much defensive & offensive promise is a diamond in the rough. Beane will curse the day he made the trade when Olivo helps the SOX win a WS.

I felt bad when we blew a 4 run lead to KC a week ago. I felt bad when Koch blew a big lead 2 days ago. But it has to be the worst feeling in the world to give up a 5 run lead with 9 outs to go the sCrubs at Wrigley. This had better NOT happen in the chi-town series! You hear me Billy?

Stats NOT in favor of the N. Siders: RPG rankings early 2004: #3 14.21 Dunn CIN #6 13.66 Bagwell HOU #7 12.07 Kendall PIT #8 11.70 Biggio HOU #10 11.13 Wilson PIT #13 10.95 Hidalgo HOU #16 10.23 Wilson PIT #18 09.94 Rolen STL #19 09.84 Barrett CHC #24 08.82 Casey CIN #26 08.50 Berkman HOU #28 08.00 Mackowiak PIT #29 07.89 Sosa CHC #30 07.73 Pujols STL #33 07.46 Griffey CIN Hmmm .. let's see top 10 features CIN, HOU, PIT. Hmmm .. let's see top 20 features PIT, HOU, STL & barely CHC. Could it be that SI simply underestimated these other teams? Hope for the N siders: FLA won the World Series without a player in the top 10 or top 20. However the did have a top 10 pitcher, a top 20 pitcher & a top 30 pitcher. Of course if RPG was broken into halves FLA would certain be in the top in all categories

Any team that is stacked with solid hitters like (Griffey, Dunn, Kearnes) will give the N Siders trouble. Of course the Reds, & Cards look much alike this year & the Astros .. well .. Hey, but the sCrubs will win the WS because SI said so

No spaces between poll choices. Doh! Delete this one.

Based on his performance over the years Maggs is worth at least 12MIL a year. So how much of an investment should they make?

Based on his performance over the years Maggs is worth at least 12MIL a year. So how much of an investment should they make?

My circle of life reamed me today. She stated that I am spending too much time on my hobbies (SOXTALK) & not enough on family matters. It's hard for me to debate against her or that point so a compromise has been struck. She recognizes my love of baseball stats so she's afforded me the time to do that & discuss a little SOX baseball. But she says political discussions are like a vortex that consume me so she's limited me to one post a week. I'm on the honor system so I'm going to do my best to respect it. Again I can't argue with her when she's right. Any fact based political discussion requires an extensive amount of time doing nothing but fact checking. Since I don't get paid to spend that time I need to budget it. As such here's my one post for the week & I will try to keep all of my political discussions in one thread. In the news: War in Iraq: exit strategy War at home. The Wall in 1995 Drivers Licenses for Immigrants Laws for citizens vs non-citizens Obscenity Laws Bush's first 280 days War in Iraq: Since Kennedy made the comparison to Vietnam I will use it. Fact checking indicates Northern Iraq is secure. This is the region in Iraq where the Kurds are the majority. Exit strategy: Use diplomacy to convince the Suuni's, Shiites, & Bath to join the party. Tell them if Iraq is not secure in 8 months, the US will withdraw it's forces to Northern Iraq & invite the Kurds to police Southern Iraq. Splitting Iraq in 2 is not a bad strategy. Over time it's worked in Vietnam & Korea. Democracy & capitalism in the south is becoming infectious in the north. We can invite the Saudi's & Jordan to help police the South as well. Essentially the American presence would remain only in the North. War at home: It amazes me how America's heart falls when someone is kidnapped/killed in Iraq & yet I turn on the local news & hear that someone is kidnapped/killed in IL. That seems highly hyprocritical to me to suggest that Iraq should be safer than IL. The Wall in 1995: Gorelick was afraid that surveillance on terrorists from the WTC bombing would make it more difficult to prosecute them. So she wrote a memo to Reno suggesting more stringent guidelines that essentially added to the administrative time to pass information from the FBI to CIA. She either neglected or weighed the importance of using surveillance to prevent an attack vs using surveillance to prosecute an attack. What she should have done is drawn a distinction between the 2 & indicate in her memo that it was up to the FBI or the CIA to weigh the cost of the surveillance in these terms. Her memo didn't do that. Reno instructed the FBI & CIA to follow the procedures identified in the memo. It is the general opinion of both the CIA & FBI that the procedures defined in 1995 made the sharing of information more complex & more cumbersome. Based on testimony many in both agencies where confused by the legalities of the procedures & therefore always deferred the decisions to their superiors. We all know from Dilbert comics how effective that can be. I'm not going to blame Gorelick though because I think this is just another symptom of a much bigger issue that needs to be addressed soon: citizen vs non-citizen rights. I will discuss more about this near the end of this post. Obscenity Laws: I'm what I call a techno-conservative. I uphold issues of free speech, privacy, & civil liberties above all else but I recognize that for society to acheive harmony a balance must be reached between majority & individual rights. Thus I am for safeguarding all individual rights as long as they do not encurr on majority rights. Janet Jackson's titty exposure has led to Stern being the #1 target today for Obscenity laws. I agree with the general premise that Stern's show is rated PG15 at best & therefore should not be publicly accessible during hours in which those under 15 are most likely to listen. It's ridiculous to suggest that a parent regulate the stations a child can listen to given that the wide distribution of listing devices. But I also believe Stern has a right to reach a TV15 audience in that time. So in my opinion technology should be used to provide Stern access to that audience. Stern's broadcasters should be told to use techology to clean up Stern's show so that it can be considered PG13 or heavily fine & revoke the license. In the mean time Congress should be guiding the FCC to require broadcast ratings to apply to all forms of media. If PG13 or PG is considered the rating acceptable during those hours then other broadcasts should be available via encryption only. The FCC would then allow stations to apply for encryption licenses to broadcast obscene media entertainment. A person can buy either a standard radio & be assured it will receive only NC or PG13 broadcasts (whatever the majority opinion is on that) or they can buy a radio that can decrypt PG15, R, X, or XXX. The new devices would be a boom to the marketplace & the ability to receive R,X,& XXX would actually provide Stern more freedom to express himself than he could ever dream of. In my opinion this is the very definition of what a techno-conservative means. Insuring freedom for all the different segmented markets in America but protecting the rights of the majority as well. Citizen vs Non-Citizen Laws: In my opinion this is the biggest problem facing America today as it permeates so many areas. Geb Bush is proposing to offer drivers licenses to illegals & some are outraged but he says your not being realistic. It's hard to argue with him. Illegals are involved in a large # of traffic accidents in FL. They are undocumented & the numbers of illegals are so large that the INS doesn't know what to do with them. Do illegals go to state prisons or federal prisons? With an estimated 15 million illegals from S of the border alone there are clearly not enough seats in all of the prisons to incarcerate them. Mexico & Cuba do not make it easy to expel them either. So nobody knows what to do with them. Geb is arguing that by giving them drivers licenses he's at least able to document them & prosecute them if they are uninsured. This applies to the The Wall, the Patriot Act, immigration, etc. We continue to try to legislate the country such that all laws that apply to citizens apply to non-citizens. This might have been fine when non-citizens represented less than 2% of the population. But now with immigration, illegals, & foreign diplomats that number is closer to 15%. America needs to define laws that apply to non-citizens. These laws should be designed to both keep track & control the actions of non-citizens. Passing of information between the FBI & the CIA & local law enforcement should be unrestricted when it's dealing with non-citizens. Prosecution of non-citizens should be less cumbersome than citizens. The loop holes that Gorelick was worried about should not be available for defending non-citizens. Let's remember the basic premise of a non-citizen. The person is a guest of the United States. We did not invite them nor did we encourage their visit. They came of their own free will. If they come here illegally they should have no legal basis for defense. If they come here via a visa then the procedures in application should clearly spell out the procedures & rights for non-citizens in the US. This is how you effectively control immigration, illegals, terrorists, & others that are entering your country with criminal intentions. Use technology to track & control them as best you can & restrict their freedoms. A national ID card that is based on secure id technology as opposed to genetic scanners is an example of how you can use technology to effectively track & control them. With respect to privacy here's how insure the civil liberties: For non-citizens, historical data provided by the national ID card can be used in any manner. For citizens, no government agency can access or make use of the data in any way unless either the citizen or a court appointed grand jury of no less than 9 members grants the priviledge. The citizen must be given first right of refusal before a grand jury can be assembled. This is very important in the fight against drugs as well because the citizen must either grant the right to access or deny the right to access in writing within 3 days of notification. This could be used to effectively scare those involved in the drug trade to curtail their activity just through the notification process alone. If the citizen does not reply to the notification within 3 days, access is assumed w/out need of a grand jury. Hence all the citizen has to do is reply through certified mail to insure their rights. This is a very important statute as well. If the agency decides to ignore the certified request & pursues the search prior to seeking grand jury approval all of the evidence generated from the historical data will be deemed inadmisable. So certified mail is the last word. In other words grand jury approval can only be sought if the citizen rejects the request within 3 days or the agency can prove that the citizen failed to reply within the 3 days. There are ways to both insure the freedoms we believe so strongly in & yet both track & control those with criminal intentions. We just have to be dutifully clever about it. Bush's first 280 days: What amazes me in this debate of 9/11 is that all of the Dem's keep referring that Bush could have changed things like the Wall in his time leading up to 9/11. Did they forget that Bush's first 280 days were considered illegitimate by 1/2 the populace? Did they forget that until 9/11 the media waged war against Bush over the fiercely contested election? Did they forget that the computer system for Bush had to be completely revamped because the Clinton administration left the White House in a state of dissarray? Needless to say the battled waged against Bush's presidency at home in the first 6 months caused considerable dissarray to the functioning of government. As does the fact that several of Bush's recommendations for positions have YET to be approved by the SENATE! Hello? His first term is NEARLY over! Those positions were never filled! But of course if Bush wanted to change something in the first 280 days all he had to do was say so. Yeah right! If you believe that, then you'll believe that I'm the President.

BRANDO! I RELY ON YOU TO TELL ME about the BIG plays! I can't always watch or listen to the games so I need YOUR INPUT to weigh in on the Glove of the Game award. There are no pts associated with the Glove of the Game award with the exception that if a player is close in winning either Bat of the Game or Arm of the Game & they win Glove of the Game that will be enough to win Player of the Game. That's the big enchilada. This will no longer be the thread for the SOX scoring system. I did find flaws in the first week. Specifically .5 pts are a b**** to work with, there needed to be a greater separation between bases earned by hits & non-hits, & there need to be greater weight in steals. All of this has been considered in the new scoring system which is now in the v2 (version 2) thread. The biggest flaw was with the pitchers. In trying to keep it simple, the opposing team's offensive production was totaled & then applied to SOX pitchers. The lowest score was the best. But the problem is that when you award both runners & hitters on the same play the pitcher is double taxed. In my opinion that's grossly unfair to the pitchers & gets out of whack real quick when a pitcher gives up a big inning. Botch is a perfect example. So the new scoring system will only reflect pts by the opposition as they relate to hitters & steals.

One more thing about our so-called need for bankrupt allies: There have been papers written wrt to the US & the World economy that strongly suggest the US does not need these so called allies for trade any more. These papers discuss the vast potential that lies in the W Hemisphere vs the need for the US to maintain trade relations with the E Hemisphere. The conclusions are significant: drastically reduced trade deficit, stronger economies in Latin America, greater potential for what is called import-export swaps, greater security in the hemispehere as economies will be linked to one another, & greater potenital for human rights & wage equality. So the need for Eastern allies from an economic perspective is weakening as well. Now of course all these papers are nice & of course we all appreciate the people who take the time to write them but they don't mean squat when the Microsoft's of the world run the world. As long as they can make the most profit with the slaves in the East there will be no change. Wages in the US will deflate under the pressure & the MS's of the world will turn to new economies for profits. They won't give a s*** about the US economy or standard of living. That's the only real truth.

Once again there is a need for an intelligent response. If the same sheet of music does not lead to greater wealth, security, or prosperity for the US then has top dog above & beyond any one else F the aliies. Of course which allies are you referring to? Are you talking about the ones intimately involved in the Oil for Food scandal that's painted UN as nothing more than a whore recently? It's kind of hard to get UN backing to oust a murderous dictator when that dictator has essentially bought the votes against you. There is only one thing that will bring the aliies to this war: terrorism in their own countries. Anything short of that & they will play the fence like they always do. What's more, is that the strategic importance of Germany & France in the modern world has diminished considerably. Iraq has a far greater strategic importance to the US then either of these countries. Perhaps, we can't get allie support because the mere thought of a democracy built on LARGE oil reserves in the middle east scares the living s*** out of them & their socialist way of life. Heaven help the French if Iraq should become an economic power in the region in the next 10 years. How would they be able t sustain their 30 hour work weeks when the capitalist driven Iraqi's are working 50 hour weeks? Perhaps the fact of the US having a large military presence in iraq for decades to come scares the s*** out of them. It's not beyond reason to believe that the US could establish both major air & naval bases near Iraq. It's further not beyond reason that with a continous presence in the region the US would have first strike capability against every threat in Europe & Central Asia. That's why any comparison to Iraq as another Vietnam is stupid. Vietnam had ZERO strategic importance to the region. S Korea had greater importance than Vietnam. As it is how do you lose a war in which you protected the democracy of S Vietnam? Was that not the whole point to the war in the first place? In any case if you were to compare these countries to chess pcs .. Vietnam was just a pawn .. probably protecting a knight. But Iraq is like a Bishop. As long the US maintains the ability to station a large expansive force in Iraq, those that oppose will remain scared s***less. Do you not wonder that during this entire conflict the Saudi's have all but been silent? This coming from a nation that in the last military assessment considered Saudi Arabia one of the toughest military strongholds to defeat.

Addressing all pts discussed: Religious implications: It is true that Israel must remain in control of Jerusalem to fullfill some of the end time prophecies. Why did he chance his stance on this issue? We all know Bush hates to read, so obviously some one brought to his attention the economic impact if israel was to give up all of the West Bank to pre-1948 borders. Economically this is pretty simple. The settlements today add X $'s to the world economy. Swapping the settlements for Palestinians will add Y $'s to the world economy. X >> Y, so there is no real value in doing so. What is better for the US? A militant Palestinian state closer to the only democracy in the region or fortifying the only democracy in the region? That's an educated general point of view. Here's a personal one: F the Palestinians! I went to school with the murderous son's of b****es! Not only did they work the system to get the govt to pay but they also miked the GSL program to STEAL 1000's that they never intended to pay back. They were so F'g arrogant in their hatred towards the Jews that they did not hide the fact that they were going for ME & EE degrees so that they would be better at bomb making at home. If you think this is anything BUT hatred towards the Jews, you are CRAZY! Did you not see on the news this week the many 10's of 1000's of mosques in India & Pakistan that teach nothing but memorization of every line in the Koran? If you think the majority of Muslims in this world are rational, pro-democracy, & pro-capitalist people then I suggest you continue memorizing the Koran! It's funny, because when I heard this I said to myself well there's a group of people that will never be qualified for outsourcing!

I don't want to insult you but you really should stop evaluating a player's value by 6 games in 2004. The fact is that Frank has ranked in the top 6 in overall offensive production in the AL 2 of the last 4 years. In both those years he finished much further ahead than Maggs. Consider than 2001 was a DL year, & 2002 was a coming back from DL year, that's pretty significant. The fact that Frank has reached an RPG high of 9.41 & Maggs has reached an RPG high of 7.88 is significant. In terms of 2003, Frank finished with an RPG of 7.78 (nearly Maggs all-time high) & Maggs finished with an RPG of 7.34 (close to his 4 yr avg). In terms of 2002, Frank finished with an RPG of 6.10 & Koney finished with an RPG of 6.30 (close to his 4 yr avg). Here's the bottom line: With the exception of the DL year in 2001 Frank has either outperformed or come close to performance to Maggs (14 MIL) & Koney (8 MIL). Which means he's been in the top 3 in BATS on the SOX in every yr but the DL yr. So for him to enter this season having BEATEN Maggs in 2003 is a little bit of insult. In a non-baseball context, that's like getting passed over for a promotion by someone you outperformed. You wouldn't feel to happy either. Now the fact that he has betw 8/10, 10/12 remaiming on the next 2 yrs of the contract certainly weakens his argument. But as I said earlier Frank can't see beyond 2004.

I am so F'g sick of hearing about Maggs, Maggs, Maggs! Would you people get over annoiting him the best in the AL? He's NOT! He's the best on the White Sox, but in comparison to other MVP candidates every year he doesn't deserve 15 MIL a year. I'm sorry you don't want to hear this, but when Garrett Anderson signs a 48/4 to remain with the Angels that's WHAT YOU CALL LOVING THE TEAM YOU PLAY FOR!!! As much as you don't like Thomas' whinning is production is still on a Hall Of Fame road & for the avg price per year the SOX paid it was/remains a bargain! Right now I am souring on Maggs because the story keeps changing. When the story changes you know the player is essentially going to pull a Colon & go to the highest bidder. The SOX would be CRAZY to sign him to a 75/5 avg. If that's what it's going to take to keep Maggs, then Sayonara buddy! The best scale I can find in evaluation Maggs is Sagarin's RPG. The table includes both the RPG stats & fantasy dollar value. Right now in the AL here are the SOX rankings: Every-day players: Maggs #9 Koney #25 CLee #40 JVal #44 FThom #54 ARowa #68 JCrede #91 Part-time: Olivo #4 Uribe #8 SAlo #16 WHa #32 Bench: Perez #14 Gload #20 Thomas should really keep quiet until he cracks the top 20. But Maggs should not be thinking he's a 75/5 until he cracks the top 5! Maggs might not like the truth but he is coming off of a weaker year (2003). Final 2003 RPG rankings: FThom #6 MOrdo #11 Final 2002 RPG rankings: MOrdo #6 FThom #22 Final 2001 RPG rankings: MOrdo #11 Koney #24 Final 2000 RPG rankings: FThom #4 MOrdo #24 As you can see the only player to crack the top 5 on the SOX in the new millenium is Thomas. The RPG numbers explain much more. Though Maggs ranking has adjusted slightly over the years his RPG has remained flat. His best year was 2002 and his RPG was 7.88. That's his best in 4 yrs. His avg is about 7.50. The top 5 in RPG typically avg between 9.50 & 10.50. Even if you don't understand RPG you can still see the difference in Maggs avg compared to the rest. Does any body have a player salary ranking list? Maggs does not deserve the Manny, Delgado, or A-Rod money. He has never had an RPG higher than 7.88. He does deserve Beltran, Sweeney, Posada money. The SOX are willing to pay him 56/4. That's on the table right now. Maggs wants a min of 70/5. Here's where that ranks based on ESPN: Higher than any ANA player by 3 mil. Higher than any BAL player by 8 mil. 3rd on BOS (2 mil more than Schilling) Higher than any CLE player by 6.5 mil. Higher than any DET player by 5.5 mil Higher than any KAN player by 3 mil. Higher than any MIN player by 3.5 mil. Higher than any OAK player by 2.5 mil. 5th on NYY (1.5 mil more than Giambi) Higher than any SEA player by 6 mil. Higher than any TAM player by 6.5 mil. Higher than any TEX player by 200K 2nd on TOR (7 mil behind Delgado) If you're asking how can that be, because ESPN is taking into consideration deferred money. Maggs doesn't like deferred money so is salary towers over most in 2004. If I had to choose betw paying Maggs 70/5 or looking to spend 50/4 on a Beltran or other great OF free agent I'm letting Maggs go. Even with the week he's had he's still barely cracking the top 10. He simply doesn't deserve to be the 6th highest player in the AL. Or worse the 4th highest position player in the AL.

=========================================== =========================================== RACE TO BE THE BEST !!! ending 5/2/2004 =========================================== =========================================== MVP of SOX for Apr: Magglio Ordonez (Hon mention: Miguel Olivo) Indiv Game Honors: PoG: MOL(3), JG(3), MO(3), FT(3), SS(2), EL(2), JC(2), SA(1), MB(1), JV(1), PK(1), ST(1), JU(1) AoG: MB(3), BK(3), JG(3), JA(3), NC(2), MJ(2), SS(2), CP(1), EL(2), DW(1), DM(1), ST(1) BoG: MO(6), FT(5), JU(3), JV(2), MOL(2), JC(2), WH(1), CL(1), SA(1), PK(1) GoG: MOL(6), JC(5), CL(3), JV(2), MO(2), WH(2), AR(1), TP(1), JU(1), MB(1) PoG=Player of the Game AoG=Arm of the Game BoG=Bat of the Game GoG=Glove of the Game =========================================== =========================================== =========================================== Running Totals: =========================================== Starter Arms: JG < SS < EL < DW < MB DW(157/4=40)=43+34+27+53 SS(110/4=27)=32+10+17+51 EL(139/5=28)=24+40+4+19+32 MB(250/6=42)=28+10+38+121+33+20 JG(109/5=22)=14+32+24+27+22 Relief Arms: ST < NC < CP < BK < MJ < DM < JA ST(122/8=15)=85+0+17+0+5+5+0+10 BK(283/12=24)=45+10+37+5+175+0+10+10+34+7+0+10 DM(287/9=32)=155+10+13+10+0+30+19+30+20 NC(201/9=22)=10+13+30+0+20+20+15+8+85 JA(196/6=35)=12+5+10+138+0+31 MJ(195/7=28)=27+10+3+112+30+0+13 CP(228/10=23)=35+10+10+11+0+5+80+67+0+0 Starter Bats: MO > PK > FT > CL > JC > WH > AR MO(1007)=25+84+137+100+23+17+42+73+5+15+20+41+107+10+14+34+5+87+86+52+25+10+5 PK(768)=89+7+32+5+29+111+64+7+25+50+76+21+19+75+70+5+51+21+16 FT(766)=21+9+19+36+48+42+77+25+20+31+20+62+64+16+66+24+61+14+44+7+50 CL(668)=76+50+40+55+54+42+5+2+45+20+5+50+24+32+10+2+67+54+15+10+10 WH(564)=2+47+89+20+6+5+30+10+57+7+19+10+68+44+26+47+19+12+44 AR(412)=18+16+24+20+11+30+50+40+91+29+40+13+15+10+24 JC(601)=14+38+66+30+20+38+50+62+10+5+9+55+96+87+21 Relief Bats: JU > MOL > RG > SA > TP > KD JU(662)=2+28+60+36+54+34+14+30+15+75+49+93+41+54+70+2 RG(218)=15+2+51+60+19+65+4+2 MOL(498)=85+53+4+66+102+10+23+45+2+101+7 KD(112)=4+10+34+6+42+16 SA(191)=98+27+25+2+10+27+2 TP(165)=48+14+2+14+61+26 DL Bats: JV(478)=49+32+70+96+68+10+64+10+5+72 Note: cum avg for starters & arms is pts / appearances =========================================== =========================================== Disclaimer: I want to first say that I am a guest in the PTC game & that I fully recognize the owner of the game is SS. This thread has no intention of undermining the scoring system of that game. The purpose of this thread is to keep track of the value of each SOX player as the season progresses. The point value system: Doing away with .5 pts. They are too time-consuming to manage. Bats: (Incremental hit values) Hits: 1B=10, 2B=20, 3B=30, HR=50 Hits-Ron: 5 pts for each base + BONUS 5 pts for run scored Non-Hits: 1B=5, Non-Hits-Ron: 2 pts for each base earned + BONUS 3 pts for run scored This system places a value on BOTH the quality of the AB & the effect it has on RON. Non-hits addresses the impact of sacrifices, fielder's choice, errors, etc. Basically if you move a runner over in a non-hit AB you should get some credit for making someone make a play on the ball. Runner: SB: 2B=10, 3B=15, RS=20, -5 pts for each CS (RS=Run Stolen) FP: 2 pts for each base earned in the field of play This system rewards some value for smart base running during the field of play. It's much harder to steal home than 3rd & 3rd than 2nd. Hence the increments. Arms: Evaluation of pitchers will be based on evaluation of opposing team's hitters. That total for each pitcher will then be divided by innings pitched. The pitcher with the least point value is the arm of the game. The old system performed double taxation on a pitchers performance. The hitter receives value for moving a runner over & the runner receives some value as well. This is double taxation on a pitcher. The new system will no longer consider the runners value other than SB & CS.

APR 15 v KC : Mark Buehrle struggles, but SOX still win! PoG: Magglio Ordonez (Game winning home run in 10th!) AoG: Mark Jackson BoG: Magglio Ordonez GoG: Jose Valentin (Brandofan) =============================================== NOTE: Changes to scoring system after today. See 1st post. MB=5+1+0+4.5+0+13.5 MJ=.5+0 DM=1.5+1 JU=3+1.5 JV=4+1.5+1 MO=.5+2.5+4 FT=1+5.5 CL=.5 PK=.5 AR=4 =============================================== KANSAS CITY 1ST -Top of the 1st inning -A Berroa struck out swinging. -C Beltran homered to left. 4 -M Sweeney reached on infield single to shortstop. 1 -J Gonzalez grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, M Sweeney out at second. MB=5 CHICAGO SOX 1ST -Bottom of the 1st inning -J Uribe doubled to right.2 -J Valentin doubled to deep right, J Uribe scored. 3,1 -M Ordonez flied out to right, J Valentin to third..5*2 -F Thomas walked. .5 -C Lee flied out to center, J Valentin scored. .5*2 -P Konerko walked, F Thomas to second. .5*2 JU=3 JV=4 MO=.5 FT=1 CL=.5 PK=.5 KANSAS CITY 2ND -J Randa singled to center. 1 MB=1 CHICAGO SOX 2ND -A Rowand homered to left. 4 -J Uribe singled to center. 1 -J Valentin singled to right, J Uribe to second. 1,.5*2 AR=4 JU=1.5 JV=1.5 KANSAS CITY 3RD MB=0 KANSAS CITY 4TH -J Gonzalez homered to right. 4 -J Randa walked. .5 MB=4.5 KANSAS CITY 5TH MB=0 CHICAGO SOX 5TH -M Ordonez singled to right. 1 -F Thomas homered to left center, M Ordonez scored. 5.5,1.5 MO=2.5 FT=5.5 KANSAS CITY 6TH -C Beltran walked. .5 -M Sweeney singled to right center, C Beltran to second. 1.5,.5 -J Gonzalez flied out to center, C Beltran to third. .5*2 -J Randa singled to center, C Beltran scored, M Sweeney to second. 2,.5*2 -B Santiago doubled to deep left, M Sweeney and J Randa scored. 4.5,1,1.5 MB=13.5 KANSAS CITY 7TH -M Jackson relieved M Buehrle. -M Lopez walked. .5 MJ=.5 CHICAGO SOX 7TH -J Uribe walked. .5 -J Uribe picked off first. -.5 -J Valentin walked. .5 -J Valentin to second on passed ball by B Santiago. .5 -M Ordonez intentionally walked. .5 JV=1 KANSAS CITY 8TH MJ=0 KANSAS CITY 9TH -D Marte relieved M Jackson. -Top of the 9th inning -K Harvey singled to right. 1 -A Guiel walked. .5 DM=1.5 KANSAS CITY 10TH -M Sweeney singled to right. 1 DM=1 CHICAGO SOX 10TH -M Ordonez homered to left. 4 MO=4

APR 14 v KC : Ozzie nearly blew it. JG in 7th? PoG: Joe Crede (Game winning double overrules stats) AoG: Clif Politte BoG: Miguel Olivo (edges out Joe) GoG: Miguel Olivo (no web gems) ======================================================== JG=1+0+.5+0+1+8+14 CP=0+2 BK=18.5 (OUUUUUUCH!) JA=.5 JV=1 PK=.5+2+4 AR=2+2 MOL=2+6+3 JU=2+2+1 FT=3+2+.5 JC=2+1+4.5 MO=3+2 CL=2.5+2 ======================================================== KANSAS CITY 1ST -C Beltran singled to center. JG=1 CHICAGO SOX 1ST -J Uribe hit by pitch..5 -J Uribe caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop.-.5 -J Valentin singled to right.1 JV=1 KANSAS CITY 2ND JG=0 CHICAGO SOX 2ND -F Thomas walked. .5 -F Thomas caught stealing second, catcher to second. -.5 -P Konerko walked. .5 PK=.5 KANSAS CITY 3RD -A Berroa walked..5 JG=.5 CHICAGO SOX 3RD -A Rowand safe at second on error by left fielder A Guiel. 1 -M Olivo sacrificed to catcher, A Rowand to third, .5,.5 -A Rowand scored, M Olivo to second on wild pitch by J Affeldt. .5,.5 -J Uribe singled to left, M Olivo scored. 2,1 AR=2 MOL=2 JU=2 KANSAS CITY 4TH JG=0 CHICAGO SOX 4TH -F Thomas doubled to deep left. 2 -J Crede walked. .5 -A Rowand walked, J Crede to second. .5*3 -M Olivo doubled to deep right center, F Thomas, J Crede and A Rowand scored. 2+3,.5,1,1.5 -J Uribe singled to left, M Olivo scored. 2,1 FT=3 JC=2 AR=2 MOL=6 JU=2 KANSAS CITY 5TH -A Guiel singled to right.1 JG=1 KANSAS CITY 6TH -Top of the 6th inning -A Berroa singled to shallow right. 1 -C Beltran doubled to deep right, A Berroa to third. 2.5,.5 -M Sweeney hit sacrifice fly to center, A Berroa scored. 1.5,.5 -J Gonzalez walked, C Beltran stole third. .5,1 -J Randa grounded into fielder's choice to first, C Beltran scored, J Gonzalez out at second. .5 JG=8 CHICAGO SOX 6TH -J Crede singled to left.1 JC=1 KANSAS CITY 7TH -B Santiago homered to right. 5 -A Berroa singled to left center. 1 -C Beltran homered to right, A Berroa scored. 6.5,1.5 -C Politte relieved J Garland. JG=14 CP=0 CHICAGO SOX 7TH -J Uribe singled to right.1 -M Ordonez singled to left, J Valentin to second. 1,.5 -J Valentin out at third, M Ordonez to second, F Thomas to first, M Ordonez to third, F Thomas to second 1,1.5 -C Lee reached on infield single to third, M Ordonez scored, F Thomas to third. 2,.5*2 -P Konerko singled to left center, F Thomas scored, C Lee to second. 2,.5*2 JU=1 MO=3 FT=2 CL=2.5 PK=2 KANSAS CITY 8TH -K Harvey doubled to deep center. 2 CP=2 CHICAGO SOX 8TH -M Olivo singled to left. 1 -M Olivo stole second. 1 -M Olivo to third on wild pitch by J Grimsley. 1 MOL=3 KANSAS CITY 9TH -B Koch relieved C Politte. -Top of the 9th inning -A Guiel walked. .5 -A Berroa singled to center, A Guiel scored. 2.5,1.5 -C Beltran homered to center, A Berroa scored. 6.5,1.5 -M Sweeney homered to left.4 -J Randa doubled to deep right center. 2 -J Adkins relieved B Koch. -K Harvey walked. .5 BK=18.5 (OUUUUUUCH!) JA=.5 CHICAGO SOX 9TH -M Ordonez walked. .5 -F Thomas safe at first, M Ordonez to second. .5,.5 -C Lee walked, M Ordonez to third, W Harris to second. .5*3 -P Konerko singled to right, M Ordonez scored, W Harris to third, C Lee to second. 2.5,.5*3 -J Crede doubled to deep right center, W Harris and C Lee scored, P Konerko to third. 4.5,.5,1,.1.5 MO=2 FT=.5 CL=2 PK=4 JC=4.5

I loved the day Frank Thomas became a White Sox. It was great having the most feared hitter in all of baseball during the 90's on our team. But Frank has never been able to see the forest beyond the trees. Is he worth more than 6 MIL right now? That's debateable. He finished #6 in RPG in the AL last year. About five spots ahead of Maggs. Clearly he's not happy with an 8MIL separation betw the 2. But again Frank needs to realize that the forest beyond the trees is that he can leave the team for more $$$ any time he wants. He had that opportunity this year & he has it again next year. Truth be it told for an aging DH it's not a bad contract at all after 2004. He'll make either 8MIL or 10MIL in 2005. Then he'll make either 10MIL or 12MIL in 2006. It's not until 2007 where the team can buy out the contract for 3MIL! Now how many other players over 35 have those kind of options? Frank's clearly upset with the 6MIL for 2004 & that's a legitimate gripe. But if he can see beyond that, the rest of the contract is pretty nice. After 2005 he'll either be the highest paid player on the team or the 2nd highest. There's no question the SOX got a bargain in Frank's early years. But so did CLE, TEX, & most of all PIT with their RBI guys. He needs to wise up & realize he's nearing the tail end of his career. A contract that will most likely average double digit millions is a pretty nice send off. What I might do if I were the SOX & attendance is up & Frank finishes in the top 10 in RPG is rip it up & offer him 3 yrs at 10MIL a yr. Basically the average of the existing contract only guranteed. But that's as far as a I go.