JUGGERNAUT

No. After July 31st, any player being traded must first clear waivers. it doesn't matter whether they have ml options or not. If Kenny doesn't trade Shingo he definitely has to clear waivers before he can be sent to Charlotte. I miss the Gong already

I forgot the waiver process. Because he never had any options he must clear waivers to return to Charlotte. I don't think these rules make much sense when it applies to these Japanese players. They are eligible to be rookies of the year but not given any options? I think they should be given at least 1 when they first sign with a MLB team. In any case it's unlikely Shingo will clear waivers with the need for arms around the league. Some team will almost certainly claim him if Kenny doesn't trade him first. Why would a team trade for him? So they don't have to compete with other teams on the waiver wire.

Konerko vs LH: .189A/.326O/.378S - any questions? Gload would have played vs LHers & Kong vs RHers. This was a no-brainer but Ozzie has his favorites (Timo). Maybe K Williams has a LH bat that can play 1B enroute to Chicago.

If he accepts an assignment to Charlotte he remains with the White Sox. If he rejects an assignment to Charlotte the White Sox have 10 days to trade him. After the 10 days he becomes a free agent & the contract is null & void. The White Sox have no financial obligations to Shingo after that. With so many teams hurting for bullpen help I think he'll either be traded or decline the assignment to Charlotte.

One thing I can't figure out though is why would the Giants want Shingo over Vizcaino? Is Viz that worthless these days? I don't think any one's figured out Shingo to the degree some of you are suggesting. There's nothing to figure out. If he's throwing the frisbee for strikes it makes his fastball many times better. If he's not hitters just wait on his fastball. It's really not that much of a difference from what Boston & Foulke are going through. He's lost control of his changeup, can't throw it for strikes, so they just wait on his fastball. These finesse type guys usually figure it out. It's not like Koch where once the velocity is down put a fork in them. The thing with both Shingo & Foulke though is what if it has little to do with them & everything to do with the umps? What if the umps just being stingy this year on the corners? That's death to pitchers like Shingo & Foulke who really need those corner pitches called for strikes to be effective.

Assuming the Cubs didn't wreck him I would gladly take Latoya over Shingo. You can't simply ignore Latoya's numbers prior to his Cub days. Maybe they were impacted by Wrigley or maybe they were trying to make him something he's not. But there's no question in mind that Latoya is a better option than Vizcaino or Shingo at this point. Of course this would open the door at least for Omar talks. Someone we really need.

This news is certainly going to widen Kenny's ability to trade before the deadline: Pre-sold tickets for the Tiggers series: Mon 31.8K, Tues 19.5K, Wed 35K Pre-sold tickets for the RedSox series: Thu 31K, Fri 37.5K, Sa 32.5K Remaining home stands : 6 gms (TOR, SEA). 6 gms (MIN, NYY). 10 gms (DET, KC, LAA), & 7 gms (CLE, MIN). I'd be surprised if they don't avg better than 26K/gm the rest of the year.

Let's put it this way. Kenny wouldn't make such a trade unless he was confident Thome could contribute this year. Offensively our biggest weakness lies in hitting vs RHers: Everett vs RHers: 176AB .244/.761 21R/31RBI Thome 05 vs RHers: 120AB .233/.799 18R/19RBI Thome 04 vs RHers: 320AB .294/1.075 65R/71RBI If Thome is healthy enough to contribute he could help us in a big way both in the 2nd half & in the post-season. He would platoon with Thomas at DH, & Koney at 1B. Thomas was quoted this past week as saying the ankle is not going to get any better this year. That means playing time is not as much of a concern with him.

Let's also not forget he has only 2 options for playing in the NL: PH, & 1B. He's more likely to injure his elbow or back playing 1B than he is DH'g. With the White Sox or any AL team for that matter he would DH almost as often as he plays 1B.

And how much has that bad back & bad elbow impacted his performance? 1995 452AB/.996OPS, 1996 505AB/1.062OPS, 1997 496AB/1.001OPS 1998 440AB/.998OPS, 1999 494AB/.967OPS, 2000 557AB/.929 OPS 2001 526AB/1.040OPS, 2002 480AB/1.122OPS, 2003 578AB/.958 OPS 2004 508AB/.977OPS Prior to 2005 he's avg'd 500+ AB, a high 900's OPS. That's better than most players in the league. If he can do that with a chronic back problem one can only imagine what he'd do with a healthy back. If Philly were to knock down the price to $30M/3.5yrs KW would be foolish not to consider it. The trade would of course be contingent upon Thome passing a comprehensive physical. 193 AB's does not a player make. Especially when he's got 5919 AB's in his career.

That's your opinion. There's nothing in his career to suggest that it hampered his performance. If it's always been a known problem then his numbers have proven he's been able to overcome. He's on the DL now because of elbow teniditis. He's said his back is fine.

I'm not sure if I would agree. Certainly there was risk of his age but his AB' s over the years are pretty healthy. 1995 CLE 452, 1996 CLE 505, 1997 CLE 496, 1998 CLE 440, 1999 CLE 494 2000 CLE 557, 2001 CLE 526, 2002 CLE 480, 2003 PHI 578, 2004 PHI 508 You're talking about a slugger who avg'd about 500 AB/yr w CLE before signing w PHI. Compared to other player's of his stature that's a pretty healthy track record. He still figures to get about 400 AB's in 2005. He's got somewhere between $48-46M/3.5 yrs left on his contract. If Philly were to eat enough to where it was say $30M/3yrs that's not a bad deal. Koney who have never put up Thome numbers is likely to get at least $50M/4yrs.

Count me out on Burnett. I just don't think he is consistent enough to where his presence on this team adds anything to the post season. You might not like El Duque but he's era in the post season is nearly 2 full runs lower than his regular season. That's the kind of playoff experience contenders look for & it's way NY reporters continue to flirt with the idea of getting him back. Schmidt on the other hand has proven to be one of the most consistent starters in the league over the years & has been dominating in his post season action (against Beckett no less). The three series that will mean the most in the 2nd half are BOS, NYY, & LAA. One of those teams is likely to reach the ALCS. The WC is still a toss up but the only team in it to be feared is OAK. With respect to the trade winds the 4 gm series vs BOS will probably be the deciding factor for KW. Matchups figure to be: R - Buehrle, F - Garland, Sa - El Duque, Su - Contra Needless to say both El Duque's & Contra's future with the White Sox will be on the line.

It's intriguing though to say the least. How much of the $47.5M left on Thome's contract is Philly willing to eat? I can't see the White Sox trading Konerko this year but if Philly is willing to eat say $17.5M the risk doesn't so bad for the potential.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...170360/1071/SPT Joe Randa - probably headed out of town (Cincy) for a AA prospect. Is the price really that low? Kenny has to jump on this for sure then. S Casey contract: $8.5M for 2006.

Opps! My mistake on Lajoie. The paragraph mentions directly the White Sox & then this guy. I'm not sure if that was a mistake on the site's part or they asked him for insight. The Yanks are essentially targeting all the arms we are plus a CFer. It's possible Byrnes could be headed to NY. Likewise they covet El Duque. A little bit of envy perhaps. http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition...ny-sports-print The White Sox won't trade Henandez unless they acquire Burnett or Schmidt. A Yankee scout: "Burnett's not the guy for NY. With his stuff, he should be a lot better than [37-38]." The Fish seek a prime ML ready starter & solid RP for Burnett. White Sox would be expected to surrender BMac for a shot at Burnett. Odds & ends related to what White Sox fans want: Cincy's mgmt seems to be too nervous to do anything but trade Joe Randa. Houston is trying hard to get A Dunn.

phillyburbs.com: Possibility of the Phillies holding a firesale before 7/31. Red Sox scouting closer Wagner for last week & Rangers scouting starter Padilla. The Phillies had been eager to listen to offers for Padilla but seem reluctant on trading Wagner. Thome is available but there are no takers. That's why you should always be leary of long term contracts like the one the Tigers signed with Maggs. Thome was never considered a health risk prior to that signing. The Phillies are willing to eat some of the $47.5M left on the contract. Some think Thome will drop his no-trade clause for the Cubs, White Sox, Cards, & Indians. Phily price: Pitchers, young catcher, & young 3B.

Boston.com: No Marlins scouts sightings at Fenway. Marlins price: If you want Burnett you have to take Lowell & give them a SP & RP in return. O's have Julio & Penn, White Sox BMac. White Sox scouting Phillies. Was it for Burnett or Wagner? White Sox scout Bill Lajoie would not say. The O's did not have a scout in attendance. The Red Sox are actively seeking both a SP & RP. Targets: Mike Wise, Miguel Batista, Danys Baez, & Eddie G. TBJ price for Batista: top prospect of a Hanley Ramirez level.

Chicagosports.com: Takatsu could be traded to AZ today if D'Backs can't strike a deal w Pitts. If Takatsu stays Jenks is the odd man out w El Duque returning.

From Today's local papers & today's game notes: Uribe + Crede : 0-7 today. Uribe 0-21. Fuels the Omar rumors. Joe looked like he was in pain & 3rd today but he still made plays. Sox still be reported as pursuing Burnet & Schmidt. I think they are waiting on El Duque's start before deciding to pull the trigger here. For the last month the D'Backs have assigned a scout to follow the Sox. Possibility the Sox are looking to deal Takatsu to help build a pkg to trade for Burnett. Guillen has confirmed Takatsu talks are on-going. Florida has assigned a dedicated scout to the Sox since the Oak series. Trading for Burnett will cost you about $1.8M now & another $1M when he reaches 190 IP. He's a FA after this season Baltimore has dedicated a scout to follow Florida. The Sox have assigned a scout to follow Toronto & Lilly this month. He's owed about $1.5M now & eligible for arbitration after this season. Sadly to say nothing on Omar which would greatly shore up are biggest weakness.

This was inevitable. With most of the races selling out now & the ratings climbing everyone wants a piece of NASCAR. The initial pressure is leading to traditional tracks that used to have 2 races a year giving way to new tracks. But eventually all the tracks (except Daytona) will have only 1 race a year. Then who decides who gets a race? The solution of course is to expand NASCAR to where it runs two Nextel races a week at two different locations on two different nights. I imagine they will start this with the Busch series first. It's gaining momentum to where truck & Busch series can carry a race track by themselves.

I also thought you needed an element of spirituality in your philosophy of life for it to be considered a religion. Cruise is proofing that theory wrong I guess. France considers him a militant arm of this movement. Who would have ever guess things would have turned out like this for Joel of Risky Business?

That's because they have nothing read in their ml's. We have Gonzo. You can either ship them Uribe or Gonzo. Let them pick.

Keep in mind in the post season depending on El Duque's health the White Sox will have Contreras/El Duque for long relief. You only need 3 starters in a 5 gm series & 4 starters in a 7 gm series. Which will help us win a WS more? Adding a questionable SP from the NL, Barry Zito, Lilly or solid bats vs RHers? I'm leaning toward the later. Which will help us battle the WC bound A's the best? The bats.

I think you are all becoming victims of teams vying for the White Sox talent. You need to take a step back & look at your team. Marte comes off the DL & looks superb. D Marte relieved C Politte. BOT 8th LHB G Sizemore struck out swinging. SHB C Crisp struck out looking. LHB T Hafner struck out swinging. TOP 9th Convince me again why we are trading Contreras for Burnett? Batting #1 .269/.731 - not bad Batting #2 .176/.616 - wow! Batting #3 .271/.783 - not bad Batting #4 .233/.842 - should we compare #4 in NL vs #4 in AL this year? Not a pretty picture for the NL. Batting #5 .178/.628 - wow! Batting #6 .154/.622 - wow! Batting #7 .136/.493 - unbelievable! Batting #8 .359/1.174 - aberration Batting #9 .225/.506 - unbelievable! You can look back to see how that compares with AJB. Contreras is pitching like everyone thought he would when the Yanks signed him. You would be a fool to trade him right now. The Yanks threw in cash to drop his cost to below $7M next year. That's a good deal. If Marte's improved strength is for real this team doesn't need much in terms of pitching & defense. You can argue a solid closer only because Hermy has never had to close day in & day out like this. The main weakness in this team is hitting vs RHP: .248/.707 Contrast that with our hitting vs LHP: .296/.830 Gload is sure to help once KW can convince OZ to bring him up. Gload 04-05 vs LHers: .383/.994 vs RHers: .298/.803 Cincy has the cure to what ails us: vs RHers S Casey 1B VS. L: .346/.840 VS. R: .291/.711 H: .309/.722 A: .317/.802 : Split time w Paulie in 2005 & if Ozzie likes him buh bye Paulie. A Dunn LF/1B VS. L: .184/.765 VS. R: .267/1.018, H: .250/1.019 A: .226/.841 : Split time w Pods in 2005 & if Ozzie likes him buh bye Paulie. K Griffey CF VS. L: .287/.891 VS. R: .287/.867 H: .311/.921 A: .261/.825 : There is no rule that says you have to play him in CF. He could play any OF position or DH for that matter. Griffey's versatility at the plate means Ozzie has a future HOFer bat he can play in no less than 4 positions everyday. The contract is a dream for JR & company. A marquee player sure to draw at the gate for $6M/yr thru 2009. Then about $58M deferred after that. He can still keep his home in Cinn. On a private carrier it's less than an hr's flight time from MDW to Cinn. He can copter from the Cell to MDW in less than 30 minutes. Copter home from Cinn airport in about the same time. 3 hours commute tops. Joe Randa 3B VS. L: .290/.847 VS. R: .305/.882 H: .298/.892 A: .303/.851 Perfect pick up to split time with Crede. Omar Vizquel SS VS. L: .255/.684 VS. R: .324/.795 H: .277/.699 A: .333/.832 Perfect pick up to split time with Uribe. That's where KW should be spending his time dealing.