JUGGERNAUT

Jack can come to the Cell any time he damn well feels like it. I'll even offer to buy him tickets if he wants. Get his mug on the TV as an out of town SOX Fan & I can hear the ca-ching around the league for Sox games.

Great game tonight! Just got back. The park was electric. Homer happy Monday Night! Kudos to Frank & Koney. Vizcaino sucks. Does everyone agree now? It's time to pull the plug on him. Get Seattle on the phone & find out the asking price for Guardado. Let's not mess around. STL is 22-5 vs the NLC & we're only 21-5 vs the ALC. I want to demoralize everyone in the division. Guardado would make that happen.

I tend to put more stock in Ozzie's comments than any one else when it comes to Joe Crede. Ozzie clearly likes Joe & views him as a GG 3B even though he's never proven to be one .. yet. What struck me most is when Ozzie recently said if Joe produces 70R & 20HR that's fine by me. The last two yrs he's avg'd 67.5R, & 20HR. Ozzie didn't just pull the figure out of a hat. Does Ozzie think he can pull Joe out of the BorASS stable? Maybe there's something between Ozzie & Joe we don't know about that makes Ozzie think Joe will remain with the White Sox the next few yrs. Crede's current streak? 11H/31AB, 5R, 5RBI. With 300AB to go for the season he's could end up with 78R, & 20HR. Surpassing Ozzie's new lowereed expectations.

That's not going to happen. One thing that is becoming a common theme in all of Ozzie's & KW's quotes is an 11 man staff. I'm trying to think of why KW would air these comments in public. This is something better left in private between the team & the players. The only thing I can think of is he's trying to prevent damage to El-D's trade value by telling the world the MRI shows nothing is wrong with him. Perhaps there is a trade in the works after all.

Better than White Sox vs Cub? Not for me. I hope to live to see the day we sweep them in the World Series.

Either a fool-hardy Cub fan or an ignorant Sox fan or something in between. What did the White Sox avoid like the plague in this year's draft? Players represented by BorASS. What is C Patterson? A client of BorASS whom is destined to find a dumbarse owner who buys into BorASSes s*** & overpays for him. No thank you. We have Crede to deal with in the BorASS stable. We don't need another.

Defining the Twins by what they have accomplished in the first half is a bad strategy. How many times since 2001 have the Sox led the Twins near or after the break? How many times have the Twins emerged as one of the best teams in the MLB in the 2nd half? It won't be weakness in the Twins that gives the Sox the division but rather great improvement by the Tigs & the Indians to challenge the Twins. At this point while both of those teams are still finding themselves the more we can pad our lead the better. Both of them are poised to manufacture runs in bunches in the 2nd half. Their surprising improvement in pitching will make them more competitive against the Twinkees.

Well they haven't proved it this year. Look at it any way you want, but CLE has one of the best pitching staffs in MLB right now. Better than the Twinkees. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggreg...t=0&season=2005 What is surprising is that they were expected to have a solid offense. They are 24th in R's. But the Twinkees have fallen to 16th & are just 20 R's better the tribe. If the bats are waking up in CLE in the hot month of Jun the Twinkees could be prime for the killing. What a week ahead! Min entertains the Tigs, then has to face El Cabello in Milw Cle entertains the Red Sox & then Griffey's Reds Det travels to Min & then onto Arizona Sox entertain the Royals & then the Lee's Cubs What a week ahead for the Cub: Having been swept, humilated, pulverized, & every other thing that would want them to hide their heads in shame at the hands of the NYY$'s they continue their road trip in Milw to face the Brew Crew. There's a good chance they'll come limping into the Cell this weekend where the White Sox can hope to put them out of the misery. :lol Don't be surprised if we're the Twinkees are near 10 gb by this time next week.

That's a little presumptuous though. When Turner sold his media empire to TW (everything including news, radio, networks, studio's, etc.) he did retain some control over it. Enough to where people still loyal to him have a major say in how his companies are run. Over-time there have been changes but as long as Ted is alive & kicking the Braves will remain playing on TBS. TBS is available in more households than TNT so it still remains a big deal.

The Sox really have no one to fear but themselves. As good as CLE is playing they still have many games left with the Tigs & Twinkees. The 3 of them are sure to damage each other's records in H2H. The Twinkees still have the edge against them because they not only have the most games left with the White Sox but they will play us in the same month we face Boston & NY. There's potential for a losing streak there that could weaken our confidence against them. Especially if Radke does another Santana impersonation in the 2nd half like he did last year. Where I give the edge to CLE over MIN over the long haul is their depth in the pitching staff. MIN is not deep either. There is no BMac I know of in their organization if Mays should go down. They would be faced with Mully or an unknown rookie taking the 5th. Mays is looking like he could go down. Of the 4 pens (DET, CLE, MIN, SOX) MIN has the best performers but the worst depth. That weakness can get the better of you if your starters can't go long. Luck doesn't seem to favor the Twinkees this year.

Timo is going bye-bye because Thomas & Everett are staying. Timo is not a good PR option for Oz so Harris & Ozuna have much greater value over him now. Thomas as a PH must be replaced by a good PR. Timo is not an option there.

It's easy for us to look at the replay & say he made the wrong call but try to imagine what it's like to make it life behind the bag. You've got the best base runner in the game within inches of the bag & a 2B who looks like he's being pulled off the bag by the throw. Your eyes have to dart between Kent's foot & Pods foot to decide the race. The tie always goes to the runner. I think I would have made the call in Pods favor as well. It's a very tough call to make live.

When Gload returns this is a very strong bench. With Thomas/Everett it gives the Sox the ability to PH any where in the order & replace the PH with a solid defender. Widger -C/3B, Gload - 1B/RF, Everett - DH/RF/LF, Harris - 2B/SS, Ozuna -3B/SS Thomas can't play the field but he is capable of PH any where in the order & can be replaced by a capable glove at that position. I would prefer Thomas get more starts than Everett though because his HR potential can take some of the pressure off our pitching & defense late in the games. It would be nice to win easy with power once in a while

I'll have to see the replay but I don't think he had a foot on the rubber at the time of the throw. The throw was errant because he twisted his foot prior to releasing the throw. I think when he twisted his foot he was pulled off the rubber. If that's the case then it's considered an errant throw from the field & it was the right call.

Well I personally would prefer KW to shut his big mouth when it comes to health related issues & let Schneider do all the talking. But at this point I'm not convinced there is something there. He's either 39 or pushing 40 the best we know. From the comments I've read stemming from Fisk, Kenny Rogers, Clemens, Johnson, Bonds, & a multitude of other players near or about the age of 40 pain is an everyday experience when playing this game. You have to work twice as hard on your body to battle against it & I'm just not sure if El-D has been doing that or whether he understands it. He's such a gifted pitcher that I get the feeling it's always come natural to him & he's never had to work that hard it. How can you blame him? He's a 4 pitch pitcher with different points of delivery. It woudn't be a bad idea if the White Sox were to just assign a personal trainer to hi m if he doesn't have one already.

And guess what LF? Are expected to be HR hitters as well. You don't build your team based on what you think is the norm in MLB. You build it based on your own team's strength & weaknesses. If KW was following the norm then he would have kept Lee. But he say that his team was so slow that it rarely pressured the opposition into making close plays or mistakes. The changes he made with Pods, Iguchi, keeping Harris, & getting Ozuna changed all that. Some of you keep suggesting a weakness in the bench but I don't see it. Harris & Ozuna mean that Thomas/Everett can pinch hit for any starter with the exception of Konerko. We have seen that manifest itself into wins since Thomas returned. Koney is a streak hitter who has improved greatly in his OBP this year but you still want to have the option of being able to pinch hit for him. Timo is not the best choice, but Gload is still expected to fill that role in the 2nd half. 2nd Half bench: Widger, Thomas/Everett, Harris, Ozuna, Gload That's a pretty strong bench when you consider the options it gives you in managing a game. What the team needs is a solid dependable arm in the pen. Period. Guardado is that guy. As soon as Seattle gives up all hope of winning the ALW I expect KW to get him. This trade makes sense for so many reasons. Many still do not believe that Hermy can be called upon to save a CL&L game against a contender. Guardado can. Wagner is not a bad option either if it makes sense $. He's a classic heater closer with very limited exposure to AL hitters. That could prove to be a big lift. I've said this before & I'll say it again. What matters most to the team we have now are guys who can hit in RON situations. Erstad has proven career & 2005 numbers to be a guy who can do that more consistently than others. If Paulie wants to stay for 25/3 after this year, sign him up. If it's not acceptable then offer him arbitration. If he declines it's out of your hands. Take the opportunity to get a good, gritty, tough-nosed, solid RON hitting 1B who will greatly improve your defense at 1B at a bargain price. It's better than expecting Gload to put up a quality year as a starter there.

Looks like they'll be paying some rent money this

Merged is the better term. Time Warner has since gained control of the company after the suits hit the fan against the AOL board members. Rumors continue to circulate that TW will spin off AOL as a separate tracking stock & company in the near future. As for the renovations I'm assuming they are referring to the green seats as well. ESPN does not have good attention to detail when it comes to this team. Someone probably heard they were still doing renovations & that's what they went with. Of course when it is all green it's going to have a major impact on the way the park looks both on TV & at the Cell. I would call that a major change & one that is long overdue.

His time on the 15 day DL is retroactive to last Wed so it looks like he'll miss 2 starts at the most. KW more so than Oz is upset with El-D because he's not being forth-coming in all this. He waits a day before his next start to tell the team he doesn't feel good enough to go. That makes KW use BMac like a ping-pong ball & he's not going to do that for any one. I think KW was sympathetic until the MRI showed a pristine condition. By pristine I'm assuming there's not even a glimer of fear that there's a major reason for the source of pain. I've never read anything about El-D's conditioning & unless Schneider weigh's in on this we the fan remain in the dark. But pain in the neck & shoulder could mean a whole LOT of things that have nothing to do with his arm. Still you can't argue with a 10-3 2.74 ERA record in post-season.

The emergence of Cliff Lee has made the difference but their bats are still far more suspect than ours. The addition of Thomas to the White Sox has made it very hard to beat us. When we were slow it didn't mean much. But now with the speed of Pods, Iguchi, Harris, & Ozuna a walk to lead-off the 8th means a whole lot more. I do believe CLE will pass the Twins for #2 but the White Sox can only beat themselves. There's no team that matches up well with us. We are strong this year against both LH & RHers. At the same time the NYY$ & Boston are playing much better of late. We have to face them both in Aug along with the Twins. We probably should temper our enthusiasm of facing the Cards in the WS until Sept. If we take the season series against those two teams the city will be begin to crazy over the White Sox.

I believe most of us fans here at SOXTALK were not surprised. We debated the trade at length & the consensus was that Pods was what we needed. We were woeful in SB's last year & that showed up in our run droughts. If we can't pressure opposing pitchers & defenses they can relax & pitch their best. But at the same time many of us knew Lee was poised to have a big year. What's scary for the Cub & others in the division is that he's not even hitting on all cylinders yet. Most of us remember his long hit streaks of 2004 & how they kept the team in the hunt even after Maggs & Thomas went down. Dare I say that Lee is on pace for a 150 RBI season. Wow! I will always remain steadfast in my belief that we could have gotten Pods for less than Lee. The Brewers were desperate for a HR hitter. If KW says no to Lee the odds are they come back to the table & listen to other offers. We had options at the time. I think Lee is the type of player that would have responded to Ozzie if given the chance. He's not a big ego. He's a high caliber emotional player. This was clearly evident when after the comments surfaced in the paper about Lee being gutless over last yr's dubious slide. He responded big time with an over aggressive slide which put at risk not just the Cub 2B 's health but his own as well. A multitude of things can happen when a man of that size slides hard in 2B. I'm sure the GM of the Brewers held his breath. The trade is over now & though I still wish Lee were a member of the White Sox I am glad he is with the Brewers & if there is no hope of him being a member of the White Sox as a future FA then I hope he stays with the Brewers. I don't know if Kenny was thinking about what Lee being a Brewer meant to the White Sox of 2005 but I think some of us fans did. I stated that Lee's move to the Brewers could cost Min 3 victories because they will play them 6 times. Milw is on a bit of a role & still has that chance. But probably more important than that is the effect Lee will have in the media every time he plays the Cub. If he continues to be the Cub Killa he has always been the White Sox will continue to share in his limelight. The national & local media always mention the trade every time he plays well against the Cub. Again I don't think any other current Sox player could have as big an impact in that respect than Lee. I still do not rule out the possibility of Lee coming back. The team & the player have parted on good terms & continue to say good things about each other. Even Ozzie had good things to say about Lee the last time he spoke about him. Now before you say Lee will never be back, just consider that Dye is no spring chicken. They will both be FA's after next yr. If we win the WS $ won't be a problem. Lee in RF is w/out a doubt an upgrade offensively & at this stage in his career defensively as well.

You got it completely wrong. El Duque has proven to be a much better relief pitcher than Contreras. Take a look at their numbers for pitches 1-15 & 16-30. Contreras is bad. El Duque is better. Plus El Duque has post season experience in relief. Not much. But still he performs best under pressure. I look for him to be big in our post season.

15 day DL? That's different then resting him 7 days between starts. I guess they are shooting for one more start before the AS break.

You would have to be brain dead not to trade Pods for Ichiro straight up or otherwise. Seattle would have to be insane to trade him.

. Great defense pays better dividends for the pitching staff. I suggest you take a look at his numbers offensively again. He's got 4SB in 127AB. That avg's out to 19SB in a year. And that's while hitting lead-off & 2nd on what has been thus far a dissapointing lineup. It's obvious your attention to detail is poor or you would have realized by now how much a difference "pressure to run" can have an opposing team's staff. Do you think all these 1 run & late inning wins are luck? They are a product of pressure on the other team's bullpen. Added pressure increases the probability of mistakes & leads to timely hitting.