JUGGERNAUT

Erstad is not a bad option. He is owed a little more than $8M in 2006. If LAA picks up 1/2 you can get him for $4M. What does he offer the White Sox? The best fielding 1B in MLB. His .933ZR is the best in the game. Less than 7% of the balls hit in the 1B zone escape his grasp. He's a great weapon defensively to have against LH pull hitters (several of which reside in the ALC). In comparison Koney has an .850ZR. That doesn't even make the top 30 list. Offensively you have to look at the details to see the value. With Pods as our lead-off guy for years to come, Erstad fits in at #2. 2005: 127AB, 4SB, .331A .399O .417S If you doubt those numbers look at his 3yr avg's: #2 1104AB 171R 127RBI 37SB .273A .311O .370S RON .298A .340O .406S CL&L .294A .342O .446S He avg's a SB every 30AB or roughly 20SB/yr. Iguchi's avg'g a SB every 27AB. He becomes your #3 guy. Pods, Erstad, & Iguchi would offer good contact hitters with good patience & good speed aboard. A perfect setup for Thomas/Rowand. Erstad is in line to win a GG at 1B this year so I'll just go ahead & say it. Is a GG 1B blessed with good speed in his bat & in his feet worth $4-5M for 1 year? I say yes. Not just because of what he offers at 1B but think of what he offers substitution wise as well. It's like having a utility guy playing 1B every day.

It is not the same thing. It was called a strike because the pitch was in the strike zone when he was hit. It was NOT thrown in the batter's box. The pitch that hit Crede was in the batter's box. You can argue Crede didn't do enough to move out of the way of the pitch but it was clearly out of the zone & in the path of the batter. The presence of the DH in the AL means that it accepts the fact that hitters could be weak in mobility to where they can't play the field. The benefit of the doubt then should go to the hitter when a player is hit by a pitch IN THE BATTER's BOX. As for Crede himself, he's always been weakest moving side-to-side. He's defensive prowress can be seen in moving up & down & front & back. I think he may be the best 3B in MLB in those areas. So even if you consider his personal case it's not surprising he would be slow to avoid the pitch. He should have been award a HBP.

I agree. SOX PRIDE was a much better campaign than WIN OR DIE TRYING. I wish he would have merged the two. The Sox have plenty of plays in their history of hard slides, diving catches, & pitcher's catching line drives to save their necks. Just show those clips. I had a dream last night of a great commercial but I know it would raise the angst of the North-siders. Tell me what you think: It starts off with two fans at Wrigley. Fan A: "They lost again." Fan B: "Maybe we should check out the White Sox. I hear Fireworks night is a blast." Fan A: "You might be right. I'm sick of all this losing." Next we see the two fans at the Cell. The Sox just won 5-3 in the 9th & the Fireworks are booming! Fan B: "Holy Cow! Was that awesome or what?" Fan A: "This is so much better than watching a team lose. When's the next game?" Flashed across the screen .. "Winning can be contagious. WIN OR DIE TRYING.

Chemistry means a LOT more on a team when it comes to position players than pitchers. This team has MORE chemistry in that dept than most. The most important numbers are the ones we see when we watch the games. Thomas grounded out but he advanced the runner to 2nd. That generated an RBI that started things off. That's two games when the Sox were down that Thomas ignited something. Koney does the same thing at times. There is nothing wrong with keeping Koney & then offering him arbitration for 2006. As for security this is a team that still had a $58M offer on the table for Maggs when he couldn't play. That should mean a lot him. I email Sags all the time to produce an OTB column & factor that in his RPG but he's reluctant. He says he already factors SH & SF & those are more important. I disagree. I think any time a batter advances a runner he should be credited for it. My point is that the team is moving up the ranks in R's scored. It's currently 9th & it could be as high as 6th before the break. Thomas has only amplified the chemistry on this team. Koney has obviously benefited as well. It would be stupid to do anything to disrupt that. With a 6.5 gm lead now on the Twins any trade made should be for winning in the post season. Those games are likely to be won close & late. We have the hitters to win those games. It's still a question as to whether we have the relievers. Adding Eddie Guardado would help solve that question. I think KW knows this. If he's to make any trade it's likely to get a solid dependable quality arm for the bullpen. That trade could be the difference between going home early in Oct or winning the World Series.

Helton's past 3 yrs: Home 851AB .380A .482O .699S Road 832AB .310A .422O .517S His road #'s are what we expected from Konerko in his last contract. <sigh> Giambi's past 3 yrs: Home 654AB .272A .415O .485S Road 705AB .265A .401O .567S The NYY$ might use Giambi & cash as the centerpiece to get Helton. Hitting in COL might be the best thing to ressurect Giambi. Would the NYY$ be willing to eat enough of Giambi's contract to where Helton costs them $20M/yr? Probably. As for 2005 Giambi's produced enough to be considered a top 30 AL hitter in limited play. Helton has struggled as well being ranked 41st in the NL.

I don't think you have any idea how BIG a contract Todd Helton has. Prior to the 2001 season he signed a $151M/11 yr deal with the Rockies. The annual avg of that deal is $13.72M. His salary in the 5th yr of this deal is $12.6M. Since the good majority of these mega deals are back loaded it's likely that after this year there still remains $90M/6 yr left to pay. That's $15M/yr or 20% of this team's payroll. No thank you. $11M might be reasonable. If the Rockies are willing to eat $24M on the contract then ok.

Well first off I will do everything in my power to buy tickets to every post-season game in Chicago. Then I would beg, plead, & barter with my friends in St Louis to attend those games. I have as much confidence in the Cards repeating as NLCS winners as I do the White Sox getting to the World Series. Since birth I've been a Cards fan but my loyalty is firmly entrenched with the Chicago White Sox.

No it doesn't. It just means IL play is spread out over the whole season. I happen to think that's good for MLB because IL is losing some of it's luster with so many games going on at the same time. This way MLB can market the one IL matchup that is happening every 3/4 days. In a year in which the Cub & Sox would play each other 9 times they would be the only IL matchup happening when they were playing. All eyes around the nation would be tuned into those games.

Who's your agent? What do you think of Scott BorASS?

The White Sox have quietly moved their way to #9 in R's scored this year. Where the rest of the ALC stands: Min #14, KC #19, Det #23, Cle #24 The Cub #15. Luck favors the prepared mind. Pitching wise the White Sox trail CLE in OOP (Opponent's OPS). CLE #1, WSox #2, Min #5, Det #10, KC #26 The Cub #15. Now we are starting to look like a WS contender. When you consider losses by starters, by relief, & OOP the Sox have the best pitching staff in MLB. They could make it to #6 in R's scored before the break. That would put them right behind STL. It's looking more & more like an I-55 World Series this year. The national media needs to get on the band wagon because it's a historic matchup in the making. The Chicago White Sox vs the St. Louis Cardinals - it doesn't get much better than that.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines Williams: "He's conducted himself since Day One of his reporting to spring training with class, humility and graciousness. All things being equal and going the way we desire them to go, I would love to see him hit his 500th home run in a White Sox uniform. I think that would be special." He's 59 shy. That won't happen this year which means Kenny is spreading the love to re-sign him for next year. The best way to sell SOX PRIDE is being able to witness a special player who has remained with the White Sox his entire career hit his 500th HR to ensure his place in the HOF. Think of what that will mean nationally for this team not just now but in the year Thomas is voted into the HOF. When you think of Cal Ripken you think of Bal. Cal is still a part of that organization today. It makes a difference.

The intent of the wild card was so that the 2nd/3rd best team in the AL/NL wasn't left out of the dance. Now I don't want to start a controversy but when you look at the wildcard team's over the years it looks like it's true purpose was to help insure that both the NYY & Boston make the post-season each year. It will be quite a shock to MLB if the Twins/White Sox earn the WC. As for realignment in general you can't force the NL to use the DH & you will never see the Cub in the same division as the White Sox. Realignment has always been centered on shortening the distance between division games to cut down the travel for players & spur local interest. In that respect I would make two changes: 1-Move the Twins to the ALW 2-Move the Brewers to the ALC I would ask the NL to consider a modified version of the DH. A team can only use a designated hitter in place of a STARTING PITCHER. When the starter is removed from the game the DH becomes a bench player. They might consider that since it adds more strategy to the game. there are a lot of fantasy managers out there these days & this would bring a whole new dimension to that. As for schedule MLB can finally do away with these unbalanced schedules. Ex White Sox: ALC games 19*4 = 76 ALW/E games 7*5 = 35 ALE/W games 6*5 = 30 Total AL games: 141 NL games: 21 Cub games = 6* NLE/W/C: 3*5 = 15 When the White Sox play the NLC they will play the Cub 9 times that year. This should help the gate revenue for the have nots.

He's right about one thing. The little things make big differences. While reading that I couldn't help but thinking of the talking fountain at Islands of Adventure. It's so simple & yet it always attracts the crowds. All day long. I don't think the painted people would work at a ball park but how about life-size bobble heads of HOF players? I like the idea of using long range lighting to create unusual effects as well. Sort of like a Where's Waldo excercise for fans. I've always believe the greener the park looks the better. So I'm all for ivy or plants along the walls but not in the out field.

But those discounts are still related to just the price of admission. It's not enough. The best deal at the park remains kids day on Sun where kids get in for a $1. There is simply no better entertainment value for your $ in that regards & yet they still can not sell out kids day. I had another idea that would help raise the consciousness of the White Sox with fair-weather fans. Credit card promotions. All major CC's are doing it especially Discover. You earn either dollars or points & with special purchases your points & dollars are worth much more. As for kids day why not expand it to include a food & drink deal? Charlotte's doing it & I think if the White Sox really want to grow the attendance past 2M every year kids day is a great place to start. They should concentrate every effort on trying to sell these days out.

Ozzie is forgetting that BorASS is Crede's agent. Unless he's willing to change that Crede is a short-timer regardless of how he hits. If he bangs out 30HR this year BorASS will be making him sound like the next Rolen come arbit time.

While I don't believe Tampa will ask a King's Ransom for a player they don't plan to pay arbit $'s for in 06 I will agree I am asking a lot of these 4 players to accept less AB's in the 2nd half. I'm assuming they are the type of players that will accept lesser roles for the good of a team that seems destined to go to the World Series. It goes w/out saying if they aren't willing to accept that the trades are dead. There's a lot of questions there. Would Guardado accept being a setup guy for Hermy? Would Huff & Mueller be willing to share time with Koney & Crede? Would JR pick up the extra $10M to get it done? If the team is short on cash right now then Guardado is probably the only option we can afford. The M's are remaking their team with Sox prospects.

How does this drastically alter the makeup of this team? Crede & Koney aren't going any where. Do you think Marte matters that much to the chemistry of this team? I disagree with what you think the asking price is for Huff. His numbers are down considerably to where there are few teams looking to buy/trade for him. Other than the White Sox what other contender would be interested? If he's gone after 05 then it makes sense for Tam to get what they can for him now. Keep in mind that he's gone after 05 because Tam isn't interested in paying arbit prices to keep him. $3M saved might not seem like much but it amounts to 10% of their payroll. As for the last time it happened, the Florida Marlins have 2 WS Championships in their short existence. Look up how they did it. Mid-season pickups were crucial to their success.

I understand what you are saying & I don't doubt that the area will improve in the outlying areas around the park. But with respect to the Cell itself the WSJ hit the nail right on the head : a rusted wall to the N, train tracks to the W, low-income housing to the S, & the Ryan expressway to the E. What is going to change that picture in the next 5-10 yrs? You can't move the new homes that were built with the new park & you can't move the Ryan. So that leaves you the train tracks & the north. I could see hope in Metra built a nice station there with places to eat & drink inside it but it won't happen without Daley lobbying for the effort & he's yet to do that. Maybe getting to the WS would change that. But what about the area N of the park? The value was higher when the park first opened then it is now. I don't see much hope there. http://charlotteknights.com/ Having read the 4/40 deal I've got more ideas. 1-Give out food & drink coupons for parking admissions. It's a known fact that when the Sox draw 30K+ the added gate is coming from those driving to the park. Those who take the el or live within walking distance are part of the 23K avg. The die-hards that will go to games as long as the team is winning. 2-Offer food & drink coupons to UD ticket holders. What these promotions do is offer a food & drink enticement to fair-weather fans to come to the games. The Cell is considered among the best in MLB in that dept so it's a great enticement. I don't know the relationship between the concessions, the ISFA, & the White Sox. But when you consider that $2-3M in rent money is at stake for just getting the White Sox over 2M fans a year I have to believe such promotions are doable.

I agree with the post that mentioned the next start after leaving COL is the toughest. Garcia, Contreras, & El Duque have all looked tired in their starts since. I think they will bounce back in their next start. I would like to make 3 moves: - trade for Huff to platoon with Koney at 1B. Koney 05: VS. LEFT: .185 / .769 VS. RIGHT: .266 / .863 HOME: .232 / .782 AWAY: .258 / .884 Huff 05: VS. LEFT: .269 / .707 VS. RIGHT: .252 / .703 HOME: .284 / .796 AWAY: .235 / .620 Huff is earning $5M w Tam & not likely to be w them in 06. His trade value is bargain basement right now. Not worthy of BMac or Anderson. He amounts to being a salary dump for the DR's. He might be exactly what the White Sox need. His SLG numbers are sure to rise hitting in Koney's spot in the White Sox lineup. It's impossible for them not to if he continues to hit .269 vs LH. It's a night & day difference between the guys hitting in front of him in Tam & what he'll have with the White Sox. With Gload not expected to return until Aug the need is greater now. Timo sucks. - trade for Guardado. EG 05: VS. LEFT: .240 / .760 VS. RIGHT: .153 / .453 HOME: .192 / .640 AWAY: .156 / .388 Cliff Politte is the only arm in our pen that has better #'s vs LH this year. We are weak vs LH in the pen. This move shores up that weakness, furthers our dominance vs RH in the pen, & opens the door to trading Marte to shore up 3B. - trade for Mueller. Crede 05: VS. LEFT: .279 / .777 VS. RIGHT: .224 / .700 HOME: .165 / .607 AWAY: .291 / .807 Muellr 05: VS. LEFT: .318 / .900 VS. RIGHT: .266 / .729 HOME: .337 / .896 AWAY: .230 / .665 Not much needs to be said here. If you can get Mueller for the price of Marte & a mid-tier ml arm it's a no-brainer. Boston has no need for Crede so he likely would become a bench player. Post-trade: Bench: Widger, Everett, Huff, Crede, Harris Crede provides that RH bat off the bench the team needs, Everett & Huff provide good options vs LHP. With Crede on the bench Harris means more to the White Sox then Ozuna. Ozuna is a better hitter but Harris a better runner. With this bench you can use Harris as a PR for either Koney or AJ in a game & then replace him with Huff or Widger. The same can be said for Mueller. These trades will improve the offense but make the team slower. Harris's value rises under that scenario. Bullpn: Guardado, Hermy, Politte, Cotts, Shingo, Viz vs LH: Politte (541 OPSv), Cotts (643 OPSv), Guardado (760 OPSv) vs RH:Cotts (317 OPSv), Politte (377 OPSv), Hermy (397 OPSv), Guardado (453 OPSv), Viz (618 OPSv)

When you consider Marte's contract & his performance over the years I think he would definitely be the main target by the Red Sox. If you think you can get Mueller for less then you don't know the Angels. The price will be high because both the White Sox & Angels have relievers to spare. Speaking of Shingo, he's looked good his last 2 outings. His control is much better. He is throwing a lot more pitches for strikes now & that makes his fast ball much more difficult to hit.

I think both of these guys need to turn the game over to Widger & AJ. They are still too often shaking off signs & taking forever to deliver a pitch. I read a quote by Cooper saying that El Duque is 2nd guessing himself right now. That might be an opening to stop shaking off signs.

Buehrle: "I've always said that the PR department should just hand out tickets to the upper deck -- they'd at least get the money for parking." SBC Yahoo DSL $14.95/mo for 12 mo's vs Comcast HSI $19.99/mo for 3 mo's. Comcast is the 800 pd gorilla in the regions they compete. It's good business to discount pricing when you have excess inventory. However; managing an inventory of empty seats at the Cell is tricky. Monday night drew 32K+. I think a better approach would be to make use of coupons for concessions. Buy an UD ticket & get 2 free coupons of your choice for a food item or beverage. No $ value to the coupon. It's good for any single food item or beverage. You can't play it by the same rules as the other teams because the 800 pd gorilla does exist. On a Pepsi 2-1 night at the Cell they drew only 24K. A little more than their average for the season. That means the park & the team itself are not enough to draw fans. You have to do more. Now any talk of the White Sox leaving Chicago is pure nonsense. Despite being in the bottom 5 in attendance each year they are still near the middle in revenue. Chicago can w/out question continue to support 2 teams. The problem of course is location. Putting all other arguments aside does it make good sense for the White Sox to continue to play in an area that has less than 20% the disposable income Wrigley does? In my opinion the answer is no. Look at the real estate values around the Cell & around Wrigley. It's no contest. I don't forsee a future for the White Sox on the S-Side. Chicago is now home to 5 non-MLB teams. An Athletics class A team & 4 indies. All of them are located in the burbs & are doing well.

I think your underestimating the appeal of an I-55 series. Cub fans hate the Cards more than they do the White Sox. They will boost the ratings. Likewise just the mere presence of any Chicago team in the WS will boost the numbers.

I agree with him wholeheartedly about Wrigley. It is a horrible place to play for ball players. The dug outs are cramped as our the locker rooms. And if you play in the OF get ready to look stupid. When a ball makes it to the ivy it's anybody's guess as to where it will come off (Patty getting bonked in the head) or where it will roll to. As for the rest .. I just wonder if he thinks men really walked on the moon or it was staged in Hollywood

Julio Lugo? Me like. .292 / .694 VS. RIGHT: .284 / .709 HOME: .268 / .674 AWAY: .302 / .729 Good average, low 300 OBP, high 300 SLG. His SLG would improve at the Cell. He's primarily a SS & would sub for Uribe. Bench: Everett, Widger, Gload, Lugo, Harris Power in Widger & Everett. Hits in Gload & Lugo, & speed in Harris.