JUGGERNAUT

This team reminds me more of a football team that comes storming back in the 4th quarter. What were some of the names of those great Charger, Bronco, & 49er teams? Against All Odds Hail Mary Hitmen MI-25 (Mission Impossible) Better Late than Never Oops You Lose Again Hey Batter Batter A Swing & A Miss Swim with the Fishes Did We Win Yet? 7th inn: Crank it Up A New Hero a Day Revenge of the Pale Hose Revenge of the Hitmen Armed for Victory Down, But not Out Rally Time Go Time S Side Barbecue (grill with opponents cooking)

I didn't read the fine print of D Lee's contract. It appears he got a $2M signing bonus spread over 3 yrs on top of his base. 2005: $7.7M or $1.283M/mo 2006: $8.6M 2005: Koney + Shingo = $11.25M or $1.875M/mo. If the WSox were to make this trade in Jun (before NL play) they would save about $2.4M this year. Is that worth 2 compensation picks? Probably not. The Cubs should throw in a good ml arm as well. Again we don't have to make this trade. It's a trade you make to help you in the future as much as it helps you now. Assuming he's healthy I think A Munoz could take Shingo's place in the pen: A Munoz 3.15ERA, 20.0IP 6W, 20K's, 1 SV I know he had a rough time the last time he was brought up but Charlotte is a hitter's park & he's still got great K/BB numbers. To replace Munoz I want the Cub to throw in either 25 yr old J Van Buren 2.77ERA, 13IP, 10W, 17K's, 1 SV or 26 yr old R Rohlicek 2.38ERA, 11.1IP, 9W, 14K's, 1 SV

Wow! Did this thread spiral out of control quickly? Who said anything about Karsay to the WSox? Hell No! This was very simple: The Cubs have a GG 1B who can hit for both average & power with better than average speed to avoid GIDPs in one Derrick Lee. They have this locked up to a reasonable contract (below his market value) for several yrs. The White Sox have a proven closer in Shingo & a proven HR hitter in Konerko. However; Shingo is an RFA & Koney is UFA in 2006. Yes this trade helps the Cubs but only for this season. Whereas the trade helps the WSox for several seasons. Koney would have to fall off his career #'s badly not to get a Sexson or Drew like contract. His next contract is a 5yr deal & I don't see the WSox paying that. Shingo is no longer cheap either. The Shingo bashing needs to stop. He now has 8 SV's following a yr where he had 19 SV's. He was the best 15 pitch man in the AL in 2004. His 2005 #'s are misleading. He's faced 4 teams (CLE, DET, KC, MIN, SEA). He had trouble w CLE & MIN in 2004 & still has trouble with them. But he's handled DET & KC w/out a problem. He's on a pace for 40 SV's & if he reaches that we're talking a 20M+/3yr deal. So as I view them they are essentially rental players. The White Sox could offer them arbitration (Type A) to get compensation picks for them at the end of the season. If I were KW I would do just that. I would have done it for Maggs as well. I've never had a problem with retaining stars 1 yr at a time through Type A arbitration. A compensation pick from the Tigers is a high pick. So if we were to trade for D Lee now it would likely cost us 2 compensation picks plus Shingo & Konerko. Maybe the Cubs should sweeten the deal. Not Hawkins. He's over-priced for a setup man & everyone incl Minny knew he didn't have the mindset to be a closer. They tried him & he failed. I don't want any of their struggling or garbage players either. It's D Lee or no trade. Keep in mind that the WSox are in the driver's seat in this trade. Their need for D Lee is far smaller than the Flubs need for Shingo. We dictate terms. I pity their injuries but they have no closer & are going no where until they get one. My life long dream has always been for the White Sox to sweep the Flubs in the World Series.

The Cubs just lost 3-2 in the 9th. Again. Hawkins blew another save opp. The season is falling apart for the Cub because they have no closer & a weak bullpen. On the S Side it's the opposite. The Sox have 3 guys who are probably just as good as the next to close in Hermanson & Marte. But the S Side has a struggling Konerko in his last yr before FA. D Lee would give the Sox a bonified run producer & good defender at 1B for the next couple of years. All at a reasonable price below Koney's. Getting Shingo would allow the Cubs to then entertain trades with the NYY"s to get rid of Hawkins. The Cubs might be able to do a Hawkins for Karsay trade. Both had far greater success in their former leagues. Marketing wise the WSox would be giving up a player they built a theme around. Not an easy thing to do. But D Lee could make his own name on S Side as well. If the Cub think D Lee is worth more than Shingo + Koney then they can keep him & keep their losing ways as well.

With respect to last night's game I think it's stupid to write about as if to say the WSox would not have one it or would not have gotten a hit without the two BL walks. This team all season long has shown little in terms of offense in starter's innings & a lot during the relief innings. I don't see why that game would be any different. They've had plenty of games were they trailed by 1 or more runs in the 7th & still have managed to go to the 9th with the lead. Chance favors the prepared mind or this case team. The story of that game was limiting KC to 1 run. As soon as that became the story the WSox were expected to win it.

I disagree. It goes w/out saying that Detroit has the best lineup. But it's rotation & pen are very suspect. They remind me an awful lot of the 2004 White Sox with an ailiing Maggs. Pitching & defense is the hardest thing to improve as a season goes on so I don't think it spells well for them. I would be very surprised if they scored more runs than they gave up before the season ends. On the other hand Cleveland's rotation & pen has been surprisingly good. You might not think so but the numbers say otherwise. Their offense has been horrible but it's more likely for that to pick up than it is for the pitching to slack off.

I did not know that "pwned" originates back to a nerd who couldn't spell a 3 letter word. For that to become common usage for net slang is unbelievable in it's own right. Somehow I don't think it fits baseball slang or sports slang which I think should be the dominant theme at this sight. Seeing that we are 6-0 vs the Roys would it not have been better to say "Hey Roys! Who's your Daddy?"

The bullpen looks much better right now because it's had to do the least amount of work in MLB. Take a look at the WSox IP vs all other teams. That is such a huge luxury for any team & I don't see that changing much. Mark always goes long, Garland has recent history dating back to 2004 for going long, El Duque always can go long (at the risk of losing him in the season), & Contreras seems to have finally figured it out. I'll make the claim right now that I would be surprised if the WSox do not post the fewest relief IP for the whole season. That's going to make them very tough to beat in Aug & Sep when the arms are fresher than the rest. Lead OPS on team: Iggy (778OPS). Thomas 2002 OPS: 855. The league will cringe & shiver in fear when the Big Hurt returns to the 2005 White Sox. You heard it hear first

Will the WSox do better than 54-32? I think so. An amazing stat to go with the 21-7 record is the fact that no one has an OPS > .800. That's taking small ball to the extreme if you ask me. But now enter Frank Thomas in mid Jun (based on his own words stating he will begin rehab in Charlotte next week). That date coincides with the last of the NL games & ready to do battle vs the best of the NLW at the Cell. In his 2002 yr (the yr following major surgery) Thomas had 406AB w 22HR, 24DB, 1TP, 63R, 73RBI, .264A, .364O, .490S, .855OPS. That would be (+.077) better than any one else on the team right now. When a team is built on pitching & defense & most everyone else is a mid 700 OPS hitter getting a mid 800 OPS hitter is a big deal. It can be the difference in stretching 1 run games to 2 run games. With Thomas: Pods, Iggy, Everett/Thomas, Thomas/Koney, Koney/Dye, Rowand, AJ, Crede, Uribe Thomas will start at DH more often than Everett. But he will be asked to come off the bench when Everett starts at DH. Everett is benefiting from Iggy's .376O right now. That gives him better pitches to hit. When Dye sits Everett will benefit even more with Thomas hitting behind him. Thomas will likewise benefit from either Iggy or Carl hitting ahead of him. He's likely to get much better pitches to hit as putting him on to get to Koney is likely going to move a runner into scoring pos. Koney always benefits when Thomas hits ahead of him for that same reason. Dye is the odd man out but when you consider the WSox are paying Everett a million more to play this year than Dye he can't blame them for choosing the better hitter. The big hole in the team is 4-5-6 hitters. When Thomas returns he's going to greatly strengthen that hole. This team will be very tough to beat then. Shooting for 60 wins before the break is not out of the question.

When you are 12-3 in 1 run games in your first 28 games it goes without saying that your RBI leaders are your most valuable players. He's not on the list but Everett's 25 RBI's have played a MAJOR role in the 21-7 record. He should be on the list as he is our MVP right now. W/out Everett we are likely on the short end of the 1 run game record & trailing Minny. Even with the good pitching were getting. But since he's not on the list, Iguchi is the next obvious choice. Offensively his .337A speaks for itself. He's top 4 in RBI, & tied w Pods for lead in R. But what gives him the biggest edge is his defense. He's been a big part of the DP's & he shown terrific range near 2B. So his stellar D & stellar average make him an obvious choice.

Make or Break? Um No. The White Sox can afford to lose 4 more games than the Twins from now until the break & still retain 1st place. How likely is that to happen? Not very. in IL play the WSox will play COL, CHC while Minny plays SFG, & MIL. The Brewers are getting surprisingly good pitching & are playing better than the Flubs. SFG are a much harder club to beat than COL. Likewise there is no breathing room for Minny. After 3 gms in TAM, it's all +500 teams from the AL & NL plus CLE until they face DET in late Jun. In early JUL if we lose in OAK again, Minny takes on LAA at Ana. It's not Make or Break. It's leave them in your dust or have them on your bummer. Either way you're looking back at them.

For Kotex Boy: WSox(+14), Bal (+9), LAA(+6), Min(+5), Bos (+4), Tor (+3), Tex(+1). The rest of the AL is < .500. Now why should I believe that the WSox will wilt before Tor, Tex this month when they are 4-1 vs Min? May sched 1: @TOR(3), @TAM(3), vsBAL(3), vsTEX(3), off. May sched 2: @CHC(3), @LAA(4), @TEX(3), vsLAA(3), off. @TOR(2-1), @TAM(2-1), vsBAL(2-1), vsTEX(2-1) + @CHC(2-1), @LAA(1-3), @TEX(1-2), vs LAA(1-2) : 13-12. Overall: 34-19 : +15 Some impending demise. Let's continue. vCLE(3), @COL(3), off. @SDP(3), vARZ(3), off, vLAD(3), vKCR(3), off. : 11-7 vCHC(3),off, @DET(3), @OAK(3), vTAM(3), off, vOAK(3) : 9-6 Overall: 54-32 : +22 The sky is surely falling. :rolly

Tony has always been a favorite of JR's so I think it's really up to him as to whether he wants to give up a starting role in KC for bench role with the White Sox. When making a decision like this you look to cure what ails you & Tony might be that guy: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/spli...90&type=batting 02-05 vs LH: .283A .356O .458S .814OPS 02-05 wRON: .277A .342O .399S .741OPS 02-05 wRISP: .275A .342O .425S .767OPS 02-05 RISP,2o: .275A .370O .525S .895OPS 02-05 MON,2o: .263A .349O .465S .814OPS 02-05 M3D,1o: .346A .353O .385S .738OPS 02-05 C&L: .290A .351O .430S .781OPS 05 o Rd: .300A .349O .425S .774OPS 05 w RISP: .333A .467O .333S .800OPS 05 MON,2o: .375A .444O .375S .819OPS 05 MON,1o: .333A .500O .333S .833OPS 05 Leadoff: .235A .316O .529S .845OPS 05 RISP,2o: .333A .429O .333S .762OPS He hasn't had a lot of opportunities with the Roys this year but he's made the best of them.

From what I understand they are just like the Tues 1/2 price tickets that are available from tickemaster. There's nothing on the ticket that indicates the promotion. The face value of the ticket is the regular cost for the seat. There's no promotional distinction with the ticket itself.

You are correct. All of the major lines, & most of the lines have that final train at 12:35AM. But there are a few smaller lines that don't. The Orland Park line is surprising since it has quite a few stops. I would think if get enough Orland Parkians to complain they might listen to you.

I think this move has more to do with AJ's ailing toe than anything else. If you were to give AJ another day off in place of Burke a Buehrle start would be that day. It's a smart move because it removes you from having to put AJ on the DL. I wouldn't be surprised if they milk this bereavement list qualification for every day they can.

One interesting possibility with Konerko is Philadelphia. Thome is likely to go on the DL & the heavy hitter Ryan Howard has been asking to be traded. The reason is obvious: Thome is blocking his way & his contract gives Phi little movement to trade him. Either they release Thome & eat his contract or Thome retires. That's the only way Ryan would be allowed to play everyday. Which might make Konerko more attractive to Philly right now. They won't trade Ryan to rent Koney but that might provide a basis for such a trade. It comes down to what is Ryan really worth.

I agree with you there. If you could have signed Jon to say a an 18/5 deal this past off-season you should have. If you're asking why it comes down to wins, & winnable starts. Investing that kind of money for no less than 12-13 wins & about 20 winnable starts a year is a good decision. IMHO I think Ozzie's emotions got the better of Williams judgement in this case. I think Ozzie had high expectations for Jon last year & when he didn't measure up them he let that overshadow the positives about Jon. Williams should have looked at his growth consistency in innings pitched & locked him up for that reason alone.

The only reason Everett didn't make that list is because he was a late 2004 pick-up than a 2005 one. But production wise he should be on that list.

Well that depends mostly on demand. I just think it would be cool to see these White Sox vans driving around the loop at the busiest commuter times. Ideally demand would be high enough to where PACE/Metra could run the show. The small vans would give way to slightly bigger PACE buses with White Sox campaign ads painted all over them. These buses would hit all Metra station stops & take you to LaSalle where you board the Rock Island line to go to/from the game. All Metra lines have a final departure time from the loop near midnight. Some run hourly past that but others have an initial arrive time of 5AM. I would definitely take advantage of that & it would make financial sense to both Metra & the White Sox. PACE/Metra could offer the White Sox connection sticker for $20/mo avilable only to montly pass users. That's about 25% the cost of a monthy pass. Metra users would get mileage out of that sticker both when they drive to work & park at the Cell or take the Metra. The busses would look killer.

Welcome : Konerko is an above average defender, hitter, with great power. What's that worth? He's a Cell player if ever there was one. Home 779AB .286A .364O .528S Road 798AB .263A .323O .440S At best he's above average on the road & good at home. Compare him to another $8M 1B: Dmitri Young. Home 605AB .273A .335O .461S Road 547AB .302A .371O .552S He's near great on the road & near good at home. Ah, but then there's the HR's. As bad as Koney has been in April he still is on a 40HR pace for 2005. Young is on a 30HR pace. On the open market the back-to-back 40HR seasons will earn Koney a JD Drew & Sexson like contract for no less than 5 yrs. I think that's out of the Sox price range. It makes no sense for Koney to sign a 3 yr deal with the Sox for less money per yr when he will get more $ & more yrs elsewhere. So the next question is do you trade him if Thomas is hitting before the deadline? I think a lot of this depends on what are your options at 1B. Can Dye or Everett play 1B? Both are agile big men with OF arms. Dye is signed through 2006 & you have an option yr with Everett. Keeping good talent w/out a long term contract is the way to go. You keep Thomas because at his age he's likely to sign an incentive ladden contract extension with a low base for 3 yrs. Any more than that will be option yrs. If his health & performance are MVP level he'll likely cost more than Koney would in that year. If not he's sure to make less. Thomas offers nothing in the field but he's a great hitter at home & a near good hitter on the road. Home 669AB .274A .398O .632S Road 640AB .250A .377O .416S It's his OBP that is most impressive. Among the league's best. It's not easy being a DH. With a contract extension Thomas should cost the Sox less than Ortiz will cost Boston. Home 733AB .310A .386O .569S Road 709AB .267A .343O .571S I'm just glad Minny's cheap

I've taken the express bus from Clinton several times to both Bears & Bulls & I've never had a problem with. With respect to the UC I like it much better than parking nearby & walking. The bus takes you much closer to the stadium than parking does. As for the Mears like shuttle service I've taken that to. I've ridden down State from Jackson to the Cell countless times & time wise door-to-door it's been very comparable to taking the Red line. The traffic on State is usually light .. even during rush hours. Of course if you are going to do this there's no reason to limit it to just those parking at the Cell. Metra riders could benefit from this as well. Make the LaSalle street Metra station the central drop-off pickup point for this service. A White Sox shuttle van can take the same route I usually take & charge a flat $2 per ride. From the LaSalle Station point you could offer door to door service for another flat $2 per ride to places of work in the loop. Plans are in the works to eventually build a Metra station at the Cell on the Rock Island route. This would replace the need for that shuttle service & enhance the inner loop shuttle service for the White Sox. The inner loop shuttle service gives Metra rides from the W, NW, & N an easy & safe connection to the cell at a cost comparable to the CTA. It's the inner loop shuttle service that would give the White Sox the most exposure as the van's would be painted in the Win or Die Trying campaign. Increasing visibility throughout the loop should pay off in attracting new & occasional Sox patrons.

I soured on Maggs when he signed the $29.5M/3 yr deal. I always felt his weaknesses hurt the team more than his strengths helped. His near 1000 OPS at the Cell is impressive but how much did it matter towards winning? Didn't most players on the Sox excel at the Cell? U.S Cellular Field 678AB .322A .379O .599S Jacobs Field 92AB .261A .333O .478S Comerica Park 72AB .306A .359O .403S Metrodome 88AB .307A .330O .420S Network Coliseum 51AB .255A .296O .549S Safeco Field 30AB .133A .297O .200S I just never thought those numbers are good enough against our Nemesis' (Seattle & Oakland) & our division rivals (Minny, Tigs, Tribe) to warrant $15M/yr. When you pay someone that kind of money you are expecting Manny like production. He never showed me that.

When it comes to relief pitching you really need to look at their pitch count stats because there are great disparities between the players there. Vizcaino has a history of being a very good 15 pitch man. That's usually good enough for 1 inning. He has a history fo being a very bad 2nd inning guy. Solution? Don't use him for more than 1 inning. Shingo is the same way only he's one of the most dominant 15 pitch man in the league. Or at least he was in 2004. Again, don't use him for more than 1 inning. Cotts is to experience & unproven to use for anything more than 1 inning unless it's a mop up situation. The long men are Politte, Hermy, & Marte. These are the guys that have career numbers that are good over 2+ innings pitched. Of the three Marte is the best. He's not the best 15 pitch guy but over 30-40 pitches or 2 innings he ranks with the best of them. Hermy would be next followed by Politte. Hermy of course has the most experience in going long & putting up reasonably good numbers in the process. Games in which both Marte & Hermy appeared: Apr 7, Apr 13(sv), Apr 15(sv), Apr 19(sv), Apr 27, Apr 29, Apr 30(sv). There were only 3 games where they appeared in the same game w/out a sv opportunity. What I expect to see in May: Politte will be the #1 guy used following a starter. Vizcaino will be slated for setup, Cotts has a specialist or mopper. Marte & Hermy as hold men, situational closers, & Shingo relief. Shingo as the primary closer. With the SP going long he's got a lot of options & more room for error than most managers.

Nothing is for free. $20 = $17 for parking , $3 for shuttle services. You pay the $20 on your way to work & get two shuttle tickets. One for the ride into work & one for the ride to the game. If you loose your ticket, don't worry. They can fax you a new one. This really isn't as fresh an idea as you think. The Metra has a similar package available for Bulls & Bears fans. You pay to park at a park & ride stop at a Metra station & then you get off at Clinton. They have express shuttle buses that take you to the games from there.