JUGGERNAUT

I don't know how you can say that about Rowand. You're spending $2M on him this year & he's proven to be a team player to the extent that he'd be willing to go down to the ml's in any year he's struggling to work things out. Players who overcome adversity are worth more in my book. As for Jon, he's coming off a year in which he pitched 217 innings & he's now the leading candidate for the AL Cy Young. The most prestigious pitcher's award in MLB. If nothing else he is a proven innings eater which is worth at least $5M a yr because of his age & potential. Think of breaking down the $40/4 yr Cy Young deal as follows: $20M/4 yr - solid #3 $10M/4 yr - added cost for a solid #2 ($2.5M/yr) $10M/4 yr - added cost for a solid #1 ($2.5M/yr) Now consider the non-baseball related value. If Jon emerges as a solid #1-#2 for the Sox will he not be the Sox biggest marquee player? He will always be known as much for his baby-faced good looks & the infamous trade as he will for his talent. If Santana & Jon were to finish 1-2 in the Cy Young race who would sell more tickets as a member of the Sox? Jon. Santana just doesn't look as good.

Well for some of us who never took to Magglio like the rest of you I was not sad to see him go. If we're talking how better to spend $15M, I was happier to see Garcia & Contreras arrive. I think the money there is even. --------------------------------------- I was against the Lee trade but Vizcaino had made me a believer. Like Shingo he really is one of the best 15 pitch men in the league. Pods is not just talented he's smart. One of the smartest runners the league has seen. I don't know if he'll finish the year w a 280BA but having Iguchi can only help. Though it doesn't show up in OBP, Pods is the best bet to get on from a FC or SH situation. Especially with the Sox having good speed at the tail of the order. That forces a team to make a play to get the lead out. I'll gladly trade that out to get Pods on board every time. What's cool about Pods on a mid-revenue team is that he seems to always do enough to win but never enough to earn big money respect. That should make for a guy who is easy to sign & does just enough to stat-wise keep his starting role. Money wise it breaks down as follows: 05: Dye ($4M), Viz + Pods ($2M), Hermy ($2M) 06: Dye ($6M), Hermy ($3M) It's Dye's availability that made Lee expendable. Offensively Williams was thinking Dye at the Cell could produce similar numbers. Both stars are struggling early. It goes w/out saying on how valuable Hermy has been so far. ------------------------------------------- As for Valentin I think this is a no-brainer. Which would you rather have: Val(SS) + Harris(2B) or Uribe(SS) + Iguchi? Money-wise it's about even. ------------------------------------------- Of course the Sox didn't stop there. The money they paid to E-Lo & Schow in 2004 went to El Duque. The money they paid to Alomar, Jackson, & other lesser parts went to AJ. This might surprise many but dating back to 2004 when Williams began to overhaul the team with the Miles for Uribe trade the only moves KW has made that haven't panned out are Dye & paying Davis $1M. He looks like a genius for trading for Everett .. again. The Davis move is over-shadowed by the Widger signing & there's plenty of time for Dye to turn it around. Right now I think it's safe to say both Ozzie & Kenny are early season favorites to win MOY & GMOY awards this year. Let's hope their Midas touch continues to work.

I think you can over-value OPS vs for RP. It's a good stat, but the K/9 is a better indicator of who can dominate the late innings. Nathan leads the league, & Politte (surprisingly) is 2nd, with Marte in the top 10. You want dominate RP. It has a mental effect on the opposition as well as a proven track history of winning games. I think we should just enjoy the ride. It's been smooth so far. The bumps & the HR's are going to come with the warmer weather. That's inevitiable. The era's will inflate when they do. No one will care as long as we are winning. Timely outs & timely hitting will get that done.

We as Sox fans can take pride in Iguchi. Several people outside of our Pale Hose Nation thought we were kool-aid drinkers about the way we talked about Iguchi in the off-season. Who's drinking the kool-aid now? We knew he could hit 290-290. We are pleasantly surprised that he's hitting .333. Everett & Pods deserve some credit as well providing him protection so that he's sure to see good pitches across the plate. Don't worry about the HR's. They will come. Just wait until the warm weather arrives. Now if only Dye could start approaching his career avg we might run away from the rest.

I love the Win or Die Trying commercials. They aired several during FOX's new Sunday night toon festival. But I feel Boyer needs to go further with this angle. People who are willing to pay $20-25 a day to park in the city are not accustomed to take the El. It would be better for the Sox to provide a shuttle service for them. Maybe charge $20 to park that day & include the shuttle for free. There is little traffic along State passed 31st street so I think timing wise it could come close to what it takes to walk, wait, board, ride & depart the El. The shuttles can be something as simple as Mears airport shuttle vans. A relatively low cost to operate for the White Sox. Plus you can use the shuttle as floating billboard space to further make the Win or Die Trying campaign visible to the city. The ideal situation would be to grow the season ticket holder base this way. Allow them to park at the stadium, & shuttle to/from work for the games. It would provide a much lower cost than the Flubs & likely generate publicity on how the Sox go out of their way to make attending games more convenient for their fans.

There is a stat that best measure the timely outs + timely hits theory. RON .272A .331O .417S .748S vs Opp .223A .310O .297S .607OPS : +. 101OPS compare with Minny: RON .331A .417O .510S .928OPS vs Opp .268A .304O .463S .768OPS : +.160OPS Losing Rincon will hurt a litte. I doubt they can maintain that pace offensively. I more impressed with the White Sox defense vs RON than Minny's offense with RON.

I really think the closer situation will be resolved before the deadline. One of these guys has the potential to take the lead: Hermy, Shingo, Marte. All it takes is a string of strong scoreless appearances & Ozzie will elevate that guy. Shingo probably has the biggest challenge right now but Ozzie still believes in his 2004 numbers. My personal favorite is Marte as I am impressed by his splits after the first month: vs. Left 15AB .200A .368O .333S .702OPS vs. Right 23AB .174A .345O .348S .693OPS Ozzie's still living in 2004 w Marte where he was dominant vs LH & struggled vs RH. But eventually he'll start looking at the numbers & realize Marte is looking good vs both. The other big stat for Marte is K/9 (11.45). A dark horse? B12 Politte, Cliff R 1.35NPERA 14.23POWER .429OPS It's his K/9 that looks most impressive. Highest on the team & 2nd only to Nathan in the AL.

You're the coolest. Thanks man!

Thomas: "I felt more encouraged than ever". This after light running on Sunday. He was expecting pain after pushing it hard on Saturday but there wasn't much there on Sun. He now believe's he may be ready to go out on a rehab assignment soon.

Well I disagree emphatically with his assertion that you put any defense behind this staff & they'll do just as good. He's completely ignored what is meant by a "timely out". The secret to the 2005 White Sox success is pretty simple: timely outs + timely hits. Not all hits are alike or carry the same value & neither do the outs. The team might suck at RISP, but it's doing quite well with RON. The offense might suck during starter's innings but it's doing quite well during relief innings. On the defense side the White Sox are 10-3 in 1 run games. A big part of that is the tough out & turning the DP to get out of jams. Uribe has been a major part of that. You replace him with Harris over those games & the Sox are not likely 10-3 in those games. I've pointed this out before but in Jon's April starts he waited for Uribe at every break in an inning because he know Juan might have been the difference between a big inning or a scoreless one. In my opinion that's what small ball really means: executing the run saving plays & the run scoring plays. We've been suberb in one area & we've managed to get by in the other. To put the explanation point on the timely outs + timely hitting formula the White Sox have lead in all 25 of their games this year. That ties a ML record. The KC series is sure to break that record.

I am glad that Ozzie & the team learned something in Oakland. Retaliate quickly when they throw at our guys.

This couldn't have come at a better time with the Twins facing CLE. What I'm wondering is how does he expect to pass the next test? Isn't it true that once you are caught you are more prone to testing?

I'd agree that if your looking to shore up to win in the post season the Sox would be best to upgrade RF. It's our weakest spot right now. Though Ozzie's Midas touch struck again with Perez the other day. Go figure.

It all depends on whether Jon wins the CyYoung. If that happens then he's in line for a 40M/4yr deal like Halladay & Santana. Maybe a little less but not by much. Whether that happens or not you have to keep Jon because of his history. Garland will always be famous in Chicago for the Flub trade & that will always make him special in the eyes of the media & the fans. You need to keep that.

Under the new BCS contract the 10-2 2002 ND team makes the BCS. Miami & not FL St would have earned the Auto bid for the ACC. ND would have beaten out the rest for at-large bids.

Some more to add, with the addition of Louisville & their high BCS ranking last yr the Big East secured their automatic bid for the next couple of years. It was in doubt but when they decided to average the new teams towards that 4 yr average they made the cut. There will likely be 6 automatic conference bids over the next two years: Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, ACC, SEC. No other conference has a strong enough 4 yr avg to earn an automatic bid. That leaves the 4 at-large bids for ND to compete for. A 9-3 record seems a like & an 8-4 record could pull the money makers their way. There's so much flexibility with the at-large bids that I'm sure if there is any argument that can be made for ND they'll make it. The new poll (to replace the AP) has been rumored to be called the National Football Poll & is said to be made up of a panel of 65 voters all of whom are ex-coaches. That should favor ND as well. The current NBC contract is worth $9M/yr through 2010. So it will expire shortly after the next BCS contract does. The next best contract is the SEC's. Paying about $50M a yr to 12 teams. A little over $4M/yr. Despite losing money on the last contract ESPN/ABC increased their ACC contract by $15M (T $38M) when Miami & VA Tech joined. Miami & VA Tech are both paying the BE $1M to leave & the ACC $3M to join. This has bearing on ND's next contract because it's a well known fact that ABC reported a loss on college football over the last contract. Said to have lost millions. Yet they increased the value by $15M/yr after Miami & Virginia Tech joined. What will ND's next contract be worth if they should win a NC & post a winning record over the next 5 yrs: $15-18M/yr?

You're just not getting this. 1) Impact of AP poll being removed. It's not subjective at all. You simply have to compare where ND ranked in the computer poll vs the AP poll & the Coaches poll & it's pretty clear the AP poll was the weakest element for the Irish since the BCS was formed. 2) It remains to be seen whether the Irish will weaken their SOS any worse than any other teams. They are committed to Big 10, Pac 10, Big East, ACC, SEC, & Big 12 commitments in the next BCS contract. If there is any room it's with BC leaving the Big East & the advent of the 12 game season. This will only play a role in terms of their annual BCS ranking. 3) It's obvious that you do not understand how the new conference based automatic bid qualification process works. It's anything but irrelevant when it applies to the Irish. The biggest difference is that in the old BCS there were always 5 automatic majors slots, 1 ND slot (top 6), & 1 at-large. The new BCS could have as many as 7 automatic all conference slots or as few as 5. Add the ND slot (top 8), & between 2-4 at large slots. Which means in a year where there are only 5 automatic conference slots, & ND doesn't finish in the top 8 in BCS ranking it still has 5 at large slots in which it can be picked for a BCS game. That is a MAJOR difference between the old & the new. In a year where there are only 5 automatic conference bids ND as the best shot of any school to earn a BCS berth w/out finishing in the top 10 in BCS rankings for that year. That is why even with a 12 gm schedule the belief is ND can earn a berth with 9 wins & a top 12 ranking. A huge difference from the old BCS. How are automatic conference berths determined? A) Avg of best team in conference in BCS rankings over 4 yr avg B) Avg of ALL teams in conference in BCS rankings over 4 yr avg Considering ALL the teams in a conference is again a major difference from the OLD BCS & favors the at-large teams. It's pretty obvious how this will work. I can work for you examples to show you how this works. But it's simple to realize: ND is basically dependant on themselves while all other schools are dependant on their conferences. ******************************************** OLD: There were 2 at-large bids for ND if it didn't finish top 6 in BCS. NEW: There are no less than 3 at-large bids & at most 5 at large bids for ND if it doesn't finish top 8 in BCS. That obviously increases ND's chances to make the BCS. ******************************************** Ex. Michigan (9-3) 2004. Last BCS ranking 13. With 5 BCS games an Irish ranking of 13 with a 9-3 record in a year where there are only 7 automatic bids earns them a berth. If their are 7 automatic bids they can still earn a berth with a ranking of 12. With their SOS last year a 9-3 record would have given them a ranking higher than 12. 4) You missed this point entirely. With the addition of the 5th BCS bowl & addition of two more teams the max payout for any 1 team is expected to be $10-$11M. That's based on the price FOX paid for the BCS games. It's fixed. So if the Irish have 1 BCS apperance over the next 7 yrs the most they would earn would be about $10.5M under the old contract. Under the new contract it's the same thing. $4.5+6M. That's why it's a no-brainer. Now if you're going to argue the BCS TV contract will grow to where the max payout will grow back to $13M over the 5 gms then of course that would re-adjust the $4.5M figure as well. The Irish did not agree to dollar amounts. They agreed to stipulations. For a BCS berth they will earn the highest payout for the 2nd best team in a conference making the BCS. If they don't earn a BCS berth, they will still earn the lowest payout for a team that is a member of a conference making the BCS. Now the rest is pretty simple. The bar for making the BCS has been lowered for the Irish. The number of at-large berths in which TV rating strength plays a role has been increased. Therefore the probability of the Irish making the BCS more than once in the next 7 yrs has increased & the opportunity to make more than $13M in that time has increased as well. 5) Effect of the BCS on ND's next contract. It's simple. With FOX joining the BCS (in conjunction with their NFC NFL deal) during the same playoff months exposure to the BCS & of the BCS will expand. More networks will be covering college football than ever before. Whether you win 9 or 10 gms in a 12 gm season will mean far less than whether you appeared in a BCS bowl. It's about TV ratings for the BCS bowl. The more ND is a part of those ratings the greater their value for thier home games. I'd go as far as to say I would wager on the Irish making millions more on the new TV & BCS deals than the old ones. Ironically with the highest non-BCS bowl paying expected to pay out in upwards of $5M the Irish can make more by being picked for that game. They were earn that games pay out plus the $1M from their BCS deal. The bottom line is simple. If the Irish win 9 gms they should make the BCS. If they win 8 gms they can still make the best non-BCS payout. That would earn them more than making the BCS.

We obviously still have non-believers. Maybe May will change their minds. Go CLE & Go SOX!

Look it up. It is too true. You have to look at ALL of his starts or you can just look at his IP/start average. It's below 6. It's only recently that he's pushing that average but then again that might come at a greater risk of injury. Updating the numbers takes minutes. I have a VB macro that pulls the data in & formats it. All I have to do is cut & paste. I'll be updating it weekly. The love of my life is always impressed by my programming talents. She just wishes they were more geared toward money making than hobbies

Again, ND has the smallest TV contract of the major conferences. The duration of their contracts is twice that of ND. In any 3 yr period if ND were to win a NC or earn 2 BCS berths that would greatly enhance the value of their next 3 yr TV contract.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7659924/ http://www.azcentral.com/sports/colleges/a...sirish0428.html You're missing the biggest changes that GREATLY benefit the Irish. 1) The removal of the AP (media poll) from the BCS 2) The much greater emphasis on strength of conference 3) Only the Irish earn an automatic bid for a top 8 ranking. 4) Irish are being treated as a separate conference (basis of the $1M guaranteed, $4.5M max payout) 1) goes w/out saying. The writers poll has always weighed against the Irish. The replacement poll should be an improvement for them. 2) This is the biggest gain for the Irish. The Irish's 4 yr avg of SOS will represent their SOC value. 3) This only applies to the Irish. All others will be based on a conference's top team's BCS rankings over a 4 yr period. A conference has to have at least 1 team rank in the top 25 in the BCS each of the 4 yrs to have a chance at an automatic bid. That doesn't apply to the Irish. They can miss the top 25 3 of the 4 yrs & as long as they finish in the top 8 any given yr they earn an automatic berth. There is no conference that is guaranteed automatic bid qualification like the Irish. Under the new format, Weiberg said a nine-win Notre Dame would automatically qualify if it ranks in the top 8 and would be eligible if it finished in the top 12. Weiberg: "I think with these expanded at-large spots and this new structure, there's a feeling that if Notre Dame is available, they're going to be very popular to these bowls for possible selection." Fiesta Bowl President John Junker: "Obviously, they're (ND) the top recognized brand name nationally. Other teams are loved and followed. But in all parts of the country, Notre Dame sets the standard." 4) With the addition of a 5th BCS bowl (NC the week following the 4 BCS games), no one believes the max payout will approach $13M. Many believe it will fall to $10-11M. Money: ND made $13M over the last 7 yr of the BCS with 1 berth. ND would make $10.5M over the next 7 yrs of the BCS if it only earned 1 berth. It will make $14M if it earns 2 berths. The $13M is history for all schools. So realistically that $10.5M is what they would likely earn the next 7 yrs with just 1 appearance. It really was a no-brainer for them to agree to this deal. The max payout for the top BCS team in a conference is expected to fall to $10-11M. The max payout for the 2nd best BCS team in a conference is expected at $4.5M. It's pretty clear with ND being the ONLY school having automatic berth eligibility every year that their odds have increased in getting a BCS bid.

May will tell the story for the rest of the year. We play 1st place teams & mostly teams near or above .500. It's a good thing KC & TBD are squeezed in there.

Inn 7+: http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Minny .244A .344O .360S .703OPS vs Opp .232A .283O .325S .608OPS : +.095OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Tribe .206A .288O .362S .650OPS vs Opp .204A .257O .318S .575OPS : +.075OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg WSx .272A .318O .384S .702OPS vs Opp .228A .301O .371S .673OPS : +.025OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Tiggs .241A .304O .353S .657OPS vs Opp .213A .315O .365S .680OPS : -.023OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Roys .204A .274O .344S .619OPS vs Opp .297A .379O .420S .799OPS : -.180OPS Inn <7: http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Tigs .303A .358O .471S .829OPS vs Opp .273A .332O .433S .765OPS : +.064OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg WSx .246A .315O .370S .685OPS vs Opp .230A .305O .336S .641OPS : +.044 OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Minny .288A .354O .434S .788OPS vs Opp .274A .297O .459S .756OPS : +.032OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Tribe .239A .296O .383S .678OPS vs Opp .254A .315O .376S .691OPS : -.013OPS http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batt...Type=2&type=reg Roys .255A .310O .380S .690OPS vs Opp .261A .325O .402S .728OPS : -.038OPS The WSx fell from 1st to 3rd in Late work which explains their 3-3 record over the last 6. But Minny fell from 1st to 3rd is Starters work which bodes well for the Tribe which showed continued strength in Late work. The Tribe faces Minny 10 times in May. As for Det their Starters work is offset by thier weakness Late. That's not good for a team that has one of the toughest May schedules in the league. The Roys are getting to the point where they'll probably be dropped from this thread.

It's a retarded theory & I wish they would just give it up already. A much better one is the 16 wins/mo. We finished April with 17 wins. We are now +1. Minny is -1, & DET is -5. The rest are in trouble.

Reality is beginning to set in for them: 1) Uribe, Ozuna, Thomas, Gload all out 2) KC 7-18 11 gb 3) CLE 9-15 9 gb 4) DET 11-12 6 gb 5) MIN 15-9 2.5 gb (needs 3 wins coupled w 3 CHW losses to catch us) 6) CHW 18-7 7) NHL wise: CHW 36 pts, MIN 30, Det 22, Cle 18, KC 14 8) Rested Bullpen. RP IP: CHW 60, MIN 69*, CLE 73*, DET 70*, KC 79 * - projected to 25 GP 9) BMC 10) Offense well below career averages May games: MIN vs CLE (10 gms). DET has a schedule that would make any one weep. CHW, it's a tough schedule but starts off with KC at home. If CLE can play their best ball vs MIN, & the CHW win more than any ALC team in May we can really stretch the distance betw ourselves & the rest of the ALC. Not bad for a team where Koney's hitting .209 & Thomas has yet to bat.