JUGGERNAUT

They aren't done yet. Ozzie still wants his new #2 hitter. 1. Podsednik LF 2. ??????? 3. Thome DH 4. Konerko 1B 5. Dye RF 6. Iguchi 2B 7. Pierzynski C 8. Crede 3B 9. Uribe SS Some might say the deal is too much .. too many years but I believe the CWS did the right thing. $60M/5yr in exchange for a limited no-trade. CWS can trade Kong to 1 of 6 teams in any year of the contract. If fortunes go south the franchise can quickly get out of the contract as there will be no loss of suitors for Kong. The two offers from the Angel's (60/5) & O's (65/5 + 6th yr option) both contained full no-trade clauses. Ozzie wants another SB threat to fill that #2 hole. That's their focus now. I think we can expect KW to deliver.

I get the feeling Ozzie is in touch with people around MLB a lot more than the average analyst or fan realizes. I think he knew that Loria was gonna hold a fire sale. That's why I think he was up front well before any action in saying he wants a new #2 hitter. If Loria is serious about fielding a team under $20M next year it won't cost us Cotts or even a starter to get Pierre. What Ozzie expects from Pierre is a guy who can hit leadoff when Pods can't & a guy willing to sacrifice his AB's to move Pods over. That role should allow Pierre to concentrate on his defense more. Pods, Pierre, Dye, Kong, Thome, Iguchi, AJP, Crede, Uribe = WOW!

Follow Owens in Winter Ball: http://fantasybaseball.rotoworld.com/conte...ort=MLB&id=9404 Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody !!! It's been a blessed year for White Sox Fans & we have much to be thankful for.

I can understand equating Rowand to like the family dog. After he's been a part of your family you wouldn't part with him for anything. But I think you would have a diifferent point of view if the family business was racing sled dogs & you had the opportunity to trade up. Make no mistake about it: A healthy Thome will break the home run record at the Cell next year. That will be amazing in the post-steroid/amp era of MLB. Now that Thome & Delgado have found new homes LAA will have to make a decision: trade for Manny or sign Kong. I think they will trade for Manny. They have the lumber & the farm system to make it happen. That leaves the White Sox & thrifty owners in the NL. Including the LAD. You can almost pencil in Thome-Kong for 3-4 in the lineup. Wow! As for Ozzie's desire to upgrade the 2-hole Pierre is still an option but don't be surprised if it's a battle between Anderson & Owens in ST for the right to play CF. Owens (AA) 522AB, 99R, 21D, 6T, 52RBI, 38/58 SB%, 331A, 393O, 406S Anderson's added power is no longer needed with Thome here. To think we got Owens for Escobar. Wow!

Numbers-wise this is a no-brainer & a steal. @ Cell: 210AB, .286A, .382O, .600S, 43R, 8D, 2T, 18HR, 50RBI @ Jake: 630AB, .306A, .440O, .629S, 452R, 126D, 7T, 176HR, 500RBI @ Minn: 251AB, .343A, .424O, .677S, 51R, 11D, 2T, 23HR, 53RBI http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/4762/s...er&type=Batting He's got good #'s vs our nemesis (OAK) as well. Whether it's Thome-Konerko, or Thome-Thomas, Thome-Dye, or Thome-Everett the fact is any one of those combinations will significantly increase the White Sox R totals. At $7M/yr (with Philly picking up the rest of the signing bonus) the White Sox now have the $ to sign Konerko to a $52/4 + option deal. Many analysts are saying his stock has dropped with the Winter activity & this is likely to be his best deal. It pains me to say it but it looks like Thomas won't finish his career with the White Sox. At least he got a WS ring for his efforts. Probably the most important part of this deal is the keep away aspect. If you add a healthy Thome to CLE I don't think we can beat them. If Kenny did not pull the trigger on this trade there is no doubt in my mind he would have gone to CLE. That's why Kenny had to pay the price of Rowand & two promising arms. It's not always about what's best for you club. You need to keep the opposition from getting stronger as well.

Putting the emotions aside this is an even bigger a deal for the White Sox as signing Jermaine Dye last year. At that time many analysts felt the WCWS had gotten the best deal of the off-season. As it stands now I think when you look at what Iguchi produced & whati he's earning I would choose Ozzie's MVP. But Iguchi was a complete unknown at the time & Dye was a former MVP. Apples to oranges from an analyst perspective. Now we have Thome & if Yahoo! sports is right we have him for $7M/yr for 3 yrs & a $13M option in 2009. According to Yahoo! sports Thome is owed $2.5M in 2006 from his $10M signing bonus with Phil. Yahoo suggests Philly is responsible for that signing bonus. Simply put .. getting Thome for that price is a steal. But to orchestrate the theft the White Sox had to pay a heavy price. Rowand's value to the team can not be measured by stats alone. We have just given up a durable, talented kid seemingly made of steel that is among the best in baseball instincts. His mindset is such that he seems born to play centerfield. The two minor leaguers are no slouches either. Both are solid arms & one of them will probably make the Phil's rotation. But just like last year Kenny dealt with the NL. That is probably the most undervalued part of both the trade that brought us Pods & now the trade that brings us Thome. C Lee & Rowand won't come back to haunt us. These trades don't help our competition at all. These trades help the Cub's competition. So welcome Thome with open arms, shed a tear & hug for Rowand's departure & enjoy winning. Winning isn't everything but it sure beats losing with friends.

Emotionally I had already begun preparing for Rowand's departure as soon as I heard the reports out of NY that seem to suggest he was the #1 target this off-season for Yankmee's. With the cash they have they can always pull in a 3rd team with a more attractive talent (& cheaper cost) to get what they want. Still it's not easy to stomach this deal. Last year the White Sox traded one of my favorite players & delivered a World Series championship. It appears they are following that same game plan again. So they step on your heart early on in the off-season but then extend a hand to help you up & invite you to celebrate with them. Not much more to say about that.

I disagree. There's not much room to cover on the corners & the alley ways are very symetrical. Symetry is a best friend to speed. It makes adjustment a LOT easier. You might disagree but I felt as the season drew on Pods got more accustomed to LF at the Cell & started to play some stellar defense. As much blame as the White Sox get for the Cell they should get equal praise for creating one of the best diamonds in the majors to play in.

I agree with some of you. We must play keep a way with CLE. We can't let them get Thome. Have you seen his numbers at the Jake & the Cell? How could we beat them? I think keeping him away from CLE is even more important than resigning Kong. CLE is not even in contention to sign Kong so if it's not a member of the White Sox he's out of the division & possibly in the NL. But CLE has just a s good a chance to get Thome from Philly as well do. We can't & must not allow that to happen.

I agree that it would take a minor miracle to have BOTH Thome & Kong in a White Sox uniform next year. There's a PR game being played here & that will enter into these decisions. As far as PR goes, the White Sox have done what they needed to do. Whether it was formal or not the papers have indicated the White Sox made a 52M/4yr deal + an option yr. That's in line with what Delgado got from the Marlin's & it allows the White Sox to save face. The next big date is in early Dec. If Kong hasn't resigned by then the White Sox have to offer him arbitration to extend talks. Otherwise they have to wait til next May & Kong will be gone by then. So they will no doubt do this to save face but that would open the door for them to aggressively pursue Thome. PR wise the key for the White Sox is to use the leverage they have to convince Kong to either accept a below market contract or watch him leave for a team willing to pay above market prices to get him. No one but Kotex Boy will fault the Sox if that happens. If Kong leaves then I expect Thome at DH, Dye at 1B, & Pierre in RF. Anderson becomes the 4th OFer. Goodbye Timo. Thomas becomes insurance for both Dye & Thome as well as a PH. Keep in mind Ozzie is all about flexibility. He's a NL manager in the AL. The idea of benching Pierre or Pods in a game so that he can use Thomas in PH situations & Anderson in the lineup appeals to him. He then turns Thomas' doubles into excellent RISP sits with using Pierre/Pods to PH for Thomas & replace Anderson in the OF. Of course it remains to be seen whether Thomas will accept such a diminished role but it's easier to sell knowing Dye is a 4th OFer too. If Thome's health is excellent then he can always return to 1B & Thomas resume DH. So there are a number of ways Kenny can sell this idea to Thomas but of course the diminished role comes at a diminished price & performance incentives.

The SOX have to juggle the 40 man roster to protect some of their young talent from the Rule 5 draft. Gload might be one of the guys to go in that effort.

If you are Texas & the Marlins mention Beckett ... you begin drooling. This guy has all the makings of a dominant Cy Young pitcher if a team can get the blisters under control. Getting out of Miami could help that. If you are the Marlins you've reached the conclusion Beckett is a luxury which you can't afford because you have too many holes & have taken on too much debt. Likewise you are thinking two years ago you didn't know what you had in Willis. Now he's matured.

Convince me why the M's would trade arguably the most complete player in the game today. All he lacks is power & that usually keeps the price down. You can buy power. It's available every year.

As we learned last year it's Ozzie's team & what Ozzie wants Kenny will try to make happen. Now that Ozzie is king of the MLB world I can't imagine Kenny opposing him. Maybe Ozzie is still living in 2003 when it comes to Pierre but let's be honest about this. Both players (Pierre, Rowand) underperformed in 2005. Rowand however signed a contract based on his stellar 2004 play. It's hard to imagine the pressure opposing teams will have with Pods + Pierre. Ozzie will not hesitate to take the bat out of Pierre's hands to get Pods into RISP. In the end this will reduce Pierre's FA value. It doesn't matter if Iguchi puts up all-star #'s in #6 hole because the SOX have 3 more yrs on his contract (incl option yr). The Sox do NOT have to trade Rowand to get Pierre. But here's the thing: right now Rowand's trade value might even be higher than in 2005 because the NYY's have him in their sights. Which means they are willing to pay a high cost with a 3rd team to pry him away from the White Sox. What that means is that Rowand might bring Pierre & more to the White Sox. If we keep Rowand & go with a Pods+Rowand+Pierre OF we might just have the best defensive OF in the game. Great speed on the corners & alley ways & great instincts in the middle. Arm strength doesn't mean that much at the Cell. It's a hitter's ball park with nearly symetrical dimensions. Easy to get a feel for. If we keep Rowand I think it means goodbye to Paulie & hello to Thome. Coming off the injury he had Thome is a big question mark at 1B. Philly knows this. That means they have to be willing to eat a hefty portion of the contract to get the most for him. He's worth much more to AL teams right now. So if Ozzie gets his way it might look like this: Pods, Pierre, Dye, Thome, Rowand, Iguchi, Crede, AJ, Uribe That lineup looks lethal. Power, speed, & balance spread throughout.

When you are pursuing Thome .. Everett's the odd man out.

I like the idea of Steve Lyons as a regular with former Sox players filling in whenever possible on the road.

I was very happy to hear this & now I'm even more happy that you posted the schedule. Thank you!

Sometimes you have to fight "evil" with "evil". If you don't have that capability then "evil" can use that which you hold dearest against you.

It's the whole "man" thing. When blacks thing of the "man" they thing of a waspy republican. I wish there was a magic pill the GOP could discover to change this thinking because it's really ridiculous in this day & age. Wealth & the stereo-type of the "man" dominates both parties. In fact Hillary resembles a waspy "man" ego these days. I think the only thing that might change it is a greater black presence in the GOP. But it's not likely the Democrats are beating them by much in that dept either. But when you are as far behind as the GOP is it's the most logical strategy to adopt. Of course the whole God, country, & the preacher house can help as well.

So like myself .. none of you really know why it's Streisand. Logically it makes no sense. To the best of my knowledge all of her movies feature heterosexual relations, she's married I think to Brolin (a man's man as they say), & I never even heard a song of hers that suggests anything but a hetero relation. So I just don't get the tie-in. Did it grow out of something transexual? Men wishing they were her? There are some very freaky people in this world if that's the case.

Delgado does not fit Ozzie's description of a new #2 hitter. Pierre does.

Ozzie makes the proclamation he wants a new #2 hitter. Did he have Pierre in mind? Pierre might be growing to big for the Marlin's purse-strings. What would it take to pry him from the Marlins? What will it take to sign him to a multi-year? A Pierre move would send Dye to either 1B or DH depending on whether Kong resigns. Dye had DH does not exclude the possibility of re-signing Thomas for DH. Dye could play DH, backup 1B, & backup RF. With the way Ozzie likes to use his bench Dye would still see 400 AB's in such a role.

The signature is simple: There is no such thing as political correctness. I'll do my thing, you do yours & as evolution intended whichever is best will outlast the rest. If I offend you .. tough. Evolution says nature intends for the weakest amongst us to perish. If you offend me .. I'll rip you a new one. The strongest are meant to survive. You might claim that someone who chooses to smoke, drink, eat fatty foods, or engage in other excesses might not outlive you. But evolution teaches us that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger. So don't tell me what I can't consume in my body. Of course to combat our excessive & greedy natures we need religion.

Seriously, can someone answer why is liking Streisand considered a gay reference in a film? Please share this insider joke with the rest of us.

Science has already discovered a link between hormonal levels of Mom's & homosexuality. It is just a matter of time before they collect enough data to where the gay question goes from being psychologically normal to physically abnormal & like anything else medical science will put forth a money making cure, preventive measure, or corrective treatment.