JUGGERNAUT

You've not looked at the schedule. 05 PreAS: Apr (10H, 14R), May (13H, 16R), Jun (16H, 9R), JulA (6H, 3R) = (45H, 42R) 05 PosAS: JulB (7H, 10R), Aug (13H, 15R), Sep (17H, 13R) = (37H, 38R) The Sox have avg'd about 33L at Home & about 45L on Road the past 4 yrs. They have essentially been a Roadkill team for this decade. They won it in 2000 because they only had 32L on the Road. Play the %'s: 40% L rate at home, 55% L rate on road. Apr-May: 13-10 at Home, 13-17 on Road. Near .500 club by Jun. Jun-Jul : 13-9 @ Home, 5-7 on Road. +2 over 500 team by AS break.] That isn't going to get it done so this team has to play much better on the road. The additions of Pods, ARow (full time), AJP, & Igs in the field should help that considerably. The additions of Garcia(full season), El Duque, Vizcaino, & Hermanson should help as well. It's going to take at least 90W to win the ALC. If the Sox are < 500 by break mail it in. Firesale time. If the Sox are +2 > 500 trade for 2 road warriors (Vazquez, Lowell) If the Sox are +6 > 500 trade for 1 road warrior (Vazquez) If the Sox are +10 > 500 don't change a thing.

Another reason why I rank the Sox #1 is needs: Losses by year: 04 H 35L, R 44L 03 H 30L, R 46L 02 H 34L, R 47L 01 H 35L, R 44L 00 H 35L, R 32L The Sox are good for an avg of 33L or 48W at home no matter what. To win the division the Sox must be road warriors (no more than 36L & no less than 45W). Road Warriors(bats): Pods 04 R 274A/741OPS, 3 yr avg: R 295A/783OPS. Igs has the best R #'s on the team (JPL). AJP 04 R 261/720, 3yr R 294/787. ARow 04 R 317/907, 3yr R 296/811. Everett 04 R 296/828, 3yr R 276/792. Thomas 04 R 274/892, 3yr R 250/793. Gload 04 R 311/839, 3yr R 318/848. Road Warriors(arms): Marky B 04 R (229/630), 3yr R (260/710). Garcia 04 R (237/679), 3yr R (254/725). El Duque 04 R (237/724), 3yr R (251/700). Garland 04 R (255/762), 3yr R (272/790). Shingo 04 R (180/561). Marte 04 R (182/570), 3yr R (191/590). Vizcaino 04 R (235/724), 3yr R (238/720). Herm 04 R (254/769), 3yr R (272/766). Road Bums: Crede, Koney, Dye, Uribe, Perez, Contreras, Politte, Adkins, Cotts Koney + Contreras + Cotts to AZ for Javier Vazquez 04 R (286/831), 3yr R (261/730). Either Contreras will develop into a road warrior (fat chance) or he will be used as bait to get one. In either case the Sox will have an upgrade here to battle in the 2nd half. If Koney isn't signed he's gawn. 05 PreAS: Apr (10H, 14R), May (13H, 16R), Jun (16H, 9R), JulA (6H, 3R) = (45H, 42R) 05 PosAS: JulB (7H, 10R), Aug (13H, 15R), Sep (17H, 13R) = (37H, 38R) The schedule favors us slightly.

I am much more impressed with his road record. It's not hard to see why the Sox have failed to win the div 4 straight yrs. You need only look at their home & road loss records: H, R 04 H 35L, R 44L 03 H 30L, R 46L 02 H 34L, R 47L 01 H 35L, R 44L 00 H 35L, R 32L Pods 04 R 274A/741OPS, 3 yr avg: R 295A/783OPS That's the best thing about Pods. It's not as good as C Lee, but Pods speed on the road is going to do more for the White Sox in 05 than Lee's bat did in 04. The problem with the White Sox the past 4 yrs is simple: the pitching was not good enough to win on the road & the hitting sucked on the road. That's why KW had to do something to improve the road pitching. He's definitely done that.

He mis-spoke. Badly. Whether a pitcher earns 15 wins or not is as much a factor of the team's ability to score runs early as it is the arm on the mound. It's even crazier when you consider how much of a change that is from 04. What he should have said is that he feels his rotation is good enough to produce 100 winnable starts. That in itself is a stretch but it's more reasonable than assuming wins. That's not as crazy as it sounds. Roids is not the only factor leading to this bash ball era. New park design is as well. Have you looked at SBC Park? Is there a park more tailor made towards one player (Bonds) in the league? In this bash era of MLB a winnable start is basically any start in which a starter surrenders 3 less runs than ip: 4ip/1r, 5ip/2r, 6ip/3r, 7ip/4r, 8ip/5r If you get them from a starter you are expected to win. Especially at the Cell. The only pitchers who have an advantage are the good GB pitchers. The Sox should be scouring the majors to get these guys & sign them long term.

It's always a good thing to have quality depth. Pablo is certainly earning that bench seat.

He has to start in AAA. He has very little experience there & it's quite a few steps above AA in terms of quality of hitters. Furthermore adding him to the rotation would decimate the value of Garland & Contreras. The Sox need to get good value in return for these guys this year. The best scenario is if Brandon has a great 1/2 in AAA & Contreras & Garland combine for less than 10 bad starts at the break. That should give them both an era < 5 & significantly boost their value. I still expect either or both of Garland & Contreras to be traded near the break as well as Crede & Koney. Assuming they all play well enough to entice other teams.

Worst pitcher's park in all of MLB. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor 2.63 Away http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/pitc...Type=2&type=std 5.02 Home http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/pitc...Type=2&type=std 3 yr avg Home 4.02ERA, Away 3.70ERA. If there were a franchise player tag in MLB Mark would be it. ERA is such a meaningless stat for a pitcher anyways. What matters the most is quality & winnable starts vs poor starts. Mark consistently keeps his poor starts under single digits. That's what distinquishes him the most from Contreras & Garland. I've said it before & I'll say it again. The most important #'s for a starter are GS, IP, & L. Mark's GS/L ratio has been among the league's best for 3 straight yrs now. That's the measure of a stud & a franchise player. With word that Lee may very well be just a rent a player for the Brewers that deal could still tip in the White Sox favor. The Sox will not face the Brewers in the regular season this year & Carlos Lee will help the Brewers against the Cubs (psyche) & the Twins (6 gms). I hope Kenny keeps in touch with him & does nothing but praise Carlos at the close of ST. I feel that if Carlos does have a monster season the Cubs will be heavily pressured to sign him long term & the White Sox can't allow that to happen. I don't care what he costs at that time the Sox must do everthing in their power to keep him away from the Cubs. It would be best for the Sox long term if Carlos either signed with them or remained in Milwaukee. Especially with the Milwaukee & Minnesota always facing each other 6 times a year.

I thought about this in the Crede threads. With KW as our GM it's a given that we will ake changes near the break. None of the analysts factored this into their assessments. Last year the Sox were hard pressed to deal any slugger because Maggs & Thomas went down. This year is different with more experienced promising talent in the ml's & a glut of OFers in the system. With greater depth than most ALC teams I think this puts the Sox in the lead as far as being able to swing the mid-season trades. I'm just mentioning the ML's in these trades. It's assumed that prospects are included if that's what it takes to get it done. At the top of the list you have to put the #1 rumor in the off-season: 1) Koney + Garland/Contreras to AZ for Vazquez. The Sox are hoping that either Garland/Contreras can manager fewer than 5 bad outings in the 1st half. That should produce an era < 5.00. The Sox covet Vazquez & if we can convince him we have a legitimate shot at a WS with his help he's sure to endorse the trade. A rotation of Buehrle, Garcia, Vazquez, & Hernandez, Garland/Contreras give the Sox a greater edge in the 2nd 1/2 over all ALC teams. 2) Contreras/Garland + Crede + prospects to FLA for AJ Burnett + Lowell. It's possible the Sox would have to include a RP as well. But this makes sense if FLA is out of it because it's a salary purge for them saving them a few million. Adding Burnett to the rotation gives the Sox the best 1-5 in MLB. Adding Lowell gives the Sox a real 3B to battle w in the 2nd half. Yes the Sox are taking on more salary in these trades but it's short term debt. Vazquez is off the books at the same time as Garcia. That's how mid revenue teams are suppose to spend their $ to take a shot. Take on short term debt. This is again why I am optimistic with the 05 Sox. If they can stay healthy in the 1st half then there is great potential for KW to upgrade this team for the most compettive part of the season. The money they take on in these salaries will more than be paid for with a first round divisional win. That should be the goal. Build a team near the finish not just capable of making the playoffs but also getting to the ALCS. I'm going to say this now because I believe it's true. The Sox are not choke artists like the Cub. If they can get past the first round then I believe they will have a team capable of winning the World Series. We have not won a Series since 1917 but we have a lot better history of fielding contending teams with winning records year after year than the Cub. With such a prominent history of always finishing 2nd this organization would find that some extra (ala the BoSox) to win a WS if it can get past the 1st round. It's most likely 1st round opponent would be the NYY.

I'll go a step further. Crede will not be here after the AS break. He hit 219 on the road & 266 at home. Who think Field's can't beat that? That's a small hurdle for a promising youngster to get over to pass Crede. Joe might surprise us & have a good 1st 1/2 but why should we place any greater importance on that over his first 3 yrs? With Boras as his client there will never be a loyalty discount to retain the underperforming Crede.

I'm not as down on Crede as the rest of you but I do think he will be gone after the AS break. He's a Boras client w an 06 arbit date that has underperformed. No team wants to have deal with those contract negotiations. It's better to trade him. Crede hit 219 on the R last yr people. I think Ozuna at SS (Uribe at 3B) or Fields at 3B can manage better production than that. Hopefully Joe will have a great 2nd 1/2 so we can get some quality in return.

Based on the comments this is clearly a witch hunt. The hearings link above suggests as much. It appears some congressmen didn't even care about it until they found out that MLB & the MLBPA will fight the subpeonas. Now more of them have joined the hunt because of this. I'm not sure where this leaves Thomas. I don't believe his appearance in any way violates his contract & the most MLB can do is defend a player's right not to attend. I don't think they can compel a player not to attend. In that regards I can see Congress definitely flying people down to Tucson to depose Thomas. It could even be a major media event as they would likely float questions at him on his days at Auburn. You have to remember that Thomas' represents the poster child for their witch hunt. Much more so than Schilling because he's just a pitcher. Now this really does draw relation to the HOF thread because what happens if congressman start mentioning Thomas in conjunction with the HOF? We already see the SOX as an organization doing this & we even hear some local Chicago personalities do it. So if congressman start doing it then he might not just be a first ballot HOFer but also a celebrated one. Types of questions to ask Thomas: Did you ever use questionable or illegal performance enhancers during you carreer with the White Sox? Did you ever see or hear about someone doing this as a member of the White Sox? Did you ever use "" during your years at Auburn? Did you ever see or hear about someone doing this as a student of Auburn? Did you ever use "" in high school? Did you ever see or hear about someone doing this in high school? That will cover Thomas directly. Then they will branch out. How long have you known Jose Canseco? Did he ever confide in you about his usage? Did he ever confide in you about someone else's usage? Did you have any reason not to believe what Jose Canseco told you? Then they'll go general. Do you feel MLB's current policy is tough enough? How important do you feel it is for the league to weed out performance enhancements to the integrity of the game? If you were Commisioner what would you do to insure the integrity of the game? Then they'll hit him with the 64K question: Do you feel that MLB & the MLBPA are capable of making sure that players comply with the laws of the nation with regards to these substances? Thomas already hinted it could get ugly & when you consider these types of questions you can see why MLB & the MLBPA are fighting the subpeonas.

If you are not on this list you are not amongst the best hitters of all time. Period. Some had flashes of brilliance but most dominated for years. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/OPS_progress.shtml Ruth posted the league's best OPS 4 straight yrs before holding the title of best career OPS amongst active players for 14 straight yrs. Bonds posted the league's best OPS 2 straight yrs before grabbing the title of best career OPS amongst active players in the strike season (1994). Thomas then grabbed that title in 1995 & retained it until 2002. Bonds posted the league's best OPS 4 straight yrs (01-04) before grabbing the title of best among active players (04). Based on his recent #'s Bonds will likely pass Gehrig on the all-time OPS list (1080). He would basically need around a 1300OPS 3 yrs in a row. If he does that he will have retained the active OPS title for 5 yrs. Still 2 short of Thomas 7 yr reign. Bonds no doubt owns this decade but Thomas owned the last one. Any player that owns a decade should be given first ballot HOF consideration. Regardless of where he plays or who he plays for. Owning a decade is a measure of dominance. That's what the HOF is all about.

I strongly disagree. As you said we are talking the earliest 5 yrs after he retires. How big of an impact with AB's & OPS have on the voting by then? I think it will have the biggest impact of any other stat. How many years has OPS been the de-facto standard? We are talking another 10 yrs before Thomas is considered. OPS will be the major mark. As for the roids scandal in MLB it's captured the nation's attention since McGuire yrs ago. It's not going away & it seems to be getting stronger not weaker. If it is a non-factor then it will be due to MLB cleaning the stuff up. In that respect we should expect to see declining OPS #'s for potential roids. That's only going to solidify Thomas' stance as being one of the best hitters of all time. Helton - Will lose out to Thomas (> 6000AB), & never reach (>9000AB). Ramirez - Will lose out Thomas (> 8000AB). McGuire - Done. Thomas has beaten him (> 6000AB), & Thomas is likely to reach 8000AB. Berkman - Will never pass Thomas at 6000, 8000, or 9000BAB . Will never reach 9000AB Guerrero - See Helton. Thome - Will never pass Thomas at 6000, 8000, or 9000AB. Never reach 8000AB. Walker - On the decline now. No chance to pass Thomas but likely to reach 8000AB. Giles - See Helton. There is no current player in the top 20 OPS list right now who is likely to pass Thomas. That means Thomas is likely to finish in the top 10 OPS list. Translation Thomas is among the 10 most best hitters of all time. Still think he's not a 1st ballot HOFer? Up & Coming: 1. Alex Rodriguez (28) .9549 R - NO CHANCE! 22. Jason Giambi (33) .9508 L - FUGHEDABUTIT! 23. Jeff Bagwell (36) .9507 R - NO CHANCE! 24. Carlos Delgado (32) .9488 L - NOT EVEN CLOSE BUB! 26. Mike Piazza (35) .9470 R - LUCKLY TO KEEP THAT! 32. Joe Jackson .9401 L - Should be there. 34. Ken Griffey (34) .9372 L - PLEASE! Chipper Jones (32) .9372 B - DOUBLE PLEASE! 39. Bobby Abreu (30) .9290 L - Not going to happen! 43. Gary Sheffield (35) .9282 R - Ummm .. no. 44. Jim Edmonds (34) .9277 L - Sorry bub! 50. Nomar Garciaparra (30) .9187 R - A Cub fan might think so 57. Juan Gonzalez (34) .9040 R - I'd bet all I own that he will not pass Thomas in this list. Scott Rolen (29) .8980 R - No. 65. Sammy Sosa (35) .8923 R - I can't stop laughing 66. Magglio Ordonez (30) .8893 R - I still can't stop laughing 68. Rafael Palmeiro (39) .8888 L - Not even w roids! 72. Ryan Klesko (33) .8877 L - Please. 75. Tim Salmon (35) .8863 R - Nada. 76. Fred McGriff (40) .8860 L - Done. No chance at all. 88. Moises Alou (37) .8796 R - Declining. Nada. 93. Richie Sexson (29) .8769 R - In his dreams. Nada. 98. Bernie Williams (35) .8753 B - Declining. Nada. 99. Mike Sweeney (30) .8751 R - Fell way off pace. Nada. 100. Ellis Burks (39) .8737 R - Done. No active player in the top 100 list threatens Thomas' top 10 standing. More reasons: OPS progressive leaders Leading Active Player Years Best 1991 Wade Boggs .9058 Frank Thomas 1.0056 1992 Fred McGriff .9194 Barry Bonds 1.0796 1993 Fred McGriff .9202 Barry Bonds 1.1356 1994 Barry Bonds .9303 Frank Thomas 1.2168 1995 Frank Thomas 1.0436 Edgar Martinez 1.1070 1996 Frank Thomas 1.0503 Mark McGwire 1.1977 1997 Frank Thomas 1.0526 Larry Walker 1.1719 1998 Frank Thomas 1.0274 Mark McGwire 1.2224 1999 Frank Thomas 1.0133 Larry Walker 1.1681 2000 Frank Thomas 1.0184 Todd Helton 1.1617 2001 Frank Thomas 1.0153 Barry Bonds 1.3785 2002 Todd Helton 1.0319 Barry Bonds 1.3807 2003 Todd Helton 1.0414 Barry Bonds 1.2778 2004 Barry Bonds 1.0533 Barry Bonds 1.4217 1881 Cap Anson 5 yrs straight 1887 Dan Brouthers 10 yrs straight, then 4, then 2! 1908 Honus Wagner 3 yrs 1911 Ty Cobb 4 yrs, then 5 yrs 1915 Joe Jackson 2 yrs 1922 Babe Ruth 14 yrs 1936 Lou Gehrig 4 yrs 1940 Jimmie Foxx 6 yrs 1946 Ted Williams 15 yrs straight! 1961 Mickey Mantle 8yrs 1969 Willie Mays 4 yrs 1973 Hank Aaron 4yrs 1981 Mike Schmidt 6yrs 1987 Wade Boggs 5yrs 1995 Frank Thomas 7yrs Barry Bonds has only been the top Active Player in OPS twice in his career 1994 & 2004. His comparison to Ruth & Williams on this list is shocking. Sosa has never & will never appear on this list. Let me put this list in perspective. Thomas first made the list for year's best OPS in 1991. He then made it again in 1994 (the strike season). From 1995 to 2001 he took over as having the best career OPS amongst active players. He did not relinquish that title under 2002. That means he was the best hitter in the game from 1991-2001. He wasn't the best every year but his OPS was consistent enough to vault him to his 7 yr reign. Now again tell me how he's not a first ballot HOFer?

I disagree with all of you. If this kid continues to impress in ST & is lights out in AAA prior to the AS break & the Sox rotation is healthy either Garland or Contreras are gone. Probably Contreras. It doesn't matter what they do. The better they perform the higher their trade value but one of them is gone for sure if BMac shows he's ready. I never believed the Sox would carry a mid 70's payroll for the whole year & I still don't. If Koney hasn't signed an extension by the break he's gone as well. That will be the surest sign that Thomas will be kept for 10M (if he hasn't renegotiated a new contract by then) & Gload will take over 1B. Likely trade bait around the break: Contreras, Garland, Koney, & Crede. I would not be surprised if all 4 are gone from the 2nd half. They are likely to cost the team 20-25M in 06.

I disagree. They'll get the fundamentals done. It's not as big an area as some of you are making it out to be. I really can't wait to see it either. It's going to really standout in the park. The new roof has already give the park new character, LF will give it a new dimension, & forest green seats will give the park a sparkle. Now if they add brick facing & the statues along the concourse (like they plan) it will have a retro look as well. When it's all said & done this could be one of the very best parks in ML to watch a game & take in the aura of the park. A s***load better than the beer garden

Bad guestimate on my part. Here's the real math: Frank Car: 1925G 6851AB 1308R 2113H 444D 11T 436HR 1439RBI 1450BB 1134K 32SB 23CS .308A .429O .567S .996OPS Frank 02-04: 1309AB 217R 343H 80D 1T 88HR 246RBI 277FP 287K 3SB 2CS 262A 387O 526S 913OPS Frank retires after 2007: 300.62A 422.26O 560.42S 8000AB, 1500R, 2500H, 530D, 13T, 530HR, 1700RBI, 1900FP, 1500K, 35SB, 25CS, 301A, 423O, 560S, 983OPS (10th all-time) Frank retires after 2010 (9469AB): 295A, 417O, 556S, 973OPS (18th all-time) The > 6000AB, > 980OPS club: Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Bonds, Foxx, Hornsby, Thomas(7th), McGuire, Mantle, DiMaggio, Musial The > 8000AB, > 970OPS club: Ruth, Gehrig, Bonds, Foxx, Hornsby, Thomas(6th) , Musial, Mantle The > 9000AB, > 950OPS club: Musial, Bonds, Frank(3rd) Given that OPS is now the de-facto standard for performance, please explain to me how Thomas is not a first ballot HOFer?

Why Thomas is a 1st ballot HOFer: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/OPS_career.shtml AB: Ruth 8399, Williams 7706, Gehrig 8001, Bonds 9098, Helton 4150, Foxx 8134, Greenberg 5199, Hornsby 8173, M Ramirez 5572, Thomas 6851, McGuire 6187, Berkman 2683, Guerrero 4375, Thome 5726, Mantle 8102, DiMaggio 6821, Musial 10972, Walker 6592, Giles 4111, Mize 6443 I'm stopping there because Mize (#20) is the 960OPS mark & that's likely where Thomas is to end up after 07. Mize is in the HOF. McGuire is the only retired player on this short list with > 6000AB not inducted into the HOF (yet). Ott 9456AB 947OPS in the HOF. Kiner 5205AB 946IOS in the HOF. O'Doul(28) 3264AB 945OPS not in the HOF. When you look at the current players & project their OPS over 8000AB Thomas should finish in the top 15 in OPS with nearly 8000AB. That's a first ballot HOFer all the way. Regardless of whether he passes the 500HR mark. There's no way they are going to be able to justify a non first ballot with those numbers. Especially when OPS is considered the de-facto standard today for a hitter's performance.

I would be remissed if I didn't include Bonds Frank Car: 1925G 6851AB 1308R 2113H 444D 11T 436HR 1439RBI 1450BB 1134K 32SB 23CS .308A .429O .567S .996OPS Frank 02-04: 1309AB 217R 343H 80D 1T 88HR 246RBI 277FP 287K 3SB 2CS 262A 387O 526S 913OPS Frank Car after 2007: 8000AB, 1500R, 2500H, 530D, 13T, 530HR, 1700RBI, 1900FP, 1500K, 35SB, 25CS, 290A, 410O, 550S, 960OPS Bonds Car: 2716G 9098AB 2070R 2730H 563D 77T 703HR 1843RBI 2302BB 1428K 506SB 141CS .300A .443O .611S 1.053OPS Bonds 02-04: 1166AB, 357R, 417H, 80D, 6T, 136HR, 301RBI, 600FP, 146K, 22SB, 3CS, 358A, 575O, 786S, 1361OPS Bonds Car after 2007: 11000AB, 2500R, 3200H, 650D, 83T, 830HR, 2100RBI, 3000FP, 1600K, 525SB, 144CS, 310A, 460O, 630S, 1090OPS Ok, so he may have taken the clear to help he get through injuries but give the man his due. Those numbers are phenomenal even if you ignore the HR. Look at all the clubs he'll be a member of: 3000H 2500R 500D+500HR >800HR (only member) 2000RBI 3000FP (only member) 500SB 300A 400O 600S 1000OPS Best ever to play the game. Period.

Frank says he wants to max out 4-5 more yrs. Let's look at what that might mean to his #'s using his 3yr avgs: Frank Car: 1925G 6851AB 1308R 2113H 444D 11T 436HR 1439RBI 1450BB 1134K 32SB 23CS .308A .429O .567S .996OPS Frank 02-04: 1309AB 217R 343H 80D 1T 88HR 246RBI 277FP 287K 3SB 2CS 262A 387O 526S 913OPS Frank Car after 2007: 8000AB, 1500R, 2500H, 530D, 13T, 530HR, 1700RBI, 1900FP, 1500K, 35SB, 25CS, 290A, 410O, 550S, 960OPS It would be interesting to know how many players are in the 500D+500HR club. Sosa Car: 2138G 8021AB 1383R 2220H 340D 43T 574HR 1530RBI 856BB 2110K 233SB 106CS .277A .348O .545S .892OPS Sosa 02-04: 1551AB 221R 425H 62D 2T 124HR 291RBI 231FP 420K 1SB 1CS 274A 366O 556S 922O Sosa Career after 2007: 9500AB, 1600R, 2700H, 400D, 45T, 700HR, 1800RBI, 1200FP, 2600K, 234SB, 107CS, 270A, 355O, 550S, 905OPS Sosa will make the HOF on the strength of his HR totals alone. (1HR/14AB) But beyond the HR's there is not much to look at. He will definitely be viewed in MLB history as a 1-dimensional player. Frank on the other hand will make the HOF on the strength of his career OPS. Currently it's 996OPS after 6900AB. He's likely to finish with 960OPS over 8000AB. Frank will be viewed in MLB history as a hitter who could do it all & will likely recieve greater stature than Sosa.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws =The White Sox top the Majors with 24 doubles this spring. =White Sox leadoff hitters have combined to go 18-for-42, a .429 average, in the first 10 games. =The White Sox bullpen has allowed 10 earned runs in 35 1/3 innings for a 2.55 ERA in the past five games. Timo's contributed as well. A team now built on P+D needs doubles more than HRs.

02-04 Crede: Pre-AS 233/675, Pos-AS 277/809 02-04 Crede: v Left 274/778, v Rght 248/732 He's slighty better than avg vs LH, & slightly below avg vs RH. 02-04 Crede: RISP 264/324O/437S, RISP,2O 252/333O/442S, CL&L: 299/376O/506S He's looking better now right? Remember the 2005 White Sox expect to have many more CL&L games than the 04 team. Joe's consistently a slow starter but seems to rise to the occassion when there's more at stake. I think we're over-reacting.

I vote for 3 in each 1/2 or 1 a month. If 1 is a sell-out then 6 should avg 30K. Think of all the dogs watching Dog Day on TV. They want to be a part of it too. They go to the game, come back home bark to their friends, & soon most dogs in Chicago are White Sox fans. I don't think it has to be on Sunday either. Not all dogs can get Sunday off. I'd like to see 2 on Sun, 2 on Fri, & 2 on Sat. Dogs are too tired to go to the games during the week

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! When you are not using the gun leave the safety on! There is no F'g way the gun can discharge from falling on the ground with the safety on. The firing pin is locked. It can't fire. There would just be a loud noise. What a maroon! To house a gun at home you must have a permit. I think it's high time we link that permit to passage of a written test "Rules of the Gun" & successful completion of firing tests at a gun range. And no I don't think that encroaches on the 2nd Amend right to bear arms. What it does is add the qualification "right to bear arms responsibly".

How do you know it was imaginary? Keep in mind that Joe was an illiterate. It wasn't just that he couldn't read or write he had a very weak vocabulary as well. Without his wife present you could easily talk him into something. Many biographies on the man attest to this. Let's not forget Weaver's words with respect to Joe as well. He claims Joe was innocent. I can link you to the quotes. So if you are sympathetic to Weaver doesn't it make sense to side with his opinion of Joe? Putting aside the Sox players there was a much bigger issue about the Black Sox Scandal that I felt Landis ignored completely. As you said when the $ owed to the players came up woefully short they decided to go for it & that's when the mob started threatening the players & their families. This was a well known fact at the time Landis made his ruling. Generally speaking the mob had intended to fix the Series & whether it took bribes or coersion to do so didn't matter. Landis ignored the coercion part entirely. Even being down 4-1 the Sox still had a solid chance of winning the Series if free from coersion. That's the part Landis either didn't understand or choose to ignore but MLB is certainly aware of today.

I strongly disagree. Borchard in my opinion will be a sink or swim player. Meaning he will either be an all-star or a flop. There will be no middle road with him. He is simply too talented a player for that option to exist. The only way he could become a middle road player is if an injury reduces some of his talent. Sweeney & Anderson may be the future of the SOX OF but they are not Borchard. What I hope most Sox fans will understand is that Joe is a power threat from both sides of the plate. That makes him the rarest of players in the MLs. Joe's potential remains MVP type caliber. He's been hampered by injuries that slowed his growth which was already behind in college. Do you remember when the Sox traded Sosa? Sosa was a below avg hitter with a lot of K's before he was dealt. He had a ton of potential. It took him about 5 yrs of ML service before he clicked and went from being a below 250 hitter to a 300 hitter. The last thing the Sox need is to make a mistake like that with Borchard. He's out of options next year. That gives the Sox one more year in hopes he realizes that potential. Having invested 5M in him already they should let it ride one more year. Try to imagine this scenario: Borchy hits 275, 100+RBI, 30+HR at Charlotte. As a late season call-up he puts up similar #'s with the Chi-Sox. What's his trade value worth then? I hope Sox fans will realize that all Borchy needs is to show more than glimmer of hope to other GM's that he can be the real deal & his stock will soar quickly. No GM in the league looks at him like they do other players.