witesoxfan

After you take off the rose-colored glasses, you'd realize we aren't the same team either. Losing Colon will be have a bigger impact then any of us will realize, and Gordon's production will have to be received from somewhere. Getting rid of Manuel was very nice though. The Twins biggest losses were two relievers and a catcher, and while all 3 were very good, they are not, IMO, like losing a Bartolo Colon. Joe Nathan is a solid reliever, and I believe they also got Carlos Silva and Pete Munro, who are also solid relievers, and Joe Mauer was the #1 pick overall for a reason, and while he will most likely not reach his full potential this year, I can see him putting up double digit homers and a solid average. Just because the Twins lost quite a bit does not mean they are not a dangerous team still. We lost quite a bit too.

Here's what I thought was funny. Jenkins's contract is for 3-years, $23 mill. Does anyone remember what Paul Konerko's contract is? And once answering that question, would you rather have Paul Konerko or Geoff Jenkins? To answer my own question, Paul's contract was somewhere around that 3-years, $23 mill that Jenkins signed. And to answer my other own question, I would rather have Jenkins. BTW, a link to this story is here

And that's one exception out of how many? Bones....Sosa may not put up .300 50 150 that he's put up in the past, but he will almost undoubtedly put up atleast .280 35 120, and with the rotation and bullpen of that team, that will be good enough. For Alou, if he hits .280 20 80, that will be good enough. If Patterson is not as good as he was last year, they'll go out and get a CFer who will put up solid numbers(hell, they had 3 third-basemen last year before finally settling on one, I'm sure if necessary they'll do the same for CF). Their bullpen has Cruz/Wellemeyer/Mercker, Alfonseca, Remlinger, Farnsworth, Hawkins, and Borowski, and if a closer is needed, I'm sure they'd be more then willing to dish out a little dough to Ugueth Urbina and get him to come along, or maybe another closer becomes available at the deadline...they'd almost undoubtedly add a piece if they needed to. Personally, as I said, sad as it is, I think the only thing that stops them is an overwhelming amount of injuries(which sort of ties into the 1984 White Sox, and while it wasn't all injuries, it was awful...I can't exactly remember that year with me not being alive and all, but I do recall someone saying that Hoyt's career eventually ended because of drugs. From what I have heard/read, in 1984, the Chicago White Sox were bit in the ass by Murphy's Law...I can only hope that happens to the 2004 Chicago Cubs, because right now, I don't see a whole lot of anything that's going to stop them)

baggs, I think everyone is talking about Shannon Stewart's quote(and then Phil's blurb after that) Do you see Shannon mention the White Sox in that quote at all? Ryan is not wrong, in fact, I agree with Ryan...it's hard not to. But what Stewart said, or what he didn't say, is bulletin board material.

I picked Odom. I personally thought he is a decent pick here and he fills a need. IMO, Chris Perry is at the very best a late first, early second round pick with the possibility that he could drop even further then that. I'm sure with Tatum Bell's good showing at the combine that he is higher on some team's boards then Perry is.

(I assume you're talking to me) Not at all. I hate that Cubs...anyone here can tell you that. But when a team has 5 good starting pitchers, a good bullpen, a solid lineup, and a good manager, the team is going to be good, period. I think the Yankees are going to be good, does that mean I support the Yankees?

Look at what he did for Minnesota's pen in 2002. Not only did he put up some solid numbers(2-3 3.27, 1.31 WHIP, 4.75 K/9, 2.23 K/BB), but I assume he was a huge part in helping JC Romero(whose numbers for 2002 are: 9-2 1.89 1.21 WHIP, 8.44 K/9, 2.11 K/BB), LaTroy Hawkins(6-0 2.13, 0.97 WHIP, 7.06 K/9, 4.20 K/BB), and Eddie Guardado(1-3 2.93 45 SVs, 1.05 WHIP, 9.31 K/9, 3.89 K/BB). I can only hope he does the same for some of our guys(and if he can somehow help Koch out, that would be awesome). Then again, those pitcher's successes could also have something to do with Minnesota switching pitching coaches, because I'm sure that 2002 was Rick Anderson's first year as Twins pitching coach. Damn, now I'm off my high horse. Oh well. I still think he could atleast help a little.

Which is exactly the point. At the very, very, very least, they will break their 32-year streak of not having back-to-back winning seasons, and I could see them very easily winning 100 or even 105-110...their rotation if at 100% the whole year, is frighteningly good...you have Prior who is a stud, Wood who can be lights out, Maddux who is one of the most consistent pitchers of our time, Zambrano who can be quite good, and Clement who can be quite good and is their #5 starter. They also have Juan Cruz as a #6 starter, so they really won't slow down a ton if Wood/Zambrano/Clement get hurt. They have a decent lineup, and as they have proven in the past, if they need to add a piece at the deadline, they will. They also have a very good manager who could quite possibly lead them to some very good things in the end. Hype does not lead to crashes(not usually anyways). What leads to them is a team that is too old with too many egos on it that is inconsistent with the wrong man heading the show...ala the 2002 Mets. The Cubs are not old, they do have egos, but they have about 2 or 3 of them, they are not incredibly inconsistent, and they have the right man heading the show. I see no reason for failure other then mass injuries, and I see no reason for mass injuries either. Therefore, as sad as it is, I see no reason why the Cubs cannot be a playoff team again.

Hey I got an idea. If you hate the guy and you hate what he writes, stop reading his s***. Who cares if the Cubs are going to be good(which they almost undoubtedly will be)? We beat them 4 times and they don't win the World Series, and it's fine by me...they can win 130 games for all I care.

Just a quick question. Am I getting excited because White Sox baseball is going to start in a month, or because the White Sox could actually be good this year? I've questioned the Ozzie hiring since day one...and I now stop questioning it. He seems to be the right man for the team. Part of me still thinks that this coudl be a 70-75 win team to start the rebuilding. The other part thinks that what has been shown by the team, namely Frank Thomas and Ozzie Guillen...both saying this whole offseason thing is no big deal, Frank saying this is Ozzie's team, and Ozzie saying Frank is his best hitter...their mutual respect for one another seems to be a great thing, and that part of me thinks this team could win 85-90, hell, maybe even 95 games if they catch a break now and then. I can only hope that the latter part of me is correct.

Why would you "give up"? How do we know that Diaz/Cotts/Pacheco/whoever else is put in the rotation doesn't excel with flying colors, leading us to a division winning team, giving us 3 good starters for the playoffs, where we destroy everything in our path(I think I've said that like 4 or 5 times now this offseason ). Hey, it could happen. Sometimes, that's why injuries are good things. If you want a comparison, try in the NFL with New England. If Drew Bledsoe never gets hurt, Tom Brady never gets in, and Bledsoe is still probably there, which means he's not in Buffalo, which means New England continues to slip below .500 for these past 3 years, Buffalo then has the #16 overall pick in the 2003 draft, they then trade Peerless Price to Atlanta for the #23 pick overall, they trade both of those picks to Chicago for the #4 pick overall, and they select Byron Leftwich out of Marshall. It could have happened that way, and all it took was one injury.

Why would you wish an injury on anyone? In general, you never, ever wish injuries on opposing players. That's low.

Don't tell me what you do, tell me when you do it. He was huge in getting the Cubs to the NLCS and Chicago's(Chicago in general, meaning both the Sox and Cubs) first playoff series win since 1917. Given, he did give up like 7 runs in game 7 of the NLCS, but hey, who's counting that? It was all Bartman's fault anyways

Damn, that was a b****slap. Nice

I picked Strait, though I feel either a receiver or a CB, possibly even a LB or a DT could be taken here as well.

Just order about the first 50-100 guys...that shouldn't take too long, and will get you through atleast the first 3 or 4 rounds I presume.

Maybe it's just me, but I see a bit of irony in that post. Anyways, I am paying no attention to the article. I read the first 2 paragraphs and had read all I needed to read. As usual, Mariotti has busted out the blue and red kool-aid and has put on his Cubbie hat, and is kissing Sosa's ass like you wouldn't believe. Hey Jay, is that chocolate on your nose and lips, or have you just been writing about SamME and the Scrubs again?

Remember, there was a reason we got shutout on opening day. We used minor league bats!

Yeah, I would probably take him too if I were ever given the choice. I just wanted to see what people would say. I mean, I do think he's the best pitcher in the majors for a reason. I just also think he has about the biggest ego of anyone in the league to go along with his talent.

We can only hope he has one of the best years of his career, leads us to a postseason appearance, and then pulls a Kirby Puckett, putting the team on his back and carrying them home. I'd be fine with it anyways.

Ah, just call him whatever the hell you want, and then if he gets mad at you, be like "hey b****, quit changing your name."

Hey, it's sweet all the same. Me-likey.

BTW, just for clarity purposes, TO is not guaranteed to be a 49er next year. They still have to wait until the grievance hearings or whatever the hell they are are over.

Most likely. I think his fastball will be back and he'll be hitting 96-98 on a consistent basis. If only he had that snap dragon hook that Gordon had. That 12-6 curve ball of his is sick.

I assume they had to of played a full year, correct? If so, I'd have to say, no comment. If not...Charles Johnson.