Pastime

Well, that explains Paul's lack of speed. In 7 seasons, he has 3 stolen bases and an inside-the-park-homerun. So he must have SOME mobility. I just hope that he doesn't have that horrible disease that Bo Jackson and Albert Belle had. That would not be cool at all.

ChiSoxFan, That was a kickass analysis. Nice job.

Darn it! I just missed making the list. I knew I shouldn't have bought that skyscraper last month.

One of my favorite quotes from Ozzie thus far: "The 2nd base job is Willie Harris's to lose." When asked who Willie was competing against, Ozzie said, "He's competing against himself." So if Willie Harris loses the 2nd base job, Ozzie will replace him with Willie Harris. One thing is for sure - that Spring Training roster is a helluva lot looser, positive, and lively than I can ever remember it being under Sleepy Jerry.

Nuke, Sometimes it just takes guys a little longer than others to finally find the middle ground. And take it from me, the Chicago media looks for anything negative to write about. If not for negativity, they wouldn't have much to say or write. I've always thought Frank has gotten a bad rap in the press. Maybe he's not as rah-rah like some, but still, leadership by example can't be ignored. You're way off. Unless you holler once in a while, mouth off sporadically in the media, and hit .237, you aren't the team leader. Right, Jose?

My point exactly, except they need to use a picture of a dripping hypodermic needle instead of an asterisk. HA! That's great! Did Jeff Kent mean that alcohol was illegal in the US from 1920-1933, and obviously Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had their access to it - so therefore, they were using a "banned" or "illegal" substance? He couldn't have honestly thought Gehrig and Ruth were juicing up - that's just moronic. I don't know what Kent was trying to say.

I agree as well. I've never been a big supporter of Garland, but the kid's confidence is already shaky to begin with, and this could messwith his head. Plus, just adding a "cutter" to Schoenweiss's pitching arsenal doesn't immediately make him a better pitcher. He's been a mediocre starter in the past, and I just hope he doesn't end up a mediocre starting pitcher who just happens to have added a "cutter."

Based on last year's stats, Houston's present rotation looks like this: Pettite - 21-8, 4.02 Clemens - 17-9, 3.91 Miller - 14-13, 4.13 Robertson - 15-9, 5.10 Oswalt - 10-5, 2.97 (in half a season) The Flubs present rotation looks like this: Maddux - 16-11, 3.96 Wood - 14-11, 3.20 Zambrano - 13-11, 3.11 Clement - 14-12, 4.11 Prior - 18-6, 2.43 I know statistics never tell the complete story, but which rotation would YOU rather have? Plus, IMO, the Astros have a better 1-8 lineup than the Flubs - including a true leadoff hitter. In other words, it's not a foregone conclusion that the North Side Club will win ANYTHING. And that's my last post about them. Like all of you, I'm growing weary and tired of all the hype. My concerns should be, and will be on OUR rotation. With some of our young guys, we might have a great rotation of our own in just a year or two. (Cotts, Wing, Honel, and Rauch - I'm really pulling for you guys).

25??? What an old bastard! It's a crime that he'll not only collect a MLB paycheck, but his Social Security benefits at the same time. Simply pathetic!

I won't accuse Bonds of "juicing it" because I have no proof, but I think that he will be lucky to hit 35 HR this year, and he'll blame it on his age, and how aging diminished his skills. How convenient. He's using something, IMO. Whether it's illegal steroids, growth hormones, or whatever, he's using something. Good for him. I don't care.

Jon Garland (Mike Morgan II) will finally have another above-.500 season, IMO. He'll finish 16-14.

He's a has-been. Just another example of a guy who had all the tools to be a Hall Of Famer, but didn't want to put in the necessary work to achieve the ultimate results. And if his previous track record over the last 4 years holds true, he'll find some piddly injury to milk for 3 months. I'm glad he's on the Royals - and he has to play the outfield. He'll get sick of that running and hustling stuff real soon. If he plays 100 games, call me. He's become a poor man's Jose Canseco. A lazy player who just wants to be a DH.

Wood won 14 games last year, and Buehrle won 14 games last year. Wood is a great "power" pitcher, but he has an iffy arm and an iffy back. He's literally one pitch away from ending his career, and true - you can say that about ANY pitcher, but if someone is going to blow their arm out on any given pitch, I would definitately lean towards Wood over MB.

I wonder how many innings the bullpen will be pitching in pitcher #5's games this season. I don't think anyone in the bullpen will be getting a lot of idle time. Before it's all said and done, we may go through 20 pitchers this year - who knows. I wouldn't be surprised to see all our relievers get career highs in appearances and innings pitched. I hope some of the kids are ready ....

If that's the case we should hav predictions of who's goin to be injured next. I know Pastime would suggest Paul Konerko pullin a hamstring from runnin so hard to first base. He doesn't run - he plods. I don't think you can pull a hammy that way. I know Garland only got "nicked" and bruised, but imagine if he had gotten his elbow shattered or something like that. The lack of depth in our rotation is frighteningly shallow, and if we had to pitch 2-3 rookies in our rotation, then we can only hope they would turn out like the late-80s Braves staffs. They took their pounding, learned on the job, and turned out pretty good.

Rex, Callis may "know his stuff," but his opinions are just one man's opinions. Give it two years, and then we'll know whether he was right. Personally, I think that if Reed was in the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, or Cardinals organizations, he would be a little more highly-thought of. Just my thoughts.

Here's the next part of the interview: "l ....................................l, I................................"

Konerko is on the radio right now. His speaking ability is as slow as his running ability. I'll post his first response to a question on March 5th. He might actually reach first base at the same time after his first at-bat. So far, "Paul, what do you think about your slow start?" Paul : "W.................................................................................e" Stay tuned for the rest.

Long Reliever: Danny Wright RHP: Cliff Politte RHP: Jose Santiago LHP: Kelly Wunsch RH Set-Up: Shingo Takatsu LH Set-Up: Damaso Marte Closer: Billy Koch I agree. Matt Ginter is out of options, so I guess he's gone. With the lack of pitching around baseball these days, I'm sure someone will take a flyer on him.

I hope that we have the same loose, hustling, and solid team under Ozzie that the 2003 Royals had. However, I want a better result at the end of the year.

Another outstanding article by Kass. He's one of ours. This whole thing with the ball is by far the stupidest, most moronic, most brainless publicity stunt I've ever seen. And what's really sick is that in a lot of Cubs Fans' twisted minds, the ball represents Steve Bartman. When they blow the ball up, a lot of sicko stupid Cubs drones will actually somehow mentally convince themselves that Bartman was blown up. They've given the ball a "human-like" quality. Those are some scary people, I gotta tell ya. :headshake If they want to blow up the REAL reason for the blown Game 6 - then take Dusty Baker, Mark Prior, and Alex Gonzalez, put them in the middle of the room, stuff some sticks of TNT up each of their asses, and light the fuses. Actually, do it anyways, since I can't wait until July 4th, and I'd like to see some fireworks.

He got hit in the left elbow by a Jason Grilli pitch and left for the trainer's room in considerable pain. He came back out and charged the mound. He'll be getting there around 4 pm.

My prediction: AVG - .289 HR - 37 RBI - 121 SB - 7 (Ozzie loves to move runners, with or without forklifts). BB - 101 OBP - .435 That's fine by me.

I was a fat blob like Gagne for a few years, and then I had to lose weight for health reasons. I'm still not at my ideal weight, but I lost 25 lbs on that Atkins Diet in just 4 months. Maybe that's what happened to Gagne. I have never met the man, or ever talked to him, but I just don't think he would juice up. As for Sammy, now that the team is full of real star players, his ego has shrunk tremendously and he's resigned now to just being a PART of a team instead of being the focal point. Losing that huge-ass ego of his has to be worth at least 20 lbs of weight loss. :fthecubs :sosasucks :knob

What a great movie. Frank Thomas as Pedro Cerrano. Willie Harris as Willie Mays Hays. Billy Koch as Rick Vaughn. LMAO!! We need to sign Joe Niekro out of retirement so we can have our equivalent of Eddie Harris.