Pastime

Is anybody else bothered by the fact that Ozzie can't remember the names of his third and fourth starters? This is maybe really stretching it, but maybe Ozzie is trying to backhandedly motivate Garland by not mentioning him - in other words, "when he's good enough for me to call him by name, then and only then will I." Just a thought. Also, from the files of "When White-Trash Crackers Attack," William Ligue (the greasy scumbag who charged the field with his kid) has failed 3 drug tests and now faces a probation violation. :headshake

The one advantage we have about playing the Yankees 7 times early in the season is that usually early in the season, pitchers have the advantage. Hitters usually take a while to "get in the groove." If Cotts makes the team, then early in the season is the RIGHT time to start him against the Yankees - not during a pennant race. Right Jerry? "ZZZZZZZZ." Wow, he sleeps with his eyes open, just like fish do.

From the Chicago Sun Times: Guillen isn't losing sleep over pitching staff - February 20, 2004 BY DOUG PADILLA TUCSON, Ariz. -- With only White Sox pitchers and catchers due to report today, Ozzie Guillen will have time to get settled in before a much-anticipated face-to-face meeting with Frank Thomas. Until the full squad reports Wednesday, things should be quiet and casual around the spring-training complex. Guillen doesn't have many rules and has even fewer for pitchers. "I have to make sure everybody has fun and plays the game right, plays the game hard,'' said Guillen, who will conduct his first official workout as manager this afternoon after players undergo physicals. "They only have two rules: to run the bases and be on time. Besides that, just go out and have fun.'' Today's workout isn't expected to provide much information about a pitching staff that begins camp with a few question marks. While Esteban Loaiza, Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland are all but guaranteed to make the starting rotation, Scott Schoeneweis will begin the process of proving he deserves a return to that role. The left-hander, acquired from the Anaheim Angels midway through last season, hasn't started a game since June 2002. If Schoeneweis isn't up to the task, the Sox will be in panic mode. They already are hunting for a No. 5 starter, with Dan Wright, Jon Rauch and Neal Cotts the leading candidates. If Schoeneweis struggles in Arizona, a trade for a proven starter is expected. "Right now I'm worried about my fifth starter,'' Guillen said. "We have four guys, Loaiza, Buehrle and all those guys. I think they will have good years. It's time for them to step up. "You look at those guys, and they have [had] good years. Last year, the best pitcher the Marlins had, had only won 14 games. We have a guy that [has] won 21 games, another [who has] won 18 games, a couple of guys [have] won 15 games. There is no way, when your starting rotation is that good, that you shouldn't win the pennant race.'' Garland's career high is 12 victories, reached each of the last two years, while Schoeneweis' best is 10 in 2001. Guillen might be feeling good about his starters, but the bullpen brings even more unknowns into the equation. The key for the relievers is how right-hander Billy Koch rebounds from nagging injuries and even more annoying struggles. Koch never had fewer than 31 saves or 63 innings pitched and only once had an ERA higher than 3.39 before last season, his first in a Sox uniform. He was 5-5 last year with a 5.77 ERA in 53 innings with 11 saves and four blown saves. While the Sox are searching for answers in the rotation, they do have insurance when it comes to their closer. If Koch falters, newcomer Shingo Takatsu, the all-time saves leader in Japan, is expected to get the first call. Left-hander Damaso Marte, who had 21 saves over the last two seasons and a 1.58 ERA in 2003, also could move to closer but is expected to be the primary setup man. The staff might be ranked in the lower half of the major leagues, but in a watered down American League Central, it could be enough to get the job done. "If we play up to our capabilities, we can be the best team in the division, absolutely,'' general manager Ken Williams said. "Certainly, if we play well out of the gate -- which will be a little bit of a task because we have a tough schedule to open the season -- we can be a better club, whether it be from some of our younger players improving as the season wears on or us having to go out and get the necessary pieces to make a push. "But believe me, it won't be from a lack of trying and a lack of creativity and aggressiveness.'' Things should get interesting early as the Sox open the season with two games at Kansas City (April 5 and 7), then play the New York Yankees seven times over the next 15 days.

Now I understand Kenny's thinking! He wanted to sign Jose for 5 million to be a "stopgap" measure. Once the season's over, he's going after one of the studs at SS. That Kenny - he's so shrewd. :headshake

Good point. I yeild. That's nice, but do you YIELD as well?

Since the Dodgers saved 3 million on the Gagne decision, they are now monetarily able to trade for Paul Konerko.

Adding a big name to your roster will draw fans? Get outta here - that's just crap! The fans have to come out in droves, and THEN you can add a big name. That's the way it has always been. Why is this so hard to understand? That's Jerry's mentality, and you can see the success he's having with it. :dips***

Always remember that Kass is a WHITE SOX fan, and he writes some of the best and most thought-out articles at the Cubune - although being the best writer at that s***ty newspaper is proverbially like being the tallest midget. Either way, he gives Sox fans a good name. He's one of ours.

I just got my order today. 5 Thin Mints 5 Somoas 5 Coconut Thingees (or whatever) I look forward to those cookies. It's the only cookies I can stand to eat. Oreos and Chips Ahoy have gotten really bad in the past few years (at least in Chicagoland).

I was actually happy today when the sportsradio hosts discussed NASCAR for a half hour, and I could care less about NASCAR. Anything was better than all this Cubs crap. And as I type this, the local sportsradio show has Kerry Wood on as a guest. I can't take much more of this. :banghead :banghead

The rotation: RH Kevin Brown, RH Javier Vazquez, RH Mike Mussina, RH Jose Contreras, RH Jon Lieber. Kevin Brown is getting up in years, and he's injury-prone. Will his arm hold up? Javier Vasquez is pretty damn good, but he's going to a new league. Will that affect him? Mike Mussina is a consistent winner, but he isn't the same pitcher he was 3 years ago - he was hittable last year. Is he starting to break down? Jose Contreras is an unknown commodity - he's either really good, or really bad. Which Jose will show up this year? Jon Lieber hasn't pitched in 2 years, and who knows what he's going to be able to do after a lengthy layoff. How sharp and healthy will he be? I think the Yanks have the most ???? in their starting rotation. As for the A's, I think they're the best. I just LOVE that staff.

He's replacing Shawn Estes, who was throwing batting practice pitches the whole year - even in games. :fthecubs

I just hope that John Kass is okay. I'm sure after that article ran in the morning papers, the rest of the Cubune staff came at him with pitchforks and blazing torches. I'm so surprised that he was even allowed to have that article printed. Unless you're "all Cubbies, all the time," I thought you weren't allowed to work there. He's obviously just a token hire - "Well, we have to hire a Sox fan according to the law, so hire this guy."

I'd love to take 4 out of 6 from them and have them miss the playoffs by one game. Other than a threesome with Pam Anderson and Jessica Simpson, I can't imagine anything more beautiful to dream about.

If they do get fined, I wonder which treasure chest George will dip into to pay the fine. :headshake If they kept something like that hidden, that's bad business practice and a violation of "good faith" between the two teams. I remember hearing all that "bad business practice" and "good faith" mumbo-jumbo during SirotkaGate a few years ago.

You mean the "Yankee Flipper?" He does seem to have a knack for writing pretty good columns/articles. At least he has a mind of his own and an original thought, unlike some of the repetitive oafs in the Chicago papers. As for the Red Sox and their fans, hey, you had a chance to get A-Rod, and you blew it - plain and simple. You couldn't, or wouldn't, find a way to complete a deal to acquire him, and the Yankees DID find a way to complete a deal. Deal with it. Quit yer b****in' already. So now you're stuck with the 2nd best shortstop in baseball instead. Boo hoo. You poor tortured souls. Someone send a truckload of tissues to Boston.

One of the local papers here in Chicago called the Cubs starters "The 5 Golden Arms." Awww, come on now! That's just ridiculous. Are their starters good? Yes, but they're hardly "Golden" just yet. All this sugary, syrupy crap I keep reading and hearing is enough to make me vomit. I wish that all the Cubs fans who keep calling up the sports radio stations, while they're dancing with glee and giddiness, would just remember that he is NOT the same Greg Maddux that they let go 11 years ago. He's now a 38-year-old pitcher who is losing his stuff, can't pitch more than 5-6 innings anymore, and has logged a TON of innings on that pitching arm. If he can duplicate his 16-11 record from a year ago, then God bless him. But to just assume that he will have a good season and vault them into the World Series is a little premature - yet typical and expected of Cubs fans. There are no guarantees for any team in any season, but to listen to the Northside drones, you might as well just cancel the season and print the World Series tickets right now, since it's just a foregone conclusion that the Cubs are winning the pennant. Whatever. That's why they play the games. And I for one will be laughing my ass off when they hopefully fail to even make the playoffs.

I say Mets fan. They spent a ton of money in recent years, but blew it on the wrong players (something we know a lot about, sadly). Wait, so you're telling me that Jose Paniaqua wasn't a big name? Nope, just a big jackass. I still say that his game against the Twins somehow changed the season for the Sox. We were killing the Twins after beating out their brains the day before, and they couldn't touch our pitchers. We had them by the throat and were choking their life away. Their hitters were frustrated, defeated, and taken out of their game. Then Joe Bread'N'Water comes in and gives up a bunch of runs to the Twins ...... their hitters weren't so down and lost after that. And all of a sudden the choke hold was gone. Just my $.02.

He may have only played one year with the Pale Hose, but he will eternally remain one of my favorite Sox players of all time. Who can forget his almost mythical home run against Seattle back in 1993?

But who knows.. maybe they are more greedy than their father and will make mistakes. We can only hope. Meanwhile, here in the Windy City, we are all hoping that Reinsdorf's and Bill Wirtz's kids do the opposite of their fathers.

No doubt they share their father's love of winning. That's true, but will they have the almost obsessive mentality of spending? If I was one of his sons, I would want to pocket some more that money instead of investing all of it in payroll.

Wait until they grab Willie Harris from under our noses. I will really s*** a brick. I hate to say this, because it will mean the potential downfall of baseball and maybe even kill it, but they need a salary cap. I hate the salary cap 99% of the time, but it needs to find its way into Major League Baseball. Otherwise, this kind of bulls*** will continue to go on and ruin the sport. Can you imagine how many people are already alienated and irritated to the point that they won't even watch the season? Something has to be done to stop spendthrift assholes like Steinbrenner. A salary cap is the only alternative. Whatever happens will happen. The MLB Players Union is in for the nightmare of their life very soon. Thank goodness. I used to support the players completely, but I don't anymore.

It took him over 4 years to finish the Wrogley Fiel model. Of course it did - can you imagine the time it took him to find enough beer and urine to pour over it to give it the proper smell? Talk about a "life's work."

I'm just pissed, and rightly so. We constantly complain and b**** about our owner spending 60 million on payroll, and then we watch the Yankees corner the market and buy anyone they want. Maybe it's jealousy, but I'm still miffed.

If Maddux signs with the Yankees just because of the money, I honest to God hope he blows his arm trying to pitch for his 300th win in May or June, and he can never pitch again. I hate to be so mean and spiteful, but I've had it with these lying sacks of s*** who claim "that it's not all about money," and then they turn around and prove otherwise. And don't get me started on what I hope happens to Scott Borasshole. I couldn't post it here or I'd be banned.