Pastime

We'll have our answer to this question after December 14th. The winter meetings are in New Orleans December 11-14. The GM's meetings are in Phoenix this week, I think. The GM's meetings. Kenny Williams sitting with the other GM's. Wow. Talk about a 5th grade 5-foot point guard thrown into an NBA lineup. Never send a boy to do a man's job. But we have no choice. Sadly. But I have confidence in Kenny. I'm also confident that the sun will rise in the West tomorrow morning.

I would love to dump Kong tomorrow and his albatross contract. The league finally figured him out. He'll be a decent hitter, but he will never approach his former statistics with a ten foot pole. By the way, congratulations goes out to Paul Konerko. He finally reached first base yesterday after hitting a ground ball back on September 29th. Way to go, SLOTH.

I got a little confused there for a minute. When I saw "Korean Slugger," I thought that the Cubs had released future Hall Of Famer Hee Chop Suey, or whatever his name is. You know, the guy with no plate discipline and a soft skull. :fthecubs

ugly'83, I read in Sporting News recently that Huff might move to 1st base. Travis Lee played there, but he's a free agent.

DBAHO, I agree with you. I hate to bring this up, and I get sick of hearing it, but it's so true - Baseball is 90% pitching and defense. I want a starting rotation that is really solid. I know we can't go out and spend like we just won the lottery, but 5 solid starters is all I ask. The Marlins didn't have a dominant rotation, but it found its niche in the playoffs, and we all saw what happened. Having a team that's great at hitting is important, but overrated. Look at this year's Braves, the 2000 White Sox, the 1998 Orioles, this year's Giants, the 2001 Yankees, the 1999 Cardinals, etc. Good pitching shuts down good hitting. Why can't anyone comprehend this? Yas, I agree 150%. The only way I want Cedeno on this team is as the 4th outfielder, or the guy who changes the urinal cakes.

Rex, I will be criticized (or will I?), but USCF is a better place. Wrigley is an old run-down cow pasture. Oh wait, they have that all important ivy. Pffffft. I've been to 10 Cubs games (I hang my head in sorrow for admitting that), and I've been to at least 50 Sox games in the last 10 years. I like USCF better. The food is better, the conversation is better, the fans are better, and the facilities are better. One of Wrigley's many special features is the ability to stand in not only your own, but other people's urine as well. Hooray. Plus, at USCF, I get to talk to REAL baseball fans who know the game, not a bunch of drunken preppies who think that "Ryne Sandberg has gotten smaller, hasn't he?" It's Mark Grudzielaniek, you morons. When the place is done, it will be a cooler place to see a baseball game than before. Unlike the North Side Shrine - or as I call it - "The World's Largest Singles Bar." Let me know if you go next year, and I'll meet up with ya. Your first beer is on me. P.S. Wrigley Field hot dogs blow. :fthecubs

I'm in the minority when it comes to Willie Harris, but I really think that with the proper guidance and hours of hard work, he could be a good hitter. Not a batting title contender, or a .310 hitter, but a good hitter. If he could have an OBP of just .360, it would be a plus. (I hope for higher). I would rather see Willie in CF. He seems more adept to playing there. Plus, Luis Castillo will be manning 2B for us anyway. I was really excited to read this earlier: OF/IF Willie Harris will be working extensively with new manager Ozzie Guillen on bunting and using his speed as a leadoff hitter. Guillen says he would like Harris to become a player similar to Marlins CF Juan Pierre. He'll never be Pierre, but a poor man's version will work for me. And we all know that Jerry Reinsdorf is a poor man. His payroll proves it. :fyou

What do you mean? We have Jason Dellaero and his .185 average! Or do we? I haven't heard anything about that stiff for a long time.

Exactly, DB. Exactly. The rotation is a mess. We already lost The Michelin Man to free agency, which sucks. Yes, we still have E-Lo and Buehrle. And then what? Jon Garland? The sub-.500 pitcher that everyone keeps saying to be patient with? For cry's sake, the guy is going into his 5th year. His 4 seasons are pretty consistent - consistently average and mediocre. 4-8, 6-7, 12-12, and 12-13. I would love to have confidence in him to be solid next year, but only if he does one simple thing. He should stick two pencils in his ears, pull upward until he hears a "pop," and then realize that he finally pulled his head out of his ass. The thought of Scott Schoenweiss as the 5th starter scares me. The guy stunk as a reliever for the most part. If the Sox did nothing else but sign two solid starting pitchers and a solid 2B this offseason, I would do backflips that Ozzie Smith would applaud.

I think we spent that much on Jose because he gives the team some left-handed pop in a right-handed-dominant lineup. Plus, the SS market is pretty dry, and any free agent SS would probably command more than that. I'm not happy with the decision either. We could have lowballed him. He stinks defensively, is losing range at SS, can't hit above .235, and is streakier at the plate than anyone I've ever seen. Maybe his nice looking porno mustache arouses Kenny or something.

I called my brother-in-law in New York last night (a Mets fan) just to talk to him about Cedeno. (I have no other reason to call the buffoon). He said the same thing that the ESPN report said. But he added that he's lazy, and he plays when he feels like it. Plus, the guy is fast as hell and still can't hit .280? That's a problem. Roger Cedeno is a perfect poster boy for "unfulfilled potential." Let him underachieve somewhere else, not here. We're already payroll-restricted as it is - why waste money on a loser like Cedeno? Cedeno's stats from last year - Games - 148, AB - 484, Runs - 70, Hits - 129, 2B - 25, 3B - 4, HR - 7, RBI - 37, OBP - .320, SLG - .378, B Avg - .267 Hell, we can get numbers close to that from Willie Harris, and certainly much more than that from Rowand. The money needs to be spent on PITCHING PITCHING PITCHING.

When the ebbing tide retreats Along the rocky shoreline, It leaves a trail of tidal pools In a short-lived galaxy. Each microcosmic planet A complete society. A simple kind of mirror To reflect upon our own. All the busy little creatures Chasing out their destinies. Living in the pools, They soon forget about the sea... Wheels within wheels in a spiral array, A pattern so grand and complex, Time after time we lose sight of the way, Our causes can't see their effects. A quantum leap forward In time and in space, The universe learned to expand. Myths and the magic, Triumphant and tragic, A mechanized world out of hand. Computerized clinic For superior cynics Who dance to a synthetic band. In their own image, Their world is fashioned No wonder they don't understand. Science, like nature Must also be tamed With a view toward its preservation. Given the same State of integrity, It will surely serve us well. Art as expression, Not as market campaigns Will still capture our imaginations. Given the same State of integrity, It will surely help us along. The most endangered species, The honest man, Will surely survive annihilation. Forming a world State of integrity, Sensitive, open and strong. Wave after wave will flow with the tide, and bury the world as it does. Tide after tide will flow and recede, leaving life to go on as it was...

Enjoy it while you can.

I hope that in a month after his jailing, he becomes the b**** of a 350lb., one-eyed angry mass murderer named Turk who wears out his poopchute for the remainder of his life. What a complete jerkoff, asshole, scumbag, loser, creep, f*cking pathetic excuse for a human being.

On The Border - Al Stewart Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd I'll Stick Around - Foo Fighters You - Candlebox Black Friday - Steely Dan Clocks - Coldplay Dead Bodies Everywhere - Korn From The Beginning - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer Highway Star - Deep Purple Paranoid - Black Sabbath Black - Pearl Jam Rooster - Alice In Chains Bent - Matchbox Twenty Smokin' - Boston Weather With You - Crowded House Champagne Supernova - Oasis Golden Years - David Bowie Just Because - Jane's Addiction Fly To The Angels - Slaughter Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve Everlong - Foo Fighters Dogs - Pink Floyd Modern Day Cowboy -Tesla If - Bread Electric Land - Bad Company

Rex, I see your point. You know better than anyone that I'm not a Kenny fan, and don't admit to being one. However, give him a $70 million payroll, and he would blow all our socks off. I just have a feeling that he could really make something out of this season and make it special - or at least worth following. And I have as much confidence in him as I do in hoping it will be 90 degrees in Chicago's December. Last year was the most fun I've had as a Sox fan for a really long time. The end result sucked, but it was fun anyways. I was tortured in the Northeast for 3 weeks not being able to get my Sox fix. Just another one of my silly posts.

He would be a cheap "change of pace" starter, but I would hope we're setting our sights a little higher!!

I actually almost had to use my "Carlton Fisk" bat this past month out in the country. A wolf was messing around near the cabin, and I didn't know what to do. So I got ready for anything. By the way, I had a Brian Downing glove in Little League.

cwsox, Welcome back! Your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back! To the same old place that you laughed about. By the way, your user picture (the one that we all see) keeps showing up as a big red "x." There's no picture, just a Red "x." Just thought I would let you know.

Let me just say this: I was a pitcher from 12 to 17 years old - I blew my arm out. I used to throw pretty hard. That being said, I hit a few guys and truly felt sick and nauseated after I hit them. I hated what that stupid ball could do to guys. I never threw at one intentionally, honest to God. Sometimes you don't grip the ball right, or it slips, or the damn thing sails too - whatever. I have never thought highly of pitchers like Don Drysdale or Sal Maglie who threw at batters heads. I don't like it one bit, and think it's wrong. But I have one exception to that moral fiber of mine - if I were lucky enough to face Robert Fick - he would have the imprint of baseball stitches in his cheek. I truly can't stand that guy, and he is the one player in baseball I loathe, hate, despise, etc. I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire. Thanks for letting me vent. Carry on!

Dasox, Many teams are tying desperately to dump the high contracts. The market is more of a "sellers" market right now, meaning that the salaries should start taking a small downward turn on the old graph. That being said, I think that only one or two teams would even consider taking on Maggs and his 14 million albatross, er, I mean contract. The Yankees have a bottomless bank vault (or so it seems), and one of their huge weaknesses is right field. So that is one possibility. The other possibility is San Diego. They are going to move into a kickass new stadium, and they've sold an ungodly amout of season tickets already, and have some new found wealth to spend. Other than that, I can't see any other team taking on a 14 million per year contract . And good luck in school!

In the "old days," players loved, respected, and admired the game. They could make some money playing a game, and they gave it everything they had. I'm not saying that some players nowadays don't share those characteristics, but a lot don't, IMO. The players from the "old days" would actually have to get a job in the offseason to pay the bills. How many players nowadays have to worry about that? However, I am very aware of the fact that you are worth as much as someone is willing to pay you to do what you do well. If you are a business manager, and your best offer is $56,000, then that is the highest worth someone has put on you. A-Rod signed a contract for 250 million two years ago because someone thought he was worth that much. Do I fault him for that or hate him? No. Someone was willing to pay him that. Was he supposed to say, "Oh, no, Mr. Hicks. I can't possibly take this money, I'm not worth that." Nope. I wish baseball was played like it was in the old old old days, when Buck Weaver, Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Grover Alexander, Shoeless Joe Jackson, etc. gave all the blood, sweat, and tears they had to the game. But let's be honest and face it - most baseball players today are mainly concerned with the post-game spread, their own statistics, their contracts, and looking good. Baseball has become a game of individuality - the team concept is lost so often it is sad.

I am 1/4 owner of a small baseball card store. Do we spend beyond our means? No. However, if investing more money than usual in the store would increase the amount of customers that walked through the door (advertising, special deals, etc), then yes. I would spend. If Reinsdorf spent just an extra 5-10 million on the payroll, the fans would see that and respond. They responded last July, August, and September, didn't they? All Reinsdorf is doing is pissing off the borderline fans and convincing them to not come to the park. If we go into the season with a crappy roster, US Cellular Field will be a ghost-town.

Yas, In every interview I've seen and heard, Roger comes across as a guy who is really tired. Not sick and tired, just tired. He wants to finally relax and plop down in his favorite chair to watch TV. Roger is exhausted. And he should be. I was in Comiskey Park in 1986 - Sox vs. Sox. I can't remember all the specifics, but I remember that Roger was almost unhittable, yet the Sox beat him. One of his 4 losses that year. I have loved watching him since then. I was 15 years old at the time. I think he's sick of the traveling and the tired old "routine." I don't blame him, either. I was lucky enough to buy his most valuable rookie card 10 years ago, and it's still in thick glass. It will remain there until my son's 16th birthday. (For the record, I have no kids.)

E-Lo single-handedly saved us from a sub-.500 record last year. He will be just fine next year.