Pastime

I'd say that to anybody who drank vodka that came out of a penis. Well, s***. There goes my anniversary surprise to my wife. Thanks a lot.

Where's Monte Hall when you need him?

Gaston would be a good fit here if we had a bunch of guys who were self-motivated and constantly fired up. But let's be honest, if a three-toed sloth was in the clubhouse with the team and the room was on fire, the three-toed sloth would exit before a third of the current players. In other words, we have some uninspired players who loaf, and play hard when they feel like it. That crap wouldn't be tolerated by Ozzie. He may be a smaller guy in stature, but I wouldn't put it past him to put a foot up someone's ass no matter how much bigger they were. Plus, he would make the clubhouse fun, while keeping it professional. Cito Gaston's idea of fun is probably watching his fingernails grow. I know he's an established manager, (or was about a decade ago), but the thought of having "Jerry Manuel II" doesn't excite me. Plus, this team isn't going to generate much fanfare with their roster, so maybe having Ozzie would help with that.

Jerry Reinsdorf LOVES Graffy. I wouldn't be surprised to see him being re-signed as the first offseason move.

From all I've read, seen, heard, and been overexposed to, Kenny prefers Gaston, while Reinsdrip prefers Guillen. So who knows. Will Reinsdorf use his legitimate power and override Kenny? Will Kenny get to make the decision with no outside interference? Will Kenny show anger and quit if Reinsdorf tells him who to hire? These and many other questions will be answered later today. Same SoxTalk forum. Same SoxTalk thread.

King George was embarrassed after the World Series. He was pissed and angry. The best thing we could do is take advantage of him NOW while he's still unable to make rational, calm, and well thought out decisions. I love Maggs just like the rest of you, but I also love the White Sox. And my love for the Sox runs deeper than my love for Maggs, who would have a good chance of leaving in a year or two anyways as a free agent. We can't afford him now, so how could we afford him in 2005 or 2006, when he would be even MORE expensive? He's still in his prime, and he's still coveted by many teams. Let's sit back and see which team is willing to ante up the most.

Besides winning two World Series rings with extremely good and superior talent - a team that Terry Bevington could have won it all with ... Besides playing the race card recently .... Besides being out of baseball for 7 years or so .... Besides being Jerry Manuel Lite .... What advantage do the Sox have by hiring Cito Gaston over Ozzie Guillen? Oh yeah, Ozzie has never managed before. Well, maybe it's time this team took a chance for a change. Maybe it's time this team went out on a limb to find out what happens. What do they have to lose? Another 5,000 fans? That should get us to an average of 100 patrons per game. LOL!! Ozzie is a perfect fit for one reason - this team will be full of garbage and trash next year. With Reinsdick's payroll restrictions and Kenny's lobotomized peabrain making the personnel decisions, we need someone who can bring the positive to any undermanned team. We need someone who can make even the sorriest loser (which will be half our roster) feel important and needed - you know, to inspire them to give their best, so they hit. 210 instead of .180.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1651586

I know I'm an old relic at the age of 32, but is it just me, or do 85% of the alternative bands sound the same now? I can't tell some from the others. I like The White Stripes, Seether, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Nickelback (sometimes), Puddle of Mudd, etc. I just can't distinguish some bands from others anymore. Maybe I'll do better once I get my hearing aid.

DBAHO, You and I were teenagers once, and we probably were obnoxious, smartass, loud-mouthed, punk know-it-alls. However, if I had some strange chance to meet the teen version of me, I'd kick the s*** out of him.

I own a home and love the trick-or-treaters, but I refuse to give anyone over 16 any candy. It's for little kids, for cry's sake. I've had a lot of nasty comments hurled my way because of that, and that's fine. My normal response is very simple to anyone who cops an attitude about it - "f*** off if you don't like it. Get a life, loser."

DBAHO, I agree with you on Brian Anderson. Sure, he's not a flamethrower, and he won't ever be confused with Barry Zito, but he's a "crafty veteran" who gets people out, and is a smart pitcher who changes speeds and keeps hitters off balance. He made the Sox look stupid last year, but that's no great feat. Plus, he would be relatively cheap, which fits right into the thinking of Williams/Reinsdorf. However, if he was a possibility, he would have to be in the middle of the rotation, since Buehrle has a similar style of pitching. You don't want to give any opponent the same "look" two days in a row. I really like that thought of yours. Good job. Let's hope Kenny is listening.

It don't mean a thing, if you ain't got that ring. Do whop do whop do whop do whop, do whaaa!

Tex, If we can get 32-38 wins from Buehrle and Loaiza, that's fine. However, I always pencil in 10 wins for Garland regardless, and that being said, that would be 42-48 wins from 3 of 5 starting rotation slots. Just a thought. As for Colon, yeah, I was angry that he refused our offer, but we will still get a quality starter, and I hope that Rauch gets a shot at the 5th slot. (Rauch couldn't be worse than Danny Wright Wrong if he pitched with his left arm). If not, then sign Ponson and Pavano (the 2004 Loaiza, IMO). I don't know why I think this, but I think Colon breaks down this year. He's overweight, he's logged a lot of innings, and his mechanics are dreadful. I would hate to have him break down on our staff. But he's as good as gone, so I just accept it and move on. However, I will miss Bartolo, and every time I eat a Whopper or a cheesecake, I will think of him with fondness.

He may be older, and have declining skills, but I'm sure he would be cheaper than $2.5 million or whatever we will have to pay Alomar if we sign him. And he's older and has declining skills.

In all seriousness - if Konerko hits .285, with 33 HR and 110 RBI next year, would he THEN be worth the $8 million a year? If we can't dump him, then we are really going to need him to produce like HELL next year.

I'm going to assume that JimFainter is NOT a Frank Thomas fan.

My only point is if you cant keep a homegrown guy like Maggs why have a team at all? If we got rid of every team like that, we would have no Blue Jays, no White Sox, no Pirates, no Marlins, no Padres, no Reds, no Tigers, no Twins, no Mariners, no A's, no Devil Rays, no Angels, no Royals, no Indians, no Expos, and no Brewers. I don't disagree that half those teams SHOULD be eliminated , but that's just baseball nowadays. There are the "haves" and the "have-nots." The "haves" are teams that sell out all the seats every game, and/or have a lucrative TV contract, and/or have an owner that spends faster than he can piss. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Rangers are prime examples of the "haves." They sell out, and/or have a big TV deal, and/or have an owner who loves to throw money around. The White Sox are in the huge list of "have-nots." We don't have a lot of fans coming to the ballpark, we don't have a lucrative TV deal, and we don't have an owner who will spend like a kid in a candy store. I hope that helps you understand this. I'm 32 years old now, and when I was 22, I felt exactly like you do. But baseball isn't "a gentleman's game played by gentlemen" anymore. It's a business now. The importance of winning baseball games had been replaced by the importance of reaching profits and making money. The "old days" of baseball are now as obsolete and forgotten as the Studebaker and Edsel.

"Piss off, Pastime!"

This thread is like Freddy Krueger. No matter how many times you kill it, it just keeps coming back.

Tony Pena had a winning team with a limited payroll, and Ozzie is a lot like Tony Pena, IMO. However, we shouldn't HAVE such a limited payroll. If no one came to the park in August and September, I could understand keeping the payroll at its pathetic level. But the fans DID come out, and they spent their money. So he rewards them for that by keeping the payroll the same? And you have a LOT of wishy-washy fans out there in Chicago who like to root for whatever Chicago team is doing better. Now they are flocking to the Cubs like cockroaches to a rotting apple core. Once again, Reinsdrip won't spend until the fans come out. And the fans won't come out until he spends. He spent, and the fans came. And now he's back to the same bulls***? Did the asshole not learn anything? Unbelievable. I know he has made millions in business, but it must be by making business dealings with millionaire chimps, because Reinsdrip knows exactly jack s*** about the business of running a baseball team. I know Jerry Reinsdrip is cheap. We all do. However, I never knew that he was also extremely STUPID. Chairman Cheapass, :fyou

Notice that Ozzie met with Reinsdrip the second time around. I truly think that Ozzie is Reinsdrip's personal choice. I think Gaston is Kenny Williams' personal choice. I don't see what the problem is. If JR insists that it's Ozzie who gets hired, all he has to do is pick up the puppet strings in Kenny's back and make him do whatever he wants. Plus, JR should just say, "I want Ozzie." That should end it right there. It might piss Kenny off, but what is he going to do, resign in anger? Hell, sign Ozzie just for that!!

I guess I'm really lucky, since I have Game 6 and Game 7 of the NLCS on videotape. My wife is a Cubs fan, and she made me tape them. However, I rearranged my 300-400 videotapes last Sunday, so I don't know which cabinet they're in.

If you took GIDPaul Konerko and stuck him in a garbage bag, the Waste Management people wouldn't even take him. As for Hee Chop Suey, he's just another Cubs prospect WAY overrated and overhyped. :fthecubs

It's just my opinion, but I think this is Kenny Williams' make-it or break-it season. If he can't get it done this year, I really think he is outta here.