TLAK

It says he will replace Beltre at 3B. Doesn't LA scout anybody? Jose was a fish out of water at 3B. He's got good tools for there but never caught on to what you should do on a certain ball in a certain situation. It was a great relief when Crede came up, at least he knew whether to throw home or across. I like Jose and was sorry to see him go, I rated him higher at SS than most, but I never expected somebody to stick him at 3B.

It was a leg injury they kind of kept quiet, I think a quad pull that just wouldn't go away. I remember Ozzie joking that he was the only CF in the league you had to pinch run for. If he's not hurting we may see a little faster Timo. He was never a base stealer but it could help on ground balls and bunts. Last season, I think he showed he's a good bunter but couldn't get down the line.

I think the official White Sox press release, which I quoted, is more authoritive than RotoWorld. You can still look up the press release on the Sox site.

Yeth.

Sox press release: You had it right, Rex.

You stole my thunder! Garland has a tremendous upside. If he doesn't get hurt it's just a matter of time until he puts it all together. Hope he does it here.

No, I'd never pinch hit for Thomas, he's much too big to get mad at me. I buy what you say, though. Reverse the coin, if Borch is 4-7 against a guy do you pinch for him in the 9th? If Frank is available, yes. The manager is going to put they guy who he thinks, for what ever reason, has the best chance of getting a hit.

We as fans, watching on TV or far up in the stands can tell if a batter see's the ball off a particular pitcher. If we can see this I expect a baseball lifer, 40 feet away can see it too. It's not just the stats, if a guy has looked horrible in a certain match up, why beat your head against a wall and keep sending him out there? Another thing I noticed last year was the Sox seem scout themselves a lot more than in the past, particularly in the batting cage. In the pre-game shows, Oz mentioned how a guy was looking numerous times when asked about seemingly out of the blue line ups.

He reminded me of Aaron Rowand. Said his numbers went down when tried to do too much. Said he is not a power hitter, more a gapper who hits doubles and triples. He apparently doesn't know that those tend to go out on a lot of nights at USCellular. He has an air of confidence that he can succeed in the Majors. I liked how when the 3 idiots were pressing him if he could steal 70 bases here he said it depends on game situations and how much Ozzie gives him the green light. I thought he gave all the correct answers.

Thanks! A fine article as usual. The only difference I have with it is I don't count 3 run games as offensive failures where you have little chance of winning. The Sox were 6-6 when they scored 3 runs -actually a better record than when they scored 4 (10-14). I know you're going to run into stud pitchers that nobody can hit that day, but I just want to get out of as many 2 or less's as possible. Perhaps a speedier lineup can even beat a pitcher making his major league debut.

I couldn't find Jason's article so I'm going without it's benefit. By my count, the White Sox scored 2 runs or less 45 times. They scored 9 or more runs 35 times. Whether they are unusual v the rest of the league or not, they were a 1 and 44 in the low production games. Adding a run to these type of games, while subtracting 2 runs from the high scoring games, feels to me like it would result in more wins, even though the gross runs scored would decline.

When the Sox hitters were on they scored like 10 runs -pad them stats!- when they were off they scored 0 or maybe a dinger . Speed is more consistant and gives you a chance to win every night.

I don't think you can put in a claim unless you have an open roster spot.

I think this is what you want. For comparison I add the 'gold standard' of lead off men Juan Pierre.

'Till you're Blue in the Face Its a royals fan site. About half way down the page.

He was on for about 2 minutes, nothing new. They asked him what shape Everett was in. Oz gave the politically correct answer then added "Last year he told me it was all water weight. I asked him what did you do? Drink the whole swimming pool?"

You are 100% right. Unless Hudson's next 3-4 year deal is pre-negotiated and approved by JR then don't make the deal. Don't give up Carlos Lee for a renta-player. Same with Zito.

He's just lighting a fire under his butt. Interesting to see how Ozzie handles different people, what he says about Harris is the plain truth -he's an all-star one day and disappears the next - and we'll all see together if Ozzie's approach works. Baseball! always something to watch everyday.

I like Uribe but he has never put together a consistant season. He had the SS job in Colorado and played his way out of it. Until a guy proves he can do it, you never know if the can do it. The other concern in the back of my mind is his build was so freaking big last year. I know nothing, and have heard nothing but this guy is built like the Dominican Republic's answer to Charles Atlas. I saw his parents at a Sox game last fall, and they look like regular people, nothing like Juan's chest and arms. In view of the present scandels and on coming crack down, will he be as strong as last year? I have no facts, but his body is almost too good to be true. He is an unproven commodity, no way equivelent to either Renteria or Cabrera, and if he's that solid why did KW try so hard for Vizquel? This doesn't mean he won't be OK, a lot of folks thought Aaron Rowand would never be more than a 4th outfielder and he turned out pretty good, so it could happen. But he has to earn that kind of respect by playing well day after day first.

Your post looked like a poem, that and about 5 Millers has inspired me. Good luck to you Sandy. It sure was fun. And you were dandy. When you could still run. In day games in Texas. I hope you do well. I wish you success-es. when it's hotter than hell. You always could please, And pinch-hit like a pip, When you still had two knees. And remembered to zip. Now its time to thank you, Not wish you a pox To bid you fond adieu. From the fans of the Sox. God bless Sandy Alomar Jr.

Well said. I think it will let Ozzie shorten the leash if the starter is having an iffy day. You can go Politte, Marte, Hermanson in just about any order (play the match ups) in the 6-7-8 to get to Shingo. Just think, veteran professional pitching all day long!

Actually he was supposed the second coming of the Natural. Here's what TopProspectalert.com said about him when he was still in the Mets farm system. "In the time he has been healthy, Alex is above average in every category and the only players you could compare him to in talent is Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero as well as the Braves' Andruw Jones. Escobar has the bat of Guerreo and is a natural centerfielder who surehanded and has the speed to track balls down in the gap like Jones. Although, I will not say he will be an equal to Andruw in the field as I don't feel anyone compares to Jones' natural instincts that he shows in CF. "If Alex can stay healthy, you are looking at a 30/30 player who would be a true star for years. " He's well worth taking a flyer on. 0 risk -not even a $5mil bonus- but enough talent he warrents keeping an eye on.

Thats pretty much what it comes down to. I'd add that I think Boras is manipulating the injury and hiding him from the Sox until after the declare date to make SURE he isn't offered arbitration. He will be worth marginally more coming without draft picks and Boras takes every edge he can find.

According to El Universal.Com, a Venezuelan online newspaper, Alex Escobar began running on Wednesday. His rehab program is administered at Universidad de Carabobo, and reports are sent to the Sox weekly. If he suffers a set back he will travel to the US to see the White Sox doctors. If all goes well, he could join Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan league playoffs, assuming they make the second round -about the 2nd week in January, I think- but would only play if he could help the Navigators. It also says his foot started hurting after spring training 2004 but the doctors told him it was arthritis. He tried to play through it without success and finally a break was found and he was DL'd. This helps me understand why KW snapped him up so fast when the Indians waived him, hopefully he is a much better player than he showed hitting .211. He was playing on one wheel.

Renteria makes sense. Ozzie said when they left Vegas they were sure they would get Visquel and when he went to Frisco everything fell apart. Renteria could bring many of the same things they were looking for and put them back on plan.