doubleM23

Jerry Reinsdorf has a history of not paying people like Keith Foulke. It's the Ray Durham situation all over again. Oh, I know that. I was responding to her assertation that Valentine or Almonte are shoe-ins to be able to put up numbers like Kelly Wunsch. Right now, after Kelly's 2002 season, I'm very confident with giving him the ball. Valentine and Almonte, on the other hand, may have dominated at the minors, but that is no guarantee that they'll prosper here, especially right away. Remember when James Baldwin set the SAL record for best ERA (I think it was the SAL)? Now he holds the record for worst ERA for a major league pitcher in their first 500 innings, IIRC. The predictions are usually rosier than the truth. I'm not saying that either of the two will be s***, but let's not put all our trust in them before we see them in 1 inning of MLB work.

The Hawks home games are not on tv. All the away games are. If Doub would be home on the nights their on, he could see one. But I only got cable TV a few years ago, so I would never be able to see Hawk games since they're never on free TV.

How can you be sure? Dominant minor league closers have a long history of not panning out in the majors.

LOL! I'm only here to start s***! GO A'S! Beat those f***in' Twins!

its not that i dont like kelly because i do.. he just dont have what he had before the surgery.....he aint been the same since...... I'll take a 3.41 ERA for a guy less than a year from shoulder surgery.

So did I until it got torn up while I was playing tackle football with my friends in it.

What does everyone have against Kelly Wunsch? He did have like the 2nd-lowest ERA on the team.

You want to see the Twins win? What the f***?

I'm thinking the Sox's rotation for next year is.... 1) Buehrle 2) New Guy 3) Garland 4) Ritchie 5) Wright 6) Foulke (closer) 7) Marte 8) Rauch 9) Biddle 10) Osuna 11) Wunsch 12) Glover

You may not see Valentine start with the club in 2003. Your vision of the team is probably very different than Williams' vision. I agree... I doubt Valentine will be on the Sox next year before September (and even then, I think its iffy).

Bill Wirtz by far. I've still yet to ever see a Hawks game. Probably why I'm not a Hawks fan. Go Blues!

Are you still on this? They won less games because the guys who got them off to that fast start in 2000 we're bad. Eldred and Baldwin we're hurt and Thomas went down early. End of discusion. Jesus, it's like everyone who talks about why the '69 Cubs choked. It's over now. No, the holes that were evident in 2000 are still not filled. We are still weak in the starting pitching department, our defense is still apalling at times, and short of Miguel Olivo we have no catcher. Granted, Kenny tried to fill these holes but he failed miserably.

Well, it could also be noted that he really began his upward swing after Nardi's dumb ass was canned, too. I remember hearing that Foulke was tipping his pitches, and with at least a semi-competent pitching coach, someone should figure that out and find a way to fix it. Keith's potential is FAR greater than any prospect we'd recieve for him right now. His salary alone would drive any team from giving us anything worth taking, so we may as well keep Keith and see if Cooper can turn him into a winner again.

I don't remember how long it takes, but they either start getting the TV money in 2003 or 2004.

I don't think they will because I think they start getting MLB TV money next year, IIRC.

Exactly. I wouldn't mind at all if Kenny overtook minor league scouting again (or whatever the hell he did before he was promoted), but his moves are one of the biggest reasons that the Sox team that won 95 games in 2000 won 81 this year and may continue to slide in 2003. Granted, all his moves were done in good intention, but KW doesn't strike me as being a solid judge of major league level talent any more.

Well, the Hawks don't seem to concerned... Fluery's absence a personal matter

You know it's funny but I always see that as a reason for legalization. It would take the product and the money out of their hands. Oh, I totally agree. That's one of the strongest arguments I have for why I feel drugs should be legalized.

I don't think anyone who has followed the White Sox for the last few years wants to see Kenny completely cut off from the organization, because, as Jason said in his article, when Williams was in charge of the minors, the Sox blossomed. However, anyone who feels that he's a competent MLB GM... Errr... I don't know about that. Williams is a solid judge of minor league talent, IMO, but he has clearly showed that he's not ready to be fully in charge of an MLB team. But a good column, nonetheless.

First of all, his problem early in the year was because he changed his off-season routine which caused his arm to be more tired than usual. Second, Keith has posted some pretty good numbers over the past 3 years. Number of blown saves over the past three years: 3 (2002) ,3 (2001) and 5 (2000). Compare that to the supposed "best closer in the AL" who had 4 (2002) 7 (2001) and 4 (2003). Foulke has also finished the year with an ERA under 3 the past 4 years. Thats pretty good considering what he started the year with. The only reason people think he chokes under pressure is that he's blown 2 or 3 "big" games against Minnesota and Seattle. People always seem to remember the bad over the good. Everyone remembers that he blew a game against Seattle early this year. Anyone also remember he saved a 1 run game just two nights before that? He seems to thrive when saving close games with men on. Lastly, he's should only pitch one inning. Two max. Although he can get a little shaky when pitching 2. I know for a fact that a couple of his blown saves have come when Manuel puts him in too early. Exactly, IWC.

Here we go. http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/1003/1440738.html

Well, according to the government (how much you trust them is up to you), drug money goes a long way to supporting terrorism. http://www.theantidrug.com/drugs_terror/un...ing_impact.html

I could see him as the next Tony Graffanino, but nothing more. Of course, every team needs a Tony G.

I thought Valentine was the Sox's before the year started, was lost to Detroit in the Rule V draft, but since the Tigers didn't keep him on their roster, he was sent back to the Sox. He's a remarkable story, either way. However, before we start praising him as a Messiah, remember minor league closers have a tendency to be nothing at the big league level.

I hope you're right, but he still hasn't done anything to enstill a lot of trust in him. IMO, all we need are a leadoff guy/CF (Juan Pierre, Colorado) and a decent starter for the top of the rotation to compliment Buehrle. A rent-a-catcher for a year or so would also be welcome. However, I'd love it if (and yes, I'm dreaming here) we could get A.J. Pierzynski. THREE players and I think we're suddenly a solid baseball team again. C'mon, Kenny! Prove my distrust in you wrong!