DBAHO

Santana's going to get a HUGE raise this offseason, the Twinkies are going to have major payroll problems, hence why they are trading Doug Mientkiewicz.

Has any other team traded more prospects over the last two years than the White Sox? How would you rank their current top five prospects? Scott Reimers Springfield, Ill. Other clubs have been active on the trade market, such as the Red Sox and Royals, and the Marlins moved a lot of talent to add Jeff Conine, Mark Redman and Ugueth Urbina to their championship club last year. But no team can match the sheer volume of legitimate prospects the White Sox have traded since the beginning of 2003. General manager Kenny Williams has dealt 11 players who appeared in either the 2003 or 2004 edition of the 2004 Prospect Handbook: lefthanders Tim Bittner and Royce Ring; righthanders Edwin Almonte, Franklin Francisco, Jon Rauch and Josh Rupe; infielders Tim Hummel, Aaron Miles and Michael Morse; and outfielders Jeremy Reed and Anthony Webster. Those players helped bring in Roberto Alomar, Carl Everett (twice), Freddy Garcia, Scott Schoeneweis, Scott Sullivan and Jose Uribe. It's hard to argue with the moves, but they haven't delivered the White Sox to the postseason yet. Right now, I'd rank Chicago's top five prospects in this order: outfielders Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney and Chris Young; third baseman Josh Fields (the Sox' 2004 first-round pick); and righthander Felix Diaz. I didn't include outfielder Joe Borchard because he's up with the big league club and soon will exceed the rookie limit of 130 at-bats. The other notable omission is righthander Kris Honel, who has pitched just six innings this year because of a tender elbow. I'd put him third on the list if I knew he'd return to health and regain his velocity, which dipped into the low 80s. Two other pitchers worth mentioning are sleeper righty Brandon McCarthy and lefty Gio Gonzalez, a supplemental first-round pick in June.

He's definitely going to be a rental for them though; "If the Twins were able to trade for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kris Benson, his stay in Minnesota would be solely as a rent-a-player for the rest of the season. Benson's salary is $6.2 million, and he's expected to command at least $10 million a year as a free agent after the season."

I know he's been discussed around here before, with our injury problems he could be a guy to go after possibly but he's really been struggling with the bat this year. And they are going to get rid of him most likely if they acquire Doug Mientkiewicz according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. One other point here. If the Pirates do get first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from Minnesota in a Kris Benson trade this week, Simon's departure will be imminent -- if not instantaneous.

Is White Sox general manager Kenny Williams planning to be active before Saturday's nonwaiver trade deadline? On Tuesday, it sure sounded like he was planning to make a move or two. "I've been holed up in this conference room (at U.S. Cellular Field) the last few days trying to assess where we're at and talking on the phone,'' Williams said. "I've been talking to quite a few clubs.'' Williams already has parted with catcher Miguel Olivo and four minor-league prospects to acquire starting pitcher Freddy Garcia and designated hitter Carl Everett in separate deals. Williams balked at the perception the Sox are tapped out of prospects and no longer able to make trades. "I've heard that from some people out there and that's not the case,'' Williams said. "If you'd look at the moves that have been made, you'd see it's been more a case of us trading quantity instead of quality. That's not to say Miguel Olivo was quantity. But to get Freddy Garcia, we had to give something up.'' With Magglio Ordonez and Frank Thomas on the disabled list, the White Sox could obviously use another bat in the lineup. Adding a catcher and middle relief pitcher wouldn't hurt, either. Outfielders Joe Borchard and Brian Anderson and starting pitcher Felix Diaz appear to be the only three young players Williams is unwilling to trade. One more time: Rookie manager Ozzie Guillen understands the intricacies of baseball. "I played this game,'' Guillen said. "They didn't pick me from the grocery store. I've been in this game for a long time and I know when the play is right or wrong.'' The "play'' occurred in the Sox' 6-2 loss to the Twins Monday night, when Minnesota's Torii Hunter ran over catcher Jamie Burke after tagging up from third base and scoring in the eighth inning. One day later, Guillen still thought Hunter was playing fair. "If I thought it was dirty, I'd be chasing (Hunter) all the way to the dugout fighting with him,'' Guillen said. Guillen said the best thing the White Sox can do is play the game the same way, even if it means injuring the opposition. "Obviously, we aren't going to get Hunter because he plays outfield,'' Guillen said. "But we can get his teammates. Are we going to do it? I hope we get the chance.'' Hat trick: Prior to Tuesday's game, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he didn't want his pitchers throwing at any Minnesota hitters in retaliation for Torri Hunter taking out catcher Jamie Burke. Twins third baseman Corey Koskie proceeded to tie the major-league record by getting hit three times, twice by White Sox starter Freddy Garcia and once by reliever Damaso Marte. "It was kind of a weird night for (Koskie),'' said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. "I don't know what to say about it. He just kept getting plunked.''

Interesting articles to read, On the eve of the crippling 1994 major-league baseball strike, agent Tom Reich was asked if the players union would agree to help put the brakes on escalating salaries. "The salary cap will be accepted about the time the 13 original states restore the monarchy,'' Reich told the New York Times. Fortunately for White Sox fans, Reich isn't serving up similarly flippant statements when it comes to the future of one of his prized clients - Magglio Ordonez. Reich is in Chicago visiting Ordonez, who is on the disabled list for the second time this season with bone marrow edema in his left knee. And while Ordonez's health is the main reason Reich is in town, the right fielder's future financial well-being also is a concern. On July 6, Ordonez declared he broke off talks on an extension when the Sox declined to put a straight five-year, $70 million contract on the table. The White Sox said they came close to meeting Ordonez's request, and they tried a variety of methods to reach a deal. The Sox also said the door was open if Ordonez wanted to come in and talk again. At the time, it looked as though Ordonez was all but guaranteed of departing as a free agent at the end of the season, assuming he wasn't traded first. But his latest round of knee troubles has raised some new questions. • Has Ordonez played his last game with the White Sox? The soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired left knee could keep Ordonez out the rest of the season, but Sox general manager Kenny Williams isn't so sure. "The one thing you can get in trouble for is putting a timetable on when a guy's going to come back from an injury,'' Williams said Tuesday. "But there is a chance we can get Magglio back in mid-to-latter August. The same with Frank (Thomas).'' While Thomas is staying off his fractured left foot at his home in Las Vegas, Ordonez is expected to remain in Chicago while his knee heals. • Is the White Sox' contract extension offer still on the table? According to one source it is. But only time will tell if Ordonez accepts the original deal or still tries testing the free-agent market at the end of the season. • Is Ordonez considered damaged goods? Not yet. But if the four-time all-star misses the rest of the year, one source said there's no way he will get a five-year, $70 million contract, even from big-money clubs such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets or Dodgers. Ordonez has been one of the best all-around performers in baseball since 1999, but he has played in only 52 games this season. • Is there a chance Ordonez signs a one-year contract next season? If he doesn't find a suitable long-term deal due to health concerns, Ordonez could very well sign with the White Sox or some other club for one year at $6 million or $7 million, show he can still play, and then cash in for 2006 and beyond. In baseball lingo, it's called a "free look.'' • Does Ordonez's injury improve his chances of staying with the Sox? Once source said Ordonez's knee condition could very well drop him into an affordable position for the White Sox. But Williams isn't interested in looking that far ahead. "At this point, we're more concerned with the here and now,'' the general manager said. "It's certainly unfortunate for us and it's unfortunate for Magglio. But as for his future, we haven't had time to think about it. Not enough time has passed for all of this to sink in.''

It had to come. Ricky Williams Cartoon

Congrats to Gio, he really deserved a call - up and let's hope he can continue to produce great numbers down at Kanny.

Right now that may be true, but there's 2 factors that come into consideration. 1) Kenny Williams - Who knows what's going on in this guy's head, I gotta feeling he's not going to settle for what we have if we lose the series tomorrow. Bautista from the D-Backs and Catalanotto from the Blue Jays are likely targets. 2) The Twinkies Schedule - Let's see how they can cope with opponents such as the A's and Yankees awaiting their presence.

Hey if it was up to Jason and Co. this would be the Chris Young Memorial Board.

Wouldn't hav worked tonight. Of course once Ozzie decides to move Jose out of the #2 hole and back into the #6 or #7 hole, this offense I feel will get going again.

Hogs are streaking, due to getting far better starting ptiching from the likes of B-Mac and Tracey.

I hav to say I find it interesting that most people hav Young as an outfielder instead of Brice. Young has better tools no doubt, but I think Brice has had a far better year, and he's really coming around in Winston Salem.

Relax we took 3 off the Twinkies in their stadium, and now they're trying to do the same to us. They had their 2 big guns in Santana and Radke pitching, and they delivered. Tomorrow's game is CRUCIAL momentum wise.

10 pitch AB by Crazy Carl and he goes down swingin. Santana's pitch count at 66 after 4 innings.

Right now these 2 starters are in my fantasy team, no doubt improving my ERA.

That was according to Reinsdorf so take it FWIW.

Gotta think the GM he was talking to before tonight's game (see game day thread) was either Dave Littlefield, J.P Riccardi or Bill Bavasi.

Torii Watch - Walks, no doubt he'll be booed down at first base.

Problem is with that deal, is how much do we give up? I think if we would hav made that deal earlier, we could hav used the prospects we used in the Garcia trade and not got Freddy after all.

You automatically think he's going to become starting DT for the Vikings or something? It doesn't matter if he's a beast, if he can't play with the right technique and show the right attitude his ass is outta there.

Ugly AB there by A-Row, Santana made him look silly with the ball in the dirt.

Wow, Davis got a single off Santana.

Will Maggs get that big fat contract of his, probably not now because of his knee, unless Fred Wilpon and the Mets are insane.

Utilizing Shingo's fine acting skills.