DBAHO

When healthy, the A's trio. I also think Florida's 3 of Beckett, Penny and Willis / Pavano, will continue to improve this season as well.

My money's on Bradley becomin a Dodger.

Uh Oh, poor Steff if that's the case.

Baj was prob giant or that fijian dude.

That's not very super then is it.

Unless there was anyway we could get Ervin Santana or Casey Kotchman. I dunno if Anaheim would ratha trade Ortiz or Washburn though.

Good signin for da Bears if he doesn't quit on em like he did with da Bills last season.

At least we didn't get the SI Cover Jinx.

Politte contiues to pitch well, good outings as well for Cotts and Koch. Harris gettin a hit as well, and Lee and Maggs hittin well as usual.

There is no way in hell that would eva happen. U'd need a package of Curry, Chadler and the #2 pick minimum for T-Mac.

He's been around.

And i popped in yesterday thinkin it was April 1. April Fools.

Nancy Cartwright was down here last week, and she didn't say there was a pay dispute or anythin.

I think we'll be breakin that record quite a few times this season.

Absolutely, I'll definitely make sure to check it out. Best of luck to them.

A PORNOGRAPHIC image has been found on a CD-Rom distributed to children by the AFL as part of its Auskick development program. An image of a topless woman was discovered within the architecture of the discs, prompting the AFL to order a recall and destruction. The discs were given to at least 30,000 children upon enrolment in Auskick. The league had ordered 210,000 of the CD-Roms, with the remainder – which were earmarked for youth development programs – to be destroyed. The AFL has immediately severed its relationship with the company that produced the CD-Rom. "We're angry that this has happened," AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said. "We've been working closely with our (advertising) agency to make sure we rectify this quickly. "One person or 20 people finding it is still unacceptable."

PEORIA, Ariz. -- If White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wasn't sure Cliff Politte was on the team, he found out Wednesday. Politte has been so efficient in his spring outings—facing just four batters over the minimum in seven innings of work—that Guillen's barely had a chance to see him pitch. But Wednesday, Politte, along with every other pitcher who took the mound with the exception of Mike Jackson, gave everyone a very long look. Politte relinquished his first two runs of the spring on three hits in one inning. Mark Loretta, the first man he faced after coming in for Damaso Marte in the sixth inning, drilled a two-run homer. "It's a shame to give up runs after [Guillen] pays you a compliment like that," Politte said. "I was fooling myself to think I would go through camp without giving up any runs." Politte had plenty of company in a game that featured 26 runs and 41 hits. Marte, who gave up two earned runs in 11/3 innings, came in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth in relief of Dan Wright. Marte struck out left-hander Ryan Klesko but then served up a grand slam to Ramon Hernandez. Billy Koch gave up two runs and three hits in his one inning. Only Jackson and minor leaguer Matt Smith worked perfect innings for the Sox, but pitching coach Don Cooper isn't concerned about his bullpen. "Damaso threw well and Koch got a couple balls up but he didn't give up the lead," Cooper said. "We're ready to go." … Guillen said he had to "manage the heck" of out of the 15-11 victory and added it was the first time he has been on a team that had 14 runs and was bunting a runner over for another. … Wright needed 89 pitches in his four-plus innings. "My location wasn't very good," he said. He did have two hits at the plate though. "I just closed my eyes and swung." … Right fielder Timo Perez made his first start in the field. … Since moving up into the three spot in the lineup, Magglio Ordonez is 9-for-17 (.529) with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. … Frank Thomas sat out again Wednesday, the fifth straight game he has missed with a sore shoulder. Since dropping to cleanup in the order, Thomas is 5-for-8 (.625) with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs.

Game report from da Trib, PEORIA, Ariz. -- So much for the "little ball" offense new manager Ozzie Guillen vowed to bring to the White Sox this season. "They're not giving me a chance to play little ball," Guillen said of his offense, which has spent the last couple weeks pounding opposition pitching. The Sox had a spring-high 25 hits in a 15-11 victory over the San Diego Padres Wednesday to improve their American League-leading spring batting average to .320. With three games left before heading north to begin the regular season Monday in Kansas City, the Sox are averaging 6.4 runs a game after scoring just 10 in their first three games. "It's better for me because I have less chance to goof up," Guillen said. "They are swinging the bat real well and I look like a genius." Of course, this was an offense that was supposed to be a force last season as well. But the Sox stumbled badly for in the first half, hitting just .245 with 107 home runs in the first 94 games. They finally turned it around in the final 68 games, with 113 home runs and a .288 team batting average. "That was the reason why we didn't win last year," shortstop Jose Valentin said. "We didn't hit in the first half." The Sox stayed close into July last year based on their pitching. With the loss of Bartolo Colon and some questions marks in both the starting rotation and bullpen, they may not have that luxury this season. "We have to save their arms early in the year and score some runs and make it easier for them," Valentin said. "Hopefully our offense doesn't wait until the end and we can score some runs right away." Valentin, who is trying to stop a three-year slide in his batting average, has hit everything in March with a .396 average and .736 slugging percentage. Certainly the Sox are not going keep batting like this after they leave the hitting friendly environment of Arizona. They no longer will be facing pitchers more suited to the minor leagues once the regular season begins Monday in Kansas City. But they may be suited to better withstand some slumps by their big bats—Magglio Ordonez, Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko and Carlos Lee—than they were last year. Last year's offense featured a station-to-station, methodical attack that waited for extra-base hits or home runs. The Sox are hoping that a full season of Willie Harris in the leadoff spot and Guillen's more aggressive mindset can inject some spark and give them the ability to scratch out a run or two if the bats go silent. "I think I can steal second and third, and with no outs Valentin hits a fly ball and I score," Harris said. "I'm capable of doing that." Like the rest of the lineup, Harris has turned it up in the last week, lifting his average to .355 with an on-base percentage above .400. Harris also has stolen five bases, though he has been caught four times. The Sox have 25 stolen bases, tying Texas for the AL lead and easily surpassing the 13 they had all last spring. "We have a good hitting team and anyone is capable of hitting homers, but it's not going to happen all the time," Valentin said. "If we have some motion you're going to put some pressure on their defense and give guys holes and find some hits." Guillen has said that when his big hitters are hitting, he'll let them swing and not take the bat out of anyone's hands. But he realizes there will be times when he'll play for one run instead of hoping for a big inning. The Sox's 12 sacrifice bunts are by far tops in the American League this spring, with the closest being six by Kansas City and Detroit. "Obviously we will play little ball and we have done it in spring training," Guillen said. "I'm happy with the way we have bunted, moved the guy over and gotten two-out base hits. We won't hit like this every day, and when we don't, that's when we have to execute."

From da Cubune, TUCSON, Ariz. -- What we have here is your basic failure to communicate. Not to mention a mea culpa. One of my goals this spring was to learn a few things about Damaso Marte. After all, he's on the short list of Chicago's best pitchers. He deserves mention with, say, the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano and the White Sox's Jon Garland, if not the likes of Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and Mark Buehrle. But about all I know after watching him for two seasons is that he has an above-average fastball and a slider that's meaner than a bully in need of lunch money. He has the dry hands necessary to work tough situations. And he doesn't seem to care if other guys get the attention. Marte, a 29-year-old survivor from Santo Domingo, the capitol city of the Dominican Republic, apparently is satisfied to have established himself as one of the best relievers in the American League. It doesn't seem to bother him that very few of the best White Sox fans would recognize him out of uniform, while friendly (and English-speaking) teammate Kelly Wunsch is a media darling even though he is in awe of Marte's talent. Just how big could Marte be if his name were Donald Martin? How popular could he be if he were a chatterbox like Mitch Williams? How could he benefit if his locker were a regular stopping point for the reporters who cover his team? "I've thought about that a little bit," said Sox catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., a native Puerto Rican. "He doesn't get much publicity. With how well he did last year, you should hear his name more. If he keeps pitching like he is, that will take care of itself." Marte has appeared in 139 of a possible 324 games for the White Sox the last two years. He has worked 140 innings, going 5-3 with 21 saves (tops on the staff in 2002-03 combined) and a 2.12 earned-run average, including a 1.58 mark last year. He has struck out 10.2 hitters per nine innings. Outside of Eddie Guardado, is there a left-handed reliever in the American League you would rather have than Marte? Oakland gave Arthur Rhodes a three-year deal last winter, but his career ERA is 4.33. Minnesota's J.C. Romero was a force in 2002 but got knocked around last year. The pickings are so thin that the Yankees, of all teams, have settled for Cubs castoff Felix Heredia. Every team in the majors would love to have Marte. Yet when general manager Ken Williams traded for him at the end of spring training in 2002, I criticized the deal because Williams sent minor-league right-hander Matt Guerrier to Pittsburgh. Guerrier, then 23, had won 18 games in the high minors the year before. Because of a lack of control, Marte had failed to beat out Joe Beimel for the last spot in the Pirates' bullpen. But give Williams and his scouts credit for seeing Marte as a diamond in the rough. Something clicked after he joined the Sox, his fourth organization. He threw strikes, got outs and his confidence began to grow. He gained the respect of his teammates almost immediately. "Marte's very durable," Alomar said. "He can pitch two innings, an inning and a half, and he's almost always ready the next day. I don't see many people in bullpens who are as durable as he is." Nor can many pitchers blow away hitters as easily as he does when he's on. He held batters to a .185 average last season, down from .204 in 2002. In his two years with the White Sox, left-handed batters have hit .159 with a home run every 75 at-bats. No wonder there's talk about him as Plan B if Billy Koch doesn't nail down 80 percent of his ninth-inning leads. Wunsch, then recovering from shoulder surgery, was on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte when he saw Marte pitch for the first time. The White Sox were facing the New York Yankees. "We were up in Syracuse (N.Y.) and they had the YES network," Wunsch recalled. "He comes in there and the first couple pitches he threw were 95, 96 [m.p.h.]. I'm like, 'Holy smokes, this guy's bringing the noise.' Then he snapped off a few sliders and I told myself I better get healthy in a hurry or he'll take my job. I definitely have to respect his abilities." Whether Marte remains in a set-up role or takes over as the closer, there's no question that the White Sox respect him. As spring training was getting underway, assistant general manager Rick Hahn got him to sign a three-year, $5-million deal that included option years in 2007 and '08, at the bargain price of $3 million per year. That was a terrific deal from the club's perspective. It locks him up for five years at a relative pittance given the talent Marte has shown. It's about time we get to know the guy. He seems to be a mystery off the field even to the White Sox, who do not list any personal information about him in their media guide. Perhaps our knowledge of the man lags behind because of the language barrier. Maybe it's the fact he has toiled in an anonymous role. But the bet here is that we'll all know a lot more about Marte when the 2004 season ends.

Yeah Cleveland last year was the only team in the past 12 years with the worst record to get the #1 pick.

Was that an April Fools Joke or sumthin PA?

I wanna see sum good material on there PA.

I'm suprised he didn't call him a kid.

I'm disappointed in u Yahtzee, I expected sumthin betta.

Unless it was the Cubs.