DBAHO

Yanks don't hav much in da way of prospects, would hav luved to gran Claussen off em bf he went to Cincy for Aaron Boone. Soriano would definitely hav to be included, and I hate to say Yanks would prob try to force Weaver on us as well, but I've heard they want to get rid of Hammond as well.

Haha good ol Beastly. Nice to see him givin Jason some props, we're all rootin for ya to become GM Jas.

From MLB.com, Article No. 1 I have 38 basic ideas, give or take another dozen,” Williams said with a laugh of his Winter Meetings plans. “Generally, I have a few directions that are on the table, and based on what happens, it will direct us down one path. “This year will be a little bit different. We lost a number of free agents, and we have to see what their status is at the time of the Winter Meetings. We have to see how their markets are being affected and gauge the interest in our players in terms of potential trades.” Article No. 2 “The opportunity for our system to produce might be closer than what they think,” said Cooper of the chances for advancement for his young pitchers. “They are just a hop, skip and a jump away. “Just give me the names I’m going to have in camp, so I can set up Spring Training. I’m more concerned about the guys we are going to have, the guys who want to be in Chicago.

Suprise, suprise. Pressure from Haitian-American groups and New York City's mayor causes Rockstar Games' parent to edit its controversial bestseller. Over a year after its release, controversial bestseller Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is still stirring up controversy. Most recently, various Haitian-American groups leveled charges of racism at the game and at Take Two Interactive, parent of Vice City's publisher, Rockstar Games. At issue was the part of the game where Tommy Vercetti, its criminal protagonist, is hired by the Cuban gang to take out their rivals, the Haitians. At the beginning of the level, a title card appears which urges Vercetti to "Kill all the Haitians!" Shortly afterwards, a group of heavily armed Haitians attack him en masse, forcing him to respond with a fusillade of bullets. Rockstar has repeatedly insisted the statement should be taken within the context of the game, which is rife with violence towards every ethnic group. However, New York City's Haitian-American community, which has seen several of its members shot by police in recent years, appealed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg to take action against Take Two, which is headquartered in the city. Yesterday, Bloomberg threatened the company with legal action if the phrase was not removed. "If I don't get a decent response, we are going to do everything we possibly can," said Bloomberg. Today, Bloomberg got his response. Take Two issued a statement this afternoon promising to "remove the objectionable statements from future copies of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." It did not mention the millions of copies of Vice City already on the market that already contain the statement. The publisher also apologized for the "hurt and anger" the statement had caused Haitian-Americans, and hoped the move would "mend" relations between the two groups. It blamed a recent media frenzy for creating the controversy, noting the game was released in October 2002. Take Two also defended its right to create a "realistic" game for an adult audience. The statement reminded the public that the game was rated 'M' for mature, saying, "it must be recognized that video games have evolved as an adult medium, not unlike literature, movies and music."

The wonders of technology. Stupid computer.

Tigers r gonna really overpay for sum1 this offseason, Vlad or Miguel Tejada most likely.

Yeah da Cubs would hav to sweeten da deal more than that. I actually think Seattle mite go afta Sele again, he was a big success there a few years ago, and they'll need a starter with Garcia leavin. If the Angels pay part of Sele's salary, it could be possible.

Only way this happens is if the Angels can't resign Anderson to a long term deal and they end up signin Vlad Guerrero rite under the noses of Baltimore.

How appropriate.

Ok it seems lots of ppl have animosity for Jauron and his boy John Shoop here. . I'm a Cowboys fan so I don't really care too much bout da Bears situation, but what I do know is that a great coach like a Bill Parcells can take an average team like da Cowboys who r prob the same talent wise as the Bears and make them into a winnin football team. Shoop will definitely get canned, but I wouldn't call Jauron a goner yet, he has some support at the upper levels, and is there really any betta candidates out there to replace him? Nick Saban will prob stay at LSU and he's Angelo's no. 1 choice.

I doubt we sign Guardado though. I think he'll stick with da Twinkies or ship out to Boston if Foulke resigns with the A's. Seattle is also very high on Everyday Eddie to replace Arthur Rhodes. U know, Troy Percival could be a guy on da block, and not many ppl hav talked bout him. He could be an option too, but he's makin sumthin like 7.5 million in 2004.

From Ken Rosenthal's Inside Dish, Add Devil Rays 1B Aubrey Huff to the Dodgers' wish list. L.A. might be willing to offer either of its pitching phenoms, RHP Edwin Jackson or LHP Greg Miller, but the Rays could be reluctant to part with Huff, who is three years from becoming a free agent. The Braves tried to sell the Orioles on a Javy Lopez-for-Melvin Mora trade last spring, before Lopez turned into a 43-homer behemoth. Now Lopez is one of the Orioles' primary free-agent targets, and Mora could be their everyday third baseman. Why is Yankees owner George Steinbrenner hot to sign CF Kenny Lofton and make Bernie Williams a DH? One scout says the two are practically even in center, noting that Lofton sometimes takes poor angles. Lofton, though, would be a needed leadoff hitter. Free agent Rich Aurilia wants to remain a shortstop, but teams are gauging his willingness to play second or third base. The Red Sox will consider him at second if they fail to sign free agent Tony Graffanino, and the Indians and Dodgers have asked about him playing third. Aurilia also has options at short. Free-agent 2B Fernando Vina made sense for the Cubs because of his lefthanded bat, but Mark Grudzielanek had a .366 on-base percentage last season, a mark that Vina has exceeded only once since 1998. Grudzielanek batted .359 in September. One G.M. laughs at the idea of the Mets trading OF Roger Cedeno to the Padres for OF Terrence Long. "Cedeno can't do anything," the G.M. says. "Long isn't a bad player; he's just overpaid." Cedeno is owed $10 million through 2005, Long $8.1 million. The Padres also wanted the Mets to take RHP Kevin Jarvis at $4.25 million. No go.

Herew goes one of KW's Startin Pitcher targets, The Braves, poised to make their first significant off-season addition, are closing in on an agreement with free-agent right-hander John Thomson. The deal, believed to be in the two-year, $7 million range, could be announced as soon as Tuesday. Thomson, 30, would replace departed free agent Greg Maddux, joining a rotation that includes Russ Ortiz, Mike Hampton and Horacio Ramirez. The addition of Thomson likely would end the possibility of free-agent righthander Kevin Millwood returning to Atlanta. The Braves traded Millwood to Philadelphia last season when they did not want to pay him a salary of nearly $10 million, and their view of Millwood as a middle-of-the-rotation starter hasn't changed. Millwood's best option might be to accept arbitration from the Phillies, pitch for a salary of at least $11 million next season, then re-enter the market. The White Sox, however, are among the clubs that could pursue him; they reportedly are on the verge of losing Bartolo Colon to the Angels. The Rangers, who have attempted to retain Thomson with a reported two-year, $6.5 million offer, offered him salary arbitration Sunday night with the goal of continuing negotiations. But Thomson would benefit from leaving the Rangers, a last-place team that plays in one of the worst pitcher's parks in the majors, for the perennially strong Braves, who play in the more friendly pitching environment of Turner Field. Thomson finished 13-14 with a 4.85 ERA last season, but several major-league executives believe he is on the verge of a career breakthrough. He went 9-5 with a 3.89 ERA in his last 18 starts, finishing with career-highs in games started (35), innings pitched (217) and strikeouts (136). He also ranked 11th in the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio. Thomson obviously isn't as accomplished a pitcher as Maddux, but the Braves would expect him to pitch deeper into games at a salary that almost certainly will be more than $10 million less than the $14.75 million that Maddux earned last season. The Braves also need to replace the offense they will lose with departed free agents Gary Sheffield and Javy Lopez, and the Twins' signing of outfielder Shannon Stewart to a three-year, $18 million contract Sunday night could lead them to trade outfielder Jacque Jones. The other area the Braves want to address is eighth-inning relief. They are one of several teams pursuing free-agent righthander Tim Worrell, the former Giants' closer who could serve as a setup man for John Smoltz.

Yeah it shows the importance of young, cheap pitching. It wasn't financially viable to keep Colon around for $12 mill and I don't think it will be either for Maggs at $14 mill. KW will go afta pitchin, and that's where most of da payroll deserves to go into.

No suprise really, ST. PETERSBURG - Carl Everett may get the first chance to fill the hole in the middle of the Devil Rays lineup. Team officials are planning to meet today with Everett, one of three free-agent outfielders they are interested in. They are also considering Jose Cruz and Juan Gonzalez and could strike a deal before Friday's opening of the winter meetings in New Orleans. "We'd like to do at least one more thing before we go to the meetings," manager Lou Piniella said Sunday. "We've done all our homework and we're ready. We know the areas we need to improve and we've got a definite plan. It's just a question of getting the people in here we want. If not, we'll go on and get other people." Everett, a 32-year-old Tampa native, is a switch-hitter who batted .287 with 28 homers and 92 RBIs for the Rangers and White Sox last season. The Rays did not plan to offer arbitration by Sunday's midnight deadline to any of their free agents, Ben Grieve, Travis Lee, Al Martin, Rey Ordonez and Terry Shumpert, though they still were negotiating with Ordonez. They were watching closely to see what decisions other teams made to find out what free agents could be signed without requiring draft pick compensation. They want to sign another middle infielder (Pokey Reese, Rey Sanchez, Tony Graffanino and incumbents Ordonez and Marlon Anderson are among the possibilities), an experienced reliever (Mark Guthrie, Kent Mercker and Scott Sullivan, among others), and a backup catcher (Keith Osik and Eddie Perez, among others). Saturday's two-year deal with reserve infielder/outfielder Eduardo Perez will be finalized this week after he takes a physical.

Interesting reads news on all of now free agents and draft picks. Here's how poorly the off-season has gone for the White Sox: They wanted to re-sign all six of their free agents but are on the verge of a shutout. "It's back to the drawing board," general manager Ken Williams acknowledged Monday. Williams repeated that statement later during a brief interview. He apologized for cutting it short, but he has many holes to fill on his roster. One of them is a starting pitcher. Until Monday, Williams held out hope that he could re-sign Bartolo Colon, who had rejected the club's three-year, $36 million offer in late October. But even after Williams increased the offer late last week by lowering the percentage of deferred money in the deal, Colon's camp turned it down. "It appears as though he's headed elsewhere," Williams said. Sources say that destination is Anaheim, which was willing to guarantee a fourth year on a contract believed to be worth $48 million. An official announcement is expected Tuesday. Williams wouldn't add a fourth year because of the risk involved with signing a pitcher to a long-term deal. He also noted that teams have been unable to acquire the insurance that goes hand in hand with lucrative contracts. "Nothing personal against [Colon], but it's a high-risk occupation," Williams said. "If something should turn sour, we could be stuck. And if a team such as ours is stuck with that high a percentage [of the payroll] with one guy, it could be devastating." While Williams took the high road, some members of the organization feel betrayed by Colon, who went 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA last year, completed nine games and finished second in the American League with 242 innings pitched. They believe they created a cocoon for Colon, an enigmatic sort whom some teams have shied away from signing because of his hefty frame and reputation for keeping late hours. Colon also is not fond of flying, so sources say the Sox sometimes let him fly separately from the team so he could arrive in a city with more time to recover before taking the mound. With Colon apparently out of the picture, the Sox will look to supplement a rotation composed of Mark Buehrle, Esteban Loaiza, Jon Garland and Scott Schoeneweis. They've long been interested in free agent Sidney Ponson, who went 17-12 with a 3.75 ERA last season for Baltimore and San Francisco. The Giants did not offer Ponson arbitration, so the Sox could sign him without losing a draft pick. But the Sox have some concerns about Ponson's health. After the 27-year-old right-hander struggled late in spring training, there were reports that Ponson had a partial tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. After getting shelled in his first start of the season, Ponson appeared to put those fears to rest by winning five of his next six. Another possibility for the Sox is 30-year-old right-hander John Thomson, who went 13-14 with a 4.85 ERA for Texas. The Rangers did offer arbitration to Thomson, who earned $1.3 million last season. The Sox also have a gaping hole in their bullpen after Tom Gordon agreed to a two-year deal with the Yankees and the team did not offer arbitration to reliever Scott Sullivan, who made $2.8 million last season. "We would have liked to have him back, no doubt," Williams said of Sullivan, who had a 3.77 ERA in 15 games for the Sox last year. "But what it would have cost us in arbitration, we don't have right now. He has multiple-year offers out there, and we couldn't match it." The Sox will sign at least one reliever to bolster a group that consists of Billy Koch, Damaso Marte and Kelly Wunsch and a bevy of inexperienced in-house candidates that includes David Sanders, Matt Ginter, Arnie Munoz, Jon Adkins, Felix Diaz and Enemencio Pacheco, who went 12-2 with a 2.56 ERA at Birmingham. There's also a good chance the Sox will move Dan Wright to the bullpen. The 25-year-old right-hander was 0-7 with a 6.85 ERA as a starter last season and 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA as a reliever. After losing six free agents, Williams couldn't hide his disappointment. "We have to work a little harder in the future to retain players with the resources we have," he said. Williams had hoped to re-sign all of them. He thought he had an oral agreement with Roberto Alomar on a one-year, $3 million deal in September. He was close to bringing back Gordon with a two-year offer. His package to Colon was the richest ever offered to a Sox pitcher. He negotiated with Sullivan's agent until the final weekend. He offered two years to Tony Graffanino, a favorite of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Williams even held out hope he could convince Carl Everett to return for far less than the $9.15 million he earned last season. The Sox won't even be compensated with a first-round draft pick for losing Gordon or Colon. Because Anaheim's 77-85 record left the Angels with a pick in the first half of the first round, they have to surrender only a second-round selection if they sign Colon. The Sox also would receive a "sandwich" pick between the first and second rounds. The Sox will get another sandwich pick after losing Gordon, plus the Yankees' second- or third-round selection. Gordon is ranked below other free-agent signees Gary Sheffield and Paul Quantrill. The Sox named Dave Wilder their director of player development. Wilder, hired last month as a special assistant to Williams, replaces Bob Fontaine, who left the Sox after four years to become vice president of scouting for the Seattle Mariners. Before joining the Sox, Wilder worked in the front office of the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers. PLAYER ARB. NEXT STOP? Roberto Alomar No Yankees, St. Louis Bartolo Colon Yes Anaheim Carl Everett No Tampa Bay Tom Gordon Yes Yankees Tony Graffanino No Boston, Tampa Bay, Cubs Scott Sullivan No Philadelphia, Baltimore, Tampa Bay

There's gonna be a few suprises comin in the next week. The winter meetings r comin up in New Orleans, sumthin's bound to happen there. If da Dodgers can't get any1 betta than Konerko I think they'll still make that trade, they're just a bit cautious rite now. Eddie Guardado bein offered a contract was one move out of left field that I certainly didn't see comin. Could this mean Marte could be a starter now?

U hav a desk already? Do u hav one of those name plates as well? Heather Lee, The BEGOOD Maths Teacher.

BE GOOD now son! Congrats Heather on reachin 5,000, that's a hell of a lotta postin.

BE GOOD now Heather. Wats up wit dat?

Yeah we'd hav to add AT LEAST sum1 else mayb 1 or 2 prospects to finish off da deal. I just don't see his $3 mill. salary stayin in Milwaukee when da Brewers r cuttin payroll.

Welcome aboard. Definitely a possiblity since KW and Ozzie preach defense, but his .OBP and Battin Average don't exactly lite the world on fire, which is always a worry. I think Willie deserves more of a shot cos at least he got sum speed he can use, and hopefully Ozzie can develop him to a Castillo like playa.

I can still see Danny Wright bein shipped out to Milwaukee for Junior Spivey since Alomar ain't comin back. If not, he'll be in da pen next year.

I heard that Benitez really had trouble gettin out Left Handed Hitters this year. I wouldn't say he thrives in pressure either.

Hopefully u'll play more tomorrow and play well and score a big win against ur arch rivals Soxheads.