DBAHO

Yeah it's too bad Rugby ain't that big in America, but the US Rugby department thinks they can be a world power in 10 years, and they actually didn't too bad in the World Cup down here, they did beat Japan.

I betcha Cincy ends up resigning him. Consider it to be the Danny Graves factor.

Hopefully if Vlad gets picked up by the Angels, Colon's got nowhere else to go and has to resign with da Sox. But they only way that happens is if they move Erstad to 1B, or ship him or Tim Salmon outta there.

Sully would hav been great in the dpen in 2004 I thought. He lead the Reds 3 years in a row in appearances. And we betta not sign Rick White again.

Ah yes good ol rugby, great game if u actually understand da rules, lol. Stupid Johnny Wilkinson cost us the world cup though with that boot of his.

It's weird, all the articles I've read bf tonite hav the Sox offerin arbitration to Sully. Including this Tribune Article that just came out, The White Sox said they wouldn't announce their arbitration decisions until Monday. And as of 6 p.m. Sunday, they had yet to officially notify Roberto Alomar's agent, Jaime Torres, of their decision with his client. Torres said Sunday he had no doubt that the Sox would decline to offer Alomar arbitration after the team lowered its one-year offer to the second baseman by $1 million Friday. The Sox were expected to offer arbitration to pitchers Bartolo Colon and Scott Sullivan and infielder Tony Graffanino. They would offer to arbitrate with Carl Everett only if the veteran center fielder agreed to reject it, thus extending their negotiating window until Jan. 8.

Hopefully I'll be moved out of Australia by 2006 so I can actually go see a White Sox Game ChiSoxyGirl.

We didn't offa arbitration to Sully according to the Colon article.

If Colon goes to the Angels we'll hav plenty of good picks in the draft this year rite?

With Sully now gone, our Bullpen options r gettin less and less. Kansas City Royals: Also re-signing was Kansas City right-hander Jason Grimsley ($1 million.) All Arbitration Deals

Seattle Mariners: Reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa agreed to a $6.3 million, two-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. "I was really holding my breath on this one," Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. "Re-signing Shiggy, as valuable and versatile as he is, was a priority for us." The 35-year-old right-hander gets a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $2.5 million next season and $2,975,000 in 2005. Seattle has a $3.1 million option for 2006 that could become guaranteed under certain conditions. There is a $325,000 buyout. Still undetermined late Sunday was whether the Mariners would offer salary arbitration to outfielder Mike Cameron, who won his second Gold Glove last season, and lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes. Both are free agents. The Mariners are not expected to offer arbitration to their other free agents: reliever Armando Benitez, catcher Pat Borders, outfielder John Mabry, infielder Mark McLemore and shortstop Rey Sanchez.

Well there goes a possibility to play 1B for us next year. LOS ANGELES -- Robin Ventura and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed Sunday to a $1.2 million, one-year contract. Ventura, a 15-year veteran, was acquired from the New York Yankees in July for minor league pitchers Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor. He hit .220 for Los Angeles in 109 at-bats with five homers and 13 RBI. He bad batted .251 for the Yankees with nine homers and 42 RBI. "Robin's versatility and veteran leadership were extremely valuable last season, and we're very excited to bring him back," Dodgers general Manager Dan Evans said. "He's a Gold Glove-caliber infielder whose offensive production and clubhouse presence should complement our 2004 club well." In addition to his salary, Ventura could earn $1.2 million in performance bonuses: $200,000 each for 250 and 350 plate appearances, $250,000 for 450 plate appearances and $300,000 each for 500 and 550 plate appearances. If he's traded, his base salary would increase to $1.4 million. Ventura, an AL All-Star in 1992 and 2002, has six Gold Glove awards. He played 42 games at first base for the Dodgers last season and committed just two errors for a .993 fielding percentage. The Santa Maria, Calif., native originally was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the 1988 amateur draft.

Looks like the Vlad era with the Expos is ova. Possibilities r the Angels and Baltimore. MONTREAL -- The end of Vladimir Guerrero's career with the Montreal Expos arrived Sunday night, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. After one last attempt to sign Guerrero to a long-term deal failed this weekend, the club declining to offer the All-Star outfielder salary arbitration Sunday night. That effectively ends their opportunity to negotiate with him. He would be unable to return before May 1. "We worked hard at extending our relationship with Vladimir, including a revised offer on Friday that sparked further discussions," said Expos general manager Omar Minaya, who had traveled to the Dominican Republic last week. The Expos had offered Guerrero a heavily backloaded five-year contract for more than $70 million Friday. But when he and agent Fernando Cuza declined, they essentially cut their ties, Stark reported. Minaya, in the Dominican Republic on a scouting trip, never visited with Guerrero. A four-time All-Star, Guerrero hit .330 with 25 homers and 79 RBIs last season. He was on the disabled from June 6 to July 21, missing 39 games because of a herniated disc. Baltimore is among the teams thought to be interested in the 27-year-old outfielder. Montreal also declined to offer salary arbitration to infielder Todd Zeile, third baseman Fernando Tatis, first baseman Wil Cordero and right-hander Jose Mercedes.

No big suprise really, we'd be dumbasses not to offa it to him. If the Angels sign him, we'll get 2 draft picks though. CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox are going to try and hold onto Bartolo Colon for a little while longer. The White Sox offered the right-hander arbitration on Sunday night, allowing them to extend negotiations through Jan. 8. Chicago also offered reliever Tom Gordon arbitration. Gordon has already reached agreement with the New York Yankees on a two-year, $7.25 million deal. But it hasn't been announced, so the White Sox would get a draft pick if Gordon rejects the arbitration offer. The White Sox declined to offer arbitration to second baseman Roberto Alomar, outfielder Carl Everett, infielder Tony Graffanino and right-hander Scott Sullivan, effectively releasing them. Chicago general manager Kenny Williams said keeping Colon was one of his priorities this offseason, and he even offered the right-hander a three-year deal he described as the largest ever for a White Sox pitcher. But Colon rejected the offer, said to be worth $36 million, at the end of October. Though Colon's agent, Mitch Frankel, said the pitcher still wanted to return, Williams said he would have to look in other directions. But with Alomar and Everett gone, the White Sox should have some additional money. Colon made $8.25 million last season. Colon was only 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA this year, but the White Sox love his durability and consistency. He's a 20-game winner who has reached double-digit victories in six straight seasons. He pitched a career-high nine complete games this year and was second in the AL with 242 innings. His 173 strikeouts also ranked in the top 10. The 30-year-old Colon is 100-62 with a 3.86 ERA in seven seasons with Cleveland, Montreal and Chicago.

I know they've got Michael Nakamura who's an Aussie but he struggled when he got called up this year, but he'll be given another chacne if he has a good spring training. Here r their best pitching prospects, although it isn't their strength of their farm system. 6. J.D. Durbin, RHP, Age: 21 Durbin, as a 21-year-old, had a reasonably strong season in 2003 at Double-A New Britain. Pitchers who hold their own in the high minors at such a young age merit your attention. He can reach the mid-90s with his fastball and also has a plus slider. Once his changeup develops, he'll be ready for the highest level. He's got good command indicators and solid control. The Ks took a dip after his promotion to Double A, but that's to be expected. He's potentially a No. 2 starter in the majors. ETA: Late 2004. 7. Grant Balfour, RHP, Age: 25 Despite the infelicitous pitching surname, Balfour is a strong prospect. Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Australia in 1997, Balfour has split time between relief and starting and done well in both capacities. In 534 minor-league innings, he's struck out more than a batter per inning and posted a 2.9 K/BB ratio, which is solid. He was especially strong this season at Triple-A Rochester before being called up to Minnesota. Although he may eventually get a more extended look as a starter, he's working out of the pen right now. He should thrive in that role. ETA: Late 2005. 9. Jesse Crain, RHP, Age: 22 Crain is one of the best right-handed relief prospects in the game today. He's got a sparkling 1.69 ERA over two minor-league seasons, and he's also shown strong peripheral numbers. He pitched in three different levels in 2003 and showed excellent command, hit-prevention skills and strikeout abilities at every stop. Also worth noting: In 111.2 career innings as a pro, he's yet to surrender a homer. He's a potential future closer and so far has shown no weaknesses. ETA: Mid-2004.

Ok here's the article Jim Fainter was talkin bout from the Denver Post and an article bout Clayton. Enjoy. Clayton Article Before saying goodbye to Juan Uribe, his trade to the Chicago White Sox last week deserves closer inspection. Initially, the deal seemed to make little sense for the Rockies. Uribe is 24 with two full seasons of big-league playing time and has top-shelf defensive talent. The player the Rockies got in return, second baseman Aaron Miles, will turn 27 next week and has four hits on his big-league résumé. The deal wasn't front-page news here and it was barely noticed by a baseball nation that has been captivated by the Yankees-Red Sox transaction tilt. Inside the baseball industry, however, the Uribe deal raised eyebrows. By the Rockies' scouting reports, Miles is a tough out and a smart player, but Uribe's cushion-soft, blink-quick hands rival Florida's Alex Gonzalez and free-agent Pokey Reese for the best in baseball. Uribe's powerful throws unloaded from a flick of a wrist were something to behold. At the plate, Uribe was an easy out when pitchers bothered to pay attention, but his free-swinging ways could produce occasional power. When a team is in a payroll crunch and preaching the importance of developing home-grown talent, it usually doesn't deal away a player such as Uribe without getting a more dynamic young player in return. "I was surprised," one NL general manager said. "I think Uribe's a good player. There must be something there with him that I don't know about." There was something there. Uribe's bosses became increasingly exasperated by his inability to improve. Although the Rockies would have lived with Uribe's tendency to chase pitches out of the strike zone, it was his defensive miscues, despite incredulous skills, that too often caused manager Clint Hurdle to yank on his shortly cropped hair. It was the little stuff, but the type of little stuff that can make a difference between winning and losing. Runners on first and third, one out, slow roller in the hole. Uribe might have thrown home or to second in that situation, when the play was at first. He too often missed his relay spots, threw to the wrong base, covered the wrong base on a bunt play. There was also Uribe's habit of trying to squeeze flair from the mundane. The wrist flick that sometimes brought gasps of wonder could at other times bring tailing sinkers in the dirt. And so the Rockies traded a young guy with impressive talent for an older guy with limited ability but who understands those limitations. "Juan has special tools," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "But eventually at the big-league level, you have to apply those skills. With Miles, the one thing that was on everybody's reports was that he was a winning player. He's the kind of player that makes the team play better around him. And we have to start getting more of those kind of players." Uribe Article

Hmm hopefully they won't hav enough left to resign Guardado. 6 mill is quite a lot for an injury plagued leadoff man in my opinion though.

Nice hot sunny weather down here. I've been gettin a tan all week.

Heather's still livin in da past, she can't let it go.

Pats vs Ravens in the AFC Champ. because they hav da best Defense simple as that.

Heather I think u r takin this teacher thing to seriously at the moment.

Didn't Moe blink his eyes like Apu Nahassapeemapetilon is doin now?

That sounds like a challenge to me.

Nice to see u back BEGOOD. Ur antics hav been missed.

Nice work there BEGOOD, how was ur week away.