winninguglyin83

everybody gets SIX players in the Arizona fall league. Those other guys will be in Tucson, working out and getting individual instruction. Imagine they play a few intrasquad games. But there's no way they have 35 guys in the AFL. bad info.

Grilli didn't even dominate at Triple A. He cannot control the strike zone. The only thing he has going for him is that he plays for the minimum and he's happy as hell to be in the big leagues. If we start next season with Grilli in the rotation, we're not serious about winning.

Then what the heck is Plan A? Maggs? Gibbons? Cattalanatto? The suspense is killing me. I need to know.

nobody thought Loaiza would do much last season either. Part of our M.O. We sign four or five of these guys every year -- and hope one of them becomes functional. sad, but true

Borchard has multiple problems. He missed valuable developmental time playing football in college. He seems to be totally without confidence at the plate. He has a slow swing. He's fooled by the breaking ball. And he's carrying the weight of expectations created by his $5 millon bonus and draft pick hype. Other than that, he's in great shape.

clock running out on Escobar. Is he worth a look? Yes. Does he have potential? Sure. Can we count on him? Hardly. Better have a plan B. One advantage we have is simply this: With Rowand's emergence and ability to play center or right, we can resolve some of our outfield problems with either a center fielder or a corner outfielder. Rowand is extremly valuable because he can play either spot well defensively. That gives KW flexibility to find somebody. I hope it's a guy who hits for a bit less power but can get on base more consistently and can at least run well enough that he can regularly go from first to third on a base hit.

supposedly they're sending Borchard to the Mexican League. They're convinced that hitting the breaking ball is his major problem and he'll see tons of them there. I think he's got another flaw. the high, high-octane fastball.

Is Morse really that good?

I thought all the reports last winter were that Nomar did not want to play for the White Sox when there were discussions about the Ordonez trade.

Glad we've had Mark for 4 1/2 seasons -- and I'm even happier we'll have him for at least three more. Buehrle and Garcia give us a chance for next year.

Five picks in the top 17 players = Anderson, McCarthy, Sweeney in the top seven. Fields and Tracy in the next wave. everybody but Rogowski made it. get ready for the Kids Can Play, Part IX 3. BRIAN ANDERSON, of, Winston-Salem Warthogs (White Sox) Age: 22 Ht: 6-2 Wt: 205 B-T: R-R Drafted/Signed: White Sox '03 (1) AB: 254 R: 43 H: 81 2B: 22 3B: 4 HR: 8 RBI: 46 BB: 29 SO: 44 SB: 10 CS: 1 AVG: .319 OBP: .394 SLG: .531 Another five-tool player who jumped to Double-A at midseason, Anderson was one of the most exciting players in the league. He started off slow, still recovering from minor wrist surgery, but by the time May rolled around, Anderson kicked it into overdrive. A polished hitter who works himself into deep counts, Anderson also proved to be a plus defender in center field for the Warthogs. “To me, if you want to compare them, Anderson and Francoeur are similar, but Anderson is more disciplined around the zone,” an AL scout said. “Francoeur is more of a free-swinging guy and Anderson is going to make more consistent contact. He doesn’t have quite the arm Francoeur does, but his speed makes up for it where he plays.” 6. BRANDON McCARTHY, rhp, Winston-Salem Warthogs (White Sox) Age: 21 Ht: 6-7 Wt: 210 B-T: R-R Drafted/Signed: White Sox '02 (17) W: 6 L: 0 ERA: 2.08 G: 8 SV: 0 IP: 52.0 H: 31 HR: 3 BB: 3 SO: 60 AVG: .171 Described as a blue-collar version of former White Sox righthander Jack McDowell, McCarthy doesn’t back down from anyone. Physically, he also resembles McDowell, with a 6-foot-7, 200-pound frame. His stature allows him to throw on a downward plane, and he repeats his delivery well. “He’s got exceptional command for a tall guy,” Lovekamp said. “He creates such good angles and works down in the zone. Coming from as high as it does, the ball tends to get on you quickly and looks really small as it sinks down at you.” 7. RYAN SWEENEY, of, Winston-Salem Warthogs (White Sox) Age: 19 Ht: 6-4 Wt: 200 B-T: L-L Drafted/Signed: White Sox '03 (2) AB: 515 R: 71 H: 146 2B: 22 3B: 3 HR: 7 RBI: 66 BB: 40 SO: 65 SB: 8 CS: 6 AVG: .283 OBP: .342 SLG: .379 Sweeney, like Anderson, jumped from the Rookie-level Pioneer League to high Class A to start the season. Anderson moved up to Double-A during the season, but unlike Anderson, Sweeney is still a teenager. And as a 19-year-old among older, more experienced players, Sweeney held his own. Considered a second-round steal out of an Iowa high school last year, Sweeney’s season was not without its struggles. Still, some scouts who saw both players said they preferred Sweeney. “He hasn’t shown great bat speed—more slider bat speed to me, but that should change with more at-bats,” one AL scout said. “It could be a comfort thing. You get offspeeded to death in this league—especially guys like him. But if you know he can’t get around on the fastball, it makes it easier to set him up.” 12. JOSH FIELDS, 3b, Winston-Salem Warthogs (White Sox) Age: 21 Ht: 6-2 Wt: 210 B-T: R-R Drafted/Signed: White Sox '04 (1) AB: 256 R: 36 H: 73 2B: 12 3B: 4 HR: 7 RBI: 39 BB: 18 SO: 74 SB: 0 CS: 0 AVG: .285 OBP: .333 SLG: .445 The eighteenth overall pick in this year's draft out of Oklahoma State jumped right into high Class A--which shows you what the White Sox think of their first-round pick. Fields starred as a quarterback in college, setting school records for touchdown passes (55) and a Cotton Bowl mark for passing yards (307), yet he chose baseball over the gridiron. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Fields doesn't have the prototype NFL quarterback size and wasn't a big-time football prospect. But in his first taste of professional baseball, he showed that he should hit for power and average as well. Fields is raw at the corner right now, but managers and scouts said he should be a solid defender down the road. "I like him there," said an AL scout 17. SEAN TRACY, rhp, Winston-Salem Warthogs (White Sox) Age: 23 Ht: 6-3 Wt: 210 B-T: L-R Drafted/Signed: White Sox '02 (8) W: 9 L: 8 ERA: 2.73 G: 27 SV: 0 IP: 148.1 H: 108 HR: 5 BB: 69 SO: 130 AVG: .212 After a difficult 2003 season in which he posted a 9.50 ERA in the South Atlantic League, Tracey established himself as one of the best arms in the CL this season, ranking second in the league in strikeouts and ERA. A power pitcher with great confidence, Tracey's location and command drew comparisons to Indians righthander Adam Miller. Though he is four years older than Miller, the stuff certainly is comparable between the two. Tracey's fastball sits at 93-94 mph, touching 97, and he has an above-average power slider and changeup to go along with it. Tracey's poise and demeanor make him one of the best arms in the White Sox system. A major question mark remains his mechanical delivery, however; Tracey’s arm action includes a “stab” in the back, which can lead to control issues. "He always wants the ball," Winston-Salem manager Nick Leyva said. "His velocity shot up as he's honed his mechanics some, and he's had a breakout year for us."

I'll say four Sox players will make the list. McCarthy Anderson Sweeney Rogowski

not putting him in the Hall of Fame. I would put him in the Sox lineup for six years -- until he became a free agent and left town. The feeling of many of us is it would have been nice if Garcia could have been acquired without giving up the best hitting prospect in the White Sox system. That's all. I like Garcia fine. He should be a solid pitcher for us next season. But we needed a left-handed bat and could have used Reed. For the record, he has a single, a walk, a strikeout and an error into the sixth inning tonight.

exactly. the guy was the only guy to hit .400 in the minors last season.

plus, B Mac wasn't there all season.

for the record, Reed made an out in his final at bat, dropping his average to .426. He's not hitting for much power, expected for a rookie in Safeco. Four doubles, no HRs, four RBIs. but he's only whiffed once.

Amen. my greatest fear is that next year we'll pick up some ham and cheeser in July by giving up Sweeney or Brian Anderson. We have to quit cannibalizing our farm system.

I like Freddy, too. Just wish there was some way we could have gotten him without giving up Reed. We knew Maggs was going to leave and that we needed a left-handed bat. Maybe they would not have taken Borchard (the secret was out, he can't hit) or Crede, but damn this kid is going to be a very professional hitter for a long time.

He might like it in Chicago. bigger media market. Plus, he's pals with Hawk. I believe he played on the same high school team -- Dr. Phillips in Orlando -- with Hawk's son. bring him on.

watching the Mariners thump the As. Reed is 3 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Into the sixth inning he's hitting .435 in 46 big league at bats. Small sample, but the kid can rake. Ouch. Double ouch.

Yo, Steve. Winning teams need to have leadership and effort from the veterans. Carl Everett is entitled to have a bad year. That happens. So do injuries. I don't get upset about that. but reporting out of shape and failing to get into shape is unacceptable. You can't have that on a team. His injury was to his shoulder. He still could have done the running or exercise bike work to get his lard ass in shape. He basically cruise controlled it through this season -- and that's BS. What you're basically saying is that if the Sox get off to a bad start next season, it will be OK for him to mail it in again. Not for me. If he's only going to give 70 percent effort, I'd like a 30 percent cut on the price of my ticket.

it's professional baseball. good players don't let the environment dictate their conditioning or effort. he's stealing money this season. Your ticket money

Josh Rupe, Anthony Webster, Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Gary Majewski for King Carl. And you wonder why I wince when I hear the White Sox have made a deal.

That's assinine. We can win in the candy-ass division we're in. Why would we want to risk going 3-16 and 5-14 against the Yankees and Red Sox every year?

No to Benitez. Too streaky. You'd be paying maximum value for a guy who will probably not pitch as well last season -- like Koch. look elsewhere