winninguglyin83

FYI: Diaz and Rauch have pitched well for Charlotte, especially Diaz. Diaz is 2-0 and has allowed 4 hits in 13 innings with 10 Ks and one walk. No homers either. We will see Mr. Diaz in Chicago -- sooner, not later.

he was injured for one season -- 2001. He underperformed in 2002, striking out more than 100 times for the first time in his career. failing to score 100 runs or drive in 100. That's the year I'm talking about. I love Frank. I hope he finishes his career with gusto and gets into the Hall of Fame. He's the greatest offensive player in Sox history. But his incessant public b****ing about his contract is flat-out repulsive and stupid. It's hard for the average guy to feel sorry for somebody making $6 million a year. Concentrate on winning 6 of every 9 games all season. You'll get paid big boy.

One question for Frank: Are you willing to give back some of the money for the years you were overpaid and didn't produce at the 10 million level? Just wondering.

last time I checked, Jay Leno and David Letterman ain't won any World Series trophies. Kan Koch.com

The only thing I have to say on Koch is how many more Carl Crawford/Carlos Beltran moments can one team withstand. Not bloody many. time for a change.com

The End bring up Rauch, Diaz, Bobby Thigpen, Turk Lown, Gerry Staley, Looie Aparicio any freakin body and cut Koch today

lookin good fellas, lookin damn good

miguel is growin up and blowin up Hey, Billy Beane, you still think you stole Chad Bradford?

that was a solid at bat by A Row

gonzo pops to right. urib-E caught this one two hands

for the record, Uribe backed up and one-handed an easy pop fly by Sweeney and he freakin dropped it man on second, two outs. ree-dick-u-less

nice start for Esty -- until D Angelo Jimenez showed up at second base Urib-E

be great for Esty to match his 5-0 start of april 2003 cheers. happy home opener

Anderson needs to get healthy and stay healthy

what is the weather forecast?

story today on Ryan Sweeney and Brian Anderson making the jump to Winston Salem. No mention on Anderson not playing the other day. I'll give the link and the story. Enjoy. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/2004dish.html By Chris Kline April 12, 2004 While White Sox outfielders Joe Borchard and Jeremy Reed have garnered the majority of the preseason buzz roaming the same garden in Triple-A Charlotte, the class in Winston-Salem has gone largely unnoticed. That won't last very long. Right fielder Ryan Sweeney and center fielder Brian Anderson begin the 2004 campaign skipping low Class A, heading from Rookie-level Great Falls to the high Class A Warthogs. Both rank among Chicago's Top 10 prospects, with Sweeney ranked fourth and Anderson ranked seventh. The 19-year old Sweeney, who spent most of spring training in big league camp, is especially excited to be leapfrogging a level. "I'm definitely thrilled to be here--as fast as you can move up is great," Sweeney said. "To have this opportunity to be here and be just 19 years old really is something. Some guys have been here for a while, and I really need to learn whatever I can from them to make me a better player. Hopefully I keep moving as quickly as possible, but I'm going to do my best to win games right now." Both Sweeney and Anderson came out of the 2003 draft, Anderson a first-round selection out of Arizona and Sweeney a second-round steal out of an Iowa high school. Scouts feel Sweeney has more offensive upside of the two, though he tends to struggle getting around on high heat. "He hasn't shown great bat speed--more slider bat speed to me, but that could change at this level," an American League 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." Sweeney has been compared to John Olerud as a hitter with gap power, but he is still very raw--and still has time to grow into his 6-4, 200-pound frame. As Sweeney is quick to point out, power is traditionally the last tool to develop. And he's trying not to be as pull-conscious as he was in rookie ball. "I just started lifting a couple of years ago, so I feel like once I get what some people call 'man strength,' or whatever you want to call it, the power will come," he said. "I still feel like I can hit the ball out of the park right now, and they have a great weight program here so that will only work to help me. But if hitting the ball out of the park happens, that's great. I'm just looking to use the whole field and get doubles, singles and drive in some runs. "I get pitched outside a lot and I'm seeing a lot more offspeed pitches too, but I'm going to go after it with the same approach, get a little load while the pitcher's in his windup and go from there." Sweeney is batting in the No. 3 hole for the 'Hogs, with Anderson following him in the cleanup spot. The 22-year old Anderson hit .370 his freshman year for the Wildcats, struggled terribly his sophomore season and turned it around last year. He was a second-team All-American for Arizona, hitting .366-14-62 and going to the White Sox with the 15th overall pick in the draft. A two-way player the majority of his career, Andy Lopez moved Anderson full-time to the outfield during his first year as Arizona's coach. Anderson is still learning the nuances of hitting and still misses the mound. "I don't even want to talk about it," Anderson said with a laugh. "Yes I do miss it, without a doubt. If there's ever a chance where we run out of pitchers and the coach doesn't call me in to pitch I'll probably walk off the field I'll be so pissed. "I've never been a real serious hitter because I was a pitcher my whole life. In high school was really my first year of hitting and I really didn't have a clue what I was doing then, but last year was the first year I knew what it took to be a consistent, good professional hitter. My approach was just way better last year. "Coach Lopez taught me more about the game than anything--what pitchers are doing and what I needed to do to consistently battle them." Anderson is coming off wrist surgery in which he had part of the radial bone shaved down to allow better blood flow through the entire wrist. He is still trying to find his way back after the surgery, still fighting through the tentativeness. "My strength isn't all the way back," Anderson said. "It's not really a confidence thing, because I think all baseball players are so cocky that once they can just start playing again they already feel like they should, or they can go back to what they were doing. "Right now, health-wise my wrist feels like 100 percent, but I still mentally am babying it a little bit. I had all that time where I had to do that during rehab, and I knew that I couldn't swing the bat and I need to personally break through that. It's a personal issue I have to deal with. It's just breaking through that mental wall that I have, that my wrist is going to hurt when I swing and now it doesn't. But I developed bad habits before the surgery when my wrist was hurting. Now I just have to break those habits." Both players are finding it hard to break through--at least in their first series. Sweeney is 1-for-8 with a double and Anderson has struggled more, going 1-for-7 with four strikeouts. On opening night against Kinston, Anderson went 1-for-4 with three K's. "When I'm hot and in a zone and locked in, there's really no pitch a guy can throw that you're going to look stupid on," Anderson said. "But right now my timing is pretty bad. Just coming off the wrist surgery, I'm just trying to get back to where I can make consistent contact and have good at-bats. I'm not going to strike out like I did Opening Night. Hopefully I can just keep working and work myself into a groove." DISH

won't see Reed play til next month. But his numbers are hard to question. Hasn't shown tons of power, but that could still come. Left-handed bat, solid outfielder, consistent stroke. What's not to like?

Does anybody have any news on Honel yet?\ I've checked the Birmingham papers the last two days and they are worthless. Can anybody help?

noticed that, too. also noticed that Sweeney and Nanita haven't hit much yet. it's early, but I hope they're not rushing both of them.

damn. but we need to look at the bright side split four against the best team in the AL. pitched well against them. played them tough in the two games we lost. if we play like this all season, we'll be in the hunt.

i'll take a wild pitch, too

strike two was ball one by six inches jeez

jose, jose, jose, jose

jose, jose, jose, jose

damn willie. Just punch it into left center like Gonzalez in Game Seven 2001