winninguglyin83

There is something askew in the Gaston package. He's been outta the game too long. He came from ahead to lose this job. He went back to the team that fired him to be a bench coach. He's totally off the radar despite winning two world series titles. And I'm sure he wanted too much money. Ozzie is unproven. So was Gardenhire. And grady little. And Ken Macha. We'll just have to wait and see.

Tony Pena's enthusiasm sure seemed to work with the Royals veterans -- and they didn't have the pitching the Sox have

maybe the strategy is to piss frank off so he will ASK for a trade. sounds like a strategy to me. be interesting to see what Frank's reaction is to Ozzie's comments. He didn't exactly praise Frank from here to Cooperstown.

let's wait to see what kind of pitching he gets before we make any decisions. If KW resigns Colon or gets another top-notch starter, he's got a chance. Cito was no lock to win. not unless he was bringing Dave Stewart, John Olerud, Paul Molitor, Robbie in his prime, Duane Ward and Joe Carter with him. The 25-man roster is going to dictate more than the guy on the bench. Teams often hire guys who have qualities missing in the guy they dumped. Manuel got the job because he was thougtful, thorough and easy-going while Bevington was considered shallow and hard-headed. Now Ozzie replaces Manuel because Manuel was considered lifeless and unable to inspire the players. time will tell.

ozzie played for a long time. I'm sure he knows a lot of people. my guess is he'll wait for a few days before announcing his guy. that would be the prudent thing to do -- and get the Sox more free publicity when he makes his first decision. wise PR

molitor signed with Seattle last week to be the hitting coach. maybe Oz can talk Luis Castillo into coming to Chicago. in the end, however, let's not forget one thing: We need to line up two starting pitchers to join Loaiza, Buehrle and Garland. I guess Schoeneweis is one of them. But we need a stud at the front of the rotation. Florida didn't win because of Ozzie. They won because of Beckett, Pavano, Willis, Penny and Redman.

4 p.m. new york time i would expect the presser would be covered by Fox Sports Chicago and hopefully ESPN News.

heck, just turn Ozzie loose on the city. his enthusiasm will rub off on others and get folks out to the ballyard. As long as we sign some pitching.

let's enjoy the Ozzie Era and make a pledge to not start complaining until at least may 1. and sign some pitching while we're at it.

Warren Newsome? How 'bout Officer Karkovice?

I liked Bobby V on TV a helluva lot more than Buck Showalter or Jeff Brantley. At least Bobby V wasn't afraid to lite into somebody. Showalter wouldn't say s*** if he had a mouthful. He was duller than DJ. Maybe ESPN will replace him with Jerry Manuel. That would be some electric TV.

Anybody have an idea if a press conference has been scheduled yet? Hopefully no later than Wednesday. If it's Ozzie, be interesting to see who he names as his third-base coach.

Kenny Kool is going to be just as pissed as the 'Sox official" who told A Row. Of course, somebody might have told Rowand it 'looks' like Ozzie is ahead. And maybe he took that to mean done deal. Kenny Kool needs to chill and look at the bright side. A Row got the Sox more free pub. No harm, no foul. The Trib article that sez Oz didn't answer his phone is another good sign.

believe what you like, but the story in the Sun-Times this morning sez that A Row has been told by a Sox official that Ozzie is coming home to manage the club. http://www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-spt-sox032.html That's the link. I'm happy to see the Sox roll the dice with the younger, more enthusiatic guy. Hopefully he'll get this group to play with more passion. Cito was a hot name --10 years ago. I feared he was just looking for a check.

seems like the Sox had no interest in Rauch last year Almost as if they overreacted to 2002. They promoted him too quickly then. Last year it was as if they didn't want to put any pressure on him at all. I realize Baseball America predictions aren't worth much, but the guy was the player of the year in 2000. He ought to be able to deliver as at least a No. 4 or 5 starter.

Will anybody?

let's play TWO. Today. One month down, five to go until we play ball. Let's do it.

The time has come for the Sox to get something out of Rauch AND Ginter. Both of them have the ability to succeed in the big leagues. 2004 should be their chance to deliver.

Cubs are hurting for cash. They don't make enough money gouging their fans on scalped tickets.

the hiring of Gaston next week will be the latest confirmation that KW is firmly in charge. Then, you'd figure, KW will be judged on how Cito performs.

JR is disliked because in 1994 the Sox had an excellent shot to succeed in the post-season but he was widely considered one of the hawks who allowed baseball to be shut down and the Sox unable to take advantage of their surplus talent and lead in the division. He is also disliked because so many of our best homegrown players -- McDowell, Fernandez, Ventura, Alvarez, Hernandez -- have walked or been traded.

case you didn't see, there is another thread saying that Molitor has signed to coach the Mariners. it's posted on mlb.com

Bartolo to the Yankees has been predictable since last winter. They steered him to the Sox and away from Boston with the El Duque trade and by taking Osuna and his ridiculous contract off KW's hands. They suspected Clemens would retire and that Wells would be done. Now they're ready to slide in and take Bartolo, no matter how many times he says he really enjoyed playing in Chicago.

story for tomorrow's New York Times already on their web site http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/31/sports/b...all/31YANK.html Sez the Yankees are NOT interested in Manny. More interested in Vlad and Sheffield. Sez they might pursue Molitor as the new hitting coach. At the bottom, it sez they're going to spend their money on pitching, mentioning Bartolo and LaTroy Hawkins. Also heard that Robbie Alomar filed for free agency today, but can't find confirmation.

baseball just enjoyed a spike in interest during the post-season. Fans don't want to hear the players b****ing about collusion and how tough the market is less than a week after the series is over. There's got to be a better way than making the climate negative again so quickly after the series. They might get more money, but at what cost?