winninguglyin83

Meaux got to Birmingham after Ring was traded. he's probably a year away. Munoz started poorly at Charlotte, probably because he was overworked. Pitched a ton of innings in winter ball. But he finished well. He might make the team. Sanders also deserves another look. Manuel never seemed to trust him. Majewski is in the AFL. Last outing was awful. Isn't there a guy named Josh Fields who had a decent year in A ball? Gotta figure it's time for Jason Stumm, another former Number One pick, to make his move. And you have to think a new manager will give Matt Ginter, another first round pick, one last look.

got to think Jerry Manuel is too smart to run his mouth. Never been his style to rip players publicly. might be true, but I'm skeptical about how much of this Manuel really said. He might have just nodded in response to a few questions.

good catcher. no stick.No power. No average. No speed. somebody else will give him a chance because he's left-handed and gets a fair number of walks. but for Oakland to give up on him after Billy Beane allegedly loved his potential is not good.

guess I can't shake the sight of those two bone-headed fielding plays he made against the Marlins. And I wonder why the Mariners, Blue Jays and now Giants have all given up on him. Cruz isn't what the Sox need. The Sox need a center fielder who can really go get the ball and a shortstop who understands the value of getting on base, not swinging for the fences. I agree there should be plenty of bargains out there. We got one in Loaiza. Red Sox got one in Ortiz. Picked up another one in Mueller. They're out there. Just got to have the luck -- and scouts -- to find the right pieces.

I, too, am rooting for the Red Sox to beat the Cubs in the world Series, with Sammy dropping the game-losing fly ball in the bottom of the ninth.

lots of guys will be out there of interest. What matters is THE PRICE. Snow doesn't have much left in the tank, in my opinion. Ponson will be pricey for a guy who has never put together a complete dominating season. Cruz is a chronic underachiever. Don't know enough about Frank Rodriguez

not opposed to trading CLee. but if you do, who plays left field? Rowand with Reed in center? Rowand with Harris in center? Everett with Rowand in center? Borchard is not ready to contribute -- and may never be. Not opposed to trading Lee if the Sox can get a decent shortstop. doubt we would get much more than one player -- or perhaps an OK player and a prospect. other teams will have the questions about Caballo the Sox have -- low walk totals, inconsistent defense, etc.

let's get the playoffs and world series over, find out who the manager is going to be and also find out if management is going to bag it -- or GO FOR IT. I thought they made an excellent point about how the Sox settled for second place. One thing that was glossed over -- the failure of so many young Sox pitchers to come through. If we would have gotten anything out of Ginter, Rauch, West, Parque, Wells, Fogg and the others who were supposed to be carrying us by now ...

makes me wonder if the Sox are EVER going to get to the World Series. anger, disappointment, frustration, disgust, apathy, got them all

final thoughts from Baseball Prospectus on the wonderfully satisfying 2003 season, plus a recommendation that the Sox go after I-Rod: Chicago White Sox C-Ya, Wouldn't Wanna B-Ya: Some people might think that, being critics and all, we take some sort of schadenfreudean pleasure whenever a manager gets fired, but that isn't really the case. Evaluating managers is, in fact, among the most difficult elements of our job; we're forced to either overemphasize the importance of factors like lineup order and bunting strategy that are easy to evaluate objectively, or to close our eyes and walk through the forest of intangibles, hoping not to bump into any conifers along the way. Jerry Manuel was fired on Monday after six years captaining the White Sox. By today's standards, that's a long tenure; Manuel's teams achieved a 500-471 record over the period, with one division title, one third place effort--and four second place finishes. There is perhaps no better way for a manager to seal his fate than to consistently finish in second place. With a very poor team, there are more fundamental problems to address, and the manager is usually given a pardon; winning pennants, on the other hand, speaks for itself, even when it shouldn't. But when his team finishes second, a manager's leadership is invariably called into question. The principal reason that the Sox have consistently finished in second is because they've consistently been the second best team. Management's strategy has been to make one or two significant off-season moves that improve the team's chances, but do not place the Sox in a position to dominate a division that, at least since the demise of the Ramirez-Thome Indians, could easily be dominated. Some of those moves (Jose Valentin and Bartolo Colon) have worked out fine on their own merits, others (David Wells and Royce Clayton) haven't, but with each 80something win season, it hardly seems to matter. This winter, finally, management may be forced to pick a direction. Bartolo Colon's contract is up; though he didn't have a spectacular season, it's hard to think of the Sox competing without him or a pitcher of similar quality. Magglio Ordonez has one more year on his contract. So does Esteban Loaiza. Carlos Lee is arbitration-eligible and is likely to command more than he should because of his good counting numbers. Frank Thomas had a nice, rebound season, but he'll be 36 next year. The point is that this hand of cards is too expensive, both in terms of salary and opportunity cost, to play passively. The White Sox need either to throw caution to the wind and take a stab at someone like Ivan Rodriguez with a short-team deal (in addition to resigning Colon), or to liquidate Lee and Loaiza for value while they can. Either approach is defensible, and either is superior to continuing to hold the middle ground. Jerry Manuel, in part because of his personality, and in part because of factors entirely unrelated to it, was a symbol of the White Sox' passivity. If his firing indicates that the Pale Hoes are ready to take a more definitive course of action--and the selection of the new manager should be dictated by just what course that is--then we're all for it.

1. looks like he kills more than the Sox 2. Looks like the Twinkies were awfully stupid to let him go by non-tendering him. 3. USA Today sports weekly's guy, Bob Nightengale, said he voted Ortiz Number One for MVP. Posad second and Shannon Stewart third

we're ahead somebody else take it away

over 31 and climbing and the cubs are edging down toward 61 unfortunately, they're ahead 2-0

got it up to 27.3

Wonder if King Dusty still believes Zambrano is gonna be better than Prior or Wood. I think not

Marlins have already shown more grit in three innings than the Braves did in five games. Helllllll, yesssss

This is awfully annoying, knowing the Sox beat the Cubs 4 of 6, the Yankees 4 of 6 and played the BoSox tough, winning 4 of 9 -- and we're not still playing. almost unwatchable

Pudge is a free agent, too. call him KW and even if you don't sign him, at least send him a Thank You check

my guess is KW has either zeroed in on Cito or has told everybody that they have to say they have not been contacted. If they violate that rule, they're out. just a guess

probably so as long as he improves his command, it's a plus remember that Josh Stewart and David Sanders were lights out in the AFL last year, so stats aren't the end all.

Sammy trying to help out thank u sammy

FYI, Cotts got hit hard in AFL yesterday. four runs in three innnings good news I don't believe he walked anybody

Twins are nuts if they trade AJ. Hope they do. guy is a solid catcher and he hits. he always calls a Great game against the Sox. if they're counting on LeCroy and Mauer, they're going to tumble. and beside, Guardado and Hawkins, they're also going to lose Shannon Stewart and maybe Mienky.

let's watch Oz-a-roo wave him home

i'd guess Rauch HAS to make the club in 2004 because he has to be close to being out of options. One more year, tops. didn't take it as good sign when he didn't get a chance in the bigs all season -- while Ginter, Cotts and Adkins did. and no september call up either. Ginter also has to be near the bubble.