I don't know how well Couch is perceived compared to Moronotti, but I found this article to be a little intersting....

 

Whole issue of Maggs now nags at the Sox

BY GREG COUCH SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

 

We should have been suspicious of the calm, and uneasy about the happy and smiling faces.

 

That isn't the White Sox.

 

The White Sox are the guys who don't know how to play nice together. To them, chemistry is that concoction a kid mixes up in his basement, the thing that blows up in his face. Then along comes happy-faced manager Ozzie Guillen, and along comes first place over Minnesota, which apparently keeps winning the division by singing songs together and holding hands.

 

And now, along comes the Sox' dark cloud. What is going on with Magglio Ordonez?

 

The Sox were in first place by 2-1/2 games Tuesday, when word reached Chicago of a report that Ordonez had turned down a huge contract extension. Maggs called the report ''a lie.'' Maybe it was. Or maybe, if you are suspicious and untrusting of the Sox, you wonder if this was the team's little trick to save face while ditching a superstar who deserves a fat raise.

 

The Sox were in first place by 1-1/2 games Wednesday, when we found out Ordonez is headed for the disabled list because of some undetermined injury to a tendon behind his left knee. If surgery is required, he could be gone for four to seven weeks.

 

Then the Sox lost again to Oakland, 3-2 in 10 innings.

 

Bad reporting and bad luck and maybe a bad game or two, and that's all? Possibly.

 

Or maybe this is bigger. That's what I think. It's a bad and defining moment for the Sox, who are about to tell Maggs and also Sox fans all about who they are. They can bolster this hopeful season or save money and destroy it.

 

Do you have faith that they will choose the right way?

 

Let's start with the report. It came in Sunday's Newsday, a New York newspaper, and cited unnamed sources saying that Ordonez had turned down a five-year, $70 million deal. Contract negotiations had broken down, the paper wrote, and Maggs is all but certain to leave.

 

''No,'' Ordonez said. ''That's not true.''

 

You assume, of course, that it was the writer Ordonez was calling a liar. Don't be so sure.

 

The writer was Jon Heyman, one of the best baseball writers in the country. He broke the story in the offseason about the big multi-team, multi-superstar deal that would have sent Ordonez to Boston and Nomar Garciaparra to the Sox.

 

And it was all true and in the works. So, somewhere, Heyman has a reliable source about Ordonez.

 

Think, then, about who might have leaked the information about Ordonez turning down a big contract. Ordonez himself? His agent? Well, it made Ordonez look greedy, and it served him no purpose.

 

''We're still talking,'' Ordonez said Tuesday. ''It's a lie. That's all I can say.''

 

So, what side could that ''lie'' be coming from?

 

Hmmm.

 

At first, Sox general manager Ken Williams said he wouldn't confirm or deny the big offer. Then, he wouldn't say whether contract talks were continuing. Then, he did say that a five-year, $70 million offer had not been made.

 

Look, there is no way of knowing for sure what's going on here. But Ordonez will be a free agent after this season if the Sox don't sign him. He will command big bucks, as perennial All-Stars with 100 RBI do. And it's hard to avoid the sinking feeling that the Sox might be secretly trying to paint him as unsignable. Then the Sox come off looking generous.

 

The Sox can't possibly be lining up another White Flag trade, can they? Oh, please, no. They cannot trade away another playoff chance.

 

But, hey, we tried, and Maggs was unreasonable, and ...

 

Or maybe they are planning to dump their homegrown, fan-loved star in a trade. The team needs another starting pitcher. Or maybe the plan is to simply let Ordonez go at the end of the year. After all, he is much too greedy, right?

 

Here is a plea for the Sox:

 

Just sign him. And do it now, before the season starts to slip.

 

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is supposedly one of the most loyal people in the world, and he can now prove that to Ordonez -- and to Sox fans. Hey, if you pull yourself up to star level through hard work and good citizenship with the Sox, you can be rewarded by (a) a long-term deal or (B) a handshake and goodbye.

 

If you cannot develop your own talent and then keep it when it matures, then you are small-time. And that won't help the Sox in their constant battle not to look like the weak sister of the Cubs.

 

There are two types of teams: One tries to get players and win championships; the other is the rinky-dink kind, figuring it has no real long-term chance and can win only by bringing up minor-leaguers who get hot before they are paid.

 

When it's time to pay up, goodbye.

 

The good news about Ordonez's injury is that he probably is not tradable right now.

 

Or maybe this is all just one big misunderstanding. But Maggs is going to wonder where the leak came from. Other players are going to wonder. The fans are watching. The Sox are losing. The Twins are gaining.

 

It's your move, Sox. Your chemistry lab is gurgling and bubbling.

 

What's next?

Greg Couch is worthless.

Greg Couch is worthless.

He was the one that broke the story about the Cubs scalping their tickets so he isn't completely worthless.

Until we really know the facts about what was offered/if anything was offered, i don't think we can call the article good or bad.

The whole tone of the article is negative and certainly tries to paint Williams and Reinsdorf in a bad light. Bringing up the White Flag Trade at this point is an obvious attempt to piss off White Sox fans and create anger against Sox management.

 

I used to like to read this guy, but this article was over the top.

 

Isn't this the guy who tried to get an interview with Reinsdorf and was denied?

This is a case of a squeeky wheel in need of some grease.

This article is complete bulls*** and if he prints s*** like this on a regular basis then I think it's safe to say that he's more then likely an idiot.

 

:dips***

I'm tired of people saying "just give him the money". Screw that. Texas just gave Rodriguez the money and they went no where. Draw your line and make him cross it.

That article did make me mad, but not at the Sox. I was pissed at the writer for bringing up the white flag crap again, and saying 'just give him the money'. Easy to say when it isn't yours. Striker, I like your line: Draw your line and make him cross it. I would just add, make it a fair line.

Why are you all mad at Couch?

I think it was a great article.

 

He wrote:

If you cannot develop your own talent and then keep it when it matures,

then you are small-time.

 

HOW TRUE!

It's the f***ing truth.

The Twins are gaining.

 

Losing 3 out of 4 to Tampa at home is gaining?

Losing 3 out of 4 to Tampa at home is gaining?

Why are you all mad at Couch?

I think it was a great article.

 

He wrote:

If you cannot develop your own talent and then keep it when it matures,

then you are small-time.

 

HOW TRUE!

It's the f***ing truth.

If you develop the talent and then the talent prices himself out of your market then you aren't operating as a "small time" org, you're operating as an efficient org. I will tell you right now that I will be PISSED if the sox sign Maggs for over $14M a year. I know this has been rehashed plenty on this board but it's articles like this that put the franchise in a hole. You're damned if you do commit 20% of your payroll to one player who doesn't deserve it and you're damned if you don't because the media has been trying to convince the casual fan that if the Sox don't pay Maggs whatever he wants then the Sox aren't showing a commitment to their fans. The media is really hurting this franchise with all of this Maggs signing talk.

 

Now if Maggs asked for fair market value, which many on this board believe to be about the same as I think, about $11-12M per season, and the Sox don't sign him, then yes, they aren't committed to winning and they will be operating as a "small time" org. There's a big difference between greed and sound operating.

Why are you all mad at Couch?

I think it was a great article.

 

He wrote:

If you cannot develop your own talent and then keep it when it matures,

then you are small-time.

 

HOW TRUE!

It's the f***ing truth.

I'm with you. We are a team that the rest of the league should be pissed at for keeping and signing talent. Instead we act like were the f***ing Des Moines White Sox instead if Chicago. Which last I looked, was a major market.