Molto

Rowand should start in center. he reads the ball as good as anyone, takes charge and has a strong arm.

yeah, plus the defense. the team is more complete this year than last year in that we have less weaknesses when you talk about offense, defense, rotation and bullpen. It's just that as of right now, there are a TON of questions on offense. Fortunately, they aren't holes, at least yet, as all those question marks are talented enough to be productive.

while I want another starter as much as anyone, your comment is a bit off. Cotts' arm wasn't stretched out enough to start this season, Grill didn't start pitching till later in the season and as for Schoeneweis, you mention 2003 ... he was in the bullpen for 2003. He started last season and pitched well up until he got hurt. going into this season without five reliable starters in place is not good, but to say the same results will come from these three guys is wrong.

there is no reason for him to save the money until June. While I think this team can hold up and be competitive as is, there is no point in waiting, especially with the all questions that already exist. A starter to complete this rotation is very important.

yeah, that is another way of looking at it. With $7 million they could afford to take on some salary. I just hope Konerko and/or Garland aren't involved. With the loss of Lee, our rotation has to be deep and our offense has to have a player like Konerko in it.

you don't offer Clement more than $7 million a year, he isn't worth it, even though he made $6 mil this past season. The reason is simple, he has yet to win more than 15 games or lose less than 10 games. I'm a fan of his and realize he didn't get much support last year, but a 9-13 record and 180 innings isn't worth $8+ million a year. it all depends how much Clement wants to stay in Chicago. If he really wants to stay, I say the Sox should offer him a four-year deal at $24 million or so.

I take it you feel nobody heard you the first time?

I like the signing. It's unfortunate he's a right-handed bat, which will just add to one of our bigger problems on our offense, BUT if they add another starter ... combined with the pen and defense, I can handle the one-sided offense. I honestly believe Dye is going to have a big year.

that may be the worst lede to a story as serious as this that I've ever seen. I would seriously fire the reporter, if she did in fact write that lede, and whoever thought it was appropriate. that is just terrible.

while I think not having Thomas and Maggs was a big blow to the Sox, I don't think having them would've made that big of a difference in the final outcome. I say that because although they were their two best hitters, them being there wouldn't of fixed the big problem, which inconsistency. Sure, the numbers would've looked better, the team would've had a couple more wins, but really, with or with Thomas/Ordonez, the offense changed game-to-game. This isn't to say they would've had the same record and still would've collapsed in the end, but I just didn't see them pulling it off with such an inconsistent offense.

awesome posts, the both of ya. too many people put too much emotion into a sports team, and that should NEVER be the case. There are things far more important than it. This isn't to say you can't be a big fan, but the Sox, or any team you are a fan of, winning should just a bonus in your life, it should never be the one and only thing that matters.

read what I said again and you'll see that I: A. noted the whole playoff appearance thing and B. I made it clear that they not only put forth the effort, but they were understandable while doing so.

unfortunately, that would make him really mad because then they would be overpaying and would be considered stupid, not cheap. there isn't really a way to make guys like that happy.

Adkins is better suited for the mid- to late-inning relief role, so he's going to perform better than Cotts in that role. if both are handled the right way and are in set roles, they will be solid.

ugh ... threads like these should be placed in a seperate forum where only the idiots can post. Everything that SSK said is right on the money and my thoughts exactly. the Sox rank higher in the league in payroll than do in attendance, so being cheap makes no damn sense. as far putting out a winner? hard to argue that considering their failure to make the playoffs, but KW and the Sox have, in my opinion, tried harder to put out a winner over the past few seasons than most of the 29 remainding teams. And their logic within the effort has been understandable to say the least. things just haven't worked out.

solid signing. nothing great, but it ads depth to the bullpen, which I feel that while it won't be dominating, it will be deeper than most, just because of the development I see happening of Adkins and Cotts. Takatasu, Hermanson, Marte, Politte, Adkins and Cotts is solid, especially if we fill out the rotation.

JD Drew is not worth 5-year deal let alone $50 million, unless he can earn $10 mil a year in just 120 games or so, because that is how many games I feel he would give any team over the course of each season, outside of his final year. I just have that feeling about him.

why has it taken him more than a month to refute the report then?

Cairo wouldn't be a bad pickup. I was impressed with his play/approach in the playoffs. ideally, if I were to replace Harris, I'd like to get someone who has proven himself over the years, but I'm assuming his asking price would be pretty low and with Uribe likely being the starting shortstop, it would be a solid move.

a block or two away from my work/office ... pretty crazy.

I've been around, posting here and there.

no expectations or hope should be put in Escobar. If he's healthy, great, because he's a pretty talented player who could do something. Nothing to lose with him though.

at that time though, Baines' numbers were pretty damn good. interesting nonetheless.

the "owner" of Detroit is, I believe, the second richest baseball owner next to the Twins guy. not sure if that makes the Tigers richer though...

well, Beltran does have family in Chicago, so at least saying he wants to play in this city makes some sense and isn't all just bulls*** to raise his value.