Molto

You are missing my point. what I'm saying is we shouldn't be trying to match the Cubs, move for move, and even if so, when did the Sox say they are going for Hernandez and even if so, have the Sox said that Hernandez will make the same impact as Hawkins for the Cubs? NO, they didn't. This is my whole point. I understand that many Sox fans hate (are jealous) of the Cubs and I understand we are in competition with them from a business stand point, but just because they make a signing on December 2nd doesn't mean we have to make a signing of similiar impact on December 3rd, if at all. we go through the same stuff every off-season. Remember last year? the Colon rumor came out and didn't happen for a while. Everybody's response? "They aren't going to get him because the Sox don't want to win" ... or, "KW is too stupid to pull off a deal for Colon, IT ISN"T GOING TO HAPPEN." And then ... it happened. Also, as Jason has said, Hendry is in a total different situation. KW has $60 million to work with and $55 already spent, while Hendry has $80+. You give KW an $80 million payroll and guarantee he puts together one of the best teams out there, as would most GMs.

Valentin wasn't signed, his contract was picked up. Had the Sox of rejected his contract, he wouldn't have stayed and the Sox would have been in a situation with NO shortstop at all. Valentin is useless in my opinion and is overpaid as you said, but by not signing him they have no other option, so they will be putting themselves in a situation where they will have to sign another SS for more money or go and give up a lot in a trade for one. It basically came down to having Valentin at $5 mil, possibly getting someone like Tejada at $12 or signing Rey Sanchez at $1 million. They took the safe way out, assuring that we have someone at shortstop. Ideally they wanted to resign Valentin to a smaller contract, but Valentin said that he took a paycut the first time and won't do it again. Only way he would do it is if the Sox brought back the same team and really put themselves in position to win (which they haven't thus far). I want Valentin gone more than anyone, but the reality of it is that if we didn't sign him, we'd be in a situation where we'd have no SS, 2B, CF, SP, and two relievers and still guys like Konerko and Koch who they'd really like to trade.

what? why does everything we do have to revolve around the Cubs? They got Hawkins, we get HErnandez, so what? Has KW publically said we are going to top every Cubs move this season? Have the Sox said that they are even going after to Hernandez? Have the Sox said that Hernandez is a big priority with them like the Cubs said with Hawkins? NO. We really gotta stop getting upset based on what the Cubs are doing. We knew going into this off-season we weren't going to make an impact right off the bat (hell, when we made the trades for Alomar and Everett at mid-season many believed it was all or nothing for us) and KW has proven time and time again that he will be agressive and make something happen to give us a good team (how the players play on the field is out of his hands). Also, how often have we really known about a Sox move before it has happened with KW in charge? very few times. for all we know a blockbuster deal could be made today. Let's just stop with the whole Cubs/Sox comparision crap. They are in another division in another league last time I checked. The Twins lose arguably their best reliever and we are upset because the Cubs get him. That just doesn't make sense.

not sure if you can say Uribe is better. Uribe has more potential offensively who tries to do too much, while Izturis is a good defensive shortstop who has to really prove himself.

as small as this Uribe trade is, it does give us a solid backup at the very least. Plus, he has the ability and talent to be a solid player, whether it is at second or short, so this trade, as little as it is, gives the Sox flexibility. Realistically, they can now trade Valentin (if they choose) and won't be desperate to get a SS in return. However, if we do that and start Uribe at short, Roberto Alomar must be signed to play second. Either way, this gives the Sox some versatility. We now have three options at second (Uribe, Harris or Alomar) and two at short (Valentin and Uribe). It was a good move, not big, but good.

Why are so many people so bitter? Who ever claimed this to be the biggest trade of the off-season? Did the Sox openly say that this will put us over the top and that they are done making trades? Jesus, KW has only a $60 million payroll to work with and already has $55+ million dedicated with 4-5 spots left to fill, give him time. And please, can people stop with this whole Cubs/Sox comparision crap. The Cubs have made one move, which wasn't even great. All they did was trade one first baseman with a lot potential and patience, but inexperience, for a solid first-baseman who doesn't have the upside, but is proven. They are also paying an additional $7 million more and added another right-hander who strikes out a lot. It was an even trade for both sides so PLEASE stop with the "look what the Cubs are doing" bulls*** because they have only made one move. As far as Hawkins? If they sign him, it will be a very good move for them as he's a very good reliever. At the same time, however, they will still be relying and expecting Joe Borowski to repeat himself. I'm not saying he won't, but guys like Borowski have come and gone a lot in baseball. don't forget that Remlinger is hitting 40 and Farnsworth has yet to prove any sort of consistency. Give the Cubs credit for taking the next step and trying to add to the playoff team they had last year, but don't forget their pen and offense are still filled with holes and they have a fan base that is willing to go to the ballpark and support them. Will the Sox make better trades and signings? who knows, but there is still a ton of time left and a lot of s*** we have to wait-and-see on, unfortunately.

both of those deals are pretty bad when you consider how good Ordonez is. The problem is, with the White Sox content on keeping their payroll at $60 mil, Williams has very few options right now and in order to put together a good team he is going to have to dump salary and trading Ordonez and his $14 mil would be a huge chunk of it. As far as Gibbons and Garcia, they are both solid players who I wouldn't mind having on the Sox, but for Ordonez they better add a little more and maybe even take Valentin or Konerko off the Sox' shoulders.

Williams and Davis are known for being guys who "bring it" every night. I don't think this trade was good as the Bulls should have gotten more, but as bad as this team has played this year, a change needed to happen, which is what it all comes down too. The players the Bulls gave up really weren't of much value to the team and the guys they are bringing in will likely bring a better attitude and effort. I know i'm happy to see Rose gone and I'm looking foward to seeing Williams play.

and what are you basing that on? Unless #5's are supposed to win 15 games and give you 200 innings, Schoeneweis is capable of taking that fifth spot. Will he be effective? who knows, but he has the ability to be a strong #5.

both of you guys are set up. thanks a lot guys.

cool, GASH go to the board and register and I'll set ya up. thanks

Just to let you guys know, this is SPAM, but I'm doing it anyway, lol. I will soon be contributing to a Chicago Sports newspaper/magazine. This newspaper, called the Chicago Sports Review, is very young (just started this year). Its site, www.chicagosportsreview.com, is a work in progress and will be undergoing a format/style change, so please don't judge it based on its current presentation. I'm pretty confident in the potential of this paper/site. Anyway, the message board for this site is located at www.chicagosportsreview.com/discussion. We aren't sure if we are going change the message board or anything, but what I do know is that I'm looking for moderators for each forum, basically to help build a community and keep things active. I'm not really looking to build up the Sox portion (although a moderator is needed) because there are too many good Sox boards out there (this being the best, of course) and i don't expect anyone here to be willing to moderate the Cubs forum (willing to moderate it with good intentions), but we do need moderators for the Bears board, the Bulls board, the College Football board and the General Sports board. If anyone is interested, shoot me an email ([email protected]), send me a private message or respond to this post. I'm not going to pin this up top, I'll leave that up to the other mods if they choose to. Thanks, Mario

lol, you know I'm gonna have to plug it every chance I get. if not, it'll take forever to build, like SoxNet.

thanks SS, I'm sure I'm gonna be spamming this board a bit with the newspaper and site as I get involved and get things going, lol.

SoxNet will no longer exist. Why? TheInsiders is one of the reasons, but another is I personally wanted to move on. I loved SoxNet and will miss every aspect of it, but at the same time, I'm looking for a new challenge. A new white sox site may be in the works shortly. I won't be running it as I did with SoxNet, but Jason will be and I have no doubt that he'll make it better than what SoxNet, just based on the experience and knowledge he gained. I will help Jason as much as I can and help in whatever way I can, but all of my time will soon be dedicated to a new chicago sports newspaper and website that started this year. I hope to take the dedication and credibility I gained at SoxNet and invest it into a site I feel can be a strong source for chicago sports news in general. Hope this answers your question. If anyone has any questions, send me an email at [email protected]

I could see them trading Konerko instead of Lee IF they add a third player to the deal and/or pay for $1-2 million of Konerko's salary. OR, if they were to trade Lee, I would ask for another player from the Dodgers in return, preferably a reliever. either way, Lee and Perez shouldn't be made straight up.

not to stick up for the Sox or anything, but all of baseball is going cheap this year. there is no doubt JR has been cheap for many years (granted, he has opened up a little bit over the past couple years, at least more than he ever has), but this is the one season where you can't say JR is alone, or with a very small group, when it comes to this. There are only a handfull of teams who are adding salary, while many others are standing pat or dumping. Is JR cheap? Even though we truly don't know the financial situation, it is safe to say he is, but he's no "cheaper" than many other owners this offseason. Trading Ordonez would be a move I'm sure many Sox fans will have trouble digesting, but like it or not, our payroll is going to be under $60 million, and with that being the way it is, trading Ordonez wouldn't really be a bad move.

KW's midseason moves were pretty damn good, better than any other GM. Just because they didn't lead to anything doesn't mean they were bad. we got ourselves a defensive secondbaseman, offensive centerfielder and solid relievers from both sides, all of which we needed. how were they bad moves?

living just two blocks away from the park, it has been pretty cool to see the renovations unfold. you always were able to see USC from anywhere it seems as this big old building, but now, it looks much more cozy from afar. looks like a legit baseball field and not some big ass building.

lol, jas, everytime I see the old SoxNet pages I laugh my ass off. no wonder nobody used to visit the site in the early going, my HTML ability was terrible. it does bring back memories though and the urge to do it again. god, I wish it was still up. I really missed doing it. either way, it came a LONG way in the 2 1/2 years, 2 1/2 of the best years of my life.

I hated Cora as a player, but just like Guillen, you have no idea how he will be as a coach, therefore, nobody should really comment too much unless they have seen him coach third base first hand. As I said, Cora wasn't my favorite player, but perhaps he'll be a good third base coach, if he is in fact chosen. how come none of the reporters asked this question? perhaps not at first, but it should have been answered towards the end of it.

some people are misunderstanding Guillens philosophy when it comes to having guys bunt. he didn't say Frank Thomas will be bunting, but he did say that if guys are gonna go up to the plate and fail to move guys over (via groundballs to the right side and fly balls deep enough in the outfield), he will have them bunt which is EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED. will Guillen be a good manager? only time will tell. In my opinion, I think he will have some problems when it comes to strategy, but that is just because he's young. his energy and dedication can't hurt this team though. he wants guys who play the game hard and play it the way it should be played, whether they are good guys or not. on a side note, I don't think there was any other person they could have signed that would've have made all Sox fans happy. If Gaston was chosen, people would've gotten upset because he's too laid back and plays the race card. Had they of picked someone like Francona or Bell, some would have complained that they are proven ... failures. they could have went with Bobby Valentine, but some people, like me, wouldn't have been completely happy with it. no matter who they went with, their was gonna be doubters, because #1, there hasn't been a hands down, top-of-the-line manager out there, and #2, Sox fans are known to complain about everything. I just hope they build Guillen a strong, deep pitching staff and a quicker, more agressive core on offense. they do that, and I think Guillen can make something happen. I just have my doubts when it comes to running a staff with holes (which will put him in a lot of tough situations) and an offense with too many big bats (which will limit his creativity).

I don't think money is what will keep Colon here, but the years. If the Sox add 1-2 more years to the deal I think it may work.

journalism student at Columbia College, no job.

from far away I don't think the stadium looks that bad, but as I walked closer and closer to it yesterday it had just a weird design to it. as far as the inside? I agree in that it was very unorganized. I didn't drive there (took the train) so I don't know how parking is but it wasn't the easiest park to get around in. the concourse was fine and from the press box, it looked as though every seat was a good seat, but at half-time I walked down to the lower concourse and it took forever it seemed to find the right way to walk and the right stairs to go down. it reminded me too much of a convention center than an actual stadium. I didn't mind it though, the inside of the stadium is pretty cool and the sightline of the downtown area is nice as well.