C.Rector

Why the JM-bashing? Did your boy Ozzie do so badly that you feel that you have to take it out on JM even though he isn't within 100 miles of KC?

Well, based on my experience with Molto/CSR, I don't think that this is a particularly good way to either get quality writing experience or move up in the sportswriting world. When I was in college, I was on the staff of the student newspaper. There were certain courtesies that the editors would follow such as telling you upfront if your article was rejected, why it was rejected and what I needed to do to make it fit to print. In my opinion, these are things that any would-be editor has to do in order to make it worth your while to deal with that editor. Some time ago, Molto posted to this forum about how the CSR website needed some folks to write articles for it. I volunteered and eventually got a pair of articles published there, which was good. What was not so good was the fact that I often had to email Molto about whether or not an article was accepted or not, since he was too lazy to email me about it in the first place. Whenever an article was rejected, he rarely offered any ideas on how to improve it and often his reasons for rejection didn't seem to make sense. The final straw came in regards to an article that I submitted on March 23rd. He never emailed back about it and when I subsequently emailed him twice about it, he never ever replied. For what its worth, I put a lot of time and effort into the articles that I submitted to Molto/CSR and getting the silent treatment from a lazy editor just does not cut it. I'm never going to waste my time/energy on Molto and the CSR ever again. Unless you enjoy working for lazy editors, I'd doubt that any of you would find the experience of writing for Molto and the CSR worth your while.

It would be stupid to give the last spot to Jackson just because he's a "veteran." Adkins is the only one in the bunch who's really deserving of the honor.

Hee Seop Choi's really been making an impression with the Marlins. Looks like the Cubs got the short end of the Derrek Lee trade after all.

Jon Adkins definitely deserves to be in the bullpen. Anyone who pitches 7 complete innings without giving up even so much as a single earned run is pretty good. As for Mike Jackson getting it, he's just one injury away from being confined to a wheelchair. It would be a waste of a roster spot to ink him in the bullpen.

Prediction: Jon Adkins is going to wind up vindicating KW's trading away of Ray Durham, especially since we still have Adkins while Oakland lost Durham at the end of the 2002 season.

That doesn't make any sense. Spots on the 25 man roster should be awarded on the basis of performance, not on how many years you've hung around.

Just asked a simple little question, that's all.

Really? Show us the numbers that would enable Jackson to beat out Adkins, who has put up a consistently outstanding performance with 6.0 IP in 5 games with an 0.00 ERA.

Why is that rich? As long as he can pitch like he has in ST, why can't he be the closer?

From the March 23rd, 2004 Daily Herald: Islanders quickly learning the truth about Karpovtsev By Tim Sassone Daily Herald Sports Writer Posted Tuesday, March 23, 2004 Any Blackhawks fan could have told New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury this would happen: Alexander Karpovtsev has missed the last three games with a leg "contusion." You'd think Karpovtsev would want to play through the pain for his new team, which is in a battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. No doubt, his new teammates are rolling their eyes at his unwillingness to play, just like his Hawks teammates did for years. This is the perfect spot to high-five veteran Hawks broadcaster Pat Foley, whose on-air editorial following Karpovtsev's departure was priceless. Foley ripped into the ex-Hawk during the March 11 broadcast from New Jersey that still has fans buzzing. "Alexander Karpovtsev looks for any excuse not to play, and in his time in Chicago, he is the worst excuse for a teammate that I have seen in my two decades of doing this job," Foley said. "Doctor Karpovtsev always has an excuse, always milked the system." Foley went on to call the trade made by former GM Mike Smith, which sent Bryan McCabe to Toronto in exchange for Karpovtsev, "One of the worst deals in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. "He was a disgrace to the uniform when he was in Chicago," said Foley. Hasek speaks: Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek ended his long silence about his failed comeback attempt. Hasek received a lot of criticism in Detroit for not trying harder to rehab the groin injury that ended his year even though he has refused to accept the final $3 million of his $9 million salary. "I tried to come back four or five times and every time it got worse and worse," Hasek said. "That's why I made this decision. It was because I couldn't play on the level I was expecting to play. I want to be back, but first I want to be healthy. If you're not healthy, you cannot play." Hasek intends to play somewhere next season, but it won't be in Detroit. War of words: Nothing gets the insults flying like a good brawl. Nashville coach Barry Trotz blamed Calgary coach Darryl Sutter for igniting the melee that occurred late in Saturday's game, won by the Predators 3-1. And the NHL agreed, suspending Sutter and enforcer Krzysztof Oliwa two games each on Sunday. The league disciplined Sutter for sending out Oliwa, Robyn Regehr, Rhett Warrener and Mike Commodore to fight with three seconds left. "They had four puppets out there to do something," Trotz said. "Obviously, that's pre-meditated. We're trying to clean up the game and (Sutter) keeps putting it back in the 1930s." Regehr took exception to being called a puppet by Trotz. "If we look like puppets, he looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, I guess," said Regehr. Hard sell: The Capitals are still trying to make their fans understand why Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar, Robert Lang, Anton Carter and Michael Nylander were traded away. After starting the season with a payroll of $51.1 million, ninth largest in the NHL, the Caps began unloading their high-priced stars when it became clear they weren't going to make the playoffs. "Nobody expected the season to go this way," GM George McPhee told the Washington Times. "But I would hope most fans, if given the choice, would have done the same thing we did. Our options were to stay with an expensive team that was underachieving or to get out from under those contracts and prepare for the new hockey universe, whatever it maybe." On notice: With the Lightning having lost four of its last five games, coach John Tortorella has laid down the challenge to goalies Nikolai Khabibulin and John Grahame to be better with the playoffs right around the corner. "We have the best tandem in the league when they are on, but they have to do it more consistently," Tortorella said. "Do I have a concern? Yes. The fact of life is in close games, playoff hockey, it starts and ends with goaltending." Terrific gesture: Bill Wirtz, take note. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they are slashing the price of season tickets from six to 45 percent for next season. The Pens are averaging just 11,791 fans per game, worst in the NHL. "Believe me, we want to reward our loyal fans who have been with us through this rebuild," said team president Ken Sawyer. "They're our lifeblood. And secondly, we want to encourage people to come back. We felt we couldn't sit still and do nothing." Out of his hands: New Jersey Devils coach Pat Burns still doesn't know if he'll have defenseman Scott Stevens for the start of the playoffs. Stevens has been out since Jan. 7 because of post-concussion syndrome. "I don't think about it," said Burns. "I can't worry about it. I can't place it in my mind." Tip-ins: Florida goalie Roberto Luongo is on pace to break the record for shots faced in a season of 2,438, set by Toronto's Felix Potvin in 1996-97. ... Luongo is 6-5-2-2 in games where he has faced 40 shots or more. ... Philadelphia's Jeremy Roenick, recovering from a concussion and broken jaw, said he hopes to play in at least the final two regular season games. ... Linesman Ray Scapinello has announced he will retire after 33 NHL seasons.

No, we should keep Grilli and send Takatsu to AAA.

I never said or implied that "Ozzie made him have injuries." What I did say was this: "This is what happens when a buffoon like Ozzie becomes manager. All of a sudden, just sitting in a dugout, stealing signs becomes too much of a burden to bear. If Manuel was still the manager, Nossek would still be bench coach and we wouldn't be hearing anything about aches and pains." Here's something interesting: the talk is about Nossek becoming a scout for the Sox. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't scouting involve sitting in the stands? How is that any different or for that matter less painful than sitting in a dugout? As for the aches and pains business, consider this: Let's say that you are the Sox bench coach. You also have arthritis and it hurts, but you love both baseball and the Sox so much, it really doesn't matter. Your boss is Jerry Manuel who both respects you and listens to you. Now, all of a sudden, Manuel is replaced by Ozzie Guillen who doesn't really listen to you or respect you. Isn't it possible that you would not be willing to go through the pain just to put up with Ozzie? There is definitely a lot more to the Nossek resignation than the Sox have let on.

What you've described there is not "blowing up" the team. Even if these roster changes occur, that's only 5 out of 25 players involved or 20%. Blowing up the team is what the Blackhawks are doing this year or what the Bulls have repeatedly done in the post-Dynasty era. Blowing up the team often includes really stupid moves such as trading Elton Brand for a couple high schoolers. Other than letting Loaiza go, those roster change ideas of yours are too rational to be considered as part of a blowing up process.

Why spend all that money on a lackluster FA when we can place Jon Adkins in the closer spot? Adkins has tallied an ERA of 0.00 in 6.0 Innings Pitched in 5 different games. It would be a profound misuse of talent not to have him at least in the Sox bullpen, if not actually in the closer's role.

Why would you want to trade C. Lee, who's consistently been one of the best players on the Sox and who's been hitting at a .414 clip in ST? Also, he seems to like it in Chicago, so why trade a guy who's likely to spend his career here?

Chelios is not a "class guy." He is a traitor. Say what you want about how its nice for him to play for a team with a decent shot at the Stanley Cup, but he is the same Chelios who went on TV denying that he'd ever want to play for any other team than the Hawks and then 2 weeks later got traded to the Red Wings because he had been demanding that trade while at the same time denying any such wish for a trade. What he did was no different than what if Frank Thomas demanded to be traded to the Twins or if Mark Prior demanded to be traded to the Cardinals or if Walter Payton had demanded to be traded to the Packers. What Chelios did was nothing short of wholesale betrayal of the Blackhawks fans. Had he forced a trade to any team other than either the Blues or the Red Wings, that would have been one thing but forcing a trade to join up with one the Hawks most hated rivals, that's just plain wrong. Remember, during his time with the Hawks, Chelios was constantly blabbering about his Chicago roots, how he'd never leave Chicago and how he absolutely hated the "De Toilet Dead Things" as he often termed the most hated rivals. Also, after the trade, folks just stopped going to his mom's restaurant and for a time it looked like it was going to go bust. Chelios got all indignant and acted as if Chicago folks owed him and his mom to go eat at that place because of his having been on the Hawks. Chelios is one self-absorbed jackass. Anyone who considers Chelios to be a "class guy" has no idea what class is all about. P.S.: Also, how can you say that you like "Arnasson"? Any player who slacks off most of a season until his coach shoves him against a wall of a Nashville bar and then, and only then, starts playing up to his true abilities, is not the kind of guy that I'd want on my team.

Welcome back, Steff!

What do you mean by "B or C level Minor Leaguer"? Didn't Class B and C minor leagues end a long time ago? Or is there a different classification beyond AAA, AA, A and Rookie?

There's a few other good posters who are AWOL: Steff, BrandoFan, Ncorgbl, Josh_PR and some others whose names have slipped my mind.

Interesting how the folks who are the most optimistic on the Cubs chances are Sox fans..... As for Remlinger, his problem is a sore shoulder.

On just what basis do you say that? The White Sox haven't had a blow up/rebuilding phase since mid-1997 and there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe that KW goes for such things,

This is what happens when a buffoon like Ozzie becomes manager. All of a sudden, just sitting in a dugout, stealing signs becomes too much of a burden to bear. If Manuel was still the manager, Nossek would still be bench coach and we wouldn't be hearing anything about aches and pains. JM should be the new bench coach. At least we'd have a voice of experience and sanity sitting next to Ozzie.

With Wood, its always what he "could" do instead of what he has done. Never has a pitcher been so hyped over such a long period of time based on so little actual accomplishment.

So the Bears are going to draft a young cub to back up a guy who has little pro playing experience and who has already shown himself to be injury-prone?