Chisoxfn

I agree with both of your lineup assessments, but the Sox are going to hit Valentin in the 2 hole and I see some of the logic behind that. Jose has a good bat and hits with power. Now put him in front of our big hitters and he'll get a ton of fastballs and should cream the ball like he did in 2000 when he was in the 2 hole. Frank, Maggs, PK, and the rest of the middle of the lineup aught to be ready cause they are going to get a lot of rbi shots.

Yeah the price of action is becoming international criminals no better than the Nazis (The Nazis used a pre-emptive attack as their defense in the Nuremburg Tribunals) Like I said before, plenty of people were out there questioning whether there should of been Involvement during WWII. Could you imagine what would of happened had people/countries not stepped up and overthrew Hitler? Sometimes, people just need to do whats best for the country and make a stand and in my humble opinion that stand should occur in Iraq. Sadam is a liar. Back when the war was over he said he was going to disarm and till this day he has never fully complied with the UN Sanctions. This guy is hiding so many things. Why should the US just sit there and let him continue to hide and continue to build weapons of mass destruction. No, he hasn't used them on us yet, but are we just going to sit and wait for him to do it first? The US knows he's building weapons, US intell has proven it, yet the French and Germans still disagree. Well fine then, we still have 16 other UN nations on our side if I recall. I'm all for a peaceful society and I wish there was another way to solve it, but until Sadam just packs his bags and leaves Iraq this is the best scenario. So should we just listen to France or Germany and continue to ask them to inspect the facilities etc, while all he does is hide stuff. He's not been complying with the inspectors the past 10 years, what makes anyone think he's going to start doing it now. Thats like saying Hitler would just randomly stop killing jews. We all know he wouldn't stop killing them till they were all dead. Man, I could just imagine if Hitler was alive now, we'd still be having this debate but in regards to whether the US should go and invade there. I know its a completely different subject and Hitler was murdering people, but Sadam is building weapons to murder people and has murdered people in the past, why think he's all of a sudden going to stop? To me the only options out there are: A ) Keep doing what we've been doing the past 10 years, and let him continually hide stuff B ) Go to war and take him out once and for all. The people are starting to want him out. Ive talked to friends of the family that now live here, but are Iraqi's and still have family back there and from what they tell me most of the people support the United States. C ) He just randomly decides he can't fight the US and packs his bags and leaves the country and the US goes in and destroys the weaponry areas. I'm sure some other people have other options and I'm all ears, but to me I don't see A or C happening anytime in the near future.

Are they going these peace cookies going to have any secret sauce in them

I've been thinking the same thing. When the hell was the last time that any of us could say that about a Sox team?

Why yes we can. Well, we'll stick with him until Borchard is ready. Once that happens, then we can talk about whether Rowand or Lee goes.

Awesome. I'm going to be out there March 6th till the 9th. I'll definately stop on bye and say Hi. Most likely I'll be wearing some type of item that says Soxnet.net on it

He won a Gold Glove at 2B in 1997, or 1996. NY killed him, and nobody gave him a chance to redeem himself. KC never used him at 2B, did they? Nope and thats because he no longer can control his arm. I also think he struggled to hit .220 in Kansas City, but I could be wrong. I know he started off the season struggling to hit his weight. 6 or 7 years ago is a long time.

Knobby is definately a solid veteran, but he's weak defensively anywhere you play him. I like the fact that he's a good base runner so I'd be willing to invite him to spring training as a special assistant or something, but I'll take Willie Harris who can play really good defense coming off the bench and is a pretty good bunter and base-stealer himself.

I'm patient Baggs. BUT, I think if there is any guy out there that could pull an Albert Pujols and just have immediate sucess it would be Crede. He's spent plenty of time in the minors and has a nice swing with a live bat and now can take it to all parts of the field. Either way, I know the kids got the talent, a great glove and a strong arm. It could definately take him a year or two, but he should still hit 20 hr's with a .250 avg or so and thats pretty good considering where he is. Odds are he'll do better then that, but if he's playing everyday I am very confident he could at least hit .250 with 20 hr's.

I could see a lousy team coming out and offering him a contract. The question is, does he want to win or is he still in it for the money. He's made plenty in my mind, but what does he think. I think when he turned down the offer he said its all about the money. I don't want a guy like that on our club unless he's damn good.

Out of all those guys, if the Sox actually needed another outfielder, I'd take Dunston. i think he's a really good veteran that can play any of the outfield positions, although I don't think he'd be too pretty out there in center. Either way, the Sox aren't going to sign another outfielder.

I went with Aaron as well, simply because he's always going to be a bust in the eyes of Sox fans cause we all keep hearing about Borchard and expect him to be the centerfielder for a long time. I think all will be sucessful though. Jimenez scares me the most though, because he's playing a key role with this team in the leadoff slot. Lets jut say if he struggles then the offense could have its struggles. I think they have enough talent to make up for it, but its tough to win tight games when you don't have a good leadoff hitter. I think he pays off, but I hate putting so much pressure on such a young kid.

Another one of those guys that doesn't want to give up.

i read or heard somewhere where person is injured and will start the year on the DL...can anyone confirm that???..cant say for sure where i heard it Thats right, he's likely to miss the first month of the season while he's working through the minors regaining his stuff. He's healthy right now, but I don't think if the Sox signed him they'd want him out there right away. They'd rather have him build his stamina and such back up in the minors.

Well, Heredia and Loiza are just backup plans. If rookies are failing, sometimes you need a guy thats been out there in that situation. In that case, its really nice knowing you have veterans to fall back on, just in case. In the case of Rick White, I think you'll end up liking him. I like having a few vets in the pen, because relievers need a great mental approach to the game and I think vets are some of the best at teaching that approach.

I don't see many of our current minor leaguers making much of an impact this year, unless there are injuries. Thats what I like about this team though, if there are injuries I see a number of players that could step up, such as Almonte Munoz, Stewart, Borchard, Hummell. As far as Malone goes, he needs at least on more year. The kid is very young and very raw and has a lot to work on this year, especially with his mechanics. Out of the ones on the team, since Crede, Jimenez and Rowand aren't technically rookies, I'm going to go with Jon Rauch. This guy is going to be thrusted into the #5 slot into the rotation and if he suceeds like many think he can, this team will be a whole lot better. If he struggles, then the Sox will have to keep looking to others and experimenting until they find the right guy. I also think Borchard will eventually have some type of impact on this team and Olivo will be a very good presence behind the plate.

I think both Frank and Konerko have learned a lot the past couple years in Chicago. Paulie called out Frank this past year and I think he learned that he should keep things private. Frank's learned that the media rips whatever he says so he's given up talking to him. He also seems to be growing more as a person. I think they can definately get along. Its good to know this team has people wanting to be the leaders.

id sign finley to a minor league contract..let him battle it out for the 5th spot...yeah he is old and didnt pitchwell last year but damn..he did have alot , i mean alot of bulls*** going on to distract him...that should be all behind him now the best reason to sign finley is if he lands that 5th spot then loiaza and rauch go to charlotte and that gives us two pitchers to call up during the season...pretty good bet we will need a 6th and 7th starter somewhere during the season... If Finley signed a minor league contract would we still have to give up compensation for him? If not, then I'd definately sign him to a minor league deal. Chuck is a good veteran presence and knows how to pitch.

I'd definately take a healthy Hitcock in the number 5 slot of our rotation. The problem is Sterling hasn't been healthy for a long time and now he's simply a lefty specialist/long reliever. We got Munoz, Sanders and Stewart that are all capable in the minors as well as Porzio. I'll pass on this one. Would rather spend the money on someone like Robert Person.

he is gonna lose his own kids if he dont watch out...thats probably a good thing in this case...this guy is way the hell out there...wouldnt be surprised if he ends up committing suicide soon Holy s***, stop the presses. Me and Baggio actually agree on something. I'm with ya too Apu. This is one messed up guy and there is no way he should have children around him. How can you sleep in the same bed with boys when your 44 years old.

Exactly. When you have them, the Teachers teach to the tests and that doesn't really accomplish anything. Of course students are going to do good when you teach based on a general test.

You two need to hook me up with an autograph and I'll write you guys in on the ballot

I agree that Saddam is evil. However, if he is so incredibly evil, then the UN & NATO can step in for the good of the world community and get rid of his lame ass. However, a unilateral pre-emptive attack by the US breaks international law. We'd break UN resolutions, Nuremburg Tribunal verdicts, and numerous other international laws. Jim Baker has been quoted as saying that this "war is about oil." & Paul Wolfowitz has said that this war is about "re-making states". (Both those men have great influence in the current administration) Who are the United States to choose states that we don't like and go destabilize their countries? (i.e. Chile in 1973 and the tons of others that Congress made the CIA admit to) Do me a favor, Baggio. Read the book "It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom In America After September 11". The book is a conglomoration of articles from conservatives and liberals discussing the rape of our civil liberties and how the Bush administration is s***ting all over us. And the rest of the world coming on board? That's a good one...That's why a majority of countries are asking for the inspections to still work. Simply because they all found out that a bunch of the US/UK dossier that Powell used in his UN speech was PLAGIARIZED FROM A GRAD SCHOOL STUDENT'S WORK IN 1992! It's been covered in CNN, the Guardian, the BBC and numerous other sources. If we are gonna wage urban warfare and risk the lives of tons of people, how about giving us credible info, eh George W Chickenhawk? The UK media is now starting anti-Blair stories because of this plagiarism. They are saying that Bush and Blair are attempting to manipulate the world. And it's difficult to not believe that when they use plagiarized material that is 11 years old. we have 16 of the 19 nato countries on board....as fara s the UN is concerned...we should tell them if they dont support us we will drop out of the UN along with all our money we give to those bastards...our dues are higher than any other country... the UN is serverly screwed up right now..for god sakes libya is chairing the committee on human rights violations and of all countries iraq is chairing the commitee on nuclear disarmorment...lmao...i the UN has so many members with so many different politcal agendas that they are now paralyzed to accomplish anything....no matter what plan any country comes up with for anything there will be enough opposition to stop it... we dont need the UN approval to do anything...as colon powell said today...we dont look to get the UN good housekeepping seal of approval when we decide our foriegn policy... Now theres a statement I definately agree with. Lets see how good Nato is without the US. I think the one thing this entire situation is teaching many is the fact that Nato is completly worthless. The idea behind Nato is great, but the fact is it is weak.

Am I the only one who thinks that sound sticky, not kinky? The only peanut butter I need is on my damn sandwiches. I say stick to chocolate sauce or something.

For crede I think it was the fact that he was just lost. The pitchers were way better and he was nervous. With him I think he just had to relax. I do agree though, one little adjustment can go a long way.