Chisoxfn

I was on Letterman last week sometime. It was the one with the guy from American Idol. Well, I was in the audience. I'm never going to be able to see any of them, cause I like my sleep

We don't know if it will lead to peace, but i do know peace will never exist with a dictator like Saddam in charge. He isn't out there to help the people. Things have to change. I'm not saying war is the best answer, but I do think Saddam must go. Of course, theres not much you can do if the people of Iraq hate us so much, cause it will never be a sucessful mission if the citizens don't revolt and decide they want independence.

Its all good, were all here to read and talk about the Sox. Not always will people agree or not, but thats life. Most will call me nuts for saying were going all the way this year

Washed up? Is he old or something? From what I see he hit .305 at AAA and hes had limited mlb action. That sounds damn good to me... burke is 29 So he's like another Aaron Miles type guy. Not that I have a problem with it, at there ages they should be much more mature and able to handle the pressure of coming up to the majors.

Well, I'd say they now know what it feels like to be Sox fans most of the time, but there owner is even worse.

Two points: (1) I didn't give KW the 4 stars - I'd give him 2.5, maybe a 3, for this offseason. (2) IIRC, Rios was given a major league deal whereas Daubach only got a minor league deal (go figure). What I think that means (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) is that the Sox have to pay Rios even if he doesn't make the team. Suggests to me that he will be heading North with the big club. Your right in your belief. Rios gets paid no matter what, Daubach won't. I'm sure Daubach has some amount that is guaranteed though and I don't know why he wouldn't be coming.

I like Dib's list as well. I think that Wunsch will be the guy we carry and we won't go with any rookies until later in the season other then Rauch. Our bench is going to be way better then last year with Harris (Can play almost anywhere), Daubach (Lefty Power), Rios (lefty power), Graffy (Great util guy) and then Alomar. I like what I see. I also think the signing of Burke is the end of Josh Paul's career with the Sox unless he clears waivers. Now we have a guy that can step in if Alomar or Olivo goes down.

I'll take Ben Sheets

Well, It would be weird for them to renegotiate on the deal so soon, but I guess its a possibility. The deal he has now, isn't really something I consider a long term option, but more a deal that was done to keep Thomas with the Sox. I think JR will be talking to him to discuss a more permanent contract, but thats the optimist in me. Thanks for the info Steff, that would be a pretty good deal, imo. It locks Thomas up long term giving him security, while the Sox get him at a good rate if he comes back. Of course, I think the current deal is pretty solid too, but there are just so many outs and so many ways for it to escalate in pay.

Yep, I am a Rowand guy. I think he'll do pretty good, but I still like having all the depth we can get. I also think Borchard will replace him, but you never know what will happen. Borchard could end up replacing Lee if he goes elsewhere.

They don't inspect our weapons because they don't have reason to. We aren't using weapons of mass destruction to make a point. Yes, we have them, we have plenty of them, but they are used to help in peace. I know it doesn't make sense, but sometimes things escalate and if you have to get something done, you need the force and firepower to do it quickly, so the other nation can't retaliate. Thats what we did in the first Gulf War. We disabled there forces immediately and stopped them from launching potential nuclear weapons, which they did have at the time. They likely still have them. Also, just because we give someone weapons, doesn't mean we should just forget about it. In hindsight it was a mistake, but Saddam did help the US with those weapons at one point, if I recall. I'm gonna go back and look through the book I got the info from tonight, so I make sure I'm accurate. I got a lot to learn compared to some of the people speaking on the subject, even though I may disagree with there opinions, they are bringing up great information as are many who I agree with. Korea is definately a huge threat, they have a huge army and so many people starving over in that country that its a real mess. Still, I don't know much about that area, so I'll refrain from commenting on it until I know more.

Good move by the Giants. I'd of liked picking him up.

I'm thinking its time for his first MVP season

The Curds are the ones in the North of Iraq correct? I may be confusing the name of the group.

Damn, that whole article was real interesting. It also showed what a class act Gannon is.

Universities have way too much bias when they teach. I am always arguing with my teachers at my college, although I have had some that were conservative, many of them are very liberal and the flaw is, they don't preach there views as a view, they say them as part of the lesson and put them on the test. Thats whats wrong with the schooling system. There is no way to fix it though, because Teachers can't get fired unless they have sexual actions with a student. Tenure and there union is a big part of what is screwing up the educational system. Yes, this sytem is way better then many countries have, but you can't stop there. There are way too many teachers that don't know anything. There are also plenty that do know what they are talking about, but simply can't teach and then there are those that are good teachers. Still, its hard to get good teachers when most of them don't get the pay they want. Either way, their is a big reason most young people think different then older people and its because they don't have the life experience so they just believe what they get told and don't know better. I always question stuff, even if its a conservative comment, because I like to find out for myself whether it makes sense. I don't know as much in politics as some of you. I do know that we have had sanctions on Iraq and I guess you can blame us for all those deaths, but in all honesty, whose fault is it? It isn't the US's fault. It is Saddams fault. He went in and attacked Kuwait (Because Kuwait was stealing oil from the neutral territory) but they didn't stop there. Many innocent were murdered because of Saddam, not because of the US. I know a lot of people who are from Iraq and have fled there and they will tell you what a slimeball Saddam is and how many people he's killed. Surprisingly they are some of the biggest supporters for war in Iraq and its because they don't want to see there family members have to continue to live under Saddams rule. Yes, we were allies with him once, but it was to stop the Kurds (I may be wrong on the name) who were trying to take over the world in 78 or 79. I'm going off memory for this, and since this is before I was born, I could be off. The Kurds were going to start by trying to take over the middle east and they felt there religion was the ultimate. We had to team up with one evil man Saddam, to stop an even worse thing. Kuwait also supproted Saddam with money, but after the war they asked for the money back and that mixed with the stealing of oil was a major reason Iraq invaded Kuwait, from what I understand. Just because we were once allies with him, doesn't mean we made a mistake having him fight for us, because it did prevent the Kurds from trying to take over the world. After dessert storm the reason they left Saddam in power was because they thought there was too much instability in the middle east or something along these lines to the point that it could turn into a huge disaster for the entire middle east, since its so volatile. Once again, I may be off on this, but I think my facts were right.

Well, I think we all knew he'd snap sooner or later.

That is a scary comment, but I'm still holding out that he will want to come back with the Sox. We still got him for a couple more years, and until he leaves I'm going to just watch and enjoy the Sox and enjoy how he pitches. I think Baggs mentioned how you never know whose going to be in management and whose going to own the Sox 4 years from now.

Carlos wasn't the only one that stunk on the basepaths. The whole team pretty much did. Of course, this wasn't Carlos first time being a bad base runner, and hopefully he works on his game, cause there is nothing I hate more then seeing stupid mistakes. I think every player out there should have mental awareness. For pete sake most all of them have been playing the game since they were 6. Shouldn't you know how to run the bases and where to throw the ball. Our new base coaches better have plenty of meetings during spring training with the Sox cause this team has to get back to basics.

Thanks for that info. Its nice to hear what the story is from someone who knows. I always speculate, but its impossible to really know whats going on. I'm also glad you brought up the point it wasn't a Cardinals dinner. He made one comment, that doesn't mean he wants to leave the Sox. I'm sure every player in the majors has a favorite team, but it doesn't mean he's going to be playing there. Anyway, hopefully the Sox can get a deal done with your bro in another year. He's an amazing pitcher and one I'd like to see on the southside for a long long time. I hate hearing everyone saying he's going to go to St. Louis, because I've never heard him say it stinks in Chicago or that he wants to go elsewhere.

Thats bullcrap. I'm with you on that Baggs. Oh well, we'll just have to beat the better teams and earn our way to the top of the division. If they can't do it, then they don't deserve to be there.

Good Post Baggs. This has to be a new way of running things if the Sox attendance will improve. Fans have lost so much respect for Jerry over the years, that one year won't make them forget.

I'll go with the shutout, but I'll take a World Series win anyway it comes.

I think you will find that he will not be an improvement over Leifer. When Leifer got used somewhat regularly he was a good hitter. Last season he was used so sparingly that he could never get his stroke down. Leifer will put 25 HR up this year for the San Juantreal Expos. Still, I like the pick up of Daubach since Leifer is gone. Liefer has too long of a swing to ever be sucessful at the major league level. The guy has amazing power, but I just don't see him doing better then .240 or so. I like the fact that we got rid of him for guys that can be role players. Liefer didn't want to be one, and that hurts the bench. You want guys that are comfortable and know there role and are happy. Graffy is one of those guys. I also think Rios is, and we'll have to see about Daubach.

If Crede goes down, he gets put on the DL and then we call up Hummell to help out in the middle infield with Manos most likely moving to 3rd cause he has the strongest arm of the bunch. Mario, I think you have the lineup right.