Chisoxfn

Buerhle is awesome. We all have to be proud of him, its amazing what he's done at such a young age. I only hope he gets better and stays healthy and of course stays with the Sox.

Air Force is lethal, they have to be the favorites considering how powerful their offense is and its going up against a team with no offense. Whillighams done an awesome job, but his offense doesn't have the right qb in their. I like Holliday and I Think he has a good amount of potential once he figures things out.

Your dang right they are and I don't think they are going anywhere. Remember when the Bears were talking about moving to Garey Indiana. Well that was just a play to finally get the city of Chicago on and working on getting a stadium. I'm sure St. Louis gets their new stadium, they are loved in that town.

They will need to score points tonight because Air Force has one of the best offenses in the nation.

Well it looks like he's going to court at least. Typically when a case goes to court, it means their is at least some evidence.

Well I will say Jon Rauch and Kris Honel. Those two are going to be stud starting pitchers, imo.

Since he's a foreign born player we have his rights until he turns 31.

If you look at the higher camera angles I have started noticing that we have recievers downfield passed the line of scrimmage, but Miller loves going to Booker who is an underneath receiver.

Inovking the Clause is Cruel, but Logical By: Mario Scalise Earlier this week it was reported that the White Sox sent a letter to Frank Thomas notifying him that they plan on invoking the "diminished-skills" clause in his contract. The letter also stated that Thomas has 10 days to accept whatever deal the Sox have worked out for him, which can lower Thomas' annual salary to the league minimum till 2006, with the rest being deferred. Or Thomas can choose to test the free agent market for a 45-day period, and if no takers are found, return to the Sox. That right there has recieved mixed results with the media and fans. While some believe Thomas has worn out his stay in chi-town with his childish tactics, others believe this is another terrible display of loyalty and morals by White Sox owner/chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. After all, Reinsdorf has always been one to either claim broke or stir bad blood with fan favorites such as Robin Ventura, Carlton Fisk, Jack McDowell and Albert Belle. OK, not Albert Belle, but he is one of many players that departed the Sox because of money issues. It is a well-known fact Reinsdorf doesn't ante up to players unless there is a way out of it at a later point; hence the Thomas contract. It is also a known fact that Reinsdorf has done more bad than good in his reign. He is the one that threatened to move the team to Florida if a new ballpark wasn't funded. When he got his way he decided to build a park that has been mocked, ridiculed and rarely attended. He was one of the main backers and supporters for a strike in 1994 The strike happened and baseball literally became a past time till 1998. He is the one who released Carlton Fisk, perhaps the greatest catcher of all-time, one week after he broke the major league record for games caught (2,226) on June 22, 1993. At season's end, after the Sox clinched the AL West title, Fisk was prohibited from entering the White Sox clubhouse to congratulate the team. He is the one who waved the infamous "white flag" with the infamous "Anyone who thinks we can catch Cleveland is crazy" quote in 1997. The Sox were just 3 1/2 games behind the first place Indians at the time. So obviously you can understand why Sox fans are upset over the Thomas issue. How can Jerry Reinsdorf do this to the best Sox hitter that ever lived? Someone who managed to drive 92 runs and hit 28 homers despite coming off an injury-plagued 2001 season? Someone who will one day be enshrined in the Hall of Fame? Someone who signed a contract (6 YR/59.5 MIL) well below his worth (in baseball terms) in 1997? But you know what. As mean as it seems and as pitiful a history Reinsdorf has, this is one the better moves the Sox have made. By invoking the clause the Sox are in a win-win-win situation. Scenario #1 Thomas stays and reconfigures the contract to where the Sox will pay him 4-5 million dollars a season till 2006, deferring the rest. Result: Thomas gets a decent amount of money with the remainder coming later, and the Sox keep their powerful offense intact while freeing up 4-5 million and acqruiring a much needed starting pitcher. Scenario #2 Thomas opts for free agency and signs elsewhere. Result: Thomas and his $39,708,000 over four years is no longer around, thus clearing enough salary to sign an elite starting pitcher and wrap up Buehrle on a long term contract. The designated hitter role will then be rotated between Jeff Liefer, Carlos Lee and Paul Konerko. Scenario #3 Thomas returns to the Sox for the league minimum, with the rest being deferred. Result: The Sox get the best hitter $300,000 can buy and are once again capable of adding that front-line pitcher. So why all the upset faces? Sure Reinsdorf could be pulling our leg once again and stash that money in his vault, but will Thomas earning close to 10 million a season put the Sox any closer to the World Series? No. I bet that starter though, IF ACQUIRED, will land the Sox a playoff birth at the very least. And let us not forget that a deal is a deal, fair or not. Was Thomas not awake at the time he signed the contract? Did he honestly think he was going to put up great numbers every year? Did he honestly think he was going to be forever healthy and never get sidelined with an injury? Thomas must of been looking at the end result, which had him making close to 10 million a year and over 40 million in all. The goal for any Sox fan, or fan for that matter, is for their team to win the World Series or at least come close. It isn't to watch a player make millions and live happily. So as rotten as this deal sounds, there is some logic to it. Sorry Frank, but rules are rules. 20-year old Mario Scalise is the owner/webmaster of SoxNet.net. Mario was born and currently resides on the south side of Chicago, just blocks from Comiskey Park. He is currently attending Columbia College in Chicago as a Journalism major. E-mail all your comments and complaints to [email protected]

I wonder if they'd move to St. Louis if the Cards and up moving into Illinois.

I loved Albert Belle when he was a white Sox and you are right, it was Thomas who was struggling and then Ventura had that gruesome injury. Plus the fact our pitching staff all of a sudden just blew, named Bere.

Well In spring training two years ago I talked to Thomas for about ten minutes and he seemed like a real cool guy. Then again I talked to Albert too and he seemed cool as well.

He's overpaid and I like Brown a lot more then him, plus I like Boone and Traylor as well as Washington more then him in the middle. 4 mill for a bum, dump him.

Good grief, dump him. I hope this opens some weird out in his clause and we can cut him.

This is great news because we finally get to see what he can do. After this week, or at least two weeks, we'll know whose the better of the two quarterbacks for the Bears.

Thank ya Mario; You got to be careful when you read quotes cause they are always used to help the writers context. I know that cause when I write columns and take quotes(Something I rarely do, cause why quote someone when I think I'm the true genius and come up with my own stuff, lol) then you do it so it proves your point. Frank don't like the media and I don't think he'll talk to them until he announces his attentions or maybe not even until he signs a new contract here or elsewhere. I think he's gotten to the point where he'll just let the media write what it wants and ignore it.

No, I'm pretty indifferent on the idea of Frank. Some days I want him back, others I don't. I'm not inndifferent on the fact we need another pitcher, if that guy happens to be Paul Byrd, then I'll be happy, especially if he can duplicate or even grow on what he did this season.

I changed it on this post Mike and will change it on your article when I get home from the office. Mike the article was really good though. You really went in depth on the players and I can tell you spent a lot of time researching everything. Excellent work as always!!!!

This is an interesting idea, but also a stupid one. How do you expect any fan base to grow when a team is playing all over the place all season long. First off, it really sucks for the players unless they arrange it in a way that they can save travel time. Like when they are out on the West Coast, after that trip they have a home trip in Oregon, and then when they are down near Florida or Texas they then go down to Puerto Rico. Of course that would also be like never giving the players home field advantage, even if they don't draw. Its got to suck for the players, I'd be begging to get out of Montreal. If I were a player I'd at least want to know I could spend half of my time at one place and they don't even know that. At least most of their guys are young, but it sucks for the older players who have wives and kids.

If we sign one good starter, I guarantee playoffs as long as something horrible doesn't happen. If we land Maddux or Glavine we will be set. Buerhle and the other gives us two #1's and then Garland and Wright are both solid and we have plenty of guys to be our #5.

Ya, but the key was for Belle to get us to the World Series and that my friend, never happened.

Thomas hasn't talked to the media so they are just coming up with a bunch of crap.

No they didn't, it was the Jacksonville Suns if I think right.

Yep, the Hawks got some good youngsters. I like Calder and Bell quite a bit. I remember watching Bell last year and he was real good, he's only going to get better. Think of what happens when they had Ruutu to the mix next season(I hope they sign him) and he'll be just 19 then.

Their must be. I just tend to think that owners must be getting smarter after all the stupid mistakes they've made the past 5-7 years. Theirs JR with Belle and Navarro Dodgers with Dreifort and Brown and many others Cubs with Alou, Rojas, etc. Just about every owner has royally went out and overpaid for players that just aren't worth it.