easyw

Yeah, I think most baseball historians knew about this. Its a wall. Put up a plaque, the Dodgers ain't comin' back.

Last season, Ozuna's OBP as a leadoff hitter (with more than 150 ABs) was .370. Not bad at all. That ties him with Ichiro from Seattle, who had many more at bats, but still... I'm just sayin Ozuna has done everything that has been asked of him over the past two seasons. Remember when he like .450 in spring training in 05 (among other highlights from #38)?

Collaro was added to the tenative roster for the AAA Charlotte Knights for 2007.

I'm stunned that Collaro is on there. He did not handle the promotion to AA well last season. I thought he would begin 07 back in Birmingham for sure.

By mid-August, I predict Scott Podsednik will be working the deep fryer at Arby's in Tinley Park.

Jesus told him to throw all those bad pitches. the guy is a head case.

We'll see him at spring training again in 07. He has to up his average a bit and stop striking out so much.

For players with about 400 At-bats, In 2005, I count 8. In 2006, 13. But the real point to my statement was that there are PLENTY of players out there with an average over .300 and an OBP of about .400 (usually a little less) - something neither Roberts or sPods appears capable of accomplishing. In 2005, I count at least 46 players players with an BA/OPB higher than Roberts or sPods. In 2006, 33. Maybe a better statement would be... Maybe... but there are plently of better lead off hitters than Roberts or sPods. No where is it carved in stone that your lead off hitter must also be your left fielder - that's a corner KW has painted himself into... I guess everyone thinks that way because the Sox two most glaring needs right now are in LF and at lead off. Roberts career is less than stellar (even less so than Dye's before he came to the Sox) and filled with a vairety of injuries. Plus, he's old. I can't believe he's even being discussed....

Dave Roberts -age 34. 2005 - BA .275 OBP .356 2006 - BA .293 OBP .360 sPods - age 30 2005 - BA .290 OBP .351 2006 - BA .261 OBP .330 Neither of these guys has what it takes to be a leadoff hitter in the big leagues. You should hit at least .300 with an OBP of .400.

Wood trains - keep your eyes out for a deal around the holidays... I got ours, including the table plus about 100 pieces of train, track and other crazy crap, at Aldi (yes, Aldi) about 3 years ago for $70. Brio is a little nicer than Thomas, but it all comes down to what your kids want. Generic is fine. Most hobby stores sell individual track pieces pretty cheap, and you can get a lot of this stuff on eBay. Check craigslist as well.

I saw this film on friday. It had some pretty funny moments - others not so funny. Worthwhile.. but no classic...

Hey, Ohio U beat the Illini! Man, U of I must really suck to lose to a team as bad as OU...

I never heard of Les Baxter, so I checked out some of his stuff on amazon. Thanks for the tip - 'Colors of Brazil' has got some totally chill stuff on it. I'm not a fan of some of the vocal stylings, but otherwise its really really great. I would much rather hear something like 'Yellow Sun' than 'Tom Sawyer' for the 50 millionth time...

It would be unlikely that the Sox would trade BA. they have a more immediate need in LF. And don't forget Dye is done with the Sox after 2007. KW might already be thinking ahead in RF in 2008. The Sox after no depth in the OF. Ozuna? Maybe... Mack? He's OK... And what do you with Josh Fields? Sign Crede for a few more years and make Fields his understudy? Or start trying to convert Fields to an outfielder. LF is the biggest gaping hole that KW needs to fix in the offseason. Crede's contact, and the Uribe/Cintron question will linger as well... But LF is the most immediate need. Anderson will be fine... he had a good rookie year.

Garland is the only untouchable one. Contreras is an unlikely trade candidate, if only because of his huge contract. Vazquez is also unlikely, for the same reason as Jose, but also because he's younger and well liked by KW. So that leaves: McCarthy - unlikely trade bait as he's a bargin of a decent 5th starter. He's still unproven as a starter at the major league level, and has been average in long relief, so the Sox likely wouldn't get much for him in a trade. there is not real downside to keeping him and inserting him in the 2007 starting rotation. If he fails, you've spent - what $500K - and dump his ass. If he succeeds, you are all set for 2008. There's always Haeger... Garcia - he's a favorite of Ozzie and, I believe, in the final year of a big contract. The Sox could deal him - the 1 yr contract makes him attractive as a starter for a contender, especially if the Sox throw in some cash... they might get someone decent in return. Buehrle - I think he has a team option on his 07 contract for something like $10M. If that's the case, its likely the Sox will pick that up, then shop him - there would be a demand for a proven lefty starter. On the other hand, if 2006 was any indication, his best years are behind him. So maybe you don't pick him up and just use that $10M in the free agent market. Tough call on this one - it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Comparing Dylan to Rush is apples to oranges. Not even in the same ballpark. But both had notable influences on musicians, the difference being Dylan's influence was a larger part of a broader cultural movement. As mentioned, some of that had to do with timing, which is not Rush's fault - Geddy Lee was still poopin in his cloth diapers on the frozen tundra of the North Country when 'Blowin In The Wind' was released. Rush may have been influenced by Dylan, Dylan was influenced by Woody Guthrie, and you can trace his influences all the way back to the first caveman that ever pounded two rocks together to make noise and called it music. To me, this whole discussion boils down to different musical tastes. I was never big on musical proficency. I think Dylan plays imperfectly, which is great. Rush plays perfectly, which sucks. But they both serve a purpose and have some notable tunes, albeit, with vastly differenly goals (and audiences) in mind. Rock is unorganized chaos -a young person's game - thus my great affection for the Replacements - in all their drunken and tone deaf glory - in the mid 1980s. I've listened to my share of both Dylan and Rush, but as I've aged my musical tastes have changed. Rush bores me. And I don't have time for Dylan's "Where's Waldo" political imagery of a previous generation. These days, I got my own problems, and I use music as a relaxing diversion. Thus, I listen to lots of Martin Denny, Brian Eno, Miles Davis, etc.. I got no time for words...

As bad as Rush is, CSNY is way worse - totally unlistenable. The message of 60s music was a lie. Just ask ex-crack junkie David Crosby... if you can get into his gated mansion...

Rush. Never in history have 3 more talented musicians got together to make such awful music. There is definately a place for them in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. In the basement.. .cleaning the toliets.

Collaro had a rough year making the step up to AA. AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SBCS OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB GIDP HBP .213 108 389 36 83 17 2 11 51 20 128 1 4 .255 .352 .608 2 3 1 12 3 http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/stats...r.php?id=457988

Collaro has improved a little since my last update (game 51). Thru 80 games, 297 at bats, he's hitting .229 with 9 homers, 43 RBIs and 113 TBs. On the down side, he's struck out 95 times. I hope he likes Birmingham, cause it looks like he may be there for a while....

Collaro had a game winning sac fly in the Rickwood Classic on June 22nd. Thru June 25, in 63 games, 233 AB, he's hitting just .219 with 70 strikeouts, but has 6 homers and 28 RBIs.

Thru 51 games with the AA Birmingham Barons, Collaro has 6 HRs , 27 RBIs. He has struck out a whopping 59 times against just 4 walks and is batting only .222. He's only made 2 errors and has 0 stolen bases.

sorry guys I've really been falling down on the job lately. Update coming...

My Dixie Normus - well said... Regarding ownership, you may recall that the Sox owners nearly moved the team to Tampa in pursuit of almightly dollar. So, both Cub and Sox owners are evil...

I think there is a lot made of the 'Cub-fan vs Sox-fan' junk and its all bull. I grew up in the 1970s as a Cub fan, only because, as a kid, I was looking for an alternative to Woody Woodpecker cartoons in the afternoon, and found it in baseball from beauitiful Wrigley Field. When I was old enough to go to games, beginning in the early 1980s, I probably went to about 2 Cub games for every Sox game I attended. But I had a cousin from the south side who was like a brother to me, and he dragged me to some games. Back then the Cubs and Sox never played each other, so I rooted for the Cubs in the NL and the Sox in the AL. As the Cubs got more exposure after their 1984 run, Wrigleyville, Wrigley Field, and Cub fans changed for the worst. For the past 20 years, that park has been full of nothin but a bunch of trendy band-wagon jumpers. After the strike in 1994, I gave up following baseball altogether for about 5 years. As I slowly warmed back up to the game, around 2001, it was more as a Sox fan than a Cub fan. I guess the reason is that Sox Park was always less expensive, and tickets were plentiful. I wouldn't call myself a bandwagon jumper or a fair-weather fan. I was at the Division clincher vs Seattle in 1983 (ran on the field) and the last game at old Comiskey in 1990... among many others. And you might recall former Sox owner Bill Veeck spent a lot of time in the Wrigley Field bleachers in the 1980s. Hell, he planted the ivy on the walls! You think Veeck bought into this 'Cub fan vs Sox fan' nonsense. Hell no! You can root for both teams. But when they play head-to-head, you have to choose a side. Not an easy thing to do for a Chicago baseball fan.