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Here's the thing... it's all going to come down to pitching. If Buerhle and Garcia have their typical years, and El Duque can reproduce last season, then the Sox will contend... whether they lack power or not. If the pitching doesn't live up to expectations, then the Sox will struggle... and it wouldn't have mattered if they had a healthy Magglio and Frank... and even Barry Bonds and Vlad Guerrero. Pitching is what wins and they need stellar seasons from the top 3 guys. Period.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 12:49 PM) That's Willie Harris, although Sammy was his size when he was with the Sox. Say what? That is Sammy Sosa on the cover of MLB.com. http://mlb.com

It's on the front page as of the moment I am writing this.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jan 23, 2005 -> 12:04 PM) he said the white sox are going to win the championship Actually he did say he thinks they're going to the playoffs. He also said he wanted more than a one-year deal, which is all the Yanks were offering. He said he works out all the time and feels like he can pitch another 4-5 years. And he said he was very impressed with Ozzie when he met him. Those are among the very few things that I actually understood...

They have a sports show and he was with them live in the studio. I tried to follow along for a while but my Spanish isn't so great. Did anyone here see it, and speak Spanish so you can give us the gist of what he said?

If this report is accurate, I think you go sign him. I realize he's somewhat of an unknown commodity, but if he ends up sucking, you only invested two years. In the grand scheme that's not too bad, and given his #'s in Japan it's definitely worth a shot. Go do it.

Sorry to post a lame topic but just curious if anyone knows a site that has White Sox wallpaper for your desktop. The stuff on chisox.com is pretty lame. Thanks!

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jan 12, 2005 -> 02:51 PM) I love hawk. He's a fan of the team he covers, a very passionate fan. I'll take him any day over a cookie-cutter bland corporate guy. When the sox suck, hawk's pissed, when the sox are going strong, you can tell it effects hawk. I love it. I hear what you're saying, but does he criticize the team when they deserve it? Does he consider every call that goes against the Sox to be a bad call? I don't mind a guy being a fan, just as long as he's objective.

What is the general feeling about Hawk among Sox fans? Just my opinion but I can't stand guys that are such blatant homers. I'd rather have someone who has enough guts to criticize the home team when they deserve it.

There's been a lot of talk about getting another middle infielder but I'm wondering if the answer is already here. I haven't seen too much of Valdez, but I know he's supposed to be pretty good both at bat and in the field. You guys have probably seen a lot more of this guy than I have, so I'm curious to hear if anyone thinks he can be a long-term answer, possibly at SS, with Uribe at 2B. What do you think? At the very least, is he considered a favorite to make the opening day roster as a backup at this point?

He just said they'll have the Sox writer on at 4:20 ET.

Go to MLB.com and scroll to the bottom. On the left they have a link for MLB.com Radio and it says "White Sox Talk, 4 p.m." (Eastern time).

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 03:54 PM) Wonder who the odd man out is, since the 40-man roster is full. I have to believe you keep Davis. He's the better defensive catcher and he's a switch hitter.

NOTES --INF/DH Ross Gload could play a much larger role in the Sox's success early in the season -- he will be counted on to play some outfield, first base and possibly even DH if Frank Thomas is slowed by an ankle injury. The Sox like Gload's left-handed bat as well as the fact that in the last month of the season he hit .385 with four homers and 17 RBI. --INF Juan Uribe, who signed a three-year, $9.75 million contract three weeks ago, is rumored to have put on a lot of extra weight this offseason, and not good weight. Manager Ozzie Guillen said at the end of last season that his players had all better come into spring training in shape and ready to play or they won't be playing for him. Copyright © 2005 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.

Exactly. Who thought the Marlins or Angels were doing anything the years they ended up winning it? Yet both of them knocked off the Yanks.

To me, Cora's main advantage is his glove. I watched a few Dodger games last year and don't recall seeing anyone else field his position as well as Cora did. I was very impressed with him in the field.

Wow, I disagree with that. Harris doesn't have Cora's glove.

I haven't read anything about Alex Cora recently. Are any teams pursuing this guy? He seems to me to be the perfect fit for what the White Sox need - an upgrade at 2B. The guy is one of the best glove men at the position and is a solid 8th or 9th place hitter. He hits for decent average and even has some pop. The White Sox don't need a top-of-the-order guy, since Podsednick will leadoff and probably Rowand or Uribe will hit 2nd ahead of Thomas, Konerko and Dye. So why not Cora? If this Japanese guy is as good as advertised, the Sox will no doubt under-bid and lose out to a bigger spender. Why waste time with that? Besides, translating success in Japan to success in MLB is never a sure thing. Just sign Cora, who will come cheaper and would be a perfect fit for this new "pitching and defense" philosophy. Factor in Joey Cora being a coach here and it makes even more sense... so much sense that it probably won't happen.

Actually, Steinbrenner is the reason I couldn't root for the Yankees. The big fat a-hole can keep his money.

1. Is US Cellular Field as bad as people say? A friend of mine went there a few years ago and said it was one of the worst stadiums he's been to. The best stadiums I've been to are Fenway, Yankee, Wrigley (sorry), Camden Yards and Citizens Bank (the new Phillies stadium). I'm looking forward to my first visit to the "Cell" this season. 2. Why do the Cubs seem to have so many more fans than the Sox? Like I said in my earlier post, the Cubs seem to me to be like the Yankees and Lakers in that they're the "hip" team in town, but I am wondering about the true die-hard fans. The Sox have been around over 100 years, so they should be at least close to the Cubs in terms of fan support. Did Sox fans gradually abandon ship after the 1919 scandal? Or is it something else? Or is this just a wrong perception created by the media? Just trying to get a feel for the true baseball culture in Chicago.

Not gonna happen... but good try. :-) I respect Jordan as the greatest who ever played the game, but man did he kill the Knicks. Not missing him at all. :-)

That is awesome, although I question your sanity for keeping the Jets if there was a choice involved. :-) I've been suffering with them for a long time. Yesterday was very painful.

I am a huge NY Jets and Knicks fan, however I never much cared for my "local" baseball teams. In fact I hate them both. I've always followed baseball and love the game but never really had a true "favorite" team. I now want to change that. Over the past 6 months or so I've been traveling to Chicago a lot on business. I love the city and, since I'll be going there a lot more in the foreseeable future, I'd like to start following one of the teams. I immediately ruled out the Cubs because they are too much of a "trendy" team that people seem to root for because it's the cool thing to do (sort of like the Yankees or the Lakers). Plus I prefer the AL because I hate watching pitchers bunt or strike out. I started researching the Sox a few weeks back and found this site as a result. I am now registered and look forward to talking baseball with you guys. So the question is, will you accept a NY football and basketball fan onto the White Sox bandwagon?

Wait, someone earlier said the stadium is 1/2 - 3/4 full for most of the games, but you are saying tickets are hard to get. Please clarify.

I love El Duque as a pitcher. He was extremely clutch in the playoffs, but that was 5-6 years ago. The guy hasn't stayed healthy the last few years and his age must be around 40 by now. It's low-risk with the dollars you guys are saying, but I'd rather see a younger, more long-term solution like Miller or Vazquez (in a trade). I'm also not sure El Duque is a great fit for this stadium. The power alleys won't be as forgiving as they are in the Bronx.