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QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Feb 22, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) I don't believe Herm has any professional certifications. IIRC, newer trainers need to be "certified athletic trainers," but Herm isn't. Herm is a certified athletic trainer. He is certified through the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and licensed through the State of Illinois. Within the last 5 years you needed to go to a 4 year Bachelor's program to be eligible to sit for the national certification exam. Previous to this you could do the intership route where you needed to get a Bachelor's degree in anything, take 9 specific courses and work 1800 hours under a certified trainer. Then you could sit for the exam. This is the route I took and what most people took prior to the mandatory Bachelor's degree.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 09:20 PM) He said "best players you can" And a big problem here is that we have not been able to develop league average players to plug into positions so you aren't paying big major league deals at so many offensive positions when you are on a budget. Only beckham and Quentin qualify as such. While this isn't a problem specific to this offseason, it just shows that allocating 5 million more in the draft can save millions more on the major league roster. And so we hope that these players in the minors are actually talented enough to plug into those holes in the future so we can afford to keep our quentin's and beckhams. I'm not disagreeing about the development of players. However, the 5 million you are referring to will not help anywhere significantly. There is a budget the 6 million they offered Damon is already over the budget. This is money that doesn't exist. You may think "just spending a little more" will help bit JR is not giving that money to KW. KW spent his money on pitching if he had the extra 5 million we may not have the pitching staff that we do. As you said it's all about allocating the resources and KW decided to load it up in one area. It's like the NFL. Very few teams spread the money between the offense and defense because spreading it out only makes them average to above average. They concentrate on one area to be really good there and fill in the rest. This is what KW has done. It's just that the filling in part is on the offense which goes agianst what has been done here lately and people feel more comfortable with it.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 09:14 PM) We don't need versatility at this point. There is plenty of that. I posted this a few pages back but I guess it needs to be repeated... C: A.J., Castro, Flowers, and they're even having Retherford take reps at C. 1B: Konerko, Kotsay, Flowers - really anybody. 2B: Beckham, Teahen, Alexei, Nix, Vizquel, Retherford, Lillibridge, SS: Alexei, Beckham, Vizquel, Nix, Lillibridge, 3B: Teahen, Beckham, Vizquel, Nix, Retherford, Lillibridge RF: Quentin, Rios, Kotsay, Jones, Teahen CF: Rios, Jones, Pierre, Alexei LF: Pierre, Quentin, Jones, Kotsay We don't need more versatility. We need someone who will give the Sox strong offensive production. Jones/Kotsay will not do that. A rotation would be fine if it was the result of too much talent in a crowded lineup, something like 4 really good OFers. That's not the case here. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. However, I'm saying that this is what they are going to to. This is what they want to do. Jones will give you power and a good defensive replacement. Kotsay against RH only is a pretty good hitter and an option to give PK a rest. Not everyone can play first well enough to maintain a good defensive infield. Alexei can be erratic, Beckham is at a new position andTeahen will be an improvement but is far from a great 3B. I would rather trust someone we know can play there if they need to.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 09:00 PM) The DH is for offensive only players. That's the whole point. A dh has no defensive value. He does if he versatile enough to rotate to defensive positions and give players rest on some days.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 04:34 PM) Watching olympic hockey all week made me think how great the summer olympics would be if MLB allowed its players to compete (if MLB sent its players, baseball would be reinstated as an olympic sport). IMO, it is a much, much better alternative to the WBC (which is a joke). Just start the season a week, week and a half earlier and schedule some doubleheaders. The competition would be insane. What does everyone else think? They do blood based drug testing for the Olympics. MLB players will run as fast as they can away from it.

QUOTE (MattZakrowski @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 08:17 PM) Completing a major league roster isn't like choosing a team template in a video game. You should try to put the best players you can at each position, and Damon/Thome/Matsui/Guerrero/Johnson would have been a huge upgrade over the vortex of suck that is Jones/Kotsay. Screw the video game crap KW is working in the real world with a real budget. You cannot feasibly put the best players at each position. If you do this you will be just average with average players at each position. When you must adhere to a budget you need to pick and choose where to spend your money. KW chose to spend his money on the pitching. The group of players you mention except for Damon are DHs. The Sox want to go with pitching and defense because that is where they spent their money to be very good in one aspect of the game. THey do not want more one dimensional DH players. They are not focusing on offensive only players.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 07:12 PM) Even if Jones and Kotsay exceeded everyone's expectations and did well in their DH roles, would anyone be fooled into bringing them back for the spot in 2011? I guarantee, bad or good, those two won't be the DH past this season. And I understand that if both of them did well in their roles they'd probably look for full-time work, but I just feel that there's no excuse for their placement except for Williams not having enough money left over to fill the position. That, of course, is entirely his fault. It's very convenient that he can use the "Ozzie wants these type of players" excuse to justify it. So is the fact that he spent a heck of a lot of money on a very good pitching staff. There is a weakness in the lineup because he spent the money on the pitching. Would you rather have: 1. A decent pitching staff with a decent lineup 2. A very good pitching staff, with a weak lineup 3. A weak pitching staff with a very good lineup. With a budget you can't have a strength at every position. Something has to give.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 04:32 PM) I'll say this if we sign him or if we don't, but Damon is a piece of crap. I've heard a lot of stories about him outside of baseball, and he deserves to have Boras representing him and his image. He is a good friend of AJ. He can't be that good of a person.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 03:48 PM) Then why did Kenny meet with Matsui and talk him up, then say we couldn't afford him? Why did it come out that the Sox went after Johnson but couldn't match the Yankees? I side with the other poster who said the Sox probably offered their midseason acquisition money to Damon. But even if that is true, it still shows how crappy their plan is because going after Damon last-minute shows they have no confidence in it, especially if they were offering emergency fallback money. And BTW, Matsui can play LF probably about as well as Damon can. Neither belong out there and Damon in LF with Pierre in CF while Rios gets a day off is no freakin' picnic as it is. And then CQ lumbering around in RF. Yuck. Plus Kotsay is the backup 1B. Damon is realistically just about as versatile as Johnson or Matsui. They're all DHs who belong at DH, and the only reason we wanted Damon was because of his bat, not his so-called versatility. The speed factor is probably a major part of it too. The Sox (and everyone else) are afraid Matsui's knees will not allow him to play the OF much. Damon is more versatile because he can stil play the OF and Kotsay is the LH backup 1B so they don't need another one. So they weren't going to sign him unless they were confident he could play the field. They met with him decided he couldn't play the field and that ended it. With Johnson they weren't going to pay a DH only guy 5.5 milllion and since this was early on in the process they weren't going to sign a DH only guy at all. If they were going to do this they would have signed Thome who was going to give them a discount. This shows nothing about how crappy their plan is. It shows how crappy YOU think the plan is because you don't agree with it.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 03:29 PM) Friday is the new Sunday. If we have $6M then not only did Kenny lie about not being able to afford Matsui or Johnson, but he way overstated how broke the Sox were. And there's no f***ing way Damon was going to bring in more revenue than Mr. Japanese Baseball Hideki Matsui. KW said there is always another move to make. There was no money for Matsui or Johnson because they are strictly DH's and don't fit into the philosophy the Sox are going with this year. Damon would still have allowed them to rotate players between the DH, OF and 1B. This would not be possible with the other two. THE WHITE SOX ARE NOT GOING TO SIGN A DH ONLY PLAYER.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 01:39 PM) this isn't a classic reality show. It's not just sticking normal people that want to be famous for 3 months into an INTERESTING situation!!!!!!!! It's more like a TV documentary. I doubt they'll be making KW and Ozzie do scavenge hunts to see who will be kicked off the show first. JR said that in order to afford Damon they need to get rid of someone. This is the only way JR could fire someone, make it thier own choice and make money, all at the same time.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Feb 19, 2010 -> 08:00 AM) It's nice to see that some people read before expressing an opinion. As for this NFL guy's post on Damon, my intuition tells me that it's a Boras plant. But I think that Boras would pay off somebody more credible than that. As I recall Damon was really good friends with some of the Patriot players from his days in Boston. Maybe he told some of them and this scout talked to them. OK, it's reaching but it's a really boring Friday here.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 18, 2010 -> 02:59 PM) Given that I was only 7 years old at the time I knew very little about the 1994 team so I recently looked up the standings. The Sox were only a single game up in the division and 3.5 games up in the wild card and tied for the 3rd best record in baseball on August 10th, the 1995 World Series champion Yankees and their 6 hitters with an .800+ OPS had the best record in the AL. The way Sox fans talk about this team I just assumed they were way up in the division and held the best record in the AL. Regardless of how incredible people think that team was they were barely holding on to a playoff spot with the absolutely stacked (7 hitters with an .800+ OPS) Indians right on their ass and 2 months to go, I am now convinced that Sox fans are delusional. We always have been and always will be.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 18, 2010 -> 02:05 PM) Not even a contest. The '94 team was the best I've ever witnessed. The pitching was just about as good as '93 with a VASTLY improved offense. Frank was Frank. He was the best offensive player in the world at the time. But what Julio Franco brought to the lineup, well, words really can't describe. And now I feel like going to the zoo and killing every animal I see. '94 still hurts. not to be a downer but I think Montreal had a better team that year. Pedro martinez, John Wetteland, Larry Walker, Delino DeSheilds, Moises Alou It would have been a great World series.

QUOTE (dmbjeff @ Feb 18, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) Everett was the DH because they were waiting for Big Frank to get back and he only lasted a month thus, Jurrasic got the bulk of the AB's. But the DH spot that year put up 35HR and 113rbi between the 2 that season. I seriously doubt Jones/Kotsay get to much more than half of that total. everyone knew that frank wasn't going to do much. I'm not asking how it tunred out, I'm asking if people were comfortable with it. Jones hit 17 HR in limited at bats last year. There's no questioning if he played full time he would be close to leading the team in HR's, however are people comfortable with that going into the season. It doesn't sound like most people like it.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 18, 2010 -> 12:47 PM) "How many high-OBP guys did we have in 2007 and 2009" Not many. We had a really bad OBP last year. And as has been pointed out, we had decent #s for men in scoring position, but those opportunities didn't exist. Last year we were 10th out of 14 teams in the AL in OBP. In 2008, our OBP was still pretty low, but we made up for it with more power. This year, we didn't add any more power, and it damn sure doesn't appear that we added more base runners. So, like 2007 and 2009, we are going to start the season with a huge, gaping offensive hole, watch us struggle, get 5 or so games behind and then use our minor league talent to nab a different player to fill this hole. In 2005, we were the most complete team. Though we didn't grab amazing players, each spot was filled with a competent player. In years since, it seems a sure thing to go in with a s***ty spot, and it hurts the team. We do have a high payroll, and if we don't win, it will need to be decreased. What's fascinating is that you want to trade players in the minors that for the first time look to be real MLB potential talent, whom would be cheap for 6 years, for players that would last 1 or 2 years before getting massive raises. I'm not happy about Damon being the last resort, I've b****ed about it all winter. But it is what it is, and a one year stop gap does this team a hell of a lot of good. Really? You were satisfied with Everett as being the primary DH?

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 17, 2010 -> 04:28 PM) # are trending topics @ is the person you are replying to RT means you are quoting someone elses tweet (ReTweet) Thanks, I was wondering what that was.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 17, 2010 -> 04:24 PM) I'm gonna say it. I think we're going to get him, and i couldn't be happier. It was worth all this rotating DH s***, all my pontificating and all the b****ing, if we wind up with Damon. Come spring training, i might just give KW a hug. They will still rotate the DH to give players time off from the field. If they get Damon it will be Damon, Pierre, TCQ, Jones and PK as the DH. Damon fit well with the rotating DH plan. He can still play the OF and rotate through.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ Feb 17, 2010 -> 12:09 PM) I mean, if the Sox really want him, why wouldn't they just pony up the extra 3-4 million bucks. I mean that is nothing in the grand scheme of things if they really want him. We have to be more than 1-2 million away from Detroits offer. Because JR knows that as soon as he does this Boras runs to the Tigers and has them up thier offer. The White Sox will be a little short of Detroit's offer at any level. You may as well make your stand at this price instead of driving it up and still being short and counting on Damon wanting to be in Chicago and not Detroit.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 07:07 PM) From Boston to NYC to detroit burbs. Looks like a step down to me. Maybe he really likes the suburban pace, but there is also zero metropolis to venture into which is a huge minus. In Chicago at least you can drive or take the train to the city to go out or get something to eat, Detroit, no so much. But Windsor is a very close

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 05:55 PM) I wasn't factoring in salary. Obviously, it's less than realistic, but hypothetically speaking i don't think Damon mitigates any other moves being made. When a team is near their reported budget limit, the salary is the first thing you need to consider. Signing Damon would put them over their budget and would prevent anything else from happening. KW wants that flexibility so that after the team plays for awhile, he can fill whatever weaknesses pop up.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 03:52 PM) Except for the fact that it's probably his last chance to land a semi-lucrative multi-year deal (he'll be 36 in June) and it's a guaranteed $14M. If Damon were to suffer a major injury this summer (like a torn ACL), he might not be able to play again until he's 38. I don't see why he didn't take the (alleged) 2/14 offer from the Yankees. ^^^ If Damon could stand taking a trip to the Bronx every day, driving into Detroit for two years isn't the worst thing in the world. I'm sure it's because Boras advised him that he could get more. This is also why this process is being extended. Boras is trying to save face by getting a similar offer elsewhere. Lopez already dropped Boras because he made him salary promises that he couldn't keep by overvaluing him. Now Lopez is just trying to get a job.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 01:12 PM) There's a BIG if if if in your equation. Putz. Because I'm sure not very many people feel comfortable right now with Pena, Linebrink and there's a pretty high amount of trepidation about Jenks as well. Williams? The long man. We have the POTENTIAL to be a great bullpen but more likely we'll be average. Second, it would have been impossible NOT to improve the defense, no matter what moves were made. I'm not sure that we can determine what we have with Jones in terms of his defense until Spring Training comes around and we see what his playing condition is... i agree they are if's. however, I think they are good gambles. The bullpen may not be great but i think with everything you said it will be better than last year. I also agree with your assessment of the defense and it will be an improvement over last year.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 11:39 AM) It's not semantics, it's fact. (Almost) Every trade that's ever been made has been made with the idea of improving the team towards the future. A lot of teams make deals down the stretch, and a lot of teams make huge deals to insure the future of a team. KW doesn't get a free pass for having made the Peavy and Rios moves, he get's a thank you from the fanbase and then the mandate to improve the team around these pieces. Two moves, big or small, does not an offseason make. it is semantics because what is the difference if he makes the team better in July or if he makes the team better in November. The only answer is the time frame. Those moves make the team better. KW is not getting a free pass on where the team is still weak. Hitting. He should get credit for improving the team's pitching and defense. if you still want to talk timeframes he still improved the team's pitching in the offseason with Putz and improved the bench and defense with Jones, and Vizquel. Hitting is still the team's weakness. With the budget the sox have it is near impossible to have an outstanding team in all three areas of pitching, defense and hitting. KW chose to go with a very good pitching staff, an average but improved defense and the weakness in the area of hitting. If I had to choose which order to spend the money i would do the same. Since the sox knew they were going to be weakest in hitting they are going with a "create a run" theory on offense instead of power. Will it work? I have no idea and it is a weakness. But given the choice I personally would focus on pitching as well.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Feb 16, 2010 -> 10:58 AM) We're paying Mark Kotsay as much money as the Twins are paying Jim Thome. A guy that would have solved these problems, and rid me of my concerns. 1.5 million bucks, that's all that it would have cost. That's chump change in the pocket of Mr. Reinsdorf. If 1.5 million bucks proves to be the difference between us winning the divison, and us failing to do so. I am going to be furious. We need this Damon signing like crazy. Your point of saying Peavy and Rios pick ups don't count for the offseason is just semantics. They were acquired late in the season and make this team better than last year's team. So, they weren't technically acquired after all teams stopped playing games. They still help to make this team better than last year's team. Especially in the areas of pitching and defense which is the focus this year. the Thome arguement is getting old. The only thing he brings is power. His strikeouts killed scoring opportunities and his high number of walks didn't alow for consistent scoring opportunities because it took three hits for him to score. The DH only arguement is valid. But Thome wasn't the answer. The "Reinsdorf's money" has also been rehashed many times. There is a budget whether you like it or not. They cannot go over budget now and have no flexibility for injuries at the trading deadline. If an injury occurs there isn't alot of help in the minors. KW needs a little flexibility in case a player other than an OF gets hurt because this is the only place Damon could help. Damon's salary may be in the budget but maybe not. There are other factors to look at other than the immediate concern.