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QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 10:20 PM) I agree its very overrated. The leadoff hitter is only guaranteed to leadoff once, but he will bat at least as much as anyone in the lineup. Its more important to get a guy who can get on base, and let the 2,3, 4 hitter do their jobs. Even when Pods was supposedly spectacular, didn't Iguchi have to give himself up a lot? You're taking pitches ,getting behind in the count so the guy can get to second. I still disagree. While the "speedster" only leads off once, he creates a distraction for the pitcher whenever he is on base. That's why agree they need to get on base at a decent clip but the threat to steal drives pitchers crazy. Especially in today's game with so many people following the James rule where spped doesn't matter, the ones who can create a distraction are even more effective. Even having the player caught stealing wore the pitcher down more by having him throwing over to first (which wears a pitcher out more with the twisting motion). This will effect the overall game that doesn't sho up in the number of runs scored, OBP and whatever else you want to analyze. In the end getting the pitcher out of the game sooner may be more effective. OBP from the leadoff spot is obviously important because he will have on average more plate appearances than anyone else, but how much of a difference do you need to negate the effect of the speed is a real conundrum. It is also one that polarizes people, they either think it helps or don't. I for one believe it has a great impact on the game. The scenario you state above should only happen early in games to get a lead or toward the end of close games when one run truly matters.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 11:48 PM) I am not sure what a B/C level prospect is, but if we ever traded Crede it better be for major league ready prospects or someone already on tghe roster and ready to step in as a top notch player. Personally I think Crede should be signed to a long term deal. Crede alone will not get us much of a high prospect or MLB ready prospect. The reasons are: 1. coming off back surgery and 2. he is a one year rent a player due to the impending free agency and the tough negotiations that will follow with Boras. I think we will get a high prospect or MLB ready pitcher because we will be packaged with others such as Anderson. The return will be a pitcher. KW trades for a targeted player not what the other team wants to offer and right now I think KW wants to acquire pitching. His position players are pretty well set.

QUOTE(scenario @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) IMO, we shoulda seen if we coulda flipped him back to the Cubs for Neal Cotts... then had Cotts compete with Thornton and Logan for a bullpen spot.... but that's just me. With that awful year he had in the NL he can't possibly pitch in the AL

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 11:01 AM) Yep -- Owens is all of (~)4 months younger than Nick Swisher, to put things into perspective a bit. And no, it's completely unreasonable to think Owens is capable of a .370 or .380 OBP. His minor league OBP was .362, and that's despite the fact that he was old for his level every step of the way. That doesn't even mention his terrible slugging percentage. He's nothing more than a 4th outfielder, but for some reason Sox fans seem to equate 'speedy' and 'slap-hitty' with 'good'. He was old in age only. He had less experience for his age due to his football career. He was probably progressing at a proper rate for experience. I think he will do fine and be better than a 4th outfielder. He played acceptable CF defense last year after everyone touted his defense as not playable in CF. I think he will learn and be a good MLB player.

I wonder if he's part of a deal with Crede. The rumor has Crede going to SF. Maybe the deal is Crede/Anderson and another player for Cain or one of the others? The deal may be contingent on both players showing they are healthy. That would explain how he knows it's a NL team.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 11:49 AM) I fail to see how history proved you right. You can side with the team, but I'll side with the doctors I've heard comment on back surgery numerous times before. These are guys who love the idea of surgery, they make a living off it - and yet, they are all very avoidant of it until all other paths have been exhausted. I just can't hold this against Joe. The Sox team doctors do not make a living off doing surgery. Some orthopedic surgeons will but not the guys affiliated with a team. They are usually bashed for waiting too long to do surgery. The whole scenario boiled down to the fact the everyone knew he most likely would need surgery but he elected to try to go without. You can't blame him because back surgery is risky. however, with the symptoms he had, the duration of the symptoms and his occupation (needing to rotate his trunk violently to swing a bat) he most likely needed surgery. I'm a big proponent of avoiding back surgery at all costs but in his case there was little chance of it happening. In the end the decision cost the Sox because they were without him and they couldn't trade him last year. The player had his choice and he picked the wrong one because he missed almost an entire year of playing.

Moronotti does his job very well. He writes whatever he feels like and incites a controversy and attracts attention. He is not a good writer and doesn't let the facts get in the way, but the purpose of a columnist is to attract attention. He isn't a beat writer whose job it is to report on the team.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 25, 2008 -> 11:31 AM) I don't! All hail Frank Thomas. That's for damned sure. You are right too, our entire team refusing piss tests is what got the stronger tests/punishments instilled in the first place. That could have been included in Jay's article... The Sox players did not refuse the tests. They talked about it but bowed to Union pressure.

Show me the mountains and the ski slopes!!! The more I deal with professional athletes the more I dislike people.

He always has been one of the rumors. Look at his body and performance. Fringe player in low minors and all of a sudden wins the batting title and takes off. None of it is hard evidence of course but he has always been one of the suspects. As has another former Sox outfielder who is from the West coast, is a gym fanatic and just signed a huge money deal in the offseason.

Most entertaining game was when the Bears and Raiders beat the crap out of each other so bad that the quarterbacks were Ray Guy and Walter Payton. A great game was a game in Milwaukee where the game went into the ninth scoreless and Jerry Hairston Sr. hit a pinch hit HR in the top with 2 outs and Bob James got the save in the bottom of the ninth. Another was the 26 inning game against Milwaukee spread out over two days. Of course Game 2 of the WS with the PK Slam, Jenks giving up the tying runs and the Pods HR to win (and almost getting the HR ball) will always be the top baseball game. I can't imagine anything better than that.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 01:44 PM) I would love this deal because it's only a 2 year deal. 5.5 is a lot of money for a reliever who has been injured for a while now but it's only a 2 year deal, it's not a contract that would be haunting us for a few years. It would also add more depth to the pen, having Jenks, Linebrink, Thornton, MacDougal, Dotel, Wasserman, Logan, lots of options there. I would rather overpay in a short term deal than sign any pitcher to a long term deal.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 07:49 AM) Wow. My initial reaction to this is good. That's a pretty solid backend of the pen, even having injury considerations for Dotel. Its smart of Kenny to add bullpen arms when you are looking at the pen doing a lot more work this year versus recent years past. I still don't hink Ozzie will use his bullpen anymore than in past years. However, no matter which way you look at it, a good bullpen will make a good manager and a bad pen will make a bad manager.

Another good move to address the team's biggest weakness.

QUOTE(Heartattack19 @ Jan 14, 2008 -> 04:25 PM) Charlie O'Brien played for the sox the first part of 1998, i think he was the first White Sox Catcher to wear the Hockey style catcher's mask. God, Mike Bertotti, Todd Rizzo, Pat Daneker, Chris Clemons, Nelson Cruz, why do i still remember these names, for some reason i still have a Larry Thomas card hanging on my bulletin board. It has been there so long, i think it would be illegal to take it down! Not only was he the first one to wear it, he invented it. He got together with a company that made the hockey masks and helped develop it for baseball. I've got a game used bat from him. Bobby Bonds is probably the worst guy I can think of. I don't dislike pplayers if they are bad but try. I dislike them if they are asses. The apple didn't fall far from the tree!!!!

QUOTE(Wanne @ Jan 16, 2008 -> 12:55 AM) My rant was directed at these hearings bringing say, Tejada back...or talking to so and so...rehashing testimony...crap like this. I'm not discording the implementation of testing to alleviate it at all levels. I applaud it. Should have been done years ago. Just implement it...have your penalties in place and get on with it is all I'm saying. I'm not seeing the point of dragging all of this testimony crap out. Because it brings attention to the issue. If not for dragging these out the MLBPA would not have agreed to the drug testing policy and lower level amateur would not institute these testing policies. While I agree the actual testimony and such is mostly irrelevant, it's the attention and bringing out into the open the problems and subsequently putting pressure on the sport to institute the policies that has been the benefit of the hearings. Baseball and subsequently other organizations would not have the policies without this attention.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Jan 15, 2008 -> 04:32 PM) Seriously...let's keep having the government keep spending money on all this stuff...as well as the war and ignore things like mortgage crisis, unemployment, health insurance, homeless, etc... here in the states. I'm all for it. As long as we keep the God-fearing use of steriods out of these sports markets that will earn billions anyway regardless if they're used or not. Right now all it's turning into is a goddamn witch hunt. MOVE ON!!!! Implement mandatory testing from now on and move the F@#$ on. GODDAMN....is it really necessary to drag all this s*** through the mud?!? How about worrying about the effect of steriods on children? If congress didn't get involved, do you think the IHSA would have passed the random drug testing for the playoffs in Illinois? You may have your issues you think are important but I ythink stopping High School kids from doing steriods is important as well.

A well below average MLB player who was the starting shortstop on two world series winners and a WS MVP. Just goes to show you that tools aren't everything and scouting is not an exact science. Players with "well-below" average tools may not be MLB stars but can be effective players in used properly.

QUOTE(wsgdf_2 @ Jan 9, 2008 -> 12:27 PM) FYI - I asked Kevin Goldstein about Poreda today... wsgdf83 (Naperthrill): I've heard bad things about Poreda's delivery - that he's an injury waiting to happen. Have you heard the same? Kevin Goldstein: Not really. It's hardly perfect, but it's not end of the world violent or anything. The more legitimate concern is wether or not his secondary stuff will come -- it's still a pretty special arm. I don't necessarily think he's an injury waiting to happen. I think Bureaus point was that he doesn't think he will project to be an effective major league pitcher. I could be wrong but I thought that was his point. I haven't seen him throw in a game so I can't comment on it from an injury perspective.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 11, 2008 -> 04:26 PM) You're looking at what he can't do rather than what he can do, which is run the bases extremely well (I believe he rated very highly according to Bill James, which encapsulates more than just stolen bases), plays above average (albeit declining) defense and hits well for a CFer. This contract is also nice in case Balta is right and Cameron tests postive again -- the club option for next year is another nice perk for the Brewers. And yes, that is a tough lineup, except for catcher. And if Kendall can hit like he did with the Cubs (.362 OBP, albeit in less than 200 ABs), that's not a terrible "worst hitter" to have in your lineup. I see everyone's point on here and agree that he fits in with the Brewers. He is also a great guy and good for the clubhouse. I just think in the WS lineup the negatives outweight the positives. I would rather give the playing time to Quentin. Also, remember his suspension was for stimulants not steroids so hopefully they can keep him out of the leaded coffee. He just needs to pound the red bull at the end of the season to keep the motor going as opposed to hitting the amphetamines. His defense at the end of the season may falter without them.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 11, 2008 -> 02:19 PM) Kudos to Milwaukee -- that's a move that will improve their defense and add a decent bat. A one-year deal with a club option would've been the PERFECT move for the Sox, but I digress. I disagree. The one thing club doesn't need is a guy who strikes out alot. We have enough trouble with that. I love his defense but he is not a good fit for the club.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jan 10, 2008 -> 05:50 PM) So I recenty decided to start taking vitamins since the college lifestyle isn't so healthy, and so I can improve my immune system a bit, so I went out and bought Centrum Silver. Then a few days later, I noticed that it's specially formulated for people over the age of 50. So now I don't know if I should stop taking it. If anyone can offer some expertise or insight, that'd be sweet. It won't hurt you. There are just some in that you don't need as much of. Mostly vitamins are useless you get most everything you need while eating. The body can only absorb a certain amount of each vitamin so you mostly are creating expensive urine.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Jan 10, 2008 -> 04:33 PM) i wonder if kenny is waiting for after soxfest? i doubt it but just thought id throw it out there Or right before. He has been known to do deals at that time. I remember the Kenny Lofton deal and others I can't place names on right now. But he likes to introduce deals right around that time.

I base most of what I know on Universal Healthcare on friends and relatives from other countries. They all say the same thing. Everyone wants a job where once you are high enough in the company you can get private insurance for healthcare and don't have to deal with the universal healcare system. They don't care what the job is as long as that is an option. They all hate the universal system.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 8, 2008 -> 07:12 PM) That was my understanding, but I could not find the link. You use the lidocaine topically, then ram the needle in. Commonly used with children, I believe it is what Dentists use as well before jamming that damn needle into your gums. Sad. I was a big Clemens fan and this really makes me feel bad. Lidocaine can be used topically like that. But it and xylocaine are the most commonly used local anesthetics. We use the topical version for tennis elbow and other localized tendonitis condition through an electrical device called iontophoresis. The local anesthetics in sports medicine are usually injected into joints to decrease local pain. Anti-inflammatory meds are more commonly used in soft tissue. Basically there is no reason to do this kind of thing unless illicit things are involved. Hell, MacNamee even doing an injection is illegal. He is not trained or qualified medically to do these things.