southsider2k5

actually no he wasn't.

So far so good for Borchard. I think the couple of weeks up here give him an idea of what he has to work on.

If they are going to make the all star game mean something they need to take away fan balloting and the rule that all teams send a rep.

Which makes at least one in the family understanding pr. I don't know of anyone who spends as much time with their kids as they would want to. Bottom line for me after 30 years as a Sox fan, Thomas is the best hitter I've watched. In the mid 90's Frank was must see TV. It is too bad that our society places so much emphasis today on what happens outside the lines. Who really cared if Frank hired non union labor to build his house? How many times was stupid stuff like that publicized? I had the pleasure of a couple conversations with Baines and he is a true gentleman and a credit to the Sox organization, I wish circumstances would of had him playing his entire career as a Sox. But as a hitter I still would prefer to watch Frank to Baines. There is no comparing Frank Thomas to Harold Baines. That is a joke. Harold was relatively consistant for a long period of time. Frank was incredible for about 10 years. The only advantage that Harold would have on Frank was defensively in his day Harold was a tough RFer. Frank was average at best in the field. But at the plate Frank blows away Baines so badly it isn't even funny. Frank and Joe Jackson are the two best hitters in White Sox history. No one else deserves to be mentioned with these two guys.

makes sense to me

Wow Ring gives up 4 runs and his era goes UP TO 1.76!!! Geez I think White could give up 4 runs and have his era go down

I don't know if anyone has addressed this yet, but I wanted to take a stab at this. Was I the only one wondering what exactly Manuel was doing in the 9th inning. He pinch hit for Joe Crede to lead off the 9th with Brian Daubach. This means that someone else was going to have to come off of the bench to play the field if we went extra innings. Also no one was on base, so why bring a power hitter to the plate with no one on base. The other thing against Daubach being the ideal PH in that situation is he has no speed. So after he walks, they pinch run with Josh Paul our back up catcher. Josh Paul can't play 3rd base either so we STILL need a fielder if it goes 10 innings. Why didn't Manuel just use his LEAD OFF HITTER to start the inning? That saves two of his bench players, also gives him the person who can play the field (Graff goes to 3b Jimenez to 2b) Using Josh Paul also uses up his back up catcher. So in one move he just handicapped himself BIG time if we come back to tie this game. What happens if something happens to Olivo? Am I the only one wondering what Jerry was doing during this sequense of events?

If you do base your opinions by being led by the media, then your take is understandable. You have people here who know some of the principles first hand, and the stories behind what the media puts out to get higher ratings, first hand. Guffaw all you wish, believing the media is just plain naive. What wrist? Thomas didn't slide last season on two occassions because of a surgically repaired triceps muscle, not a wrist, and anyone who'd ask a player to risk reinjury for a meaningless game is absurd. Surgeries heal enough to play, but take much longer to be as strong as new. I know Frank Thomas, he is a good friend. He is a very intelligent man. If you watched and listened to his interview last year about the drug testing, you'd have seen that. Thomas is a very trusting person, and gets caught off guard when someone tries to set him up for a 'big' story. He's an athlete, but didn't know the history of racial prejudice in the game and when asked about Jackie Robinson, didn't know. Frank never experienced racial issues until he was an adult, and up in the Majors, and still then only a bit. His experiences are almost ideal, and at least as they should be. The reporter then lambasted him. The ARod thing was the same, the reporter asking a loaded question, Thomas trusting, saying the truth, and getting creamed for it. Did anyone then, or do you now think ARod was worth $16 million more than Thomas, or anyone else in 2000? That was the issue, not that Frank wanted more money, he was happy with his money. Last summer, at the trade deadline, Ken Williams tried to trade Thomas. He had a deal made, ready to go, with Boston. When several of us heard about it the screaming from the offices was heard in the stands. Some who post here heard the yelling. JR was not aware of the trade, but upon having his friends, supporters and stockholders screaming, he stopped the deal. Williams was PO'd. He and I have not had a civil word since. He vowed he'd get rid of Frank, and Thomas was crushed. JR assurred him he would stay here. I made it perfectly clear what would do if Thomas was allowed to leave the Sox. There is a 'right of first refusal' to Einhorn and Reinsdorf in all outstanding stock agreed to by all the stockholders from the Veeck ownership. It was the only way the sale would go through as they wanted all the shares, no other partners, and we liked 'owning' our favourite team. I made no secret that the first person I'd call was Steinbrenner and sell to him. Both he and I could easily spend the legal fees to irritate someone, George to bust JR's balls, and me to make my point. High level games are fun. When Thomas' agent died in the plane crash, he did not hire a new one. For all those years, including through the ARod thing and the surgery up until last fall, Frank's 'agent', confidant,close friend and advisor was and still is Jerry Reinsdorf. When have you ever in your life heard of a player who had his owner as an advisor/agent? Those of us who know both men personally understand it perfectly. But it's not something they necessarily want blabbed to the media. Nonetheless, Thomas, who had gotten to camp early in 2000, "slimmed down and with his glove, ready to play" as Manuel said, got bushwacked by the reporter. Thomas didn't know what to do, how to control the mushroom cloud of contoversey, and fled camp, still before the reporting date, and guess where he went? Straight to Reinsdorf. The 'spin' decided in JR's office was to tell the media that Thomas was not going to get any revisions in his contract, and they ran with that. Frank was told, and I witnessed this first hand, I was there and heard it with my own ears, that the 'clause' would be 'taken care of'. Both Frank and I understood that to mean it would be taken out. Up to that point only 4 total people had even seen Thomas' contract, and one of them was dead. Reinsdorf, Thomas' agent, Thomas, but only for his signature, and myself. The contract was kept in JR's office, away from all the rest of the team's contracts. Thomas reported to camp on time, and was advised not to talk to the media. Last fall, when Einhorn needed transplant surgery, JR's only thought was of Eddie. That's when Williams went into JR's office, technically OK, but morally not, and took the contract and invoked the clause. Thomas was shocked, I was pissed. We were lied to. The 'spin' on that was to call it something other than the 'diminished skills', so 'RPR' was put out, and, technically, Thomas and I were not lied to. It is a business thing, some understand, but most call it playing games. It is, but that's another story. Anyway, Einhorn goes through surgery, is looking good, JR knows he will take care of his friend, and try not to upset his G.M., that's Jerry, and keep me out of his hair, because I'm not always so nice. When KW went to the Dominican to scout, JR got together with Thomas' new agent, a friend of JR's and recommended to Frank by JR, and they made certain that KW's flight back was in the air before they did the new deal. When Williams landed, he got a call from his assisitant, was livid, and called into JR's office. Thomas was on one line, speaker phone, and KW on the other, with JR, Frank's agent and me in the room. Williams, screaming, said "I will trade his ass by the break". JR looked to me to shut my mouth, and no one else said a word. That's where that stands now, though Williams is G.M. in name only. He crossed Einhorn, and that deal is done, I believe HSC has told you all about that. Frank got an offer of more money than his old contract from Danny Evans to play for the Dodgers, but Frank decided to stay here, be closer to his kids, and with the asurrance from JR he'd be taken care of. He was. That's the gist of the story, there's always more, but the important info is there to help understand that much goes on behind the scenes the fans and media do not know. When it harms my friends, I talk about it. I think both Thomas and JR are fine people, and real Sox fans would love them both if they knew all the truth. That is a really interesting post. I am going to have to take some time and digest that one. It also fits right into the KW is gone theory too.

Are you saying he got more than $250,000 of an offer? Or more than the $10 mil a year that we would have owed him paid out over the 30 years?

What did the Dodgers offer him? Got a link?

Don't forget that Munoz basically has been pitching for two years straight. He has gone from his minor league team to a winter league team to spring training to the minor leagues. He had a dead arm in March and into April. But why use logic when digesting someones numbers...

Or does it go 7 games?

And Jim how come you haven't been able to talk more of your teammates into posting here? We won't bite... too hard

C'mon guys. Let's do this. Bring the brooms!

Very close competition last night with Maggs and Carlos both getting 8 points and Frank getting 7. The tie breaker goes to Maggs because Carlos had 3 outs and an error vs Maggs only haveing made two outs. Pickers were me, HSC, cwsox, Juggernaut, and ElrockinMT.

Frank Thomas

Just want to address this since no one else did. The reason Frank is lacking in RBI's is because he is still only hitting .229 with RISP and 12 of his 16 HR's are of the solo variety. In fact if you break down his RBI's it is kind of interesting; 12 have come on solo HR's, 12 have come RISP, and 11 have come with a runner on first. So 23 of his RBI (or 2/3's of them) have come WITHOUT RISP. That tells me he is still having problems in the clutch but is really hitting well with no pressure.

If you want to take two players from the dead ball era and compare them to the offensive onslaught of today there are going to be about 50 players that get into the HOF.

I think you missed a decimal place...

I'll be in 113 for the game.

Look out AL. Maggs is starting to hit line drives again.

When we set up the contest as a group on ESPN we had this discussion before. We decided as a group then that there should be a winner everyday. We modeled our version after the way that Hawk's PTC version goes, and they always pick a winner between the players that are picked. We also decided that yeah you could pick one of the big players everyday, but that is why we limited players to two picks a week. Also it makes for stategy to see if no one has picked a certian player and pick them that way you would be the only person to win if they were picked, ala Juggernaut winning with Armando Rios last night. And as many times a player who was the best wasn't picked, the incentive is there to take risks, just not too many people have been willing to do that. That being said, if there are a lot of people who want to see this rule changed I am more than willing to adjust the game to what most people on here want.

Kearnes would be the last of the OF'ers that the Reds would deal. First would be Griffey, then would be Guillen, then Dunn, and finally Kearnes. And the deal for the Yankees would never get done, as the Yankees don't want to add long term RH power payroll. They want lefty power, and a LFer.

I got a new Dell last summer. Built it myself on line and I love it. I got a whole bunch of extras on it, and didn't spend a whole lot. Get rid of that Compaq as fast as possible and never buy another one of those pieces of s*** again. My last one was a Compaq and it never worked quite right. Plus their customer service sucked ass. Maybe HP will make it better, but it was so bad, I am not even willing to try. The next computer I buy will be a dell again.

Yeah, but can you blame us?