buckweaver

If he's not comin' why did he pose for this?

Haven't yet seen it mentioned...but perhaps he announced this at week's start because an extension has been agreed on in principal and all involved said they needed until Thursday to get all the lawyers' approvals, etc. What a great start to the off-season that would be with four games left to go this year. I can't believe Konerko could be allowed to leave after all's he's meant to this organization, his numbers this year, and the ease with which the organization could drop $3M on Manny for, really, 12 singles over two weeks in games that meant anything at all. I really think it'd be hard for Kenny to justify letting the captain walk when 2-3 years at $10M/year(ish) would probably get it done and allow the classiest White Sox player since Harold Baines finish his career where he should.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 07:07 PM) Yea, because blindly signing Konerko to a longterm contract at 35 sounds really good to me. I love Konerko, but you have to be careful with the contract you offer him, even 3 years is incredibly risky. And dont compare to Jeter, Jeter isnt worth close to what he is getting, and the Yankees are resigning him to that because they can. If Jeter falls apart after a contract extension, the Yankees can afford that. The Sox, it would be much harder for them to recover. On the topic of Manny, he is an instant boost to our playoff chances, Ill gladly take that risk of him being a team nuisance because if he is as good as he has been, we are talking about playoffs, if he doesnt play well and or is a distraction, hes gone at the end of the year. That's exactly the point. If the Sox have an additional $4M to throw out for 30 games, management can no longer claim it's hard to recover when a big contract doesn't pan out. I also personally believe Konerkjo is the standard-bearer for the franchise and should be treated as such. As for "diminished range" and "Kasey Kotchman=comparable" noted in other posts...please...who have you been watching this year?

Subject of "Ramirez Slept Here" signs in Boston's outfield. Suspended for performance enhancing drugs in 2009. Purposefully thrown out of his last game as a Los Angeles Dodger. Begged out of playing his first game for the Chicago White Sox because he was "too tired." Flouted the owner's "neat and presentable hair" rule by tying back his dreadlocks in lieu of getting a haircut. (the very same owner who is paying him roughly $4 million for 31...er, make that 30...games). These aren't excuses. They're souvenirs. Manny being Manny...It's black and white. So as we are now required to cheer for the laundry that includes the number 99,, I make one last reply to this thread with this message to White Sox management: Do not hold the fans hostage over the resigning of Paul Konerko to a very fair, career-ending, long-term contract this off-season. If you can afford $4 million for a "diminished skills," diminished brain, ethically bankrupt Manny Ramirez, you can certainly pay the team captain what he's worth, particularly in light of the year he's having and the career he's had in Chicago. He is the White Sox' Derek Jeter and deserves to be rewarded as such.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 04:27 PM) WIN GAMES. It's entertainment. Save the morality and ethics soapbox for yourself and your children. THIS is the crux of the different camps on this argument. If, indeed, it's entertainment in a sporting atmosphere, AKA the World Wrestling Federation, then win at all cost and justify the means with a winning end. Enjoy the hell out of that. If, however, it's a sporting competition whereby the best athletes compete and those who play the best win, then the rules by which all agree to play matter. To me, that's sport. It would be fair to say the rules themselves, as constituted, don't provide for a truly even playing field. That's true. Lack of real revenue sharing creates a system whereby the Yankees can choose whomever they want for their team while the Pirates are left picking up scraps and watching their successful scraps leave for greener pastures when they can. That's just one example. But if the players are found cheating by taking or providing an unfair advantage and are allowed to again play the game, the cloud of "unfairness" remains with them. And so it remains with Manny Ramirez (among other characteristics I personally disdain...laziness and selfishness among them). That's why I don't want him playing for the team I love. I understand that others don't agree...that his ability to hit outweighs their sense of fairness and what's right. I just find that unfortunate.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Aug 27, 2010 -> 02:11 PM) I am sure the 23,000 fans that went out there on as a beautiful night as there could be last night to watch a team in the pennant race will agree with you. Manny Ramirez can do things nobody since Frank Thomas and to some degree not even he could do sorry he did PED's so did other teams. Tehy got Canseco and there was no question there. Teh holier than thou approach is fine but it will not win.....I wonder how many yankee fans want A-Rod gone. They are not honoring Thomas because he was clean they are honoring him because he hit the s*** of a baseball just like Manny. I couldn't agree more with this first statement, as I wrote a couple days ago when this rumor started sprouting legs. But the 'roid-raged posters flamed me, too. I didn't know after acne, head growth and testicular shrinkage came diminished typing abilities; you learn something new every day. The question remains whether to remain fans of Chicago's entry in the World Baseball Federation, formerly known as the MLB. Bringing Manny aboard is, in my opinion, very different than acknowledging that all teams have been part of the steroid era. This is a guy suspended 50 games LAST YEAR for PEDs. To the comment about A-Roid, I would guess plenty of Yankee fans would love for Alex to just go away, as I and others would really like for Manny to just stay away. Victory claimed by cheaters is hollow at best.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Aug 24, 2010 -> 12:34 PM) Maybe you should learn how to quote properly. Stellar retort; it's like participating in a battle of wit with an unarmed man.

QUOTE (Big Daddy Kool @ Aug 24, 2010 -> 12:19 PM) Do you want to give back the '05 WS then as odds are someone on that team was doing something illegal..... Are you accusing someone? Odds are, you may be right. Odds in Manny's case: 100%. Suspended last year, the idiot. He's a known commodity. and yes, that includes his being a great hitter.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 24, 2010 -> 10:57 AM) This would be a great seller on the southside. "Come watch Manny in a White Sox uniform try to help propel them into the playoffs!" IMO they would sell a lot more tickets! Or perhaps..."Watch Manny inject some life into the White Sox!" We become the Yankees when we sign a known cheater because it may help us win. As a 46-year-old lifelong Sox fan who grew up listening to my grandfather's stories of Babe Ruth playing at the old palace, I implore Kenny Williams not to bring Manny Ramirez to the White Sox. As I posted in another thread a week or two ago (and that's saying something because I don't post very much), I consider Manny as the poster child for all of major league baseball's ills: greed, steroids, lazy, selfish. No debate there's blame for the steroid era abounding, but when you're injecting a needle into your ass or having someone else do it for you, it's wrong and you know it. So the blame starts with the players who did it. I honestly would rather miss the playoffs without Manny than be in them with him. If the White Sox bring him in I'm not sure I can call myself a fan of this team...and just typing that makes me feel as though I'm losing an appendage.

To me, Manny Ramirez is the poster child for all that's wrong about the world's greatest game. I understand he can hit the crap out of a baseball and that's why he's to be considered. But steroids, arrogance and laziness are what he'll be remembered for the most. I'd really rather win without him...and maybe even rather lose without him than win with him.

Matsui! Just so he can bring in his interpreter into the Sox clubhouse.

COME ON...TIMO!

Seems to me, with all the press about Thome this week, that his signing is the most likely "Soxfest Surprise." And for all the reasons already noted...why the hell not?!

I grew up in LaGrange. When my grandfather, from whom I was blessed with my White Sox fanaticism, retired and moved near us, his retirement gift was a huge number of Sox tickets for the next season (maybe two). Now these weren't prime seats...just a lot of GA tix...and we'd sit down the left field line, between third base and the wall, about 3/4 of the way up in old Comiskey. Which meant that you'd often have to watch the pitcher deliver, then quickly move your head to the right, get your field of vision through the post or posts (some were in pairs) in time to see if the batter swung or the result of the pitch. Now while I appreciate good seats at a ballgame or event as much as the next guy, the real lesson I learned was the importance of being there. Once during this time, we took a kid visiting the neighborhood from Brazil. And we sat through a double-header, with a rain delay, during which a streaker ran across the field. This was all in the early-mid 1970s...Old Comiskey, red and white unis, Dick Allen, Carlos May, Bill Melton, Jorge Orta (my personal favorite)...thanks for taking me back on this new year's eve morning!

My vote goes to Nyls Nyman because his worst-ness transcends decades...and hey, thread starter said "the decade" not "this decade."

A brush with Granderson story to share: When he was a AAA player in the Detroit system, he was an instructor for a kids' winter baseball camp in Libertyville; my son attended. Not only was he a terrific teacher, but a great role model. He wore his Tigers uniform, stayed late to talk with the kids and signed autographs for all who asked. We've continued to follow his career since then and have delighted in his success (except against the Sox). I don't see how the Sox could pull of a deal for him, but what an addition he'd be.

I asked this a while back and didn't get a response, but this is an appropriate thread to ask again. Does anyone share my belief that Kenny dropped the ball when he signed Pods this year by not including/insisting on a reasonable club option for 2010? I am firmly in the "In Kenny We Trust" camp, but I think this was simply a mistake. Pods was watching TV at home, released by the Rockies and had no other great options (if he did, he wouldn't have come back to Charlotte). Kenny had all the cards, so to insist on a club consideration in the event he had they type of year he indeed ended up having, would have been a no-brainer. Now if we want him back, we pay his price.

Interesting that this thread was posted today. I was opining this morning about the whole Pods situation. Even as a huge Kenny Williams supporter I think he dropped the ball on this a little. When he signed Pods and brought him to Charlotte, Pods had been released by the Rockies and was waiting at home for a phone call. He had no offers to join a major league roster...not sure if he had any interest outside of the White Sox, and that was principally for 2005 memories (which I support). Seems to me that Kenny had all the contract leverage in the world at that point. If it didn't work out, no major loss. But if he was right/lucky and struck gold (as he ended up doing) why didn't he have a reasonable club option for 2010? I can't believe that it would have prohibited Pods from coming here--he was just looking for an opportunity to play. At the same time, I would hope Pods has some feeling of appreciation for the opportunity...though every time I think that's possible from a professional athlete, I'm let down. After all, St., Paulie Girl probably needs a new fur coat and some more diamond jewelry. Thoughts? Did Kenny make a mistake here?

Add some preseason perspective to this thread to keep yourselves from pulling the rest of your hair out. Experts picked the Sox to be about 10 games under .500 (I truly thought .500) and the the Cubs to be one of the best teams in baseball...make it to the World Series...one of the top two or three teams to win it. August 26: Sox are at .500, organization on the upswing, feeling good about the years to come, and have the opportunity to put the young team and some revered veterans through an actual pennant race b/c they're in a mediocre division. The only reason we're gnashing teeth is because they've stayed in the race...not a bad place to be. On the North side, Cubs are in a free fall, just a game over, no realistic chance at making the playoffs, just saw their ace (hole) pitcher get blown out by the worst team in AAA, have a bunch of malcontents signed to really bad long-term contracts, and have no young players to really hope will turn into stars (the riot's probably the player he will always be and Soto saw his rookie season as his MVP year). The only thing they have going for them is a new owner. Always true regardless...but it's REALLY better to be a Sox fan today. Drink well, my friends.

Wise stays. By yhe time Peavy's ready, we're a few days away from Sept. 1 roster expansions...so my guess is you drop one of the younger bullpen pitchers who has options, then bring him back in September. The roles Wise plays best (late inning defense and speed) are good components to have during the last month of a playoff run.

...two MLB topics specifically... 1. Steroid Scandal. I would like to see a timeline beginning at the beginning (when was that?), discussing use; spread; when it became a "look the other way" deal; how much managers, GMs, owners knew and when...going through the Mitchell Report; the '03 testing...up to current standards/testing; comparing MLBs stance to other pro sports...then looking to the future. 2. Inner Workings of a MLB Front Office I would like a better understanding of the paperwork, how trades go down, the roles/responsibilities/nuances of the business side of baseball, including the roles of agents and the MLB players union. I'd appreciate suggestions on either/both...documents, books, websites...any and all. Thanks.

This seems an appropriate place to throw this into discussion. What about Zach Duke? I think if I were Kenny, I'd approach the Pirates and ask for Duke and Sanchez...see what they'd want. As McLouth is now in Atlanta, Anderson might be a great fit...along with Richard or Poreda (or both) and a prospect or two. I would personally consider including Getz in a deal like this, too. Not sure about Sanchez' age, but an infield of Beckham, Ramirez, Sanchez, Konerko is great. And if we'd just go after Duke alone, what about Anderson and choice of Richard/Poreda for him? My 2 cents into trade speculation.

Heyman says, "The Jays will want one MLB-ready position player, one top pitching prospect who'll be ready by next year and at least a third top-of-the-line prospect, one competing executive said he heard." OK...so I'd offer... Alexei Ramirez Choice of Poreda and Richard Your choice of our minor leaguers not named Flowers And if it happnes this week, he's in a W. Sox uniform for the All-Star game in St. Louis

Josh Bard now available. Reports from many say the Red Sox released him and he's an unrestricted free agent.