Dick Allen

Just wait until a huge chunk of concrete falls at the Urinal, crashing through the protective netting. Marriotti will be writing about how nobody listened to him when he was calling for the dump to be torn down.

Evidently, ARod didn't, HE has to sign the contract. If ARod absolutely didn't want to play for Texas, he wouldn't have. Give me a break. Boras doesn't have that much power over these guys. They chase the money too.

I don't think ARod was open to switching positions in 2001.

He made a boat load more money than he would have made anywhere else, and seemed to enjoy his time there.

ARod doesn't want to play for the Yankees?

Considering 60% of that rotation was with the Yankees last year, and they couldn't win with a line up that is so superior to the line up the White Sox would field in 2005, I'm really not that impressed.

I really was hoping he was signed, but there may be legitimate reasons why he wasn't. KW could have talked to the pitching staff, and they might not want to throw to him. He may have talked to some of the players who may not want him around. Maybe they have information that would scare anyone away from signing him. Maybe he talked to him and AJ told him to buzz off. I am not a fan of KW, I think he overvalues his prospects and doesn't set realistic figures for signing free agents, but I have no doubt he is trying to improve the team. This seemed like a no-brainer, but maybe Davis has a breakout season. At least at one time, he was considered among the best if not the best catching prospect in baseball. I do know the Sox are going to need another catcher. There is no way Davis and Burke will be able to handle the job for 162 games.

He wasn't going to lose Davis. I'm sure they had some sort of idea what was going to happen when KW non-tendered him. They probably couldn't get the contract done by the deadline, and if KW offered him arbitration, the players association would have skewered him if he took a 33% cut. Plus, he has a chance to play a lot here. He might not find that anywhere else. If he plays like he played when he was hot, he will make a lot of money next year and beyond. If he hits like he did the rest of the season, you can take comfort in knowing the White Sox really are taking on a National League style, even having their ninth place hitter be an automatic out.

The fact that he did get hot last year, and the pitching staff seemed to like him would be reason, if the price was right. FWIW, just like AJ Piersinski, Ben Davis hasn't always had a stellar reputation as a teammate.

Ben Davis couldn't beat out Dan f***ing Wilson last year. Except for a one hot streak, where he was unbelievable, he couldn't hit sour apples on the White Sox either. The hot streak shows he has ability, so he may be worthwhile to keep as a back up. Thinking he could or should be an everyday catcher at this point is crazy, especially if you are expecting to contend.

I don't think losing Ben Davis would make much of a difference in the quest for a championship.

I predict Ben either signs for less than he made this year, or he gets non-tendered. What would he command on the open market?

He sucks. He always has sucked. He always will suck. Good riddance. Another $2.2 million for KW to play with.

The Twins signed Jones, LeCroy and Rivas, and offered arbitration to their other eligibles including Santana.

Oswalt was tendered.

I'm sure if the espn station in South Florida had information like this, they would share it with the station here. It probably is bogus, but Tampa Bay is supposed to have serious interest in AJ.

Rotoworld says DeAngelo Jimenez may be non-tendered.

Players can't get moved to Japan without their consent. Myette and/or his agent arranged the deal, and the Phillies picked up some cash.

A lot of his "buddies" on the Twins will be gone by the start of the season anyway. I agree with you.

The problem with contracting them is that they would have to contract another team as well, or teams would have 3 days off every now and then. I read somewhere they will wind up in Virginia, and not play at RFK if this latest issue isn't resolved. Las Vegas is the sleeping giant. As soon as either MLB or the NBA puts a team there, the other will quickly follow. I heard that when Las Vegas put their proposal to MLB together they had a little video presentation. During the presentation, when a member of the Vegas team hit a homer, the scoreboard played a giant slot machine coming up all 7's. That was frowned upon. I also heard that their stadium had a massive number of suites, and not that many seats figuring that the casino's would buy suites for their VIPs.

Marriotti wrote the other day that Clement wouldn't sign with the Sox because he knew what a screwed up situation it is. Now he says its because the Sox didn't pony up the cash. This guy is so full of s***.

They can demand a trade after the season, and if they are not traded by a certain date, I'm not sure of the date, but I think it may be March 1, they become a free agent and the remainder of their contract voided. Rick Reed did it with Minnesota a few years ago, and when it became apparent the Twins weren't going to be able to trade him and his market value was a lot lower than his current contract, he rescinded the demand. Considering the amount of Vazquez's contract, unless he had a Cy Young type season, he wouldn't want to give up all that money. If he had a Cy Young season, the Sox probably would have won something so he wouldn't want to leave.

But we're also counting on guys like Harris, and Gload and Davis to produce for a full season, which thus far they haven't done. Also, Uribe and Crede can't go into the prolonged funks they have gone into every season of their careers. Podsednick has to prove scouts and fans wrong, and prove he's not a total fluke. Jermaine Dye has to turn back the clock 4 or 5 years. Rowand can't drop off at all. Frank has to come back and be what he was in 2003 and the beginning of 2004 before his injury. He played injured a couple weeks and his average really dropped. He was around .300. If all those things happen, the Sox offense will still be middle of the pack at best in the AL. The pitching staff won't have any glaring weakness, unless there is an injury, but they aren't exactly loaded with dominant guys.

We also lost Magglio Ordonez, and Frank Thomas is going to be a huge question mark as to when he'll be ready to play, and at what level he'll be able to play. I don't know of many teams that have lost that much firepower in one offseason and still have been successful.

Vazquez has a lot of talent, but his 2004 season was very Garlandesque. Supposedly he has just a mechanical problem. The Yankees obviously couldn't correct it, can Don Cooper correct it? If its easily corrected that's one thing. If not or if he's hurt, Garland may be better than him all by himself, and he is $7 million a year cheaper. The other knock was that he couldn't handle the pressure of New York. If acquired, it would mean that 40% of the White Sox starting rotation couldn't handle the pressure of pitching in New York, yet they are supposed to lead the White Sox to the World Series? There has to be more to this.