Dick Allen

The Espn article claimed Burke was blocking the plate. He was not. It was a cheap shot. Hunter went out of his way to nail Burke. He would have arrived at the plate a little sooner had he just ran right in there was no play on him.

Its on sportingnews.com

Its from the Newark Star Ledger, and that's been about as accurate as the National Enquirer, but one of the Big Units agents supposedly demanded a trade to the Yankees and made veiled threats that Johnson would cause a lot of problems if the D-Backs don't honor the request. If this is true, Johnson, who won a World Series with Arizona, and seemingly has had no problems collecting a huge paycheck from them, (even last season when he was injured and horrible) is a spoiled brat. His agent Barry Meisser or whatever his name is, should be decertified if he made that threat. I guess $16-17 million a year doesn't buy gratitude or loyalty these days. Johnson is a world class jerk.

A guy I always liked and who may be available, although he is signed through next year is Dmitri Young. He can play a few positions, none very well, and can hit. I think he has played LF, RF, 3B, and 1B.

Wasn't that the argument the Sox had when the sent Wunsch down, that they had too many LH relievers? I'd take Eddie, his stats indicate better success against RH batters than LH this season. Of course, unless you are an All Star LH batter, you get pinch hit for when he is in the game.

I don't understand calling up Borchard and having him sit on the bench. The only way he is going to get better is to play.

The Sox core has major experience. Konerko, Lee, Valentin, Everett, Loaisa, Garcia, Buerhle. The Sox don't need any veteran leadership, they have it. One guy who provides said leadership is Mike Jackson, and do you want him on the mound when the game is on the line? The White Sox need guys that can get people out or guys who can drive in big runs. At this stage of the game, Olerud provides neither. He wasn't very good last year either.

He might not, but he should get the opportunity, unless KW goes and gets a veteran. Olerud is not a good idea in my mind for a couple of reasons. The first being, I don't think he can play anymore, and the second, acquiring him puts Everett back in the outfield. Not only is he even worse than last year out there (if you remember his attempts in LF against the White Sox a month ago) but he has been injured, and going back out in the field my make him aggrevate those injuries.

His veteran leadership has lead the Mariners to one of the worst records in baseball. He is done. The Mariners would rather pay him not to play, so they could look at a minor leaguer 3 years older than Borchard. Borchard's last stint wasn't so horrible. He easily could have had 3 or 4 more hits, and his average would have been well over .300.

Consistent and Willie Harris shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence. He started slowly, got real hot, and has pretty much done nothing since. He can be a good player, no doubt, but right now he isn't playing like a guy who could help you make the playoffs. Uribe is the same way, but he can fill in at 3rd and short. Uribe has a ton of talent, but his pattern of fading after a hot start seems to be holding true here.

I think KW was talking about Alomar. He wanted him back in the offseason. Alomar told Farmio in spring training he hoped the Sox traded for him at the deadline again. Harris and Uribe have been struggling offensively. If this continues the next week, KW will probably pick up Alomar for a bag of balls. Harris might be looking at more time in Charlotte. Who knows, maybe he gets Bautista and Alomar and gives up one of two, along with a average at best prospect.

The minor league season will be done by then. There won't be any rehab stints.

Does anyone know if the Sox have insurance on Magglio's contract? They might be able to recoup some of the cash they are paying him if he is unable to play. Maybe then they pick up a guy like Delgado, if its true he would play for the Sox.

Did this condition exist before he had surgery? Was the surgery botched, and this the result? Did this occur because he came back too soon?

If Magglio has issues with his knee at the end of the season, good luck trying to get his huge contract insured. Belle's unfortunate hip condition is one of the reasons contracts are a lot tougher to insure these days. This is probably going to cost Magglio a ton of money.

Hawk doesn't sound too optimistic about Maggs.

Nothing to be alarmed about? You send home a guy against a division rival. He obviously isn't well enough to even pinch hit. They are going to send him to the same doctors who said his prior injury would only keep him out of the line up a day or two. What are they going to find? If its minor, shouldn't Maggs be on the bench, with his team, being a good teammate? Frank gets lambasted by management, and he has a serious injury. Maggs should be held to those same standards if it is as minor as Herm is saying. I'm sorry, but I don't trust anything the White Sox medical staff has to say, that includes Herm. They haven't been very accurate this year. I just hope they are right this one time, and Magglio is back in the line up tomorrow night. We need him.

If they are sending him home, I think this could be a major problem. It has to be major if Maggs doesn't sit on the bench and act as a decoy. KW is probably punching holes in the wall. If he's leaving, he can't pinch hit. Is another stint on the DL looming?

I agree with you, something has to be done about the catching. Sandy has a AARP card, Davis hits worse than most pitchers, and Burke , although he has had a couple of big hits this season, is not a even a slight below average offensive catcher. With Burke or Davis in the line up, its almost as if the Sox are playing NL rules and batting the pitcher. Maybe Davis will turn it around, he has had stretches of success, but I'm not going to hold my breath. A catcher and middle reliever or even a closer like Guardado would be my preferences. Many question Benson's make up, they question whether he will be able the handle media in a bigger city or handle the pressure of a pennant race.

I was there in the 4th row, thanks 97.9. Sammy didn't know the crowd was booing the Cubs, he thought they were booing him. He was visibly hurt. The boos made me smile. That Hawks jersey was cool. Sammy made sure the guy who gave it to him got it back.

Funny how they have been discovered just as the Democratic National Convention is about to take place.

Maggs out with knee soreness

Its a bit of comic relief after watching the Sox offense against Oakland again.

I hope they yank Mulder.

Then maybe you should quit watching. If its such a negative experience for you, there are plenty of other ways to spend your valuable time.