VAfan

How can anyone be a Sox fan and think Rose should be reinstated?? We lost our whole team to a lifetime ban. Yet it was the right move. Rose bet on baseball games as a manager, which directly affects the integrity of the game. What has he done to redeem himself?? Absolutely nothing. If you let Rose back in, then Shoeless Joe and all the other Sox were sacrificed for NOTHING. It would completely undermine baseball's "death penalty." Charlie Hustle is really Charlie Hustler. He's about my all time least favorite person in baseball.

His release point seemed to be way off, but I would chalk that up to nerves and his long travel. Plus Sandy didn't set up for anything over the plate to help him out. I hope they give him a second chance. He should be a lot more relaxed with his debut out of the way. And Wright looked better out of the pen than as a starter. In 5 days, Wright could back Cotts up again if he needs it.

I vote for giving the kid another start. If he does this again, then maybe he's not ready. But this could all be chalked up to 1) nerves, 2) long travel, and 3) no advance time to work with his catcher (who called way too many borderline pitches). I'd be a lot more worried if they hit the ball hard. But the only damaging hit was a jam job blooper. He induced two double plays and they swung through pitches that were in the zone. Plus, Wright proved his value out of the pen.

I think the Sox could really lay it on Anaheim and Texas over the next week. While KC is hosting the Yanks and then the Twins, now is a golden opportunity for the Sox to put some distance on our two rivals. Anaheim's offense is weak and their pitching suspect. Texas may hit better, but can't compete with our starters. And Neal Cotts is ready to finally make us 5 strong in the starting corps. Anyone else think we can spank these Western clubs?

I disagree. KW wasn't selling, period. White Flag II wasn't happening this year any more than the Sox were going to fire Jerry Manuel. As bad as it's looked this year, I've never lost faith and I don't think KW did either. Instead, he made some wise moves to strengthen the club. Moving Wright to the pen and bringing up Cotts is just the latest of those wise moves.

If we take em one at a time, we could win them all.

When Frank does get hot with the bat after picking up his glove, will JM finally see the light and play him there enough to keep him hot through October?? The splits are unbelievable.

I just want to win it all this year, and this team could do it.

The Twins/Royals match ups over the next two weeks will determine who our main threat will be in September. But if the Sox keep the pedal to the metal, it won't really matter. If we play our game, we could, and should, steadily pull away.

Right now, it's looking like Neal Cotts is going to get his major league debut Tuesday in Anaheim after all. GO NEAL!! GO SOX!!! Neal is going to be key for us down the stretch. And so is Danny Wright out of the pen. And I expect that both may play a positive role for us in the postseason. This is so much the right move for the Sox.

This is tremendous news about Neal Cotts! Go out there and slay the Angels, Neal! We're all pulling for you big time. I think Cotts may be the final piece to the puzzle this year. It not only helps our rotation (especially given Garland's shaky last outing), but with Danny Wright moved to the pen, adds perhaps the best right handed arm we could get out there at this late date. And both can be in the postseason mix. It is just an amazing year for the Sox. Despite woeful play in the first half, KW continued to believe in the team (as I did) and became a trade deadline BUYER, swinging both Robby Alomar and Carl Everett. Neither paid dividends before the All Star Game, but once they were assimiliated, both have played key roles in our resurgence. KW then added Schoney, who will also come around. And, unlike past years when we might have remained too cautious, finally brought up Neal "lights out" Cotts to strengthen the one hole left in our starting staff. And we've got a 3-way race to make sure we keep building our intensity right into October. This is our year Sox fans. Keep believing in the BIG prize.

Maggs went from on fire to ice cold. What happened? And when will he regain his hot stroke?

Yes I saw Danny out of the bullpen. Over on the MLB site they have the following cryptic comments on who the 5th starter might be. I'd say it gives us some hope it will be Cotts as early as Tuesday. Get better Miguel!!! ******************* It also signifies the need for a fifth starter. As of Saturday, Danny Wright was penciled in to make his 13th start in Tuesday night’s game against Anaheim. But White Sox manager Jerry Manuel used Wright for one scoreless inning of relief in Saturday’s 7-2 loss to Oakland, re-creating a question mark at No. 5. “I haven’t decided yet, but I will know more after (Sunday’s) game,” Manuel said of Wright, who mentioned he still could start Tuesday if Manuel made the call. “We would like to see Danny out of the bullpen a little bit, and if he responds well to that, we could make a change on the fifth starter.” Possible candidates range from Neal Cotts, the dominating left-handed rookie currently pitching for Double-A Birmingham and Ryan Kohlmeier at Triple-A Charlotte. There’s also the chance White Sox general manager Kenny Williams could pull off a waiver-wire deal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If the bullpen is not right, it doesn’t do us any good to go to a four-man rotation." -- Jerry Manuel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But with that starter not needed much after these next two weeks, Manuel once again was questioned about eventually moving to a four-man rotation. Manuel has pointed out that great steps have been taken to keep Esteban Loaiza, Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colon and Jon Garland fresh for the stretch drive. But for the idea to come to fruition, Manuel believes that things have to first be righted in the bullpen. “If the bullpen is not right, it doesn’t do us any good to go to a four-man rotation,” Manuel said. “You won’t let a guy throw 100-plus pitches if he’s on four-man, so the bullpen better be ready to go. If the depth comes back in our bullpen like we think that we have, then it’s a possibility. “I don’t think we need 12 or 13 relievers to make it work,” added Manuel, who is working with a five-man bullpen and a 10-man pitching staff. “I think the relievers we have now, if everything can work out, are more than enough.” For now, Manuel appears to be looking at a fifth starter by committee, depending on Wright’s relief needs over the next two weeks. “We will insert some people in the fifth spot for a while,” Manuel said. “You hope to get by with it and hope to really hit on that particular day. You also know that you have another quality (starter) after and before that spot.”

Walks kill you if you then give up the 3-run HR. Cotts hasn't done that.

While all you Cotts' naysayers are quibbling, Jimmy Gobble is throwing his second consecutive shutout of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have killed most other KC pitchers. (Gobble finally gave up a run in his 13th inning over two starts.) Wake up!! An unknown pitcher up from AA is likely to win two key games for KC and put them back in first place. Neal Cotts has pitched MUCH BETTER than Jimmy Gobble this year. Right now, Neal Cotts would be our 4th best starter. I guarantee he would pitch better than Jon Garland.

As a long time Sox fan, I don't care about publicity. All I care about is WINNING. I think it would be great for the Sox to meet the Cubs in the World Series. After all, can you think of a NL team the Sox would do better against?

Harden's due for a letdown. Let's open a can of whuppass on him.

Of all the trade deadline and post deadline deals, the one that concerns me the most is Jeff Nelson to the Yankees for Armando Benitez. Nelson was one of the good luck charms that helped the Yanks to 4 WS wins in 5 years. He's murder as a set up guy against right handers (anyone notice that is what our team is loaded with?). Benitez, on the other hand, was a blown save waiting to happen every time he took the mound. And what gets me is the Sox had to pass on Nelson -- who'd look mighty fine in a Sox uniform right about now -- for the Yanks to get him. (I can't believe Boston also didn't step in to block it.) If the Sox face the Yankees in October, we'll just have to pound the Yankee starters so Nelson isn't a factor.

To my way of thinking, bringing up Cotts offers nothing but upside for the Sox. If Cotts is beaten, it is hard to say our chances would have been any better with winless Danny Wright. If Cotts wins, not only have we won an important game, but we've begun to learn about and establish a second lefty starter for our rotation. And if Cotts knocks em dead like he's been doing in AA, we could have a valuable addition to our postseason roster. In addition, it opens up a chance for Danny Wright to bring his hard stuff out of the pen, where we need another righty option behind Tom Gordon if Koch doesn't get it together. Seems like potential plusses all the way around.

But if Jimmy Gobble can do it, and Dontrelle Willis, and Mark Buehrle, and a lot of other pitchers who have come up late and won a few games (remember Kip Wells?), there is no reason to believe Neal Cotts can't do it. His minor league numbers are probably better than most of those guys and I'm serious when I say by the time they figure him out, he'll be gone. Just think how many first time starters the Sox have had trouble with. I don't understand why teams don't do this more often. Unknown pitchers have an advantage their first time around the league. After that, if they've got it, they'll survive. Cotts should be good on both accounts. We know what Wright is giving us and we can't continue to afford those losses.

Exactly! In 4 or 5 starts, Neal Cotts would be like a sneak attack on opposing hitters. By the time they start to figure him out, he's gone.

Thanks for the numbers Southsider. I expect those numbers could be improved if he wasn't "pacing" himself for a 5-6 inning outing. Also, do you have his right/lefty splits? With 3 lefties, we may not need him except to get out some critical right handers. I wouldn't make him closer, but he could make a nice power pitching right handed option.

Well said. We're certainly both on board regarding Cotts. I just hope the Sox see the light.

Walks, schmalks. Don't you guys care that no one gets a hit off him?? 60 hits in 100 innings? Only 2 HR? 127 Ks? Jimmy Gobble just came up for KC and threw 6 shut out innings in a game KC won. And he's given up almost a hit an inning in AA, plus 40 walks and a lot fewer Ks. It's a fantasy to think Cotts is going to get shelled.

Everett hasn't smoked the ball, but he has had a lot of "big" hits in our recent run of success. On an earlier Everett post I pointed to 4 games out of 12 we won where he was critical. 1. 4-3 win over Cleveland. Got the 2-run single in the 3rd to put us back on top after Porzio gave up 3 runs. No other runs scored in game. 2. Game against Detroit, I believe. Drew an intentional walk to load the bases. Konerko was hit in the cup to drive in the winning run. 3. Escobar start in Toronto. Got key double after rain delay that led to 2 Sox runs to tie. We won 4-3 in 13 innings. 4. Singled ahead of Konerko 2-run dinger against KC that put us ahead 5-3. KC tied us at 5, but we won 8-6 in 12. After that he drove in 5 runs in 12-1 rout of Seattle, which was only victory in that series. As a lefty in the middle of the lineup, he has helped alot with key hits and by forcing the other team to adjust. His defense and errant throws have hurt, but his jump on balls has improved with more time out there. Overall he's been a plus, especially since the alternative wouldn't be Rowand but some kind of Rowand/Harris platoon. Blech.