thee sox

I think it's pretty ridiculous that this is all anyone talks about. a)It was a one game difference. It's not like the Twins owned us. b)Everything in the season series from wins, to runs, to ERA was so incredibly close, it was alarming. c)The Sox lead the division for the majority of the year. Besides a few times that the Twins lead for a half game (no more), the White Sox were on top. See, your argument can go both ways. There's never going to be a perfect system. Besides, will you be whining if you face the Cubs in the World Series and have home field advantage, even though the Cubs had a better record? Same thing. BTW, if you do face the Cubs, I hope you kick their asses.

Yep, the great fire sale, in which we traded Iguchi and Mackowiak. Danny Richar is in the plans as the 2B, Iguchi will be a free agent, and there are no compensatory picks.

I'd hope it's not even being agreed upon. That's a garbage deal for the White Sox. One guy who can't hit worth s***, and another that has fallen off the face of the Earth since last year. Pass, pass, pass.

I don't think a deal is done. Still no word anywhere else...most reports have Dye not even being asked to waive his NTC yet.

Dye still not asked to waive his NTC.

Whatever this means... I guess I don't speak moron.

Contreras will be available...you can have him for a bucket of balls if you'd like. We can send Juan Uribe over there too...still not much of an offensive player, but he gives some pop and goes on short tears...Gold Glove defense too.

If he's ready to make an impact now, then why has Tavarez been starting? You better believe it's going to take a ton for a proven veteran lefty (only 28, BTW), under contract for 4 years at under market value. Yes, that's top prospects...if you're not willing to pay, oh well...there are other teams that will (including, I think, the Yanks). We have other pieces that can be traded. Javy Vazquez is signed for the next 3 years at market value, Dye can net some return, Thome, Crede will be traded next year. It's not like Buehrle is the only guy worth a s*** on this team. When you sign your best pitcher under market value, you don't trade him; you build around him.

Well, that wasn't my point. I was only saying that his speed is the only thing that keeps him alive in CF. I know he has great speed, and I'm not taking that away from him. But it takes more than speed to be a great centerfielder (or outfielder for that matter). Brian Anderson has above average speed, at best, and is a much better fielder than Crisp. I'm not taking anything away from Crisp, I'm just saying that he is not a natural centerfielder; Brian Anderson is.

Well...maybe he took a few days off from getting great jumps on the ball against the White Sox. I was at all three of those games, and he definately was not getting great jumps off the bat, like a very good centerfielder can. If he didn't have that speed, he wouldn't survive out there, I guarantee it.

You do realize that Crisp gets a bad jump off those balls, and the only reason he makes that play is because of his speed? Coco Crisp is a CORNER outfielder, and that's where he should be. He definately is not a centerfielder, and if you think he's a better defensive centerfielder than Anderson, than I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're talking about. We have a guy that is about as good as centerfielder as Crisp: his name is Rob Mackowiak, and if he had the speed that Crisp did, he would be decent out there, just like Crisp. He doesn't and therefore he sucks in centerfield. Again: speed does not equal a good centerfielder.

Glad you agree, because Crisp for Buehrle would be a steal for the Red Sox. I'm sure Kenny Williams laughed in Epstein's face. Buehrle goes through these slumps at least once a year, and he'll be out of it soon enough. The last thing the White Sox need to do is trade starting pitching, especially good left-handed starting pitching for a centerfielder that we don't even need. Brian Anderson has been great lately, probably the hottest hitter on the team right now. Not only that, but Crisp doesn't even come close to matching up to Anderson defensively.

I'm not doubting that they can be impressive, but they haven't been. Cotts has been inconsistent. McCarthy has had some troubles moving from a starter to the pen. And Thornton is improving every time he goes out there, but still has bad outings here and there. But we've also had our problems with Cliff Politte, it doesn't look like Dustin Hermanson will ever pitch again, and Jeff Nelson went down with a season ending injury. So lately we've had two rookies in the pen, Sean Tracey and Agustin Montero, each of which you don't know what you're going to get out of them. Riske adds another righty to the pen, and I'm happy to see that. I'd rather see Riske out there than Tracey or Montero. Good luck with Lopez, I hope he succeeds.

Actually, the White Sox bullpen has been everything short of impressive. Jenks has been the only one with any consistency.

Sorry about the slow reply. I like it. We're giving up a minor leaguer that really had no shot to make our club, for a proven righty (probably our biggest need right now). I don't really know much about Lopez. He had a great spring, and would have made the team, but Boone Logan (who has since been sent down), had a better one. We've wanted him to come up for about a month now (he's pitched really well in Charlotte). What I hear, is he's always been able to own AAA, but has never gotten to the level that he can beat major league hitters on a regular basis. I wish him the best in Boston, though (except against the Sox).

What do you mean by "finish off"? If you're talking about walking the bases loaded...that was Damaso Marte, he resides in Pittsburgh now.

There is no proof to what is being speculated. He may have been sent down because they had the trade going down with you guys today. No one has any idea as to why he was getting yelled at, that's just total speculation on the part of ESPN.

Huh? What? Where is this coming from?? I really don't get what you're trying to say here. I guess I should just walk away because this has nothing to do with the conversation and I really don't know where you're going with this... Maybe you just wish Manny could leap into the stands and make a catch like that...I don't know?

If you think so, I guess we have different viewpoints on who a man is. To me, a man does not throw the first punch, especially a sucker punch, unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, what's the point? Just so you can say that you did? Be the man...take the hit, and keep playing the game.

Wrong, wrong, WRONG. First of all, Barrett DID NOT see him slap the plate. You guys are giving a lot of credit for Barrett getting into the moment, that's all AJ did when he slapped the plate. Secondly, AJ didn't say a thing. I don't know where you're getting this from, but there have NOT been any reports that AJ said something. Barrett "could not recall" and AJ said he did not say anything. Nothing has come out that he did, and I certainly did not see his lips moving. Let's run through this: -AJ runs over Barrett -Barrett is shaken up, AJ slaps the plate (which Barrett does not see) -Both AJ and Barrett stand up -AJ tries to walk around Barrett to fetch his helmet which flies off during the collision -Barrett stops him, and puts his arms around him -Barrett proceeds to sucker punch AJ -AJ backs off and Barrett goes on with his hissy fit, trying to lay one on Podsednik as well In conclusion, AJ is NOT the bad guy and he wasn't trying to start trouble. Where you're getting this stuff from, I have no idea...

A scapegoat? What are you talking about? People are talking up this punch by Barrett, which was a sucker punch; I was just pointing out the fact that Brian Anderson's punch was much better and probably left a good mark. There's nothing to use as a scapegoat, it was a sucker punch that never should have happened, Barrett is a punk. AJ gets a bad rap, and he's the one who was the bigger man and did back off. Barrett's unsportsman-like conduct is ridiculous, I can't believe you're defending the guy. He's the bad guy, he's the ass and the punk, not AJ.

News flash! Michael Barret HELD Pierzynski and then followed through with a sucker punch. Yeah...that takes a real man, my little sister could do what Barret just did. The real punch (which is hard to see) comes when Brian Anderson levels Barrett, right before he falls to the ground. Look at his face later, I bet you he has a bigger shiner than AJ does (if he even gets anything).

I don't understand that...this punch is WAY overrated. It was a sucker punch that didn't even draw any blood...yeah, he really got a piece of him and I'm sure AJ is crying about it right now.