Lip Man 1
10-20-2002, 05:31 PM
This week's "The Sporting News" has a bunch of stuff on the Sox or potentially involving them. I pass it along, as a single post, FYI.....
From the column called Scout’s Views : "You’ve got to be careful with someone like Kenny Lofton . Someone will wind up giving him money and he’ll die on them in June if he’s not on a winning team. He’s too up and down, a good player on a good team, but a bad make up guy on a bad team." (Hmmm, think back to this past June, Sox fans...is this another judgmental error by Kenny Williams?)
From Ken Rosenthal’s column called Inside Dish : "How sweet it was for Twins LHP Eddie Guardado to retire the A’s Ray Durham for the final out of the Division Series. In February, when Durham was still with the White Sox, he said he was "not worried" about the Twins duplicating their 2001 success. After the Game #5 clincher, he told his agent, Kevin Kohler, "I didn’t have a whole lot, but he was going to get what I had. I wasn’t going to let him beat me."
Rosenthal also has this in the same section: "Look for the Yankees, Mariners and Reds to pursue RHP Bartolo Colon if MLB forces the Expos to dump salaries. The Expos, owned by MLB, will increase the payroll from 36 to an estimated 55 million if they keep their roster intact. The other 29 clubs would never allow such a boost, and their hard line stance might force the Expos into deals involving Colon, C Michael Barrett and RHP Javier Vazquez and Tony Armas Jr." (Hmmmm...the Sox could use ANY of those four guys couldn’t they? But don’t get your hopes up, that would cost $$$$$)
Rosenthal also takes a weekly fan’s question, here is what he got this week: "The White Sox have a ton of young talent performing at the major league level and many of their veterans were written off too soon- reliever Keith Foulke, for example. Was their late season surge for real, or will they struggle again in 2003?–Darius Kellner, Boulder, Colorado.
Here’s his answer: "Baseball men warn against trusting anything you see from non contenders in September, believing that their performances with expanded rosters are as meningless as spring training games. That said, there is no doubt the White Sox became a better team after getting younger. They won 22 of their last 34 games, sweeping the Twins and taking two out of three from the Yankees and the Red Sox. The White Sox principal need, for the third straight off season , is a top of the rotation starter. David Wells injured his back two years ago, and Todd Ritchie flopped this season. The middle infield defense is also a concern, even though the Sox have three players, D’Angelo Jimenez, Jose Valentin and Willie Harris for two positions. But if the Sox find another starter and their younger players continue to develop, they should return to contention next season." (Hmmmm....that’s a TON of "if’s" for a supposed contenting team isn’t it?)
Finally in the Sox weekly report, authored by Scot Gregor , he says this: "Despite RHP Todd Ritchie’s dismal year, the team is very interested in bringing him back. Ritchie, who seemed to straighten out his mechanics in the last two weeks of the season, wants to return next year and prove he’s a better pitcher. The team will probably cut ties with C Mark Johnson . With Miguel Olivo positioned to take over as the starter, there’s not much of a need for Johnson. Also, the team is tired of watching Johnson struggle at the plate. Josh Paul is likely to back up Olivo, unless the team decides a low priced veteran is a better option behind an inexperienced starter." (Hmmmm...seems like another season with a "black hole" behind the plate!)
Lip
From the column called Scout’s Views : "You’ve got to be careful with someone like Kenny Lofton . Someone will wind up giving him money and he’ll die on them in June if he’s not on a winning team. He’s too up and down, a good player on a good team, but a bad make up guy on a bad team." (Hmmm, think back to this past June, Sox fans...is this another judgmental error by Kenny Williams?)
From Ken Rosenthal’s column called Inside Dish : "How sweet it was for Twins LHP Eddie Guardado to retire the A’s Ray Durham for the final out of the Division Series. In February, when Durham was still with the White Sox, he said he was "not worried" about the Twins duplicating their 2001 success. After the Game #5 clincher, he told his agent, Kevin Kohler, "I didn’t have a whole lot, but he was going to get what I had. I wasn’t going to let him beat me."
Rosenthal also has this in the same section: "Look for the Yankees, Mariners and Reds to pursue RHP Bartolo Colon if MLB forces the Expos to dump salaries. The Expos, owned by MLB, will increase the payroll from 36 to an estimated 55 million if they keep their roster intact. The other 29 clubs would never allow such a boost, and their hard line stance might force the Expos into deals involving Colon, C Michael Barrett and RHP Javier Vazquez and Tony Armas Jr." (Hmmmm...the Sox could use ANY of those four guys couldn’t they? But don’t get your hopes up, that would cost $$$$$)
Rosenthal also takes a weekly fan’s question, here is what he got this week: "The White Sox have a ton of young talent performing at the major league level and many of their veterans were written off too soon- reliever Keith Foulke, for example. Was their late season surge for real, or will they struggle again in 2003?–Darius Kellner, Boulder, Colorado.
Here’s his answer: "Baseball men warn against trusting anything you see from non contenders in September, believing that their performances with expanded rosters are as meningless as spring training games. That said, there is no doubt the White Sox became a better team after getting younger. They won 22 of their last 34 games, sweeping the Twins and taking two out of three from the Yankees and the Red Sox. The White Sox principal need, for the third straight off season , is a top of the rotation starter. David Wells injured his back two years ago, and Todd Ritchie flopped this season. The middle infield defense is also a concern, even though the Sox have three players, D’Angelo Jimenez, Jose Valentin and Willie Harris for two positions. But if the Sox find another starter and their younger players continue to develop, they should return to contention next season." (Hmmmm....that’s a TON of "if’s" for a supposed contenting team isn’t it?)
Finally in the Sox weekly report, authored by Scot Gregor , he says this: "Despite RHP Todd Ritchie’s dismal year, the team is very interested in bringing him back. Ritchie, who seemed to straighten out his mechanics in the last two weeks of the season, wants to return next year and prove he’s a better pitcher. The team will probably cut ties with C Mark Johnson . With Miguel Olivo positioned to take over as the starter, there’s not much of a need for Johnson. Also, the team is tired of watching Johnson struggle at the plate. Josh Paul is likely to back up Olivo, unless the team decides a low priced veteran is a better option behind an inexperienced starter." (Hmmmm...seems like another season with a "black hole" behind the plate!)
Lip