But if the Minor League phenom joined the 25,000 people celebrating the White Sox first World Series title since 1917 at some point during the three days, he probably would have joined with the fans presenting the numerous standing ovations to playoff hero/baseball rock star Joe Crede. It's a bit ironic that Fields, the franchise's first-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, has nothing but the highest admiration for the man he eventually could replace at third base.

"He was great, not just hitting, but he always has a great glove," said Fields, in a recent interview with MLB.com, when questioned specifically about Crede's postseason contributions. "He made some unbelievable plays and saved a lot of runs.

"It was exciting to watch him play, and Joe set the standards higher for White Sox third basemen. It extends to me to live up to that standard."

When the White Sox open Cactus League action on March 1 against Colorado in Tucson Electric Park, Crede will be the team's starting third baseman. When Chicago hosts its American League Central rival from Cleveland to open the 2006 regular season on the night of April 2, Crede will be holding down the hot corner at U.S. Cellular Field.

And when the White Sox receive their World Series rings two days later, prior to the first afternoon affair of the 2006 campaign, the ovation for Crede will be one of the loudest of the ceremony. Crede has earned every round of applause and ever moment of praise heaped upon him.

Without Crede's production during the final six weeks of the season, the White Sox might not be celebrating the momentous event capped off by Orlando Palmeiro's pinch-hit grounder up the middle in Houston. He staved off Cleveland's miraculous momentum to capture the AL Central with a walk-off home run against the Indians' David Riske on Sept. 20, and won the second game of the American League Championship Series with a walk-off double.

Crede, who turns 28 on April 26, hit .289 with three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBIs during 12 postseason games, arguably making him the team's Most Valuable Player during that run. The celebratory reactions heaped upon Crede due to that particular success can be a little overwhelming for the low-key Missouri native with the sardonic wit. On Saturday afternoon at SoxFest, prior to a question-and-answer session with the fans to talk about World Series memories, Crede poked his head out from behind the curtain before Paul Konerko or Jon Garland stepped forward to the stage.

The crowd responded with an immediate standing ovation. Crede smiled and stepped back behind the stage. As a .252 hitter in 2005, and as the owner of a .255 career mark, Crede also has seen the wrath of the passionate White Sox faithful.

His late-inning heroics have become legendary in just three full Major League seasons. Consistency now is the word Crede will be searching for in 2006.

"It was an up and down year," said Crede of his 22-home run, 62-RBI production in 2005, which also included flawless defense, battling through three herniated discs in his lower back and a trip to the disabled list from Aug. 26 to Sept. 10 with a fracture in the tip of his right middle finger. Crede hit .379 once he returned for the season's final month.

"When I was on the disabled list, I sat back and worked on my swing," Crede added. "We changed a few things, and it helped me relax at the plate and it showed on the field. I'm going to take the same approach going into this year, but my confidence is that much higher after ending on a strong note."

There were times in the past when a slump would send Crede into a silent funk, with the struggles becoming as much mental as they were mechanical. Push forward to 2006, when Crede joined with Aaron Rowand and A.J. Pierzynski as part of the "Three Stooges," as dubbed by hitting coach Greg Walker. The nickname is self-explanatory.

Fields, 23, is learning that same mental toughness as he develops. The third baseman completed his first full season of baseball with Double-A Birmingham in 2005, by posting a .252 average with 16 home runs and 79 RBIs. The former All-Big 12 quarterback for Oklahoma State needs to work on his plate discipline after striking out 142 times in 477 at-bats. But learning to handle slumps and work his way free of them was Fields' biggest accomplishment.

"When you are playing that many games, you can't get down on yourself," said Fields, who also battled a right knee problem in 2005. "There is so much more than just playing, and I really learned a lot this year.

"You want to give 100 percent every day, but some days you just won't be feeling good. After a 16-hour bus ride, it's hard to go out there, but you still have to give it all you can on that day. If you think back and get mad at yourself, it starts to carry over to the next at-bat or next game."

When position players report to Spring Training on Feb. 22, Fields will be making his second straight appearance as a non-roster invitee. He won't make the White Sox in 2006 and probably not in 2007 either. Instead, he will work on learning more about baseball and his individual game, while studying one of the best defensive third baseman in all of baseball.

Crede, who avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $2.675 million deal, and is under White Sox control through 2008, simply will try to build on last year's amazing finish. There are no plans to look back to see who is gaining on him, as he races full speed ahead. At this point, his only uncertainty is whether that finish line remains on the South Side of Chicago.

"Baseball is a funny game, and you never know what will happen with trades and stuff," said Crede, who describes his recent contract negotiations as "very harmless and painless." "But I'm not going to look back and see who is behind me.

"I'm a guy who is going to look ahead. I'll look to the future and play my game. I won't play to not get beat out of a position. I'm going to play my game, relax and help this team win ballgames and hopefully another championship."

Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I live in Tucson, so if anyone has a question please feel free to
ask.  I will have an answer or can find it for you.
P.S.  The March 18 game against the Cubs is sold out




--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Phillips"
<markp8867@g...> wrote:
>
> So who all is going to Spring Training in Tucson this year?  It
should
> be fun and you should be able to get some good autographs and
pictures
> of the players too.  What a great year to go down there!
>
> ________________________________
>
>
> Fan Guide: Chicago White Sox
> Tucson Electric Park, Tucson, Ariz.
> By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
>
<http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/ticketing/index.jsp>
> <javascript:emailThisPage(email_date, email_headline, email_byline,
> email_team, email_url, email_blurb)>
> Since 1998, when the White Sox moved their Spring Training base from
> Sarasota, Fla., to Tucson, the team has arrived out west with just
one
> American League Central title in hand, that after the 2000 campaign.
> Winning the franchise's first World Series title since 1917 this
past
> season should turn the White Sox into one of the hottest tickets in
> Arizona come this March.
>
> While a championship team now will be on display, a few of the
familiar
> faces have moved on to other organizations. Frank Thomas, the
> centerpiece of the franchise for close to two decades, no longer is
with
> the team, while popular center fielder Aaron Rowand was moved to
> Philadelphia in an offseason trade.
>
> But fans still can watch mainstays such as slugging first baseman
Paul
> Konerko, third baseman Joe Crede and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, not to
> mention newcomers such as Jim Thome and Rob Mackowiak. Manager Ozzie
> Guillen also makes liberal use of his young players, meaning Minor
> League standouts such as outfielder Ryan Sweeney and third baseman
Josh
> Fields also will be on display.
>
> In Guillen's second year as manager, the White Sox finished one win
> short of equaling the club record for victories with 99. They
followed
> up that effort with 11 wins in 12 post-season games, sweeping the
Astros
> for the World Series title. The White Sox enter 2006 with 16 wins in
> their last 17 games and are coming off of a 14-18 Cactus League
record
> with an overall home attendance of 76,874 over 15 games in 2005.
>
> As White Sox fans continue the celebration of their championship and
> prepare for the 2006 effort to repeat, here are some questions and
> answers that should help:
>
> When do the White Sox arrive at camp?
> White Sox pitchers are scheduled to report on Fri., Feb. 17, with
the
> first workout coming on Saturday. Thome also has been cleared by
Major
> League Baseball to report early with the pitchers. Position players
> report on Wed., Feb. 22, with the first full-team workout on Thurs.,
> Feb. 23.
>
> When do games start?
> The first game of Cactus League action begins with the White Sox
playing
> host to Colorado at Tucson Electric Park on March 1 at 1:05 p.m.
MT. The
> team's only split-squad action of the spring takes place the
following
> day, with half the team at Hi Corbett Field to play the Rockies and
the
> other half at home against the Diamondbacks. Guillen's crew only has
> nine games out of the Tucson area, including a stop at HoHoKam Park
on
> Mon., March 27. The White Sox play host to the Cubs on Sat., March
18.
>
> How do I get tickets?
> Tickets for White Sox Cactus League contests went on sale on Jan.
14,
> and they can be purchased at the Tucson Electric Park box office, by
> calling (520) 434-1111 or (866) 672-1343 (toll free), by mail order
to
> the TEP box office or online at www.whitesox.com
>
<http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/spring_training/y2006/tick
et
> s.jsp?c_id=cws> .
>
> Tucson Electric Park has a capacity of 11,500, including 3,000 lawn
> seats in the outfield, and a great view of the Catalina Mountains.
There
> also are 3,800 parking spots on site, and the complex is
conveniently
> located near Tucson International Airport. The concession stands
feature
> various options, from pizza to Mexican food.
>
> Where is Tucson, and how do I get there?
> If you are flying in from Chicago, Tucson Electric Park actually is
> located just 10 minutes away from Tucson International Airport.
There
> are plenty of non-stop flights from Chicago to Tucson, on airlines
> varying from American to Southwest, departing out of both O'Hare and
> Midway. The flight covers about four hours, picking up one hour on
the
> trip out West. Flights also exist with stopovers in Las Vegas, for
those
> who are interested.
>
> Another option is to fly into Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport and then
make
> the 90-minute to two-hour drive into Tucson, depending on the
traffic.
> To get to Tucson Electric Park, stay on I-10 and exit at Ajo
Parkway.
> The complex, which is shared by the White Sox and the Diamondbacks,
is
> located just minutes off the highway. Ample parking is available
outside
> the ballpark.
>
> How can I watch the team work out?
> Most of the White Sox pre-Cactus League workouts start at 9 a.m. and
> last until about 12:30 or 1 p.m. Guillen's philosophy is to get his
team
> in and out very quickly, taking care of business but not wasting any
> time. The workouts take place on the Minor League fields behind the
> White Sox facility at the Kino Sports Complex, and fans can get very
> close to the field, although they're separated by a guard rope.
>
>
>
>
> Workouts are free, but once the games begin, they are generally
limited
> to Minor League participants. These back fields also are the
location
> for "B" Games, which feature a combination of Minor Leaguers and
> veterans the team wants to get a little extra action outside of the
> Cactus League games. These "B" Games usually take place in the
morning.
>
> Where can I get some autographs?
> The best way to get autographs before Cactus League play begins is
get
> the players' attention before they actually leave the back fields.
> Remember to be polite and do a little homework of your own
beforehand.
> Screaming out, "Hey, No. 24. Can I have your autograph?" won't get
quite
> the same response as calling Joe Crede by name.
>
> Once the games begin, there is a walkway between the White Sox
complex
> and Tucson Electric Park where the players exit after they are done
for
> the day. There's a fence separating the fans from the players, but
you
> can still squeeze a baseball or a baseball card or two through the
> openings.
>
> What else is there to do in Tucson?
> Tucson is a very picturesque area, offering wide-ranging
entertainment
> options to satisfy even the pickiest of fans. There are high-end
> steakhouses, such as McMahon's on Swan, and there are great sports
> bars/restaurants such as Fox and Hound and Risky Business, which are
> prime locations to watch NCAA Tournament games.
>
> There is plenty of good shopping in this college town, which
features
> the University of Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico, is just a short one-
hour
> trip from Tucson. There are even some casinos -- the Desert Diamond,
> Casino Del Sol and Casino of the Sun -- for those who want to play
a few
> hands of blackjack in between White Sox games.
>
> For more information on Tucson, visit the city's convention and
visitors
> bureau's web site.: www.visittucson.org
>
> When do the White Sox open the regular season?
> It seems only fitting that the defending World Series champion
plays the
> first game of the 2006 regular season, as the White Sox host their
chief
> American League Central competitors from Cleveland on Sun., April
2, at
> 7:05 p.m. The ring ceremony will take place on Tues., April 4, at
1:05
> p.m., prior to the team's first day game.
>
> Scott Merkin <mailto:scott.merkin@m...>  is a reporter for MLB.com.
> This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball
or
> its clubs.
>

I am a White Sox fan, not an individual player fan.  I did like Frank
as a Sox player and wish him well, but he's gone.  We have a world
series championship team now, and a good chance to repeat.  But for
years people have been torn on Frank Thomas, I personally liked him.
All the Thomas bashers are going to do now is find someone else to
bash.  Who's it going to be?  Some people need to see it for what it
is, A GAME!  This still bitching about Frank is why we as Sox fans get
a bad rap.  We're always looking at the glass as half empty.  If you
want something to complain about, get on all those front runner fans.
The Cub fans who wanted to see a world series game, knowing they'll
never see one in Wrigley, and bought there way in.  I know I wasn't
the only one who noticed during the ALCS and the world series games
the lack of White Sox appearal in the stands.  If you wanna be mad at
anyone, get mad at them when you can't get a good seat for a single
game, because they got the tickets screwed up.  If you didn't get a
season ticket package, bring your parachute.

That's right Bobby, the A's are only paying him $500,000 this year.
Does that give us a clue as to Oaklands confidence in him?  They're
rolling the dice.  He also can earn up to 1.2 mil. in performance
incentives.  Incentives for 10, 20 and 30 HR's; 100, 200 and 300 at
bats and incentives for games played and batting average.

Unfortunately, I do not get to see many of the Sox games because my
cable company dropped WGN awhile back.  Needless to say...I was
livid!  Hopefully I will get to see more games this year via national
feed because, after all, the Sox are the WS Champs!!  I live about 60
miles East of Oakland (as the crow flies), and get mucho A's games
here.  It will be interesting to watch how Frank does, especially when
the Sox visit.

New dad Rob Mackowiak had a Friday to remember, with two homers and a new son. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

The birth of his first child, a walk-off grand slam in the first game of a doubleheader, a game-tying home run in the nightcap of the second game -- it's tough to pack much more excitement into a single day.

"To win both games and to do what happened was unbelievable," said Mackowiak. "Then I got to home and I got to hold my son. It made my night even better."

Mackowiak, a former 53rd round draft pick who was demoted to the minor leagues in 2003 after hitting below .200 to start the year, found it hard to believe that he was featured as the top story Friday night on 'Sportscenter'.

"It's amazing," said Mackowiak. "You never put your feet in those shoes. You think it [happens to Brian] Giles or [Gary] Sheffield or guys like that. Not you."

A Chicago-area native and lifelong White Sox fan, Mackowiak admitted that having the games of his life against the Cubs was special, even if it meant a lot of ribbing from his friends back home.

"It meant a lot when I got about 50 phone calls from my boys at home saying, 'You [jerk], why did you have to do it to [the Cubs]?'"

Mackowiak saved a few mementos from Friday to give to his son, Garrett, including scorecards from each game.

"It's something to show him years from now or to have it hanging around your house," said Mackowiak.

After heading home from the ballpark Friday night just long enough to let his dog out, Mackowiak returned to the hospital to spend the night with his wife, Jennifer, and Garrett. He didn't leave until around 7 a.m. Saturday, after Jennifer had surgery to remove a kidney stone.

Just as he had the night before, Mackowiak showed up at PNC Park on Saturday wearing a hospital bracelet. He doesn't plan to take it off any time soon.

"I left it on and felt that maybe it would bring me some good luck," said Mackowiak. "I guess it did. I'm going to leave it on until things fall off."

Burnett ready for debut: On the eve of his Major League debut, southpaw Sean Burnett arrived at PNC Park on Saturday anxious to get his big league career underway.

"It's really exciting," said Burnett. "It's the dream of every little kid growing up. Tomorrow, my dream is going to come true.

"It's a special day for the family. They get to watch their little boy on the mound in a big league game. It's a big thrill for everybody."

Burnett, the organization's two-time Pitcher-of-the-Year and the Bucs' No. 1 draft pick in 2000, nearly made the jump directly from Double-A during Spring Training. The 21-year-old was among three finalists for the fifth spot in the Pirates' rotation before being optioned to Triple-A just prior to the start of the season.

Burnett believes that the intense spring competition will serve him well in preparation for his first big-league start.

"It's going to help me a lot," Burnett said. "The maturity thing of hanging in there until the end and then having the disappointment at the end is something you are going to grow from and learn from."

Burnett's debut Sunday will be the most highly anticipated start by a Pirates rookie since Kris Benson took the mound against the Chicago Cubs on April 9, 1999. For his part, Burnett has done his best to ignore the hype.

"I don't get into too much of that," said Burnett. "It is good that people are following me and they want to see me. But I am just going to go out and pitch my game and see what happens."

Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, who was impressed by Burnett's poise as much as his excellent sinker and pinpoint control this spring, does not believe that the buildup will affect the young left-hander.

"I saw great makeup [this spring]. Nothing fazed him," said McClendon. "I think he is going to be a good one."

Quote of the Day: "I said in Spring Training that this was going to be the toughest division in baseball. The good thing about being .500, we're in last place, but a week from now we could be in first. We're just two back in the loss column." -- McClendon on the highly-competitive National League Central Division.

Ed Eagle is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Well I'm sure that's true about the trade shows but there has to be a
free weekend in there somewhere.  Once they get it for one year, they
can probably get it for every year after.  There are also convention
areas being built in Lombard and Schaumburg as well.  Maybe they will
change things in the future but I doubt it.

That's funny about there being less parking.  The Hyatt charges $39
per day and the Hilton charges $29.  So at least if you do get a
parking spot you will save some money lol.


--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, Mike Pietrusinski
<petrohd@g...> wrote:
>
> I'll agree with the hotel part for Soxfest in Rosemont, but it
would be next
> to impossible to get Soxfest scheduled - why?  this is a very busy
time of
> year for trade shows and so on.  I work for a company that helps
some of
> these associations put on their trade shows and looking at the
calendars for
> both McCormick and Rosemont, both are very busy up until the latter
part of
> the spring...
>
> One thing about parking near Palmer House next year....lot less
spaces in
> the area than at the Hyatt Regency....
>
> Mike P.
>

Yes Saturday was horrible especially if you were getting autographs.
When I first got down there they were handing out wristbands for
Jermaine Dye and people who weren't in line came out of nowhere
causing a near stampede trying to snag a wristband.  After seeing
that, I couldn't imagine how nuts it was going to be for Paulie so I
just got out of there, went upstairs to the seminar and Crede
autograph session in the ballroom, and never returned to the lower
level.  I have so many Paulie autographs that I don't need one but
I'd like to get a World Series baseball signed by him though.  Maybe
someday!

They had the best seminars on Saturday though and it's always fun to
see the stuff at the Garage Sale upstairs.  They were selling
autographed Aaron Rowand baseballs for only $15 each which was a
great deal since the ball alone without an autograph sells for $15.
They also had Carl Everett, Willie Harris, and a few others too.  I
liked the game worn Frank Thomas jersey they had with the World
Series logo on it.  He wore it during the first game for the player
introductions and it was going for $800.

You could also get your picture taken with the World Series Trophy
upstairs but the lines were always really long for that of course.  I
didn't bother going to the family party on Saturday or maybe they
didn't even have one, I don't know lol.  There were just way too many
people for that small area and God help you if you had a stroller or
were handicapped.

I have been to a lot of conventions in my life and several which are
much bigger than Soxfest that are just much better organized.  Even
on Friday they didn't have the programs ready and had to have them
reprinted at the last minute because the Lasalle Bank logo was the
wrong color.  When they were being reprinted they knew about Bobby
Jenks not coming but the new programs still had all the old info in
there like Jenks was attending.  So it was like why even bother.  If
they do this next year with the new hotel layout and everything, it
will be a complete disaster!

They should have got another player to substitute for Jenks too.
Last year Freddy Garcia didn't show up and Juan Uribe left early on
Friday for no apparent reason so they had Bo Jackson come in to make
up for it.  Now Bo isn't exactly a current player but he does have a
lot of fan appeal.  In the future they should count on at least one
player not showing up and have a backup plan like they did last year.



--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, "Indiana Hawkeye"
<gcrone@i...> wrote:
>
> Mark - You are spot-on with your assessments.
>
> I came up Saturday from Indianapolis with my brother and nephew.
Had a
> great time but we got very few autographs.  In fact, I only got one
and it
> wasn't from a player...Jerry Reinsdorf was graciously walking
around signing
> so I got his.  I thought that was really nice of him.  Obviously he
knew
> that a lot of Sox fans would be going and they wouldn't all get
autographs
> so he was trying to help out.  That was a great gesture on his part!
>
> I probably won't go back again...Far too many people in a compact
place.
> Hysteria prevails.  Worse than cattle.  The ushers were useless.
It was
> totally unorganized and for that I can only blame the Sox.  There
is lots of
> room for improvements and I doubt very few will be made.  By 1:00,
the
> downstairs was a disaster and I got out of there and went upstairs
to the
> seminars.
>
> You're right on the players not showing up.  16 is weak!  Did any
of the
> Latin players or coaches show?  I don't think so.  Cora hasn't been
seen
> since we won it.  They were probably back at home.
>
> The seminars were great...other than that, I would GLADLY pay $75
to $150
> per ball for an authentic autographs on ebay than waste 4 or 5
hours
> standing in line for a freebie...
>
> In short, doubt I will ever return.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark" <markp8867@g...>
> To: <YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:33 AM
> Subject: [YCPIOTB] Soxfest
>
>
> > So out of everyone who went, what did you think?  I thought as a
> > whole it was fun although it definitely was not my favorite
Soxfest
> > and there could and should be a lot of improvements made for next
> > year hopefully.  I think with Soxfest being spread out on several
> > floors of the Palmer House Hilton, it will make for less people
> > congregating in the same place.  So there might be more room for
> > moving around the vendor area or food area without having to deal
> > with the long lines of autograph seekers.  I guess we will see in
> > about a year!
> >
> > As far as the negatives go with this Soxfest, the thing that most
> > bothered me was simply the lack of players who showed up.  Now
that
> > they have won a ring, perhaps they think they have better things
to
> > do now?  Oh please.  I know Jenks couldn't make it because his
uncle
> > died so that is of course completely understandable.  Any other
> > excuse really isn't to me.  Kudos though to the Soxfest regulars
who
> > always go like Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Neal Cotts, Cliff Politte,
> > Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jon Garland, and A.J. Pierzynski.
> > Having only 13 current players out of a 40 man roster show up
really
> > isn't getting it done.  The Twins had a similar convention going
on
> > at the same time and had every player except Johan Santana show up
> > including retired Twin Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Harmon
> > Killebrew, and others.
> >
> > The other big negative for this convention was the number of extra
> > tickets sold which were a lot more than previous Soxfest Saturdays
> > that were also sold out.  I'm talking thousands more, not
hundreds.
> > There were more people there on Friday than there ever were on a
> > previous Soxfest Saturday that was sold out.  Perhaps there were
> > counterfeit tickets and I'm sure there were but I do know the
White
> > Sox printed more tickets after they said it was sold out.  The
ticket
> > I bought from a season ticket holder who got his free from the
White
> > Sox said it was printed on October 31st which is well after the
> > tickets were all sold out.  The Hyatt also let people camp out all
> > night which really wasn't fair to the people who got hotel rooms
plus
> > it was a fire code violation too.  Maybe the Hilton won't allow
that
> > next year, we'll see.
> >
> > I got in line at 4:30am on Sunday for Scott Podsednik's autograph
and
> > when I got there I couldn't believe there were already at least
1000
> > people in front of me lol.  Usually that would have put me towards
> > the front of the line at a normal Soxfest but not this time.
Those
> > days are gone forever I guess lol.  Thankfully I did get up that
> > early because the people coming in at 6am or later probably missed
> > out on all the major autographs that day such as Crede, Podsednik,
> > and Konerko.
> >
> > Other problems were that the ushers really didn't have any
> > information on what was going on.  On Saturday when I first got
there
> > I wanted to know where the line for Konerko was and the ushers
had no
> > idea.  Also the Tribune wasn't a sponsor this year so I missed
their
> > cool fan packs they used to sell.  The sucky Sun-Times was there
and
> > they didn't of course offer anything except reports from bad
> > columnists lol.  The White Sox Charity "Mystery Bags" were more
> > expensive this year yet still contained the same crap as last year
> > minus a World Series photo which was pretty cool.  Most of the
bags
> > didn't even have autographs in them either unlike past years.  I
know
> > the money went to charity but I'm still greedy for that stuff lol.
> > However, the new $2 wristbands they are selling this year are
really
> > nice.  They are light gray and have the World Champions logo on
them.
> >
> > Other postives about this Soxfest was that they corrected some of
the
> > problems they had on previous days.  Like on Friday they had the
> > problem of so much of an overflow of people that the CFD was
called.
> > So on Saturday they opened up a separate ballroom waiting area
which
> > had chairs and was much better than sitting on the floor in the
hotel
> > hallways.  They also handed out wristbands for autograph sessions
and
> > made you put them on right there.  That prevented people from
getting
> > wristbands to more than one autograph at a time which of course
> > allowed more people to get autographs.  Another positive was the
> > World Series Moments seminar with Paulie, Jon, and Joe on
Saturday.
> > A lot of good questions were asked and it was really interesting.
> > The thing I liked the most was seeing all the cool World Series
> > pictures, posters, and clothes that I had never seen before.
There
> > is really a lot of cool stuff out there!  I just wish I had the
money
> > to buy it all lol.
> >
> > So if you went to Soxfest what were your thoughts?  I'd like to
hear
> > from you and see what autographs you got as well.  Hope you had
fun!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
*********************************************************************
> >
> > Poll:  Are you going to watch the World Baseball Classic (WBC)?
> >
> > http://markp8867.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/polls/016/poll_center.htm
> >
> >
*********************************************************************
> >
> > Mark Buehrle Fan Club...Join Today!
> > http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/markbuehrlefanclub/join
> >
> >
*********************************************************************
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Mark - You are spot-on with your assessments.

I came up Saturday from Indianapolis with my brother and nephew.  Had a
great time but we got very few autographs.  In fact, I only got one and it
wasn't from a player...Jerry Reinsdorf was graciously walking around signing
so I got his.  I thought that was really nice of him.  Obviously he knew
that a lot of Sox fans would be going and they wouldn't all get autographs
so he was trying to help out.  That was a great gesture on his part!

I probably won't go back again...Far too many people in a compact place.
Hysteria prevails.  Worse than cattle.  The ushers were useless.  It was
totally unorganized and for that I can only blame the Sox.  There is lots of
room for improvements and I doubt very few will be made.  By 1:00, the
downstairs was a disaster and I got out of there and went upstairs to the
seminars.

You're right on the players not showing up.  16 is weak!  Did any of the
Latin players or coaches show?  I don't think so.  Cora hasn't been seen
since we won it.  They were probably back at home.

The seminars were great...other than that, I would GLADLY pay $75 to $150
per ball for an authentic autographs on ebay than waste 4 or 5 hours
standing in line for a freebie...

In short, doubt I will ever return.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark" <markp8867@...>
To: <YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 11:33 AM
Subject: [YCPIOTB] Soxfest


> So out of everyone who went, what did you think?  I thought as a
> whole it was fun although it definitely was not my favorite Soxfest
> and there could and should be a lot of improvements made for next
> year hopefully.  I think with Soxfest being spread out on several
> floors of the Palmer House Hilton, it will make for less people
> congregating in the same place.  So there might be more room for
> moving around the vendor area or food area without having to deal
> with the long lines of autograph seekers.  I guess we will see in
> about a year!
>
> As far as the negatives go with this Soxfest, the thing that most
> bothered me was simply the lack of players who showed up.  Now that
> they have won a ring, perhaps they think they have better things to
> do now?  Oh please.  I know Jenks couldn't make it because his uncle
> died so that is of course completely understandable.  Any other
> excuse really isn't to me.  Kudos though to the Soxfest regulars who
> always go like Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Neal Cotts, Cliff Politte,
> Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jon Garland, and A.J. Pierzynski.
> Having only 13 current players out of a 40 man roster show up really
> isn't getting it done.  The Twins had a similar convention going on
> at the same time and had every player except Johan Santana show up
> including retired Twin Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Harmon
> Killebrew, and others.
>
> The other big negative for this convention was the number of extra
> tickets sold which were a lot more than previous Soxfest Saturdays
> that were also sold out.  I'm talking thousands more, not hundreds.
> There were more people there on Friday than there ever were on a
> previous Soxfest Saturday that was sold out.  Perhaps there were
> counterfeit tickets and I'm sure there were but I do know the White
> Sox printed more tickets after they said it was sold out.  The ticket
> I bought from a season ticket holder who got his free from the White
> Sox said it was printed on October 31st which is well after the
> tickets were all sold out.  The Hyatt also let people camp out all
> night which really wasn't fair to the people who got hotel rooms plus
> it was a fire code violation too.  Maybe the Hilton won't allow that
> next year, we'll see.
>
> I got in line at 4:30am on Sunday for Scott Podsednik's autograph and
> when I got there I couldn't believe there were already at least 1000
> people in front of me lol.  Usually that would have put me towards
> the front of the line at a normal Soxfest but not this time.  Those
> days are gone forever I guess lol.  Thankfully I did get up that
> early because the people coming in at 6am or later probably missed
> out on all the major autographs that day such as Crede, Podsednik,
> and Konerko.
>
> Other problems were that the ushers really didn't have any
> information on what was going on.  On Saturday when I first got there
> I wanted to know where the line for Konerko was and the ushers had no
> idea.  Also the Tribune wasn't a sponsor this year so I missed their
> cool fan packs they used to sell.  The sucky Sun-Times was there and
> they didn't of course offer anything except reports from bad
> columnists lol.  The White Sox Charity "Mystery Bags" were more
> expensive this year yet still contained the same crap as last year
> minus a World Series photo which was pretty cool.  Most of the bags
> didn't even have autographs in them either unlike past years.  I know
> the money went to charity but I'm still greedy for that stuff lol.
> However, the new $2 wristbands they are selling this year are really
> nice.  They are light gray and have the World Champions logo on them.
>
> Other postives about this Soxfest was that they corrected some of the
> problems they had on previous days.  Like on Friday they had the
> problem of so much of an overflow of people that the CFD was called.
> So on Saturday they opened up a separate ballroom waiting area which
> had chairs and was much better than sitting on the floor in the hotel
> hallways.  They also handed out wristbands for autograph sessions and
> made you put them on right there.  That prevented people from getting
> wristbands to more than one autograph at a time which of course
> allowed more people to get autographs.  Another positive was the
> World Series Moments seminar with Paulie, Jon, and Joe on Saturday.
> A lot of good questions were asked and it was really interesting.
> The thing I liked the most was seeing all the cool World Series
> pictures, posters, and clothes that I had never seen before.  There
> is really a lot of cool stuff out there!  I just wish I had the money
> to buy it all lol.
>
> So if you went to Soxfest what were your thoughts?  I'd like to hear
> from you and see what autographs you got as well.  Hope you had fun!
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *********************************************************************
>
> Poll:  Are you going to watch the World Baseball Classic (WBC)?
>
> http://markp8867.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/polls/016/poll_center.htm
>
> *********************************************************************
>
> Mark Buehrle Fan Club...Join Today!
> http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/markbuehrlefanclub/join
>
> *********************************************************************
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>

Sounds like you had fun Bridget!  That's great you got those
autographs!  At past Soxfests you probably could have got a lot more
though.  I remember getting Paulie's autograph like 2 or 3 times each
year.  Last year I think I got 14 signatures on the same ball.  But
those days are definitely gone now lol.

I agree about Paulie - he will be here for a while so there is no
rush.  But I figured Crede and Dye might not be back next year so I
had to get theirs this time around along with Podsednik.

Yes Ron Kittle was selling autographed copies of his book for $20.  I
didn't get one though but probably should have just so I could have
something to read waiting in those long lines just to get into
Soxfest.

I agree about the elevators too.  You could wait up to an hour for
one after Soxfest had let out.  Fortunately I was in the other wing
of the hotel by Connie's pizza which wasn't so bad.  If you were in
that wing, then you could have caught an elevator on the first floor
instead of battling with all those people on the 2nd floor.
Hopefully it won't be so bad at the Palmer House Hilton but since
it's an old hotel, it might be even worse!


--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, bridget weiss
<bmw1980@s...> wrote:
>
> I had a good time.  It was set up a litlle crazy though.  I got
A.J., Pods, Crede, and, Garlands autograph.  As soon as I get the
pics I'll post them.  I also bought a Sox backback for school.  I met
Ron Kittle got his autograph.  And, a Mark Buehrle pin.  I r I was
disapointed not getting Paulies.  But, theres always next year!  I
got a pic with Jon garland, Scott but you can't see me! lol  the
trophy.I missed Ozzie though.  But I went to his seminar.  He was
pretty funny.  One prob at the hotel was the elevators.  They
sucked!  What autographs did everyone one else get?
>
>   Bridget
>
> Mark <markp8867@g...> wrote:
>   So out of everyone who went, what did you think?  I thought as a
> whole it was fun although it definitely was not my favorite Soxfest
> and there could and should be a lot of improvements made for next
> year hopefully.  I think with Soxfest being spread out on several
> floors of the Palmer House Hilton, it will make for less people
> congregating in the same place.  So there might be more room for
> moving around the vendor area or food area without having to deal
> with the long lines of autograph seekers.  I guess we will see in
> about a year!
>
> As far as the negatives go with this Soxfest, the thing that most
> bothered me was simply the lack of players who showed up.  Now that
> they have won a ring, perhaps they think they have better things to
> do now?  Oh please.  I know Jenks couldn't make it because his
uncle
> died so that is of course completely understandable.  Any other
> excuse really isn't to me.  Kudos though to the Soxfest regulars
who
> always go like Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Neal Cotts, Cliff Politte,
> Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jon Garland, and A.J. Pierzynski.
> Having only 13 current players out of a 40 man roster show up
really
> isn't getting it done.  The Twins had a similar convention going on
> at the same time and had every player except Johan Santana show up
> including retired Twin Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Harmon
> Killebrew, and others.
>
> The other big negative for this convention was the number of extra
> tickets sold which were a lot more than previous Soxfest Saturdays
> that were also sold out.  I'm talking thousands more, not
hundreds.
> There were more people there on Friday than there ever were on a
> previous Soxfest Saturday that was sold out.  Perhaps there were
> counterfeit tickets and I'm sure there were but I do know the White
> Sox printed more tickets after they said it was sold out.  The
ticket
> I bought from a season ticket holder who got his free from the
White
> Sox said it was printed on October 31st which is well after the
> tickets were all sold out.  The Hyatt also let people camp out all
> night which really wasn't fair to the people who got hotel rooms
plus
> it was a fire code violation too.  Maybe the Hilton won't allow
that
> next year, we'll see.
>
> I got in line at 4:30am on Sunday for Scott Podsednik's autograph
and
> when I got there I couldn't believe there were already at least
1000
> people in front of me lol.  Usually that would have put me towards
> the front of the line at a normal Soxfest but not this time.  Those
> days are gone forever I guess lol.  Thankfully I did get up that
> early because the people coming in at 6am or later probably missed
> out on all the major autographs that day such as Crede, Podsednik,
> and Konerko.
>
> Other problems were that the ushers really didn't have any
> information on what was going on.  On Saturday when I first got
there
> I wanted to know where the line for Konerko was and the ushers had
no
> idea.  Also the Tribune wasn't a sponsor this year so I missed
their
> cool fan packs they used to sell.  The sucky Sun-Times was there
and
> they didn't of course offer anything except reports from bad
> columnists lol.  The White Sox Charity "Mystery Bags" were more
> expensive this year yet still contained the same crap as last year
> minus a World Series photo which was pretty cool.  Most of the bags
> didn't even have autographs in them either unlike past years.  I
know
> the money went to charity but I'm still greedy for that stuff lol.
> However, the new $2 wristbands they are selling this year are
really
> nice.  They are light gray and have the World Champions logo on
them.
>
> Other postives about this Soxfest was that they corrected some of
the
> problems they had on previous days.  Like on Friday they had the
> problem of so much of an overflow of people that the CFD was
called.
> So on Saturday they opened up a separate ballroom waiting area
which
> had chairs and was much better than sitting on the floor in the
hotel
> hallways.  They also handed out wristbands for autograph sessions
and
> made you put them on right there.  That prevented people from
getting
> wristbands to more than one autograph at a time which of course
> allowed more people to get autographs.  Another positive was the
> World Series Moments seminar with Paulie, Jon, and Joe on
Saturday.
> A lot of good questions were asked and it was really interesting.
> The thing I liked the most was seeing all the cool World Series
> pictures, posters, and clothes that I had never seen before.  There
> is really a lot of cool stuff out there!  I just wish I had the
money
> to buy it all lol.
>
> So if you went to Soxfest what were your thoughts?  I'd like to
hear
> from you and see what autographs you got as well.  Hope you had fun!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
*********************************************************************
>
> Poll:  Are you going to watch the World Baseball Classic (WBC)?
>
> http://markp8867.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/polls/016/poll_center.htm
>
>
*********************************************************************
>
> Mark Buehrle Fan Club...Join Today!
> http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/markbuehrlefanclub/join
>
>
*********************************************************************
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>     Visit your group "YouCanPutItOnTheBoard" on the web.
>
>     To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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>
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Service.
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>

Well then I guess I will be staying at the Crowne Plaza which is like a
half block away lol.  It sounds like a better hotel anyway as I could
care less about old antique fancy places.

The best place to have Soxfest would be in Rosemont.  They need a
bigger venue, not a smaller one and Rosemont would be perfect.  It's
centrally located, within walking distance of public transportation,
and there are plenty of good hotel rooms within a short walking
distance to the convention center.

I would definitely pay a little more for tickets if they had it there
instead of downtown Chicago.  Plus they could sell a lot more tickets
too and maybe use the extra money to persuade more players to go there
which they should be doing anyway.


--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, Frank Beidler
<fbeidler@y...> wrote:
>
> The Palmer House Hilton is a Chicago institution. The "Palmers" were
wealthy Chicagoans of a century ago and Mrs. Palmer was famous for
being a hostess and hotelier. The Palmer House is where people go to
stay if they're from Iowa or Minnesota and they want to have a "big"
weekend in Chicago. It is famously packed, but is a great venue and
should be perfect for Soxfest. I think the price tag - ouch! - is their
going weekend rate.
>

So out of everyone who went, what did you think?  I thought as a
whole it was fun although it definitely was not my favorite Soxfest
and there could and should be a lot of improvements made for next
year hopefully.  I think with Soxfest being spread out on several
floors of the Palmer House Hilton, it will make for less people
congregating in the same place.  So there might be more room for
moving around the vendor area or food area without having to deal
with the long lines of autograph seekers.  I guess we will see in
about a year!

As far as the negatives go with this Soxfest, the thing that most
bothered me was simply the lack of players who showed up.  Now that
they have won a ring, perhaps they think they have better things to
do now?  Oh please.  I know Jenks couldn't make it because his uncle
died so that is of course completely understandable.  Any other
excuse really isn't to me.  Kudos though to the Soxfest regulars who
always go like Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Neal Cotts, Cliff Politte,
Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jon Garland, and A.J. Pierzynski. 
Having only 13 current players out of a 40 man roster show up really
isn't getting it done.  The Twins had a similar convention going on
at the same time and had every player except Johan Santana show up
including retired Twin Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Harmon
Killebrew, and others.

The other big negative for this convention was the number of extra
tickets sold which were a lot more than previous Soxfest Saturdays
that were also sold out.  I'm talking thousands more, not hundreds. 
There were more people there on Friday than there ever were on a
previous Soxfest Saturday that was sold out.  Perhaps there were
counterfeit tickets and I'm sure there were but I do know the White
Sox printed more tickets after they said it was sold out.  The ticket
I bought from a season ticket holder who got his free from the White
Sox said it was printed on October 31st which is well after the
tickets were all sold out.  The Hyatt also let people camp out all
night which really wasn't fair to the people who got hotel rooms plus
it was a fire code violation too.  Maybe the Hilton won't allow that
next year, we'll see. 

I got in line at 4:30am on Sunday for Scott Podsednik's autograph and
when I got there I couldn't believe there were already at least 1000
people in front of me lol.  Usually that would have put me towards
the front of the line at a normal Soxfest but not this time.  Those
days are gone forever I guess lol.  Thankfully I did get up that
early because the people coming in at 6am or later probably missed
out on all the major autographs that day such as Crede, Podsednik,
and Konerko. 

Other problems were that the ushers really didn't have any
information on what was going on.  On Saturday when I first got there
I wanted to know where the line for Konerko was and the ushers had no
idea.  Also the Tribune wasn't a sponsor this year so I missed their
cool fan packs they used to sell.  The sucky Sun-Times was there and
they didn't of course offer anything except reports from bad
columnists lol.  The White Sox Charity "Mystery Bags" were more
expensive this year yet still contained the same crap as last year
minus a World Series photo which was pretty cool.  Most of the bags
didn't even have autographs in them either unlike past years.  I know
the money went to charity but I'm still greedy for that stuff lol. 
However, the new $2 wristbands they are selling this year are really
nice.  They are light gray and have the World Champions logo on them.

Other postives about this Soxfest was that they corrected some of the
problems they had on previous days.  Like on Friday they had the
problem of so much of an overflow of people that the CFD was called. 
So on Saturday they opened up a separate ballroom waiting area which
had chairs and was much better than sitting on the floor in the hotel
hallways.  They also handed out wristbands for autograph sessions and
made you put them on right there.  That prevented people from getting
wristbands to more than one autograph at a time which of course
allowed more people to get autographs.  Another positive was the
World Series Moments seminar with Paulie, Jon, and Joe on Saturday. 
A lot of good questions were asked and it was really interesting. 
The thing I liked the most was seeing all the cool World Series
pictures, posters, and clothes that I had never seen before.  There
is really a lot of cool stuff out there!  I just wish I had the money
to buy it all lol. 

So if you went to Soxfest what were your thoughts?  I'd like to hear
from you and see what autographs you got as well.  Hope you had fun!

So out of everyone who went, what did you think?  I thought as a
whole it was fun although it definitely was not my favorite Soxfest
and there could and should be a lot of improvements made for next
year hopefully.  I think with Soxfest being spread out on several
floors of the Palmer House Hilton, it will make for less people
congregating in the same place.  So there might be more room for
moving around the vendor area or food area without having to deal
with the long lines of autograph seekers.  I guess we will see in
about a year!

As far as the negatives go with this Soxfest, the thing that most
bothered me was simply the lack of players who showed up.  Now that
they have won a ring, perhaps they think they have better things to
do now?  Oh please.  I know Jenks couldn't make it because his uncle
died so that is of course completely understandable.  Any other
excuse really isn't to me.  Kudos though to the Soxfest regulars who
always go like Joe Crede, Paul Konerko, Neal Cotts, Cliff Politte,
Scott Podsednik, Jermaine Dye, Jon Garland, and A.J. Pierzynski.
Having only 13 current players out of a 40 man roster show up really
isn't getting it done.  The Twins had a similar convention going on
at the same time and had every player except Johan Santana show up
including retired Twin Hall of Famers like Rod Carew, Harmon
Killebrew, and others.

The other big negative for this convention was the number of extra
tickets sold which were a lot more than previous Soxfest Saturdays
that were also sold out.  I'm talking thousands more, not hundreds.
There were more people there on Friday than there ever were on a
previous Soxfest Saturday that was sold out.  Perhaps there were
counterfeit tickets and I'm sure there were but I do know the White
Sox printed more tickets after they said it was sold out.  The ticket
I bought from a season ticket holder who got his free from the White
Sox said it was printed on October 31st which is well after the
tickets were all sold out.  The Hyatt also let people camp out all
night which really wasn't fair to the people who got hotel rooms plus
it was a fire code violation too.  Maybe the Hilton won't allow that
next year, we'll see.

I got in line at 4:30am on Sunday for Scott Podsednik's autograph and
when I got there I couldn't believe there were already at least 1000
people in front of me lol.  Usually that would have put me towards
the front of the line at a normal Soxfest but not this time.  Those
days are gone forever I guess lol.  Thankfully I did get up that
early because the people coming in at 6am or later probably missed
out on all the major autographs that day such as Crede, Podsednik,
and Konerko.

Other problems were that the ushers really didn't have any
information on what was going on.  On Saturday when I first got there
I wanted to know where the line for Konerko was and the ushers had no
idea.  Also the Tribune wasn't a sponsor this year so I missed their
cool fan packs they used to sell.  The sucky Sun-Times was there and
they didn't of course offer anything except reports from bad
columnists lol.  The White Sox Charity "Mystery Bags" were more
expensive this year yet still contained the same crap as last year
minus a World Series photo which was pretty cool.  Most of the bags
didn't even have autographs in them either unlike past years.  I know
the money went to charity but I'm still greedy for that stuff lol.
However, the new $2 wristbands they are selling this year are really
nice.  They are light gray and have the World Champions logo on them.

Other postives about this Soxfest was that they corrected some of the
problems they had on previous days.  Like on Friday they had the
problem of so much of an overflow of people that the CFD was called.
So on Saturday they opened up a separate ballroom waiting area which
had chairs and was much better than sitting on the floor in the hotel
hallways.  They also handed out wristbands for autograph sessions and
made you put them on right there.  That prevented people from getting
wristbands to more than one autograph at a time which of course
allowed more people to get autographs.  Another positive was the
World Series Moments seminar with Paulie, Jon, and Joe on Saturday.
A lot of good questions were asked and it was really interesting.
The thing I liked the most was seeing all the cool World Series
pictures, posters, and clothes that I had never seen before.  There
is really a lot of cool stuff out there!  I just wish I had the money
to buy it all lol.

So if you went to Soxfest what were your thoughts?  I'd like to hear
from you and see what autographs you got as well.  Hope you had fun!

At Soxfest, Frank's name rarely if ever came up between fans and at
seminars.  In fact I only remember seeing one Frank Thomas jersey the
whole time I was there.  If you ask me, think most fans are past this
already.

--- In YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com, "Indiana Hawkeye"
<gcrone@i...> wrote:
>
> Bobby - I wouldn't work yourself up too much over Frank.  Just stay
focused on winning another World Championship without him!
>
> As Hawk would say..."He Gone!"
>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: BobbyBouchea73@a...
>   To: YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 7:18 PM
>   Subject: Re: [YCPIOTB] Frank Thomas Quote
>
>
>   In a message dated 1/29/2006 4:09:51 P.M. US Eastern Standard
Time, ambera35@y... writes:
>     He was so into them winning because he had been a team member
since the start of his career. It was a good thing for the Sox and at
that time he was still part of the team ...so anybody whether they
played 1 game or all season..deserved to take part in celebration. 35
at bats (around there) and 12 hrs...that's pretty nice even with the
low batting average. Not saying he had anything to do with us being
in WS champs but still nice for the few games he played. He thought
he had more sentimental value I'm sure and thought he'd return...I
don't think he means too much bad by his comment. He just didn't see
it coming.
>
>   He didn't see it coming? If he didn't see it coming he's an
idiot, because anyone with half a brain should of known they weren't
going to pay him $10,000,000 next year so that he could get hurt
again and get paid big money to sit his rear end at home. He is worth
no where near that anymore which is evidence of why his new team is
only paying him what $500,000 next year. Plus incentives which he
probably wont meat because he'll be out hurt somewhere along the
line. He should of seen it coming. Yeah I can understand that he was
sentimental about winning the world series, but having him in the
parade and up on the podium wasn't right in my opinion for 2 reasons,
#1 he didn't contribute anything but a few at bats last year and
wasn't on the active roster before, or during the playoffs and world
series. They let him talk at the rally like he did something so big.
There were other players on that team that should of had the
opportunity to talk before he did. If I was one of those other
players that didn't get to talk because he did I would be upset and
hurt. Yeah granted he was there for support for the team probably,
but had no right to act like he won the world series. He didn't win
anything, the rest of that team won without him.
>
>   BOBBY
>
>
>
*********************************************************************
>
>   Poll:  Are you going to watch the World Baseball Classic (WBC)?
>
>   http://markp8867.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/polls/016/poll_center.htm
>
>
*********************************************************************
>
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----- Original Message -----

From: BobbyBouchea73@...

To: YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 7:18 PM

Subject: Re: [YCPIOTB] Frank Thomas Quote

In a message dated 1/29/2006 4:09:51 P.M. US Eastern Standard Time, ambera35@... writes:

He was so into them winning because he had been a team member since the start of his career. It was a good thing for the Sox and at that time he was still part of the team ...so anybody whether they played 1 game or all season..deserved to take part in celebration. 35 at bats (around there) and 12 hrs...that's pretty nice even with the low batting average. Not saying he had anything to do with us being in WS champs but still nice for the few games he played. He thought he had more sentimental value I'm sure and thought he'd return...I don't think he means too much bad by his comment. He just didn't see it coming.

 

He didn't see it coming? If he didn't see it coming he's an idiot, because anyone with half a brain should of known they weren't going to pay him $10,000,000 next year so that he could get hurt again and get paid big money to sit his rear end at home. He is worth no where near that anymore which is evidence of why his new team is only paying him what $500,000 next year. Plus incentives which he probably wont meat because he'll be out hurt somewhere along the line. He should of seen it coming. Yeah I can understand that he was sentimental about winning the world series, but having him in the parade and up on the podium wasn't right in my opinion for 2 reasons, #1 he didn't contribute anything but a few at bats last year and wasn't on the active roster before, or during the playoffs and world series. They let him talk at the rally like he did something so big. There were other players on that team that should of had the opportunity to talk before he did. If I was one of those other players that didn't get to talk because he did I would be upset and hurt. Yeah granted he was there for support for the team probably, but had no right to act like he won the world series. He didn't win anything, the rest of that team won without him.

 

BOBBY

Comments you ask for?

Don't get me wrong, in spite of me being outspoken about Frank on this
board, I actually liked Frank over the years while he was with the Sox.  And
he will go down as our best player in history (so far, but Paulie is
catching him).  But I think he was always all about himself.  This created
lots of issues within the team.  It also (at least partially) explains why
the Sox never won anything of substance while he played here.

Here are my comments regarding his statement you quoted below...
What in the world does he mean about not getting a heads-up?  He would have
to be a total moron not to recognize something was up.  Everyone knew it and
so did Frank.  Frank even admitted so much at mid-year.  There is no way the
Sox were going to pick up his option year for $10 Million.  Everyone in
baseball new the Sox were going to buy him out for (a mere) $3.5 Million
because he is damaged goods!!!  KW went out of his way through cell phone
messages that Frank opted not to return telling him where they were headed
with Thome before the deal went down.  Frank admitted he did NOT return
those calls to KW.

Sorry, in my opinion, this is just more of Frank Thomas being Frank
Thomas!!!  The same guy off the field that he has always been since the day
he joined the White Sox.  Too bad, in the long run, only Frank will be hurt
by these comments!  The Sox are moving on to greater and greater things.
Trust me...after listening to KW for nearly 2 hours at SoxFest this weekend,
you ain't seen nothin' yet Sox Fans!



----- Original Message -----
From: "thechihawk" <manta_ray4121@...>
To: <YouCanPutItOnTheBoard@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 2:39 PM
Subject: [YCPIOTB] Frank Thomas Quote


> This quote was published in my local newspaper sports section under
> the heading of "Parting Shots".
>
> "I just think I deserved better, some closure, in Chicago.  If they
> just said they were going in a different direction, it would be fine,
> but nobody gave me any heads-up about what was going on".
>
> Comments anyone?
>
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This quote was published in my local newspaper sports section under
the heading of "Parting Shots".

"I just think I deserved better, some closure, in Chicago.  If they
just said they were going in a different direction, it would be fine,
but nobody gave me any heads-up about what was going on".

Comments anyone?