AGonzalez11

Easy to say this in hindsight, but I was leading the head of the "Sign Jose Guillen" bandwagon in the offseason. At 2.2 mil, he would have been an absolute steal for us. He's hitting .306, 8 HR 30 RBI for the Halo's and is a rock defensively with a gun in the OF. A mini-Vlad if you will. He would look a hell of a lot better better in the lineup over Conine, and a Jeff/Choi platoon wouldn't be bad, at least not nearly as bad as having to stomach Cordero vs. Lefties. Another was Burnitz, and while I realize that he wouldn't be putting up close to the numbers hes putting up in Coors, 1.2 mil for him is larcany. He's not much of a hitter but is still a 30-35 HR threat, something we could have used IMO. On a side note...I see Jason Kendalls name tossed around here alot...what makes people think managment would pay him 8.5 mil? They wouldn't even offer Pudge that. If we were to make a deal for a catcher who might be available I think it would be A.J. Pierzynski

Doesn't Contreras make like 8 mil? Why would we have any interest in him?

In Castro's defense....what's going on in his personal life has to be tough on him and his family...players are human, too, and anyone being accused of what he has been accused of is bound to have a handful on his mind. Case in point, Mike Modano was absolutley atrocious all year long for the Dallas Stars after a financial blunder he made during the offseason ( he lost somehing like $5 mil). He's easily one of the top 10 players in the NHL and has a season that even some 4th liners would be ashamed of. That being said...Castro has been beyond awful thus far. There's just no way to justify a .125 batting average or whatever he is at right now. There's still 130 some games left, but so far so bad for Ramon....He better show us something and soon or he's going to get the boot.

Hi my name is Tommy Hutton...all of you Agon bashers are complete idiots. :lol Being as big as an Agon supporter as there is...even I admit he needs to at least get over the mendoza line..batting under .200 is embarassing for even some pitchers. There's no doubt that he's a gold glove caliber SS but the fact remains having that big of a hole in the lineup will do more harm than good. That being said, if he can somehow bat .250 CONSISTENTLY and play the defense that he plays, he's more valuable than a majority of the SS's in the league. I wonder how often our starters buy him dinner for bailing them out of innings with his amazing D?

Lend us Magglio...and Marte.....and Polite....pleeeaaasseee? :thumbup

The Hawks site sent out e mails to their fans but never posted anything on their page...someone probably got trigger happy and sent the e mails when he shouldnt have. And your a Blackhawk fan? I thought every single one of them became Wings fans when they traded Sullivan... Ummm....No, I'm not...I got the info from other Hawks fans (Who all received the e mail)

The Hawks site sent out e mails to their fans but never posted anything on their page...someone probably got trigger happy and sent the e mails when he shouldnt have.

The Blackhawks announced this evening that they have traded defenseman Alexander Karpovtstev to the Florida Panthers in exchange for two 6th round picks in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Karpovtsev used to be good....key word: used to be. He's been pretty bad the last few years, but we'll see.

Huge bust...was supposed to be a huge power forward in the mold of Tkachuk when drafted...he has a lot of skill but no desire whatsoever. Huge, good skater, good hands and a great fighter, but never uses his physical ability. It's strictly a move for the Rampage at this point, they have been awful since all of their players have been recalled to FLA ( Beaudoin, Kolnik, Green, etc.)

There's no chance in hell Dudley makes a deal for Gonchar...He's basically admitting with this move ( and acknowlodging Odelein is available) that they're not going to make the playoffs. As far as who we got...Berglund is very similar to Marcus Nilson in playing style...shows a lot of charachter and leadership capabilities and enough skill to be a good 3rd line performer..but he hasn't played well for NJ thus far. He used to be a top prospect, but has been a dissapointment for NJ and is now more of a project than anything. Uchevatov is nothing more than a longshot...he has good size, but doesn't use it enough( sound familiar?) Nothing more than a 5th or 6th d man at best.

for Christian Berglund and Victor Uchevatov....not good value for Viktor IMO, regardless of him being an injury prone pansy.

Jokinen has one goal in 10 games since Torchetti has been coach...maybe he was in over his head last year, but he's no where near the player he showed to be last season.

Looking at this in a different POV, there's a lot of good news, but if talking about the playoffs, it's looking pretty glim. The good news is, Torchetti actually looks like a competent coach...they're what? 8-3-2 under him? That's a pretty good omen for next year( if there is one) and shows that this team is capable of competing. But it falls into the "too little too late" category right now. Kolnik looks like a hell of a find....can he be to this team what Martin St. Louis has become for the Dolts? Both tiny, play with a lot of heart, supreme penalty killers and came out of no where to become successful. hopefully he keeps on improving and becomes a force for us in a few years. Weiss, Horton, Bouwmeester Van Ryn, Mezei...this team is filled with future stars, including guys like Krajicek, Stewart, and to a lesser extent, Novak who are in the minors. Bad news is.... Jokinen has been awfully dissapointing IMO. He talks the talk but doesnt walk the walk as captain. 18 goals, 20 assists and a team worst -10 is not what I expected to answer the critics screaming "fluke". They will have to qualify him at 2.2 mil to keep his rights and that reeks of a niedermayer type situation as far as contract similarities go. I've personally had it with Kozlov's antics...he's such a pansy in every sense of the word, will miss games over a bruised pinky, soft when he plays and lacks any sort of desire and charachter...he seems satisfied being a 2nd liner when he has everything needed to be an elite player...his value is in the dumps though, so it's hard to deal someone thats a 50-60 point scorer for almost nothing. Bure and Odelein are both UFAs after this year meaning they're likely to be traded...Odelein could be re-signed int he offseason even if he dealt, but I dont expect Bure back...too much $$ for cohen's cheap ass. all in all...the team took a step in the right direction this season, but fell short yet again...a shame too with the season luongo had. Dudley need to give this defense a complete makeover next year and keep the core forwards in tact( Kolnik, Jokinen, Huselius, Horton, Weiss, Hagman Nilson and possibly Cullen, Bure or Kozlov, but all will probably prove to be too costly financially. Get rid of the trash on the blueline..Biron and Lilja are just atrocious..get NHL caliber defensmen to take their spot, bring back Odelein and the defense looks alright.. Van Ryn-Jay Odelein-Mezei are all solid...just get rid of those two wastes for a couple of solid d men and this team could make some noise...Trnka makes a decent 7th d man. That's it for now...I'll keep chearing them on like the rest of you will...but reality is reality, and our reality is a fourth straight year without the NHL playoffs in s. florida.

is 12 points really bad? It's pretty much impossible to make up in a span of 17 games..... Unless the Isles tank, Theodore dies, Florida is done.

To add on to the pile of bad news...Montreal wins yet again leaving them 12 points in front of the Cats.....

Hopefully this will kick the team back into the mind sset it had the previous five games. I will hold out hope till hope I can no more. Remember, the Marlins were behind all season and took the Wild Card with 2 games left. So never say never. Projections aren't right all the time and you have to factor in slumps and the like. Hockey is a lot different than Baseball in this situation though...teams going on prolonged winning/losing streaks is a rarity in the NHL, where in the MLB it is not( the Pens being the exception of course, they are just awful) I'm still hoping like the rest of you, but at the same time bracing myself for reality...it ain't going to happen

werent people saying the Marlins were out of it? Panthers are in it till they are mathematically out of it and what would you have said if we won this game? I would have said there was still a glimmer of hope left, but losing to the 3rd worst team in the league all but ended that hope. The only way the Panthers make it is if two of Montreal, Buffalo and NYI go into the dumps...is that going to happen? probably not. Losses to the Canes and Caps in the last week are just killer, and blowing the 2 goal lead vs. the Caps in Washington also stings. If we won those three games, we'd be sitting 3 points behind the Isles right now...that just shows, it's still the same damn Panthers who don't know how to win.

9 points behind the Isles and 10 behind Montreal? Hate to sound pessimistic, but stick a fork in 'em, They're done. get outta here :confused just speaking the truth...I've been a season ticket holder since 1994, but it's just time to face the facts...the playoffs aren't a realistic goal. The Isles play the Penguins TWICE in the next week, and the Habs are on pace for 92 pts...Florida would need to finish with a 15-2 record to get 92 points...not gonna happen. They dug themselves in too big a hole, but on the bright side, Horton should be back soon...he's great to watch.

Absolutley brutal way to go down...to blow a lead to a beat down Caps team in a must win game proves that this team isn't playoff material. I couldn't believe how many mental lapses and questionable efforts given by some Panthers in this game...Valeri Bure was beyond terrible, floating all night and turning the puck over like it was a live grenade. our supposed "leader" Jokinen also looked like he could care less. Same 'ol same 'ol...only thing to look forward to is who we get in return for our veterans at the deadline( Kozlov, Bure, Odelein) and the Entry draft....woohoo :banghead 9 points behind the Isles and 10 behind Montreal? Hate to sound pessimistic, but stick a fork in 'em, They're done.

Lets make this another dual season to remember between the Marlins and Panthers Everyone compared the Marlins run to the Angels' run of last year....how bout the Cats making a Mighty Ducks-esque run with a different ending? We certainly have the goalie in place to do it..... The Habs need to start losing...IMO they are the team to catch as the Isles don't seem to lose to anyone except the Rangers. These gams against bad teams are must wins to have any chance at a run....Beat the Crapitals!

He wouldn't cost as much as you think...the Sox need to dump some salary...no one will bit eon Thomas and trading Lee doesn't make sense, so Mags is the odd man out..He'll obviously have a pricetag, but I wouldn't think it would be outrageous.

How about trading for Magglio Ordonez? His 1 year deal falls right into Loria's plans, and they can re-sign him if they get a new stadium...14 mil per is a lot, but I'm sure he'd take less to re-sign (unless he has a monster year) I love Magglio and think he's unbelievably underrated..

I love Williamson...He struggled when he first got to Boston, but many pitchers do when getting adapted to a different league. He was lights out in the playoffs...8.0 IP 14 K 3 BB .115 BA .75 WHIP and a 1.13 ERA. The only run he gave up the entire playoffs is the Ruben Sierra solo HR.....

Say it with me....WE WANT FOULKE! If we're going to spend some decent $$ on a closer, we'd be much better off spending the extra 2-3 mil on Foulke than we would on getting Benitez. His stats may always look good, but he blows big games and will drive you crazy, just like Looper did. Foulke has/or will get a 4 or 5 year offer from Boston Why? Williamson did a pretty good job for them. he did? link yea i like the 6.20era Did you happen to watch any of the playoffs? Aside from the Sierra HR, he was lights out. And yea, i like his 1.13 ERA, .075 WHIP and .115 BA in the playoffs.

Say it with me....WE WANT FOULKE! If we're going to spend some decent $$ on a closer, we'd be much better off spending the extra 2-3 mil on Foulke than we would on getting Benitez. His stats may always look good, but he blows big games and will drive you crazy, just like Looper did. Foulke has/or will get a 4 or 5 year offer from Boston Why? Williamson did a pretty good job for them.