Holiday gift giving list

I'm a little jealous of the Sox blogger over at MVN (http://whitesox.mostvaluablenetwork.com/). He gets to laze about in the Puerto Rican sun watching the winter league, and today he flashes his 2005 Sox tickets that just arrived the mail. Ah, the joys of being single, employed and in your mid-30s.

Still, it got me thinkin about some gift ideas for the coming holiday mess. Since most of my readers - if there is anyone actually reading this - are Sox fans, or at the very least, baseball fans, here's a few ideas to fit all budgets:

1) a book from STATS, Inc. The nerds up north crunch numbers better than anyone. And yeah, that includes the Baseball Prospectus people. At the recommendation of a great baseball mind, I picked up BP for the first time this year and was very disappointed. Reading it now its so funny it should be filed in the humor section of your local bookstore - their editorial scouting reports are so far off, you'll piss yourself laughing. STATS is the way to go. www.amazon.com
2) White Sox gift certificates. They can be used for tickets, I'm not sure what else. Buy off the link at www.soxtalk.com.
3) something Sox related off eBay. Lots of cool vintage, unique and cheap stuff out there. I know this because I just sold some... www.ebay.com
4) vintage item from Stall & Dean. Pricey, yes, but they have a warehouse sale every March, so maybe just get a gift certificate if you've got that kind of money. www.stallanddean.com

Rule 5, Part 2:
from the Sox official press release:
"The Chicago White Sox selected right-handed pitcher Ryan Warpinski and outfielder Sean Smith this morning in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Warpinski, 23, was selected from the Florida Marlins. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder went a combined 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA (28 ER/62.1 IP) and 48 strikeouts in 16 relief appearances last season at Class A Jupiter and Class A Greensboro. Warpinski missed the entire 2003 season with a right shoulder injury and is 7-8 with a 3.18 ERA (49 ER/138.2 IP) in 31 games (15 starts) over two seasons in the Marlins organization.
Smith, 22, was taken from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound righty batted .250 (72-288) with four home runs and 33 RBI in 87 total games between Class A Lynchburg, Class A Hickory and Advanced Rookie Williamsport. Smith, a 2000 graduate of Joliet Central High School, has hit .246 (167-678) with 10 home runs and 77 RBI in 210 games spanning five minor-league seasons."

Also, pitchers and catchers report to Tucson on Feb 16. All the rest on the 21st.