Sox get a tangerine..or a lump of coal

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Sox are close to signing Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez from the Yankees. El D spent all of 2003 on the bench with an arm injury. It appears he's bounced back a bit - his 2004 numbers are respectable: 8-2, 3.30 ERA in 15 starts, he struck out 84 in 84 IP. Reports vary on his age, but he's almost certainly pushing 40... Youn ever know with these Cubans. So you have to again wonder what KW is thinking. Can El D give the Sox 25-30 starts and pitch 200 innings? Will both he and fellow countryman Contreas elevate each others' performance?

Planco has re-signed with Philadelphia. So it looks like the Sox may go after either Alex Cora or David Eckstein as a platoon infielder. the Cheat (link at right) has a good piece about it from a few days back. Looks like Eckstein has some speed, which the Sox need...

So if the Sox sign both El D and Eckstein, that should put them right at about $70 mil...

Press releases are all over the Sox official site. the most exciting of them details the new green seats being installed over the next 2 seasons at new Comiskey... It does make the park look sharp(er).