It’s good to be back.

First, I want to thank Alma Chao for upgrading the software and getting us back on line before the holidays. There is still more to do and I appreciate his efforts.

Now baseball!

Will A Rod be a Red Sock before January first?

Maybe, but you can bet he will be Boston’s opening day shortstop in 2004.

Is the deal dead as Larry Lucchino, Boston Prez, says it is. Not exactly.

In “The Priness Bride” Billy Crystal tells Mandy Patankin when asked if Billy can revive Mandy’s apparently dead compatriot, “Your friend is dead, but not completely dead”, and then he goes through elaborate procedures to bring him back to life.

So it is with this deal.

Tom Hicks cannot afford to bring A Rod back under any circumstances not the least of which his manager doesn’t want the bad apple A Rod around messing with his young team’s mind.

Boston has driven Nomar crazy with all the trade talk and he really is sadly through in Boston.

Nomar isn’t Boston’s kind of guy anymore: Too sullen with big advertisers and swings at too many first pitches to satisfy the OB% conscious Sox.

The trade has many other teams waiting before tomorow night’s contract tender deadline.

It’s all about money and you know that won’t stop these guys from pulling the trigger, it’s just a matter of when.

Click below for more!The White Sox are waiting patiently in the wings. They have a great chance to pick Nomar up for Magglio Ordonez plus add Scott Williamson too.

The Mariners want Freddy Garcia to change addresses before Saturday night and would love to ship him to Chicago for Jose Valentin.

If all this goes down, Boston will have A Rod plus Ordonez, not a bad trade for Nomar and Manny.

The Dodgers want to move Odalis Perez before Saturday night’s deadline. The White Sox are interested in him also.

Everybody wants closer of the future Guillermo Mota from LA, but he will replace Eric Gagne shortly, so the Dodgers most likely will have to be overwhelmed to trade this hard throwing righty.

The A’s are adding Arthur Rhodes over the weekend as their closer replacing the departed Keith Foulke.

Ironic the Red Sox have the A’s closer and the A’s are staring at bull pen by committee, led by Rhodes.

Rhodes was horrific after June 2003, before that he was a lights out situational lefty. Can he close all season long? I’m not so sure, but the A’s will give him every chance to do it.

Seems to me that Ken Macha will earn his $650,000 this season because I think we will see Chad Bradford, Ricardo Rincon, and Chris Hammond ( he will help) sneaking into ninth inning situations more often than not.

Is Damian Miller on his way? The Cubs catcher is getting a quick ticket out of Chicago for some reason, possibly being replaced by former Athletic (12 hours here) Michael Barrett. What do the Cubs see in Barrett that leads them to believe he can catch their all star staff better than Miller? If I was the A’s that question would worry me because Barrett’s ability behind the dish has been less than perfect. The Cubs think they can win this year and don’t want Miller catching Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. How come?

How important is it to sign Mark Redman? Very! Mark Mulder is coming back from a serious leg injury. All indications are Mulder will be as good as new, but one never knows in this crazy world how his leg will hold up under the pounding once the season starts. Rich Harden should have a big year, but it is smart to let him sneak up on people instead of placing him in the fourth spot right away.

2003 fifth starter: John Halama, 2004 fifth starter Rich Harden, the A’s picked up 25 MPH there. I’m all for Mark Redman.

Who’s going to hit third? One guy, Eric Chavez. It’s put up time for the A’s third baseman. With a division light with lefthanded starters, Washburn, if he is still an Angel, Jamie Moyer, and you tell me who else, Chavez should see enough righties to keep his bat hot. The only question remains as it has throughout his career, can he hit a lick before August?

Who might be available after Saturday night’s deadline?

Paul Lo Duca from LA. His productivity has decreased, but he is still a good player, LA doesn’t want his salary. He would be a perfect fit for the A’s.

Odalis Perez will go somewhere. Dodgers don’t like his makeup and Hollywood can’t fix it.

The Mariners have Ben Davis and Gil Meche eligible for arbitration. They both stay, but this might be Davis’s last chance to show something.

Will the Devil Rays move Aubrey Huff? Probably not, but if some team could grab him thay would be getting one of the top young players in the game.

Darren Oliver sounds like he is bound for SF, but are the Giants somehow waiting to see what happens with Greg Maddux?

Toronto’s Cliff Politte will be out there and he might help someone’s bull pen. The Mets should look his way.

Sidney Ponson is still a bargain, perhaps the Orioles will bring him back or it sounds like the White Sox are serious about resigning Sir Sidney.

Why hasn’t Vlad taken Baltimore’s offer? Probably because he really wants to go to Miami where his first baseball family is currently running the Marlins. Can Miami find the money? If they want a new stadium they better because Mike Lowell can’t match up to Guerrero for fan appeal and that’s what the Marlins are trying to generate as the catalyst for their new stadium.

Juan Gonzalez is a decent bet to go to Chicago to replace Ordonez if he moves to the Red Sox.

Rafael Palmiero would love to be a Yankee since his HOF credentials are always being questioned. He could DH and back up Jason Giambi at first. Problem is with Kenny Lofton coming aboard, Bernie Williams will be the DH most of the time.

You heard it here first, this is the beginning of trouble for NY. Without Andy Pettitte and the Rocket, they will be lacking in pitchers who can win the big one.

The big test for Clemens will come in February when all his buddies are in spring training and he is home having brunch with the family knowing he can still pitch. How far from Houston to Kissimmee where the Astros train? A quick trip for a Rocket.

Robert Fick can hit, if a manager can get through to him he can be an offensive surprise.

Todd Walker waits for the A Rod smoke to clear. Texas seems the best fit for him, possibly replacing Palmiero at first or splitting time with Mark Texeira, but his bat will be in the lineup somewhere.

Braden Looper could end up with the Mets being replaced by former Met Armando Benitez in Miami.

Kris Benson, El Duque, Rocky Biddle, Randall Simon, Scott Sauerbeck, Rickey Ledee, and Jose Jimenez can be had this weekend.

Shane Reynolds is a hot commodity, Arizona and the Giants might be after him.

LA’s center fielder Dave Roberts, former Dodger Brian Jordan, and maybe Jay Payton should be out there too.

Will the A’s cut Frank Menechino loose? They may need a defensive replacement for Bobby Crosby in the late innings depending on how quickly he picks up the hang of big league defense late in the game.

Minnesota might not be done dealing either.

Everyone is waitng for Boston and Texas to shift some dough around, once that happens then watch the action pick up.

Until then, let’s see who gets released Saturday night.