The Sox, at least publicly, swear they will "retool" not "rebuild" in 2008.  But there are several questions you have to ask yourself if you think that this is on the level. 

• How does Kenny get the Chairman to sign off on it?
  
•  Is Jerry Owens your starting centerfielder next year or are you showcasing him for the trade market? If Ozzie has names of guys he wants to recruit, then my Andruw Jones theory just became valid. If not Jones, I would think Rowand would be second on the list because he could play right (if they were keeping Owens.)  I can't imagine Torrie Hunter playing for the White Sox and I can't see the White Sox giving Mike Cameron another look.
  
• Will Jermaine Dye get an extension?  How will that extension factor into the budget for 2008?  Will it cost them the chance to pick up an important free agent or keep someone like Javy Vazquez or Jon Garland?
• Who do you trade to bolster the bullpen? 
  
• Can you find a taker for Jose Contreras?  Is the ROI worth it or do you just shut him down for a while and hope that next year he comes back refreshed?
  
• Can you deal AJ Pierzynski?  Will anyone take him?  Will he sign an extension with a hometown discount simply because people actually like him in Chicago.
  
• Is Danny Richar for real?  How about Josh Fields? 
  
• Do you move Fields to left and play Crede at third or do you keep Pods or Erstad and play them in left? And what exactly do you do with Crede who, despite being superior defensively to Fields, has a bad back and could be allowed to walk at the end of the season if not offered arbitration. Do you sign Crede to an arbitrated contract and then trade him? 
  
•  Do you trade Javy Vazquez for some bullpen help and backups and hope that either Gio Gonzalez, Nick Massett or Jack Egbert is ready?
  
• How many guys in the bullpen do you keep besides Bobby Jenks?  I'm thinking Thornton, Wasserman and possibly Buckvich.  How about MacDougal?  Now that he's healthy, he's got two months to prove his worth.  How do you rebuild?  Most of the relief pitchers on the free agent list are all either older or too expensive?  Do you again hope you can find some gems in a pile of dung as Kenny has in the past or will this cost you more prospects and/or starters?
  
• Do you take the option on Juan Uribe or do you pursue a free agent like Cesar Izturis (no) or David Eckstein?  Or, do you totally alter the balance and personality of the club and go after A-Rod if he opts out in New York (I doubt it simply because Scott Boras is involved and the Chairman hates Scott Boras.  Plus, then we're talking about a Cub sized payroll and that won't happen on the fiscally responsible south side.) his is a team of primarily good guys with good character, like Konerko, Thome, Buehrle, to a certain degree Dye.  Do they plan to drastically alter the chemistry to bring home another winner?
  

As you can tell, this is not nearly as simple as it sounds.  As far as signing free agents, the Sox are far more successful with "B" list guys than with "A" list guys. 

The biggest question Kenny and Ozzie have to ask themselves is "was 2007 just a wacky year or is this how our club will perform in 2008?"  If the core of the club is determined to be soild, then Kenny can go out, find some spare parts and resume operations in 2008.  If it is determined that this configuration is not going to be competitive in 2008, then we will see a lot of new guys next year.

My own opinion is I am somewhere in the middle on this.  Fix the bullpen, dump Jose, MacUseless and Uribe and I'm okay with 2008. 

This will definitely be a topic of discussion for some time.  If you have a thought, please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Lightning Round

• More "crazy talk."  I heard several Sox fans call into the Score yesterday asking Steve Stone if he thought the Sox had a chance to get back into the race this year.  Stone politely dismissed it as "a tall order." Yeah, like Yao Ming.
• Alfonso Soriano's quad is worse than originally thought, one of the muscles is apparently torn. When you lose your best road hitter, that's got to hurt.  It did last night.
• Meanwhile, the Brewers need to take advantage of the Cubs misery.  Right now, they are just plain miserable themselves.
• Baroid provides ESPN with one more day of additional programming.  Now I won't be able to catch the 11pm feed of "The Bronx is Burning" on ESPN2 because I will be recording "Damages" for Princess.
• People wonder why Duane Schafer lost his job as the White Sox director of scouting.  Here's one reason.  Although I can't help but wonder what The Chairman's role in this was.  Maybe he thought Bonds would ask for too much money.
  
• Maybe Curt Schilling should consider steroids.
• In an effort to make sure that the umps in baseball aren't on the take, MLB has asked them to authorize background checks which the umpire's union has declined.  The union has also refused to release the optometry records of Phil Cuzzie.
• Phil Rogers reports in this morning's Chicago Tribune that umpire Kerwin Danley worked almost five innings of a recent game with his fly open.  Rogers also reports that Phil Cuzzie worked several innings of a recent game with his eyes open.
  
• If you worry about the fact that the Bears will feature Cedric Benson at running back this year, think of how Green Bay Packer fans must feel.  They will probably be starting a rookie.
• Darth Visor demands that the University of South Carolina lower their admission standards or risk intergalactic war.
• Speaking of standards, the University of Wisconsin, looking at a favorable schedule to make a possible run at a national title, is willing to look the other way to improve it's running game.
  
• Nothing says "we love you, coach" like burnt orange uniforms. I wonder if Mike Nolan will wear a burnt orange suit.
  
• Joe Gibbs will have the privilege next year of owning two cars driven by wackos: Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch.
• The Boston Red Sox own part of Rousch racing, now the Montreal Canadiens own part of Evernham Motor Sports.  If George Steinbrenner were lucid, no doubt the Yankees would take over Robert Yates Racing.
• This week's SI MLB Power Poll.