save my honeymoon in Spain in 2000 when the stock market was at an all-time high, and the euro was at an all-time low vs. the dollar.  The guys are fantastic and funny as hell without pretense.  Many, many stories I'll bleed out over the next week, but here is the most salient information:

1.  JR and Eddie Einhorn took questions from the crowd (102 campers, average age around 55, all lifelong Sox fans)at a banquet Thursday night.  

JR:

-"The Josh Fields LF experiment is OVER.  Joe Crede will be traded or Josh will go back to AAA."
-"Nick Swisher will be our starting CF if Jerry Owens doesn't do the job."  
-"Juan Uribe will be playing 3 IF postions this year - we're comfortable with him in any of those positions."
-"Our goal is to sign Cabrera to a long-term deal."
-"Spring training will be different this year - we plan to simulate real game conditions."

Eddie:

-"We don't feel the actions of the 5% of the players who use steriods should overshadow the 95% of the players who don't."  

A couple guys in the crowd were very impressed with JR, who sounded to them "like a GM, very in touch with his players' strengths and weaknesses".

More tomorrow.  Chiburb, the KW 1988 3B "experiment" story is one of the best.  

speculation - Konerko's not going anywhere, and will probably end up his career as a Sox (White), according to JR.  Mentioned many reasons, though he joked about his being a 5/10 guy in May.

did in his debut, too, and how Razor is handling his Clearwater (Phillies "A" team) assignment tomorrow.

And what TV startlet Bill Melton nailed in his prime.  And Marriotti's (alleged) sexual preference.  And such.

glad to see you survived!

nuts) is about Jeff Cox.  Salt of the earth, great guy to have a beer with, talks a mile a minute (Carlos May was translating just like the Geico commercial - one of the funniest moments of the camp), carries affirmations in his back pocket.  Interesting looking guy - Wimpy called him Uncle Festus (there was a resemblance, though I thought becuase of his coloring he looked like the kid form the Powder movie), suggesting he "return to the crypt before the sun comes up".  Hickey then tried to ram a wooden plank through his chest (to stop the vampire, or course).  Great gags.

Interesting tidbit, hopefully not a portent of things to come:  He had 2 runners thrown out at home the first game of the week (we played his team, and I was the 3B, so I had a close look and actually threw one of the runners out) when he was coaching third.  He got all kinds of crap for it - "Bring back Joey Cora!".

Uh oh.....

WU, out of curiosity, was your focus on the market just purely due to personal investments or do you work in the industry?  I couldn't believe the volatility pre-market today.  It was some of the craziest movement I have ever seen.

but i'm enjoying this thread and am glad you are having a good time at fantasy camp.

Always a fave of mine, even more so after meeting him and shooting the breeze.  I jacked with him about Harry Caray slurring (after a few Falstaffs) during a broadcast one day "Bill Melton is a good-looking man".  This was in the 70's, when men were less secure about complementing other men on their looks (metrosexual was not in the lexicon).  Melton proceeded to tell me what an a-hole Harry was, and gave an example.

The year Terry Forster and Goose Gossage came up they were both 19 years old.  The Sox were "horse%^$!" and Melton admits he, too, was "horse#$%^".  But Harry immediately began ragging on the kids and Melton came to their defense, confronting Caray.  From that point on, Harry ripped Melton in public.  Got so bad, says Bill, he asked to be traded (and was).  Melton obviously loves the Sox (or he sure as hell wouldn't be coming back to fantasy camp all these years) so it must've been tough to leave, but the animosity was strong enough where it didn't matter.

Last Melton story (for the AARP guys on this site):  At least 10 different guys told me, and one announced loudly at the pre-game clubhouse meeting one morning, that Melton nailed Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeanie) in her prime when he was with the Angels.  He denied it, but everyone I spoke with said it was common knowledge.  (He WAS a good looking man, after all.)

Rich Dotson, new AAA pitching coach for our Charlotte affiliate (and previous AA B'ham PC) had this to say when asked about DLS, Gio, Egbert, Broadway, and Russell, when questioned about our minor league pitching depth, or lack thereof, and the wisdom of trading our 2 top pitching prosepcts):

1.  DLS: Quoted statistics and made sure to mention he pitched predominantly in "A" ball.
2.  Gio:  Quoted stats and then mentioned "he's what, 5'7"-5'8"?"
3.  Broadway/Egbert:  I was talking to Fregosi, so I missed it, but nothing of substance.
4.  Russell:  No stats, just the "probably the most disappointing pitcher for us was Russell".

So, from the pitching coach, no gnashing of teeth over our delpetion of the top 2 prospects.

(OK, my stories of relevance are running out of steam.)

Your fantasy camp stories are awesome!

Glad to hear that the guys have a sense of humor and enjoyed their time with the Sox enough to participate. Makes me feel like less of a hoser for being such an dedicated / interested fan.

My favorite guy the whole week.  Obviously knows baseball up and down.  Looks gruff but is a real teddy bear.  LOVES talking about his pensions, family, and job (Atlanta Braves Special Assistant of Player Personnel - SAPP).  3 vignettes:

1.  Someone brought up Selig's new contract.  Jimmy said that Selig and Reinsdorf are the 2 most powerful men in baseball.
2.  We were talking about the Braves.  JF said Schuerholz is the nicest, most professional person he's ever met.
3.  Proving he is self-deprecating, he told us he had the opportunity to buy real estate in FL in the late '60's before a mouse named Mickey darkened Cen't. FL's doorestep.  "Nah, didn't think anything of it."  Smiles.  Continues:  He was offered to be the owner of all car dealers in FL who sold cars made by....Toyota.  "Nope, didn't so it."  (He looks to be wealthier than most living humans, so it was more humorous than anything.)

Lives in Tarpon Springs, has a commerical fishing business and more irons in more fires, it sounds.  If you see him at Sox Fest, have a drink with him (even just a cup o' joe - he's the real deal).

eating, and drinking.  

banquet:

1.  Mark Buehrle signed baseball - $500 or so.
   
2.  Jim Thome signed baseball - $375.
   
3.  Iguchi signed jersey (?!) - $200 or so.
   
4.  AJ signed bat - $200 or so.

(Best for last)
5.  Scott Podsednik signed bat (I shouted out "not a mark on it!") - $125.

2005 be damned.

interesting story of camp, was on regarding our new 3rd base coach, Jeff Cox (he of the 169 major league at bats).  Seems Coxxie was at the bar with a couple of teammates of mine one night last week.  After a few drinks the guys were engaged in baseball talk, talking about our game that day (Cox/Dotson beat us the first day), and it appears Cox warmed up to our guys:

Cox:  Yeah, we should keep in touch.  Here, what's your name, and I'll put it in my cell phone.  You'll have to help me, 'cause I don't really know how to do it.

Teammate 1: My name's John D.

Cox:  OK, I'll call you Big John. Here, put "Big John" in my phone.  (John does so.)

Cox (To Teammate 2):  OK, what's your name?

Teammate 2:  Tom D.

Cox:  Tom D.?  Nah, I won't remember that.  I'll call you "FN".

Teammate 2:  What's "FN"?

Cox:  "Fuck nut".  That's how I'll remember you.  "FN" is for "Fuck nut".  (Types "FN"'s number into the cell phone.)

Reminded me of Bluto Blutarsky - "Your Delta Tau Chi name is 'flounder'".

When John told me this the next morning I could not stop laughing for 15 minutes.  Best goddamn story of the week.

So Cox will be waving runners around third yelling "Come on, 'FN', score, goddamit!"  

Listen for it this spring.

Ken Kravec was our "quiet" coach, though he got lots of shit for working for Hendry/Cubs and having "cubs" in his personal AOL e-mail adderess.  Tried pitching for a game and got a tired arm, though we needed him once more time (Grebeck was the alternative, and at the time was sitting 0-4 for the teams he'd pitched for).

Kravec gives it the old college try and gets through the first inning of his 2nd game of the camp.  He goes to coach first base at the bottom of the inning and is standing there flapping his gums with the opposing team's first baseman.  Our leadoff guy, a lefty, is up to hit.  (I had just been thinking that neither Fregosi, coaching 3rd, nor Kravec were wearing batting helmets, and I thought that was the new "law" after Coolbaugh's death).  Our guy hits a heat-seeking missile headed straight for Kravec.  This thing was a "leenya", as Hawk would say.  He tries to get out of the way, but the sunofabitch ball was arcing right into him (like backing into a ball thrown behind your head when you're batting) and it nails him right abouve the left elbow.  POW.  He goes to one knee as we all cry out "Medic!".

Next day he shows me his arm - BIG effin' bruise, and his left hand is about 1.5x the size of his right.  Needless to say, he didn't pitch for us after that.  (But baseball players are stubborn - no one donned a helmet while coaching the bases, either, the rest of the camp.)