kwolf68

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 01:52 PM) Addison Reed, the end. Thats what I meant...I got Addison Reed mixed up with Dylan Axelrod.

Not that we'll have many games to close next year. ...but who slots into that role now?

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 01:46 PM) DLS blew out his elbow - hard to say what could have been. Yes and he was one hell of a prospect at the time, which still didn't prevent KW from sending HIM + Gio + Sweeney to Oakland for Swisher. So while I won't suggest Santos is NEAR as valuable as Joe Di...err, Nick Swisher, it makes no sense how we could trade the bucketload we traded to Oakland (yes Sweeney is MEH and DLS blew out his elbow) and then get only this in return for Santos. I have NO PROBLEM with the player we acquired, I just believe we didn't get enough. Of course, if this guy makes the Sox staff out of Spring training and wins 15 games then thats egg on my face I suppose.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 01:42 PM) Supposedly this Molina kid has a plus splitter, and if you combine that with excellent command than yea, you have a potential all-star pitcher. I agree. Sincerely, Fautino De Los Santos -- Seriously, forget this all star talk...this is a kid with ZERO experience above AA level. If he actually plays major league baseball for the White Sox in a middle relief role I'll be pleased. "All Star Starter" is certainly the ceiling, but given how fickle prospect development is I wouldn't hold my breath.

QUOTE (Jake @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 01:40 PM) I'd say KW thinks he just got a future all-star caliber pitcher - his stuff certainly sounds that good. 148 Ks:18 BBs is unbelievable. His numbers remind me of De Los Santos from A ball. And we see what happened to him...traded away and now where? A player with limited AA innings just isn't that 'sure of a thing'. Santos should have brought more than this.

Seems to me giving up a capable closer under control for (how long) for a player who has never pitched about AA is a bit of a stretch. Could another prospect have been obtained, maybe not as highly regarded, but another one to at least help with our farm system depth? This appears an overpayment for a player who is 22 years old who has 24 innings total about the A level. I am not shedding tears over moving Santos, but I thought we could have gotten more.

So it's OK to give away our best prospects, but god forbid we ask for top prospects in return.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 5, 2011 -> 07:30 PM) He seems older than he is and isn't the quickest or nimblest guy out there. I'd be surprised if they got much for him. Konerko would not be valued for his 'quickness'...he would solve a team need at first base for power, average and leadership. I have no interest in trading him and if 'not getting much' is all we'd get, then we hang onto him.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 5, 2011 -> 05:03 PM) The rumor out there now is CJ Wilson has a 6-year offer from somebody. Absolutely this 'rumor' is true. Sincerely, CJ Wilson's agent

Cautiously excited. The Mark situation is casting a pall over the off-season, but I am not as worried about Ventura. I am also interested in a major rebuild, but one that will allow the Sox to be competitive, which is the real trick.

Humber struggled with injuries for a good part of his career. When he was "on" last year, he was sensational. The talent is there.

Stewart has a good arm (has been clocked in the 95-97 range, although he is mainly low 90s now) and has decent command, but I don't like his secondary pitches. I don't like his change-up OR his slider though his scouting profile ranks his slider as a potential + pitch, though I don't see it (although I am not a scout). His hits to IP ratio isn't that impressive either. I DO like his fastball and he has nice movement on it, but right now he has middle relief pitcher written on him and that's where he spent much of his time in college. It seems moving to starter is something that has happened since becoming a pro. Improving secondary pitches can be done. I didn't like Gavin Floyd's curveball early in his career, it rolled way too much, but he really tightened it up and has become a very effective middle of the rotation pitcher. So to me...Zach Stewarts upside is middle of rotation (only with development of secondary pitches-slider and change), but it's more likely he'll end up in middle/long relief.

Stewart lacks the quality secondary pitches to be a starter. Sure, he could give a spot start now and then and on a weak team could pencil in as a bottom end of the rotation starter, but right now that's his ceiling. I didn't like the move of getting him to begin with, but when I watched him pitch he did win me over because I DO believe he has a good arm, so in the very least I think he could be a useful bullpen guy. But I wouldn't hold my breath on him starting.

This is going to be an exciting off-season, but the luster will probably shine off when we lose 90+ games next year. Disclaimer: I am FOR a full rebuild. Kenny stinks when he tries to make trades for the big names, but he is actually pretty good when he goes for projects and under the radar guys.

Some great Sox teams in the early 1990s...I wonder if the strike year coulda been the Sox year. I seem to remember we were in the mix and the team was coming together. I think may have had 3 best record in the majors when the strike happened, not sure...I do know that was a damn good team.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Oct 3, 2011 -> 02:23 PM) Rebuilding this mess will be a daunting enough task as it is. But sweet f***ing jesus christ. You want to trade Ramirez, Santos and just about our entire starting staff, sign Scott Kazmir, and build around a guy that just hit .159, a perennial lazy, underachieving bum and Jake Prior? This would be the worst rebuild ever if you were in charge. +1

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 09:56 PM) He took the field alone then was removed to a standing ovation from the fans and teammates. According to twitter. That's what happened. For this Sox fan it was not easy watching that, though it was a hell of a classy move.

QUOTE (Rooftop Shots @ Sep 27, 2011 -> 11:20 AM) Just curious. For quite some time I have been reading about the Dave Martinez hype. Can someone give me the low down on why they really believe that HE IS THE GUY. The truth is NO ONE knows. This is the 'backup QB' or 'backup goalie" syndrome where the unknown actually harbors more promise. NO ONE can know if David Martinez is a capable manager, but he's young, has been working with skilled people thus far and like I said...he has no managerial resume that can be dissected and picked apart. There are issues on this team that need to be addressed. Kenny Williams is just as much a part of this as is Ozzie, and I argue Williams has done more damage with how shoddy our minor league system is. His desire to collect big money "baseball cards" has cost the Sox some pretty good young (and cheap) talent. The ONLY THING that keeps me even slightly on Kenny's side is while he has made some foolish trades, he also has a knack for grabbing guys off the scrap heap who turn into pretty good ball players. If he would get back to that type of prudent managing I think he could be a leader of a new rebuild in Chicago, that wouldn't take 10 years.

The end of an era. Ozzie, I thought, managed great for much of his time in Chicago...he was unorthodoxed yet instinctive. He also proved he could win in Chicago. But somewhere along the line something went off the tracks. It's not unlike what happened with Mike Ditka, although Ditka accomplished far less with much more than did Ozzie. Ozzie oversaw an organization that trotted out too many overpaid and overrated players, which is partly his fault of course. I appreciate Ozzie's time in Chicago for what he did bring to the table, but the White Sox are very stale and the organization needs to rebuild.

If Ozzie leaves, I fully expect him to be very classy in regards to the ownership, but most importantly to the fans.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Sep 7, 2011 -> 09:46 AM) They say misery loves company. We can build a factory and make misery. Frustrated incorporated. You just quoted a Soul Asylum song...you sir are one of the greatest posters who has ever lived.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 6, 2011 -> 09:29 AM) It'll be interesting to see what happens if Stewart ends up as productive or better than Hudson. I hope he does, as I am a White Sox fan, but in my view Hudson is the better pitcher at this point.

Geezus H...I got my son's little league team renamed to the "White Sox"... How to explain this debacle to them.

You bash Ozzie for liking 'small ball', but turn around and bash Ozzie for playing Adam Dunn, a player with a proven track record of 40+ homer seasons. Obsession with 'small ball' had NOTHING to do with letting go of Frank Thomas or even Jim Thome. Thome was not replaced with a 'small ball player'...he was replaced with a power hitter, who just happen to suck in Chicago. Taking the extra base, running hard, stolen bases, sacrifices...isn't SMALL ball, it's just good baseball. Plenty to rip Ozzie about (his handling of the pitchers for one) and it is likely time for him to go, but he has NEVER been adverse to having a team with home run hitters...He does however, like a certain degree of flexibility in the lineup to where it's not always station to station. Ozzie can be a fool, but on this issue he and not you, is correct.

This game is funny.