caulfield12

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...eals/index.html Good stuff. This really supports JR's and KW's philosophy about signing pitchers to long-term deals, the obviously very difficult decision made to re-up Mark Buehrle, and the reason why Jaime Navarro and David Wells are just a couple of examples of pitchers blowing up in our faces. Also, not trying to keep Garland looks to have been a wise decision...yeah, I know a lot of Sox posters think the White Sox should have signed Clemens when they had a chance, but everyone felt he was at the end...until the performance-enhancing drugs kicked in. Can't fault KW or Schueler for not taking a risk there.

I think Huston Street also figures into their plans b4 Jenks as well...at least at present. The obvious move for us is a Taveras and Street "mini-blockbuster," although KW taking on another big contract down in the pen might arguably give us the most expensive bullpen in baseball, right? I'd have to think Jenks would be moved in that scenario, simply because of the money we'd be paying Street, Thornton, Dotel and Linebrink, not to mention MacDougal. We've gone from one of the cheapest bullpens in the league in 05-07 to one of the most expensive. As far as Joe Nathan goes, he showed signs of being human/fallible for the first time last year...mostly in the final three months, but especially on the road. He blew two games against the Mariners (of all teams) alone.

Ummm...without Contreras, we probably wouldn't have made the playoffs in 2005, let alone won the World Series. That alone is a reason to appreciate him. He actually pitched pretty well last season until he became hurt and tried to pitch through it without telling Ozzie and KW. He's a bull and a strong competitor. I'll just cross my fingers he can make some positive contributions to the ballclub next year, whether as the fifth in mid to late season or out of the bullpen, a la El Duque in 2005. http://www.670thescore.com/topic/play_wind...audioId=3118084 Fairly interesting interview with Cuban baseball "expert" on the Score. Nothing we haven't heard so far about the kid...I guess the news, if any, is that his defense is "adequate" at 3B but I'd take that with a grain of salt because Bjarkman has seen him play maybe a dozen times in person. That said, we couldn't really expect Ventura/Crede over there at his size and age...let's see how he does this spring. Apparently, it's going to take something like 1-2 weeks for him to get his visa to fly to Chicago or Miami from the Dominican Republic. Hopefully he won't have any visa problems in the spring, because he needs as much time in Glendale as possible.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 06:18 PM) Caufield made a few points. Jenks is also 6 years younger, has thrown in and won a World series, and has shown he can handle the pressures of pitching in a large city. Fuentes is also going to want a 4, 5 year contract. And he has a lot more innings on his arm than bobby. New York demands a winner. Bobby is a winner, if he stays healthy. Fuentes is more of an unknown Good article by Merkin with lots of good stuff from Don Cooper has all the compelling arguments one needs for BBBJ. should be a good link http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 06:13 PM) Howell's stuff isn't even close to being on par with Thornton's. He has mediocre velocity on his fastball, although his hook is a plus pitch. I was a big fan of his back to his days at the University of Texas but I think scouts had it right when they identified him as the type of guy that wouldn't make it as a starter. He has a fit being a solid reliever, but I don't see him being anything like Thornton who is a dominant reliever at times and a potential closer. It just goes to show that it's possible for an ex-Royal to have a positive effect on a bullpen...and Howell, an ill-advised former first rounder, was pretty much given up for dead. OTOH, H. Ramirez and MacDougal have been duds for us, while Carrasco has been something of a pleasant surprise.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 03:24 PM) I don't quite understand how Jenks is a better bet than Fuentes. Fuentes has been rock solid the past 4 seasons in Colorado. Simply because the Mets have concerns about how Fuentes would do pitching in the crucible of NYC...Jenks has succeeded on the highest level (World Series/playoffs) and already is in a pretty massive media market, third only to LA and NYC. Many of those saves were for Rockies teams that were the White Sox equivalent of Kip Wells dominating inferior NL opponents five years ago after he was traded...could Kip have done the same thing in Chicago he did for 2-3 years in Pittsburgh, or Fogg? Well, we will never know for sure, but most doubt it strongly.

By the way, does anyone know when the Viciedo press conference is scheduled today? What about his physical? Has he already passed that or taken it? There are also many conflicting stories about the length of the contract....is it four years or five?

More on the M's from Espn.com Yet Zduriencik, in barely three weeks on the job, has already begun transforming the organization. Scouting director Bob Fontaine -- responsible for the much-lamented decision to bypass University of Washington star and Seattle-area native Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft in favor of Cal's Brandon Morrow -- was fired. Benny Looper, who had spent 23 years in the Seattle front office, most recently as vice president of player personnel, quit the organization rather than accept a demotion. He is now an assistant general manager with the Phillies. Greg Hunter, director of player development, was reassigned to the pro scouting department. In their places has come a string of new hires -- Tom McNamara, former Brewers' scout, as scouting director; Tony Blengino, Zduriencik's assistant in Milwaukee, as a special assistant to the GM; Pedro Grifol, promoted from within to director of minor league operations; Tim Tolman, the former Nationals' third-base coach, as director of minor league instruction. Zduriencik put Blengino in charge of creating a new department of statistical research, a sign that the Mariners are going to lean more on sabermetrics than they have in the past. That came as welcome news to many in the stats-minded blogging community who correctly predicted a negative outcome for many of Bavasi's moves -- including the so-far disastrous trade for Bedard that cost the Mariners several top prospects in addition to All-Star reliever George Sherrill. Don Wakamatsu, right, takes over a Mariners team that had the worst record (61-101) in the American League last season. "We want to take all the information at our disposal and combine it with our scouting,'' Blengino told the Seattle Times.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 07:28 AM) It was all based on his .251 BABIP. Supposedly, that makes him very unlucky. Well good news, the guy that had a better year than him anyway, the guy who people wanted gone so Swisher can flail away at 58 foot sliders in the dirt and then watch the next pitch go by right down the middle, Paul Konerko, had a .247 BABIP. He was even more unlucky. Double that...he was more unlucky, just because he was "unlucky" when he was plagued by three separate injuries and still put up a better number than Swisher. First his hand, then the ribcage pull/tear and finally the twisted knee at the end of the season. Not to mention the fact he's mentioned his "aging" and that for the first time, Konerko's really going to be more conscious about diet, training and conditioning in the offseason. All good omens.

Well, seemingly a ton, 3 of our top 5 prospects. Then again, our system is/was so weak, that's a little bit telling. Maybe DLS had one fluke season before going down with possibly a career-ending injury. He was still 2-3 years away. We all know about Sweeney and Gonzalez...Sweeney might turn into a poor man's David DeJesus, but where would he be starting if we still had him? CF? I think not, although some want to believe he could play that position adequately, I've seen enough of that with Mackowiak, Griffey and Swisher to last me 20 years.

Nope, just underlined the other parts of the article I thought were most interesting. I suppose I could have been redundant and underlined the line an earlier post was referring to, but we're all intelligent enough (I hope). An earlier article said one of the teams was willing to move their starting 3B to create an opening for Viciedo...obviously not the Yankees, so that means the Red Sox were/are open to moving Lowell, and the Astros are letting Wiggington go.

Felix Perez...let's set to work and see what we can find out about this kid! Perez is a raw teen talent who has spent parts of two seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, batting a light .271. Torres, who represented such big leaguers as Yoslan Herrera, Jose Contreras, Yuniesky Betancourt and most recently Alexei Ramirez, admitted Perez was raw but said he had five-tool talent. baseballamerica.com The fact that he's left-handed is reason for excitement...I really wonder if there was some sort of "package deal" where KW bid more than he wanted to for Viciedo in order to also bring in Perez, too? Of course, there have been quite a few Japanese players that came to the US in their late 20's/early 30's with huge contracts, like Ichiro, Hideki Irabu, Dice K Matsuzaka, Godzilla Matsui, etc.

Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports The Chicago White Sox continued to corner the market on talented young Cubans, agreeing with 19-year-old Dayan Viciedo to a record-setting contract Thursday night. Viciedo’s four-year, $11 million major-league deal guarantees him more money than anyone signed out of the June draft or any player under 21 signed as an international free agent. Mark Prior’s $10.5 million bonus set the record for a college player, Detroit’s Rick Porcello received a $7.28 million major-league deal out of high school two years ago and Oakland gave 16-year-old Dominican Michel Inoa $4.25 million this year. One year after signing another Cuban defector, Alexei Ramirez, to a four-year deal and watching him finish second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting last season, the White Sox promised Viciedo a shot at their third-base job despite him never taking a professional at-bat outside his home country. “He’ll have to earn it, and I expect him to give a good fight for that position,” said Jaime Torres, Viciedo’s agent. “If I were a betting man, I’d be that he’s there.” Chicago’s willingness to put Viciedo in an open competition pushed them past three other teams, Torres said, one of which was offering more than $11 million. Viciedo’s familiarity with Ramirez, as well as the presence of Cuban Jose Contreras, helped sway him toward the White Sox. Swells of interest overwhelmed Viciedo’s initial showcase last week, when more than 100 scouts gathered in the Dominican Republic to watch him hit, run and throw. The next day, another workout drew 75 people, and Torres figured it would translate into a contract bigger than the $11 million. “I honestly think this young man is worth a lot more,” he said. Torres was right about Ramirez, who signed for $4.75 million, an extremely affordable amount for the White Sox the next three seasons. Viciedo, who turned professional at 15, hit .337 and made the All-Star team in Cuba as a 16-year-old. Scouts at his workout raved about his power bat, though they expressed concerns about his conditioning and wondered whether his weight would balloon. Torres said he expects another of his Cuban clients, 20-year-old center fielder Felix Perez, to sign within the next two weeks. A left-handed-hitting center fielder, Perez was lightly regarded when playing for Isla de Juventud in Cuba but impressed scouts with his five-tool potential while working out alongside Viciedo last week. He has eight teams vying for him, Torres said. “There is serious interest,” Torres said, indicating Perez, too, could receive a major-league contract. “Some clubs that originally thought they’d have a shot at him have been surprised.” Cubano, what's the word on this Perez kid? Where the heck did he come from...we heard about the pitcher and SS that were Torres clients. Is it possible the White Sox also end up with a new centerfielder? This kid has been entirely under the radar until one week ago.

It also depends on what they get back for DeJesus and Teahen....among other things. Also, they might deal Jose Guillen if they can find a taker for that ill-advised contract. They're going to get better production out of Jacobs than some kind of combination of Gload and Shealy. The OPS of their starting centerfielders last year was .600. That will go up, undoubtedly, with Crisp.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 07:04 AM) Even if the sox wind up trading Dye, Jenks, Vazquez, hell, even Konerko, they aren't rebuilding in the sense of writing off 2009. They are trying to compete in 2009 and for the long term by getting younger, better players with upside. This is like the Twins plus. The Twins build around Morneau and Mauer, with strong pitching, defense and contact hitters. The sox can build around Quentin and Alexei, and now Viciedo, and Beckham, with strong pitching, solid defense and guys who can hit for avg and power, and still run the bases some. If the sox add a Fernando Martinez to the mix, that's a very strong core to have in place for years. If the sox add a Pelfrey and Edwin Jackson, to Buerhle, Danks, Floyd, and Poreda, with a variety of bullpen arms, that's a strong starting pitching staff as well that can compete for a few years. From reading many articles, it seems that there is a very good chance that we deal Fields and/or Vazquez before ST. Now I'm not sure why KW wouldn't at least want to give Fields spring training to re-establish his value and show other teams that he's 100%. Unless they simply have already decided (Ozzie and KW) he is never going to fit their plans and be adequate defensively AND he won't be able to make the transition to LF AND get rid of the hitch in his swing (see Borchard, Joe).

Also when it comes to Wood and Hoffman, the Mets think both would be more amenable to short-term deals. This would mean fewer overall dollars at risk while also giving the Mets an opportunity to further discover if a Bobby Parnell or Eddie Kunz could be their closer of the future. One Mets official, in fact, said Wood threw the ball as well in 2008 as any available closer. Another official said of the possibility of Hoffman, "should we go one year with this guy rather than tie up our money for three or four years?" The Mets also are taking their time in this market to see whether Seattle makes J.J. Putz available. Of all the potential closers, Putz intrigues them because of a combination of stuff and affordability (two years at $13.8 million left on his deal). The Mets also remain very interested in Huston Street and believe Colorado, which recently obtained him from Oakland, would spin him again. The Mets had bad scouting reports on Street near the July 31 trade deadline, but their September reports had his fastball up again consistently in the 93-mph range, and they believe Street could - at the least - be a high-end eighth-inning man if they could secure a closer. The Mets do not like the current pricetags on the White Sox's Bobby Jenks and Houston's Jose Valverde. Now it might turn out they don't like the pricetags on K-Rod and Fuentes, as well, but end up doing three years with a very makeable fourth-year option or flat four-year deals because they badly want to fill the role. But as one rival executive said, "The Mets know they can wait. They know if one of those closers gets a four-year offer, they will at least go back to the Mets to see if the big dog in this market will top it. So why would the Mets act first before knowing for sure?" newyorkpost.com Good article with many Cooper quotes on Jenks, his maturation as a pitcher and a possible trade to Mets. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox burn, lust for, and love Teixeira. Silverman says Tex should end up with a salary of at least $20MM and a term of at least six years. Also, Silverman talked to one source who suggested the Yankees' acquisition of Nick Swisher "could be a prelude to another deal with a National League club." Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still plan to add an impact hitter. He agrees that "several National League teams have had their eye on Swisher." MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Braves are among them

He can play third base, first base, shortstop and used to be a pitcher with a 90 mph fastball. The Sox see only a third baseman for now. All 30 teams took a hard look at Viciedo during tryouts he held this month in the Dominican Republic, including one at the Sox' facility there. The Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros joined the White Sox in showing the most interest. DeLuca The other funny thing was DeLuca is consistently forecasting Fields and Vazquez being gone before ST. We shall see.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 12:52 AM) I agree, though I was encouraged reading some article about the Sox brass being high on some minor league reliever ready to take over for Bobby. I'm not sold on Thornton closing, not at all, except by committee. Link...they're not high on him YET, but his name is getting mentioned due to his 2008 success. Poreda, in my opinion, would be more likely...although that's asking a ton from a rookie, but Jenks managed it.

QUOTE (TCQ @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 02:37 AM) You have a death wish I guess I have an "adventuresome" spirit, lol. I've lived in the presence of drug lords, Mafia and soldados (soldiers) for one year in Colombia and was kidnapped and drugged. My wife is Russian, and I would never go anywhere in Russia or the Ukraine without her...10X more dangerous than Colombia, which has a somewhat undeserved reputation (although another female teacher in my school was robbed and has a knife wound on her cheek as a souvenir). Maybe this also comes from my seven months in China and frustration with repressive/autocratic governments!!!

The White Sox could get in trouble (wouldn't it be tampering?) but how difficult would it be to get a world-class speedboat from one of Ozzie's Miami or Venezuelan/Caribbean connections and spirit Marti out of the country? Of course, that doesn't mean the White Sox could just sign him without any problems...but you have to think we'd have a 95% chance to get any Cuban defecting at this point, lol. This isn't an elaborate strategic planning mission like the Bay of Pigs, just takes a little coordination. How heavily defended is the coast by Cuban patrol boats? Would they try to kill/shoot him if he was leaving on a boat, with orders from the Castro regime? Is he going to be under some type of "house arrest" or have to wear an ankle bracelet with GPS tracking?

QUOTE (TCQ @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 11:03 PM) There is a difference in those whove done it and those who havent. Theres also a difference between those who havent and those who will no longer. It would be a no brainer to make the kind of trade you commented on because with all of the potential that is in that package it is a risk one could live with. Vazquez fell apart under pressure and is extremely erratic. The point that he pitches 200 innings a year is moot due to his performance. Trading Jenks would be a very smart move as well if that was the package we got back because i can almost guarentee that he will not be on that same list in the next few years. He has a bolt in his arm and a declining k rate. People need to stop being so pro jenks just because he is a fan favorite. It is a business, and in this business the save is the most overrated stat. I know its not always easy to find the right guy to close but for every situation that there is a bad closer someone like JJ Putz (Two years ago), George Sherrill(This year), or Chad Cordero (Three years ago) comes out of no where to be spectacular. No one that pitches 60 innings a year should be guarded so heavily if he could yield that kind of return. Or Hermanson (2005), Shingo for half a season in 2004.

Let's split the difference and call it 4/56. Still way too much, and too many years at this point in his career.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 04:40 PM) Fields has a great arm... however, that's all he has going for him at third base as he has that problem with his hands turning into stone and all. Maybe I'm going more off his days at OSU...he couldn't thrown the ten yard down and out to the wide side of the field, and he mostly succeeded by tossing balls up into the winds and letting his super-talented wide receivers circle under them. I can't remember him making one throw that I just said, "wow." He was a very strong leadership guy, but I never thought of him as having an NFL arm. We can agree to disagree and you can say great arm and I'll say average MLB 3B arm. But I think you'll see the difference when they start making comparisons between him and Viciedo at third. "LARGE FRAME. MATURE BODY, HEAVY REAR & LEGS. BODY TYPE SIMILAR TO LANCE BERKMAN. WIDE, SEMI-SQUAT STANCE. BAT PINCHED INTO CHEST. STRENGTH IN SLIGHT UPPERCUT SWING W/ PWR POTENTIAL. ARM PLAYABLE, ACCURATE THROWS. HANDS & DEFENSIVE ACTIONS SHOW PROPER TECHNIC. ALERT BASE RUNNER. PHYSICALLY MATURE. STRENGTH IN SWING, BAT & PWR POTENTIAL." mlb.com scouting report on draft day

How quickly we forget...Dye has been with us for FOUR years now.