Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 08:11 PM) can't burn two players like that in a close game. Normally I'd agree, but with the state of our bullpen, I'm going for the W in the 9th.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 08:08 PM) We really can't afford extras, heart of the order coming up in the 9th. I'd pinch hit for Quentin with Manny and then sub Jones in the bottom of 9th.

I really like Teahen in this super-sub role.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 07:30 PM) I could see that working out but DH/1B would have to be big power guys. IMO, Morel should be able to replace Omar's production. Viciedo (with some Teahen mixed in) would probably be an upgrade over the Kotsay/Jones platoon. We'd definitely need to resign Konerko or replace him with an equally productive bat. If that were accomplished, you'd be looking at a similar offense next season.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 07:19 PM) Thats a big if, since those are two major power positions. I think as of now, we will have holes at RF (Pierre/Rios are locks), 3B (no one), C, and 1B (Paulie a FA). Potential fits from within are: - Dayan Viciedo (we know he can't do it defensively at 3B, but offensively he has the ability to be a fit at 1B, but we'd be taking an awful huge chance switching from Paulie to Dayan - Teahen (personally I'd just let him be a backup that can get at bats from the left side in RF, 3B, 2B, and 1st) - Flowers (Not ready) - Mitchell (Not ready) Tigers just took a 1-0 lead with runners on the corners and 2 out. You forgot about Morel. He's been on fire in AAA as of late. I could see Morel at 3rd next year with Viciedo at DH/1B and Teahen getting some playing time at all three spots.

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 06:38 PM) i really hope we keep EJAX next year...... If he keeps pitching like this, then it's all but certain. The question then becomes can you keep him past 2011.

This is a complete f***ing joke. I'm sorry but it's absolutely stupid not putting our best offense on the field while our bullpen is in shambles. We're going to need every extra run to help avoid a late game meltdown. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like Ozzie has done this same s*** in the past with other mid-season additions. He feels these players need a game to adjust to their new team. Unfortunately, that shouldn't even be up for consideration when your team has a month left in the season. Also, what's the over/under on LOB for Mark Kotsay tonight? I'll go with four and a half.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 24, 2010 -> 10:26 PM) Not to me, they're 3 1/2 out with 3 games left against the 1st place team. Manny could make a huge difference with this line-up just by being OK. This is exactly how I feel. We have a chance to add a potential impact bat for September. If he's even semi-productive, he makes our offense much stronger. Worst case scenario, he's an upgrade over Mark Kotsay, puts some people in the seats and sends a message to the team that this season isn't over yet. Why do some people on here want to give up on this season so quickly?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 24, 2010 -> 07:09 PM) I hope an NL team claims him. As was stated earlier, this is very much the opposite of the way KW does business. It almost makes me think its strictly a PR move for the Sox hoping an NL team claims him or someone in front of them in line and then they can always say, we tried to get him. I just don't think Manny is going to earn that $4 million plus the next month. Last Sept. he hit .218. His last 1000 American League ABs his numbers aren't much better, if they are really even better, than Thome's. Maybe it will light a spark, but oft-injured 38 year olds off the juice rarely earn $4 million in a month. I'm sorry but if you can get Manny for nothing you do it. He may not work out in the end, but this team is desperate for an upgrade at DH and he can't be any worse than Kotsay. We have to roll the dice on Manny if we get the chance.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 13, 2010 -> 08:39 AM) Epic fail by Kenny this year. I'm a huge KW supporter, but I will never understand what the f*** he was thinking here. The idea of using a bad offensive player as your primary DH is just so illogical. We've been basically a man down all season offensively and will continue to be down one if we make the postseason. The most irritating part is that DH should be the easiest spot in the lineup to fill with average production but KW couldn't find a single way to do that over the past 8-9 months.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 09:22 AM) You'll note though...Ankiel...got traded! The deal didn't bring back a top of the league prospect, but it did bring back some guys who might be MLB caliber filler players at some point, and even that can be valuable. If I were sitting in Moore's chair, I'd be trying to draft as well as I can, develop guys in the minors as much as I can...but then I'd also be taking some money and signing some guys in FA to fill things I considered obvious holes or places where I'd rather not bring up my young talent just yet (develop them more in the minors and push back their Arb years). I'd go after guys that aren't hugely expensive, even if I have to overpay a little to get them to KC, and I'd go after guys that for whatever reason might be able to play well enough to turn themselves into trade-bait. That way, maybe I sign one guy and he winds up being a complete waste, but maybe I sign an Ankiel/Podsednik, get a couple wins out of them, and then deal them for more young roster filler pieces to a desperate team at the deadline. If I draft well and can fill in top line players through the draft, I can round out my roster with other cheap guys by that technique. I'll tell you what, I have no idea why teams like the Royals don't stock up on veteran relievers in the offseason, even if they have to overpay a little. As long as the deals are for one year, these guys are easy to move at the deadline and if they're performing well, can give you quite a haul. The Pirates' signing of Octavio Dotel is a perfect example.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 12:04 PM) What are the Sox longterm plans for Sale? "Lefty one out" guy, reliever, starter? If it were "Lefty one out" guy, then a lot of people, including KW, should be fired. No team in their right mind would ever draft a guy in the first round who they project to be a LOOGY in the long-run. I think the hope is he can develop into a starter, but if not, he should be a pretty damn good left-handed setup man.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 09:16 AM) We saw how careful Ozzie was to let Santos pitch in April so expect similar treatment for Sale. Except Ozzie loves the lefty-lefty matchups, so I'd expect Sale to get a decent amount of use if he proves effective from the get go.

Give that man a Gold Glove!

I'd definitely be willing to sign him to a minor league contract. If you give him some sort of out clause, where he can get out of the contract by August 29th or so, I think there's a chance he'd be willing to accept. No team is going to bring him straight to the majors without facing some minor league pitching first.

IMO, our only hope for getting Kotsay out of the lineup is if his BA falls below .200. His BA has been floating around .220 for weeks and it hasn't bothered Guillen to this point, but a drop below .200 would surely garner some attention right? I mean, at what point do people have to realize his terrible performance isn't just do to a little bad luck. I'm just about ready to chear for an 0 for 19 streak.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 12:06 PM) I thought about it for a moment and realized...you know...I bet the Pirates would be happy to pay $3 million to Dunn to get those 2 draft picks. I got to be honest with you Balta, I feel like you've been going overboard on this draft pick hype for a while. Why would the Pirates pay $3 million for 2 draft picks that will cost them another let's say $2 million to sign? That's a total of $5 million spent on a supplemental 1st round pick and best case scenario a 1st round pick (>15) only worth $2 million. Instead, they could use the $5 million on international free agents and highly ranked guys who slip in the draft due to signability concerns. I can guarantee you they'd get way more bang for their buck this way. There's absolutely no need to pay a premium to "acquire" draft picks when you can just hand out over slot signing bonuses in later rounds for similar players. This is exactly why I find it hilarious that Rizzo didn't accept a reasonable offer from us (or any other team for that matter). He could of had a package of Hudson, Flowers (could have been used in another trade) and Holmberg, saved money by getting Dunn's contract off the books (let's say $3 million), while avoid paying the two draft picks (again let's say $2 million). He then could have turned around and spent the $5 million in savings on international free agents and guys who slip in the draft due to signability concerns. IMO, that's a much better return than just two draft picks.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 09:23 AM) Probably Viciedo goes down to play everyday at Charlotte and be back in Sept or earlier if there is an injury The problem is that, assuming no major additions, I'd want Viciedo on my playoff roster. He'd at least be my DH against all left-handed starters and maybe even more. Same goes for Lillibridge, since he offers defensive flexibility and is our best pinch-runner. They both have more important roles to play on our playoff roster than Kotsay (left-handed pinch hitter). Therefore, these guys got to be on our 25 man roster or the DL on the last day of August.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 11:33 PM) I like where you are going with this. Can he fill Andruw's shoes next year? Is his defense plus? Inform the masses JPN! That's exactly what I'm thinking. I just don't know much about his defense. If he's solid defensively, he could fill a bench spot on the cheap next season.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 10:20 PM) I watched him play in person for almost 2 years. Tremendous power to all fields, very patient at the plate, good athlete overall. How's his defense? Is he strictly a corner OF or can he play a little CF?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 07:42 PM) IF the price is $6-$7 million, then the Giants will claim him if he gets that far. Why are you so certain of this? Have you read something in the news implying the Giants have significant cash to burn?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 06:22 PM) Yes, but it only takes one... True, but I don't see the usual suspects (Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, etc.) making a claim on Manny.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 06:06 PM) If it's only $6-7 million owed to him, then I don't see why someone wouldn't claim him. That's a lot of money to most teams. Hell, that's like 7% percent of our payroll. IMO, very few teams would even consider claiming a player worth that amount and even less would claim Manny.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 06:02 PM) The deadline really meant nothing because nobody was going to claim him. I don't see how his price would go up. The Sox offered $1 million in salary relief and nothing else. I doubt they would go much higher if they would go higher at all. Before the trading deadline, there were other impact bats available like Dunn, Berkman, etc. There are not going to be a lot of possible impact players that clear through waivers (at least ones without mulityear commitments). The market is radically different now than it was in July. Honestly, who is a more attractive bat that you expect to clear waivers? If Manny is indeed the top option now, then his value will be higher than it was before the deadline. Also, the offer the Sox made ($1 million and no prospects) was a complete joke. They wanted to see how desperate the Dodgers were to move him and clearly they got their answer. I don't think it's crazy to think that the Sox would add an extra $2 million and some low A ball prospect to if they really want to get Manny.

Any possibility that the Dodgers added salary at the deadline with the intention of trading Manny in August? IMO, Manny is one of the few potential impact bats that should pass through waivers. Seems like his value would only increase in August with guys like Dunn being restricted to a single trading partner. I'm not suggesting the Dodgers would get a ton for him, but I don't think it's far-fetched for them to get $3 million and a prospect in return for him at this point, which clearly they couldn't get in July. Maybe that was their plan all along?