Chicago White Sox

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Feb 25, 2010 -> 02:37 PM) MLBTradeRumors has a link up saying the Blue Jays may be close to signing Cuban 1B Jose Julio Ruiz. If the Jays sign Ruiz, then Overbay, who IMO is already a realistic option for us, should become even more available. What about a Kotsay + prospect for Overbay deal? Overbay has one year remaining at $7M and the Sox were rumored to have offered at least $6M for Damon, so there's money available. I imagine just sending Kotsay and offering to pick up the $5.5M difference would be enough for the Jays to make a deal without getting anyone too significant in return as far as prospects go. If we picked up Overbay, we'd get a lefty stick to break up all those righties in the middle, plus we'd improve defensively at 1B over Paulie, who could DH most of the time. Andruw Jones would still get playing time as a 4th OF and occasional DH. If we weren't willing to spend the money on Nick Johnson, we aren't going to trade Kotsay and a prosepct for the right to spend the same amount of money on Overbay. I just don't see KW and Guillen wanting and/or willing to do this for several reasons. Also, they aren't just going to throw their remaining funds at just any player that upgrades the team, they are going to spend this money on a difference-maker. Whether we agree with him or not, KW probably viewed Damon as a difference maker in the lineup.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 30, 2010 -> 08:57 AM) I think he'd hit between 12-18 homers, score a lot of runs. Steal at least 20 because Ozzie wants to run. His SB were down last year he says because he didn't run in front of Texiera. He was 12-12 stealing. He can replace Getz' production there. Who knows, maybe when it gets serious, someone is willing to step up and pay him, but if he signs for $5-6 million total and the White Sox don't get involved, I think they would have made a mistake. Damon really is the perfect fit for this team. You showed how he can contribute offensively in a bunch of ways, but most importantly, the guy gets on base at a nice rate and this team is seriously lacking OBP as currently constructed. Also, he can play a little bit of OF, which would allow Ozzie to keep his rotating DH scenario inact, but in a more productive manner. Honestly, this is something that will come down to the dollars. If Damon's price falls to $4 million, I don't see KW passing on him. In fact, I think Damon is the one free agent KW would sign with or without 100% approval of Ozzie. General question though, if the Sox were to sign Damon, where does he bat in the lineup? Would Guillen really bat two lefties back-to-back at the top of his lineup? The #2 spot seems like the best fit for Damon, but I could see Guillen wanting to spread out his lefties.

QUOTE (dmbjeff @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 08:14 PM) Rongey, who would Jones or Kotsay seriously start for right now? They are bench players, 4th OF's. Jones hasn't been a good starter since 2006 and 2007 since being a starter at all. Kotsay hasn't been a starter since 2006 while putting up 4th OF type numbers. Jones has at least been good in the past but it's been 4 years since he a was good. Are we counting on him to be good again just because he is supposed to be in good shape? If he was in such great shape and ready to be good again, wouldn't another team have been clamoring for him or Kotsay this offseason? Let's put it this way. One half of our DH platoon was acquired for Brian Anderson last year and the other is being paid half as much as Anderson, who is now a reserve outfield for the Royals. That should put into perspective the lack of resources we are actually putting into the DH spot. Also, I don't care if Kotsay and/or Jones could start in the OF for an awful team like the Pirates, they have no business getting semi-regular at-bats as our DH for a team that hopes to contend. Is there a chance Jones (and to a lesser extent Kotsay) has a solid year? Of course there is, but the odds are so low, why even take the chance when a better option is available at a reasonable price. Rongey - I remember listening to you defend Dwayne Wise at the beginning of last year. After watching him struggle during the first couple weeks of the season, you kept telling us listeners that we had to give him more time. You said he may not amount to anything, but it was too early to come to any conclusions. Why in god's name did we have to give him more time? Anyone with half a brain knew he sucked in the minors and would continue to suck in the pros. This is no different than the rotating DH bulls***. Why wait to be dissapointed when we can use the last four years right now to predict poor production from Kotsay and Jones out of the DH spot. I really hope I'm wrong and they make me look like an asshole, but the evidence is strongly against them being productive. Regardless, this "versatility" idea for the DH spot is completely stupid without a ninth quality batter, and as of today, neither Kotsay or Jones counts as one.

I found it amusing at SoxFest that KW said something along the lines that while the 2010 Sox will have less power they will make up for it with more men on-base and overall team speed. Unfortunately, while we may be faster, we have not added any high OBP guys. I remember KW saying this would be an off-season priority and yet he hasn't addressed it one bit. I'm not the biggest Thome fan in the world, but right now, there is no better option. He gives the team the left-handed power and OBP it desperately needs in the middle of the lineup and would come very cheaply. If KW does not sign Thome (or a similar FA) and goes with a rotating DH of bench players, it will truly be a mistake of Dwayne Wise proportions. This versatility propaganda is complete and utter bulls***. Only a fool like Guillen could come up with such s***. I really hope that KW isn't stupid enough to believe Guillen's "logic". It really would be a shame to waste a season with such a potentially dominant rotation.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 08:50 PM) Ozzie is the manager, and should manage the team he is given; Williams is the general manager and should put the best team on the field that he can. Guillen should not tell Williams how to do his job and vice versa. This is why both men should be held accountable if this team doesn't make the playoffs due to offensive struggles. There is absolutely no excuse for not having a true everyday DH. If we had four good outfielders (or two good 1B) and wanted to rotate DH duties between them it would be one thing. But to rotate between players who are backups at the Major League level because of their limited offensive abilities is pure insanity. It's quite clear that Guillen wants an NL team. Unfortunately, we play in the AL where the DH position is not a luxury but rather a neccesity. If this rotating DH nonsense is for real, then I don't think Guillen is the right man for the job. More importantly, it makes me question KW as a GM. His job is to acquire the most talented players possible and construct a team that he thinks can win. It's not to give his manager, who doesn't evaluate MLB talent for a living, an equal voice in personel decisions. I just hope this all a smokescreen because I want to like Ozzie and KW.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) Nix should have Vizquel's role. I'm beginning to think that Vizquel was a complete waste of money and will be a waste of roster space. If you want somebody to coach Alexei, bring him to Spring Training as an instructor. I like the addition of Vizquel, but I just feel like Ozzie will overuse him. He always plays his bench too much IMO, especially the speedy and/or defense-oriented guys. He'll probably start him way too much and bat him at the top of the lineup. Nix can't play solid defense at SS and 3B right now and is too much of an all-or-nothing hitter. In a backup role, I'd easily take Vizquel if there's one spot open.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 10:18 AM) 1) Pierre - LF 2) Beckham - 2B 3) Quentin - RF/DH 4) Konerko - 1B/DH 5) Rios - CF 6) AJP - C 7) Ramirez - SS 8) Teahen - 3B/1B/DH 9) Kotsay/Jones- DH/OF This seems like the most likely best-case scenario Guillen lineup, with the possibility of Beckham and Ramirez being flipped. What I really like is Teahen and the rotating DH spot in the last two spots of the order. They should not be higher unless they prove they can be productive. However, I honestly see Guillen shifting the DH position in various spots of the lineup depending on who's playing that day. It also shows how perfect a left-handed power bat would fit into the cleanup spot. It's a damn shame if KW doesn't find this player, because the lineup could be pretty solid with a legit cleanup hitter IMO.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 17, 2009 -> 07:48 PM) I'm going to bookmark this post. I can almost guarantee that Guillen will sit Pierre one day and DH Vizquel so he has a leadoff hitter.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 02:44 PM) No one is paying either one of those guys that kind of money, especially for a multi-year deal. Agreed.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 02:21 PM) Ozzie isn't the one negotiating contracts either. Yeah I know, but I wouldn't be shocked if he were speaking on behalf of the front office. It was purely speculation on my half anyways. Regardess, it doesn't matter now since Matsui is signing with the Angels.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 01:43 PM) Magic 8 Ball says: "All signs point to Jim Thome" I doubt it at this point. I don't think they bring back Thome unless some other options fall through.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 10:37 AM) True, but didn't he say that? Guillen did say the Sox won't sign a DH who can't play the field and was talking about Matsui at the time. While I'm certain that Guillen would like a versatile DH, part of me thinks that comment might have been part a negotiating tacitc. Matsui has made it clear that he wants to play the field a couple of days a week. I'm sure most teams see him as a full-time DH as they should. Saying we want a DH who can play the field could give the Sox a slight advantage from the get-go. I'd be willing to tolerate Matsui in LF once or twice a week to start the season if that made the difference in signing him or not. If he couldn't meet those demands, as I would expect, I'd just hope that Guillen would eventually stick him at DH full-time.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2009 -> 11:08 PM) I haven't been able to find what DJ wanted, but apparently we offered him $600k http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/...tz-signing.html Wow, talk about a low ball offer. Clearly the Sox weren't interested in bringing him back unless the price was close to their other options like Hudson and Torres.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Dec 13, 2009 -> 07:37 PM) But if you want to win ball games, Ill take the 33 year old career year mop up man over the 33 year old huge injury risk. At least with the mop-up man, you have an idea of what your getting. You can't be serious. Why do you think you know what you're going to get out of Carrasco in 2010. You just referred to him as a "career year" mop up man in the sentence before. He's a journeyman long reliever with below average stuff. Considering the general unpredictability of relievers, I think it's fair to assume some regression and possibly a substantial amount. I'll admit Carrasco had a great season last year. If the Sox had more money, I'd reccomend they keep him too. But if it comes down to him or a possible dominant setup man like Putz it's not even a question. We can replace Carrasco with cheaper in-house options. They may not provide the level of production that Carrasco did in 2009, but they could easily outperform him in 2010. I personally think Hudson will do so if he's chosen for that spot. Additionally, we have no one in our system that's ready to provide the possible numbers Putz can assuming all things go well. Yes there is risk there, but I'll take my chances on the guy with dominant stuff who pitches during the critical innings rather than the soft-tossing journeyman who gets most of his action during garbage innings.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 13, 2009 -> 02:34 PM) The bullpen seems to be set. There's no more money to be throwing around on reclamation projects especially when half the teams in baseball are going to be interested as well. Yeah, I don't think Capps will come cheaply. He's definitely a luxury we can't afford. Williams should at least be servicable if used properly.

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 02:45 PM) Everything you said makes sense... but if it was my call, I'd wait until mid-late spring training or so to either cut or move somebody. Somebody strains an arm or elbow in Arizona and we''ll be kicking ourselves for turning what could be a strength into a problem. I just don't see the need for making that decision now. Agree completely. In a perfect world, I'd wait and make sure that Putz has no set backs (as well as any unforeseen injures to other pitchers). I think that would be the right baseball move. If KW does non-tender Carrasco now, that's why it's got to be simply for financial reasons. Not selecting players in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft showed how they are scrapping for every single dollar right now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 02:42 PM) I think its probably likely he will regress, however, some team has got to be willing to give you a bag of balls or something and take a chance on him. If he gets $1.5 in arb, only $300k is guaranteed. That they haven't announced it yet tells me they are either trying to get him signed and using the non tender threat to get his price down, or were never considering non tendering him, or are currently soliciting offers. You'd think the Sox could at least get a low-level prospect for Carrasco, but maybe other GMs feel like more talented pitchers will be non-tendered and refuse to part with anything for him. KW would take any propsect with some potential before releasing him. As for arbritration, who knows how much he'd get. I believe he led all relievers in innings-pitched and put up a very solid ERA while doing so. Throw in Guillen's "team MVP" comment and I think he's got a case for $2 million. Not sure about this non-guaranteed contract thing either. I know it can be done, but it happens so rarely that I'd assume it's not as straight-forward as releasing him and giving him 20% of his salary. Maybe I'm wrong on this.

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 02:22 PM) Possibly... I just struggle with the logic that we go out and sign a reliever who just missed an entire season due to injury for $3M... But we have to cut a guy who was one of our most valuable relievers last year because he's going to cost us $1M and we need the money. Maybe KW thinks Carrasco is going to regress this season. His performance last season seemed beyond his capabilities IMO. Having said that, I'd love to have Hudson begin the season in AAA starting with Carrasco as our long-man. However, I'd much rather spend my money on a possible dominant setup man in Putz than a long-man in Carrasco, especially when we have a very capable replacement in Hudson waiting in the wings.

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 12, 2009 -> 02:12 PM) If it were my money, I'd sign DJ, and make the harder decisions (who stays and who goes in the bullpen) as a result of what we see in spring training. Much smarter IMO to enter spring training dealing from a position of strength in the pen. Especially since we're not dealing with huge numbers salary-wise. I totally think that's the smartest call, but perhaps Reinsdorf won't let KW carry that extra salary till the end of spring training.

This seems pretty straight forward to me. Using Hudson as the long reliever instead of Carrasco could save us $1 to $1.5 million. Considering we still have two holes to fill in our lineup and we're already pressing up against our budget, those savings could be very useful. Additionally, the Sox might think Hudson could out-produce Carrasco next season, which I don't believe is out of the question. He'd also gain some valuable experience, setting him up for a rotation spot in 2011. As for trading Carrasco, I don't think players get non-tendered if they could have been traded for something in return. Do people really think GMs are too lazy to explore all trade possibilities.

QUOTE (League @ Dec 8, 2009 -> 09:21 AM) Seems to me that we're going to be going with a lot of guys who are more 20 HR hitter types. Becks, 'Lexi, Rios, Teahan. Which is great to have sprinkled throughout the lineup, but we need a couple 30 - 35 homerun hitters in the middle. Considering Konerko is getting older and will be a free agent after this season, I would be very hesitant in trading our only power hitter under team control for multiple seasons. I love what Crawford offers when he's on top of his game, but I'm not giving up three years of Quentin unless I know something about his foot that will have a long-term impact on his production. The deal doesn't make sense to me from a Sox perspective.

It's this either-or s*** that's really bothering me. Everything I'm reading in the press keeps hinting at the Sox only having one hole to fill (outfielder) and just using the bench (Jones/Kotsay) as rotating DHs. In fact, Guillen has pretty much implied this. This team definitely needs a legit left-handed power bat for the middle of the lineup, whether this be at DH or in the OF. He doesn't have to be Adrian Gonzalez, but he's got to be someone we can count on. A true leadoff hitter would also be nice but is not necessary. A hitter with an above-average OBP and solid speed would be more than fine. I understand we don't have unlimited funds, but throwing away the DH spot on Jones/Kotsay would beyond stupid. Would any team get less offensive production from the spot than us? I can't think of one off the top of my head.

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 8, 2009 -> 08:57 AM) Well the Rays are entitled to ask...and be denied. If this were true, KW must think power isn't necessary to win at the Cell because we'd have little to none.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 26, 2009 -> 07:06 AM) It would be awful news, I just don't see how it can be true. KW said he wanted the team OBP to be .350. Swapping out Thome for a mix of guys like Jones, Kotsay maybe Nix isn't going to help it. I think they either sign or trade for enough guys that if they have 13 non-pitchers on the roster they have 9 regular-types, Kotsay, Vizquel, Jones, and a catcher. Who knows, maybe they will pencil Flowers in as a DH, and try to get him regular AB. The bench guys are OK if not overly exposed. It was one criticism of how Jones was handled in Texas. Chances are if Kotsay, Vizquel and Jones get 300 or more AB apiece, Soxtalk is going to need an upgrade to handle all the fire Walker stuff that will be posted. Yeah, I really don't think KW is going to settle on Jones/Kotsay/Nix as his DH. I mean, the Sox would be at a huge disadvantage relative to other AL teams by using backups out as their DH. It would defeat the actual purpose of the spot. In fact, it would be one of KW's more mind-blowing decisions.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 26, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) Since when did we turn into the Boston Red Sox? We don't have the money or the prospects (well we do, but do you want to trade Beckham or Hudson?) to get one of those guys you listed, let alone 2... Be realistic people. Why wouldn't we have the money/prospects to get one of these guys? I agree acquiring both of them is close to impossible, but it's not far-fetched to think we could get one of them, especially Upton who is coming off a poor season. If the Rays are serious about keeping Crawford long-term, I think they might move Upton sooner rather than later. I also think he might come cheaper than most people think.