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Sox keeping all 6 starters?


SSH2005

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http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb...t=.jsp&c_id=cws

Vazquez's impending addition gives the White Sox six quality starters on their staff, but at least two sources close to the situation expect all six to start Spring Training with the team in Tucson. Jon Garland currently is arbitration eligible and reportedly turned down a three-year offer from the White Sox, leaving him to test the free agent waters after the 2006 season.

 

Contreras, who will earn $8 million in 2006, also can become a free agent if the White Sox don't sign him to a new deal by Nov. 15, 2006. Vazquez provides insurance against either one of those hurlers exiting. With the departure of Hernandez, Marte and Vizcaino, sixth starter Brandon McCarthy figures to open the season out of the bullpen. However, he is expected to be a rotation stalwart in the not too distant future.

 

The six starters also guard against the workload amassed by pitchers such as Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia and Garland over the last four or five years, not to mention Buehrle and Garcia's foray into the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Both were issues mentioned by Williams at the Winter Meetings.

 

"That's all speculation, until we sit down and examine all we have and say what's best," said Cooper of McCarthy's possible move to the bullpen. "I'll tell you one thing -- the decision will be made for the good of the organization and the team first, not the individuals.

 

"I bet if you asked McCarthy about pitching in the bullpen, developing, getting his feet wet and learning a new tool to make himself an asset to the organization and to benefit himself, or whether he wants to go to Triple-A and pitch, you know the answer," Cooper added.

Interesting.

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This was my initial fear as a result of the trade, but the Sox need a long relieve guy and Cotts has shown he can handle the late innings and Viz is gone. So the Sox do actually need BMac there. But I wouldn't put money on that being the case. Everyone knows he's ready for the rotation. It's whether they will make room for him.

 

I would also like to point out that I don't know what best for BMac, so I'll just say that if Coop thinks the pen is best and nothing else happens then I'm satisfied.

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Given that Kenny called Garland (and maybe Contreras?) out the other day, saying it was time "to get serious," I'm seeing, "First one to sign an extension gets to stay with a Championship Team. The other guy can get used to, oh, Tampa Bay."

 

Some have argued that having six starters going into next year wouldn't be a bad idea, given the idea that having lots of solid starting pitchers is never a bad thing. Plus, with the WCS, the possibility of injuries, that pitching "insurance" is desirable.

 

I would not like to see BMac in the pen. I think he's a starter and I think he'll do well next year in that role.

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Another interesting point: if we take 6 to Spring Training and even into the season, perhaps it is possible that we get more value from a Trade during the season than we would during the off-season. Consider the prices that Jason Schmidt and Burnett were commanding prior to the trading dead-line. There's no doubt starting pitching is at a premium in MLB and the White Sox are sitting on a very healthy bounty of it. Just this morning, I received a message from on of my old college buddies that is from Philly and he congratulated me on the trade saying that we now have 6 guys better than the best guy in the Phillies rotation, and we wasn't even sure who that was. Taking 6 pitchers into the season may allow us to get much higher value than trying to trade one of them now. Additionally, it gives us some lee-way in case of an injury.

 

With 6 starters, Ken Williams is dealing from a position of power when it comes to trades, and that's a damn good thing.

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Here's an idea: why don't we go with a 6-man rotation? That'll allow the starters to go deeper into games (7-8 inning outings on average) and will save some wear on the bullpen. I wouldn't put it past Ozzie to try it if we still have the six starters on Opening Day.

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What? You mean Kenny is going to start the season putting a solid starter in the bullpen for insurance in case one of the other five starters goes does with an injury, illness, lack of control, goes insane from expired milk, pisses Ozzie off, finds out he's a father after participating in a long-ago sperm donation to get money while he was in college and thought donating plasma was too "kooky"?

 

What the hell is he thinking?!?!? How dare he plan ahead like this?!?!?!

 

Consider this an official calling for Kenny Williams' head!

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