If we were to upgrade the offense

[BobDylan]

KW tried to balance both competing and rebuilding for the future during the offseason. That doesn't work in this day and age with big contracts. We went from having one of the more talented teams in the AL to closer to the middle of the pack.

 

You're saying from last year to this year? If so, I disagree. The rosters are still nearly the same, but with two major differences: Danks over Garcia/McCarty and much of the bullpen.

 

The Danks move has payed off extremely well. Same can be said for the bullpen. Aardsma, Sisco, Masset, MacDougal (though he was added last year at the deadline) have all come in and attributed in mostly positive ways.

 

There just happens to be one other area that bit KW in the ass the past two years. Luck. Nobody excpeted the White Sox rotation to be as poor as it was last year. And nobody expected the White Sox offense to be as poor as it is this year. How does KW address that? Should he have forseen the .222 team batting average? Would merely replacing Scott Podsednik have fixed that? Or should they have thrown the flag in even before the season started and go young from the start?

 

The "rebuilding" moves KW made in the off-season are what is saving this team right now. If the bats can ever find some life, this team is in far better shape to make a run at it than they were last year. Pitching is everything in baseball, and right now the Sox have it. It seems silly to me that 7 of the 9 hitters in the line-up will hover around the .200 line all year. But then again, nothing guarantees that the pitching will hold up either.

[hitlesswonder]

I can't see the Angels giving up Willits...that is unless you throw Crede at them.

 

A team to possibly look at right now who is struggling offensively also is the DBacks. Sometimes change is good. Even though this guy has a handful of personal problems right now...it may be a good time to make a package for Alberto Callaspo. I'd still give my let nut to have Eric Byrnes on this team. So...a package that included Dye (home in the Valley), a pitching prospect (that does not include Gio) and maybe (fill in the blank) for Byrnes and Callaspo. Before everybody jumps down my throat...I'm not sure what specifics would be...but I just threw out the main ones.

 

I'd trade Crede for Willits in a heartbeat. I think Dye's trade value right now is zero. Until he proves he can still hit big league pitching there's no way he, Egbert, and Russel will bring back Byrnes and Callaspo. Maybe Byrnes alone...

[Gregory Pratt]

How much money do you invest in your season tickets. Because a few years ago, with the 05 season a lot more people decided to drop a lot of money, and I mean a lot on season tickets. Now imagine you are a new season ticket holder who saw a team just miss with 90 wins your invoice just came in for 07 renewal. So its a lot of money but you love your whitesox. So is the average new season ticket holder about to drop a s***load of money when you ditch Crede, Dye, Garcia and Bmac. I just have an Ozzie plan which still wasnt cheap and I would be livid if KW decided to cut out Crede and Dye at the same time.

 

Season tickets and attendance have a direct impact on the sox payroll.

 

Does that carry over for you with Podsednik? The casual fan at the park

 

I just don't think there's much merit to, "THE FANS LIKE THEM AND YOU DON'T WANT TO RISK LOSING SEASON TIX" if the alternative is "More of the same" with regard to slow ass guys who are going to regress.

[GreatScott82]

I don't expect a major trade from this team this year. I think we will just be in the thick of things to not blow up the team (trading Gooch, Dye and Buerhle..maybe more) And the possitions will be filled up enough to not add to the team. Pods and Thome will be coming back which means Sweeney will be sent back down. So just like in 2006... there will be no major moves coming from KW. Is this a good or a bad thing? Only time will tell....

[nitetrain8601]

Simple solution, Fire Greg Walker

[RME JICO]

Does anyone think any of these slumps are from some type of injury that is not being disclosed?

 

Crede (back), Konerko (hip), and Dye (back/leg) all have had injury problems or concerns for several years, and I was wondering if some of these lingering things were becoming an issue. Now this doesn't account for others like Iguchi and AJ, but it seems like it could be a possible scenario.

[GoodAsGould]

I dont think we will trade for a hitter this season. Ozzie likes Erstad and he has been sadly enough one of our better players thus far so really the only spot open for trade is LF. And even though he is on DL now I think its Pods spot for this season.

[ShoeLessRob]

Angels have alot of young infielders... I'd take a look at any of them.

[southsideirish71]

Does anyone think any of these slumps are from some type of injury that is not being disclosed?

 

Crede (back), Konerko (hip), and Dye (back/leg) all have had injury problems or concerns for several years, and I was wondering if some of these lingering things were becoming an issue. Now this doesn't account for others like Iguchi and AJ, but it seems like it could be a possible scenario.

 

I dont think its injury.

 

 

Crede has a very pronounced hands high set when he bats. That will slow his swing down as he has to drop the bat onto the lower level of the ball to square it up. If he was having back problems, he would drop his bat more to help with it feeling better.

 

Konerko is pulling off the ball when he swings. They are spotting him low and away. Plus right now he is in between and guessing on the pitch over committing. He is a combo mechanical/mental right now.

 

Dye is just pulling off the ball. His feet are moving like crazy and he pulls his head off the ball just before contact.

 

Iguchi is definitely pulling off the ball. His entire swing is a bit longer from when he came up. Keeping him in the 2 hole does one thing, it keeps him closed off, and allows him to concentrate on going to right more. When he is down in the order, he is trying to power it.

[RME JICO]

I dont think its injury.

 

Crede has a very pronounced hands high set when he bats. That will slow his swing down as he has to drop the bat onto the lower level of the ball to square it up. If he was having back problems, he would drop his bat more to help with it feeling better.

 

Konerko is pulling off the ball when he swings. They are spotting him low and away. Plus right now he is in between and guessing on the pitch over committing. He is a combo mechanical/mental right now.

 

Dye is just pulling off the ball. His feet are moving like crazy and he pulls his head off the ball just before contact.

 

Iguchi is definitely pulling off the ball. His entire swing is a bit longer from when he came up. Keeping him in the 2 hole does one thing, it keeps him closed off, and allows him to concentrate on going to right more. When he is down in the order, he is trying to power it.

Wow, if you can see those intricacies that easy, why can't the team or players? Do they watch tape on themselves?

[caulfield12]

No.

 

If Ichiro could be had for a reasonible price, there's no reason the White Sox shouldn't jump at it. This means any prospects not involving the names Sweeney, Danks, Gonzalez or Masset. Anything outside that, I think the White Sox have to take the option into serious consideration. It could also give the Sox a heads up in offering him a new contract.

 

The problem is that a lead-off hitter isn't the White Sox most pressing need right now. Erstad has been adequate enough--and unforutnately one of their better offensive players--and the team sorely lacks power. Konerko, Dye and Crede are absolutely awful thus far. Fact is, the offensive solution is already within the team. The question is will those players produce?

 

But I'll always be giddy at the idea of having Ichiro in a White Sox uniform. The guy is a Class-A ball player. Great defender, great base runner, great lead-off hitter. If they think they have a legitimate chance at bringing him back for a few more years, I hope it happens.

 

 

Masset isn't worth much right now...and I've been looking at Aybar's stats, and he's close to a .600 OPS for his time in the majors. And, for a reputed "speed" player, he hasn't put many stolen bases on the back of his baseball card either, considering his speed.

 

Crede for Willits? We already have Willits, his name is Sweeney...with more power, a little less speed and the jury is out on his OBP.

 

If we don't get enough power from Sweeney in RF, and Erstad in CF...there's no way we can have Anderson or Willits in the OF as well. That would be one of the 3-5 worst offensive outfields in baseball. Now Crede for Willits and Figgins? I would think about that, simply to get some more speed into our line-up, and you could play Chone at 2B instead of Iguchi.

 

I'd trade Crede for Willits in a heartbeat. I think Dye's trade value right now is zero. Until he proves he can still hit big league pitching there's no way he, Egbert, and Russel will bring back Byrnes and Callaspo. Maybe Byrnes alone...

 

Byrnes is a great fourth outfielder and a marginal starter. He's similar to Rowand (I know he's doing well now, we'll see at the end of the year), Erstad, Mackowiak, Jeremy Reed...I know his stats with the D-Backs have been better, but how can you guarantee that will translate to the AL, where he wasn't quite good enough to hold an everyday job in Oakland with Kotsay or Payton being two more comparable players?

[southsideirish71]

Wow, if you can see those intricacies that easy, why can't the team or players? Do they watch tape on themselves?

 

I look at it from a pitchers perspective. How to exploit the swing.

 

Gellinger was on the radio telling everyone that they dont review tape to watch for mechanical flaws, they watch it help them get their feelings for that day. I mean why check out your swing when you can see how your feelings were that day.

 

The one that could be a problem for a while is Konerko. Konerko tinkers way way way too much for his own good. He closes his stance, he opens it. He changes the level of his bat. How he puts together good ABs is beyond me because of how much his mechanics change over the course of a season.

 

Crede's hand high set was something that was instituted last year. But my feelings is that they put this in, to help him strike down on the ball and square it up more to get more contact out of his swing. The hands high set takes some discipline because that natural thing is to dip the bat and get under it. It looks like that has shifted into him trying to do more. Maybe the Boras talk, and him in trade rumors has him putting more and more pressure to put up big power numbers. Who knows.

 

Dye is in his walk year also. Maybe he can see the payday at the end of the tunnel and is trying to hit all the balls onto lane 3 of the Ryan.

 

The easiest way for any hitter to come out of it is to simplify things and work on solid contact first. Then power. Try hitting it up the middle and to right. I have seen some of these hitters do it, for a game. But then right after it they go back into trying to hit it onto lane 3 of the Ryan. Look at Dye's ABs on Saturday, look at how his swing was going and what he was trying to do. Hell Crede has done that on and off. He will go to right one game, have some good ABs. Then the next game he must think he is cured and you get the popups and poor ABs.

Edited May 14, 2007 by southsideirish71

[Texsox]

Maximize his value.

 

Why is it that everyone here understand when a Player has reached his maximized value, yet the professional GMs never see it and never see to pay for it?

[caulfield12]

 

 

 

I understand this argument, but KW took the same risk going into 2005 by ditching Valentin, Lee and Ordonez. Did he lose some of the 2004 season ticket base? I'm sure he did, at least possible revenues the first couple of months.

 

But then late May (2005) hit and everyone realized that the White Sox were for real and the attendance started to pick up...fans started identifying with Hermanson, AJ, Dye, Pods, El Duque and Iguchi, and they liked what the White Sox were selling, which was a "team" and not a bunch of superstars with "names" that didn't seem to win much of anything.

 

If we hover around .500 and lose Buehrle and Dye, coming off around 2.3-2.5 million in attendance this year, we won't be able to sustain a $100 million payroll for 2008 and beyond...and I think the "stand pat" attitude with Iguchi, Dye and Crede speaks volumes. KW wasn't sure about any of those three players, and it turned out he might have been right not to sign them to extension...I remember arguing all offseason at WSI with "whitesoxrandy" that it would have been extremely foolhardy to give Dye $60 million for four years. And it doesn't seem like much at all could have been done to get Buehrle signed either, because the White Sox weren't willing to even approach $13-15 million per year, let alone the length of contract, based on last year's second half.

[caulfield12]

Why is it that everyone here understand when a Player has reached his maximized value, yet the professional GMs never see it and never see to pay for it?

 

It's just like the stock market. Of course, trading Dye, Crede or even Konerko would seem counterintuitive.

 

And when you sell a stock at maximized value, there's no fallout to anyone else if he/it keeps going up after you trade it...and no season tickets holders of the company you just sold to be taken into consideration.

 

Assuming you did trade Crede, would you have started Fields at 3B to begin the season, when obviously he wasn't ready? In hindsight, you could say you go out and get a LF or 2B, but then that blocks Sweeney from playing. Do you just go for a one-year rental type ala Carl Everett?

 

If you trade both Dye and Crede for prospects, you're sending an obvious rebuilding signal. About the best they could have done is a move to replace Iguchi, but we had nobody in our system (certainly not Lopez or Gonzalez) and we could have gotten a Callaspo or similar prospect, but those results aren't guaranteed either.

 

And trading Dye, who was a Top 5 player in the AL and only making $6.75 million...there's no way in H.E.L.L. you replace his production without paying twice as much for it. Heck, can you name any RFer in baseball that you could pay $15 million and get Dye's 06 numbers out of?

Edited May 14, 2007 by caulfield12

[harfman77]

Alberto Callspo from the Dbacks could probably be had on the cheap and can play either middle infield position and left field. He could be insurance if Iguchi walks. Also the Royals are a little crowded in the OF and maybe DeJesus could be had, he know Central division pitching and can play left and center.

[caulfield12]

Alberto Callspo from the Dbacks could probably be had on the cheap and can play either middle infield position and left field. He could be insurance if Iguchi walks. Also the Royals are a little crowded in the OF and maybe DeJesus could be had, he know Central division pitching and can play left and center.

 

DeJesus is one of their cornerstones. He's close to leading the AL in hits and multi-hits games.

 

If you want Gathright, or Reggie Sanders, or Emil Brown...those are the 3 players they are selling right now, although Sanders is injured.

 

They want to get time for Costa to prove if he's a regular or not, they need to get ABs for Butler in the outfield with Sweeney DHing, even though he's (Butler) not a natural OFer and Teahen is in RF until they move him to 3B and send Gordon down.

 

Who would the D-Rays have to replace Callaspo? Why would teams want to get rid of players like Burke and Callaspo when they are the most valuable commodity in baseball, young/affordable talent not even in arbitration? Or at least most valuable after LH starters...

[harfman77]

DeJesus is one of their cornerstones. He's close to leading the AL in hits and multi-hits games.

 

If you want Gathright, or Reggie Sanders, or Emil Brown...those are the 3 players they are selling right now, although Sanders is injured.

 

They want to get time for Costa to prove if he's a regular or not, they need to get ABs for Butler in the outfield with Sweeney DHing, even though he's (Butler) not a natural OFer and Teahen is in RF until they move him to 3B and send Gordon down.

 

Who would the D-Rays have to replace Callaspo? Why would teams want to get rid of players like Burke and Callaspo when they are the most valuable commodity in baseball, young/affordable talent not even in arbitration? Or at least most valuable after LH starters...

 

Callaspo is not travelling with the team now because he is in trouble with the law right now and they may be ready to get whatever they can for him.

 

DeJesus is good, but they need to fit in Costa, Butler, and Teahen in the outfield, and by the time their young players are ready DeJesus will walk in free agency.

[caulfield12]

Callaspo is not travelling with the team now because he is in trouble with the law right now and they may be ready to get whatever they can for him.

 

DeJesus is good, but they need to fit in Costa, Butler, and Teahen in the outfield, and by the time their young players are ready DeJesus will walk in free agency.

 

"He finished sixth in the 2004 Rookie of the Year voting. On March 9, 2006, DeJesus signed a five-year, $13.8 million dollar contract extension with the Royals through 2010, with a club option for the 2011 season. Entering the 2007 season, DeJesus has a career batting average of .292 with 24 career home runs."

 

The Royals would cease to exist as a franchise if they dealt DeJesus. I can't describe how dumb that would be. They're hoping they can be competitive in 09, 10 and 11, and DeJesus is a big part of that future.

 

Costa is adequate and Butler makes Ross Gload look like Devon White....neither of those guys can play CF, and Teahen's a good athlete, but he's pushing it in RF. He's a lot like Cuddyer out there, lots of assists because of his arm but he's not covering a whole lot of ground.

 

Putting Gathright in CF, you might as well put Damon Hollins, George Lombard, Nuke Logan or Laynce Nix out there.

 

And we have enough offensive problems without adding chemistry problems...the Wilfredo Corderos, Julio Lugos, Albert Belles and Jamie Dukes of the world. No thanks.

Edited May 14, 2007 by caulfield12

[Wanne]

And we have enough offensive problems without adding chemistry problems...the Wilfredo Corderos, Julio Lugos, Albert Belles and Jamie Dukes of the world. No thanks.

 

Not sure you can really clump Callapso into that group....but who's to say. Yes...he's had some problems...but let's not underestimate the fact of having a Latino leader like Ozzie can do for him. Seemed to work out pretty well with Juan. The guy is a hell of a player and if given the chance....I think he could hit around .300 on a consistant basis.

Edited May 14, 2007 by Wanne

[DBAHO]

Callaspo is not travelling with the team now because he is in trouble with the law right now and they may be ready to get whatever they can for him.

 

DeJesus is good, but they need to fit in Costa, Butler, and Teahen in the outfield, and by the time their young players are ready DeJesus will walk in free agency.

Don't think Callaspo would fit into the "character" mould of players KW likes right at this moment.

 

Realistically the only way our offense will be upgraded is if players like Dye and Konerko etc. begin to heat up. And that's because of the climate of the trade market where it's much harder to make a deal than it was a few season ago.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Konerko, Dye, Crede and Iguchi will not hit .200 this year.

 

These guys ALL will start hitting soon. Thome's coming back soon. Pods and Hall will be back.

 

Relax. We have no choice. Nothing of significance can be done now.

 

Next year is a different story. Crede can be moved and replaced with Fields. The Sox can trade for Carl Crawford. They can find a speedster for 2nd base. Chances are there wil be 2 new outfielders next year to go along with Sweeney.

 

I'd keep Konerko and Thome. I'd consider replacing A.J. or Uribe. But, I have a feeling that Uribe will still improve.

 

The Sox are 18-16 with the worst offense in baseball. I'm feeling pretty good right now about the rest of the season.

 

I'd be willing to give up a few pitching prospects for Crawford. Who do the Sox have that looks like they MIGHT be anything special after Danks and maybe Gio ?

Edited May 15, 2007 by WHITESOXRANDY