Kenny's Interesting Quote

[NorthSideSox72]

His minor league numbers have been impressive on every level. He might not have dominating stuff but he's been successful every where. He's earned a spot imo.

That. Check out his ERA and WHIP numbers each year (for complete seasons - he did get promoted up late in 2004 and 2005, but didn't pitch enough games for qualifying numbers):

 

2004 (A): 2.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP

2005 (A+): 1.37 ERA, 1.09 WHIP

2006 (AA): 2.31 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

2007 (AAA): 2.11 ERA, 1.22 WHIP

 

You don't find many guys who can throw 90 with his motion, and still have very good control. Plus his pitches all have a lot of downward motion, which is why he has one of the best GO/AO ratios of any reliever in baseball (3.46 - 5th best among MLB relievers with more than 20 IP) - a perfect fit for the short fences at the Cell.

 

[daa84]

i wouldnt at all be surprised if KW goes after arod, but i think the $$s are gonna keep us from nabbinghim....now i know kenny and boras dont get along, but in terms of free agents i read an article recently that Boras deals with the owners, and not the GMs...

 

as far as bonds goes....i hate bonds more than any other single player in the majors, but my love for the white sox >> my hate for bonds....so in no way shape of form would i stop rooting for the sox if they signed him

[29andPoplar]

This is a good thread with lots of good comments. I agree with DickAllen on Uribe although I will add he is extremely frustrating to me. Unless they can swing a trade for the guys he mentioned or some super stud prospect, he may be the best option. He is a good fielder but the regression at the plate should cause all of them to take a good long look at what they're doing. Particularly, Uribe himself. I am also disturbed Guillen commenting about Uribe staying in shape. Uribe needs to be a pro and not get fat every year.

 

Richar, I believe he will improve and I did see some defensive improvement in the last two weeks of the year. He gives 100%. I am not certain he has much to prove in AAA, by the same token his numbers are not overwhelming. This will be a case of seeing what's out there and determining if they can get someone clearly better and at what cost.

 

Williams brought up the Carlos Lee trade again Saturday. Interesting. He told the reporters "you guys know how we do business" and mentioned the "fit" and trading a big name for a bunch of smaller pieces and then said no one is untouchable unless they have a no trade clause. Hmmmm.

[29andPoplar]

now i know kenny and boras dont get along, but in terms of free agents i read an article recently that Boras deals with the owners, and not the GMs...

 

daa84, this is true, Boras deals with owners for the most part. With the White Sox though, Mr. Reinsdorf probably has a greater dislike for Boras than does Ken Williams.

 

In fact, whenever the White Sox need to deal with Boras, like with Joe Crede for example, Reinsdorf's special assistant Dennis Gilbert does the talking. Gilbert was a super agent at one point and seems to be able to play the game with the Boras camp.

[kapkomet]

Well, $30MM is a ginormous amount of money. But, A-Rod in a Sox uniform - holy s*** - that would pump some serious $$ AND excitement on the southside, because his chase of Bonds would be done in a Sox uni. And everything else aside, the guy is the best player in the game right now, bar none.

 

[LVSoxFan]

A-Rod I could see (however unlikely) but you guys can't be serious about Bonds. WTF would Bonds bring to this team? We already have enough HR hitters and after watching Prancer miss fly balls all year in LF why would we want some broken down wreck like Bonds patrolling LF?

 

Oh, and did I mention also that he's an ASSHOLE?

[southsider2k5]

Well, $30MM is a ginormous amount of money. But, A-Rod in a Sox uniform - holy s*** - that would pump some serious $$ AND excitement on the southside, because his chase of Bonds would be done in a Sox uni. And everything else aside, the guy is the best player in the game right now, bar none.

 

Well according the rumors that were putting him on the northside... He wants an ownership share of the team he goes to. According to the 2007 Forbes numbers the Sox are valued at $381 million. If they could come up with a small minority share, you could knock off $10-20 million, depending on how big you are talking. Plus a guy like Rodriguez pays for himself at the turnstyle. The Sox know this. Think about how many Arod jersies would get sold?

 

I doubt it will happen, but then again knowing Kenny's history, and JRs business savvy, maybe it isn't that crazy afterall...

[Gregory Pratt]

Well according the rumors that were putting him on the northside... He wants an ownership share of the team he goes to. According to the 2007 Forbes numbers the Sox are valued at $381 million. If they could come up with a small minority share, you could knock off $10-20 million, depending on how big you are talking. Plus a guy like Rodriguez pays for himself at the turnstyle. The Sox know this. Think about how many Arod jersies would get sold?

 

I doubt it will happen, but then again knowing Kenny's history, and JRs business savvy, maybe it isn't that crazy afterall...

 

As far as I can tell, that's not allowed. I don't know where I read it, though. Might be wrong.

 

And I doubt we're going to jump in the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes.

 

Unless Rodriguez is willing to meet with Kenny without his agent. Plz?

[kapkomet]

Well according the rumors that were putting him on the northside... He wants an ownership share of the team he goes to. According to the 2007 Forbes numbers the Sox are valued at $381 million. If they could come up with a small minority share, you could knock off $10-20 million, depending on how big you are talking. Plus a guy like Rodriguez pays for himself at the turnstyle. The Sox know this. Think about how many Arod jersies would get sold?

 

I doubt it will happen, but then again knowing Kenny's history, and JRs business savvy, maybe it isn't that crazy afterall...

If the ownership clause is put in, that's quite interesting - I wonder if the board would do it? If he comes, they instantly become contenders next year again.

 

 

[Gregory Pratt]

If the ownership clause is put in, that's quite interesting - I wonder if the board would do it? If he comes, they instantly become contenders next year again.

 

I really don't think that's true at all.

[RockRaines]

I really don't think that's true at all.

Why wouldnt 40+hr and 120+ RBI making this team a contender? He didnt say the favorite.

[Leonard Zelig]

Arod at SS or 3B?

[Gregory Pratt]

Why wouldnt 40+hr and 120+ RBI making this team a contender? He didnt say the favorite.

 

Umm, because we'd still have Richar, Owens, Fields, Crede, the bullpen, Danks, Floyd, probably regression from starters in our team. I don't see Rodriguez addition as dispelling all doubts about this team which is, as is, fatally flawed.

 

We will see what KW does this offseason but as it stands, not even Babe Ruth makes this team a contender.

[WCSox]

could it mean bonds is brought in?

 

Thome > Bonds

 

[RockRaines]

Umm, because we'd still have Richar, Owens, Fields, Crede, the bullpen, Danks, Floyd, probably regression from starters in our team. I don't see Rodriguez addition as dispelling all doubts about this team which is, as is, fatally flawed.

 

We will see what KW does this offseason but as it stands, not even Babe Ruth makes this team a contender.

Whats with the umm?

 

You need to expect some improvement out of the offense next season because of many of the down years of some of the more prolific offensive weapons on this team. So that would be an improvement. I guess what you are saying mostly is that the pitching needs to improve, which is valid considering the amount of runs score on us this year. Of course we cant expect EVERY position to have an all star, but Fields is looking like one of the best rookies in the league this year and we should expect improvement from him as well. Crede coming back improves the position immensely as it was mostly a black hole or manned by a rookie this season. The rotation and the pen should be main concerns but at least be optimistic about a few arms in there, mainly Ehren, Jenks, and possibly Broadway who looks to be a good contributer. The main weakness that I see is the questions marks of Gavin and Danks who will most likely be inserted into the rotation already weakened by the trade (most likely) of Garland.

 

All in all they should CONTEND even without a huge overhaul, but its hard to not think that adding more than 100 runs to an offense that already has shown it can produce, wouldnt at least make this team have a chance at winning the division.

[Gregory Pratt]

Whats with the umm?

 

You need to expect some improvement out of the offense next season because of many of the down years of some of the more prolific offensive weapons on this team. So that would be an improvement. I guess what you are saying mostly is that the pitching needs to improve, which is valid considering the amount of runs score on us this year. Of course we cant expect EVERY position to have an all star, but Fields is looking like one of the best rookies in the league this year and we should expect improvement from him as well. Crede coming back improves the position immensely as it was mostly a black hole or manned by a rookie this season. The rotation and the pen should be main concerns but at least be optimistic about a few arms in there, mainly Ehren, Jenks, and possibly Broadway who looks to be a good contributer. The main weakness that I see is the questions marks of Gavin and Danks who will most likely be inserted into the rotation already weakened by the trade (most likely) of Garland.

 

All in all they should CONTEND even without a huge overhaul, but its hard to not think that adding more than 100 runs to an offense that already has shown it can produce, wouldnt at least make this team have a chance at winning the division.

 

I'm not sure that Thome, Dye and Konerko are due to "rebound." I'd expect some regression. The bullpen doesn't inspire me. I see some room for regression from our starters, as well, although I do see potential for improvement, too. (Danks, Contreras, Garland-if-here.) I don't believe Crede will be all that good. He was never that good a hitter to begin with and he's coming off of back surgery. Fields might very well go down if he doesn't adjust to the inside fastball. I have some faith in him, but he is a huge question mark. Who knows what AJ, getting older, will do. But he isn't a world-beater and his defense is tentative.

 

This team is getting old and it lacks a lot of talent. I don't expect them to "compete," unless we're talking 'Comedy Central' compete where everybody becomes bad and we NL Central it.

[RockRaines]

I'm not sure that Thome, Dye and Konerko are due to "rebound." I'd expect some regression. The bullpen doesn't inspire me. I see some room for regression from our starters, as well, although I do see potential for improvement, too. (Danks, Contreras, Garland-if-here.) I don't believe Crede will be all that good. He was never that good a hitter to begin with and he's coming off of back surgery. Fields might very well go down if he doesn't adjust to the inside fastball. I have some faith in him, but he is a huge question mark. Who knows what AJ, getting older, will do. But he isn't a world-beater and his defense is tentative.

 

This team is getting old and it lacks a lot of talent. I don't expect them to "compete," unless we're talking 'Comedy Central' compete where everybody becomes bad and we NL Central it.

I dont understand how you can expect further regression from players who had uncharacteristically down years compared to their careers? It just doesnt make mathematical sense. I agree about AJP, in fact I would like to see us somehow bring in a younger player to develop, because his regression is very real. The huge question mark about whether this team can compete rest in the hands of the #4-5 starters IMO.

[Dick Allen]

Why wouldnt 40+hr and 120+ RBI making this team a contender? He didnt say the favorite.

Didn't he hit 50 with Texas? Didn't make them a contender. The pitching is still the key.

[Gregory Pratt]

I dont understand how you can expect further regression from players who had uncharacteristically down years compared to their careers? It just doesnt make mathematical sense. I agree about AJP, in fact I would like to see us somehow bring in a younger player to develop, because his regression is very real. The huge question mark about whether this team can compete rest in the hands of the #4-5 starters IMO.

 

Sure, Thome/Konerko/Dye had "uncharacteristic down years" but they are all old. Konerko is a real old thirty. Dye isn't all that young and he has leg issues. Thome's back is bound to go out. Whether it happens in April, May, June, July...he will go down for a good while, and who knows how many he will hit. I see significant regression from those three, and they will continue to be molasses on the basepaths and this team's offense will continue to be one-dimensional.

[RockRaines]

Didn't he hit 50 with Texas? Didn't make them a contender. The pitching is still the key.

Did you really just compare this team with that texas team?

[Balta1701]

Didn't he hit 50 with Texas? Didn't make them a contender. The pitching is still the key.

That Rangers team put up a 5.15 ERA. The White Sox this year put up a 4.77. And people are accepting the fact that the White Sox's pitching staff wouldn't have to do much to significantly improve over this season (basically, not having Mike Myers would do that).

 

Here is that Rangers pitching staff.

 

SP *Kenny Rogers

SP Chan Ho Park

SP Ismael Valdez

SP Dave Burba

SP Rob Bell

SP Joaquin Benoit

SP Aaron Myette

SP *Doug Davis

 

CL Hideki Irabu

RP *Juan Alvarez

RP Jay Powell =

RP Todd Van Poppel =

RP Francisco Cordero=

 

*Dennys Reyes

Colby Lewis

Rudy Seanez

Danny Kolb

*John Rocker

Anthony Telford

Steve Woodard

*Rich Rodriguez

*Chris Michalak

*C.J. Nitkowski

*Randy Flores

*Ben Kozlowski

Dan Miceli

Reynaldo Garcia

 

[RockRaines]

Improving the pitching staff is going to be the largest question mark. Is the bullpen already a bit better? Maybe, but they still do not have all the pieces in place. We need to find another young player to step up, or trade or sign some pen guys who throw damn strikes. The rotation will be a huge problem if they trade Garland and try to rely on Floyd AND Danks for the entire season.

[Balta1701]

Improving the pitching staff is going to be the largest question mark. Is the bullpen already a bit better? Maybe, but they still do not have all the pieces in place. We need to find another young player to step up, or trade or sign some pen guys who throw damn strikes. The rotation will be a huge problem if they trade Garland and try to rely on Floyd AND Danks for the entire season.

If our young guys do not step up in many places, we're in deep trouble. You can say that about almost any team. Yes, it's a gamble to rely on those guys, but you can't just go out and spend $15 million a year on Carlos Silva because you're scared to make that gamble.

[Yossarian]

Not totally sure, but I think it's against the rules for a player to have ownership of any percentage of a team. Perhaps someone here can give chapter and verse on this.

[RockRaines]

If our young guys do not step up in many places, we're in deep trouble. You can say that about almost any team. Yes, it's a gamble to rely on those guys, but you can't just go out and spend $15 million a year on Carlos Silva because you're scared to make that gamble.

I honestly think that two of the more important pieces that the success of our pen hinge on is Broadway and Phillips. If we can get a consistently good performance out of those two guys, the pen will be tons better than it showed this year. Of course, thats asking alot from them.