SoxFan1 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Didn't see this posted. CHICAGO -- Any remote interest the White Sox had in Bartolo Colon apparently has not been ultimately reciprocated by the burly right-handed free agent. General manager Ken Williams admitted during Sunday's final SoxFest Town Hall Meeting at the Palmer House Hilton that he sent manager Ozzie Guillen to the Dominican Republic recently in order to watch Colon on the mound. Guillen came away impressed enough for the team to make Colon "an incentive-based offer, with a low-base salary," according to Williams, which could increase if Colon got healthy and pitched close to his vast capabilities. The intrigue began, though, after the offer was made. "We couldn't find him. His agent couldn't find him," said Williams of Colon, 34, who posted a 15-13 record and a career-high nine complete games during his lone season with the White Sox in 2003. "The offer was designed to get him into the mix and create some competition -- not saying he would get the job. He didn't seem very interested in such a deal." Williams also was questioned by one particular fan about pursuing other high-end available pitchers, such as Baltimore's Erik Bedard or Oakland's Joe Blanton. According to Williams, a Blanton deal would have demanded a higher bounty than the three top prospects he shipped away for Nick Swisher. As for Bedard, Williams addressed Baltimore's ace southpaw without violating any Major League tampering rules. "A guy who pitched like Erik Bedard would absolutely fit the equation and I probably would have gone after him full board to try to get him," said Williams, allowing White Sox fans to read between the lines in this particular hypothetical pursuit, without directly mentioning Bedard. Fans first: Jim Thome was unable to make an appearance at SoxFest Sunday, as originally planned, after attending a family wedding Saturday night in the Peoria area. But keeping with the classy way in which Thome has handled his long career, fans who wanted to obtain Thome's signature won't go away empty-handed. Four hundred photos will be signed by Thome, 100 more than he was scheduled to sign Sunday, and those pictures will be randomly given out to fans who were in attendance Sunday. "Jim talked to us last night and told us how he didn't want to disappoint the fans," said White Sox vice president of communications Scott Reifert of Thome. "You know him. We told him with all the complications and the logistics, don't come. "We went back and forth as to whether to even put him on the schedule," added Reifert of Thome, whose young daughter was part of Saturday night's wedding. "But you know Jim. He wanted to be here. So, put it on us. We said 'Don't come and we'll take care of the fans.'" Thome and his father, Chuck, will bring the ball he launched for career home run No. 500 to Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Feb. 7. Will Stewart, the 28-year-old accountant from Texas who caught Thome's momentous drive and returned it to the slugger, also will be flown in for the event. Hello, old friends: Guillen continued to encourage former players for the White Sox to visit Spring Training and help out the family, so to speak. Guillen made special mention of Robin Ventura and Carlton Fisk, former teammates and close friends. "Robin is more than welcome and so is Pudge," Guillen said. "The way we do stuff this year, former players are more than welcome. I asked Walt Hriniak to come out and join us. "It would be great to see those guys back in camp. I hope Robin can stay with us for months, but I know he can't because of his family. I beg him every year to spend time with us." Spring is in the air: Over the next few weeks, Guillen plans to make a trip back to Venezuela, watch his youngest son, Ozney, exhibit his vast skills on the baseball field and finish up Spring Training preparation with bench coach Joey Cora. "I have a better idea how we are going to use Spring Training," Guillen said. "I talked to a few players about how we are going to run Spring Training. Some like it and some don't like it. It's not going to be a boot camp, but it will b a different camp." Chicago in January: Jerry Owens, a California native, got a true taste of Chicago winter upon his arrival to a minus-20 wind chill on Wednesday. "If it's 50 degrees in California, we don't go outside," Owens said. "Luckily, I'm mostly indoors here." Owens and Josh Fields were stranded in the cold Wednesday night while waiting for a cab at the United Center following a Bulls game. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 good stuff and nice spin on the Thome missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Good to see Kenny was being smart about his post-holiday bargain shopping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thome is a class act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That funky motion Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 (edited) I asked Walt Hriniak to come out and join us. They should have him come out to work with Uribe. Edited January 28, 2008 by That funky motion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 QUOTE(That funky motion @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 01:40 PM) They should have him come out to work with Uribe. f*** that, have him work with Richar before Mr. lift and pull destroys him. If there is anyone on the team that is ready for a Hrniak approach its Richar. Lets work on the future first and then worry about the trade bait another day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 01:32 PM) Thome is a class act. Perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 03:49 PM) Perhaps. What? That was a nice thing he did, he didn't have to do that. I didn't have anything to comment on the Colon part of the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg The Bull Luzinski Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Did they remind Colon about Chicago style pizza or even offer it as a signing bonus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Colon was a train wreck in 2003, so thank goodness he won't be back 5 years later. It would be nice to have a veteran (other than Contreras) to sandwich between John and Gavin, but Bartolo certainly is not the man for that job, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Nice to see that Colon is so all high and mighty with his mid 80's fastball and overweight belly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 (edited) QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 04:50 PM) He was? If Colon posted his 03 numbers for this club in 2008, I think the Sox would have a very legit shot of making the post season. I would love to have his "train wreck" 03 numbers on this club. I would take his 2003 numbers on our staff for 2008, too. Unfortunately, it's 5 years later, and he's a power pitcher who has suffered arm injuries. Which makes his 2003 numbers meaningless in 2008. And I will amend what I said about him being a train wreck. He actually put up good numbers. So, I retract that statement. The fact, however, remains that he only started 18 games last season (10 the season before), and posted a horrific 6.34 ERA. No thanks. Edited January 29, 2008 by lvjeremylv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Who's going to give Colon a guaranteed $8M though? Kansas City maybe? I don't know if anyone else would touch him at that price. The Mets I think are leaning towards signing Livan Hernandez also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 05:06 PM) Who's going to give Colon a guaranteed $8M though? Kansas City maybe? I don't know if anyone else would touch him at that price. The Mets I think are leaning towards signing Livan Hernandez also. If I was the Mets and I couldn't trade for Johan...I'd sign both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 07:13 PM) If I was the Mets and I couldn't trade for Johan...I'd sign both. The Mets really only have room for 1 starter. They already have Pedro, Maine, Oliver Perez, and El Duque in their rotation. If I were the Mets I'd go the more safe route and sign Livan. Colon is an injury waiting to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 05:15 PM) The Mets really only have room for 1 starter. They already have Pedro, Maine, Oliver Perez, and El Duque in their rotation. If I were the Mets I'd go the more safe route and sign Livan. Colon is an injury waiting to happen. How many of those guys would you think are reliable for a full season? The Mets should be one of those teams where they can risk quite a bit of money over a year or two in order to have 6 pitchers with the expectation that some will be on the DL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 07:16 PM) How many of those guys would you think are reliable for a full season? The Mets should be one of those teams where they can risk quite a bit of money over a year or two in order to have 6 pitchers with the expectation that some will be on the DL. So go with a 6 man rotation? Make one of them a reliever? I disagree with both of those options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 05:54 PM) So go with a 6 man rotation? Make one of them a reliever? I disagree with both of those options. If you have to yes, you make one of them a reliever, but I think you start Colon off on the DL/on a rehab assignment unless someone else gets hurt and your problem goes away that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metz Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 07:15 PM) The Mets really only have room for 1 starter. They already have Pedro, Maine, Oliver Perez, and El Duque in their rotation. If I were the Mets I'd go the more safe route and sign Livan. Colon is an injury waiting to happen. Mets already told Loshe and Livan's agents to hang tight, but apparently if a Johan trade fell down so fast that it was good as dead supposedly they would sign one of the above names in the days following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 QUOTE(JFields27 @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 12:40 AM) Mets already told Loshe and Livan's agents to hang tight, but apparently if a Johan trade fell down so fast that it was good as dead supposedly they would sign one of the above names in the days following Well according to the USA Today, the Mets have acquired Johan, so me thinks they won't be worrying about Colon or Livan Hernandez anymore. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/20...s-santana_N.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vance Law Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hell yeah. No more Santana hopefully means a couple more wins for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE(Vance Law @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 04:26 PM) Hell yeah. No more Santana hopefully means a couple more wins for us. Oh absolutely. We seemingly never beat Santana, so not having to face him 4 or 5 times in 2008 is a huge thing for the Sox. In 2007 he faced us 4 times, and he had a 3-1 record with a 3.41 ERA. In 2006, he started 5 games against us, and went 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA. 35 IP, 31 strikeouts, and we hit .220 off him. In 2005, he started 5 games, went 4-0, and posted a 0.92 ERA. 39 1/3 IP, 44 whiffs, .175 average. In 2004, he started 4 games, went 2-2, with a 3.75 ERA. So yes, very glad to see him go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I wonder if Black Bart calls Kenny back now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvjeremylv Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 09:15 PM) I wonder if Black Bart calls Kenny back now? Let's hope not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Bart is overvaluing himself quite a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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