Official: White Sox sign Colon

[ThunderBolt]

While last year ultimately ended better than I thought it would, please don't ever make me have to watch another big-bopper dependent lineup with no speed and prone to streakiness. That was uber-painful.

I suppose you have the "speed never slumps" bumper-sticker?

 

[southsider2k5]

Sep. 29, 2008 - 10:37 a.m. ET

 

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the "best-case scenario" for Jose Contreras' return from a torn Achilles' tendon next season is "late July or early August."

 

The newspaper adds that "even that was doubtful because of the severity of the injury" and speculates that he may have pitched his last game for the White Sox. ''Things are going well mentally, but it isn't something I can rush,'' Contreras said. ''I know it's something that is going to take time.''

 

Are there any more recent stories anywhere about Contreras' rehab/comeback?

 

I haven't heard anything new, but it makes sense. A full achillies tear is a major rehab. They go in and stitch the thing back together in the surgery. Then you have to wait a long ( I want to say like 8-12 weeks) to make sure that it grew back together properly. Once you have that, then they begin a very basic rehab to get you back simple range of motion and strength. Once that is done, then you actually start to resume some normal activity. After that, then you can get into some more challenging activities. The problem is that once you have a tear, it is very easy to re-tear, which is why every step take so long. When they say a year to recover, that is very realistic from my experiences. Hopefully Ptac sees this and can give some more medical details.

[ILMOU]

Far as I'm concerned, we were lucky and the stars aligned in 2005. Last year barely counts because we won a s*** division. The fact remains that the focus on this team has been shaky and the payroll as well as the players have not been maintained properly. How can you deny that when our roster is less impressive than many others and our youngest players aren't raking in the cash yet? The fact we have this high of a payroll is mind-boggling, and we all know how the organization is with things.

 

I frankly can't understand this negativity I see from so many posters. KW is one of the best GM's around. We may not be better in '09, though I think we'll be pleasantly surprised again, but the organization is leaner, younger and better moving forward.

 

The Sox will be fine.

 

[BigSqwert]

but if he gets his stuff together I'll be happy with him in the Sox rotation.

 

[Texsox]

[ThunderBolt]

I’m not so hot on simply giving him the job from the get go. I think it’s unfair to CR/AP, Marquez and the rest of the young guys. It also takes away an additional motivational factor the team could use to get Bartolo’s head in the game.

[Kyyle23]

I’m not so hot on simply giving him the job from the get go. I think it’s unfair to CR/AP, Marquez and the rest of the young guys. It also takes away an additional motivational factor the team could use to get Bartolo’s head in the game.

 

If he is healthy, he is better than those three. IF he is healthy.

 

If he isnt, its a moot point

[Balta1701]

I’m not so hot on simply giving him the job from the get go. I think it’s unfair to CR/AP, Marquez and the rest of the young guys. It also takes away an additional motivational factor the team could use to get Bartolo’s head in the game.

Cooper supposedly was quoted a page ago saying he had to earn his spot in the rotation. I'd be surprised if they guaranteed him a spot if he came out and was CR/AP in ST.

[103 mph screwball]

I’m not so hot on simply giving him the job from the get go. I think it’s unfair to CR/AP, Marquez and the rest of the young guys. It also takes away an additional motivational factor the team could use to get Bartolo’s head in the game.

I'm sure they would be happy just being in the majors. Let Marquez and Richard prove themself in the pen. Heck if they are good in the pen, doesn't that help the team too. KW needs to explain that they need to be ready if someone gets injured and that if they pitch well in the pen or spot starting, they will get the same opportunity that Floyd got next year. AP gets another year in the minors to improve his skills. Colon will know the kids want his job and he will want to play for a bigger contract next year.

[Steff]

Sep. 29, 2008 - 10:37 a.m. ET

 

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the "best-case scenario" for Jose Contreras' return from a torn Achilles' tendon next season is "late July or early August."

 

The newspaper adds that "even that was doubtful because of the severity of the injury" and speculates that he may have pitched his last game for the White Sox. ''Things are going well mentally, but it isn't something I can rush,'' Contreras said. ''I know it's something that is going to take time.''

 

Are there any more recent stories anywhere about Contreras' rehab/comeback?

 

 

Nope. But he had surgery mid August and according to WebMD normal folks start rehab after at the most 7 weeks.

 

 

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ruptured-tendon?page=5

 

Achilles tendon

 

Surgery to repair your Achilles tendon is recommended for active people who desire near normal strength and power in plantarflexion. An additional advantage with surgical correction is a lower rerupture rate of the tendon.

 

 

After your operation, your foot will be immobilized with your toes pointing downward for 3-4 weeks and then progressively brought into neutral position over 2-3 weeks before weightbearing is started. Surgery carries with it a higher risk of infection than closed treatment.

 

[DBAHO]

JC's contract is off the books at the end of the 2009 season correct?

 

What was the deal about insurance possibly covering it also?

 

On the Colon signing, I like the move, and I still hope that we potentially sign Freddy Garcia still, as I think CR is suited to being the longman out of the pen being able to throw 3 innings when needed, and AP can either start from the pen, or go back to AAA to start there, which would probably be better for the long - term.

[Greg Hibbard]

This is a low-risk high reward move in some ways, but in other it could be disasterous.

 

The worst case scenario is not that Colon's an outright bust, it's if he's healthy enough to pitch 200 innings and just good enough to come in with an ERA around 5.3, a WHIP of 1.45 and something resembling a 9-15 record with a team record in his starts of like 12-21. In that case, we get no player development out of that slot and we get pretty much one of the worst expected performances out of a formerly talented vet imaginable (yes there are worse examples with worse stats, but that's not the point of this post).

 

The exact same above point could be made about JC, or Garcia, etc. Getting "veteran" production out of the 5th pitching slot, while still getting awful stats, is just wasting development IMO. At this point, with this team, it has to be built with more sure pieces, especially in the pitching staff.

 

IMO, the expected value of this pitching staff is not looking good right now. I realize Danks and Floyd were very solid last year, but Gavin Floyd's peripherals are still not great and I could easily see either him or Danks somewhat reverting. Why are we penciling them in automatically for the kinds of seasons they both had exactly once? I don't get it. History tells us that very often players don't have back to back years in which they sustain improvement far above and beyond their projections or expectations.

 

What irks me the most about this offseason in general is that KW has seemed to obsessively fall in love with utilizing just one method for improving the team: continually unloading who he perceives as overvalued players and hoarding ones he perceives as undervalued. The trouble with that philosophy is that you're not always going to have offseasons in which you discover the next wave of superstars, and occasionally you have to pay market value or even above market value for the right piece to add to your team. I don't understand the Sox's continual reluctance to bring in higher priced FAs, and I don't think KW understands the value of paying market price or even above market price to get the right fit for the team.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Greg Hibbard

[bmags]

I don't think I agree with that last paragraph, he clearly went after high priced talent last offseason though it didn't work out. I think he clearly just has a mandate to lower some payroll this year and is doing that.

[witesoxfan]

 

I just don't think it's possible that Colon could have a 5.30 ERA and pitch 200 innings. That would involve him having very bad stretches over a period of time, and the team would either put him on the DL or release him during those periods. Further, it would likely mean he's not healthy, which means he probably wouldn't pitch at all. This organization has no problems taking chances on guys, but they don't give a lot of rope either. Loaiza pitched 3 innings for the Sox last year and actually had decent numbers, but that was all garbage time and he had nothing on his pitches. They subsequently released him. I'd see a similar scenario happening with Colon, though they'd give him just a bit more rope. This isn't the Twins with Livan Hernandez, where keeping him 3 extra starts arguably cost them the division.

 

[Greg Hibbard]

I don't think I agree with that last paragraph, he clearly went after high priced talent last offseason though it didn't work out. I think he clearly just has a mandate to lower some payroll this year and is doing that.

 

Call me results oriented, but as a blackhawks fan who suffered through the 90s, I'm developing an annoying allergy to teams who tell me they went after all these FAs and it just didn't work out for whatever reason.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Greg Hibbard

[Balta1701]

Call me results oriented, but as a blackhawks fan who suffered through the 90s, I'm developing an annoying allergy to teams who tell me they went after all these FAs and it just didn't work out for whatever reason.

The remarkable thing about baseball (not sure it works the same way in hockey) is that the teams who lose out on the high priced FA and have to get creative are invariably the ones who make the better decisions.

[Greg Hibbard]

 

I just don't think it's possible that Colon could have a 5.30 ERA and pitch 200 innings.

 

Ok, let's call it 5.15.

 

Bear in mind that in 2006 Javy Vazquez had a 5.44 ERA on July 30th.

[Greg Hibbard]

The remarkable thing about baseball (not sure it works the same way in hockey) is that the teams who lose out on the high priced FA and have to get creative are invariably the ones who make the better decisions.

 

Sometimes. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees haven't exactly gone 0-fer in the past 15 years of their attempting to buy championships.

[Balta1701]

Sometimes. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees haven't exactly gone 0-fer in the past 15 years of their attempting to buy championships.

Well, on the other hand...I'd say that since the moment the Yankees genuinely started trying to buy everyone rather than developing their own key guys (the Giambi deal is a good starting point) they haven't been able to do so. The Red Sox have won with the #2 payroll, but it's worth noting IMO that a huge number of their key guys have been people they developed (Youkilis, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Lester, Papelbon) or guys that they acquired in trades, sometimes with the talent they developed (Lowell, Beckett) or guys they absolutely stole from the FA market (Ortiz).

[Greg Hibbard]

Well, on the other hand...I'd say that since the moment the Yankees genuinely started trying to buy everyone rather than developing their own key guys (the Giambi deal is a good starting point) they haven't been able to do so. The Red Sox have won with the #2 payroll, but it's worth noting IMO that a huge number of their key guys have been people they developed (Youkilis, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Lester, Papelbon) or guys that they acquired in trades, sometimes with the talent they developed (Lowell, Beckett) or guys they absolutely stole from the FA market (Ortiz).

 

Let's just say there's no magic formula either way, obviously. Moneyball hasn't exactly worked out for the A's either.

[LVSoxFan]

Speed is not job #1. Its a nice-to-have, all else equal. Pitching, pitching, pitching, OBP, power and defense are all more important.

 

And what do you mean by "percentage with the rest of the team"?

 

I mean: OBP, speed, baserunning threats. Obviously pitching and defense are #1, but no more one-dimensional offenses.

[ThunderBolt]

Let's just say there's no magic formula either way, obviously. Moneyball hasn't exactly worked out for the A's either.

It did get them to the playoffs for about five years straight. What's your definition of worked?

[Greg Hibbard]

It did get them to the playoffs for about five years straight. What's your definition of worked?

 

Winning a world series. Who cares about division titles?

[smalls2598]

Looks like the deal is official now

 

The White Sox and Colon have agreed on a one-year, $1 million contract, the club announced Thursday. Under terms of the deal, Colon is eligible to earn an additional $2 million during the 2009 season based upon innings pitched.

 

 

For that price, it's well worth the risk.

 

 

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws

[southsider2k5]

Looks like the deal is official now

 

The White Sox and Colon have agreed on a one-year, $1 million contract, the club announced Thursday. Under terms of the deal, Colon is eligible to earn an additional $2 million during the 2009 season based upon innings pitched.

 

 

For that price, it's well worth the risk.

 

 

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws

 

WOW. I am not surprised by the up front money, but the incentives are nothing. That is officially a steal. A rookie costs us $500,000, so even if we cut him early, we barely lose more than we would have given to anyone else.