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No offense to KW, but why not inquire if you are the Yanks? Target a top Sox player and try to steal him away like some of these other deals. Don't know why you'd trade the best closer in the AL and open up a hole there. Our bullpen is bad enough to ship Jenks anywhere.

I really hate to be a negative asshole and will probably stop this, after this post, but ... Cleveland just signed Kobayashi. Why didn't we sign him????? Our GM was too busy getting his butt handed to him in a bag in the Cabrera trade. Indians import: Cleveland signs Japanese closer Masahide Kobayashi to 2-year deal Eds: AMs. AP Photo CD105, CD102, NY164 By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Not to be confused with his hot-dog chomping countryman, this Kobayashi might make late innings easier to stomach for the Cleveland Indians. Looking to strengthen the back end of their bullpen and add insurance for closer Joe Borowski, the Indians signed Japanese free agent Masahide Kobayashi to a $6.25 million, two-year contract on Tuesday. The deal includes a $3.25 million club option for 2010 with a $250,000 buyout. The 33-year-old Kobayashi spent the past nine seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, currently managed by Bobby Valentine. The right-handed reliever is one of three pitchers in Japanese baseball history with more than 200 saves. He will join Cleveland’s bullpen as a setup man for Borowski, who in his first season with the Indians led the AL with 45 saves — many of them shaky ones. Cleveland recently exercised Borowski’s $4 million option for 2008. “This is a guy who has extensive closing experience,” Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said at a news conference to introduce Kobayashi. “I view him in the upper echelon of guys who were available on the market.” Kobayashi is the first Japanese player signed by the Indians. The club has scouted him for several seasons. Cleveland had one of the top bullpens in the AL this year, but as Shapiro has learned, injuries and ineffectiveness are two factors that can pop up on a team at any time. “I don’t think we’ll ever be satisfied with our bullpen,” he said. “We’ll continue to work to reinforce and today was a big step.” Manager Eric Wedge can give the ball to Kobayashi in the seventh and eighth innings. He’ll be a nice complement for right-hander Rafael Betancourt and lefty Rafael Perez, who were two of the league’s top setup men last season. “If we’re as good a team as we think we’re going to be, there are going to be many opportunities to pitch in meaningful situations in the late innings,” Shapiro said. “That’s what we envision for him.” Kobayashi has saved at least 20 games in each of the last seven seasons. The Indians, who took World Series champion Boston to Game 7 of the AL championship series, are hoping they can follow the success the Red Sox had in signing Japanese pitchers. Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and reliever Hideki Okajima were instrumental in helping the Red Sox win their second Series title in four years. Last season, Kobayashi went 2-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 27 saves in 49 appearances. He was on the disabled list in September with a minor neck injury but finished the regular season on the active roster and pitched in the playoffs. Kobayashi relies mainly on a slider as his out pitch. His fastball has been clocked in the mid-90s (mph) and he also throws a splitter. “No, I don’t throw the gyroball,” Kobayashi said, referring to Matsuzaka’s famed pitch. Kobayashi went 36-34 with a 2.79 ERA and 227 saves in 303 games for Chiba Lotte. In 2005, he led the Pacific League with 34 saves. He was a member of Japan’s Olympic baseball team in 2004. Some Japanese players have had a difficult time adjusting to the cultural change in the U.S., but Kobayashi anticipates blending into his new surroundings. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I believe I will be OK in getting along with my teammates,” he said through a translator. Kobayashi has already shown he has a sense of humor. During his first news conference, he was asked what he knows about Cleveland. “Beautiful lake,” he said, cracking a smile, “and the city has the Indians.” Shapiro said the Indians, who have had experience in helping international players adjust to the U.S., plan to hire a full-time translator to help Kobayashi throughout the season. “Baseball is rapidly becoming a multicultural game,” said Shapiro, noting the Indians 40-man roster is dotted with players from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Korea. “Our players are going to embrace him and make him feel like part of the team. We will make his transition as smooth as we can.” Because Kobayashi was an unrestricted free agent, Cleveland did not have to pay a posting fee to Chiba Lotte to negotiate with him.

The thing is he has to trade for Cabrera. So the "big fish" still might rob us of a lot of our players. Isn't there room for both Hunter and Cabrera? It seems doing the video for Hunter and offering him a contract isn't a smokescreen. They want him via trade it's apparent. And they want Hunter.

They didn't visit him. They spoke on a video presentation KW showed him.

So does everybody. The issue as always is, go ahead and get Cabrera if you like him, but don't give up Garland for god sakes. If the Angels wanted pitching, make them take Floyd or MacDougal or Thornton or Charlie. Entice them with somebody who is not an effective inning eater. Garland is a No. 2, 3 pitcher available in a season where not much pitching is available. Bad bad trade.

I love the way whenever KW makes a s*** trade the consensus is to wait and see what his real master plan is. The master plan was to get a 33 year old light hitting shortstop for a major pitcher in a year not much pitching is available. He got abused on this trade.

Hunter, just to try something different with somebody not named Erstad. Then Rowand close second.

The question is ... how old is he now? Rumor in media I've read is he is another guy with doctored birth certificate.

No kidding. Knowing KW and Jerry it'll be trash and cash. How did we win a WS in 2005? That is what I want to know?

Considering the old stiff we got for young Garland, I hesitate to see what we'll get for Uribe. Two minor leaguers who will never sniff the big leagues. KW is in a major trading slump. Make a GOOD trade for once, Kenny.

I actually thought we were getting the other Cabrera when I heard the news today. I swear I did. But that would have been a GOOD trade on our side. KW I thank for the WS title, but this trade is yet another that SUCKS.

Love this thread. Thanks, thanks, thanks for your excellence and the WS title. And thanks for bringing us so much return in a trade ... NOT thanks to KW.

Me too. Our GM is an idiot. Wait ... he won the World Series. My god, his trades suck so bad. I mean Garland is an inning eater and can pitch. And we get this??? Unfricking believable. GM's must KNOW that KW is in love with the guy he wants to acquire and they just abuse him when making the deals.

That would be an awful scenario. If that is true, I would think most of the Sox season ticket holders would want to bail. Watching slow plodders when there is not a live ball can't be fun. Hopefully the ball will be alive next year and jump off the bats of Thome, Dye, Paul, AJP and Fields. Even Uribe fashions himself power more than anything else. Those guys are all slow. If they are not whacking it out of the park they are worthless.

That is unlikely to happen. I wish the Sox would part ways with the Royals rejects and outbid the Royals for this Japanese guy. I would rather we trot anybody out there than some of the hacks the Sox used in the pen last year.

It's pretty obvious Fields is a DH type. Whether he can blast homers at the rate of a Paulie/Thome remains to be seen. He is a butcher at 3B and in LF. Sox pitchers are not gonna be happy at all the errors at 3b.

On paper, that is one bad rotation.

Exactly! Why Sox fans undervalue Crede so much is amazing. I don't care if he walks with Boras in a year. Right now, we will get NOTHING for this guy except a couple more lousy prospects that do nothing for our team NOW. Aren't you all getting sick of s***ty trades? This one will be another s***ty trade. What team is going to trade much for a guy coming off back surgery? If KW can pull off a Crede trade that benefits the Sox ... I will be happy but also shocked. We were going to lose Iguchi in free agency and let him go ... for what? It's as if we just simply lost him via free agency as well. A similar trade for Crede should piss off Sox fans.

Southside I understand what you are saying, but to get scraps for Crede is absurd. Keep him and trade him midway through the season if we are not vying for the division title. Giving away Crede for lousy prospects is a dumb dumb move. KW needs to start making some trades that help this team now. His trades are growing old, ala Iguchi.

Just what I was thinking. Stupid to trade him now. Who will gamble on the back? I think we need to make room for Fields and Crede and deal Paulie or Thome just because we actually can steal some real players for Paulie or Thome, not prospects.

This money thing has always baffled me with the White Sox. Didn't somebody price the Sox as one of the most profitable organizations in baseball? If the Sox were sold today wouldn't Jerry make about 50 times the amount he bought the team for? If the Sox shelled out the money, they'd obviously go from near last to first in a year. The Yankees make the playoffs every year because of money, nothing else.

If I were one of those announcers he critiqued, I'd nod yes, yes, yes and say you are right and then after I signed on for another year I'd talk about whatever I wanted including Notre Dame and St. Rita on the broadcasts or in my case Bro. Rice. Agree with the guy who does the hiring and then do whatever you want. Who is this guy Brooks ... god?

I wouldn't worry about the knot in the shoulder. Our crack medical staff thought Big Hurt and Maggs were done also. Maggs was awesome last year and Big Hurt has been decent the past 2 years. Hurt obviously is so slow on the basepaths it's probably been a good thing he's gone, but Maggs still should be a member of the Sox. Keep garland. If we want to win the division we need his innings. Javy, Mark, Jose, and the two younguns won't cut it. I love Buerhle but he doesn't strike a lot of people out and is a question mark each and every year; Javy is Mr. 5 innings still; Jose is awful, simply awful; and the two younguns are too young to count on. I'd rather gamble on Mark, Jon and Javy having career years, getting rid of the old one, and picking up a Byrd type veteran to go with either Danks or Floyd. KEEP GARLAND

C'mon Kenny, it's only money. Sign Hunter and then move on to the next area of concern. Could Owens play left? Owens, Hunter and Dye might not be a bad of, not bad at all.

Your lineup isn't bad, but surely we can do better than Richar. I could take Owens at the top, but not Owens, Richar.