Chisoxfn

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 01:10 PM) I'd like to confirm that I heard the same thing, just sayin.. You heard anything about the names? Reading between the lines of what I heard, I expect it to be a young player that will cost a lot. I know we just did a deal with the Dodgers, but they have a ton of holes and a need in the rotation and no room to really add payroll. I wonder if the Sox could find a way to put together a massive package to acquire Andre Ethier.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 01:06 PM) I wait expectantly I think you guys will end up waiting. The Sox aren't in any hurry at this point. They can afford to be very patient. In Kenny/Ozzie's eyes the club has one hole, the middle of the order, and he has a few months to plug that hole, so he can wait and get his guy at the right price. That doesn't mean Kenny is just sitting around and kicking the tires on DH's though, he'll always listen and always ask about guys and if he hears that a good player is available, you can bet your butt, Kenny will come knocking.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 01:04 PM) Good deal then. That's about what you would have had to pay Crisp, except Pierre isn't much of a health risk. Crisp would have been a bit cheaper.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) Not much to be familiar with. He does one of three things frequently. Walks, Strikes out, or Homers. Great OBP, great OPS. Can play a corner spot and 1st base. Neither of them very well. I suggested Dunn a few pages back, and I think he would fit perfectly as a lefty with plenty of thump. Monetary considerations might not work well though. Given the financial restraints, I'd have to think any deal is for a guy who isn't due to be a FA yet or a guy that the Sox will get cash sent along with them. I'm really curious what Kenny has up his sleeve.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 11:05 AM) The SoxNet twitter says "With the leadoff spot filled, Kenny has turned his attention to the middle of the order and we are told he's close on another deal." any ideas as to who? That should have said "closing in". I was running out for a meeting (in the middle of a move). I got nothing but that bit of info as I mentioned in this thread or another thread a while back. Anything else would be pure speculation, but I've heard Kenny has a target in place and is in talks to get that guy. We'll see what happens. I personally think the DH situation might take a while to fill.

We've just heard Kenny has his eye on someone and is working on another deal. We'll see what happens. As I said in another thread, I got nothing else, hence why no article or anything along those lines was posted.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 10:27 AM) Jenks is staying in Chicago. There's no market for him, as there's still guys like Valverde and Gonzalez left and not a lot of teams needing a closer. The Mariners are building a team and have reportedly kicked the tires around Jenks. Phillies could do the same.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:26 AM) Toronto is going to turn around and trade Michael Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace. Is that rumored or speculation by you?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 10:24 AM) A single and a stolen base is not the same thing as a double, I hate it when people make them out to be equal. In '07 he put up a .331 OBP (that's 20 points below the league average for an AL leadoff man last season) and had 32 XBH, the stolen bases are fun and all but they're not making up for those tremendous shortcommings. I just can't wait to see that arm in LF and way too often in center, you can run on popup just over the thirdbaseman's head. He should not play CF, except in a pinch. He needs to be in left, imo, and even with the arm, he's a better defensive left fielder than Pods.

Sox Acquire Juan Pierre From Dodgers

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 10:12 AM) It wouldn't be a Kenny Williams off-season without it! I will say this, from a depth stand-point, the club would be better suited giving up positional prospects since they have so little depth when it comes to starting pitching prospects. Viciedo, Danks, Flowers, Mitchell are four guys to get excited for, imo.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 10:06 AM) I retract my Buehrle statement, I looked up the numbers myself and agree. I AM excited for Peavy, but still worried about the health. My Hudson point was that if Garcia/Peavy/anybody else get hurt, I am not high on him to step in. I actually like Garcia as a 5 BUT not sold he will stay healthy. I guess my point is that there is no sense in arguing that the 2010 rotation is better than 2005 because on paper arguments are always silly. Peavy had a non-pitching injury and than suffered from a line drive off his elbow in a rehab start. While he's had some soreness in his arm, what pitcher hasn't. He has a great arm and will be the best pitcher the Sox have had in years, imo.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 10:03 AM) You're not really saying much of anything, really. We should put an end to the "Buehrle disappeared" myth now, I think. He had 2 to 3 poor starts after his streak of perfect innings. The rest of the way, he had 6 quality starts out of 10, and 2 of the other 4 were winnable starts. His ERA in September was 3.57 after having a tough August. He did not disappear after the perfect game and the facts support this. Peavy will be fine. There is simply no good reason not to be excited about him. Hudson isn't in the rotation. And Garcia is a 5th starter (better than El Duque). Floyd? What about his last two years don't you like? All that good pitchin'? It appears you're simply a pessimist, and you can't ever make a pessimist view reality in a normal way. Outside of Garcia, there is no denying the Sox rotation is strong. And the Sox have a great backup plan if Garcia isn't healthy. Heck, I don't think the Sox are actually counting on Freddy, they'll get what they can get out of him and than turn things over to Hudson in time, imo. Unless Huddy gets dealt. If Huddy is dealt, the Sox will have very little starting pitching depth in the upper levels of there farm system. Or at least very few, if any guys, that have value or upside. The next set of quality starting pitching arms are young, high school arms that are at least a few years away. It is why I fully expect the Sox to grab the best available starting pitcher in the June draft and they should have a great selection of arms to pick from.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:56 AM) You should care about his ISO, just completely writing off extra base hits from the top is just ridiculous. A double from your leadoff man can go a long way. What happened in June? He put up a 1.000+ OPS in the first two months then fell off greatly in June, lost his starting job when Manny came back and put up his usual bad numbers as a part time player the rest of the way. I'm sure he will put up a decent average and because of that and his "intangibles" (like his league worst arm) he'll garner quite a bit of love from the fan base, driving me insane. He had an awful June and a pretty horrendous September (as did a lot of the Dodgers). But he also had a strong April, a tremendous May, and a good August. And as a full time starter, he basically had one great month and one terrible month. All in all, it was a solid, but not great season. And while Pierre doesn't hit doubles, he can turn singles into doubles with his feet. He's not the stealer he once was, but he's still pretty good and will likely run a lot more in Chicago than he did in LA. I'd expect hope the Sox can get something similar to his 2007 season, with maybe a bit better OBP (but I'm being greedy and unrealistic there). Yes, they are mediocre numbers, but when you add in the stolen base numbers, it is acceptable at 4M a season.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:52 AM) Expecting us to hear something soon? I just heard Kenny has a guy in mind and he's in discussion to get him. I don't have anything more than that and anything else I add would be pure speculation. I think he'll make one more hard push at Adrian Gonzalez, but I don't think San Diego is ready to let him go. I honestly don't know who it will be, but I got a sneaking suspicion it won't be anyone we have speculated too heavily about. There just aren't a lot of FA options out there, so you'd have to think the club is looking to go the way of a trade.

I'm told the Sox are working hard on adding another bat.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:40 AM) .329 and a .688 OPS in the 4 seasons leading up to his 2 good months last year. There's really no reason for me to believe we'll get anything better than a .325-.330 OBP out of him which is especially dreadful since his ISO will be well under .100. It's a stupid f***ing trade and a tremendous waste of money. Plenty of teams have won with Juan Pierre at the top? Really? He's been on one team that made the playoffs with him as their leadoff hitter for a full season and that was '03 when he was 25. He has a grand total of 7 playoff PA since 2003. I don't really care what his ISO will be at the top of the order. I care about the things he can do. Is he perfect, absolutely not. Ideal, no, but for the amount the Sox are paying him this is a solid move. Last season he was much much better than he had been the last couple of years and he did make some minor changes to his swing mechanics and approach and they apparently paid off big. The stat outlook on these type of guys are always much much more negative than the reality. He isn't an all star, nor is he one of the 10 or 15 best leadoff hitters, but he's adequate, and will be one of the few guys on the squad capable of hitting for a high average, which is a nice change. There are a lot of things Juan can do that won't show up on the stat sheet.

State of the Pen: With Putz In, Carrasco and Dotel Out, It's a Wash for the Sox Along with not being able to hit or field very well, the White Sox bullpen was a mess much of 2009. With Bobby Jenks proving unreliable, Scott Linebrink buckling halfway through, and the rest minus Matt Thornton and DJ Carrasco just sorta being there, it needed to be addressed this off-season. So far, it's one talented-but-injured guy in (JJ Putz), and two less-talented-but-healthy-and-equally-effective-relievers out (Carrasco, Octavio Dotel)....The Whole Story, Including Our Depth Chart

I don't necessarily think he'll put up the numbers he did last year over a full season, but if he did, it would be an absolutely stellar move. I would hope we could get a .345-.350 OBP out of him, but that is probably me being greedy. We will get a great base-runner who will hit for an average (albeit with mainly singles), but that can be a nice thing. More importantly, the club can at least shield Beckham from the leadoff spot. Pierre might not be great, but plenty of teams have won with him at the top of the order. For the money and given the Sox options, I'm okay with this deal.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:18 AM) As long as we don't give up Hudson, Hynick or Santos and Pierre is in LF, i'll cool off about the move. I don't think he's an ideal option, i think Pierre has some tremendous holes in his game, he fits a need though, and i understand the thought behind it. Now, get me a lefty-power bat and a lefty-power arm. Hynick is a solid option as a long guy or spot starter, but that is it. I'm okay giving him up. Santos I'd hope we'd keep, but the odds of him breaking camp on the 25 man roster are slim and at that point its 50/50 whether he'll get through waivers or not. I tend to think he would, but who knows.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:17 AM) Santos is out of options, so if he doesn't make the team, he'll probably get claimed anyway. He's still too raw so it is unlikely that anyone would keep him on a major league roster for an extended period of time.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 15, 2009 -> 09:14 AM) As others have mentioned, the only way I get excited about this deal is if Pierre's in LF and we obtain a solid DH. I fully believe that is the clubs plan.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 03:52 PM) Barring a problem with that screw in his elbow, I'll bet Jenks has one of his best years in 2010. I actually agree with you. I think Jenks is going to have a tremendous season.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 03:07 PM) Brad Lidge is guaranteed $24.5M over the next 2 season and Bobby Jenks only $7.5M-$8M. How do you make that at all palatable? I'm taking my chances with Jenks. Ya, I figured there is no way to make it work, but since Levine said the Phils might be interested I figured they'd have to deal Lidge and eat up significant cash. No way I can see the Phils eating enough cash to make that a valuable deal.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Dec 14, 2009 -> 02:53 PM) I sure hope he does. I just think to rely on this happening and him being the key aquisition to make the playoffs might result in a lot of unhappy sox fans. The key things to consider is the following: Quentin will hopefully be healthy and if that happens he'll be a hell of a lot more productive - Beckham will have a full year under his belt - Rotation will be much better - Pen should be solid; Pena, Linebrink, and Jenks are better than they've shown and a healthy Putz would be a nice upgrade - Teahen should be a better hitter than Getz - Rios has a history of being significantly better than shown - Ramirez will be much better defensively and in year three much more consistent Obviously all of the above might not happen, but I expect most of the above will happen and that alone makes the Sox a hell of a lot better of a club.