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QUOTE(caulfield12 @ May 9, 2007 -> 03:46 AM) Great at identifying undervalued major league players....horrible at finding AA and AAA talent, with the one exception being the slight chance he took on Bobby Jenks and picking up Jerry Owens from the Nationals for Alex Escobar. If you look at 2002, you remember names like Barry/Berry, Felix Diaz, Jon Adkins, Onan Masaoka, Gary Majewski, the immortal Byeon Hak-An and Frank Francisco. The two "stars" were Diaz and Adkins, and they disappointed mightily. Francisco and Majewski would have been nice bullpen pieces had we kept them. In fact, we might have won in 2003 if Francisco was the closer for the entire season, instead of Koch. But he wasn't quite ready then, nor had he thrown any chairs or suffered a major injury. We also may have won 2003 with Wells and Fogg, instead of the clusterf*** merrygoaround 5th starte fiacso. You have to look at it this way....Thank the baseball gods we won in 2005! I doubt it will happen anytime soon again.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ May 9, 2007 -> 03:39 AM) Oh God I fear how horribly KW will f*** up a firesale. Yea, I was thinking the same thing.... Kenny has never been good at fleecing other teams for prospects. Usually, he's the one in the giving mood.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ May 9, 2007 -> 03:26 AM) Make Morenau hit a good pitch, not that hard. Our pen is not nearly as good as it was suppossed to be. Still need to hit Cintron, Koonerko and Dye are just bad. It concerns me that are bullpen with the 'fire breathing hurlers' is constantly getting beat on high fast balls

QUOTE(SoxAce @ May 9, 2007 -> 03:12 AM) Sisco got lucky there. Why would KW assemble 1/3 of a bullpen on a team that aspires to win a championship with guys from the same last place team?

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ May 9, 2007 -> 03:01 AM) I love when Ozzie manages to use 3 pitchers in one inning and we are forced to play extras. Puts us in a great situation. Every time the Sox and the Twins play, the disparity between the two team's pens is apparent.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ May 5, 2007 -> 05:06 AM) They should be buyers, not sellers at the trade deadline and give it one last shot with this crew this year. Next year, they should be big spenders in the FA market. They're drawing fans, and have high TV and Radio Ratings in a major market. They could afford it. Bring in Ichiro and Andruw Jones in the Outfield. Get rid of Cintron and Mackowiak and tweak the bench with some speedsters. Try to improve at 2B with a more "athletic" type player. Keep the pitching staff intact. The Sox need to operate like the major market team they are. Wrong. The time to spend money on the free agent market is when the needle is pointing up, not down like it has been this season and the second half of last season. While the Sox revenue stream has improved, so have other clubs, ergo, the spending insanity we witnessed this last off season. There is no way the Sox can fill roster spots with $10-15 millon dollar players and not have anything comeing up within their own system. If I were king, I would like to see the club double down on their farm system development and not worry about the free agent market until (to use a KW term), the 'next wave'.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ May 4, 2007 -> 05:03 PM) I agree -- now more than ever before we're going to need production from within the system. And not just league average replacement players. Prospects capable of competing within an American League division comprised of deep pitching staffs and numerous Top 10 positional players. It's difficult enough to find average players to fill the positions you mentioned with a 100 million dollar payroll. If the payroll decreases marginally within the next several seasons because of declining ticket sales, it'll be even more improbable to field a contending team. Looking at our problems in the immediate future, if Sweeney and Fields are not worthy of full-time positions to begin 2008 we're going to be in trouble. I believe the payroll for next season is already bordering on 95 million. Definitely not a good situation we find ourselves in. This also begs the question about the alarming lack of productivity within the system. If our better prospects continue to struggle, and if the parent club gets buried in the next few weeks, a fire sale will be our only recourse. At htis point, I am glad that KW made the trades for Gio, Danks and Masset. He may want to turn his attention to position prospects next time.

Kenny was always an aggressive GM in pusuing guys to 'put us over the top'. Now, we may be seeing agressiveness in the 'rebuilding' direction.

Prior to the 2005 WC season, KW did little until the last minute when the market 'settled down' and he picked up Iguchi and AJ on the cheap. My guess is that he will attempt to do the same thing this year. But with the overspending that has taken place so far, I'm not sure how much this market will drop. Stay tuned. The fact that Williams wants to 'rededicate' the organization to scouting and player development begs the question of why the Sox had not done so sooner, given that this is an organization that typically will not outspend many other teams to get mediocre veteran talent off the shelf. It also questions why you would trade your better prospects to get the same.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 25, 2006 -> 10:28 PM) When you take a full sample set, like a player's career, and start breaking it down by seasons, you'll find some that are good and some that are bad compared to the player's average. When you break it down even more, into months and weeks, you get into sample sizes that are barely statistically significant. You're going to find months when Jim hits less home runs because a few more bounced off the wall and wound up as doubles. Or because fewer people pitched to him. Just as you will with every hitter. Reagardless of his batting average, the important statistics, HR and RBI clearly indicate that Thome was not very good in the second half. I am not sure how much the Sox are on the hook for Thome's remaing three year deal at about $13.5 million per., but I would implore Kenny to seek a deal for this guy before becomes a huge liability down the road. Trade him while he still has value.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 18, 2006 -> 09:50 PM) The only reason to trade Thome is if we decide to run with the Florida Marlins 06 plan in 2007...go 100% youth and get the best talent other teams will give up. As upopular as it might be, it may not be a bad way to go that route. This team may be getting too old.

If Kenny has Thome back next season. Has has got to find a right handed compliment to platoon against left handed pitching and spell for Jim every now and then. Thome has been absolutely pathetic in the second half with...count them...20 RBIs. The guy looks gassed and as I understand is playing hurt. Right now he is not help the club one bit, plus he is a strikeout machine. He had a great first half but a not so hot second half. Come to think of it, the old adage, better to trade someone a year early than a year late, may apply to Jim this coming off-season.

It sucks when you buy tix for fireworks night and the game morphs into non-fireworks day.

My end of season prediction at this point is as follows: The Twins are supposed to get Liriano back this weekend, and will proceed to win this division going away. This team has a recent history of playing well in September. In fact, I think they will clinch prior to the last series of the season, so the three games that the Same have against the Twins will not mean diddly to the Twins. Meanwhile, the White Sox and Tigers will be fighting for the wild card spot. The question for the Twins will be, do they want to set their rotation for the playoffs and hold back Santana and Liriana, or do they want to stick it up our giggy and try to knock us off completely? It may be a blessing in disguise if the Twins do go on a tear and salt the division away early. The Tigers look hapless, and our schedule does not look favorable for us to go on an extended win streak.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 10, 2006 -> 08:50 PM) He'll be gone this offseason, I'm very confident of that. His 4.30 ERA in the International League is awful. Our minor league development continues to be very disappointing. I was thinking this same thing, and almost posted another topic to this affect. If you think about it, the contributions of our farm system this year has been abysmal. This would include the hollow achievements of both Brandon McCarthy and Brian Anderson. Notice how the Twins rookies have no trouble helping their team. Now I know why Kenny has no problem trading our prospects. Frankly, most of them suck.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Sep 8, 2006 -> 12:03 PM) I think the whole Anderson deal is kind of "perception becoming reality". Even though Brian has hit well since his dismal start, and often has very good at-bats even when making an out, so many people have decided that "he can't hit" that it's being seen as reality. I don't think center field is a pressing need at all. I agree with the idea of upgrading at short and adding starting arms, but that's not going to be easy or cheap. This offseason will be interesting, to say the least. MO, this is where Kenny gets himself into trouble....he has a tendancy of obsessing with certain players so much that ultimately, he ends up overpaying to get them. Javier Vasquez is the lead example of this. I wish that he would fly under the raider more when pursing these other guys.

QUOTE(Steff @ Aug 29, 2006 -> 07:31 PM) Wow... some real doom and gloom around here. 17-15 No Playoffs. What is wrong with being realistic? Actually, this is a better pace than they have been playing post-all star break.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Aug 20, 2006 -> 09:03 PM) Kenny Williams: I love the guy. He put together a World Series championship team. For that, I will forever be greatful. He without a doubt upgraded the offense and bench. However, Kenny really blew it with the Vazquez trade. I questioned it all the way back in December. You had a guy in Brandon McCarthy who was more than ready and capable to step into the rotation. Yet he trades a top 20 prospect and a decent middle reliever (I don't care about Duque) for a guy that had been known around the league as an underachieving headcase, who had already been traded twice in two years. And what really makes me mad is with Javy basically demanding to be traded, the D-Backs HAD to move him. What I'm saying is, we didn't have to give up as much as we did. Atleast that's the way I see it. The D-backs were the ones being held hostage here. Yet we overpaid. That has been and still is Kenny's biggest weakness - he falls in love with a player and trips all over himself in trying to acquire him. Many times, these guys are either unachievers like Vasquez, or veterans on their career down-sides like Carl Everett, Sandy and Roberto Alomar. Heck as we've seen with the latter three, they were acquired and reacquired again!! The trade that sent top prospect Chris Young to Arizona for Vasquez will end up being worst than the Sammy Sosa and Wells/Fogg trades. (it would have been nice to have Chris Young as a Plan B for center field, and then have used the 'Vasquez money' to sign some capable short relievers like Howry or Eyre. As the poster said, wasn't McCarthy supposed to have stepped into the fifth spot anyway?? Kenny clearly outsmarted himself here.). Kenny's best deals are the little ones that he makes where he gives up very little, such as acquiring Cintron, Mahoviak, Uribe, and signing Dye, Pyrzinski, and Iguchi. Frankly, Kenny's bigger deals make me nervous. The Tome deal worked fine, but here again, nobody wanted him and the Phils had to deal him.

They say that baseball is a game of adjustments and this guy refuses to make them. I rememebr that this was the downfall of Jerry manuel...that guy never made an adjustement to save his life. Yea sure, leaving starters in the game to pitch out of jams worked last year, but guess what? This is another year and that same approach is not working this year. Pin this and several other losses on Ozzie.

There is a post earlier that laments how lousy of a year Guillen is having. Ozzie is not alone in this. With the McDougal trade, kenny continues his quest to obtain medioce or players who are well past their prime. Vasquez, Alomar, Riske, McDougal --- are you kidding me??? What is the point???? Everyone in the world knew that the bullpen was weak going into the season so why not address the problem properly in the off-season, instead of purging our farm system during the season? There were several guys who had career years last year but we failed to recognize that and brought back guys like Cotts, Politte, Widger, and Hermanson. Stop making deals, Kenny.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 15, 2006 -> 07:43 PM) Maybe we can keep getting Angels cast-offs, as they have no problem developing power pitchers. Because Ozzie hates Tracey. As much as I admire this organization for winning a WC, I often cringe at the way that they do business sometimes. For instance, for years, KW has had this thing for Javier Vasquez and was bound and determined to get him. Well they got him all right. And now they see why he has been such a dissapointment for other teams. Yes, you are correct, they hate Tracey and will likely dump him for nothing in return, while as we speak, the current starting rotation rots on the vine. Like Jon Rauch, Tracey made a mistake. Why not give him a second chance?

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jul 15, 2006 -> 07:36 PM) Jason Johnson. Remember how people said that guys career record wasn't that big of a deal because he played for the O's and D'Rays, and how he's an upgrade over Scott Elarton? That would be stupid. Why trade someone with the upside of a Tracey for a has been like Henandez? Tracey could probably do everything Roberto could at this point, so why take on the salary?

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jul 15, 2006 -> 07:15 PM) Well, we're usually not very good in the second half of the season. The race is so close this year that we really can't do that, or we're not even going to make the playoffs. The good news is that at least the yankees or any other team wont be after Cooper after this year.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Jul 6, 2006 -> 10:36 PM) Hahaha. Unfortunately, the time has passed. GREAT READ! He has a very unbiased view of the team it seems, and he is very intelligent. KUDOS! I agree. I also liked the comments written by the readers. While I am enjoying the current run of the White Sox, I don't necessarily see a dynasty. It is too difficult to maintain that high a level for such a long period of time. You are either trading your better prospects to gett better now, and/or, you are not drafting very high either.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 4, 2006 -> 01:04 AM) I would have hated for Garcia to throw a 2 or 3 hitter and lose 2-1, which probably was possible tonight. That said, the pounding the pitching staff is taking is starting to get alarming. Quite frankly, I would rather lose 2-1 that get bombed. I would like to see some positive outings from our starters. Heck, it's still very early....If our starting pitching does not improve, we may even have trouble holding off the Twins.