GreatScott82

During the Swisher trade press conference the only thing KW seemed content with, was having Fields become his starting 3b. He didn't mention anything in regards to 2b, or Cf. Im guessing those are the positions KW will focus hard on next. He seems to also be focusing hard on starting pitching. He mentioned "We need to add more SP depth". Whats next? Nobody knows. Im hoping for one big pre-Turkey Day treat!

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 09:45 PM) I think Dye and Poreda for Garza is a bit much, but it's a package that can be worked with, depending on what Tampa sees in Poreda too of course. It seems like the 2 guys the Rays are willing to trade are Sonnestine and Jackson. Garza, Kazmir and Price seem to be off limits and rightfully so. However, the one guy i expect the Rays to deal this winter is Crawford. Since they already have enough speed in the lineup and the fact that Crawford is going to make the most money on the team, they would likely prefer to swap him for a power hitter. Perhaps a Dye-Jenks for Crawford-Jackson deal? That would certaintly be a blockbuster- we lose alot, but we fill a gap in the rotation AND we gain speed in the lineup. A deal like this would make both teams better. I think Thorton has the ability to close games, and if he tires down halfway- just give the job to the kid- Poreda!

Looks like Viciedo is going to sign shortly after his thursday workout for teams. Torres seems pretty damn confident that not only can he contribute right way at the age of 19 but he said everyone should just hold your questions until the end of the 2009 season. Is this guy that good? From Whitesox.com

I think Poreda would do better as our 5th starter and we move Richard to the pen. It just seems like Rirchard would be a nasty lefty set up man. Especially if we DO in fact trade Jenks and Thorton replaces him.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 04:44 PM) I think Gonzalez going to the Rockies will hasten Tavares' departure. I really hope we don't trade for him. Im okay with Tavares hitting 9th and stealing 70 for us next year.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Nov 8, 2008 -> 04:05 PM) If he pulls this off we are looking at a pretty damn solid core for a long time and KW has reloaded the team by only taking one bad season. your damn right! this guy almost looks like a Cuban Ryan Howard. How are his defensive skills at the hot corner?

sign him up!

KW is in love with Reyes. .297, 16 HR, and 56 SBs. Yep that would solve our leadoff hitter hole for sure. I would even consider trading Jenks and Vazquez in a mega deal for Reyes and maybe Murphy. But then again im just dreaming out loud here. Im not sayin im just sayin. Having Reyes ontop of our lineup for many years is druel worthy!

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 2, 2008 -> 05:07 AM) I could see Beltre at 3b. The sox should make at least one deal for a guy who'll be in his walk year that they can offer arb. to and net draft picks [ala Cabrera]. Beltre fits the profile. If they get Beltre via trade, I would then immediately sign him to an extension (kind of like the Garcia deal). Then KW's focus would be to get a leadoff hitter to play 2b or CF or both. I know Colorodo is putting Tavarez available. He had the type of season Pods had right before they traded for him. To me, thats a KW type of move. We have to remember, KW's trade for him a few years back almost went through (Garland for Tavarez). I would be okay with letting Getz/Nix battle out for the 2b job. However, I really hope he explores the Brian Roberts situation one more time. Because if you get Roberts, you can move Tavarez to the 9 spot.

This is all a smoke screen. How can Stone, Gonzalez, Cowley, etc say last week that expect some 'big suprises' last week to all of a sudden KW saying "Were happy with Fields at 3b, Getz at 2b, etc..." We all know how KW works, he flies waaay under the radar. All the moves he makes, are moves we dont even mention on this board or haven't heard of.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 1, 2008 -> 07:42 AM) Who cares about his strikeouts if he loses? Everyone mentions his 200 k's. Did you see him perform the last month of the season? Did you see him when he was with the Yankees? Did you see him when the White Sox were contending in 2006? He was below average. $11 million or $12 million is too much to spend on a #5 starter. The White Sox would be foolish not to trade him if a team is offering more than it would for a typical #4 or #5 starter for his services. He cannot be relied upon to win, unless you plan on having a bad team. excellent post!

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...rtnerId=rss_cws

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Oct 30, 2008 -> 05:50 PM) Per http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ it says the Rays are looking for a RH hitting corner OF. They should also need a closer. To me, this seems like the perfect team to deal with. I'd be willing to offer Dye and Jenks in a package if the Rays would be willing to part with one of Edwin Jackson/Jeff Niemann, one of Jake McGee/Wade Davis, and Eduardo Morlan. Slide Thornton to closer and sign a lefty set-up man, with Richard as the 2nd non-closing lefty out of the pen. I don't know if that deal would be realistic or not, but there are several possibilities with the Rays. The only guy I wouldn't want is Reid Brignac. The best possible moves for the Sox IMO would be to do something like the above, then deal Javy for pitching prospects. If the Sox could go into 2009 with 2 rotation openings but 3-4 legit prospects who are ready and have ceilings of #3 or higher it could actually be an improvement over Javy + Richard in 2009, save us money, and help us get much younger in the future. If the Sox did something like that and Contreras came back in the second half, they would be able to go to a 6-man rotation to give the young guys extra rest, or just have a guy skip a start here and there. So anyway, anyone have any thoughts on a potential TB deal? Who would you target? Who would you trade? What is realistic? Tampa Bay is in the market for a new DH/1B. They have the depth and flexibility to trade with any team in baseball for it. I expect them to make a big push for Prince Fielder. Perhaps for Garza and Sonnestine or Jackson. Makes more sense to me rather than trading for an aging veteran.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Oct 29, 2008 -> 10:09 PM) For some reason I'm thinking that dealing away every one of our trading chips for 1 starting pitcher might not be the best way to improve this team and the 3 positions on the field in need of new starters. true. what about that 4th or 5th spot then? Do you guys feel comfortable letting Richard run with it? I think he can be more valuable as a set up man/ middle reliever/ spot starter. If we keep Javy, i would love to move him to the 5th spot (he was in the 5th spot in 2006).

Interesting thought from Rozner: I know what your saying, impossible. A) He prefers to play in the NL. B) Unless the Sox will give up one of Danks or Floyd, they have no one else to offer San Diego. Those assessments are probably correct, however, KW can get creative here. If Peavy does have some interest like he mentioned in his article, KW can figure out a way to bring him over here. We would definitley have to give up Poreda and a couple more of our top pitching prospects- im guessing Richard, Broadway and more. Well in order to get more, KW would have to unload Dye and hope to recieve a couple of pitching prospects to throw in the mega package. Lets not forget that we have guys like Getz, Anderson, Fields, Owens, that can be thrown in there as well. (Not that those names will excite them). KW can get creative with this one. If he can get prospects back from trading one of Dye or Vazquez, than I say its a possibility. A rotation of: Buerhle Peavy Danks Floyd Vazquez/Richard/free agent stop gap is pretty impressive to me. Rozner could be on to something, but then again who knows what the hell KW plans on doing. Thats the beauty of how he works, we never know what he is planning on doing.

How does Levine know that there will be no market for Konerko and Dye? I know Thome probably wont have much of a market value, but Dye will have major value. The PK market will depend on where Texiera goes.

I remember watching the game with my Dad and brother. We couldn't believe the Astro's tied it up.. As soon as we came up in the bottom of the 9th, i told my Dad when the count went 2-0 'just take 2 more pitches, we need a baserunner' the next pitch.......... ... .... .. . . . . BOOM! I thought it was going to split the gap and he would end up on 2nd, but he ball just kept going..... SOX WIN! What an amazing moment as a true fan, and to share it with my family was awesome. Its those moments you will never, ever forget.

I haven't been this excited about an offseason since 2004 going into the 2005 season. Here are some really important dates: November 3-6. GM Meetings in Dana Point, California. This is where discussions begin to catch fire and a few moves can be already made. November 13th or 14th-. Free Agent filing period begins. December 8-11th- Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada I hope this helps everyone out.

I was just listening to the score and they mentioned that apparently KW is going to make some suprising moves this offseason. What that means, I have no clue! Sign CC or Manny? Im guessing trade JD or PK. To us that wont be shocking, but to that average fan it could be... Stay tuned guys. Once that World Series is over, the offseason begins!

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 03:24 PM) Sabean aint that stupid, you would have to throw in a bunch of young prospects, even then I think any team can beat our offer for what they need (which is younger players who are cheaper, unless Sabean really believes his team can compete after losing Cain). Im not so sure, that Zito contract was pretty stupid if you ask me. I was just throwing Dye's name out there.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Oct 22, 2008 -> 12:00 PM) I'd like to see Burnett signed through free agency, trade Javy to somebody, and then make a deal for Matt Cain. SF needs alot of help and Cain can get them some good pieces of the puzzle. That would give us a rotation of Burnett, MB, JD,Cain, and Floyd. That would be as good as anyone in the league. Apparently the Giants are listening to offers for Cain this offseason. They are in search for some sluggers for the outfield. Our 3 best trading chips this winter will be Dye, Vazquez and Konerko in that order. A Dye for Cain trade maybe a possibility. If you can sell high on a player who has probably peeked for his career you have to pull the trigger. I know there was mention that the Twins are talking about offering Delmon Young for Cain. If i were the Giants that would probably be a little more attractive due to Young's age of 23. But KW has been known to sweetn up the pot a bit.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Oct 21, 2008 -> 05:20 PM) Garland should get a decent deal from a NL team [probably along the lines of what Marquis got, though I could see a 3, 4 yr deal, at $8, 9 mill per yr]. The sox should stay far away from that. I could see Garland going to the Dodgers. Especially if Lowe departs. He'll likely get 8-10 million/season which is good based on his below mediocre season. As far as Richard being in the 5th spot, its not a bad situation, but based on what im reading, KW might be aggressive toward a SP this offseason. Who it might be? I have no clue, but if we can solidify our rotation 1-5 than we can make another World Series run. The birth of Danks and Floyd into All-star caliber pitchers really has saved KW a lot of money. Instead of aqcuirering or signing 2 or 3 mediocre starting pitchers, he can now go after 1 top of the rotation guy. I wonder if KW has already made a few phone calls to SD in regarding Peavy? Its far fetched, but you never know. KW and Ozzie are good salesmen.

Okay most of the talk this winter is going to surround around adding speed to our offense- which is very important. However, what about our starting pitching situation. What happens here? I think its safe to say that Buerhle, Danks, and Floyd are here to stay for another 3-4 years. But what about that 4th and 5th slot? Vazquez really layed an egg when we needed him the most down the stretch and his confrontation with AJ really didn't help his reputation either. I would LOVE if he was traded this offseason for some bullpen help, another SP or perhaps some more speed. And then there is the Contreras situation. THere is talk about him not returning until June or July. Its safe to say he will not be in our rotation in 2009. That extension KW gave him is really biting him in the ass. So what happens to that 4th spot. Do we trade Javy? Im sure there are pleanty of NL teams that would love to have him. KW would likely get some decent peices in return, so i say yes! How can we fill that 4th spot then? Well there are free agents out there that we can take a look at. I think its safe to say CC Sabathia will play for big time bucks out on the west coast. So that leaves us with guys like Sheets, Burnett, Garland, Lowe, or Mussina on the free agent market. I personally like Derek Lowe for our rotation. He's nothing fancy but the guy just gets the job done when you need him most and can come a decent price. I would also take a look at Burnett, but he's likely going to ask for something HUGE and quite frankly he's not that much different than Javy. Mussina is another interesting name, this guys just gets better with age. Sheets may also be a guy to look at. Due to his injuries he can be had at bargain value. Garland will likely go to an NL team. So what about that 5th spot. Do we fill that hole temporarily with Clayton Richard until Contreras returns. Or do we go out and find another guy. I wouldn't mind having Richard in that spot. He pitched awesome down the stretch in New York and during the divisional series vs Tampa. He's our best farm hand option and I wouldn't be upset if we threw him out there every 5th day until Contreras is ready to go. I also wouldn't mind looking into a veteran guy looking to prove himself again. Freddy Garcia, Paul Byrd, Bartolo Colon, Jaime Moyer etc..... So in summary- trade Javy for speed/penhelp or another SP. Sign Lowe/Sheets for the 4th spot. Let Richard have the 5th spot OR bring in a veteran until Contreras returns. Thoughts?

If we can get a couple of speedy guys say to play 2b, 3b, or RF, than i would be all for having Griffey come back for cheap with B. Anderson being his daily defensive replacement. Guys like Orlando Hudson, Chone Figgins, Willy Tavarez, Brian Roberts would be great. Figgins (3b) -Trade for Konerko Hudson (2b)- Free agent signing Quentin (Lf) Dye (Rf) Thome (Dh) Ramirez (Ss) Griffey (Cf) Pierzynski © Swisher (1b)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 13, 2008 -> 11:06 AM) Their payroll is about to explode. Even with the jump in attendence, I am not convinced that they will be willing to swallow all of it. other than Crawford, who is all due for big time raises?