fathom

Amezaga is a terrible, terrible hitter. We can't afford any more weak hitters in our lineup. I'd rather have Valdez than Amezaga...he's that bad of a hitter.

It's not just local writers that are bashing the trade. Basically every single baseball analyst thinks this was an awful trade.

BTW, there hasnt been a single source that has said the Sox are interested in him. I've seen rumors linking A.J. to the Dodgers, Phillies, or Red Sox.

I think what people are talking about in regards to A.J. not wanting to play against the Twins is that there was an article saying how the only thing he ever wanted to do before a game was watch the Twins games on the TV in the clubhouse instead of going over scouting reports with pitchers.

This brings up an interesting dilemma: spend all our remaining money on a pitcher that only goes 1 out of every 5 games, or sign a catcher with "most" of our money who would play in 4 out of 5 games?

An A.J., Burke combo would be perfect. Burke could play against tough lefties like Santana and C.C., and he can continue to be Buehrle's personal catcher. Honestly, the situation makes way too much sense, but I highly doubt A.J. will be offered by the Sox.

A.J. is the type of "impact" player that KW said he would consider with the free money. He's definitely one of the best catchers in baseball, and he fits our needs so much. Yes, he's a questionable character, but the Sox haven't exactly brought in guys with sterling reputations in the past.

Why is everyone so convinced Clement will be going to the Angels now? They still have Washburn to deal with as their 5th starter, and Byrd's contract is basically the same amount of money as was the salary of Ortiz.

I'm more worried about the Red Sox signing Clement now than I am anyone else. With Pedro gone, and a hole in their rotation, I think they're our biggest competitor to sign Clement. I know they had their eyes on him all last year.

Yeah, foxsports says they'll try and trade Washburn now. Washburn wouldn't be a good fit with the Sox, he gives up too many homers. I do get a little worried that KW might try and trade Konerko for Washburn though.

Read a rumor on WSI that the Angels have signed Paul Byrd. If this is true, that could be great news in our hunt to sign Clement, as the Angels were long thought of as a favorite to land him. I don't really think they need more starting pitchers with Colon, Lackey, Escobar, Byrd, and Washburn/Ortiz.

Only problem I have with something KW said about Podsednik was how he had to get used to wind patters to be a better outfielder. Ummm...a lot of the Brewers home games are played in a dome. Put me in the camp that the Sox would be much better keeping Rowand in CF, and Pod in LF. Arm strength is much more important for CF, and Rowand is 10 times better than Pod at throwing.

If we sign Cora, and intend on keeping Willie, then I don't like this addition at all. What the Sox need is a right-handed hitting 2b or utility infielder that can face lefties in place of Willie. Also, Cora isn't exactly a dangerous hitter at the plate, but he can handle the bat well in terms of bunting and making contact. I would rather he start at 2b over Willie, but we all know that will never happen under this regime.

I agree with Jeckle that if KW doesn't spend this money that he saved in the lopsided trade, the Sox are going to be in for a PR nightmare.

Nationals have made it pretty clear that they won't trade him.

After having about 10 hours to think about the trade, I got more upset with the whole thing for one main reason: we took our best player, and we traded him without filling any of our holes. Not only that, the main player we received in the deal could easily prove to be a one year wonder. If KW does decide to save the money for a deadline deal in June, I will guarantee you that the money wont be spent as we'll be looking to trade guys like Konerko and Shingo instead of going out and getting someone. The team we have right now is nowhere near good enough to win the division.

I think it's safe to say that if Podsednik continues to play like the way he did last year, the Sox will be awful next year, and KW will get fired. Our only hope is that he brings a new approach this year, and reacts well to what others tell him. IIRC is that he didn't exactly take well to Brewers mgmt telling him to change stuff.

I wouldn't be so sure about hitting more with RISP. We're not exactly acquiring a lot of players with good OBP. Especially with Frank out for a while likely, we have a very below average team at reaching base.

I would like to add Clement to this staff, but I really don't like our chances going against teams with big wallets like the Red Sox and Angels. If he doesn't pick the White Sox, I hope he makes his mind up quickly so that KW doesn't put all his hopes on signing him.

No and god no! Cotts shouldn't be in the majors until he learns another pitch. And with all the additions to the relief core, Adkins might be the odd man out.

Am I the only one who just gets livid when he even mentions Grilli or Diaz starting?

The latest article by Phil Rogers on chicagosports.com says we might go after a starting pitcher with the $6 million saved, but he didnt name any names. I would have been more content if he said something along the lines of the Sox were targeted a particular name or names.

I keep thinking that we'll end up trading Konerko and a big prospect (Anderson) for Vazquez and money, and we'd end up signing Delgado possibly.

Hopefully with the money saved in this deal, KW can fill a lot of the holes that still exist on this team: SP- we need another starter, as there's no way you can rely on Grilli, Dustin H., or our minor league guys to be a competent starter 2b- I wish Willie wasn't going to start, but it looks like he will. However, we need a backup 2b that bats righty in order to face tough lhp like Santana and C.C. Catcher- With a lineup with a ton of question marks, can we settle for below average players like Ben Davis? Sure seems how KW is headed. It would be a shock to me if KW didn't make this trade to gain more resources to fill these holes. However, I am a little worried that our previous moves this offseason might have put us over budget, and this was a budget saving move.

And isn't very good. Very high ERA last year, and coming off of a disappointing season. I think a lot of us got our hopes up about the PTBNL, but it's becoming obvious that it's likely to be nothing special.