Dick Allen

Ozzie was quoted in the Florida paper about how Cabrera wants to play for him if he can't play for the Marlins. He also reported Cabrera has been working out with a personal trainer everyday and has dropped 15 lbs. since the end of the season. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...1204marlins.htm

The reason for the concern with the middle infield is most assume Uribe is gone, and Ozuna at SS is not something Ozzie likes. They need to get someone who can play SS as a back-up.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 3, 2007 -> 07:15 PM) Fathom, No faith in Gavin Floyd? /green ... I have trouble seeing KW spending on anything but bullpen the rest of the off season. Dumping Cred and Uribe for marginal prospects in probably all that I can see happening. I bet they sign one of the veterans recovering from injury. They cannot expect to win with a back end of the rotation Floyd and Danks and/or Gonzalez. The bullpen would be gassed by June.

QUOTE(fathom @ Dec 3, 2007 -> 07:13 PM) Let's hope not, cause we'd be lucky to come in 4th place in the AL Central. People seem to forget just how shaky our 3/4/5 is in our starting rotation. And they forget that Quentin struggled in the majors in 2007. He was hurt, had surgery and may not be 100% for spring training. Its why I feel KW definitely will now get a CF. I like the Quentin trade, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes him a while to put up good numbers. It would be great if he could come in and put up the numbers a lot think he's capable of right away, but I think that's unlikely. That's why I think Rogers' article makes some sense as far as a platoon out in LF. The other concern for Quentin is he seems to have been hurt for a lot of the past several years. Hopefully he can overcome this.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Dec 3, 2007 -> 05:05 PM) Well they've had success with our prospects before, Young the main one, and Cunningham kept on hitting last season. Maybe they think Carter has a higher potential to produce, while Quentin could take a while to rehab and get back to where he was at the end of 2006, hence they decided to make a move now. It also gives them the option to maybe trade Jackson in the future years to an AL team as a DH, if he doesn't improve his fielding at 1B, of course Carter ain't the best with the glove either. Do you think the fact that they train together so they get a better look at the other team's entire organization has anything to do with the numerous trades between the 2 teams? I wonder if the Sox will be doing a lot of dealing with the Dodgers in a few years.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2007 -> 12:58 PM) Is it even worth noting again that Owens's OBP was actually approaching respectable for a leadoff hitter during his second callup, and his patience in the big leagues improved each month he was up? It would be worth noting if it were true. But his July was a.333 OBP and he followed it up in August with a .302 OBP. If anything, unless Quentin is going to be part of a deal for Cabrera, this almost guarantees Owens isn't starting.

QUOTE(soxfaninpa @ Dec 3, 2007 -> 12:12 PM) I was afraid they were going to trade Chris Carter. There goes my favorite sox prospect. At least its not for Coco Crisp. I'm not very familiar with Quentin offhand, but I hate to see Carter go. Quentin looked good in 2006, brutal in 2007 and had surgery. He could be a great pick-up.

QUOTE(BlackBetsy @ Dec 2, 2007 -> 03:15 PM) It's not just Kenny Williams' problem. The Sox have signed three significant free agents during the entirety of the modern free agency period: (1) Carlton Fisk (2) Tom Seaver (3) Albert Belle All of the other free agents have been second tier / Type B guys like Jermaine Dye, Jaime Navarro, Tadahito Iguchi, Bo Jackson, Danny Tartabull, Julio Franco...etc. And, actually, the Sox have done pretty well with those second tier guys. The problem is that the second tier is so bad right now, that a Type A guy is going to have to be the priority. Fukudome, Fukudome, Fukudome. Seaver wasn't a free agent. He was a compensation pick for a lost free agent. Floyd Bannister was a top guy they did get, but you are right, its been a long time since they have signed one of the top guys.

As good as Hughes may be, Santana probably is the best pitcher in baseball. Money seems to be no object for the Yankees, I really don't know why they even hesitate. I think the Twins planted the Santana to Boston is a done deal rumor to get the Yankees to increase their offer. I actually like Coco Crisp. I hope KW gets him and another OF, hopefully Fukodome.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 30, 2007 -> 01:52 PM) Good stuff. With the recent rumors about Fuk and Bay, I am excited for the meetings. I want Fukudome in LF and Crisp in CF.

Stats like average with a runner on can be misleading too. What was the score of the game when Riske pitched? What was the inning? Guys like Aardsma have a tough time when its the 9th inning vs. when its the 8th. The Cleveland Indians wanted no part of David Riske on the mound late in close games. People can rip people coming to the conclusion Riske doesn't seem to handle pressure very well all they want, the fact is in an era where the bullpen is very important, 3 contending teams desperately in need of bullpen help at the time, dumped this guy without a second thought, and then he flourishes on a last place team. That's the fact. Its not only this site that questions Riske's stones. Its common knowledge. Maybe he's over it, but I think the Brewers may found out he's not the hard way.

If the offer of Fields, Owens, Gio and Danks for Cabrera is true, and it was turned down, it just goes to show that the rest of baseball doesn't seem to be as high on White Sox prospects as KW. He's already called Fields a future all star. Last spring he said Danks and Gio were the 2 best left handed pitching prospects in baseball, and Owens is a serviceable extra outfielder who could get time on a bad team, like the Marlins. I don't know how this offer could be true. I doubt KW would trade Gio and Danks and not get some pitching back, unless he offered this before he traded Garland.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Nov 30, 2007 -> 07:33 AM) I think you are also forgetting that all of those organizations get a HUGE revenue sharing check courtesy of the Yankees and Red Sox every year that goes straight into ownerships pockets. The Twins don't spend nearly what they take in. Forbes estimated the Marlins made $53 million last year. Their revenue sharing check was higher than their payroll. Considering the Yankees foot a lot of that money, if Florida had a plan to go after ARod, the Yankees basically still would have been paying him to play with another team. The Twins used to have a lower payroll than their revenue sharing check. Maybe next year they will. The irony is their owner is one of the richest in sports.

MacDougal might have some value. Percival just signed a 2 year $8 million deal with Tampa, and get this, no physical.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 03:37 PM) I think it's 95% right now that at least one of them will be. I don't think there would be anyone more ticked off than KW if Owens or Anderson was the starting CF for the 2008 White Sox. As far as Rowand, if the story Cowley wrote was true, maybe Plan 1 was Rowand at a certain price, plan 1-A was Hunter, and since they couldn't get Hunter, maybe 1-B is to pay Rowand more than what they wanted to pay him in plan 1. Who knows, but Anderson is a smoke screen. He's been injured since July when he was playing in Charlotte. KW is supposedly trying to win a championship. Using him as a fallback doesn't jive with trying to win it all, and I am a BA fan. Ozzie said don't believe what you see in September with non contenders. Before that Owens was hitting .239 with a weak OBP and even weaker Slg. pct. KW isn't going to pencil him into the everyday line-up either, no matter how much he talks him up. A fourth or fifth OF is what he is and KW and Ozzie know it. If he's still with the organization, he's a good guy to have on the bench because of his speed.

QUOTE(Colorado Sox Fan @ Nov 29, 2007 -> 03:57 PM) I'm feeling they're a mess. Too cheap. Small market thinking. Two shortstops. Two third basemen. No LF. No CF. No leadoff hitter. Shortage of starters. Shortage of relievers. Lots of corpse ball for your viewing pleasure. They are a team that lost 90 games and it could have been worse if not for some huge September wins. (That is sarcastic) They were bad the second half of 2006. They seem to be near or at their limit payroll-wise. The season ticket base is a lock to go down a bit. Right now, they are a mess, but at least KW has 5 months to fix it.

Riske has had the reputation of being a guy who gets very tight in pressure situations. In 2005 in over 55 appearances in middle relief for the Indians, he had zero holds. They insisted the Red Sox take him in the Crisp/Marte deal. The Red Sox had no problem discarding him and the White Sox didn't offer him arbitration because his numbers have looked a lot better than his work for the couple years leading up to that point, and it was way too risky to have him accept arbitration, and wind up having to pay him for those numbers. He's a guy a bad team should sign to a reasonable deal. He would probably do well in a situation with no pressure, and then deal him for prospects at the deadline to a desperate team that is willing to roll the dice.

Before Hunter signed with the Angels, KW promised a dynamic offense. He promised that all his moves would come together like a jigsaw puzzle. His comments in today's article have to be a bluff. This is a team that has been terrible for a year and a half. Swapping out Garland for Cabrera and Linebrink doesn't definitively make them better.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 04:06 PM) Crisp is only "cheaper" money-wise. He's more costly than Rowand in that the Sox would have to trade away talent to get him. The Sox are short on talent as it is. Rowand would cost a draft choice that may or not be any better than what you have to give up to get Crisp. Its not like the White Sox minor league system is loaded with sure things.

QUOTE(rockren @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 07:52 AM) The point was IF he sheds pounds this next year or two......he'll get the 10 year deal. You can't tell me there isn't a team in the Majors that wouldn't lock him up for 10 years. No way. I'm telling you no way IMO. ARod is the only guy who has a 10 year contract. He's a little different from Cabrera and there probably was only 1 team willing to go 10 years with him. I love Cabrera. I want the White Sox to get him. But giving him a 10 year contract, even if he got himself in shape is just asking for trouble. Its not a question of getting in shape. Its a question of staying in shape. While you can get away with being out of shape when you 22 or 25, when you are over 30 the years of the extra stress to your body start showing.

QUOTE(rockren @ Nov 28, 2007 -> 12:31 AM) If Cabrera sheds a few pounds and continues to hit around .330 and his other usual numbers (which I think he will) Miggy will get a 10 yr/300 mil contract two years from now. He'd be worth it to us. I think Cabrera has already eaten too many bridges to get a 10 year deal. With his weight issues and reports of a deteriorating attitude, there can't be many teams if any, that would want to be locked into him for 10 years. Way too risky. Cabrera with a 10 year deal, they might have to knock out a wall in his house to get him to spring training in year 7.

Its not out of the realm of possibility that Rowand's price will come down from what he wanted earlier, but I'd prefer Crisp myself. Besides being a lot cheaper, if he regains his Cleveland offensive form, the guy is only 1 year older than Owens, he could be a .300 hitter with a .340 OBP with 15 homers and 25 steals while playing solid defense. Is Torii Hunter a real good bet to put up similar numbers the next 5 years ? The White Sox apparently were willing to pay him $15 million a year. Crisp has been banged up in Boston, and some people aren't comfortable there either. See Edgar Renteria. For the money they were going to give Hunter, they can pay Crisp and Fukodome should he decide to come over. Seems to me it would be a much better plan.

KW wants to work quickly. Rowand is taking his time. I believe it means he's not coming back.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Nov 27, 2007 -> 07:04 PM) Whats your point? I thought September stats didn't count? That's why I also threw out some August stats. My point is Contreras can come back next year and be a pretty good pitcher. I am one who doesn't think he's done.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Nov 27, 2007 -> 06:50 PM) The Padres aren't the best example, and I shouldn't have used them, but I only did because I remembered that they were a team that were interested in trading for him, but the Yanks didn't want to make the deal. Some SP's just do better out of New York and that environment. Jose Contreras for example before he started getting too old and injury prone. Everyone can't wait to unload Contreras and are doing cartwheels about Vazquez's extension. It might shock everyone that in August and September 2007 combined, Vazquez had a 3.94 ERA. Not bad. Contreras, 3.72.