Dick Allen

I called Cruz a good prospect, let me make that he's decent. He can hit, but he is 26 years old. I still think if given the opportunity, he could still give you what Mench does right now. I don't know how this will affect what Soriano brings Bowden, considering Milwaukee really didn't get prospects except for maybe Nix, who really has to be a longshot at being anything above average at this point. If Cordero turns it around, he will make the deal alright, but I believe he has a contract with an option next year for $5 million, and its $6 million if he's the closer. His stay in Milwaukee will probably be brief. It may be a couple of months, it may be a couple of days, it may be a couple of hours.

Mench really isn't all that good. Nix has not done much at the major league level lately and Cordero has been getting rocked. CLee is by far the best hitter in this trade, and eventually Cruz probably will be the second best. I'm glad CLee is staying out of the AL Central, but I don't see where the Brewers got all that huge of return on him especially because Cruz is a good prospect.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 06:30 PM) What's PK supposed to say? Would it be better of he ripped Buehrle in the media? Bob Not rip him, but the 7th game of the WS was something that came from his mind. He could have said he'll be fine, and what are these guys supposed to say to KW, that the $100 million roster he put together isn't good enough? The last reason KW is going to stand pat would be because his players told him so. But if nothing gets done, he will use it for some sort of motivation and use it to show confidence. Something like, you told me you were good enough to win, and that's good enough for me, now go out there and win. There isn't 1 WS defending champion in history that added $25 million to their payroll who have players that would dare tell the GM who put the team together that they aren't good enough to beat teams being paid a lot less.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 05:15 PM) If this is true, and KW talked with the three, and he stands pat, that's a heckava vote of confidence. Whether it works, who knows. But the sox do have the talent. Getting their minds right, and their confidence is key. What better way to instill confidence than giving the players input into personnel decisions. Considering Konerko's quotes of still wanting Buerhle to have the ball if the 7th game of the WS was tomorrow, I really don't think he's the one to ask. Players are not the people to get roster advice from. They are too close to it. I have no doubt KW is still trying to improve this team. I think his quote was to show the team his confidence in them and to put them out on a limb if nothing does get done in the next couple of days. Like I said earlier, if the starting pitching doesn't improve, it really will not matter if KW acquires nobody else, or 3 or 4 All Stars.

Why would the trade deadline be a distraction to the White Sox, but not the Tigers or the Twins or the Yankees? They are rumored to do just as much. I wonder if Detroit gets Soriano and Minnesota gets Lee and the Yankees get whatever, because you know they will do something, what the reaction on this board is going to be if MacDougal and Alomar are the White Sox deadline answer. Does anyone remember in 1990 when the Sox were battling Oakland and the A's got Willie McGee and Harold Baines at the deadline, and the White Sox added Minnie Minoso who the commissioner at the time eventually vetoed, and Jerry Hairston so Hairston could meet a service time level on his pension? The most pissed off White Sox was none other than Ozzie Guillen.

If KW is getting roster advice from players and taking it, God help us all.

I got my tickets and I rsvp'd on the last day. It is goofy though. If you look at the big tickets somewhere on there is does say they are good for entrance, but I guess not. If its something that the Sox screwed up, I'll guarantee my rep had something to do with it. Those who haven't been to these before, its a lot of fun. Its basically a patio party but you can go on the field and in the dugouts, and I think they let you in the visiting clubhouse. It was dissappointing they didn't have it last year, so I am really looking forward to it. I guess they are going to have the WS trophy there as well for photos.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:31 AM) How often do these BIG trades actually happen? It seems that the more speculation there is on a deal involving big names, it never happens during the season. Everybody sits around waiting and getting anxious, then nothing happens. Soriano will most likely be traded. If the Brewers make CLee available, he most likely will be as well. Other than that, who knows. Who would have thought Nomar would get dealt at the deadline in 2004, and the Red Sox wound up winning it all. Maybe that's what KW has in mind. Soriano is available. Tejada may be. Chances are the Sox will concentrate on improving their pitching, but strengthening their line-up is still improving their team. The bottom line is, unless Buerhle, Garcia and Vazquez improve, or at least 2 of them improve dramatically, the Sox could acquire Soriano, Tejada, and ARod and its not going to matter much.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:05 AM) Every other time I've seen it employed, the trade has been announced at the start of the window. I believe the commissioner's office has to approve such a window. It would be all over the news if the trade had progressed that far.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 11:01 AM) Isn't that what the "72 hour negotiating window" that we've seen teams get repeatedly to go along with trades is for? It could all be BS. Bowden used to work at ESPN so he or someone he knows could be dropping false info to ESPN personalities in a last ditched effort to drive up Soriano's price. No matter what happens I hope and think KW will not waiver in his refusal to deal McCarthy. Why KW is apparently so attached to Broadway is beyond me.

If Detroit is willing to give up Sanchez, there's Bowden's A prospect he's been holding out for.

QUOTE(ChiSox9 @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 10:40 AM) Olney reported this morning the the Tigers would be willing to give up right handed pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez for the deal for Soriano. I believe this is the player the nationals were holding out for to complete the deal. So much for the Carlos Lee hitting the market will drive Soriano's price down theory. I didn't think it was much of a theory considering there are multiple teams looking for a big bat.

I don't think the Sox will bring in Crawford or Baldelli although either one or both would be tremendous. Anderson has been hitting better lately but he really needs to step up and pick it up on the road. He has 1 home run and 4 RBI on the road this season. To put it in perspective, the White Sox starting CF has the exact same amount of home runs and rbi on the road this season as Carlos Zambrano does for the Cubs. The offense is sputtering, which was pretty easy to see was going to happen. Too many guys were too hot for it to continue. Anderson's bat is needed more than ever, as is some solid performances by the pitching staff.

Of course the season is not over. Minnesota is bound to cool off, Detroit should as well. The Yankees could be a problem especially if the Sox are playing for the wild card. You know they are going to pick someone up soon. The White Sox problem is that despite the names, the starting rotation is very overrated. Garcia is not the Garcia of the past. Buerhle has been in a slump before, but never has been pounded as consistently as he has. Vazquez was brutal in the AL before, and that pattern seems to be repeating itself. Garland was horrible, now he's been great. He probably will eventually fall in between the two, and Contreras has been the man despite losing 3 in a row. You hear Zito, but I don't see that happening, especially because KW has gone on record both with the media and personally to McCarthy that he isn't going anywhere, and I don't see why a team fighting for the playoffs would trade their ace and not get back the Sox best young pitcher. Its one thing to say he's not going to trade a minor leaguer, its another to say he's not going to trade a major leaguer, and tell that major leaguer he isn't going anywhere. If he dealt McCarthy, what he tells players and to a lesser extent, the media, couldn't be trusted anymore.

Pods has not stolen a base since the All Star break. The one thing that he gives you offensively, and he isn't doing it. I'm quite certain this is his last season in a White Sox uniform.

QUOTE(Friend of Nordhagen @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 06:10 PM) And then Gardenhire got him out of there. Kind of like Ozzie doesn't do with Vazquez. Ozzie's been owned when it comes to handling the pitching staff the last few series. Maybe he'll learn something. I know its a lefty/lefty match-up and Cuddyer took Buerhle deep in the first, but I still don't understand walking a guy to get to Morneau. A guy hitting .375 since the All Star break, and a guy who hits the ball 9 miles.

Do they bone the bat right before filling it with cork?

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 05:52 PM) I saw this little tidbit on another board. I havent researched this to be true, but if it is, then what the hell are we doing . We have played 100 games so far. Our opening day lineup has played as a unit in 20 games. We are 17-3 in those games. I hate Sunday line-ups but when you're giving up 6,7 or more runs a game, you could have an All Star line-up and get beat. The problem with the White Sox, at least the only one that absolutely has to be fixed or they will be golfing during the playoffs, is the pitching. Of the 5 starters in the greatest rotation in history, only Contreras has been effective the entire year. The other 4 have been as horrible as can be for very long stretches this year. The Sox are almost lucky to be where they are in the standings right now with how the pitching staff has performed. Maybe the innings have finally taken a toll, maybe last season's luck has given out. It seems the opposition isn't missing any White Sox pitcher's meatballs this season. Last year they may pop up a meatball, hit a shot right at somebody or hit a hard grounder for a double play. This year those balls are into the gaps and over the fence.

How does everyone conclude McCarthy can only go a couple of innings? Didn't he make over 80 pitches in his one start? It wouldn't be long before he got that up to 100. I'd actually love to see Vazquez pulled after 80. Its like after midnight with him. Nothing good happens to Javier Vazquez after 80 pitches.

Anyone who thinks this team can catch Detroit is crazy. Maybe by the deadline the Sox will be 3 1/2 games out of the wildcard and KW will have a white flag trade or 2. I'm already prepared for when the Sox take on KC and the Royals put up "a big crooked number". Hawk will say, "Make no mistake about it, this is a good KC ballclub no matter what their record says". Pitching was the key to the White Sox success last year. The White Sox offense until recently had performed much higher than anyone's best case scenerio could have been, and they are now tied with a Minnesota team who was contemplating trading Torii Hunter as a salary dump not too long ago, and could be behind NY, a team playing without its 2 starting corner OFs. I don't see anyway they can improve the current rotation through trade right now, and Ozzie is too stubborn to give McCarthy a shot, so the Sox will continue to give up a ton of runs. The offense will bounce back a little, but its not going to be as consistent as it was in the first half, and it will be back to the drawing board for KW and crew. Hopefully a lesson will be learned. Since KW took over, his worst offensive team was the one which won the world championship. It also featured the best pitching of any team since he took over.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 03:59 PM) Tavares is just a bad baseball player, imagine Juan Pierre but with an even lower OBP. To think we actually had people on this board wanting KW to trade Contreras to Houston for Taveras and a middle reliever. And that was AFTER the World Series.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 04:11 PM) How about Mark Buehlre? He's TERRIBLE. It may be to a point where, unless he rebounds, we may have to reconsider his option for next year. Is it worth paying Buehrle 10 million if he's producing at his current rate? I'm sure he'll rebound -- it's impossible to remain this bad -- but if he's giving up 5ER every other outing it may be wise to consider another path. It's past the point where this is a slump. He's either been completely figured out or pitching through an injury. Don't worry, Coop will fix him.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 04:07 PM) how long before attendence drops? Next April, and maybe the KC series. This team looks like toast. Buerhle was pitiful again today, and maybe all the innings have caught up to him. To give up 7 runs to a Twins team without Hunter or Mauer is pretty disheartening. Ozzie's managerial moves blew up in his face again today. For some reason, he likes to have the opponent's best hitter always have a chance to beat him.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 09:24 AM) Boras was just quoted as saying he doesn't believe there is enough time to be able to structure and agree to an extension before the deadline. "These things take too much time." Exactly. I see no way Zito signs a contract quickly with Boras running the show. He's has to be as near of lock as can be to be a free agent unless the Mets trade for him and give him an ungodly contract.

QUOTE(Steff @ Jul 26, 2006 -> 08:55 AM) Zito will help us now. FWIW, Boras was at 2 Boston/White Sox games. 1 in Unc's box. Perhaps they've mended the fence. I don't think Boras is ever going to change the way he does business, so I see no way that fence will ever be mended. They may have been discussing a contract for Crede. Either that, or maybe JR wasn't at the game Boras was in his box.