JUGGERNAUT

You novices. It doesn't matter whether you are a LH or RH bat. What matters is how well you do against RH & LH pitchers. The SOX are hitting 961 OPS vs LH, 807 vs RH. Andruw Jones 856 vs RH, 679 vs LH. Translation: We have plenty of guys on the team that can hit LH. We have few guys on the team that can hit RH. Andruw Jones Defense & bat vs RH = more SOX wins.

CWS starter's ERA 5.04 (24th in the ML). + Freddy Garcia's ERA 3.20 (home 2.61, away 3.91). Now what part of this equation do you not understand is worth giving up Olivo, Reed, & Morse? Why did the SOX pay more than the NYY? Because they needed Garcia more.

White SoX Starters ERA: 5.04 24th in the ML Freddy Garcia ERA 3.20 (home 2.61, away 3.91) That's all you need to know about this trade

There are countless stories about the Father of the bride wanting the groom to come work for him. That's usually what the groom does. Imagine the wedding taking place w/out the Garcia's being members of the White Sox. Ozzie would never stop talking! Done deal. Garcia's our current+future ace. Ozzie's a pretty intimidating presence.

The pressure to sign an extension with the White Sox will be HUGE with Ozzie looming as his Fr-in-law. I think he'll be signed before the trade deadline.

FOX: Ozzie says Freddy is engaged to his daughter

Read the Cashman quote. That wouldn't have gotten the deal done.

This might make you feel better ... http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb...s_mlb&fext=.jsp It doesn't hurt that manager Ozzie Guillen, a fellow native of Venezuela, is one of the right-hander's closest friends. But for Garcia, friendship has very little to do with what happens on the field. "When we are on the field, that's all business," Garcia said. "They've got a pretty good team. With how they are playing right now, they've got a good chance to make the playoffs." Williams believes there's a good chance in retaining Garcia as a free agent after this season, with the help of Guillen and a few other pieces of inside information that the White Sox general manager did not divulge. He also mentioned that if a move is out there that still will improve his team, then the maneuvering has not come to a close.

What in the world are you using to measure Garcia? Todd Ritchie has never had a top 5 ranking! Garcia's 3.20 ERA plus all other measures places him in the top 4 in the AL this year. Possibly #3. Look at his splits. OPS vs (LH 625, RH 669). Do you have any idea how much better that is over ALL other SOX SPers? 2003: OPS vs (LH 848, RH 633) 2002: OPS vs (LH 724, RH 732) 2001: OPS vs (LH 711, RH 524) 2000: OPS vs (LH 854, RH 596) If I were to compare that to Buehrle's #'s you would say Garcia is the best pitcher the SOX have had in the last 4 yrs! Yes, he's that much better & the SOX are getting him at his peak!)

I like Garcia having 4 starts w a platoon of Alomar/Burke/Davis over the next 2 weeks against the Twinks, cub, Angels, & M's then I do Rauch+Diaz having 4 starts w a platoon of Alomar/Olivo/Burke. That's what this trade means right now

You're not getting the point. When the NYY$ are involved then you need to read betw the lines. The M's took the SOX offer of better talent & no cash over the NNY$ best offer of less talent & LOTS of cash. So even though talent wise the SOX paid more than the NYY$ could, trades rarely involve only talent. The fact of the matter is Garcia meant more to the SOX than he does to the Yanks & the SOX needed him a lot more right now. Possibly KW's best high-profile trade to date.

I'm going to make this simple for you. Which scenario gives you a better comfort level? 1) Garcia getting 4 starts before the all-star break & Alomar/Burke/Davis platooning at C 2) Rauch+Diaz getting 4 starts before the all-star break & Alomar/Olivo/Burke platooning at C I think this is a no-brainer. With having to face the Twinks & cubs on the road, & Angels & M's at home before the break getting Garcia is a no-brainer.

He might have paid too much - Yahoo.com mlb news: The Yankees had been scouting Garcia for several weeks. The Mariners called New York general manager Brian Cashman on Sunday and said they were prepared to trade Garcia, then called him back and said they had an offer they didn't think could be topped. ``We couldn't match that deal,'' said Cashman, adding that New York's prospects were not as close to being ready for the major leagues as Chicago's are.

Some of you still are not getting this. Scott Schow is NO LONGER in the rotation. He's not likely back until after the all-star break. The SOX have 3 @ Minn, 3 @ CHC, 3 v ANA, 3 v SEA. Thank God Cameron is not with the M's any more. Rauch & or Diaz were going to get 4 starts in those series. What's it worth to in PR to be in 1st place going into the break? What's it worth towards winning the division? The Garcia trade right now is a no-brainer. We got lucky with Rauch & Diaz. Both guys got good D to back up their pitching. Both guys were saved by that D. They were still hit pretty good. This trade gives the SOX the edge towards the division. The next trade could give the SOX the edge towards the post-season. Not making this trade amounts to hoping for the best & not really expecting to win. Making the trade means you expect to win the division. Making the next trade means you think you can win the championship. Even if Miguel goes on to have a great 2nd half, I still believe this was the right trade at the right time. Especially if we are in 1st place going into the break. What will that mean in Chicago? Especially if the SOX help the Stros & Brew-crew? to jump over the cub?

How can you say that when he was platooning with Alomar & Burke?

That same kind of thinking has ruled this division for several years now. Nobody gives Minn it's due. The fact remains that with 2 wks left in the season we are still chasing the Twinkies. If we lose 2/3 in that series we are 3 gb going into Wrigley. Then we close the 1/2 with ANA & SEA. Since Garcia last pitched Friday, he's good to go Wed in MINN. That means Garcia should get no less than 4 starts. Garcia might be the difference betw winning or losing the MINN series. He has good numbers against the Twinks. He is a much better grab than Ortiz. He could very well be the difference betw a game ahead or 3 games back in the next 5 days. It's ridiculous to keep going season after season hoping, wishing, or believing the Twinkies are not going to play their best ball in the 2nd half. Minn made the trade to get Shannon Stewart last year & that was a big lift for their team. They won't be afraid to do something like that again. Plus the SOX still have to face their nemesis (The Tiggers) in the 2nd half. 11-8 with the worst team in baseball last yr was not good. That team has improved greatly. They still have the staff to make games close & that's when pitching & D make the biggest difference. Any one who thinks this was a bad trade is ignorant of what this trade means RIGHT NOW!

Kenny needed to get either Ortiz or Garcia before the Minn series. Whoever it was needed to start at least one game in that series. That's what a quality GM is going to do. That is a HUGE series coming. The cub at Wrigley is equally as tough. You can't go the rest of the 1st half with 5th starters getting 4 starts. You just can't. So Garcia, Davis for Olivo, Reed, & Morse was the right thing to do. I would imagine that KW is giving Maggs one more chance. If Maggs decides to sign the extension then it would make sense that the next deal coming is Kendall & Benson. I don't know what it's going to cost Kenny to pull that trade but that will be the deal if Maggs signs. That would be plan B if Maggs signs, but if he doesn't sign then plan A is getting Andruw Jones & Ortiz for Maggs & change.

WSCR said Kenny & Pitts were talking about Kendall this week. It seems Kenny had something in mind with Olivo all along.

Dude, do you EVER look at the schedule? Are you serious? Do you really think we could go to MINN & Wrigley & come away winning those series with Rauch & Diaz as the 4th & 5th starters? What are you smoking? In a fantasy world we wait until Garcia is dirt cheap, but you know what? In that fantasy world Schow doesn't go on the DL. When Schow went on the DL the urgency shot up through the roof. Before the trade we had a struggling #1 in MB, an ok #2 in E-LO, a questionable #3 in JG, cross your fingers in JR, & hope we don't die in FD. Now with Garcia everyone drops down & SS,JR,& FD compete for the 5th. I don't think you can make a run at a WS with JG as the 4th. So I think Ortiz needs to be here as well. If that takes giving up Maggs to get him well so be it.

Wow! A few hours after the Garcia trade & a new rumor surfaces. Jason Kendall any one?

No he won't. Kenny Williams manages this team one year at a time. If getting Garcia means the difference between contending for the division or dropping behind the Indians this is a no-brainer trade. Well he does so it's a no-brainer. The only think I don't like about the trade is that Kenny should have pkg'd with the ATL trade. Now Ortiz stock just went up with Garcia out of the running. Now we're likely to pay more to get Ortiz. But if ATL wasn't ready or Kenny needed to give more time for Maggs to decide I can understand. He needed Garcia this week to face the Twins & the cub. Timing could not have been better for the Garcia trade.

Look I'm not saying the 24th best part-time hitter in the AL this year is ready to be an all-star, but some of you are grossly underselling his D contribution. He does have a quick release & strong arm. That's the main reason why KW wanted him years ago. Now there is doubt on his game calling skills but I don't think it's as bad as some of you have made it out to be. But it's very hard to be able to play at the level he has with part-time ab's. As the M posters stated he will be their starting C for yrs to come at a low price. You're likely undercutting Reed. Injuries matter. Look at the numbers Jones put up in 2003 with a strained back muscle. He played through the pain & still had almost 300 TB's. Reed's drop from 400 to 280 is more to do with the injury than anything else. Reed's power potential is based on those who have evaluated his swing. The bat speed & fluid motion project power. But you're right in assessing White Sox prospects. Over time they have proven to be more over-rated than anything else. With Morse there is the possibility of a power hitting IF. I know what the M fan said but I also know what the SOX have said & he was being projected as the future SS. But here's the reality: we play the game 1 year at a time. You can not expect to win the division with MB, EL, JG, JR, FD. The 5th starter position on this team has been abysmal for years & there was no way the SOX were going to compete with Minn with 2 5th starters. When SS went down the urgency went up. With that being said Garcia means more to the SOX RIGHT now than Olivo, Reed, & Morse. Way more. That's how you should view this trade. KW knows the attendance will bottom out if the SOX don't contend ALL year round. It's a difference of at least 300-400K fans. That makes a difference. If they win the div then there are a few sold post-season games to boot. That's why this trade is a no-brainer for the SOX.

The belief is that these golf buddies are so close that if there is any front line pitcher the SOX have a shot at signing long term it's this guy. The OZ impact may have Garcia as the SOX ace for years to come. As you say if you think of this as Bradford, Reed for Garcia, Davis, & cash it's a lot better to digest. But that ignores the improvement Olivo has made this year. You should look at it from what's a player worth today? Olivo is rated the 24th best part-time hitter in the AL. Reed is a AAA all-star power-hitting RF. And Morse was likely to be the future SS of the SOX. Ben Davis is one of the worst bench hitters in the AL this year. He's likely not to make the team next year. Garcia is the 4th best pitcher in the AL this year. With an NPERA of 2.82 he's not far from being the 3rd best. In 2003, 2002 he finished in the top 25 in the AL. So arguably Garcia is at his best. When you look at it from that perspective, the SOX probably gave up less than Garcia's presently worth.

And then I looked at Ben Davis (ugh!). I guess we really will be testing the Cell factor with this guy. A 700 OPS in 900 ab's over his career at catcher. He is a switch hitter but that doesn't say much. He has a 854 OPS vs LH, but a 596 OPS vs RH. Which is pretty much the mold of our other struggling hitters on our team. This year he's butt ugly from both sides (less than 500 OPS vs RH & LH) so if he can't hit at the Cell he can't hit. My guess is this guy doesn't make the team next year. This trade only makes sense if the ATL trade goes down. You're given up Olivo's speed & defense for a pitcher. You need to try & get some of that back & Andruw Jones is that player.

Kenny is beginning to think about the Cell as I do: pitching & D first, hitting second. In Seattle, they think they got fleeced. They think it's a horrible deal & they should have gotten much more for Garcia. But I think they are thinking in terms of MLB talent. They are getting 3 cheap players who could one day make an all-star team. But they have no idea that's what they are getting. Morse's loss mean Val is likely to stay with the SOX. Valentin is becoming a media icon on the team & his Jose chant is bigger & louder than O-E-O. Plus there is a wealth of statistics available to prove that Val's athleticism will help a team more than a sure-handed glove. His 20-25 HR's a yr makes him a crowd favorite. What hasn't been said about Reed? But let's keep in mind that he projects as a corner OFer & this organization (KW) has proven time & again the ability to get quality players to fill that position both thru FA & drafting. I'm not alone believing that Miguel Olivo is on the verge of greatness. In terms of pitching & D this is the biggest hurt in this trade for the SOX this year. I've heard good things about the guy the SOX are getting in the M's trade to fill Olivo's spot, but there's a better than 50% chance that Olivo is going to put up all-star like numbers in the 2nd half. When it all comes down to it you have to ask a few simple questions: Can Buehrle, E-LO, Garland, (Schow/Diaz/Rauch) beat the A's, the Red Sox, & the Yankees? Because that's the road to the World Series. Do the SOX have the lineup to get to the World Series? Yes. Even the bench is strong. Do the SOX have the bullpen to get to the World Series? No. But picking up Garcia & possibly Ortiz will shift Garland & Schow into a bullpen in a short series & then I think the answer is Yes. Do the SOX have the rotation to get to the World Series? No. Garcia should get them the division but they need Ortiz to get to the World Series. Does any one really have confidence in Garland in the post season? If the rumors are true then getting Andruw Jones & Ortiz for Maggs, cash, & a prospect is the move the SOX need to make. I believe that 1) Borchard will be the prospect & 2) this is the last chance for Maggs. The SOX have a chance to pick up the Braves work horse in Ortiz, & arguably the best CFer in the game for giving up a 1/2 season of Maggs. So either he accepts 70/5 with deferred comp or he's GAWN! Andruw Jones has what I call silent production. He's been #1, #2 in TB's on the Braves 3 yrs in row. Now that to me is pretty significant considering the offensive success the Braves had have in the past. What I love in getting Jones is that Rowand can then move to RF for most of the season & now we have 3 web-gemmers in the OF. The SOX might have the best D OF in the game with Jones & I guarantee you his numbers will improve big time in the SOX lineup. You've got a chance to get a 5 time GG who could be a 30/300/100 guy in this lineup for about 45/3. This is the best answer for the SOX to Minn Torri Hunter. I believe Jones in the Cell will equal more wins over the next 3 yrs than Maggs in RF.