witesoxfan

Willis - $11.726 mill Robertson - $9.6 mill Everett - $1.55 mill Bonderman - $12.5 mill Damon - $8 mill Inge - $6.6 mill TOTAL - $49.976 They also have a few players they could non-tender as well, such as Miner ($950K), Seay ($2.45 mill), and Brad Thomas ($1 mill). Maggs also has an $15 mill option that vests with another 235 PAs. They'll have some money to spend next season.

I do agree that Danks-Floyd-Buehrle-Garcia isn't as attractive come the postseason. However, you still need offense in the postseason, and that's something every other team in contention seems to have plenty of at this point, and I don't think you can count on this lineup come postseason time. Quentin, Rios, and Konerko are all fine players, and there are a few others on the team who could be solid, but you can't count on the 3-4-5 guys in the lineup to produce all of the runs. No matter what, I think the Sox have to stick with Hudson at this point. Perhaps in the next couple weeks, or in August, you check into the availability of high upside arms who have struggled some this year (Ben Sheets comes to mind right away, though I don't know if the Sox want to go down that route (and Oakland hasn't officially made him available yet anyways)) and see if Cooper really is magic.

The Blue Jays also have Adeiny Hechavarria too, the Cuban SS. Their system is pretty solid all around.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 15, 2010 -> 01:01 PM) Lilly would be the idea fit for the Mets I have been thinking that for a while. He'd be OK for the Twins too, but Lilly to the Mets really makes a ton of sense.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jul 15, 2010 -> 12:19 AM) To me, this really all hinges on Hudson. If Hudson proves himself good enough that an upgrade at SP would be marginal, then by all means, blow the bank on a batter. If he sucks pretty hard, then I would argue that the emergence of our current hitters in the second half could make an SP more valuable. We will need time to evaluate Hudson, so final conclusion: nothing's happening till the trade deadline, or at least VERY near it. That's my guess. I'd love to see it sooner, though. This is essentially my point, but to a lesser degree. The Sox top 4 starters are very solid...Danks and Floyd are clearly the top 2, and Buehrle and Garcia are clearly the next 2. By acquiring Oswalt, you are adding another dynamite starter - that much is clear. But is the upgrade from a 4.50 ERA (a hypothetical Hudson ERA) to a 3.25 ERA (for Oswalt) going to be worth more than the upgrade from the Sox current DHs (.233/.305/.425/.729) to a player who can put up .270/.350/.500/.850? Is it also going to be worth it to spend $58.5 mill (give or take a million or so) on the rotation next year when the payroll is going to be $100 mill at the most, or would it be better to acquire a rental player such as LaRoche or Dunn (with Dunn also netting compensatory picks...I believe LaRoche would be a Type A too, but the Sox wouldn't offer arbitration because his 2011 option jumps to $9.5 mill if he's traded, so the Sox would just buy it out and let him go) and have no financial strings attached going into next offseason? To me, this is an absolute no brainer.

QUOTE (VAfan @ Jul 14, 2010 -> 04:29 PM) 2) I live outside DC and am not getting the vibe that Dunn will be moved, for a few reasons. First is they want to keep him. He's the heart of their lineup. And they expect their pitching to improve rapidly enough that keeping Zimmerman, Dunn, and Willingham is going to be a high priority. Strassburg changes everything for the Nats, including having the money to keep Dunn. Second, because Dunn would bring compensation, who's going to pay the Nats enough on top of compensation to get him? Third, why would the Sox do it for a rental when Dunn doesn't want to DH? to the first point (via rotoworld of course).. Secondly, all you have to do is give them what they believe to be more value than 2 picks that will likely come in the top 50 (but it could also be 2 picks between 40-65 or so). If you can offer that, then you have added value to their organization. In regards to the final point, the Sox can satisfy Dunn by platooning Quentin and Dunn in RF. They're both so bad out there that it really wouldn't matter who is playing out there on any particular night (sorry greg, Quentin is not good in RF, but he's a good hitter). Dunn doesn't have to resign with the White Sox if he doesn't want to remain a platooning DH, and the Sox will receive compensation for him in the upcoming draft. Oswalt is making $16 mill next year, with a $2 mill buyout. Dunn is a free agent, and Prince Fielder will be making in the neighborhood of $12 mill. $12 mill may not seem like much less, but it fills a hole that would be vacated, the rotation is full, and the Sox can do whatever they'd like between catcher and DH because Fielder would be able to provide enough pop from the left handed side to make up for a lot of the deficiency at those two positions. It leaves them somewhere around $92 mill between 14 players, and while it is a lot, they have less to fill with Fielder in the fold. Beyond even that, if the Sox wanted to deal Fielder, they could, or they could let him go in free agency and receive 2 compensation picks in the 2012 draft. They don't have that luxury with Oswalt, because there is no way they offer him arbitration when he's due $16 million next season. *********** The White Sox have a top 3 pitching staff in the league, and a mediocre offense. Due to the law of diminishing returns, the pitcher will have less of an impact than will the hitter, because the marginal impact of adding a hitter will be much, much greater than that of adding a starting pitcher (if you add 1 to a cupboard full of apples, you won't notice, but if you add 1 orange to an empty cupboard, there is a significant difference). The team's pitching is already good - there's no reason to mess with it. The hitting needs a boost, and I have a feeling Mark Teahen won't satisfy that. Hudson is a complete unknown at this point, but has had success at the highest level in the minors. It's very possible that he could be a great pitcher for the Sox in the second half as he gets settled in. Beyond that, Floyd has been pitching like an ace the past month and a half, and Danks has pitched like an ace all season. Mark Buehrle is still a fantastic #2 or #3 starter, and Freddy Garcia has done a phenomenal job of eating innings for the Sox all season. If you can find that lefty power hitting outfielder that's better fielding than Quentin, who is good enough offensively, and who is going to come at the same price as Dunn or LaRoche, I would love to see it. The only outfielders that I've seen that are remotely available are Dunn, Hart, Werth, DeJesus, and Berkman. DeJesus is going to cost a ton, and I'm not about to give up a solid package of prospects to an intradivisional opponent. You have to go with what you've got, and Dunn, LaRoche, Berkman, and Fielder are really the best options the Sox have for upgrading the offense.

I'm going to be there for the Saturday and Sunday games, though it's standing room only tickets ($25 for Sat and $22 for Sun on the Twins site, plus service charges). We're staying at the Travelodge in Bloomington, which is supposedly a mile away from the Mall of America. There is apparently a shuttle bus that runs from the MoA to Target Field that costs $3.50 and the voucher is good for 6 hours. If anyone wants to meet up before or during either game, let me know and we exchange info via PM. Also, there's apparently a traffic advisory out for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so plan your transportation accordingly. A freeway is out or something.

QUOTE (VAfan @ Jul 14, 2010 -> 12:31 AM) If the Sox are taking on Oswalt's contract, I can't see having to give up Hudson AND Flowers or Viciedo. I could see Hudson and some lesser guys. And to me that move would be totally worth it. Oswalt gives us the best shot of making the postseason, and then doing something when we get there. Dunn, who is not going to be traded, would not be nearly as valuable in the postseason as a plus power pitcher who could win several games. Give me Oswalt if he's willing to join the Sox. I think Peavy may take a while to come back, so Oswalt basically plays for the Peavy insurance money. 1) The Sox can't afford to pick up Oswalt's entire tab. They have somewhere around $80 million committed to 13 players next year and they still have to fill out a bench, bullpen, and find some type of DH with that money. If you bring in Oswalt and don't make the Astros pay a cent, that suddenly jumps to $95 million committed to 14 players. Even if the Sox kept their $100 million payroll, that would leave them $5 million to fill out the bullpen, bench, and DH spot. At that point, the Sox would have to trade someone who is making a bit of money, and when the Sox have to trade Peavy/Oswalt/Buehrle/Rios because they can't afford it, it will end in a PR disaster. 2) It is looking more likely that Dunn will be dealt because he and the Nats haven't been able to work out a long term contract. If that is the case, the Nationals can either deal him for what they feel is a solid return for a great player plus 2 draft picks, or they can take 2 draft picks. To me, that leaves me believing that he will be traded. His services will be in demand, and all the Nationals have to do is receive a package that equals more in value to 2 compensatory picks. 3) It's unknown when Peavy will come back exactly, but most indications are that he should be ready early next season. For the Sox to be able to collect insurance on him next year, he would have to be done for the season before the season even begins. They will not collect insurance for him this year, and, since he will come back at some point next season, they will not collect insurance for him then either. You can't think of that as a possibility.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 12, 2010 -> 07:54 AM) Before this year, he hasn't made more than 11 starts in a season since 2006. And to be quite fair, he did make 15 starts last year between the majors and minors, though he only threw 87 innings. That will be worth watching too...because he hasn't thrown many innings in the previous 4 seasons, he may go through a bit of a dead period within the next month or two simply due to number of innings on his arm. Just because he's been a workhorse, 220 IP in the past doesn't mean it is suddenly going to translate into 2010.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 03:54 PM) False Going 17-1 to finish out the 2005 regular and post season combined is quite a bit better. s***, that means this streak is only 3rd best. These f***ing guys need to step it up.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 03:44 PM) I find it absurd that people were mocking his great catch and saying negative things about a guy absolutely on fire and a team on fire. People are still b****ing in every game thread about the lineup when the lineup is posted. It's a lineup that has helped the team to a 25-5 stretch. Folks, this is team is on the most impressive single stretch in team history. Quentin has had an absolutely incredible stretch and people are ragging his defense? WTF. I'm not saying negative posts aren't good. Today upon reading this thread, however, I wasn't in the mood for one with the team and the subject of the negativity SO f***ING HOT!!! On July 25th, 1906, the Chicago White Sox were 46-42, in 4th place, 9 games back of the division leader. On August 23rd, 1906, the Chicago White Sox were 69-43, in 1st place, 5.5 games better than the second place team. That means they went 23-1 (plus 1 tie) over a 25 game stretch and made up 14.5 games in less than a month. As such, I would argue that the current 25-5 stretch is, at best, the second most impressive stretch in franchise history.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 03:18 PM) If Houston is willing to eat half of his contract. Meaning we will pay 3.5 the rest of this year. 8 mill next year and then just buy him out for 2012, I say we go for it. He is great insurance for Peavy. And if somehow Peavy returns next year we are stacked! If not perhaps another year of Freddy couldn't hurt. . And that would still cost Hudson plus one or both of Flowers and Viciedo. How are you going to realistically replace Konerko and Pierzynski when like $85 million is locked up between 13 players already? And beyond that, with Freddy Garcia proving that he's been healthy (thus far) and league average, you can count on him costing in the neighborhood of $5-8 mill next year while he remains the same injury risk he's always been, if not a bigger injury risk with another year on his arm and him getting a year older. Quite honestly, any player the Sox were to acquire at this point would likely come in as a (semi-)rental player, and would be resigned pretty much only if the Sox won the World Series or atleast made a deep run in the postseason. The Sox simply can't afford much else. Putting those eggs in the "deep postseason run" basket before the end of July could very easily be a misstep, and then having to deal them again in the offseason to avoid losing a substantial amount of money would not only leave the team in a terrible PR situation, it would also be a waste of resources as they wouldn't get the same value back as they traded away in July. I still think the biggest trade the Sox could make is for Adam Dunn, but I'm expecting Adam LaRoche (with whom I would be perfectly content), and it's entirely possible and plausible that they don't make a single move. Assuming Quentin maintains productivity and Beckham is indeed turning it around, the Sox have 4 legitimate bats in the order, and have other solid contributors such as Jones, Ramirez, Teahen, and Pierzynski, and to some extent, guys like Kotsay, Pierre, and Vizquel as well. A move would be nice, but I don't believe it's an absolute necessity unless they can get the right price on the right guy.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 02:54 PM) Oswalt is just what the doctor ordered and wont cost nearly as much as what it cost to obtain Cliff Lee. Do It! Yes he will, because McLane has stated that he will eat money (which the Sox would need) in order to get more prospects. He is going to cost $7 mill this year, $16 mill next year, and then $16 mill in 2012 or $2 mill to buy him out.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 11:47 AM) I wouldn't want him for 3B, I'd want him as a DH. Jorge Cantu at his absolute best has been a slightly above average hitter, and he's been bad this year. He shouldn't even be a fallback option for the White Sox.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 12:11 PM) Law comes from the school of Billy Beane, so you can bet that he will do it in the most conservative manner possible. He's the perfect GM of a small market club. Running a baseball organization like that constantly keeps you healthy and full of prospects and talent, but, in the past few years, it hasn't seemed to turn into any on field success, let alone any consistency with the major league product. The Twins are probably the best conservatively run franchise, but even they've gone out and made some trades and locked people up to long term deals that they would not have done in the past. You obviously can't be aggressive and stupid at the same time, or you get sent to the hell that the Houston Astros franchise is heading towards. But you have to take risks at some point, and you can't half-ass it, or you end up like the A's did after trading for Holliday last year or even Seattle with Lee this year (even if they did get a pretty damn good return on him).

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 11:51 AM) I don't doubt that he's a smart guy, but there's a boatload of wrongness in that article. Naturally there is, and I think if he were to build a franchise, he would do it in a very conservative manner, whereas Williams goes about his business very aggressively and takes risks at times when he maybe shouldn't. Nothing has backfired too badly on Williams so far in regards to the risks he's taken, with Peavy maybe being the biggest one.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 11:46 AM) So, I know the Sox' international scouting and development are terrible, but if we're talking Int'l free agent signings, the Sox have had some success at the top. Alexei, Viciedo and Iguchi come to mind. Law would be referencing a guy like Viciedo more than he would Alexei or Iguchi due to his youth and potential due to youth and potential. Alexei was a virtually finished product and just needed some refining defensively, and Iguchi was a completely finished product, and both were or are average players offensively. He is talking about spending money in Latin America on amateurs rather than bringing in players who are or are almost major league ready, and that is an area the Sox really struggled in over the past decade. Silverio was the biggest name signed and was given like $600k, and there was some fraudulent activities that went along with that, and they haven't done a whole hell of a lot otherwise.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 07:50 AM) I'd be fine with a split in Minnesota, but those pitching matchups look really good for us. That's because any pitching matchups with the Twins are going to look good for us. The Twins rotation, outside of Pavano and Liriano, is just not very good.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 13, 2010 -> 10:59 AM) So shouldn't Law hate the Yankees too? The Tigers? The Cubs? And it's not like Kenny hasn't acquired good prospects before (Danks, Floyd, Quentin, Alexei). I don't think so. All 3 of those teams do make international free agent signings, and they draft players who aren't "safe" picks and go for home runs with most of them. Beyond that, all 3 of those teams use their minor league system at the major league level at a far better clip than the Sox do. I obviously can't say for sure why Law hates the Sox, but most of the info I got on his philosophy came from an interview he did prior to the 2008 season. It's a pretty decent read and lets you into Law's line of thinking, atleast a little bit. He's actually a pretty smart guy. http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2008/03/31...iter-keith-law/ (it's also awesome because at the end of the article, he is asked if Gavin Floyd will win 10-15 games during the season, and Law says no. Turns out Law was correct, because Floyd won 17)

Law was hired in 2002 by Ricciardi, so that was after all of the Wells/Sirotka stuff. I think it has more to do with him just having a disagreement with the Sox organizational philosophy in general. Law preaches that teams should build from within, making well calculated risks during the draft and bringing in players via international free agency and only when a team is close to competing should they go out and spend money in free agency or trade players away. Williams, instead, uses his minor league players to bring in major leaguers and has rarely used the Sox minor league system to directly impact the White Sox. Law, I would imagine, was pretty pissed off that the Sox won in 2008 considering the year before they looked like a franchise that was doomed to fail for 3-5 years. That is, he would be pissed off if he cared. I'm not sure he did. I looked around the web last night, and it seems as though there are several teams that believe that Law "hates" them, the Nationals being one.

Vernon Wells

Rienzo looks like he's having a solid year. What's his story?

Got the girlfriend a replica Sox jersey for the Twins series this weekend. What a great investment.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 12, 2010 -> 05:14 PM) Most out of towners love Steve Stone. But even he can't help those other fans "like" Hawk. Luckily white sox fans have one of the best broadcasters ever. People may hate Hawk's homerism, but they still say his "Hawkisms" to a tee for their team(s) they root for. I've heard plenty of it myself from Cubs fans. "He gawn" has most definitely become a colloquialism in modern day baseball lingo.

QUOTE (La Marr Hoyt HOF @ Jul 12, 2010 -> 02:18 PM) This team has a lot more similarities to 1983 than 2005. Pitching not as good as '83, however... The 1983 team finished with an ERA+ of 114. The 2010 team currently has an ERA+ of 110, and there is plenty of room for improvement on that number still. Neither team will be able to hold a candle to what that 2005 team did when they put up an ERA+ of 125. It's entirely possible that the 2005 team will be the best pitching staff I will see in my lifetime. The 1983 team will almost inevitably end up with better raw numbers, but that was a very mediocre offensive era. The Sox led the AL in runs scored that year with 800. Even this year, which is one of the worst offensive years in recent memory, multiple teams will end up scoring more than 800 runs.