caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 01:04 PM) Take Halladay out of there. He's hurt, isn't he? Three guys. Think of all the money going to pitchers that turned out to be a big waste of cash. The owners can't help themselves. They've got to have these big name pitchers and will pay them gads of money each offseason. Sad. I'd say the Angels are happy with Jeff Weaver.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:17 PM) All spring the Sox were going to contend, 10 games into the season you said there's no use trying to compete with the Tigers and you've been back and forth on it since. It's provided me with almost as much amusement as your attendance watch. And the only player I've said that we should trade during that whole time is Matt Thornton. And I still feel that way. It's no more amusing than your spending 249 posts pushing Juan Pierre on us, and 181 posts pushing a Zack Greinke deal that was never going to fly, then saying in hindsight you were for Liriano, lol. Should I quote all 321 posts in the last 12 months begging them to trade Alexei Ramirez and start Lillibridge at SS? C'mon...you would have destroyed the team single-handedly. After awhile, you still wanted to trade Quintana and Viciedo for Greinke even when it became patently obvious he wasn't signable or particularly interested in pitching for us, but you still advocated it but kept on moving the bar upwards to fire KW. First, low attendance, he should be fired. Then, well, Morel, Beckham, Danks, Flowers and Molina aren't making progress. Goodbye, KW. Ooops!!! Talk about changing the standard in order to fit into your crusade to fire KW. Now, despite so many things going well and 3 great trades, you still want KW to be let go. Then you have absolutely ZERO suggestions as to who actually should be the GM.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:11 PM) Found a list of "potentially" available SS/2B who could fit the utility role we need. List was compiled by MLBTR and listed on their website under 2012 trade deadline. The trade market for shortstops looks thin this summer. Here's a closer look: Marco Scutaro, Rockies - Scutaro figures to draw considerable interest because he can play second base and shortstop while contributing at the plate. Though he's mostly playing second in Denver, he has considerable experience at shortstop, including 27 games at the position in 2012. The 36-year-old infielder has a .277/.329/.372 batting line in 2012. He earns $6MM this year and will hit free agency this coming offseason. Willie Bloomquist, Diamondbacks - The Diamondbacks could consider offers for Bloomquist once John McDonald returns from the disabled list. Bloomquist, 34, has a .294/.324/.393 batting line and earns $1.9MM per season for 2012 and 2013. Now that Stephen Drew is back, Bloomquist is on the bench. Cody Ransom, Brewers - The Brewers could trade Ransom if they become sellers this month. The infielder has a .214/.313/.403 batting line in 177 plate appearances so far this year and has played shortstop 32 times. Brendan Ryan, Mariners - Teams might be willing to overlook Ryan's .187/.287/.276 slash line because of his reputation as a tremendous defender. He's earning $1.75MM this year and will be arbitration eligible this coming offseason. Jamey Carroll, Twins - Carroll, 38, has a .234/.318/.278 batting line and more than $5MM remaining on his contract with Minnesota, so he wouldn't have much trade value. Jed Lowrie, Astros - Lowrie is essentially unavailable, Ken Rosenthal reported five days ago. The Dodgers recently asked about Lowrie, who has an impressive .254/.343/.461 batting line in his first season as a National Leaguer. Rumors and speculation surrounded Starlin Castro early on this year, but it appears that the 22-year-old is staying put. 2B Marco Scutaro, Rockies - Scutaro will likely be traded, Troy Renck of the Denver Post wrote last month. The 36-year-old infielder has a .285/.336/.385 batting line and considerable experience at shortstop. He earns $6MM this year and will hit free agency this coming offseason. Orlando Hudson, White Sox - It's been a rough year for Hudson, who lost his roster spot on the Padres then his starting job on the White Sox. If a team were to call about the 34-year-old, the White Sox would presumably listen. Darwin Barney, Cubs - Rival teams have asked about Barney, but there's no reason for the Cubs to rush a deal. Barney won't even be arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season and he has an acceptable .264/.309/.371 batting line. Mike Fontenot, Phillies - Fontenot's playing time has been reduced since Chase Utley returned from the disabled list. He's now a bench player with a .329/.372/.384 batting line and the ability to play multiple infield positions. Chris Getz, Royals - Getz, now on the disabled list with a leg strain, had been playing well before his injury and could draw trade interest this summer. Kelly Johnson, Blue Jays - As long as the Blue Jays don't fall too far out of contention, Johnson figures to stay in Toronto. Jose Altuve, Astros - Despite some speculation that Altuve's available, it seems far more likely that they'll hold on. Just because Houston's headed for another 100-loss season doesn't mean Jeff Luhnow will trade a controllable middle infielder who's playing at an All-Star level. This is way out of date. Altuve is an All-Star and would be a huge upgrade over Beckham, same with Kelly Johnson. Getz can't play SS well enough. Same with Fontenot. Scutaro was just traded to the Giants. Some of the shortstops might work, but KW isn't going to give up anything of significance for a back-up/bench guy. I doubt they'd want to pay Bloomquist $1.9 million in 2013. Ransom, Ryan and Carroll would be okay...but they're not going to spend a lot of money or talent on this one.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 11:56 AM) When? Even guys like Cliff Lee are inconsistent. I guess Buehrle is earning his so far, but his team is sucking so it doesn't matter too much. CC Sabathia. Halladay for most of his contract. Felix Hernandez. Verlander.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:01 PM) Why do you constantly point the finger at me? You have a history of saying one thing one day and the exact opposite a few days later. I said all along don't trade Viciedo, don't trade for Greinke, trade for a second/third tier starter who won't cost us Viciedo/Quintana/Reed. The only time all season I've turned on KW is when they were mismanaging the Sale situation for 10 days.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:54 PM) Jones' ERA on the road this year is 2.50. I guess I just wouldn't consider that "useless." They're fine with Jones, Myers and Reed. They can always bring back Omogrosso, Heath or Marinez if Jones continues to struggle with his control. There are just as many questions about Thornton, Santiago and Septimo. You just have to trust them and be ready for "next man in" from here on out. I still think it's ironic that one of the pitchers we could most use is the one we least wanted in the offseason, Frasor.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:53 PM) No way they'll give Peavy that kind of money. I'd say no way they will give Youk that kind of money and no way will Liriano re-sign. Do you disagree? Sox aren't going to pay any of those three guys serious money. Peavy (injury risk); Youk (too old), Liriano (not good enough to get huge money). But they're not going to go into 2013 with Morel as the 3B after this year...the fans wouldn't be very tolerant after how well YOUK has played and how many games he's been the key to winning. Liriano, if he's comfortable here and enjoys working with Cooper, why not? Familiar with division, same area of the US roughly, he's not going to be getting $12.5 million (the minimum for compensation as an offer) or more, so he might want to sign a one year deal with the Sox, work with Nieves and Cooper, then go after the big payday in 2014. Liriano, with just a couple of exceptions, has pitched better than Floyd and Humber for the last 6-8 weeks. If you're KW, you take the potential turnaround of Liriano at $5-7 million over Gavin Floyd at $9.5 million every time.

Where's PTAC with the recovery schedule if there is a surgery on a partially torn labrum? Rauch had this, Santana (I think), Halladay going through it this year but no surgery. They've told him that he can't make it worse but he doesn't seem to want to push through it or pitch with anything resembling abnormal pain. Well, unless you're in his shoes, u can't know what it feels like, but he's got a guaranteed contract for 5 years so you'd think he would be showing more desire to come back and help us since he's only seen a pennant race in 2008 and 2010.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 12:40 PM) Coming off a down season where he spent time on the DL and there wasn't much interest in him on the trade market makes the 5-year deal anything but 100% the right move at the time. It was a gamble that blew up pretty big. I don't know about $100 million (someone else mentioned), but $70-85 at least. Danks probably isn't quite a $100 million guy. You would have thought Lester and Romero were even better, and look how they've regressed. Marty, what's the point? You would have already traded Alexei Ramirez and Viciedo and you would be in the process of losing Greinke. Too bad Liriano and Greinke don't face each other next Friday, lol. We could have a head-to-head showdown of ur choice versus mine. If Sale goes Wednesday, it's a possibility that Greinke faces Liriano, although they're more likely to make it Sale vs. Greinke and give Chris time to work through the dead arm in side sessions.

Don't think we'll get so lucky with the Tigers against Cecil today. Already rocked for 3 runs and staggering. Cecil, Romero, Marcum....all Jays/former Jays on the market. Although I think AA knows he needs to turn around Romero if they want to compete. Cecil just has nothing and has no prayer against RHBers. After this year's Rios performance and Santos/Molina, I don't think AA will be handing us Romero as well. Cecil recovered, but Fister pitched a great game. 4-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, we'll see if Papa Grande can blow or human rain delay this game to death. Peralta has 2 dingers.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) The Twins scouts haven't been right very much recently. This was a salary dump and Escobar was the tallest midget they were offered. He strikes out more than 1 in 4 AB. Hits .159 against RHP with a .190 slugging pct. He's a back up at best, and the Twins, a last place team playing for nothing, are sending him to AAA. Please stop with the dramatics. He's an easily replaceable piece. Hoey over Hardy Garza/Bartlett for Young dumping their entire bullpen after 2010 Nishioka and Casilla up the middle Valencia had to give up Nathan, Cuddyer, Young and Kubel because of Morneau and Mauer's deals Slowey, Duensing and Blackburn regressed, Baker hurt and inconsistent, Kyle Gibson injured Willingham, the one thing to go right recently....and Diamond, and some of their young bullpen arms are coming along, Perkins has been pretty good...Revere too, but no pop and a carbon copy of Span when they need to get more power in that huge stadium

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jul 29, 2012 -> 08:46 AM) Gonzo believes the Sox will make 2 more deals. 1) Thornton/Floyd (Crain's not tradeable until he proves he's healthy) for prospects 2) Utility guy/bench 3) Another pitcher in the Liriano or below tier 4) Still keeps open the conversation with Theo about Dempster if the Braves and Dodgers don't come through

Shortstops Jason Bartlett (33) - $5.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout; vests with 432 PAs in 2012 Yuniesky Betancourt (31) Geoff Blum (39) Ronny Cedeno (30) Stephen Drew (30) - $10MM mutual option with a $1.35MM buyout (too expensive to acquire, no place to start unless it's for Beckham) Alex Gonzalez (35) - vesting option Cesar Izturis (33) will probably be made available by the Brewers for not much Jhonny Peralta (31) - $6MM club option with a $500K buyout (no way, although the Tigers should find a better SS for 2013) Marco Scutaro (37) (just traded to Giants to start at 2B) Miguel Tejada (39) Ryan Theriot (33) Omar Vizquel (46) Jack Wilson (35) My vote's for Uribe with lots of cash back from the now penthouse residing Dodgers (in terms of future revenues rolling in from tv deal and new owners)

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 28, 2012 -> 10:48 PM) No one predicted Liriano but my scenario about an experienced AL pitcher and not hurting the future of the team was right. Right now, you're diligently identifying all those guys like Liriano, maybe Garza (because of the injury) or Maholm, Vargas, Blanton, Kevin Correia from the Pirates, Jorge DeLa Rosa...you find two of those guys that Cooper really likes (having perhaps identified a simple mechanical fix) and bring them in to audition for 2013. None of those guys would be starters that would be offered $12.5 million or more in arbitration. So basically, you've got a three-pronged approach. 1) You preserve Sale, Peavy and Quintana so they're able to go late into the season and post-season 2) You still have the option to use Danks but you don't have to force him into the rotation if he's not ready 3) You have the luxury to audition Floyd, Liriano and starter #6 for the 2013 team. One of the better second tier pitchers, you can trade them Humber + a prospect (15-30) to acquire that guy. The other one, you can use your depth of relief pitchers in combination with Johnson/Snodgress/Rienzo/Molina/Castro/Hernandez/Santiago. It's going to be a BIT tricky passing pitchers through waivers, but not every team competing for the playoffs has the financial flexibility we do because of the Myers/Youk trades AND because of possible insurance money on the Danks contract.

Hawkins ended 3/5 on the night. Mitchell 0/2 with 2 walks, 2 K's

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...scobar-farewell Kenny Williams never seems to get a lot of respect. During his tenure as Chicago White Sox general manager, which began after the 2000 season, he's built two division winners, including the 2005 World Series champions. Maybe the most impressive aspect of his reign is that the White Sox are always competitive. They've been under .500 just three times, but two of those were 79-83. He's done this despite lacking the monster payrolls of teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies; despite only once having a pick better than 12th in the first round of the draft; despite never having a franchise superstar like Barry Bonds to build around or pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, like Brian Sabean has had with the Giants; despite a farm system -- in part because of ownership's unwillingness to spend in the draft and because of that lack of high picks -- that usually ranks near the bottom (Keith Law and Baseball America both ranked the White Sox system 30th heading into the season). What I like about Williams is he never gives up. He's always trying to win, to build the best team he can given his resources. He never craters, never commits to a complete teardown and embarrassing on-field product, such as the one you're seeing from the Astros, Williams' 2005 World Series opponents. This is why trading for Francisco Liriano is a typical Kenny Williams move -- high risk, perhaps mocked, but one with a potential nice payoff. Liriano's season numbers with the Twins look terrible -- 3-10, 5.31 ERA -- and his last start (against the White Sox, of all teams) was a rough, seven-run blowup. But after an awful April and temporary trip to the bullpen, Liriano pitched very well in a 10-start stint from May 30 though July 18, posting a 2.84 ERA with 77 strikeouts, 28 walks and 38 hits in 63.1 innings (a .171 average allowed). That stretch included back-to-back starts of 15 strikeouts and 10 strikeouts against the A's and Orioles on July 13 and 18, respectively. In other words, there's a good chance Liriano will outpitch Zack Greinke the rest of the way, even though this trade will receive much less fanfare and required much less in prospect value: light-hitting infielder Eduardo Escobar and left-handed pitcher Pedro Hernandez. In fact, despite the much-maligned farm system, the White Sox have received contributions from several rookies, most notably on the pitching staff with Jose Quintana, closer Addison Reed, and relievers Nate Jones and Hector Santiago. With Quintana still the big surprise in the rotation, Liriano presumably takes the place of Philip Humber, who did pitch well in a 5-2 victory over the Rangers on Saturday, but that strong start barely got his ERA under 6.00. With the hope that John Danks might return from his shoulder issues, the White Sox now have rotation depth and options in case of injury or if they want to conserve Chris Sale's innings. The White Sox also have a lot to gain from a deal such as this; with a 2.5-game lead over the Tigers, winning the division title is obviously huge. There is a reason you're seeing teams contending for a division title making moves, while teams further back in the playoff chase -- such as the American League East wild-card contenders -- are more conservative. The reward for winning one of the two wild cards is essentially half as valuable as last season, with the one-game playoff plus the possibility that you've burned your best pitcher. But the payoff for the White Sox winning the division is worth taking a chance on Liriano.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The surprising Chicago White Sox have made a move to stay on top of the AL Central, acquiring left-hander Francisco Liriano from their division rival Minnesota Twins on Saturday night. http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/...minnesota-twins (VIDEO with Sutcliffe and BOONE) More From ESPN.com The Chicago White Sox are taking a good risk in acquiring Francisco Liriano from the Minnesota Twins, writes Dave Schoenfield. Blog • Foster: Sox bid Escobar farewell • White Sox Blog | ESPN Chicago The Twins will receive infielder Eduardo Escobar and lefty prospect Pedro Hernandez. The White Sox tweeted the news after the Twins beat the Cleveland Indians and Chicago won in Texas. "He just has to come here and be solid," said Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko. "He doesn't have to throw shutouts. He just has to give us a chance to win. That's all we're looking for." An All-Star in 2006, Liriano was expected to be one of the Twins' top starters before undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery later that same year. His career has since been plagued by inconsistency and injury. He pitched a no-hitter last May 3 against the White Sox but was 9-10 with a 5.09 ERA for 2011. This year Liriano struggled at the start and was demoted to the bullpen after his ERA rose to 9.45 in early May. He has brought that number down to 5.31 in 11 starts since his return to the rotation but still is 3-10 this season. He has walked 55 and struck out 109 -- including a 15 K game on July 13, a 6-3 loss. In his most recent start, the White Sox tagged Liriano for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings on Monday. "Hopefully the change of scenery will help," White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn said. "If he'll buy in to what we're doing over here, he can get back to what we know he's capable of doing." The 28-year-old Liriano is 50-52 with a 4.33 ERA in his career. Liriano, scheduled to be a free agent after this season, adds depth to a rotation headed by All-Star left-hander Chris Sale, right-handers Jake Peavy and Philip Humber and lefty Jose Quintana, who is 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA filling in for injured John Danks. Danks threw a bullpen session Friday, but there is no target date for his return. Sale, who leads the White Sox with 12 wins, has already thrown a career-high 124 innings. First-year manager Robin Ventura said he may look to get the left-hander some extra rest later in the season. Chicago has a 2½-game lead over the Detroit Tigers, the favorites to win the division. "I think (White Sox GM) Kenny (Williams) is just trying to do everything he possibly can to make us better pitching-wise," said Ventura. Twins general manager Terry Ryan said Liriano will stay in Minnesota until the White Sox arrive from Texas after Sunday's game. Both Escobar and Hernandez will go to Triple-A Rochester. Brian Duensing will start for Minnesota Sunday in place of Liriano. Escobar, 23, was hitting .207 (18 for 87) with four doubles and three RBIs in 36 games for the White Sox. "It's a tough one team-wise," Ventura said. "(Escobar) is kind of like a little brother or a son to most guys. He's taking it hard. It's just part of baseball. It happens to a lot of people. It will make us better though." Hernandez is also 23. He has split time at Double- and Triple-A this year, going 8-2 with a 2.94 ERA. He made his big league debut against Boston on July 18 and allowed eight runs in four innings.

http://comments.startribune.com/comments.p...br=1&ipp=10 You can get a sampling of all the comments made by Twins' fans here. Some are afraid of what Cooper might be able to accomplish with him, and how it will make Anderson and Gardy look incompetent. Liriano, 28, has been a prominent member of the trade rumor circuit for several years now. He's eligible for free agency after the season and is owed approximately $2.1MM for the remainder of the year. Injuries and inconsistency have dogged the left-hander throughout his career, and this year he's pitched to a 5.31 ERA in exactly 100 innings. The Twins originally acquired Liriano from the Giants as a minor leaguer as part of the A.J. Pierzynski-Joe Nathan swap back in 2003. He placed third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2006 and earned Cy Young Award votes in 2010, but he's pitched to a 5.18 ERA in 234 1/3 innings since. Liriano went from the rotation to the bullpen and back to the rotation this year, posting a 3.68 ERA in 11 starts since becoming a starter again. The White Sox are adding one of the game's premier strikeout pitchers to their staff with the trade. Even during his down years, Liriano has always missed bats and he owns a 9.8 K/9 this season. Walks are an issue however, especially of late. Over the last two years he's walked five hitters for every nine innings pitched. He figures to join Chris Sale and Jose Quintana to make three lefties in the ChiSox rotation.

It wasn't shocking that the Twins traded Francisco Liriano late Saturday night, just three days before the nonwaiver trade deadline. But it was surprising to see him land with the division rival Chicago White Sox. The White Sox acquired Liriano for middle infielder Eduardo Escobar and lefthanded pitcher Pedro Hernandez, who are both heading to Class AAA Rochester for the Twins. Liriano was scheduled to start Sunday's game against Cleveland for the Twins. Now, he will wait around the Twin Cities until the White Sox arrive at Target Field on Monday and likely will face the Twins in that three-game series. "I'm not thrilled with trading him within the division, obviously," General Manager Terry Ryan said. "You guys know where we are in the standings." Saturday night's 12-5 victory over Cleveland pulled the Twins out of last place for the first time since April 25. Liriano, 28, is eligible for free agency after the season. Ryan said Liriano expressed interest in staying with the Twins, but the team did not offer the lefthander a contract extension. "We didn't want to be left with nothing [if Liriano left as a free agent]," Ryan said. Since making the All-Star team as a rookie in 2006, Liriano has had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery and gone through several ups and downs. He is 50-52 for his career and 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA this year. Those numbers don't begin to tell the story, of course. He twirled a no-hitter on May 3, 2011 -- coincidentally, against the White Sox. In his third-to-last start for the Twins, Liriano racked up 15 strikeouts against Oakland, but Monday he gave up seven runs in 22/3 innings -- once again, against the White Sox. "They know what they're getting, and I know what we're giving up," Ryan said. As for what the Twins are getting in return, neither Hernandez nor Escobar profiles as an elite prospect. Hernandez, 23, was traded to the White Sox from the Padres in December. A Venezuela native whose fastball generally sits in the 90-92-miles-per-hour range, Hernandez is 8-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 15 games combined this year between Class AA and Class AAA, including 14 starts. He made his major league debut for the White Sox on July 18 and gave up eight runs in four innings at Boston's Fenway Park. The Twins believe Hernandez can become a full-time starter in the big leagues, but Ryan didn't want to say if he's a No. 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 starter. "I'm not going to say that because I would have said that Scott Diamond's a potential number, and it wouldn't have been accurate," he said. "We'll let him make his own way. He has enough stuff. He's got a fastball, slider and a change. He throws a lot of strikes, which is good, but I'm not going to say he pitches to contact. He pitches to get outs." Baseball America had Escobar ranked as Chicago's 10th-best prospect after the 2011 season, but the White Sox farm system is notoriously thin. In 87 at-bats with the White Sox this season, Escobar hit .207 with no home runs. He went 2-for-5 with an RBI double in Chicago's 5-1 victory at Texas on Saturday night. He wasn't a regular for the White Sox, and the Twins view him as more than a utility infielder. "He's a switch hitter who can run," Ryan said. "He's got tremendous energy. He's strong enough. He can play shortstop. He can play second. He doesn't really profile at third offensively, but he can play there. Defensively you wouldn't have any problem with any of the three." startribune.com/sports

Yep, he's in the Top 5 in AL k's/9

1993-1994 and 2003 are right up there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2012 -> 10:38 PM) We aren't going after Dempster. Merkin said it today...FWIW

Another idea would be bringing back Uribe...

QUOTE (bobryansson @ Jul 28, 2012 -> 10:30 PM) In the trade vein, any idea on the PTBL in the Meyers trade? Walker, Johnson, Semien or Kevan Smith in all likelihood. It's worth it, we desperately needed a veteran reliever with 3 pitches down in the pen and a calming presence with experience.

Kevin Slowey, Romero or Marcum is next. Dice-K...? LOL. Dempster will be traded to the White Sox if the Dodgers keep low-balling them and Braves don't restart talks. Theo doesn't care about the White Sox-Cubs stuff, only the return. So Dempster for Molina + another fairly advanced pitching prospect. Floyd to be marketed for all he's worth and possibly held onto.