caulfield12

Okay, this is all sounding too much like Paris and Nicole to me.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 11:54 PM) Ah yes. The infamous "Sunday lineups" that were so roundly criticized during the season. Widger, Timo, Gang 4...isn't that what Willie Harris came up with as the nickname for them? I laugh whenever I see him cracking on Backe from the dugout in that World Series video..."Is he going to RISE UP???"

We'll see how much he really wants to pitch again, versus possible retirement. It could be intriguing for him to take another shot at pitching in the AL. I can't say that I would rather see Clayton Richard over Pedro Martinez, no matter how diminished his stuff is...felt the same about Griffey, just appreciated what he had to offer and didn't make comparisons to the 90's. I think he wants to go out on his terms. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer probably.

Cubs Targeting Teahen By Coley Ward [November 18 at 5:02pm CST] More fallout from the Ryan Dempster signing. The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton is reporting the Cubs are once again targeting Mark Teahen to fill their right field vacancy. Dutton says discussions to acquire Teahen "stalled earlier this month, in part, because the Cubs’ wanted to hold onto several young players while discussing a possible trade with San Diego for pitcher Jake Peavy if Dempster signed elsewhere." Now that Dempster is on board, acquiring a left handed hitting outfield bat is the Cubs' highest priority. But who would the Cubs trade for Teahen? The Cubs want to move Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome, but that’s a tough sell -- to any team, not just the Royals -- because he slumped badly last season over the closing months and is owed $38 million over the next three years. A more-likely possibility is Felix Pie, a 23-year-old once viewed as a can’t-miss prospect. Pie batted just .223 in 260 at-bats with the Cubs over the last two years after posting strong minor-league numbers. [snip] The Cubs can also offer shortstop Ronny Cedeno or second baseman Mike Fontenot if the Royals prefer to acquire a middle-infield partner for Mike Aviles. Pie is also out of options and the Cubs seem to have run out of patience, so he is a likely trade candidate. Teahan, meanwhile, has yet to live up to the hype that surrounded his promotion to the big leagues, but he could blossom hitting against weaker NL pitching. Teahen, you might remember, was one of the featured players in the book "Moneyball" and was described as a future Jason Giambi. The Tigers are looking at LHR's Joe Beimel, Arthur Rhodes and Darren Oliver. No mention of Denys Reyes or Guardado, lol. They also appear unwilling to give closer's job to Zumaya or Rodney. Stay tuned. As far as Teahen goes, he's NOT a corner outfielder. If he could play it, his best position would be 2B in terms of his offensive game, but he would be atrocious there defensively (envision Josh Fields turning the double play at 2B and that's a good picture)...he's a better fit as a platoon player at 3B IMO. At least Dayton Moore has already decided he's not a building block. And the Cubs won't be able to package Pie, the Royals already have their own version in J. Gathright, if he can stay healthy. While I wouldn't go as far as to say I would rather give Betemit 350 at-bats than Teahen, I would rather give those major league AB's to Josh Fields in 2009 to see what we have exactly...

Pretty compelling. Looks like he would be perfect to pair up with Fields and Getz as sort of a three-way platoon with each getting about an equal number of at-bats by matching them up with individual pitchers... Or course, Nix could figure in as well, but I think Nix will be in AAA unless he really rakes in ST. Then you could see Getz down and the 3-way platoon would be between Fields, Betemit and Nix. Kind of intriguing....assuming Ramirez can play SS, which I'm 95% confident he can. Worst-case scenario, they just end up holding the position down while waiting for the emergence of Beckham as the prodigal son/starter. I don't mind this idea at all when you compare it to the costs of acquiring Beltre/Roberts/Hudson. No way! Which leads one to the obvious conclusion that our leadoff hitter will come from CF, will not be Brian Anderson, COULD be Jerry Owens (for now) and that the 5th starter spot will get some additional support (hopefully) with the worst-case being an incentive-laden deal for a Garcia or Colon type. I think even Paul Byrd might get guaranteed money from some team out there.

I don't think bringing back Damaso to the SouthSide would have been a good fit. I think something really fractured down the stretch and into the playoffs between him and Guillen. Lost trust...Ozzie basically called him out as a "head case" not unlike he did with Javy this year. It appears the 2nd tier of starters is emerging in the FA race. Looks to be Jon Garland, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf. Once again, are any of those guys better options than Javy, and will they make more than $11.5 million per season and for 3-4 year contracts? Maybe! I have a sneaking suspicion KW will make a run at Pedro Martinez. Not sure why...just that almost every single star from the past seems to end up on the White Sox about 3-5 years past their sell-by date. Sabathia, Lowe, Burnett and Sheets will all help to set the market, then the other dominoes will fall into place.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 07:31 PM) All he did for the Twins lately was put up a sub-.700 OPS in September when they needed him the most. It would have been disgusting if he had won it again, and he might have been the least deserving candidate in the past 10+ years of the award. Not counting Giambi, of course. I think many will quickly forget Miguel Tejada and Mo Vaughn as well.

It was an interesting race....Hamilton was the favorite for about 3-4 months, then Quentin, then it was very close between Morneau and Pedroia. If the Twins would have beaten out the Sox and he wouldn't have faded so badly down the stretch, I think Morneau would have had his second MVP. Which is kind of sad, because he's in no way, shape or form the incredibly dominant offensive presence that Frank Thomas (2 MVP's also) was...although you almost have to say that 2000 was Frank's third with Giambi's steroid revelations. That's how I think of it. And those MVP's for Juan Gonzalez can disappear, too.

How can Danks and Floyd get the sophomore jinx in their essentially third seasons? Will they regress, undoubtedly. I think Floyd is more likely to be put the same numbers, I just hope we don't see a one-two year regression out of Danks like Cliff Lee went through, but there are a number of reasons that's unlikely to happen with Jon. Also, I would mind if Danks came back to have a Cy Young-caliber season at one point in the future. He's not far off. There's room for improvement from Buehrle and Vazquez as well. And our offense should be better and more consistent in producing runs this season.

Just for his leadership and his quotes from the World Series DVD post-game celebration alone...."SouthSide Baby!!!!!" They really proved all the doubters and haters wrong who gave up on them, and Carl was a big part of holding the clubhouse together and providing needed intensity and sometimes insanity. For all of the 2006 season, many posters pointed to him and Rowand as the reasons why the chemistry/composition of the team was so drastically different. If you missed his contributions, you just don't appreciate the game. All of the bench players, Blum, Harris, etc., played key roles during that World Series, and Ozzie's determination to give them all playing time down the stretch paid off big-time.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 09:52 AM) Why is Affeldt even mentioned? He signed with the Giants yesterday I should have deleted it...was written in the last week or so and linked at mlbtraderumors.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 18, 2008 -> 09:33 AM) I don't get why everyone's so crazy about closers. Billy Beane trades his closer every other year for decent return. It's smart practice. It might be smart practice for a "small market" team on a shoestring budget, but I wouldn't necessarily reach the conclusion that it's always going to be the best policy for the White Sox. What has it gotten the A's, exactly?

Carrasco essentially has only four major league seasons, sandwiched around a year waiting in exile with a Japanese team. I would think we would control his rights for two more years, but I can't be positive about that. Oops, forgot to list Jiminez with the other bullpen options.

In addition to Affeldt, Lyon, Gagne, and Ohman there are some other free-agent relievers who would be intriguing if they'd take inexpensive one-year deals. Keith Foulke, Jason Isringhausen, Al Reyes, Chad Cordero, Tom Gordon, and Akinori Otsuka are former closers coming off injuries and at the right price it would be worth finding out if they still have something left in the tank. Doug Brocail, David Weathers, and Rudy Seanez are each right around 40 years old, but have been solid over the past 2-3 seasons. Kyle Farnsworth and Guillermo Mota have had sub par results despite mid-90s fastballs and if they're cheap enough perhaps pitching coach Rick Anderson can try to work his magic. Brendan Donnelly makes for a nice reclamation projection two years removed from Tommy John surgery. And if Russ Springer, Bobby Howry, or Juan Cruz aren't offered arbitration by their current teams and no longer require losing a first-round draft pick to sign, they would definitely move near the top of my preferred targets list. article at mlbtraderumors.com About how the Twins probably would have won the division had they gone out and acquired Chad Bradford and LaTroy Hawkins instead of Guardado. Interesting note, former White Sox catcher Ben Davis is trying to make a comeback as a pitcher! Does KW make a play for any of these 18 relievers? Which ones? For how much/years? Of course, Foulke/Gordon/Howry have already pitched for the Sox. Do either Dotel or Jenks end up getting dealt somewhere? Teams like the Indians, Brewers or Rangers might be more likely to go with one of the eight (8) former closers listed above on the cheap rather than pay huge amounts in talent for BBB. Who wins the last bullpen spot/s? Wasserman? Russell? Part of a trade package? Carrasco? Nunez? Marquez? Broadway? Traded? Link? Poreda? Logan? Traded? MacDougal? Traded? Egbert?

Affeldt signed at $8 million over 2 years with the SF Giants. Furcal has a $39 million, 3 year on the table from at least one club...Giants also giving strong consideration to Cabrera and Renteria, but wouldn't lose as much in terms of draft picks/Type A compensation because of Furcal's injuries over the last couple of seasons. I doubt KW is serious about spending that kind of money on Furcal at his age when he has Ramirez signed so afforably.

We've gone through Thigpen, Roberto Hernandez, Howry, Foulke, Koch, Takatsu, Hermanson and Jenks without ever having to spend boatloads of money on any of these guys, all who were decent or at least adequate for most of their Sox careers. Unfortunately, another team's going to have to be desperate to give us a Fernando Martinez caliber of player because all of baseball knows the warning signs. 1) Decreased fastball (although he was close to 2005 form in the late stages of season and playoff run) 2) Past injury history 3) Weight issues 4) Other past mental/psychological history (although that appears to be a complete non-issue any longer) 5) Declining strikeout ratio per IP over last three seasons 6) Shelf life of the average MLB closer Torres retiring helps...and Hoffman, hopefully. That decreases the available pool of talent and drives up the worth/value of Bobby.

With the insider trading charges...that will be the final "black mark" against him used by Selig et al to keep him from buying into MLB. Wonder if this takes a Martha Stewart (Inclone) turn or is less serious?

QUOTE (moragasoxfan @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 10:14 PM) Oops! Forgot that Armstrong was already on the Top 10 list. Rogers comment on McCulloch: "He still has value but more as an organizational guy." aka Lance Broadway, Charles Haeger, Egbert...someone of that ilk. Very little talk of Egbert around here the last six months. Last year, he was a favorite of many.

QUOTE (kwill @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 11:05 PM) • Ken Williams is one of the winter's most significant wheelers and dealers. He is marketing Javier Vazquez, Bobby Jenks, Jermaine Dye and others as he tries to overhaul the White Sox. The Mets are afraid of the red flag on Jenks, whose strikeout rate has dropped precipitously from 50 in 39 1/3 innings in 2005 to 38 in 61 2/3 innings this past season. And although GM Omar Minaya checked in on Sabathia, it does not mean the Mets will get into a bidding war with the Yankees for the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner. • Scouts in Arizona for the Arizona Fall League and the White Sox's minor league people are convinced that Gordon Beckham, the eighth pick in the MLB draft this past June, will be Chicago's everyday second baseman by June. I find both being very telling of the whitesox offseason plans as getting everyday centerfield rather than a middle infielder seems to be a priority to williams. Beckham seems to a prospect that is already polished in many ways and will be a major impact in August and September. Swisher deal in my opinion reveals that Williams has no intentions on trading Dye as he only has one year on his contract and Swisher would have been a low cost replacement in right field. Bobby Jenks on the other hand may be dealt as Kenny doesnt believe in paying big money to closers. I could see him spread the wealth elsewhere along with getting prospects back in order to make the whitesox younger. Jenks could be a centerpiece for a trade involving the Giants. Javier may interest some teams as he reliable and could entice some suitors with his talent level. Maybe, if the Braves pull out of the Peavy sweepstakes they could come knocking on Kenny's door. Don't forget Dye has a $12 million dollar contract option for 2010 or $1 million buyout. By that time, Viciedo or Quentin could be playing RF. Anything is possible.

Well...if the kid's a legit 19, I just can't imagine Cashman or Epstein thinking he would possibly be ready, maturity-wise or physically, for the mental grind of dealing with playing in either of those two cities (or Philly, for that matter). Cashman, I would have thought, should have learned his lesson/s from Contreras. You really need to do the background work and due diligence before bringing a Swisher or Viciedo onto your roster. Personally, my read on all this is that the ACTUAL concrete offers they have received until now were pretty underwhelming...if they had something that knocked their socks off, there would be some more "fire/smoke" about the signing being imminent. Maybe they are just playing teams against each other and weighing their options, but I can't imagine Torres preferring to stick him in NY or BOS unless he's 100% confident he can handle the pressure there. He knows that the White Sox, with Guillen/Contreras/Ramirez, would be a much better and more natural fit. Even as a RFer, with Dye possibly trade bait and definitely out of the picture in Chicago after 2010.

QUOTE (moragasoxfan @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 07:49 PM) Although BA doesn't post its Top 30 until January, one can get a pretty good idea of the approximate order of the next 12 prospects, based on the Rogers chat. Brent Morel Jon Link Jhonny Nunez Jeff Marquez Jose Martinez Adam Russell Dexter Carter Dan Hudson Jack Egbert - "20 or below" Lucas Harrell - "20 or below" Juan Silverio - low 20s You would have to believe that Lance Broadway is rated somewhere in the 11 to 20 range although Rogers never specifically says that he's still in the Top 30. Other prospects mentioned as Top 30: Justin Cassell, Cole Armstong Armstrong is #9. Funny that Kyle McCulloch has fallen so far off the map that a first rounder in our system doesn't even merit a mention anymore. I guess that's a good thing.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 07:50 PM) Isn't Blake like 37 or 38 now? I wonder how much left he has in him and how long of a deal he's going to want. Hopefully if he goes to the Twins they give him good money over three years. He can't have a whole lot left at the hot corner. As far as veteran leadership you may have a point, but if they want a fiery guy they're probably not going to want a laid-back type like Blake - or really any ex-Indians for that matter as it seems the Indians are notorious for playing one half of a season and going through the motions for the other. Besides, I doubt that clubhouse lacks fire. Carlos Gomez is a f***ing nutcase who I am sure over the course of a season provides his share of odd yelps and Spanish battle cries. I don't know, a lot of people (Scully/Torre/teammates) really talked up Casey like he was one of the biggest reasons their team came together, finally, in the end...and the bridge between the veterans on the way out (Nomar, Kent, A. Jones, Pierre) and the new blood. Blake turned 35 a couple of months ago. Plus he's an Iowa boy like Ryan Sweeney!

Should we have a Kierkegaard/Nietszche Thread here now, too, at SoxTalk? Now we've all become philosophers. Well, after sitting in lotus position for 30 minutes of Thai/Buddhist monks chanting yesterday, anything is possible. That's REALLY uncomfortable for a foreigner (farang).

Where have you gone, Francisco Hernandez DiMaggio? Well...that idea bodes well for both Silverio and Jose Martinez. Hopefully they're not the next Dellaero/Caruso/A. Gonzalez.

I want OC to go there and see the Slowest Show on Turf. I just don't want to see them add Blake or Beltre. Both of those would be exactly the kind of veteran leadership they lost when Hunter/Radke/Santana/J. Jones moved on. I really think there's a sense about the Twins that Morneau and/or Mauer are not really fiery enough...the same types of things you hear said about Dye/Konerko/Thome over and over again. I do think having those types of veterans to reign in the likes of D. Young, Matt Garza, etc., are necessary. If the Twins did a better job "in-house" of handling Matt's maturity issues, they wouldn't have had to trade him.