TLAK

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Feb 28, 2009 -> 09:30 AM) I would agree with that last part anyway. IMO the Sox easily would have brought him back if they could have done it for a lot less than the $4.5M he was making. The Sox couldn't offer arb and expect any pay decrease so they let him go. Since Juan signed for $1M with the Giants, he will not only be affordable but also will be available at the deadline. I expect the Sox to reacquire him in June or July for next to nothing if they need any help from the bench defensively. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a team cannot cut a player's salary by more then 20% under the current CBA. That would be $3.6 million. His deal with the Giants is a minor league agreement and the $1 million only kicks in if he makes the big league roster. So it was a no brainer that he had to go. As to bringing him back later, it would need to be pretty disasterous season for him to look like a better backup option at a million than Lillibridge at the minimum. Neither one is expected to hit but Lillibridge to supposed to be an A defender. Uribe has to be considered well below average, he still has an arm but he just doesn't cover much ground anymore.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 08:47 AM) I cant argue with that at all. It's really hard when you only have 4 places to fill when there are many who deserve. Frank is a 100% lock, Luke Appling and Nellie Fox are solid, and Shoeless Joe is more known for the Blacksox... but he was a hell of a player. First of all Jackson only played 5 seasons with the Sox. Second, he confessed to taking money for throwing the G&*D World Series. Putting him next to Big Frank, Luke and Nellie would be like putting Blago next to Abraham Lincoln. Ted Lyons would be my fourth. He was the face of the team for 20 years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2009 -> 02:58 PM) This would be at the deadline though. There are no free agents to pit against each other. The only talent you have available is what teams are willing to trade you. If you are in the pennant race, it is harder to not make moves to improve your team, especially if you can get the guy who has hit the most HRs for a RF over the last 4 years. In the present climate, I'd expect big salary guys will go through waivers fairly easily because the bottom feeders will be escared to claim or block lest they get stuck with them. I think the 2009 trading season will be a month longer than usual and 'residual costs' such as buyouts and option language will play be bigger part in the decision to sell or not. Come August/September, teams will have a pretty good handle on how much revenue is coming in. This could result in some funny looking moves late in the season where players are seemingly given away for little in return just to stop the financial bleeding.

QUOTE (Sec101Row1 @ Feb 15, 2009 -> 11:27 PM) She is from here and due to have her 3rd child in 3 weeks. Thats a mighty busy 3 weeks!

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 29, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) I edited your link because it was prompting for a page print. Thank you, and also for fixing the title.

Check him out. Daily Herald I've been following Quinn's career for several years. He was White Sox before White Sox was cool.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jan 28, 2009 -> 10:44 AM) You are 100% correct. Joe Crede from mid September to the end of October was GREAT and Brooks Robinsonesque or dare I say Ron Santoesque . Joe Crede in the first half of 2006 was a monster....... we know how this movie finished. Can we leave Joe Crede out of this now. Ron Santo could not carry Brooks Robinson's jockstrap. He does not belong in the same sentence...and I saw them both play. Santo was good. Less range than Crede but also less mistakes. Robinson was in a different universe.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 22, 2009 -> 01:42 PM) I dont see why Freddy would want to pitch with the Yankees. It seems like he would be a 6th option, and from everything I have read about him he wants a real chance to be in a rotation this year Spot starting might be very good for him. We know he can still pitch, but we don't know if he can raise his arm the morning after a game, he might need a week or more before going back out there. The Yankees have enough money to pay for a quality starter and not use him as a regular, so from that perspective, he might very much want to pitch with the Yankees. 10 high quality starts from a 'spare tire' could win that division.

What you have to remember is BA hit just .232 with Ozzie cherry picking his starts. If he were thrown to the lions and faced everybody on the other team's staffs he could easily come in at .192 again or maybe worse. In '06 the White Sox could carry him for the first half because the rest of the team hit so well. When they cooled off Ozzie had no choice but to get him out of there because he was killing the team. The other problem with him is doesn't have a clue about situational hitting. If he could just move runners with some of his outs you could look at him differently. But as he is, he is such a hole in the lineup that even his great defense doesn't make up for it.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 18, 2009 -> 07:25 AM) I would expect he was at least 85-88, maybe 89 sometimes...is there a tape/replay of that game with the radar readings anywhere? MLB Gameday shows him at 92 several times in the make up game he pitched against the White Sox on September 28, 2008. His last fastball in the 6th inning was at 91. He left the game leading 2-1, having thrown 72 pitches. It's a question of durability, not a question of ability, with Freddy Garcia.

Holy Marony! Look at these Spring Training prices! I'm showing Arizona below for comparison, both 2009. White Sox Reg Prm Description 90 125 Home Plate Club 30 35 Dugout Field Box 26 30 Baseline Field Box 26 30 Premium Field Box 24 28 Infield Box 18 20 Baseline Reserved Diamondbacks Reg Prm Description 16 19 Field Level Infield 13 16 Field Level Grandstand 16 16 Covered Mezzanine 9 9 Lower Bleachers 6 7 Upper Bleachers 5 6 Standing Room 5 6 Lawn Seats Screw these guys, I"ll just do road games during my trip. I'll see to it that they don't see a penny out of me or my group. I'm very disappointed in the White Sox.

What do you guys think Jenks can get in arbitration?

QUOTE (Cubano @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 08:06 AM) Viciedo can not be a SS. I've never seen him play so I'll take your word. I thought all Cuban players could do everything! Sorry, read too much from his agent. I'm really looking foreward to seeing him play.

QUOTE (chunk23 @ Dec 13, 2008 -> 01:08 PM) Where do they even slot Lillibridge to play? On paper he's the only legitimate shortstop on the roster behind Ramirez. You spot him all over the place to get him some ABs, but his job is really just to hang around in case something happens to Alexei. Keep an eye on how the others do at SS in spring training; if Getz, Nix or even Viciedo show a major league glove there then everything changes. But judging from stats and reputations, Lillibridge is the only option.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Dec 10, 2008 -> 05:53 PM) Jamie Torres is his agent. Thank you.

MLB.com has an article "An interview with Ozzie Guillen". It's credited: Courtesy of FastScripts by ASAP Sports. It's from Ozzie's winter meeting press conference. Who ever transcribed this thing isn't familiar enough with baseball or Guillen to translate what Ozzie really says into what he really says. Its pretty funny. I think a Jay is AJ, and Katz is Chris Getz. We all know who the Quentin is. Tommy? I'm guessing Thome. I don't know who the hell he was talking about. I can't get to Dayan Viciedo starting from Jamie.

Tragic news from MLB.Com

All three Major Leaguers the White Sox have or are in the process of shipping out share one thing in common. Swisher, Vazquez and Logan all made Ozzie's s__t list. In the playoffs, Swisher wasn't starting over DeWayne Wise, Vazquez was publicly going to be skipped had the series moved forward and I don't think Logan even made the roster. There is no sense in hanging on to players if the Manager isn't going to use them. So if the White Sox get anything at all out the players they receive it’s a plus for the team. If every single guy they acquire falls flat on their face then the trade is even.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 11:45 PM) The White Sox could get in trouble (wouldn't it be tampering?) but how difficult would it be to get a world-class speedboat from one of Ozzie's Miami or Venezuelan/Caribbean connections and spirit Marti out of the country? Of course, that doesn't mean the White Sox could just sign him without any problems...but you have to think we'd have a 95% chance to get any Cuban defecting at this point, lol. This isn't an elaborate strategic planning mission like the Bay of Pigs, just takes a little coordination. How heavily defended is the coast by Cuban patrol boats? Would they try to kill/shoot him if he was leaving on a boat, with orders from the Castro regime? Is he going to be under some type of "house arrest" or have to wear an ankle bracelet with GPS tracking? Its a complicated situation. MAJOR LEAGUE PROBLEMS: BASEBALL’S BROKEN SYSTEM OF CUBAN DEFECTION

QUOTE (bschmaranz @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 01:34 AM) So we essentially traded Swisher for Jose Valentin then? You traded a guy who could not start a playoff game over Dewayne Wise for a utility infielder with strength from the left side. Plus the two pitchers the White Sox got vs the one they sent. The White Sox fit together better after the trade than they did before it.

I think its obvious that Swisher was going to have a tough time getting on the field for the White Sox next season. His value to this team was less than it would be to other teams.

QUOTE (Steff @ Oct 30, 2008 -> 11:19 AM) I had no idea. Wonder why it's a big deal to completely cut it off then. At Hawk games you have to go down stairs and get your ticket scanned out by the turn styles. then you can smoke in a barracaded area in front of the entrance, its similar to a cattle pen. Then you have to pass the turn styles and get scanned back in. From the 300s there is time between periods to get down stairs , have one very rapid smoke, stop at the restroom, stop at the yuppie beer stand and make it back about 3 minutes before play resumes. Its a hassle but you do get your cardio in and don't miss any action. Baseball doesn't have long intermissions and the ban is much more inconvenient. I dropped my Ozzie plan last year because of it. I think its crazy to ban smoking on the outdoor ramps. To me designating smoking areas on the outdoor ramps is a reasonable accomodation to both smokers and non's.

I thought this thread was going to be about Javier Vazquez.

MLB.Com Important Dates If I remember right, there is a news blackout during the World Series but no other restrictions. You might recall the Garland/Cabrerra trade was made mid-November, but yeah, most of the action is at the Winter Meetings after the other stuff shakes out.

QUOTE (StatManDu @ Oct 9, 2008 -> 09:53 AM) Were the 2008 White Sox the slowest Sox team ever? Consider ... *The 13 triples were an all-time franchise low *The 67 steals were the fewest by a Sox team since the 1977 team swiped 42 By your measure the 1950 White Sox were the slowest of all time, 47 triples and 19 SB. The 2008 team would rank 3rd slowest. However, triples are harder to come by at US Cellular than they were at old Comiskey. If you count 3B + 2B + SB per game the '50 team is still the slowest but the '08 team drops to 40th. The fastest post WWII teams were 2000 (325 2B, 33 3B, 119 SB) and 1983 (270, 42, 165). There are old time teams that double these numbers but it was a different game in those days.