Leonard Washington

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 04:20 PM) And that KW would then overpay in a trade of Quentin for some hard throwing, not as effective as should be reliever. Broxton! lol

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 02:45 AM) In 2008, he seemed to hit it everywhere, same with Beckham in 2009. I'm not saying Walker is preaching it, but he isn't helping these guys avoid getting into that mentality. If there's one thing about the White Sox offense that I could target for improvement over the years, it would be SITUATIONAL HITTING. You think Ozzie would agree, but he continues to have a hard-on for Walker. Walker is the perfect hitting coach for Rob Deer. But we don't need that. We need a hitting coach that preaches situational hitting. Clutch hitting IS situational hitting. This is what we need.

It's still weird hearing about him going opposite field regularly. Usually, that implies a good plate approach. He's patient, but in my mind Quentin is basically a mistake hitter.

Filler....but reasonable filler...Gray especially.

Non-Sox related, but still Winter Meeting buzz....and scary stuff. Rockies manager Jim Tracy collapsed and was taken to hospital late Monday. EDIT: This took place at the meetings (just to be clear)

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 01:58 AM) After last year, I've had enough of Quentin too. If he wasn't so bad on defense, I'd like him a lot more. Totally.....and it's weird because when you look back at his baseball america descriptions, he's a "plus" defender. They even say he's capable of CF!! This is from December, 2005: Imagine him in CF.....lol I also don't see him going oppo too much unless he's late on a pitch. He has a pure-pull approach. Maybe he's a product of some Greg Walker coaching...

I'm not a big Quentin guy. I'm not holding my breath on another 2008. Even in 2008 I was a little skeptical. He had some no-doubters, but he also had a good share of wall-skimmers. In 2008 I had my choice of a signed Quentin ball or a signed Floyd ball, and I took the Floyd ball without hesitation - even knowing his peripherals.

I have a feeling Putz' signing is one of the things that's making KW impatient with Konerko.

If we sign Konerko, I think either Flowers or Viciedo is getting dealt for relief help. Salaries for free agent RP's are too inflated (thanks, Detroit) to sign anybody decent with the Sox budget being pressed to its limits.

You're not wrong. I would just like to see us move Rios to RF though. He's better there. Our field is small, but the other stadiums in our division are larger than most and I think outfield defense is especially important in our division. Rios is a capable CF, but I think he's overrated a little bit there. It's not a make-or-break thing by any means...not a huge priority. But it would be a nice luxury to have.

If we could get him for 2/25 with a club option on the 3rd year I'd be happy with that.

I kind of want to get Rios in RF. He looked tired as the season wore on last year. I'd have no problem with Pence either though, for the record. They're both solid players.

Bourn isn't mediocre speed. He's had two straight 4+ WAR seasons. He might be the best defensive CF in baseball.

"Astros GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that rival clubs have asked about Wandy Rodriguez, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn (Twitter link)." I would be a happy Sox fan if we somehow got Bourn

Kevin Correia signed for 2Y/$8MM.......yikes. If I'm Freddy, I'm looking for at least that. Correia was brutal last year pitching in effing Petco.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 12:11 AM) I wonder... If Morel is a doubles machine in Spring Training, would they consider him as the #2 hitter? Maybe at some point. But I doubt they'd throw him in the fire like that. He's also not very patient, so I don't know if he's the best fit.

I think if KW loses his plan B or C because he's waiting for Konerko's decision, he's going to give Konerko a now-or-never ultimatum. If Paulie still doesn't make a decision, I think KW takes whichever backup plan is left (B or C)..

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 6, 2010 -> 11:44 PM) Anyone that tells me that Carlos Pena is a more attractive option than Derek Lee is nuts. I'd rather have Lee or LaRoche before I'd even contemplate Pena and even than I don't see what their is to like about a hitter that hits for homers or nothing. I don't want two of those guys and Dunn is a s***load better than Pena. I'd rather have LaRoche too. Just as good a defender as Pena, less expensive, and his lefty/righty splits aren't as extreme. I'd sooner have him as a plan B for 1 year and then reassess out 1B situation next offseason depending on how Viciedo/Flowers progress. We'd also have more money for the bullpen and wouldn't have to trade guys away to fill holes.

"The White Sox are awaiting a response from Konerko and agent Craig Landis, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter)." Latest update from MLBTR about Paulie. I don't think KW likes to wait very long (as we've pretty much established) so I'm curious to see how this plays out.

Jarrod Parker will make a nice addition when he's back in the swing of things

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 6, 2010 -> 08:47 PM) What teams would be after PK with the Sox, I know D'Backs were rumored, but a day or two ago Heyman said they were out on him Rangers. If we don't get Paulie, that's probably a best-case scenario. We get a first rounder, and we only have to face him 6 or so times a year.

Amaro says he's considering a RF platoon of Gload/Francisco to start 2011. Does anybody actually believe him? The Phils have been connected to Quentin a couple times this offseason, and I can't help but wonder what we'd be looking for in return if a deal is made.

I think we're adding a bullpen arm via trade, and maybe a couple bargain binners (Delcarmen, T. Buccholz)

I'm not really too upset by this. At least we get a pick out of it, and it's not like the market is bare for relievers.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 6, 2010 -> 06:07 PM) A bad anything can ruin a good team. How many teams out there have A+ bullpens? Not many. If the season started tomorrow I'd be worried. Not right now. Yeah I'm not worried yet either simply because KW has publicly said he'd like to improve the bullpen. If he says that publicly you know he's going to add to it.