sunofgold

This is right move by both sides. Buehrle too expensive for the White Sox as his numbers would probably worsen in the AL. However, in the NL, he will have new life and getting to face the pitcher 2-3 times a game will help him. I think that the Marlins overpaid for him however it will help him to move to the NL. And having Ozzie manage him only helps Buehrle. Ozzie knows him well and also knows when to protect Buehrle (like limiting spring training innings, giving him an extra day of rest here and there). Of course if the White Sox didn't have the contracts of Dunn and Rios, then we could have overpaid on Buehrle. We also lost Buehrle in 2007 and we gave him a big contract then. Grateful for all that Buehrle did with his time with the White Sox. Especially 2005. Opening Day 1-0 win (first appearance in 2005) and then the save in Game 3 of the WS (last appearance in 2005)

Pujols will sign with the Marlins. They are going to have an awesome team. My favorite NL team. Maybe Buehrle and/or Wilson too. Ozzie going to have fun managing all of these All Stars.

If Rowand would wind up taking Vizquel's spot on the roster, I would say that is getting younger. Youth movement. It is all perspective.

This is bad. Who is going to start Opening Day for us? Ace Ventura is on the case after he locates a closer. Right now he is scouting DR.

Why didn't this trade involve more players. Why didn't we trade them Thornton as well. Maybe for another high end prospect. Somehow could have included Thornton in a trade. Maybe even Quentin.

If we cannot get a poster named Rowand44 excited about this idea, then maybe this is a bad idea. lol! Where did the Aaron Rowand love go? 34 years OLD. Does he use a cane? You cannot possibly be in good physical condition if you are 34 years old. And if he doesn't make the team put him on the coaching staff.

If you make Reed the closer and he doesn't get the job done...then what do you do? It is a gamble with Reed. You need a Plan B if you go with Reed in the closer role as Plan A.

Rowand is getting paid no matter what by the Giants. $12 Million on his contract. But they released him last year. If the White Sox sign him ..I believe they would only have to pay him the league minimum and Giants pick up the rest. I think that you have to respect that he still wants to play. He still has the competitive drive. Having him come to spring training cost us $0. Not job promise. He has to earn it and he would be playing for a backup position. Don't know if he would accept a minor league contract..probably not but if he is willing that they would work well to give us some outfield insurance. Remember when Pods signed a minor contract with us in 2009 . Then we needed an outfielder and he had a decent season.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 05:17 PM) Stewart, Marinez, Sale, and Reed are all options. A lot of scouts liked Stewart as a back of the bullpen guy. Not sure if I really like just throwing a guy into the closer role. Prefer starting guys in the bullpen as relievers and work them towards the closer role. Like Santos started as a reliever and worked his way to closer. Took him a little bit over one season to move into that role (to even get a shot at the job) And then at that point hopefully you can keep the guy in that position.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 05:11 PM) Its better for the team if Sale starts and you use 1 of 4 legit closer candidates as your closer. Addison Reed is probably the favorite moving forward. He has VERY good stuff. Who are our 4 legit closer candidates? I only see one for 2012 and it Sale. He is 12 out of 14 in his career. Sale has great stuff. Maybe more effective as a closer than a starter.

Sale could close. Would management flip flop on this again and make Sale the closer? If we keep Danks then the rotation could be Danks/Floyd/Peavy/Humber/Stewart and maybe Molina could be put on the fast track to get some major league starts in 2012 and then fill Peavy's rotation spot in 2013????

This is bad news. We are going to need the best defense on the field as much as possible.

Sirotka Santos? This just made Robin Ventura's job a lot harder. Ozzie had a hard time finally finding a closer with Sergio last year. Kinda think that Ventura needs a reliable closer. If Ventura going to have to audition guys during the regular season that is going to suck.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 6, 2011 -> 03:51 PM) scottmerkin Scott Merkin Ventura said Dunn will play in the field, including the OF This is not good news. .lol. I say DH, pinch hitter, or cheerleader for Mr. Dunn. And is Soria available? I like Soria. We just put in a help wanted ad for a closer.

Kinda puzzling since we had Santos at a low price for a long time. It is basically trading a decent pitcher (at worst) for a promising pitcher. Don't forget that Santos has only been pitching for a few years now since his conversion from SS. Santos might be getting better. Now we have to hope that Molina develops into a #1 or #2 starter. He is a promising pitcher and has a good chance of making the big leagues and succeeding...but this kinda like playing Let's Make A Deal with Monty Hall. We traded a solid reliever in the hope that Molina proves to be a solid starter. Thus, this could either way for us. This could be a bad deal if Santos stays at the same level or improves and Molina doesn't pan out. This could a good deal for us if Molina becomes a reliable starter. I dont know. Have to wait and see.

No Cards on that list? Well if it those 5, then I hope that he goes to the Marlins. They are putting together a good team there using the Miami Heat technique. Just buy a good team. lol! They could add Pulojs or Fielder, Buehrle, CJ Wilson.

This would be for the backup OF position. I know this isn't 2005. Would only have to pay him the league minimum which would save us some money.

What do think about the idea of inviting Aaron Rowand to spring training? Give him a chance to make our team. Giants are paying him millions for 2012. Low risk...reward? I don't know. Haven't seen him play in awhile. At worst, White Sox fans can see him in spring training and he might motivate other players.

Trying to look at this objectively. Buerhle is a solid pitcher who will give you 200 IP, however he isn't an ace. Seems like he is going to be overpaid. He really was helped out by the six man rotation to give him some rest. White Sox have been protecting him the last two to three seasons (six man rotation, skipping his start here or there, giving him less innings in spring training). He really didn't look great in the last month of the season. This might be the right time to let Buerhle go. I know that he has some good intangibles (good teammate, leads by example, great defensively). But is Buerhle going to be more likely getting better each successive season or worse? All of those innings that he has pitched could eventually catch up to him. If he goes to another team...hopefully, he signs with the Cards since he would love to be there. And I don't mind him picking up a large paycheck while trying to beat the cuBS.

If Danks is going to make $7M-$8M in 2012, why not just keep him. That will be less than Buehrle would make in 2012 if we signed him. Could see how the season goes and then trade Danks near the trading deadline (if we are out of it). Sale is the new lefty for Buehrle's spot in the rotation. Start the season with a rotation of Sale, Danks, Floyd, Humber, Peavy. Stewart as the insurance guy. We save money by not resigning Buehrle. And we probably trade Thornton and/or Quentin which offer more financial relief. And Peavy's contract comes off the book in 2013. We have a younger team with DeAza, Flowers, Viciedo, Morel in the mix. And this team can still compete in a weak AL Central. Keep your fingers crossed and hope for an offensive rebound for Rios and Dunn and Beckham.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Nov 19, 2011 -> 03:27 PM) Anytime the Cubs hire a new manager I get this fear in the depths of my stomach that they will win soon. Well, anytime except for Quade, And remember last season when Bochy named Quade to be a coach at the All Star game. Less deserving manager to be named an All Star coach.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Nov 19, 2011 -> 02:01 PM) Both are gone, IMO. If both are gone, we are in trouble. Floyd would be the only guy on our roster that would expect to pitch around 200 innings. Still have to stretch out guys like Sale and Humber.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 19, 2011 -> 12:26 PM) Its entirely plausible that the Cubs could be worse next year than last year. Lose Pena, lose Aramis, lose Byrd, another year older for Soriano. Of course, they could blow $20 mil a year on Fielder and wind up at the same place they were last year. I thought Quade was a poor manager. I am thinking that Epstein will make some better moves than Hendry. They might lose some players but that money can be used to signed free agents. And the replacements could be better than Pena, Aramis, and Byrd. I hope that they are worse next year but I am thinking that they will probably improve a little bit.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Nov 19, 2011 -> 01:39 PM) As far as I can tell, the Nashville Sounds have a pretty good thing going. If a AAA team, who's MLB affiliate isn't even that geographically close can find sustained success in a market, I'd imagine an MLB team (maybe even promoting the Sounds to the MLB) would be pretty fruitful. The Giants hold territorial rights over Santa Clara County.. If anyone is going there, it's the A's, which wouldn't be am expansion.. Unless the MLB pulls an NFL (Cleveland Browns) and the A's go elsewhere before the league puts a team in San Jose as part of an expansion. Here's a decent article on the subject Yes. That is the remote possibility that I was thinking. A's move elsewhere and San Jose gets a new team. But still Giants are the biggest roadblock to anything happening in San Jose.

I want Buehrle back however can the White Sox afford it? Those huge contracts to Rios, Peavy, and Dunn are huge financial drains. And isn't Danks pretty much going to put up similar numbers to Buehrle? You have a younger version of Buehrle in the same price range. Unless JR is still willing to open up the pocketbook. Then, I would love to keep Buehrle, Floyd, and Danks. That is fairly reliable trio and then we have enough depth of starters to fill in the final two starter holes.