Would you be in favor of bringing back Erstad at $3.25M to act as a 4th OF? I'd rather retain Mackowiak at the same price while keeping a league minimum defensive CF on hand at to act as the 5th OF.

 

Yes I tend to agree with you.

 

But, I also believe most if not all this talk is very premature.

 

My sense is the entire OF will be revamped and the entire bench too.

If there's one thing Williams should freaking do this offseason it's get a leadoff hitter that plays SS,2B or CF.

 

You want to give the offense a boost? Get a leadoff man to play CF and a hitter to play left.

 

You said it better than I did and my sense is clearly this is exactly what they want to do.

 

It would be naive on my part though to think these guys can be plucked off a tree somewhere. Every team wants these types. Interesting the Sox picked two in this most recent draft, they need to take shots on 2-3 guys like this in every draft. But this doesn't solve the issue for 2008.

 

I should add Williams made an interesting comment in the paper today. He said he knows exactly where there are potential trade match ups with all 29 teams. This tells me he has identified how he wants to reconstruct the roster, and if Guillen is the mouthpiece, it is speed up the middle and higher on base guys and a way way way better bullpen.

Edited July 27, 200718 yr by 29andPoplar

Sox should trade Podsednik now while he is healthy for a Lujan-type player.

Here's a thought. Let's say Anaheim offers the world for Konerko and he gets traded,possible but not likely. Re-sign Dye and play him at 1b. He's defintely athletic to make the move and it will save the wear and tear on his knees. The guy will still hit.He's only 33 and was a top MVP candidate last year. We get a top SS prospect,Kotchman, and a pitcher.That would free up some money to sign a CF(Rowand??) and some relief help. It would be nice to unload Contreras to free up some more money but that's probably not going to happen The lineup next year could look like:

C-AJ

1B-Dye

2B-Richar

SS-Figgins, Aybar, ???

3b-Crede

LF-Fields

CF-Rowand

RF-Kotchman

DH-Thome

IF-Ozuna, Gonzales

OF-Sweeney, Owens

C-Hall

Edited July 28, 200718 yr by Lemon_44

Wow.....

Pods is back and suddenly hitting and becoming a pitcher's nightmare again on the basepaths. That in itself is very valuable to set up your lineup.

 

Behind Jermaine Dye, there is not a single AAA or AA power-hitting OF prospect for the White Sox.

And I don't consider Ryan Sweeney a power hitting OF...maybe a Mark Grace-playing-OF clone.

 

That's why, IMO, if you trade Jon Garland, get yourself a powerhitting OF, preferably a RF. That will make any Dye - for - two top prospects that much easier...hopefully.

 

Pods???? Dunno. Only if you get an upgrade for your prospect depth at other key positions (OF, 2b/SS, P) then you would do so.

Edited July 28, 200718 yr by OilCan

0-4 today with two embarrassingly bad plays on defense.

I love Dye's arm and he's coming off of an MVP like year. If he's up for it, I would like to see him get a 2 year deal. Pods...well Chicago is 15-7 with Scotty Podz in the line up. And his wife is bangin!

Personally, I would bring back Pods under the condition that the contract is loaded with incentives. Give him a motivation to steal and increase a low salary. No team is going to sign him with how injury prone he has been.

 

As for Dye, I would pay him about 3 million less than what he is making at the moment and again, load it with incentives.

 

Perhaps bringing back Rowand would be a good idea, because then you have the outfield solidified.

 

Pods/Rowand/Dye

 

I think Fields is a beast at third base, if not better than Joe Crede, who I'd trade for a bag of baseballs as well as Jose Contreras.

Boy that looks familar... haha

Pods needs to go. He can't be relied on as our leadoff hitter. He has spent waaaayy too much time on the DL. Unless he wants to sign a 1 year deal worth around $1million. . At least we know now that Owens can get on base at the MLB level and if god for bid something happens to Pods again, Owens is right there.

I wouldn't mind bringing back Dye . You can tell he is not injured anymore at the way he is playing Defense and the way he is running and hitting the ball.. if would take a decent 2 year deal- than by all means do it.

Rowand- just bring him back. The fans have been crying hard enough over the last few years and we know KW does listen to the fans when it comes to signing guys- look at Buerhle and Konerko.

 

CF is actually the least of my concerns. It might be ugly at times but I'd just assume throw Sweeney, Owens, Erstad when he's healthy, or

Anderson out there. We might run into trouble but CF isn't a position that requires a great hitter. If someone like Sweeney could hit .260/.325/.370 - wishful thinking perhaps - we'd be in okay shape. For that reason I'd prefer not to focus on players like Byrnes or ARow. I think what we should do is go out there and get two legit corner outfielders. Adam Dunn comes to mind.

 

If JD's market value is diminished greatly by his lackluster season I'd consider him for one of those corner outfield slots. I wouldn't be too excited about it though since we're talking about a 33 year old who's had a lot of health issues over the years and is coming off an iffy season.

 

Pods is not a major league left fielder. Things were able to click just right so that he helped us win games at that position in '05 but I think that was catching lightening in a bottle. Since he hit terribly last season and has battled injuries constantly I don't see any reason to bring him back.

 

 

 

CF is actually the least of my concerns. It might be ugly at times but I'd just assume throw Sweeney, Owens, Erstad when he's healthy, or

Anderson out there. We might run into trouble but CF isn't a position that requires a great hitter. If someone like Sweeney could hit .260/.325/.370 - wishful thinking perhaps - we'd be in okay shape. For that reason I'd prefer not to focus on players like Byrnes or ARow. I think what we should do is go out there and get two legit corner outfielders. Adam Dunn comes to mind.

 

If JD's market value is diminished greatly by his lackluster season I'd consider him for one of those corner outfield slots. I wouldn't be too excited about it though since we're talking about a 33 year old who's had a lot of health issues over the years and is coming off an iffy season.

 

Pods is not a major league left fielder. Things were able to click just right so that he helped us win games at that position in '05 but I think that was catching lightening in a bottle. Since he hit terribly last season and has battled injuries constantly I don't see any reason to bring him back.

 

I'd much rather just put Fields in left than sign Dunn for $12 million annually.

 

I agree with you about CF...I'm somewhat willing to keep looking at Owens as our possible 08' CF and leadoff man. Then you need to acquire a defensively-solid SS with a bit of speed that can handle the bat and possibly put him in the two hole- Hu has been discussed ad-nauseum and would be a great possibility. Resign Crede and play him at third, hope he stays healthy, and deal him for a catching prospect or pitching. Then you can move Fields back to third.

 

However, you're correct in pointing out we need some power in that OF. That's why making a run at Andruw Jones appeals to me. An OD OF of Jones, Owens (in left), Fields (in right) makes some sense if you resign Crede, with Fields then shifting to third once Crede is dealt and Sweeney replacing Fields in right. Obviously, this would all center on whether Contreras could be moved without eating more than 50% of his salary.

 

You'd get an OD lineup something like this:

 

1. Owens- LF

2. SS

3. Thome- DH

4. Konerko - 1B

5. Jones- CF

6. Fields - RF

7. Pierzynski- C

8. Crede- 3B

9. Richar- 2B (you could switch Richar to the 2 hole if you were feeling giddy)

 

and becoming this if you could move Joe:

 

1. Owens- LF

2. SS

3. Thome- DH

4. Konerko- 1B

5. Jones- CF

6. Fields- 3B

7. Pierzynski- C

8. Sweeney- RF (he could possibly hit in the two-hole also?)

9. Richar- 2B

 

It would obviously be difficult to sign Jones, but Kenny obviously likes him alot, and this would allow you to hit Owens in the leadoff spot, give Crede a chance to prove he is healthy and reclaim some value, and give Sweeney a few more months in AAA, all while giving yourself some power in the OF.

 

The $ can work if you can ditch most of Contreras' contract and you deal Garland at midseason or let him walk after 08'.

Edited July 28, 200718 yr by iamshack

if they re-sign PODS.... there can be absoultely no animosity towards him on this board when he tweaks an oblique muscle next year and Luis Tererro is your starting left fielder for a 5th place ball club.

 

 

Both are history after 2007.

I'd much rather just put Fields in left than sign Dunn for $12 million annually.

 

I guess I'd consider putting Fields in left but I'm not a big fan of it because it could stunt his development at third and his bat is much less valuable if you move him to a corner outfield spot. If you non-tender Crede, you probably save $5 million and then you'd only be adding $7 million in salary if Dunn got $12 million a season.

I guess I'd consider putting Fields in left but I'm not a big fan of it because it could stunt his development at third and his bat is much less valuable if you move him to a corner outfield spot. If you non-tender Crede, you probably save $5 million and then you'd only be adding $7 million in salary if Dunn got $12 million a season.

 

Dunn is a disaster defensively. I want no part of him.

 

If you non-tender Crede, you also lose any chance of getting anything for him. Although the way the market is right now, I'm not sure you're going to get a whole lot anyways. You would get draft picks though.

 

As for Fields development at third, I worry about that as well, but you could get him starts there once or twice a week while resting Joe, and it may only be for a few months anyways.

 

As for his bat being less-valuable in LF rather than third, I see your point, but I'd also rather do what's best for the team rather than worry about his positional value this early in his career. Additionally, third base has become a pretty standard position for power in the mlb, so his power there isn't what it might have been 10 years ago.

If you non-tender Crede, you also lose any chance of getting anything for him. Although the way the market is right now, I'm not sure you're going to get a whole lot anyways. You would get draft picks though.

All depends on what Joe does next year. If nothing else, he's not going to be making $10 million. He comes out as the hitter he was in 06 next year, 15 home runs, .300 average at the break, with the usual defense, and no back issues, and someone will buy him if you want to sell. The reason we're having so much trouble moving Iguchi and Dye is that they're both having below-average seasons, especially JD, and so that has hurt their value a lot. If Joe comes out and struggles...fine...bench his ass and put Josh back at 3rd, and all we've lost is a couple million dollars.