"Major League Ready Talent" Only

[southsider2k5]

How many other GMs talk about how hard the job is as much as KW? If its so hard, he should quit.

 

How many other GMs do you follow?

[Balta1701]

If Peavy pitches reasonably well this season and manages to stay reasonably healthy, I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back on a ridiculously cheap 1 or 2 yr deal. He's a competitor and seems to be a pretty stand-up guy. My guess is that he feels as embarrassed about getting paid what he's been paid by the Sox as we are angry. Kind of like folks think Dunn would retire if he can't earn his keep, I think Jake will try to make his lack of performance up to the Sox.

I was just thinking about this...we've heard this a lot...and I was wondering...how do people think Peavy gets along with Cooper? Peavy had some serious mechanical overhaul issues right before his injury, and I wouldn't be surprised if Peavy feels like Cooper isn't the best match for what he likes to do. With all the "in and out of new mechanics" stuff that happened before Peavy's injury, might he not decide that a different pitching coach/philosophy might work out better for him?

[Knackattack]

If Peavy pitches well he is going to get traded midseason unless Dunn, Rios and Beckham turn around as well.

[southsider2k5]

If Peavy pitches well he is going to get traded midseason unless Dunn, Rios and Beckham turn around as well.

 

At midseason, a team would still have to take on at least $12.5 million to get Peavy. (Half of his $17 million, plus the $4 million buy out for next year.) He would have to be pitching like Cy Young to get that picked up.

[Balta1701]

At midseason, a team would still have to take on at least $12.5 million to get Peavy. (Half of his $17 million, plus the $4 million buy out for next year.) He would have to be pitching like Cy Young to get that picked up.

You don't think the Sox would eat a portion of that to save some money? They've shown a willingness to do exactly that in the past with guys who are free agents at the end of the year (Thome, Iguchi come immediately to mind). They obviously wouldn't if they were still in the race of course, but assuming they fell out, if they could save $3-4 million by moving Peavy midseason, I don't know why they wouldn't.

[Milkman delivers]

You don't think the Sox would eat a portion of that to save some money? They've shown a willingness to do exactly that in the past with guys who are free agents at the end of the year (Thome, Iguchi come immediately to mind). They obviously wouldn't if they were still in the race of course, but assuming they fell out, if they could save $3-4 million by moving Peavy midseason, I don't know why they wouldn't.

 

And they will be, but likely in the same way they're in the race at midseason most years. That is to say, not really in contention, but close enough that people won't admit it.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Milkman delivers

[Balta1701]

And they will be, but likely in the same way they're in the race at midseason most years. That is to say, not really in contention, but close enough that people won't admit it.

If they're at that point while playing Viciedo, Morel, Beckham, Peavy, Rios, Dunn, Humber, and Flowers regularly...this isn't a bad sign.

 

If Danks and Quentin are moved for talent and the team can hover for a year...they will have saved some money, given the younger guys they do have a chance to develop, and worked themselves out from under enough contracts (Jake Peavy) that they can legitimately be a player on the free agent market.

[southsider2k5]

You don't think the Sox would eat a portion of that to save some money? They've shown a willingness to do exactly that in the past with guys who are free agents at the end of the year (Thome, Iguchi come immediately to mind). They obviously wouldn't if they were still in the race of course, but assuming they fell out, if they could save $3-4 million by moving Peavy midseason, I don't know why they wouldn't.

 

Eating $3 million still leaves almost $10 million.

[Balta1701]

Eating $3 million still leaves almost $10 million.

I didn't say eating $3-4 million, i said moving him to save 3-4 million, ie eating the $16-$17 million.

 

If the team is out of the race at the waiver deadline, it's a sunk cost. Might as well save a bit.

[southsider2k5]

I didn't say eating $3-4 million, i said moving him to save 3-4 million, ie eating the $16-$17 million.

 

If the team is out of the race at the waiver deadline, it's a sunk cost. Might as well save a bit.

 

Unless Peavy is pitching pretty well at that point, I doubt it. Odds are if he is pitching well, the team is in it.

[southsider2k5]

Unless Peavy is pitching pretty well at that point, I doubt it. Odds are if he is pitching well, the team is in it.

 

Not to mention I never remember the Sox eating upwards of $10 million

[Balta1701]

Not to mention I never remember the Sox eating upwards of $10 million

They've also never had a contract as large as Peavys before, nor a guy who has underperformed his contract this much.

 

If theyre not willing to eat the cost to save a few mill, then they're worse run than I thought.

[southsider2k5]

They've also never had a contract as large as Peavys before, nor a guy who has underperformed his contract this much.

 

If theyre not willing to eat the cost to save a few mill, then they're worse run than I thought.

 

So what exactly is the cut off of where you eat a bad contract, and how much before you're badly run?

[Balta1701]

So what exactly is the cut off of where you eat a bad contract, and how much before you're badly run?

If the team is out of the race and they can save anything...that's a sunk cost. A team out of the race ought to save what it can.

 

Saving $500k would be better than nothing, again assuming that the team was clearly out.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.chicagonow.com/white-sox-observ...y-williams-way/

 

Kenny Williams insists upon re-building the Kenny Williams way

By James Fegan, Monday at 1:01 am

 

Kenny Williams is willing to shed some of his regulars in exchange for some young, cheap talent. However, he'd appreciate it if that cheap talent came major-league ready.

 

"Williams admitted that the offers might not be overwhelming." I'll say.

 

There's a temptation to rail on about how Williams' complete unwillingness to sacrifice the immediate for the sake of repairing the minor league system and building a more sustainable model for success is frustrating, especially since it now seems to be steering him toward unrealistic and less fulfilling trade scenarios.

 

Or, one could just shrug their shoulders, accept that "Williams gon' Williams", and rationalize that if the White Sox ownership had a strong distaste for hearing their minor league system mocked and ridiculed, they would do something about it, or taken Kenny up on his offers to abdicate the GM role.

 

Trading good, not great regulars for major-league level talent figures to make it pretty difficult to acquire anyone with a high-ceiling, but there's comfort to be taken in that this may be something Kenny Williams might actually be good at.

 

The White Sox 2007 season is often referred to a "secret" rebuilding year--it featured all of the shoddy baseball of a regular one--because of the array of trades for youth pulled off; youth that contributed nearly immediately.

 

In December of 2006, Williams dealt 30 year-old Freddy Garcia coming off of a mediocre season for the now-preposterous haul of 23 year-old Gavin Floyd and 21 year-old Gio Gonzalez. He then followed it up by dealing 23 year-old Brandon McCarthy as he was coming off a mediocre season for 21 year-old John Danks.

 

Neal Cotts-for-David Aardsma and Ross Gload-for-Andy Sisco didn't exactly provide the same wow factor, but those trades followed the same principle of dealing floundering veterans for prospects with mixed-results at higher levels. Floyd had spent three seasons bouncing back-and-forth between Triple-A and the big leagues, and Danks had been dealing with homer issues since advancing past High-A.

 

Despite his young age and lack of polish, Danks didn't throw a pitch for a White Sox minor league team until his rehab start this past season, and Floyd only spent time in Charlotte in '07 due to a horrific Spring Training. Aardsma and Sisco were allowed to implode at U.S. Cellular as well. Only the packaged-with-Floyd Gio Gonzalez could not be considered major-league ready...and he was predictably flipped for Nick Swisher the following off-season.

 

This is far from a perfect guarantee of success. The greatness of these two deals didn't prevent Danks or Floyd from providing minimal value to the big league club for all of 2007, and the sting of a 90-loss season probably doesn't strike Williams as something he'd gladly repeat. Prospects are valued by franchises (besides this one) more than ever these days, and the Danks deal irked plenty even at the time.

 

A prospect of John's caliber being dealt at a reasonable price, and Garcia's shoulder blowing out to make his trade look even better, were both somewhat fluky occurrences that may not be a great road map for the future.

 

However, while concern definitely seems merited for Kenny Williams' big-ticket expenditures, having him operate with a mind for limiting costs and scouring for talented reclamation projects that play on the advantage of employing Don Cooper was at least successful the last time it was tried.

 

The next time the White Sox do a proper rebuilding and revitalization of their minor league system, Kenny Williams will probably be retired, in prison, or deceased, but at least he's doing what he's good at.

 

Or promising to. Or hinting at it. It's something, I guess.