Sox-O-Meter... The Ken Griffey Trade

Well, by now everyone's certainly heard that the White Sox acquired Ken Griffey, Jr. from the Reds today for Nick Masset and Danny Richar. Let's analyze!

1 Sox = getting/giving this player will not do well for the White Sox, 5 Sox = Having/unloading this player will be awesome for the Pale Hose.

KEN GRIFFEY, JR.
Obviously not the player he was even a few years, ago but can still be an impact bat. He still gets on base at a .355 clip, but he's only slugging .432 this season, down over 100 points from his career average and 50-60 points below both of his last 2 seasons. All this despite playing in the bandbox known as The Great American Ballpark.

PROS: Despite some injury troubles in Cincinnati, he's been remarkably healthy the last 2 years, playing in 246 of the Reds' 271 games in '07 and '08. As I said, I still like his OBP and his 61/64 BB:K ratio is something that is sorely lacking on this team. For reference, that is 1 walk for every 1.05 strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Sox have collectively walked 372 times and struck out 667 times; a walk every 1.79 strikeouts. The Reds are picking up a chunk of Griffey's contract and the Sox really didn't give up much to acquire him.

CONS: Well, I don't know where he's going to play. Griffey has not played a game in CF since September 4, 2006. He's been in RF for the last 2 years, and while his numbers are still all right (7 outfield assists... Nice), I don't know if Old Legs is really the answer the Sox were looking for defensively. Sandwiched between Quentin and Dye, that's got to be one of the league's slower outfields, but the White Sox play in one the smaller outfields.

VERDICT


A nice pickup, he's another left-handed bat to break up the righty dominated middle of the Sox order and if the rumors are true, he's replacing Paul Konerko in the lineup. Couple that with the reduced salary the Sox are paying and the fact that Williams didn't have to part with any big-time prospects. A classic low-risk, high-reward trade.

NICK MASSET
Masset came to the Sox in the McCarthy-Danks trade and was never able to wiggle his way into the Sox rotation. Though he's only started a pair of games, he's looked good in both. Of course, we remember his memorable win over Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs last season, but in his time in the White Sox bullpen, Masset had his successes and failures.

PROS: Not a whole lot from the White Sox perspective. Masset struggled in the bullpen and with 4 veteran starters ahead of him and a handful of more intriguing pitchers behind him, Masset was never going to get a chance to pitch every 5th day in Chicago. He may be able to win that opportunity with the Reds.

CONS: Again, not that many. Granted, the White Sox bullpen has been a mess lately, but Masset's not the answer. His career ERA in the bullpen is 5.75 and a whopping 8.31 in the 2nd half of the season. I think Nick still has a promising future if he can learn how to harness all his pitches, but he wasn't going to be a key guy for the Sox in 2008.

VERDICT

I mean, he's still on the 25-man roster so the Sox obviously felt he was better (or at least, more polished) than the arms in Charlotte and Birmingham, but his future is not with this organization.

DANNY RICHAR
Though he looked to be the starting second baseman when Spring Training started in February, visa troubles and injuries completely derailed his season. Currently he's hitting .262/.321/.427 with the Knights.

PROS/CONS: Richar made himself expendable and the White Sox suddenly find themselves flush with middle infield talent. Alexei Ramirez is obviously a keeper, he's had a great rookie season in Chicago with presumably a few years of maturing to go. Chris Getz is having a nice little year in Charlotte and has made himself a fan favorite of Sox farmhand watchers. Hell, 1st round pick Gordon Beckham may only need a few seasons of seasoning before he's ready to debut in the Show, if he's as good as the hype. Double hell, even Juan Uribe, who is a superior defensive infielder has even looked somewhat competent with the bat since getting PT to cover for Joe Crede.

All in all, middle infield is a position of depth and strength for the White Sox. While Richar might have been a nice option at 2nd base if Orlando Cabrera doesn't resign with the Sox (which he reportedly won't), it's not like the cupboard is bare. Williams has supposedly been taking a long hard look at Orlando Hudson, the Diamondbacks second baseman who will be a free agent this winter. OK, so the last 2 FA's Williams targeted were Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, and we know how that worked out, but there are a lot of options, with or without Danny.

VERDICT

No real loss here. Danny's a nice talent, but he's not a blue chipper, and if he's the pivotal player you give up in a deal, you can't be very upset.

A Very Special 3 Up, 3 Down... From Sick Bay

I hope you all don't think I've been conspicuously absent these past few days because the Sox have been taking lumps from the Twins and I'm only back because they walloped Minnesota, 8-3 tonight to assure that, at very worst, they will leave the Little Dome of Horrors with sole possession of 1st place. Nope, just been a busy week; caught the Peoria Chiefs game tonight and no, there was no onfield brawl/felonious assault this time (Editor's note: Drats).

Anyways, let's get down to the nitty gritty...

1 UP - Bobby Jenks' Shoulder

While I have no formal evidence to back this up, I don't believe there's much of a coincidence by the fact that as soon as Bobby Jenks landed on the D.L. and the comfortable positions the rest of the bullpen had settled into became disrupted that everything fell apart. While I can't say if Boone Logan would be struggling, or Scott Linebrink would be hurting, or that Ehren Fucking Wassermann would be back up (Seriously!), but at least since his return Jenks hasn't missed a beat. While he's only pitched in 4 games since the All-Star Break, he's been lights out, allowing a single hit and single walk in those 4 innings for an Opponents' OBP of .143 and 3 saves in 3 chances. True the rest of the bullpen is in various stages of "tatters" right now, at least Jenks has firmly reestablished himself as the rock in the 9th inning that everything builds on from there.

1 DOWN - Joe Crede's Back

On a personal level and team level, Crede's recent stint on the D.L. is very disheartening. For Crede, this injury probably cost him a fortune and perhaps his time in Chicago is truly winding to an end. When he erupted for a sizzling open to the season, there were shouts for a contract extension, but now that Crede's durability questions have raised from "troublesome" to "ORANGE ALERT," the megadeal he was looking to cash in on may never come. Added that, the Sox still have Josh Fields in the background, lurking and waiting to take over at third base, no matter how little sense that seem to make. You really have to wonder if they'd consider talking to a now oft-injured Scott Boras client who still can probably sucker some team into giving him more than he's realistically worth.

However, at the team level, Crede's injury sucks ass because now Fields and his lack of defense will patrol the hot corner (or it will be Juan "No Bat" Uribe). Though Crede says it's no big thing, that's awfully hard to fully believe. We need you back, Joe.

2 UP - Carlos Quentin's Shoulder

Though Quentin has had no injury problems in Chicago, his durability was one of the reasons he was shown the door in Arizona and why he almost missed the bus ride north from Tucson (at this rate, Jerry Owens' groin should be enshrined in the White Sox Hall of Fame). Regardless, Quentin's been a beast all season long, his first full one at the Major League level and shows no sign of letting up. Even before tonight's 3/5, HR, 4 RBI performance that paced the Sox to this important victory, Quentin's been hitting .302/8/18 over his last 16 games with a .397 OPB and a .746 slugging percentage.

Quentin's durability concerns have always been in the back of my mind, especially considering he's been plunked 14 times now, tied for the most in the American League, but his steady hitting has been one of the few constants for the White Sox this season.

2 DOWN - Whatever the Hell is Wrong with Paul Konerko

It's been a rough year for Konerko. From that mysterious thumb injury that he tried to play through for way to long to whatever physical and/or mental ailment is bringing him down now, Konerko's having a season to forget on a personal level. Do you realize now that he's slugging worse than anyone who is still in the White Sox organization and has more than 20 at bats? .351, yikes. As a means of comparison, here's the production the other division leaders in baseball are getting from their first basemen:

• Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays: .236 (eww)/.340/.447
• Casey Kotchman, Los Angeles Angels*: .287/.327/.448
• Carlos Delgado, New York Mets: .263/.347/.497
• Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs: .298/.359/.495
• Connor Jackson, Arizona D'backs: .321/.404/.507

*I know Kotchman was just dealt to Atlanta, but he played 100 games for LA this year, so he still counts as "the regular."

Anyway, my point stands that the Sox are getting shortstop-quality production out of a premier power position. I don't know what Paul's problems are. Is this still all physical, or does coming up to bat and seeing that .213 season batting average on the JumboTron make you press a little harder than you should? Its seriously time to question whether or not the Sox would be better off placing Konerko on the bench for a little bit, moving Swisher to 1st (in the time he filled in for Konerko at 1st, he hit .256/.366/.474 with 4 HR and 15 RBI in 24 games) and play Anderson or Wise in CF everyday. It's really come to that; Konerko or Anderson/Wise.

What a cruel, cruel bitch this game can be.

3 UP - Jose Contreras' Elbow

No, I'm not celebrating the fact that Contreras has been on the D.L., I'm just wishing that his struggles as of late have been caused by a sore elbow he wasn't telling anyone about. We all know that when Jose is feeling good and mentally sound, he's downright dominating. His run that stretched from '05 to '06 was incredible and for a while this season, he was arguably the Sox's best pitcher, but since June 10, he's not been able to get anyone out, allowing a .366 BAA in 7 starts.

I don't know if Jose has reached the end of his line, but I can hope that there's still a few more games left in his tank.

3 DOWN - Scott Linebrink's Shoulder

Linebrink's been on the disabled list since July 23rd, but he's only pitched a handful of ineffective innings in about a month now. In the same way Jenks' abesence seemed to reek havoc on the state of comfortable predictability that pervaded the Sox's bullpen, the same can be said for the loss of Linebrink. Truthfully, the answer may be the no bullpen can truly recover from simultaneously losing their set-up man and All-Star closer, but the White Sox bullpen has been really, really bad as of late. Hopefully some extended R&R is what Linebrink needs to come back ready as ever for the final push for the pennant.

Top 10 Trades of the Kenny Williams Era, Part 2

Note: I ran Part 1 last night. This part will cover the top 5 trades Kenny Williams has made since becoming General Manager of the White Sox in the winter of 2000. Check back in the next few days when I go over his worst trades (I'm still a Sox fan, I can't be positive all the time, ya'know).

# 5 - December 20, 2005 - Acquired Javier Vazquez from the Diamondbacks for Orlando Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino, and Chris Young

Not resting on his World Title, Williams made two huge splashes in the off-season between '05 and '06. While the Thome/Rowand trade has thus far been a push (Thome was the power hitting lefty missing in the middle of the Sox's order, Rowand has continued his high play elsewhere while center field remains a hole for the White Sox), the Vazquez deal with Arizona has been very positive for the Sox, even with Javier's recent struggles.

Williams is a definite subscriber to the age-old adage of never having enough pitching and in this trade, he was able to pick up a 29-year-old horse who is on pace to top 200 IP for the 4th season in a row (3 with the White Sox). Though his recent struggles have been a concern, in his 554.1 innings in Chicago, he still has an ERA of 4.38, good and even better when you consider Williams only had to give up an aging, oft-injured starter who has barely thrown 300 innings in 3 seasons since leaving Chicago, an aging reliever who pitched well in 2006, but has steadily declined since then, and the crown jewel of the trade for the Diamondbacks - Chris Young, currently their 24-year-old starting center fielder. True, Young was heralded as a potential 30/30 man, and he came close in 2007, his true rookie season when he hit 32 home runs and stole 28 bases in 148 games for the N.L. West champs, but Young has regressed terribly this season, especially on the basepaths were he has only swiped 8 bags and is still hitting in the .234 and slugging .412 and again is on pace to finish on the N.L.'s leaderboard for strikeouts. Young is still maturing and can become a dependable player, maybe even a perpetual All-Star, but it's clear that he was not the blue-chip, sure thing that many felt he was when the Sox dealt him before the 2006 season, and when you can trade away prospects for veteran, reliable pitchers, you have to make that trade.

# 4 - December 23, 2006 - Acquired John Danks, Nick Masset, and Jacob Rasner from the Rangers for Brandon McCarthy and David Paisano

In another particularly unpopular move, Williams shipped McCarthy south to the Rangers for a trio of young pitchers. McCarthy burst on the scene in Chicago in 2005, filling in for Orlando Hernandez when El Duque broke down towards the season's end. McCarthy appeared in 12 games for the White Sox, 10 of them starts, and finished a respectable 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA. Most fans remember his start at Fenway Park on Labor Day 2005, when the youngster shut down the powerful Red Sox for 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 7 en route to a 5-3 victory and he seemed destined for great things in the South Side pinstripes.

However when the Rangers made Danks, the 9th pick of the 2003 Draft, available, Williams pounced and dealt McCarthy for Danks to wide criticism. All John did was earn a spot on in the rotation in 2007 and pitched well for half the season before he started to wear down. This season, at only 23 years old, the lefty has been the steady rock in the White Sox rotation, who is still in the Top 10 of the American League ERA leaders despite 2 recent subpar starts.

McCarthy meanwhile, has struggled with both performance and injury since joining the Rangers. Though he's still only 25 years old, he has not yet lived to the promise he seemed poised to keep in the Summer of 2005.

# 3 - July 31, 2004 - Acquired Jose Contreras from the Yankees for Esteban Loaiza

After winning 21 games for the Sox in 2003, Esteban Loaiza earned a 2nd straight All-Star appearance in 2004 despite not having the same stuff and at the Trade Deadline, in a move overshadowed by the Cubs/Red Sox/Twins/Expos megadeal that moved 8 players, the crafty Williams sold Loaiza high and bought Contreras low. Never living to his hype when he escaped from Cuba the previous year, the Yankees grew tired of Contreras and finally dealt him for the 2-time All-Star.

The rest is history. Loaiza struggled terribly for the Yankees, winning only 1 game in 6 starts and eventually being demoted to the bullpen before bouncing around 4 more organizations in the next 4 years (including the Sox again), while Jose Contreras became one of the most important parts to the White Sox's championship puzzle. In the 2nd half of the 2005 season, Contreras went 11-2 in 15 starts with an ERA of 2.96 in 103 innings and went 3-1 during the '05 Play-off Run, starting all 3 Game 1's for the Sox.

# 2 - June 27, 2004 - Acquired Freddy Garcia and Ben Davis from the Mariners for Jeremy Reed, Miguel Olivo, and Mike Morse

In another brilliant mid-season acquisition, Williams pried Garcia from Seattle for 3 of the Sox's best prospects. While it may be hard to remember now, at the time, Freddy was arguably the most coveted pitcher in baseball. With the Mariners tanking, it was only a question of when and to whom would Garcia be traded and good money was on juggernauts such as the Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox, or Mets. For the 2nd straight year, Williams jumped on one of the game's premier pitchers and brought him to the Sox.

True, at the time, Jeremy Reed and especially Miguel Olivo were thought to be critical pieces of the White Sox future, but both have fizzled since being dealt. Reed was the M's starting center fielder in 2005, but since then has been at best a utility man and, at worst, a AAAA hitter. Reed has hit .321/.386/.476 in 495 career Minor League games and has hit .253/.313/.364 in 287 games at the Major League level. Olivo, too, has struggled since the deal. When the trade went down, Miguel was quickly becoming a fan favorite and dependable catcher with the bonus of having a nice bat. Since then, he's bounced from Seattle, to San Diego, Florida, and most recently, as the Royals' back up catcher.

Garcia, meanwhile, lived to the promise. He won 9 games in 16 starts with the White Sox in 2004 and went 14-8 with a 3.87 ERA in 2005 and won the World Series clincher by pitching 7 strong, scoreless innings, and his contributions don't stop there because...

# 1 -December 7, 2006 - Acquired Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez from the Phillies for Freddy Garcia

After his disappointing 2006 season, it was pretty clear that Garcia's arm had been taxed by throwing 200+ innings in 7 of the 8 seasons between his Major League debut in 1999 and 2006. Yet somehow, Williams was able to turn Freddy into Floyd, Philadelphia's 1st round (4th overall) pick in the 2001 Draft and Gonzalez, whom the Sox had traded to Philadelphia the previous year in the Rowand/Thome deal. Though Gio would eventually be packaged fro the 3rd straight year to Oakland, Floyd has become the top-notch starter the Phillies thought they drafted. Though he struggled in 2007, Williams and the Sox coaching staff trusted Gavin enough to pretty much hand him a spot in the rotation in 2008 and he has more than earned their trust, carrying a no-hitter into the final third of a game twice already this season, and is currently 10-6 with a 3.57 ERA.

Unfortunately for Freddy, it's been almost all bad since his departure from the White Sox. He was only able to give the Phillies 11 starts and 58 innings in 2007 before breaking down from shoulder injuries. Though he has reported to be ready to help a contender as soon as this season, it's at best questionable that he could make a full recovery and be an everyday starter again. That Williams was able to get not 1, but 2 young promising starters for his 1 broken down horse, is to this point, the very best trade he has made in his tenure.

Check back either tomorrow or later in the week when I run over Williams' worst trades. As for tonight, enjoy the Sox-Twins game. Though a win would be immensely more enjoyable, after last year's debacle, just be grateful that we're only days removed from August and the Sox are still playing meaningful baseball games.

This is Kind of a Big Deal... at Minnesota, July 28-31

MINNESOTA TWINS

Well, well, well... Here we are, with just over 2 months left in the season and the White Sox holding a 2½ game lead on the Twins with a very important series in the Metrodome. Cue the early-2000's nightmares.

OFFENSE: 510 Runs (5th in A.L.), 4.90 RPG (5th), 71 HR (last in A.L.), .278 BA (3rd), .315 BA with RISP (1st)

PITCHING: 4.29 team ERA (9th), 250 BB (best in A.L.), .278 BAA (13th), 3.22 Home ERA (2nd), 5.76 ERA in last 7 days (11th)

WHY I'M TERRIFIED: All I need to do is think about seeing eye singles off Keith Foulke find holes in the infield, Carlos Lee losing balls in the white ceiling, and Torii Hunter robbing us of everything from shallow singles to home runs over the baggy in center field. Minnesota is 34-19 at home this season and they've stayed in this race despite every indication they shouldn't.

WHY I'M CONFIDENT: The last time these two teams met in early June, the Sox held a 2½ game lead on the Twins and absolutely mauled them to the tune of a 4-game sweep at the Cell in which the Sox outscored Minnesota 40-15. Despite the Sox's recent pitching struggles, the Twins have been just as bad; they're 5.76 ERA over the past week is one of the worst in baseball and almost a full run worse than the American League average over that time span.

THEIR LAST SERIES: Won 2 of 3 from the Indians in Cleveland.

PROBABLE PITCHERS: We lead off with our ace, Mark Buehrle tonight, who is 10-5 with a 4.02 career ERA at the Metrodome in 17 career games (15 starts). The Twins counter with Kevin Slowey who was rocked by the Sox in his last start against us, pitching only 3 innings and allowing 8 runs on 10 hits.

Tuesday, Clayton Richard makes his 2nd career start of his career and his first on the road. The Twins have not announced who will counter Richard, but that would be Glen Perkins' spot in the rotation. He pitched well in his last start and I can't find any health-related reason why he wouldn't go Tuesday, but if not Perkins; Franciso Liraino?

Wednesday, Gavin Floyd gets the start and 2nd chance to no-hit the Twins. Of course, Floyd took a no-no into the 9th on May 6th before having it broken up by Joe Mauer. Livan Hernandez will look to eat some more innings for Minnesota, however, in 6 starts since his last start against the Sox, Livan has pitched only 34 innings and has an unsightly 5.77 ERA and .336 BAA.

Finally, in the finale, its a battle of staff-low ERA's. John Danks (3.18) and Scott Baker (3.38) tangle for the 2nd time this season. On April 9, Baker defeated Danks in Chicago in a 12-5 Twins win. Danks allowed 7 runs in just over 2 innings of work, while Baker was slightly more effectve, pitching just enough innings to qualify for the win while allowing 3 runs.

Top 10 Trades of the Kenny Williams Era (Part 1)

With the MLB Trade Deadline on Thursday and the White Sox involved in trade rumors with teams from Boston to Oakland and seemingly everyone else in between, it seems like a natural time to look back on Kenny Williams' career to date. Since taking office in late 2000, Williams has been the model of an aggressive GM, willing to trade away even the most highly touted prospects for Major League talent. Considering it was Williams' plan and execution that brought the White Sox their first World Championship in 88 years, it's hard to be very critical of his work; while at times (especially early times), Williams seemed overmatched and out of his league, his recent work has, at times, been nothing short of brilliant.

So, in honor of the deals (and no-deals), brewing in the White Sox front office, here are the ten best trades KW has pulled off since his tenure as General Manager began...

TO SOON TO CALL: December 3, 2007 - Acquired Carlos Quentin from the Diamondbacks for Chris Carter.

While Quentin has been one of the major breakout stories of 2008, it's important to remember that one of the major reasons the Sox were able to pry the highly touted prospect from the Diamondbacks were questions of his durability. In two injury-shortened seasons in Arizona, Quentin never fully displayed the potential he showed at Stanford and 4 seasons in the Arizona farm system. While this deal will seemingly undoubtedly one day be in Williams' top 10 (and maybe be his best ever), with only a little over 1/2 season after the fact, it's still too early to properly gauge this deal. However, at this point, the only way it seems that this could even be considered a push, would be for Quentin to completely break down and Carter to develop into the power-hitting first baseman he could possibly become. Currently, Carter is hitting .261/27/83 for the Stockton Ports, a High-A team in the Athletics' organization (Carter was later dealed by Arizona to Oakland in part for Danny Haren), however his numbers and growth are paled by Quentin, who at the same age was already in AA and had a higher slugging percentage, with almost 20 less home runs (showing a total power package and not an all-or-nothing approach).

#10 - January 29, 2002 - Acquired Willie Harris from the Orioles for Chris Singleton

After three quality seasons in center field for the White Sox, Williams shipped then 29-year-old Singleton for Harris, and while Willie never developed into the second baseman the Sox hoped they'd acquired, he provided the team with 4 years of dependable play as a utility man and pinch runner. He also scored the deciding run in Game 4 of the World Series and Singleton only played full-time for 1 season in Baltimore and 1 more in Oakland before finishing his career in late May of 2005 with the Devil Rays.

#9 - July 31, 2007 - Acquired Jon Link from the Padres for Rob Mackowiak

If there's still one valid criticism of Williams its been his inability to turn veteran MLB players into quality young prospects during during down years, and while that's not necessarily a big problem for someone from a market like Chicago, it's still valid criticism. However, at last year's trade deadline, he was able to deal Mackowiak, an overplayed, under-performing utility outfielder/infielder (at best) for Link, a relief pitcher having a nice season in Lake Elsinore, the Padre's High-A ball team. However, in 2008, Mackowiak hasn't appeared in a Major League game since early June when he was hitting .132/.254/.208. Link has blossomed in his first full year in the White Sox's farm system. Link's notched 27 saves in Birmingham, with a 1.77 ERA and striking out just about 1 batter per inning. He was named to the Southern League All-Star Game and has become even more important with the rash of injuries and ineffectiveness that has plagued the Sox bullpen; Link may be seen sooner than later.

# 8 - March 27, 2002 - Acquired Damaso Marte and Edwin Yan from the Pirates for Matt Guerrier

After posting several solid seasons in the White Sox system, including an 18-win campaign in 2 stops in 2001, Guerrier seemed destined for, if not stardom, at least a solid career in the Majors, but days before the 2002 season started, Williams shipped Guerrier to Pittsburgh for Marte and Yan. Though Edwin's never panned out as a Major Leaguer despite stealing 88 bases in 2002 and 76 in 2003, Marte was, for the most part, a dependable left-handed reliever who peaked in 2003 when he posted a 1.58 ERA in just under 80 innings. Guerrier, on the other hand, has failed to live to his promise. Since debuting in June of 2004, Guerrier has only started 3 games, the last on September 12, 2006. True, Guerrier's been a dependable reliever, but for a guy who a few years ago seemed destined for a job in a starting rotation, you can't complain too much about giving him up.

# 7 - March 20, 2006 - Acquired Matt Thornton from the Mariners for Joe Borchard

In a swap of failed first round picks, its hard to argue with the Sox's results here. Thornton's had his ups and downs, but so far the hard-throwing lefty has been a rock in the bullpen, throwing nearly 40 innings and posting a 2.50 ERA. The change of scenery never helped Borchard, who's bounced around 3 organizations over the past 3 seasons, and is currently playing for the Richmond Braves in AAA, and while he's hitting .274, he's not belting out 29 home runs per season (like he did for the Charlotte Knights in 2005), Williams was able to turn the failed prospect for a reliable lefty out of the bullpen.

#6 - January 15, 2003 - In a three-team trade with the Yankees and Expos, acquired Bartolo Colon and Jorge Nunez for Antonio Osuna, Delvis Lantigua, Rocky Biddle, and Jeff Liefer

This was truly Williams 1st big splash in the trading market. Though he dealt for starting pitchers in the past (David Wells and Todd Ritchie), Colon was the first highly sought after starter that the Sox landed. Though there were plenty of rumors that the Yankees helped pull the deal off to keep Colon from the Red Sox, he ultimately spent 2003 on the South Side. None of the players the Sox gave up ever amounted to much; Biddle spent 2 seasons with the Expos and never pitched more than 80 innings in a season, Leifer bounced around between the Expos, Devil Rays, Brewers, and Indians and is most notable for getting locked in a bathroom during a Spring Training game, Osuna had a nice looking ERA but only pitched about 90 innings in 3 MLB seasons after the trade, and Lantigua apparently never pitched again.

Colon was everything the Sox expected, winning 15 games for a Sox team that should have made the post-season, and while his career in Chicago was short, Colon netted the Sox a pair of compensation picks in the Sandwich Round and 2nd Round of the 2004 Draft from the Angels that turned into Tyler Lumsden and Wes Whisler. Though Colon didn't lead the Sox past September, the excitement and fulfillment of this trade proved that Williams had grown into one of the league's better general managers able to find premium talent and acquire them for scraps, which will be a theme in part 2.

Part 2 (Trades 1-5) in the next few days and then a day or two later, Williams' worst trades.

Don't fuck with the White Sox & Sobering News from the Infirmary (even more!)

Let's get one thing straight before I begin... These are season-defining wins. This isn't just a "flash in the pan." or "give us some hope for next year," type shit that all of us are so used to (remember Kip Wells' audition at the end of the '99 season when he looked like the stud pitcher we'd been waiting for since Black Jack?).

No, the White Sox aren't just finding exciting ways to win, they're finding ways to win that make you want to believe that they're up to something special. I don't like using the cliche "oh, it's 2005 all over again!" line because there are already so many differences between these White Sox and their World Champion predecessors, however, I'll be damned if this doesn't feel like a little like most other championship seasons I've been privy, too. And of course, as a Chicago sports fan, that's like asking a Martian to describe water and I know that despite the dramatics and improbably comebacks, it's only 2 games, but sometimes two games transcend the standings and calendar because of the way they make you feel. The confidence they instill in you that, no matter how terrible the defense may look or how overmatched they may look at the dish, they're not going to go down until they've played every trick in their bag and ace up their sleeve.

If Quentin's 3-run bomb on Wednesday wasn't clutch enough for you, how about JD tonigt? Bottom of the ninth, down by a run, facing Detroit's closer (who, granted can be a gascan, but does have 319 career saves), and one strike away from ending the game. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

To douse the party with some cold water, Gavin Floyd had himself a so-so game, but the defense has been atrocious in both wins. The errors and mental mistakes the Sox have been making the field need to be corrected ASAP, but for now, everything is good in White Sox-ville.

Wednesday's recaps: B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play | Chicago Tribune | Associated Press | MLB.com Wrap | Soxmachine.com

Tonight's recaps: B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play | Chicago Tribune | Associated Press | MLB.com Wrap | Soxmachine.com

Clayton Richard looked good in his MLB debut Wednesday against the Rangers. I mean, he didn't look great, but considering he was starting his first game against the American League's best offense, I can't complain too much. The shoddy defense behind him surely didn't help, but he worked very quickly and looked poised enough to throw his fastball and breaking balls for strikes. Ozzie was impressed, and Richard earned a second start against Minnesota.

And now, I need to mention Alexei Ramirez, and not for his 3-4 performance tonight against Detroit but for the play he made Wednesday afternoon against Texas. I'm sure you've seen it, but if not, here it is again. It's jaw-dropping, and as good as any defensive play I can remember someone on the Sox pulling off... From Durham's back-to-the-infield running catch in the home opener of 2000, to Uribe's dive into the stands during the World Series, and Tadahito's gravity-defying assist last season, that ranks up there, and his play has rightfully earned attention and praise both locally and nationally.

More bad news, as you're probably aware, Joe Crede was placed on the 15-Day D.L., Josh Fields was brought up from AAA Charlotte, and he started at third tonight. Josh went 1-3 with a walk and run scored tonight, but he did commit an error. Hopefully Joe is fine for personal reasons, but it's a shame because this injury probably will cost him a fortune; Crede's stellar play at the start of the year silenced the doubters about his surgically repaired back, but now those questions will be raised. Barring a miracle October (which I wouldn't mind), Joe's wallet will be much lighter.

Joe Cowley is also reporting that Scott Linebrink may join Contreras and Crede on the Sox's ever-growing Disabled List. No decision until tomorrow morning.

Elsewhere around the Central, the Twins dropped a 5-4 decision to the Indians at the Prog. Twins centerfielder Carlos Gomez had to be carted off the field in a neck brace after crashing into the left/center wall in Cleveland while making an outstanding catch in the first inning. Luckily, it sounds like Gomez will be OK (or at least, there's no serious nerve injuries), and I wish him the best. Though we're in a tight race with the Twins, you don't want to see it come to that. Cleveland's win keeps them at pace with the Royals for last place in the Central, as the Royals beat the Rays 4-2 in Kansas City. Both the Royals and Twins are 13 games behind the Sox.

Trade rumors continue to swirl around the White Sox, and it's getting to be too much to keep up with, so here's a quick run down of some stories regarding the White Sox:

• The White Sox are believed to be a suitor for Seattle's Jarrod Washburn.
• Don't expect to see the Red Sox and White Sox make a trade involving Juan Uribe.
• The White Sox are making a push for Justin Duchscherer, but an asking price of Josh Fields and Aaron Poreda is way too high.
• Peter Gammons says the White Sox are also looking seriously at Huston Street.
• Finally, the big deal that was being rumored was a deal with the Dodgers in which the Sox would acquire a pitcher like Derek Lowe in exchange for Orlando Cabrera.
  
• Don't get excited/worried about seeing Damaso Marte return to the South Side. Pittsburgh's LOOGY and Xavier Nady were dealt to the Yankees (I'm sure he won't wilt under the pressure).

Despite Kenny Williams' warning that the Sox might be quiet this deadline, they've been very active behind the scenes, but so far nothing to really report. I guess the Sox cut Esteban Loaiza, but that's not really shocking after watching him pitch a few weeks ago with nothing on any of his pitches.

Next Series: at Detroit, July 25-27

DETROIT TIGERS (52-49, 3rd, 5<sub>½ GB)
When the Tigers pulled the trigger on the megadeal that brought Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, baseball experts and prognosticators couldn't keep themselves from gushing over Detroit... Would they win 100 games? Would they return to the World Series? How great will the AL Central race between Detroit and Cleveland be? Bla, bla, bla. Flash forward to the end of July and the Tigers have been buried in the Central pretty much since Day 1, and just in time for a macthup with the Sox, they're playing good ball again. After fighting to get back to .500 in mid-June, Detroit sort of floated with a break-even record until this past week, when the salvaged the final game of their series in Baltimore and swept the Royals in Kansas City. Riding a 4-game win streak, they sit only 5½ games behind the closest they've been to the division lead since they were 42-40 and 5 games back on July 1.

OFFENSE: 507 R (3rd in A.L.), 5.02 RPG (3rd), 969 H (3rd), 115 HR (3rd), .276 Team BA (4th)
PITCHING: 4.36 ERA (11th), .266 BAA (9th), 4.44 Starter ERA (9th), 4.22 Bullpen ERA (12th)
HOME SPLITS: .302 BA (2nd), .361 OBP (3rd), .492 SLG (2nd), 4.41 ERA (12th)

LAST 10 SOX/DET GAMES: Memorably, the Tigers swept the last series between these two, a 3-game set in mid June at Comerica. That was the series immediately after the Sox's 4-game sweep of Minnesota. The teams met 6 times in April, in Detroit during the first weekend of the series that the Sox swept (which concluded with that 13-2 pounding of Justin Verlander and the Tigers on ESPN), and then the next weekend at the Cell, in which the Sox took 2 of 3 from Detroit, including back-to-back shutouts. The Sox's 7-0 win over Detroit on April 12 was the first of Gavin Floyd's flirtations with a no-no. The Tigers beat the White Sox on the last day of the 2007 season, so the team have split their last 10 right down the middle.

NON-OBVIOUS PLAYER TO WATCH: In a lineup full of sluggers like Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, and Gary Sheffield you might be surprised to find that Marcus Thames leads the team in home runs and is outslugging everyone who has picked up a bat for Detroit outside of Matt Joyce (another guy, I guess to watch).

PROBABLE PITCHERS: Tonight, Gavin Floyd takes the hill for the Sox. His career against the Tigers has been well documented and brilliant, Gavin has started 6 games against Detroit over the last two years and has allowed only 12 total runs, good for an ERA of 2.43 and record of 3-0. Detroit counters with Nate Robertson, who had a career year for the Tigers during the World Series run in 2006, but has been on the downslide since, though that's not shocking as his career ERA is 4.74 and the Sox have hit him well, especially big guns like Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome, who are hitting .371/5/9 and .471/2/3 against him respectively.

Tomorrow night, John Danks looks to rebound from his first truly bad outing since April 9. Danks' ERA was pushed over 3 for the first time since June 9, but he is still in the Top 5 of the American League. Justin Verlander will start for Detroit, and while he got off to a rocky start this season, he has turned his shit around since he was 1-7 with an ERA over 6 on May 14. In 12 starts since then, he's gone 7-2 with a 2.53 ERA in 81.2 innings and a BAA that's under .200. If there is one alarming stat, however, it would be lower than usual K/BB ratio, which even during his good stretch is right around 2:1.

Finally, Javier Vazquez goes for the Sox in Sunday afternoon's finale against Zach Miner. Vazquez has pitched poorly of late and Comerica Park has not been his friend. Though he did throw a 5-hit shutout against the Tigers in Detroit on May 22, 2005 (while still a member of the Diamondbacks), since joining the Sox in 2006, allowing 11 earned runs in his other 9.1 IP. Miner, who has only started 2 games since 2006, started Monday at Kansas City and pitched 6 innings of scoreless ball. He started 1 game in May of last year in a double header against the Red Sox in which he took the loss despite the fact he gave up only 1 earned run in 5.1 innings, but was used as a reliever from there on out. In 2006, he appeared in 27 games for the American League champs, starting 16 of them, but he also posted his career high ERA of 4.84.

Notes: Reflections on Wednesday's comeback, Clayton Richard's debut, a rundown of some more Sox-related news items, and this week's Minor League Recap will come tonight, since I can't watch the game... Fucking WCIU.</sub>

The Ballad of Clayton Richard

When 2008 started, Clayton Richard wasn't even a Top 10 prospect in the White Sox farm system. In that short time he has started the Futures Game for Team USA, almost made it to the Olympics, and tomorrow will make his Major League debut against Texas.

But who is this guy?

He was born in September 12, 1983 in Lafayette, Indiana and attended McCutcheon High School where he developed into a star quarterback, and was at one time named one of the top football recruits in the Midwest by Rivals.com. Richard accepted a football scholarship to play at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2003, but instead, Richard was redshirted his freshman year. In 2004, he battled for the starting spot on the team, but lost out to Chad Henne. Richard was the Wolverine's #2 quarterback that season, but he saw limited action, mostly in garbage time of blowout wins over Miami (Ohio), Indiana, and Northwestern. Richard appeared in 4 total games for the Wolverines in 2004, only attempting 15 passes for 8 completions and 52 total yards.

The following spring, Richard joined the Wolverines baseball team and pitched well. In his one season in Ann Arbor, Richard pitched 21 games, mostly as a reliever and compiled a 0-1 record with a 2.43 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and 27 K's in 33.1 IP, good for a 7.29 K/9 innings ratio. The Wolverines were 42-19 that season and finished 4th in the Big 10 with a 17-12 conference record. They were the 3rd seed in the Atlanta Regional of the College Baseball Tournament, but were eliminated in the 2nd round of the Regionals, losing both games to South Carolina by 1 run.

Richard's baseball career, however, would continue. In the June Draft, the White Sox selected the 6'5'' lefty in the 8th round. He was the 2nd player from Michigan drafted, the first being Chris Getz, also selected by the Sox in the 4th round. Richard pitched in Great Falls and Kannapolis in 2005, dominated Rookie Ball and struggling in limited work in A-ball. After starting his baseball career with moderate success, Richard dropped his football scholarship at Michigan and focused on baseball full-time.

He spent most of 2006 with the Low-A Ball Kannapolis Intimidators, and while the Intimidators themselves were terrible, Richard found success, starting 17 games and posting a 3.66 ERA. He also started 4 games in Winston-Salem with the same success. Richard spent 2007 entirely in Winston-Salem, and was part of a good pitching staff that had a sub-4.00 ERA on the season. That earned Clayton a promotion to AA Birmingham for the start of the 2008 season where he continued to impress. Though he only had a 6-6 record, Richard posted a 2.47 ERA and a WHIP under 1 in Birmingham and was moved to AAA Charlotte in the middle of the season, where he won all 6 games he started, struck out 29 over 38 innings and had a 2.37 ERA and ridiculous WHIP of 0.76.

Clayton Richard will wear #54 tomorrow when he makes his Major League debut for the White Sox against Kevin Millwood, the same number that Hall of Famer Goose Gossage sported in his tenure on the South Side. Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come.

Buehrle Delivers, Good and Bad News from the Infirmary, and Clayton Richard Doesn't Need to Learn Chinese

Mark Buehrle = Gamer. While it would be trivial to constantly harp on the fact that tomorrow he'll be home in Missouri to attend his grandfather's funeral, even he admitted to being emotional before tonight's start. So, even if you take all that out of the equation, and just know that Buehrle opted to pitch on short rest and help his struggling team maintain their slim division lead, you have to admire his huevos. And then all he did was go out and shut down the best offense in the American League. Texas honestly threatened to score once tonight with a few minor threats sprinkled in there for good measure. In the 2nd, only leading 1-0, Buehrle allowed a lead-off triple to Hank Blalock and then proceeded to keep the next three Rangers on the infield, retiring Brandon Boggs, Chris Davis, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia on two infield groundouts and a popout to second. The White Sox offense took care of the rest, pounding Luis Mendoza, the same young righty who shut them down last week in Arlington, to the tune of 10 runs on 12 hits. The offense was fueled tonight by Jermaine Dye's 3-4 night in his return from that nasty looking HBP Sunday against Kansas City, a 3-run bomb by Nick Swisher in the 4th, and Alexei Ramirez's first career grand slam in the 7th inning.

Its hard to quantify what Mark Buehrle has meant to this team over the years. From the 2001 season, when he went from unknown 22-year-old to the staff ace, to his brilliant season in 2005 that was topped when he came out of the bullpen on short rest to close out Game 3 of the World Series, to his no-hitter, and now to tonight. I don't remember exactly when, but a while ago Mark said he didn't expect to pitch into his 40's the way guys like Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine have and he'd never make a serious push at 300 wins. Maybe that's easy to say when you're in your late-20's and maybe minds change over time, but if it's true, its likely we've already seen the majority of Mark's career pass. He's never had overpowering stuff, he doesn't have an eye-popping page at baseball-reference.com, and he's never been a "me-first" athlete that is so typical today. He's been a consistent winner, the consummate team-first player, and a treasure for Sox fans to watch this past decade.

Let's remember to appreciate him while we still can.

B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play | Tribune recap | MLB.com Wrap | Associated Press recap | Soxmachine.com recap

Elsewhere, in the Central, the Twins lost again to the Yankees, 8-2 tonight. The loss drops them 1½ games behind the Sox and 21-26 on the road this year. The Tigers, however, kept pace with the Sox by beating Kansas City for the 2nd straight night, 7-1. Cleveland dropped a 3-2 decision to the Angels, keeping them in a statistical tie for last place with the Royals. Both teams are 12 games behind the Sox.


On the injury front, the Sox received mixed news. Joe Crede was a late scratch from tonight's game with back stiffness. Juan Uribe filled in admirably for Crede, going 2-4 with a double and run scored, plus he played a great third base, making a few very nice plays in support of Buehrle. Ozzie said Crede is expected to miss tomorrow's game against Texas, so Crede will have 3 days off with Thursday's travel day, before this weekend's critical series in Detroit kicks off Friday night.

Jermaine Dye was back in the lineup today and didn't miss a beat. As mentioned, Dye was 3-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI on a nice double, just inside the third base line in the 1st inning that scored Carlos Quentin from first base. Jose Contreras also had good news for the Sox, throwing before tonight's game and feeling no discomfort related to the elbow tendonitis that landed him on the 15-Day D.L. The move was retroactive to July 14, so Jose would be eligible to start just before the Trade Deadline, giving the Sox one last look at him before they decide whether or not to put all their chips in with his cards. No word yet, however, if he'll come right back to the Sox or will make a rehab start in the minor leagues somewhere.

I sure hope Clayton Richard didn't invest in that Rosetta Stone language learning software because A) it costs more than $500 per language (!), B) you can find them for half that price on eBay, and C) his call up the White Sox will cost him his roster spot on the American Olympic team. No surprise, of course, and I'm pretty sure almost any player would take a promotion to the Show in the middle of a pennant race over a week-long, meaningless international tournament, but that means now you'll have no need to watch the baseball segment of the Beijing Olympics (if you were actually going to watch them, anyway).

Sox-O-Meter: Potential Trade Aquisitions

Ah yes, the last few days of July. Must be time for trade rumors to swirl. Kenny Williams and the Sox have watched from the sideline while CC Sabathia, Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, and others have been moved to contending teams. Now, about 10 days before the trade deadline, with the Twins nipping at their heels and the Tigers stubbornly refusing to fall from viewing distance, the Sox have been an active name in trade rumors. But are there any deals out their worth taking? Let's see...

1 Sox... (Sock?) = Steer clear, 5 Sox = Bring it home, Kenny.

A.J. BURNETT
Of all the pitchers supposedly left on the open market, Burnett is probably the most enticing. He's having a bit of a down year (10-9 but an ERA of 4.84), but he's still striking out just about 1 batter per inning.

PROS: In relatively limited action, he's owned the Twins to the tune of a .182/.207/.309 line, and he's pitched well against Detroit.

CONS: Though he's signed through 2010, his contract allows him to opt out of the deal after this season if he likes, and given the current market for starting pitching, he'd likely make a king's ransom in the free agent pool. Also, Burnett is a notorious health risk and has not pitched 200 innings in a season since he was 28 in 2005. The Blue Jays have also said they're not interested in dealing Burnett, and with plenty of other teams looking for starting pitching around baseball, it will probably take an offer the Sox simply cannot produce to lure him from Toronto.

VERDICT:

A live arm that would certainly help the rotation, but will ultimately be too expensive both in the short and long term.

JUSTIN DUCHSCHERER
Though Oakland used Duchscherer as a reliever for the last 4 seasons, Duchscherer's responded brilliantly to his move to the rotation. An All-Star selection, he's pitched 115 innings and has a microscopic 1.87 ERA. Already having dealt Rich Harden and Joe Blanton, the A's are in a full "Sell Now" mode.

PROS: Hard to argue when you add the American League's best ERA to your pitching staff. Salary is just over $1 million, very friendly to acquire. Even though he is a free agent after this season, unlikely will be a Type A Free Agent thanks to his years spent in the bullpen, so would not cost the Sox potential draft picks the way A.J. Burnett would. Finally, would replace Mark Buehrle as most misspelled player's name on the Sox.

CONS: Plays in Oakland, in one of the most friendly pitcher's parks in the league. As of today, has thrown 115.2 innings, 30 more than his previous career best. Low strikeout-to-innings pitched ratio also doesn't bode well for life at the Cell.

VERDICT

A risky gamble, and not one I'd necessarily be willing to take.

DANIEL CABRERA
Granted, his name hasn't been thrown around much at all this trade deadline season, but you don't have to have that great of a memory to recall the days when the Orioles always seemed to be willing to part with the 6'7'' Dominican. Even in this his "break-out" year, Cabrera's ERA is still 4.57 and his career ERA is just a shade under 5.

PROS: At only 27 years old, there's still a lot of room for him to grow. Is also signed until 2010, so he wouldn't be a temporary fixture in the rotation. Seems like the kind of guy Don Cooper has had a string of successes with; plenty of people rave about his potential, but he never seems to be able to put it all together.

CONS: Its impossible to tell what the Orioles are thinking. They trade Erik Bedard in the off-season to Seattle for prospects, but then they balk at trading away Brian Roberts? As long as Peter Angelos is running the ship, no one will ever know exactly what the mood is in Baltimore.

VERDICT

If the Orioles hint he's available and they don't ask for the farm and the kitchen sink, I think he'd look great in silver and black.

GREG MADDUX
Yeah, that Greg Maddux. If you haven't noticed the Padres are terrible and one thing terrible teams don't need are aging pitchers.

PROS: Still pitching a ton of innings, currently on pace to top 200 innings again. Couldn't hurt to expose young pitchers like Floyd and Danks to his knowledge of the game, right? Plus, he'd be another savvy veteran not intimidated by the bright lights of a pennant chase and baseball in October.

CONS: Has a full no-trade clause and is rumored to not want to leave the West Coast. Despite longevity, his ERA has climbed over the past two years, despite playing PETCO Park, which is slightly smaller than the Grand Canyon. He's still 42 years old, and will eventually break down, right? His agent is Scott Boras and his current contract is only good through this season, so he probably wouldn't be more than a 2-month rental.

VERDICT

I'm not really sold either way. On the one hand, he probably still is a better option than what the Sox have in their system right now. On the other hand, his glory days are long, long behind him.

finally...

FREDDY GARCIA
Not having pitched since last season in Philadelphia, he should be well rested right? Garcia and his agent will be holding an audition for him on August 5, and yes he wouldn't come via a deadline trade, but he still believes he's got what it takes to help a contender out during a stretch run.

PROS: Already familiar with the Sox coaching staff and most of the players, he'd probably be the easiest to fit into the grand scheme of things. Freddy also became a fan favorite in his brief time here and when healthy, he's always been a big-game pitcher.

CONS: Really unsure about his arm, and despite the buzz he's been getting recently, there's still a lot of doubt as to whether he can ever be the same pitcher he was in his prime. Baseball history is littered with failed comeback of power pitchers turned finesse guys due to injury, and most of us remember watching Freddy try to locate upper-80's fastballs in 2006, only to serve somebody a meatball right over the heart of the plate. Plus, with a lot of other teams looking at Garcia, it's pretty likely someone will overpay for his services.

VERDICT

I doubt the Sox will bring back Freddy, but I'd hope they don't discount him completely. I don't think you can question his heart or desire, but you sure can question his right shoulder.

As always, thanks to baseball-reference.com for the stats, MLB Trade Rumors for most of the names I dropped, and MLB4U.com for contract information.

Bullpen Blows (Again), Update on Dye, and Thank God the Twins Lost

That ugly taste in your mouth is the unsavory taste of bad bullpen, with maybe a dash of no offense. As noted yesterday, the Rangers can hit but their pitching leaves so much to be desired, and they even had to scratch their starter only a few hours before the game! Hello, Scott Feldman! In typical Sox fashion, when they're bad, they're not just bad, they're frustratingly bad. Javier Vazquez finally busted out of his slump and of course, the Sox fail to supply him with any run support. Vazquez pitched 7 innings and only allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, usually good enough stats when your going head-to-head with the worst pitching staff in the American League, but Feldman and a reliever trio of Frank Francisco, Eddie Guardado, and Jamey Wright held the Sox to a lone run on 5 hits.

The White Sox bullpen looks more and more human every day. Boone Logan allowed 3 runs in an inning of work; a 2-run homer by Hank Blalock in the 8th and then was responsible for Chris Davis when he scored on a sacrifice fly in the 9th.

B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play Tribune recap Associated Press recap MLB.com wrap Soxmachine.com recap

Elsewhere in the Central, the Sox maintain their slim division lead over Minnesota, thanks to a 12-4 drubbing at the hands of the Yankees. Detroit is routing Kansas City, 19-0 right now with an inning and a half left to play. If the Royals pull off one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history, I'll let you know, but otherwise, the Tigers will again be a game over .500 and pull to 5½ games of the White Sox. Cleveland is in Los Angeles and are knotted with the Angels at 1 going into the 4th.

You can expect to see Mark Buehrle start tomorrow night despite the fact that his normal spot in the rotation is Wednesday. Buehrle will be back in Missouri to attend his grandfather's funeral, and according to the official site, neither he nor the Sox were interested in skipping a start. So he goes tomorrow on three days rest and Clayton Richard will make his MLB debut Wednesday against Texas.

Mark hasn't started on three days rest since August 15, 2004 when he shut down the Red Sox to the tune of 2 runs allowed over 7 innings of work.

A rundown of the rest of his 3-day rest starts:

1. May 5, 2004 - White Sox beat the Orioles 6-5 in Baltimore. Buehrle didn't pitched particularly well, but luckily for everyone he was facing Sidney Ponson.
2. September 23, 2003 - In his final start of the year, Buehrle loses to the Yankees, 7-0. Mark pitched well, but the Sox bats were shut down by Jose Contreras and the Yankees score 5 runs in the 9th inning against Scott Sullivan, Kelly Wunsch, and Billy Koch.

That would be it, so if we were to use Phil Rogers math, that'd be 2 up and 1 down, and those are odds I can live with.

Despite the fact he looked like he'd need his leg amputated, Jermaine Dye expects to be back as early as tomorrow. I'm no medical specialist, but this is surprising news, and while the Sox do have good backup outfield options, Jermaine's bat is sorely missed. Dewayne Wise, who took his place, went a solid 0-3, but don't feel too bad, only 4 guys actually got a hit today.

Even though everyone and their uncle believes the Sox need to add an arm, Kenny Williams says the moves may not be coming. You can't blame him, the blue chips this trading season were CC Sabathia, who the Indians were not going to trade within their division anyway, and Rich Harden, a walking injury risk. Joe Blanton is a nice consolation prize for Philadelphia, but there's no way the Sox could have matched the offer the Phillies made to acquire Blanton.

Now, as I said earlier, there's no attractive starting pitchers that realistically look to be available. A.J. Burnett is the best arm out there but he's as big an injury risk as any pitcher in baseball and the Blue Jays recently said they're not looking to deal him. Whether or not that is true, its unlikely the Sox will be able to come together with the package to outbid the other teams reportedly interested in Burnett, namely the Yankees and Cubs. Freddy Garcia still says he could be available, too, but given the market for pitching, somebody's going to overpay for him in terms of salary and years.

Last Minute Pitching Scratches, Mediots Circling the Wagons, and Swirling Trade Rumors

Projected Rangers' starter Eric Hurley will not pitch tonight, for reasons unknown. Seriously, even the guys that cover the team aren't sure what's going on. Scott Feldman will start in his place, and while he's been up and down since 2005, the current White Sox squad only has limited experience against him. However, they have still managed to hit Feldman well, though not for much power. Hopefully, that streak ends tonight.

Granted, I was upset about the way the Sox lost 2 in a row to Kansas City, but hey, I'm a fan not an impartial journalist of higher standards, right? Not in this town, as soon as the Sox play slightly less than flawless baseball, you can bet the blue birds of doom and gloom will be sure to follow. It's the usual suspects, Jay Mariotti and Steve Rosenbloom providing the comedy/overreaction (depending on how you take a look at it, I guess).

Anyways, I know the Twins have played well but let's not pretend like they're invincible. They're a much more human team when they're A) not having to grind out games against National League powerhouses like the Washington Nationals or B) are playing anywhere beside the Metrodome. I know they've played well recently, but if you really believe they're going to win 70% of their games the rest of the season, then there's no arguing with you.

Anyways, if everything else scares you about Minnesota, at least general manager Bill Smith's outlook on pitching shouldn't.

Twins general manager Bill Smith, on Livan Hernandez, who improved to 10-6 with a 5.29 earned-run average with Saturday's victory over Texas: "I'll take the (10) wins. Who do you want, a guy who's 10-15 with a 2.80 ERA or a guy who's 16-8 with a 7.00 ERA? I'll take the 16-8."

That quote taken from TwinCities.com.

Finally, the White Sox are suddenly a player in the very active trade talks before July 31's Trade Deadline. Both MLB Trade Rumors and MLB Fleece Factor have identified the Sox as a very active team in trade talks. They don't shed light on any other pitchers we already didn't know about, but considering that most teams just get a quick glance and the Sox landed their own post on both blogs, it is interesting.

That said, the two best starters that seem left in this market are A.J. Burnett and Justin Duchscherer and neither seems to be a prototypical Kenny Williams-style trade. Burnett is, of course, a persistent injury waiting to happen and Duchscherer is a 30-year-old career reliever turned starter who has already exceeded his career high in IP by nearly 20 and it's still July. He is definitely a "buy high" prospect.

Remember in 2005, everyone and their mother was telling Williams how he had to go find a big bat to strengthen the offense and when he didn't, they ragged on him for sticking to his guns and predicted the Sox's offense would collapse at the worst moment. That ended up working out.

Have fun watching the game tonight, alas I don't get WCIU and therefore will be stuck with Ed Farmer and Steve Stone. Stone I like... A lot. Almost as much as I liked John Rooney, and Farmer is, well he's still Ed Farmer.