Full Court Press

UNREAL - at what point will Williams trade for equal value? It seems all of these trades come with the caveat "once they work with our pitching coach". What's wrong with getting players who can help TODAY? This is classic "angry" Kenny Williams trying to show everyone how much smarter he is than everyone else instead of making trades that will help the Sox now.

Having played professional baseball at a high level, and being the architect of the only World Series championship team in close to 100 years, I'd have to say that Willims just might know a smidge more than any columnist.

This is why Ken williams is a General Manager,

This one is a head-scratcher if I ever saw one. I know Kenny Williams likes to operate under the radar but he's operating WAY under the radar here, apparently. He trades away Garcia to open up a spot for McCarthy... then trades away McCarthy for prospects. The thing that's the most confusing about that is the fact that McCarthy was untouchable before the trade deadline last year.

That being said KW has made some bizarre moves in the past... Lee for Pods, anyone? He better know what he's doing. We'll see, I guess. Reinsdorf better not be turning back into the cheap Reinsdorf we all know and love or all that good World Series karma goes out the window.

Roman I think you have something when you say McCarthy may not be as good as first thought. A couple of times last season he couldn't get batters out in close games usually giving up tape measure shots. Maybe Brandon throwing 200+ innings was a concern. I also think Kenny wants to build a battery of prospects for some trade in the future perhaps for centerfield and more experienced pitching.

This trade may not be so bad by itself, but it makes the garcia trade a real stinker. That trade was supposed to clear the way for mccarthy to start wasnt' it??? Looks like no one wants to trade nice with kenny, wonder why he can't make a decent deal for any of the great starting rotation of the sox, all he's gotten are minor leaguers and cubs castoffs. He hasn't even really dumped that much salary yet either so watch out the fire sale is just getting going. Pretty obvious the sox don't plan on contending in the next couple of years, didn't even reach for any quality free agents. Bought those season tickets yet? hope the fireworks are good this season.

I think this is Reinsdorf-like thing to do. Before a guy becomes eligible to make more money he becomes expendable. It may not be because McCarthy himself ,moreso on the lines of Buhrle. We can let him go since we have the prospects to take his place. they won't cost as nearly as he would so it's a sound business decision. You'll have to wait and see how it pans out. A pitching can very well make all the difference in the world. Maybe all those guys who left Chicago and became great can attest to that fact. Plus we kept only the pitching coach from the Dusty regime and we all know how great he was. This is a shrewd business and we know how much Jerry likes to make that money. But then again who doesn't like to make that money.

Does anyone really have any idea what the Sox's game plan is right now? Maybe these moves will help a couple of seasons from now, but Thome, Dye, Contreras and Konerko aren't getting any younger and it looks like Buehrle and Crede will be gone soon. Kenny may be trying to stockpile young arms for the future, but by the time they're ready to play in the majors the window of opportunity for a return trip to the Series will likely have closed given the fact that the core offensive players (and two current starting pitchers) will be gone or past their primes. Honestly, I can't see how anyone other than the most blind followers and apologists would think these trades will benefit the team in 2007. He better damn well have something up his sleeve to either improve the starting rotation immediately or bring in a centerfielder and shortstop with some pop in their bats.

Guess no one wants to make a trade for sox starters and don't seem to be any sox minor league pitchers to trade. Maybe Williams is trading his major league players to get minor leaguers to maybe trade for major leaguers or just for something to do. This just makes it all the more important that the sox resign Crede. If they let him walk after what the cubs got done for ramirez it won't look to good for the sox management. Arrogance isn't the same thing as genius.

To All Sox Fans:

PLEASE take a deep breath and relax!

I know many of you are thinking the Garcia trade made no sense. I know many of you think the McCarthy trade made no sense. Listen to me - these trades made PLENTY of sense, and here's how:

1. Freddy Garcia was going to leave the team next year. With the amount of dollars (and years) being thrown around he would be a fool not to go, and we all know Reinsdorf is not going to pay anything higher than four years for a pitcher. The Sox reluctantly traded away Gio Gonzalez as part of the Rowand-Thome deal, so they actually got back the same guy they were originally forced to let go.
2. I was not at all impressed last year with Brandon McCarthy. Yes, he had a few good starts (especially against Boston in 2005), but as a relief pitcher last year, he was a total disaster. Are we supposed to believe that he will magically morph into this great pitcher because he starts? Doubtful.
3. The Sox have a ton of good talent in their farm clubs, i.e. Charlie "The Knuckleballer" Haeger and Lance Broadway, amongst others.
4. Barry Zito and Ted Lilly are above average pitchers who were paid an exhorbant amount of money. 7 years and $125 million for Zito? 4 years and $50-plus million for Lilly? Come on, man! Makes no sense.
5. The Sox won 90 games, which means a tweak here and there can add new life and get those other 7 or 8 victories to earn us the division title.
6. Home grown players know the system, fans and ballpark better than signees. Don't believe me? Ask Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera of the Yankees what they think.
7. Pitching wins games - period! Why do you think so many pitchers are having money thrown at them? The legacy of the 2005 WS lingers heavily in the minds of GMs all over Major League Baseball.
8. Mark Buehrle might leave, but there's Gio Gonzalez and John Danks to replace him as a left handed starter. Both have tremendous upsides and could be better than anticipated.
9. The White Sox still have Buerhle, Contreras and Garland - plus Vazquez, who led the team in strikeouts. Next year I think Javy will make the necessary adjustments and be a more consistent, and effective, pitcher.

In conclusion - I'd like to note that the Sox will be very competitive and, once again, will surprise a lot of teams on how well they've improved. Brian Anderson will have a better year. Scott Podsednik will get on base more often. In my opinion, the Sox need to concentrate on getting a full-time shortstop, or teach Uribe how to be patient at the plate and return to his '05 form defensively. Either way, we'll be just fine for 2007.

GO SOX!
Dave

I think the coaching staff
knew something Mc Carthy's "stuff". I watched him in many games last year, and his pitches were coming in flat, and with no movement.Any pitcher that doesn't have movement on his fastball, may just as well pitch batting practice. I would watch the Sox practice after school in the 60's, and Mike Garcia was throwing to Sherm Lollar. Ray Berres was the Sox pitching coach, and he stood on the sidelines, and would shake his head after every fastball. Each pitch was as hard as I ever saw someone throw,but they came in as straight as an arrow. Mc Carthy throws the same way.

whats the old saying "dont fix what aint broke"

upset long-time sox fan,

dont understand garcia or mCCarthy trade,

Williams should officially be on "hot seat" for these moves,

Was anyone really excited about McCarthy in the 5th spot? Not me and now I understand that Kenny wasn't either. If he thinks he has another Kip Wells on his hands then he is making the right move this time by trading McCarthy while his trade value is at its highest. I think KW knows what he is doing and should be given the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Anyone, including the omniscient Kenny Williams,
who tries to make a case that the Sox, as of this moment, are a better team than they were at the end of the season, is either a moron or a liar.

Given his career record, there is no good reason to believe that Podsednik will have a comeback year.

Mackowiak, who was supposed to be a big upgrade last year MAY be given more of an opportunity and do something with it.

Anderson and the untried kids the Sox talk about as potential centerfielders are all big question marks offensively, which wouldn't be such a big deal if they had gotten a solid leftfielder to replace Pods, who is also mediocre, at best, defensively.

The way they are screwing around with Crede, it will be interesting to see what happens at third base but there is no reason to expect better production than Crede put up last year.

And then there is the starting pitching situation.

Although most of the starters were mediocre down the stretch, with Garcia and supposed replacement McCarthy gone, I find it impossible to accept that whomever the five starters might be at this point, they are better than before all the giveaways.

Now that Barry Zito got 7 years @18 million I understand where Kenny is coming from. He wants to have 5 quality starters for the next 6 years and not pay $90-$100 million a year for 5 players. He said he saw the market changing and acted fast. The teams paying crazy salaries will have 2 or 3 quality pitchers and nothing else. Mark Buerlhe will get 90-100 mill from someone, not the Sox. Finally the talk about Jerry saving money is the same crap we heard before we won the World Series.

Doubting Thomases

KW might be a step ahead of the other folks, or who knows maybe a step behind. However, working with the market constraints that he supposedly has, he has done an unbelievable job. Remember this is not the group from the Tribune Towerfrom the northside. Give the trades time, before you start griping!!!!!

lceiii

Williams traded one top flight starter.A highly thought of young pitcher.What did he get?Young arms.Not one proven major leaguer.We didnt miss the playoffs becase of
those two.We didnt have a left fielder-or leadoff man.and we didnt have a center fielder,and we needed one more good middle reliefer to take Polites place.What did Jim
Thome do the secoud half?Give Ross Gload away--Attttaway Mr Williams.He keeps Macoviak the worst fielder at more positians than anyone in baseball.When has the Sox farm system developed a major position player,or pitcher----Carlos Lee,and Joe Crede.Icant think of a pitcher.Lee is gone for the banjo hitting,worst fielding left fielder in the AL.And they cant wait to get rid of CREDE.Rheinsdorf wont pay him what he is worth.Anderson,Fields and the other outfield wonder will never hit major league pitching.But we got young arms.

I will give KW the benefit of the doubt for now. I believe these trades for the future is leading up to a trade for some big league talent. Teams such as the D rays have made it known they want pitching and have an abundance of good young outfield talent to move. With that being said, the winning is done on the field and if KW and the Sox make no other moves before May 1, we may have some problems. I have been a long time Sox fan and I remember 2 names, Ruffin and Ruffcorn. 2 can't miss untouchables who the Sox never would deal for proven MLB players. It's nice to have guys in your system who may help the club in the future but, most of these players never do help win a pennant. KW traded alot of these types for ML talent, Royce Ring, JAdkins etc. and now because the system is devoid of power arms he is attempting to restock. The Garcia deal was ok in my mind. I don't care what he did in September. He obviously lost 5-7 mph on his fastball and he can't hold a runner on. This was the correct time to move him. KW, get us our cf or ss soon, we have the O, we have the pen and you have the fans. We proved we will come and support a team which is genuinely attempting to win. Don't chase us away because you are mad abouy the CBA. Our division has gotten stronger during the off season..........have we? Time and performance on the field will tell.

I think he knows what he's doing altough many sox fans are not understanding. The thing that confuses me is he want McCarthy to start in the rotation, so that why he traded Garcia. But to turn around and trade McCarthy was a little strange. But I thionk that Kenny has something up his sleeve that will some point make this trade seem ok

It would have made more sense to trade Vasquez or Buhrle....but Kenny deserves our support until he is proven wrong. I like the position we are in for the future pitching, but what about next year. The youngsters will have to step up and Buhrle will have to come through. If not, it will be another disapointing season...and then we will really see some kind of a fire sale!

Kenny Williams is doing the right thing. Pitching is the name of the game

Reinsdorf and Williams have started their fire sale!! Kenny can pout and postulate all he wants but he's full of it.

you guys seem to think that Kenny wouldve been better off with a 10 million dollar a year Ted Lilly or a 9 million dollar --insert name of .500 pitcher here.. I for one thought the trades were excellent,
How many of you though he was out of his mind prior to 05. Well all he did then was bring the first title to Chicago baseball in 88 years

kennyy williams is the GENREAL MANAGER for a reason, its funny how no one says anything about the big moves he makes but everyone is ready to kill him for moves that have you wondering. First, the man brought chi sox their first world series in how long? It just amazes me ow put can jump their ass of the bad waggon when it looks dim or unclear. The man has to be one of the best GM's in baseball and people are going crazy because he's making trades and not spending money like the sorry cubs who still won't make the playoffs. He's called GM for a reason, so I think he knows what he doing.

Obviously the Ken W. trades are somewhat confusing on the surface, but as a true White Sox fan ask yourself a couple of questions.....How many pitching prospects did the Sox have before the trade? Can you name me any "can't miss" pitching prospect in Birmingham or Charlotee? I didn't think so. In '07, the Sox still have huge amounts of talent. Dye, Thome, Konerko are still in the middle of the line-up, with many eager and talented outfielders ready to take the spots of Anderson and Posednik if necessary. Ken W. is the GM for a reason. A couple of years ago, everyone was asking "why did we let go of Lee and Ordonez?" and then we won a world series title. So I trust Ken, as most TRUE WHITE SOX fans should. And another point, I can't stand Jay Mariotti! He can comment on all sports, but which one has he ever competitively competed in, thats like me writing articles about how terrible of a writer someone is, it just doesn't work.

Don't underestimate Ken Williams. He got some excellent young arms. McCarthy had problems whenever he took the mound.

The Old saying was "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Ken Williams has reversed that axiom.
It is hard to see how these recent trades will be of immediate help to the White Sox. They do seem in keeping, however, with the recent Sox tendancy to resist negotiating extentions, revealing a disturbing proclivity to avoid competing with the "Big Boys" financially.

However much this philosophy appeals to common sense, it is risky if one wants to return to the World Series.

I think it's an overreaction to what the Cubs did this offseason. I don't get it the one commodity they had over all teams in MLB and they squander it. William's is clever in his own mind.

As a Sox fan, this is the kind of trade I want KW to make. The easiest ans safest thing in the world for KW to have done was to stick with McCarthy. He had a decent ceiling as a #3 type SP.

Yet, by all accounts, Danks has a higher ceiling as #2 type SP. And the Sox got a stellar young bullpen arm in Masset who has been compared to Bobby Jenks. Masset will pitch for the sox in 20007, and Danks may as well.

It takes some risk to acquire top young arms like Danks and Masset. But IMO, it was a risk well worth raking. Nice move KW!

McCarthy was overrated, period. He had about a 6 game stretch at the end of 05 where he performed very well(which helped us clinch, and I am grateful for it). The problem is that based on that short period of time, everyone annoited him a #1 starter. Where was he last year? I know the bullpen is not where he wants to be, but pitching is pitching and he didn't impress me. I'm not saying he is a bad pitcher, just not as good as he's made out to be. In the next few years the league will be envious of the derth of young, talented pitching we have(also great bargaining chips to aquire more talent). I also don't think Williams is done making deals for this year. I have a feeling Crede is going to be traded, possibly for a starter(to the Angels for Figgins and Ervin Santana?) because Josh Fields is supposed to be ready for the show and I don't see the Sox paying Crede what he will probably get in the free agent market. Especially with Boras as his agent who Williams has publicly acknowledged he does not like to negotiate with.

Analyst around baseball and even writers in Texas say that the Sox made out like bandits on this deal. They highly approve of it. Why won't we believe the experts???

John, you need to get a grip.

"In the next few years the league will be envious of the derth of young, talented pitching we have(also great bargaining chips to aquire more talent)."

And I believe you meant surplus, not dearth, right?

It was only a few years ago that the Sox were supposed to have an incredible wealth of pitching talent in their own farm system.

McCarthy now makes at least a half dozen homegrown future star pitchers that the Sox have given up on.

The idea that Williams or Cooper are really good judges of young pitching prospects is dubious, at best.

It easily as good a bet that McCarthy will have as good a career as anyone that the Sox got for him, as not.

I don't understand how everyone is saying the Sox are having a fire sale. Isn't Freddy "Big Game" Garcia the same pitcher who was giving up 6 runs in 3 innings to the likes of Kansas City and other low level A.L. teams? And Brandon Mccarthy made barely over the major league minimum yet somehow he got turned into 3 pitchers with similar if not better stuff? I don't see teams like the Yankees spending insane amounts of money on bad to average pitchers. They are collecting prospects as well in trades of Gary Sheffield and Jaret Wright. They did not make one big money signing this offseason either. Kenny has proven he knows how to evaluate talent, and Don Cooper can fix flaws in pitchers. By the way,there a bunch of Players of Ross Gloads ability signed to minor league deals every off season, yet somehow, Kenny turned him into a left handed 23 year old flame thrower. Nice work KW.

I think Carol Slezak has it about right with her billy ball column. Also remember how many years the bulls sold out the united center after they broke up the team? Reinsdorf knows when to rake in the cash when he can. Sox fans will show up anyway for the fireworks and the the fights so they don't really need to spend money on players. Think A rod would ok a trade to the sox now? Maybe prospects is all williams can get.

It's as simple as this; they are trying to keep their cost down. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing either. We all know how these guys feel about giving long term deals to pitchers. More often than not, ownership takes a bath on those. Young pitching wins. Bonderman, Verlander, Beckett, Garland etc. They are stockpiling power arms with the hopes that one or two will pan out big. If two pan out, Kenny's a genius. If one pans out it is still worth it because they will control the guy for six years and then it will be SEE YA!!!

The timing of the McCartney trade bothers me more than the trade itself. Why not last July when the Sox needed bullpen help & his value was sky high. No help in the Garcia trade. As Ernie would say,"the Sox will be devine in 2009"!

Did some of you fans forget that the ranger pitchers were scouted by the sox for 6-8 weeks. Remember that lefty's take longer to develop and masset was lights out in the mexican league this winter. McCarthy didn't do that great this year and is not a shoe in to remain in the rangers rotation. Floyd will benefit from a change of address this year and I am happy they got gio back. Time will tell, but garcia was going to test the free agent market next year and 2 top prospects are better than what oakland will get for zito. Smart move kenny.