Full Court Press

I don't have a problem with what he gave up......they wouldn't have been able to help us anyway. Ryan Sweeney never distinguished himself and I don't remember Gonzales destroying competition either. I don't understand what's with people, first we don't have any young talent, then we gave up too much young talent. Do we have young talent or not? Do we have people waiting in the wings or not? Geez....the media is too wishy washy on this. Again, Gio Gonzales and Ryan Sweeney and some guy I have never heard of for Swisher? that's FINE! I have more problems with him "giving" away Iguchi and letting Garland just walk then this trade.

Yeah, the guy won the World Series a few years ago, but let's look at the big picture. In his seven years as GM, his teams have been to the playoffs once. In two years he has gone from 1st to 4th. In seven years he has built probably the worst minor league system in baseball.

Instead of signing Dye and Buerhle last year he should have begun doing what Oakland is doing this year. Rebuilding, to be dominate from 2010-2015.

He seems more interested in making sure he has people in those seats this year, than winning long term. He is just wasting valuable time.

Nice to read that somebody remembers, the White Sox won a world series, a few years ago. Billy Beane is constantly praised for being almost "godlike", among baseball general managers, still doesn't have a ring.-(take that! Baseball Prospectus). Look for Swisher's offensive numbers to improve in our hitter friendly ballpark. Swisher will be 27 this years and is under contract, for the next 4 years. This is a good move.

Nice to read that somebody remembers, the White Sox won a world series, a few years ago. Billy Beane is constantly praised for being almost "godlike", among baseball general managers, still doesn't have a ring.-(take that! Baseball Prospectus). Look for Swisher's offensive numbers to improve in our hitter friendly ballpark. Swisher will be 27 this year and is under contract, for the next 4 years. This is a good move.

Jay Mariotti's column today doesn't make much sense. He brings up the book "Moneyball", but clearly he has only read the passage about the 2002 draft and not the entire book, because he pretty much contradicts its overall message, which is to acquire guys who get on base and create runs in ways that are not necessarily gaudy (and thus, highly priced). Nick Swisher fits that bill. Also, Nick is going to one of the worst hitting ballparks (for HR's) in the majors, to one of the best in the majors. So we can all expect his HR total of 22 last year to go back to where it was the year before. But seriously, Jay should own up to not reading that book because clearly he only read the passage about Kenny Williams.

Also, let's be honest here. If the White Sox start off slowly (quite possible) and look like they're heading for another 3rd or 4th place finish (still quite possible), they now have 5 or 6 tradeable options that teams will be coveting at the deadline. Konerko, Swisher, Cabrera, Crede, Fields, Vasquez....any one of those guys would be wanted by a team making a playoff push. So if his gamble doesn't pay off, his farm system could be restocked by July. It's a good move.

You can not mortgage your future to just be average,now. Swisher? For the #1 and #2 prospects? What inane reason will they give for that? Future looks bleak, stop wearing shades!!

why i don't like this trade is because the team doesn't look to have a plan. the way the team is right now and wit hour division looking as tough as it does, we need to re build. getting swisher cost us our top 3 prospects.... your telling me we couldn't throw Joe Crede into that mix and gotten carl crawford? i just feel like we gave up way too much for swisher. i feel that wit hthe prospects we had in there we should have gotten more.

Sox still a third place team at best in central with Swisher. Swisher not exactly a big bat with usually hitting around .260 .He is a improvement but Sox still need a legit center fielder ,starting pitching & some more relief help. Linebrink a gas can with Milwaukee & San Diego last year certainly wasn't worth a 4 year deal.Cabrera a decent short stop ,time will say if he is worth Garland. Beane looks like he suckered Williams again.Never throw away pitching especially if you have little.

I am going to trust Kenny until I feel we no longer have the PLAYERS on the field to win. You look at our team last year and compare them to the 2005 team and you probably say - we could beat the 05 team - on paper. Not Kenny's fault. These guys have the experience and should be getting it done. This year just has to be better than LAST YEAR. IMHO 2005 earned Kenny a bye until 2010.

But Roman you bring up the main concern of mine - the pitching. Its gotten considerably weak. I think we need 2 more starters. And that bullpen is attrocious. I love the Whitesox and I am not confident in the team we are fielding. But we have to wait and see.

I'm actually relieved. With Kenny Williams sriking out all winter I thought that he was trying to resign Steve Swisher!

I think your comment about Swisher's drop in power numbers is totally irresponsible. Unless you are basing that comment on something other than the pure fact that he hit few home runs in 2007 than he hit in 2006, you should retract it and apologize to Swisher.

Other than giving up Gio the other 2 prospects are garbage.....lets not forget Swisher put up those numbers (.262 and 22 dongs) in the worst hitting ball park in the major league, imagine what he can do hitting in the cell surrounded in the line-up w/ Thome, Konerko, Dye and Caberea! I believe Swisher will bring a much needed spark back to the south side and unless Gio turns out to be a stud, I believe this was a good move by Kenny.

Now Move Urbie, Crede or Fields for a starting pitcher.

Swisher is a good player but not a great player. Swisher is not great enough to give up 3 of your Top 10 Prospects and 2 of them were pitchers.

I can not say that this trade puts this team in a position to win there Division. We are still a 3rd or 4th place finisher in our Division.

Our bullpen issues still are not completely solved and we are missing a 4th and 5th starter. Even though we have yet to see Gonzalez pitch at the Major League level, I have seen enough of Danks and especially Floyd.

I consider Floyd to be other teams best Batting Practice Pitcher and Danks has issues with his command. You saw that once Danks went through the American League once that teams made adjustments to him.

Williams is not a very good GM because he panics to make trades. He should stay away from Billy Beane. Thank god Williams is not a lawyer representing you because you would not stand a chance.

Sure I do not like the Outfield situation but he could have signed Stewart and Patterson without giving away your best 2 pitching prospects and saved money.

The Sox in my mind still need to make another deal or two. They need to add another Bullpen guy and bring in a Vetern Starter. Do not put all your eggs in one basket with Floyd and Danks.

Remember the reactions to the Olivo/Reed/Morse for Garcia trade? Remember the reactions to the Lee for Podsednik/Vizcaino trade?

Just about everyone thought the Sox gave up WAY TOO MUCH for Garcia. Olivo is now with his 3rd team since the trade. Reed (the most-prized prospect at the time) is fighting to get a spot on a ML roster, same with Morse. Meanwhile, Garcia was a key cog in the '05 World Championship winning Sox.

Just about everyone thought the Sox gave up too much for Pods and Vizcaino. In fact one Cubbie fan blogger pounded his chest and said, "Ken Williams is an idiot. The Sox will be lucky to win 70 games." Sure the Sox gave up a proven run producer who's continued to produce but the Sox got two players who were instrumental in the '05 Championship. Oh, and the '05 Sox were in first place from game 1 to game 162, garnered 99 wins and went 11-1 in the post-season.

Sure I wish the Sox got Swisher for less, much less. Will Swisher be enough for the Sox to win in the toughest division in the toughest league in MLB? Of course we'll see. I'm willing to give KW a chance, even as I hold my breath.

If anyone thought that Ken Williams couldn't be pressured into making a desperate move, they need look no further than this trade. I believe that this will be Ken Williams demise as the youngsters he gave up to Oakland will eventually flourish.

If I was a White Sox fan I would be furious. Instead, they'll probably take the usual route of their owner, their broadcaster, and a majority of their fans and end up blaming Jay Mariotti for their troubles.

MYTH: "CUBBIE FANS DON'T CARE ABOUT OR PAY ATTENTION TO THE SOX"
CUBBIE FANS LOVE TALKING ABOUT THE SOX!
MYTH BUSTED!

And meanwhile it's 100 years of ineptitude on the northside!

Why do Cubs fans keep blogging on this post??? It's not like the Cubs don't have problems of their own. I am fine with the trade. All I've been reading about is how we have no pitching, now, all of a sudden, Gio Gonzalez is gonna be a MLB superstar. Chris Young? Let it go. It was only one good season. No matter how he does, Vasquez was what we needed in our championship run. We do need at least 1 more pitcher, probably 2. preferably one is a No. 1. Need a 2nd baseman, and a center fielder too, but Swisher is a good walk guy, and most important thing we needed on this team since Big Frank left is people who have a good eye.

Like the trade.

Getting Nick Swisher is a good move. yes, his average isn't great but he's a great OBP guy - for a team that had no OBP last year. ANd they control him for 4 years.

The A-ball pitcher they gave up was the big fish - although Gio my flurish in Oakland because of the ballpark. He probably would have gotten pounded at Comiskullar.

Mariotti's column made no sense. If you want to disagree with the direction of the White Sox, fine, I underdtand that. But his article was like jibberish.

To the people who don't like this trade, I ask what your feelings would be if Kenny had started trading everyone like Konerko, Fields, Vasquez, and Dye in order to restock the farm system. Would you be mad? Because you can't have it both ways. If you want to complain, complain that they just improved from 75 wins to 80. But don't complain that the trade was bad. It wasn't. This trade makes them better today. And if Kenny figures out a way to improve the team again with a similar trade, well then they're onto something because an 85 win team on paper can get lucky. We've seen it happen before.

We paid a hefty price in this deal, but this DEFINITELY makes the Sox better this year. And people need to be mindful that the A's are rolling the dice here just as much as people think the Sox overpaid. Gio Gonzalez was highly touted the past few years but I've seen that before and then watched the same Sox prospect get traded and never amount to much. Kenny and the Sox brass are very good at creating a notion that their prospects, especially pitchers, are more valuable than they are. And to Kenny's credit, he deals them before their value decreases. De Los Santos, contrary to some bloggers suggesting he was a non factor, was actually a pitcher emerging as one of the Sox top pitching prospects. But again, it's a guy that was a good bit away from joining the big league club and the A's are assuming some risk here. Sweeney, no matter how much this guy looked the part, just was not going to work out so he was ABSOLUTELY expendable in this deal. I wouldn't be surprised if Beane didn't push for him but Kenny wanted to do Sweeney a favor and get him a fresh start with a new organization.

I think people are way too hard on KW. There have been very few times I have questioned his deals. Although I am disappointed with how our team looks today, I think it would have been worse to sign Hunter, Rowand, or Fukudome at those prices. We have some flexibility still and can be serious buyers between now and the deadline if we want. And we'll be easily able to reload if we're out of contention. Kenny has us in way better shape than most people think.

When it's all said and done, the Sox will have a good team on Opening Day. The Tigers lineup is awesome, and the Willis addition to the rotation is huge. But I am not convinced they are as good as people suggest. I still think the Indians present greater threat of winning the Central. Bottom line for me is that we are good enough to contend for the division. And despite the fact we're underdogs in 2008, nobody should be shocked when a team whose almost every player laid an egg in 2007 have a big turnaround in 2008. It's simply a function of players getting back to production more representative of what they've done throughout their careers (especially Konerko, A.J., Dye). An anemic offense in 2007 (that is sure to somewhat rebound in 2008)left the club with no chance last year. And even though our rotation is not what it was in 05, we are still much better than most AL teams. No way the bullpen can duplicate the 07 disaster, even with the same group of guys. So when we see improvement across the board, which we will, it's not that hard to go from 72-90 to 90-72. Hell we just saw the reverse a year earlier.

I have no problems with the trade at hand. If I had my druthers, I would've rather had Carl Crawford to play LF alongside Jerry Owens(this kid will be good if he gets a chance guys-30 SB's in the 2nd half of last season don't lie) to have a proven leadoff hitter in front of Cabrera. I think Swisher's numbers will improve by being at the Cell and his attitude and hustle will be infectious to the team in general. I think of him as Aaron Rowand 'Lite' in these terms. My problem is Kenny anointing him to play CF every day when he should be letting Ozzie make these calls. I think Kenny gets a little full of himself whenever he makes a move. Swisher should be in LF with Owens and Ramirez battling it out in CF(this position NEEDS speed). Defense wins championships fellas. Hurts to give up Sweeney, but he would've needed to play every day in order to get better(and he will). Gio never impressed me, and I do believe Santos SOUNDS like he could be good, but who knows? Good move Kenny, but let the guy in the dugout decide how to best use the pieces you give him. That's what he's there for.

Paul Ponce, you've seen enough of John Danks? You do realize that he's the same age as Gio Gonzalez, right? He struck out 109 batters in 139 major league innings. I'm willing to give him another shot. The Gavin Floyd experiment, however, is one I wish they'd give up (at least until he develops an above-average pitch). I'd like to see Adam Russell or (gulp) Charlie Haeger given one more shot at that 5th spot.

The Sox needed a catalyst ever since we lost Rowand. Swisher surely fits the bill, in addition the Sox need more guys that get on base / higher OBP's! The best thing about the Swisher deal was that nobody knew about the deal before it happened. Kenny needs to be more of a poker player, instead of telling everyone his plans. Otherwise, Tori Hunter would be wearing a Sox uniform. I am still concerned about who bats first and second. Cabrera's OBP isn't a prototypical 1 or 2 guy, and he strikes out too much. Also, who is going to play 2B? Uribe with his career .295 OBP, this isn't his batting average! We can only hope that the Cuban Ramirez can play, because Richar isn't a major leaguer. I agree with an earlier message Carl Crawford would have been a better answer to more of our problems. Let's just hope that whatever Kenny does, he continues not to tell his plan before it happens. Where is Roland Hemond to help mentor him, or if this does not happen, let's ship him to the Miami Dolphins! Kenny acts like a guy just starting a new job.

The most telling way to evaluate a trade is to see/hear what people are saying in the other town. In Oakland, the media is viewing this trade as fairly even, some thinking the Sox got the better, some the A's, but only slightly either way. Gonzalez is very good, but smallish, and you wonder why he's getting traded so much (if he's sooo great, as people like Mariotti think). Also in Oakland, they're saying the other pitcher is 2-3 years away, and Ryan Sweeney is a wait-and-see, who will have to battle for a roster spot. And the A's are doing this (and the Haren trade) to replenish their weak farm system. If Beane is soooo smart, why did their system get so weak? And why haven't they won anything in recent years? This is a good trade and fills a need. Contrary to common belief, we do have enough starting pitching going into the season and we should improved. Don't care if Detroit acquires Ruth & Gehrig, the games still have to be played. The Sox will compete this year - we'll have to wait-and-see on the results.

"Instead, they'll probably take the usual route of their owner, their broadcaster, and a majority of their fans and end up blaming Jay Mariotti for their troubles."
Are you sure you know anything about the white sox or do you only read what mariotti thinks? It sounds like your a cubs fan to me. That's what the cubs did they all blamed steve stone for their troubles.

The White Sox are getting a young (27), energetic, highly skilled (SH) OF/1B for the low cost of $37mil/5 yrs. I have no doubt that the Sox will at the very least pick up the $10mil opt for 2012.

Swisher's USCF #'s are unreal, but he does figure to be a .900 OPS player there. That combined with his fan appeal will make him a marquee player for the White Sox. He's likely to draw more fans over the next 5 yrs than any current player in the organization.

The deals for Alexei Ramirez, Quentin, & Swisher greatly improve the ML depth of the White Sox. Kenny can now entertain the idea of trading Cabrera, Konerko, & Dye.

The Sox needed outfield help and right handed hitting, this move addresses both. But the Sox are still a 3rd or 4th place team so if this is the end of the dealing they paid too much. They need bullpen and starting pitching (currently they are counting on too many young players, they can't all come through). I'm still concerned that they don't have a second baseman that can hit at the major league level. I think they need an outfielder (Patterson or Stewart). They need to get rid of a third baseman and uribe or chemistry will go down the toilet.
If this is a step on the path it is a good step, if it is viewed as the step that gets the Sox all the way to the top it is a big mistake.

Name me one Sox pitching prospect that has done anything other than Mark Buerhle. Sox needed an outfielder and their prospects are garbage. We've seen that for the last 10 years. Swisher is an upgrade. Regardless of what Jay Mariotti may write in his columns.

I think this is a fantastic move! Sweeney is young and needs time to develope, Gio was in double a last year (won't help us now) and the other guy (don't ever remember hearing his name before) for Nick Swisher? A no-brainer to me.

I wonder what type of trade or signing would put the Sox on top according to the doubters. For everyone who says Swisher is an average player that merely comes out of ignorance about the game. A guy who walks 80-100 times a year, has double and homer power and has a better outfield arm than both the 18 million dollar spiderman, and the overrated 12 million dollar Rowand. Swisher is a better player than either Hunter or Rowand, he also happens to be 27 and signed thru 2011 with an option for 2012....
WAKE UP PEOPLE
Nick Swisher will be a very important part of this team for the next three or four years....
but yeah, you guys are right, Swisher is terrible, we just traded two future Cy youngs, and the future MVP....
Desperate move?
hell of a move....

Anyone who considers this a good move and not just desperation does not know baseball.
Williams is in over his head and it shows with each moronic move that he makes.

I want to personally thank the reporters & Beane himself for helping out the White Sox. I want all the Sox fans to stop & think for a minute about the value of the press this teams get.

The general perception is that Williams is a GM eager to deal future all-stars for MLers. Beane & the reporters are very effective at selling this perception & the net effect is that it inflates the value of White Sox prospects.

Let me give you an example. C Young is a .755 OPS player. Lousy OBP, but decent slugging. We traded him for Javier Vazquez who has been a proven #2-3 starter for this decade. N Swisher has a stellar OBP & better slugging than C Young. We traded unproven but promising Gio, Santos, & Sweeney for him. The perception is that at least 2 of the players will dealt will become better ML players than both Vazquez & Swisher.

Now consider other GM's. That perception will no doubt catch your eye but Beane's involvement adds credibility to it. At the very least you will notify your scouting department to re-evaluate players left in the Sox system that compare to the players they dealt. Blinded by the perception some GM's will naturally over-inflate the value of the remaining players. They'll ignore the fact that the Sox have one of the worst farm systems in MLB. They'll buy into the hype.

So on behalf of all Sox fans, thank you Mr. Beane.

Philtration - why can't it be desperation AND a good move? Kenny was desperate to improve his lineup, and he did it. The way I see it, he had 4 holes to fill (3rd, 4th, and 5th starters, outfielder) and now he has 3. And just think, if any of the Danks, Floyd, Broadway, and Contreras pu pu platter do well next year, then he looks like a genius. But I think too many people are grading this trade incorrectly ny grading the team as a whole rather than the trade itself. And that's not fair to Kenny because he can't address 4 things at once.

People please,
Let’s remember when the Sox had a GM who was one player away from multiple World Series titles, Ron Schuler. He could have had a Jose Canseco, Ruben Sierra or Ricky Henderson (back in 92-94’) when the Sox needed that one player to get over the hump. Remember who he wouldn’t give up? Scott Ruffcorn! Now they have a GM who isn’t afraid to gamble the future. Remember Jeremy Reed (Minor Player of the year 2004) for Freddie Garcia (winning pitcher for WS clinching game). In fact Kenny has been dealing Prospects since he came on as GM. The only one to really come back to bite is Chris Young for Javier Vazquez but even there it is sort of wash considering signing a pitcher like Vazquez for 8 mil a year this day and age is a bargain. So I would say let’s wait on this one. Like noted by a few of you Swisher is a discounted Rowan (without the glove but more offense). The Sox needed someone with fire and they seem to have gotten what they needed.
-Joe

I find it rather amusing that Beane can ridicule Williams for his draft picks, yet, has made recent trades to acquire 5 White Sox prospects. I agree the Sox paid a steep price to acquire Swisher. However, they are prospects who may or may not become everyday MLB players, much less become actual stars. I'll ask you this, if I offered you one thousand dollars cash or a lottery ticket, which would you take? Swisher is a very good player who is just reaching his prime and will not cost nearly as much for players with similar production. It was a good trade.

One thing that people need to understand is Mariotti is such a Scrub homer the Sox could have signed both Cabreras, Willis, Hunter, and Rowand for $5 million each, and Mariotti would still find fault.

Noles, where are you? Let's get your stats on Swisher.

In both 06 and 07 I sat in the left field bleachers and listened to Sox fans mercilessly skewer Swisher. In 06 he had a particularly good year at the plate ---does anybody else remember that Oakland beat (I think SWEPT) those nasty Twins in the 06 division series? Swisher was key in that series.

This is a typical Kenny move. I don't like the 3 for 1 trade but if the Sox can't get the marquis players b/c they won't deal out the cash, then this is the gamble Kenjerry are willing to take. Since the Torii storm, most of us have calmed down enough to realize that the Angels way, way, way overpaid for him, regardless of his fielding acrobatics.

Mariotti has the greatest job in the world -- he gets paid to be an a$$!!!

jplmojo said it best. All I can add is that if this team doesn't win 95 games - I will apologize to Mariotti for my feelings that he is a the true definition of "scum bag" and to all Cub Fans for accusing them of drinking too many cups of "instant smile".