South Side Sox

White Sox close on Vizquel. One year deal to be backup.

2009-11-20T16:59:02Z

White Sox close on Vizquel. One year deal to be backup.

Per Rosenthal.

Don Cooper is ready for spring training: "Lack of conditioning, lack of preparation makes cowards...

2009-11-20T05:26:00Z

Don Cooper is ready for spring training: "Lack of conditioning, lack of preparation makes cowards of us all. We're going to make sure that conditioning and preparation is getting done.''

Coop tells pitchers it's time to raise the bar

"We signed our free agent already," Reinsdorf says. "His name is Jake Peavy."

2009-11-19T05:29:56Z

"We signed our free agent already," Reinsdorf says. "His name is Jake Peavy."

Free agency likely to be prudent for most major league clubs

Pass the Orgullo: A Hirsute Stroll Through the 2009 SSS Archives

2009-11-18T17:33:04Z

Hawk was reluctant at first...... but unapologetic afterwards. (P-shop of the year, by thecip)

View full size photo »

The season is long gone.

The Twins have won the World Series twice since the last time you saw the Sox take the field.

Jerry Owens is still dead.
God didn't come through, like Josh Fields promised He would.

The cold winds are whipping off the lakefront (or in my case, the Sound), foreshadowing the lonely, gray, baseball-less days ahead. Like any respectable armchair GM, you're on your 4th draft of potential 2010 rosters - 3 of which lead off with a guy you may or may not call "Chode" because you like that word and crave the context to use it. The word; not a chode... you don't have much use for those.

Anyway, the Sox didn't exceed our expectations this year, but for most of the season, they put on a good show.
We've already reflected on the games that made us proud to be Good Guys, but for this particular stroll down memory lane, I'm going no further than the SSS Archives.

We all know that humor and friendships emerge from the pain and adversity of watching your beloved team collectively crap themselves, so here is an unrefined, uncensored, unclothed (you need to take your pants off for this) recap of some of the finer moments for SSS in 2009.

Since I am only one woman and know I've overlooked countless mentionable comments and moments, please add to this with your own favorites (links, please! - ones that open in new windows!) in the comments section.

But This One Goes To 11...
Early in the year - Februrary to be exact - Cheat offered larry editorial keys to the site.
Some SSS readers rejoiced, while others lamented the taming of the brute, as larry was asked to take it down a notch or four.
Despite oft-longing for his jovial old self and the cat-like precision with which he used to pounce on tasty new posters, larry has done us well as an editor. Best known for keeping our fingers on the pulse of the minor-leagues, it is easy to forget some of the other moments in which larry shined as a commenter.
Including - and I know this will embarrass him because he is usually way too cool for gamethreads - one of the best gamethread performances by a single poster. He also undertook the role of undertaker, respectfully laying to rest the fallen members of the Sox and certain sandy members of SSS.

Like Peas in a PicklePods
Nobody - not even Carl - could have predicted the season that Podsednik gave us at the top of the order.
But for every game-winning hit or rally he led, Pods had a baserunning blunder or a defensive DOH! to match it.
He was our hero one minute; our scapegoat the next.
One of Pods' more notable gaffes came in the July 28th game against the Twins - Buehrle's first start after the Perfecto, in which he retired another 17 batters before the devastating meltdown, led by Pods' inability to catch a routine fly ball in left field. Appropriately, vince had just coined the term "Podspalm" the week before when Senor Pods tried to catch one with his face.

And on 7/28 after the blown catch, e-gus and his 1984 TV gave us this:

Buehrle is Perfect and So Is My Birthday
Hard to pay much lingering attention to the May game in which Buehrle went perfect through 6 innings against the Tigers, when you have July 23rd taking every ounce of the Sox spotlight this year - deservingly so, I might add.

As most of you recall, that glorious day happened to be my birthday, and I was initially thrilled just to have my favorite player on the mound. U-god even dedicated the Gamethread to me, obviously prior to knowing that MB was actually going to deliver the gift of a lifetime.
And then, as Hawk would say, "HISTORY!!!!"

I've watched The PerfectGame a few (hundred) times now. And each time I reflect on it or watch it, I get the same giddy feeling. I cry every time that Dewayne makes the catch - the 25th out that made my 25th birthday, the best birthday ever. What a day, Sox fans. What.a.day. It's hard to imagine that any other regular season game could provide such joy in our hearts. The Perfecto is up there in Best Days I've Ever Been Alive - right next to 10/26/05.

And in a way, I shared it with all of you. So thanks SSS, for helping to make my birthday even more magical...because believe it or not, most of these Seattle people didn't give a shit.

The Fateful Night That We Met and Drank Schlitz
The most notable SSS event ever - the First Annual Meet-Up, took place on Friday, the 22nd of May.
Organized by one really awesome long-distance poster, 20 of us gathered and toasted and hugged and hit on Mrs. e-gus and pet colintj's fur and high-fived and made our presence known to all corners of the South Side.

Gavin Floyd came off a shelacking of an outing and pitched a shut-out against the Pirates that night.
This game was significant for the regrowth of Floyd's Big and Hairy, and also because that home stretch in late-May led us into the best month of our season, which included the dawn of the Beckham era.
e-gus's recap here.

Illustrated recap, from Carl Skanberg:

Miscellaneous Awards and Honors
Word of the Year: Orgullo (particularly when spoken by Stone Pony)
Phrase of the Year: Just Fuck It / FNS / "My ____ is white."
Innocent Passerby of the Year: The Prostate Exam Guy
Comeback Poster of the Year: Nordhagen, bhoov, Toonderstrook (who also falls into the "Not Here Nearly Enough" category, the hippie fuck that he is)
SSS Rookies of the Year: billyok, Scotty Ballgame, Carbiner
Heated Dispute of the Year: Tdogg vs. The Actual El Guapo, MarketMaker vs WTGTD, WTGTD vs Science
Most Improved Poster: WhereTriplesGoToDie (aka: SouljaBoy, SoB), The Artist Formerly Known As picktoclick
Lucky Duck of the Year: e-gus, whose alcohol addiction and astute wife earned him a trip to the mound.
Best Attitude and Overall Demeanor: HappyHuman
Not Here Nearly Enough: Catbrains, MarketMaker - Look buddy, just because your waitress girlfriend demands your attention, it doesn't mean SSS has to suffer...post more, dammit. We did get a little gold from him, prior to his balls being snipped.
Confused OPOS of the Year: WU and Chiburb, bestowed with cloaking powers in 2009...if only they knew how to use them .
Fanpost of the Year: TAEG's Guide to Using Words On Your Computer-Based Internet / thecip's South Side Sox: 20 Years Ago / hsa's Mad Men thread (link not available) ;)
Fanshot of the Year: thatshortkid's 2010 Pie
Comments of the Year: thatshortkid's Mystery Boobs / Trooper Would Like To See Pods Jack Off / larry On Sea Creatures / many more that I hope will be added to the comments
Mike Huff Stand-In Moments of the Year: On JD / On White Guys Running
Discovery of the Year: The Hirsute Stone Pony
Most Fun With Hawk: Hawkless Joe Hawkson / Bacon Gets Bucked

Notable Photoshops by e-gus:

C/O thecip:

C/O Jim/SoxMachine/Who?:

C/O explodingwheelsforfunandprofit:

C/O vince_:

Please - Add your favorites to the comments. Pics, quotes, comments, reactions... Don't be shy! Create your own award too, if you've got something in need of awarding. Or suggest a different winner for a category I've already listed. These are just some highlights to get the conversation going....

BP's Top 15 White Sox Prospects

2009-11-17T17:12:41Z

BP's Top 15 White Sox Prospects

Four-Star Prospects
1. Daniel Hudson, RHP
2. Jared Mitchell, OF
3. Tyler Flowers, C
Three-Star Prospects
4. Jordan Danks, CF
5. Dayan Viciedo, 3B
6. Brent Morel, 3B
7. Clevelan Santeliz, RHP
8. Trayce Thompson, OF
Two-Star Prospects
9. Santos Rodriguez, LHP
10. David Holmberg, LHP
11. C.J. Retherford, 2B

Four More:

12. Jhonny Nunez, RHP: Nunez has a 93-95 mph fastball and a very good slider, both of which should fit in a big-league bullpen, though he falls short of being the late-inning type.
13. Josh Phegley, C: The 2009 draftee is the rare college catcher with power and patience, but there are way too many questions about his defensive prowess.
14. John Ely, RHP: Ely has consistently gotten minor league hitters out, but on a pure scouting level, he has merely average stuff and command.
15. Nathan Jones, RHP: Standing 6-foot-5, he's projectable as all get out and dialed up heat clocked up to 97 mph this year; he'll also be 24 in January while having yet to get out of A-ball.
...
The Sleeper: While the White Sox are rarely big players on the international scene, they might have found something in 18-year-old Venezuelan catcher Miguel Gonzalez, who combines a good bat with power potential and impressive catch-and-throw skills.

Ozzie Guillen Is Becoming Less Extreme

2009-11-17T03:57:29Z

Last off-season, prompted by a game in which I perceived the outcome to be effected by Ozzie Guillen's quick hook, I examined the evolution of Guillen's hook. I thought about taking it a step further in the dead time around Christmas again, but in flipping through the 2010 Bill James Handbook, I found they've done the work for me, though using a different methodology.

I was given an an advanced copy of the Handbook in exchange for a review and a few links (full disclosure -- Suck on it, FTC!). Unfortunately, a review isn't forthcoming anytime soon. I'm just too damn busy. But I thought I demonstrate its usefulness by simply presenting Ozzie Guillen's capsule from the managers section.

Click to enlarge, and less blurify
Thanks to e-Gus for supplying a more readable image. Still missing the last columns, but that's just W-L percentage. I think you can live.

Ozzie has become a boring manager. He doesn't seem to have any extreme tendencies anymore. Bold (extra blurry) indicates league leader. Gone are the Slow Hooks, the Long Outings, Relievers used on Consecutive Days, and all those Sacrifices Attempted. The only area where Ozzie stands out now, having intentional walks blow up in his face, isn't directly under his control (unless he stops ordering walks altogether, which, hey, I'm not against). With a rotation of Peavy, Buehrle, Danks and Floyd, and a bullpen that features only two members you can reasonably count on heading into the season, I'd love to see Ozzie fall back into his '04-'06 pattern of letting the starters work deep into games.

Key (after the jump)

G -- Games Managed
LUp -- Number of different Lineups used
PL% -- Percentage of players who had the platoon advantage at the beginning of the game
PH -- Pinch Hitters used
PR -- Pinch Runners used
DS -- Defensive Substitutes used
Quick -- Quick hooks
Slow -- Slow hooks
LO -- Long Outings by starting pitchers
RCD -- Relievers used on Consecutive Days
LS -- Long Saves
Rel -- Relievers used
SBA -- Stolen Base Attempts
SacBA -- Sacrifice Bunt Attempts
RM -- Runners Moving with the pitch
PO -- Pitchouts Orders
# -- Intentional walks issued
Good -- Intentional walks resulting in a Good outcome
NG -- Intentional walks resulting Not in a Good outcome
Bomb -- Intentional walks blowing up on a manager
W -- Wins
L -- Losses
Pct. -- Winning Percentage

More Magic from Dave Cameron

2009-11-17T00:21:03Z

More Magic from Dave Cameron

Owens has been the focus of scorn and derision from White Sox fans who had to endure Ozzie Guillen’s attempts to make him an everyday player, which he simply isn’t cut out for. However, as a fourth outfielder, Owens is actually a useful player. His defense is a real positive at all three spots and he’s a very good base stealer. He doesn’t have any power, but he’s an excellent contact hitter who is willing to draw a walk from time to time, so he won’t kill you at the plate.

For a team with a lumbering corner outfielder who could use a pinch runner/defensive caddy, Owens is a good use of a roster spot.

It's ROY Day! - And Beckham Gets 5th Place.

2009-11-16T06:51:07Z

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

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The Rookie of the Year Awards are announced today, so use this thread to celebrate, or, alternately, plot your murders of those other undeserving rookies and the BWAA members who voted for them. Edit: Gordon Beckham gets 5th place. Andrew Bailey wins.
Kenny Williams thinks the National League sucks.

"A guy going from the American League to the National League, no disrespect, but. ... "

"There are guys in the American League who go to the National League and don’t do well," Williams conceded, "but there are not too many of them that I can think of."
And Phil Rogers declares Brent Morel the White Sox third baseman of the future. I can't say I agree, but 18 months ago when he was drafted, I did like his swing better than Beckham's from their scouting videos. I still like Morel, probably more than most prospect experts, yet I wouldn't go so far as to call him the future of anything. He was blocked this year, when he probably should have received a mid-season promotion. He's still on the utility player track, though his ceiling seems like a Mark Teahen type, albeit with better defense.

Jim Thome still open to returning to Chicago White Sox -- chicagotribune.com

2009-11-13T19:32:20Z

Jim Thome still open to returning to Chicago White Sox -- chicagotribune.com

Because we desperately need a new thread

SBN Baseball Blogger Awards: AL MVP

2009-11-12T18:00:41Z

Wrapping up the SBN Baseball Blogger Awards with the AL MVP voting. Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.

Results after the Jump, because they'll take up the whole front page

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

Wrapping Up the GM Meetings

2009-11-12T05:31:42Z

The GM Meetings wrapped up today, and the baseball writers kept churning out content...

Kenny Williams is busy being his usual brutally honest self

"It's the same thing every year at this time of year," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "There is nothing to report."
Williams also discussed the payroll, though without offering any specifics, sticking instead to the marketing and ticket sales side of things, and indicated that the Sox won't be players in free agency until later in the off-season.
The White Sox released their spring training schedule, including 5 games with the Cubs and a trip to Vegas.
Fangraphs uses UZR to rank Jermaine Dye as the 3rd-worst fielder over the last three years. Just think how much worse that would be if he played the wall like Podsednik, one of the few areas where Dye was actually pretty good.
Schadenfreude link of the day: Wilson Betemit will reportedly sign with the Royals.

SBN Baseball Blogger Awards: AL Cy Young

2009-11-11T18:35:24Z

Continuing the SBN Baseball Blogger Awards

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	28	1	-	143
2	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	17	6	57
3	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	8	9	33
4	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	1	2	11	22
5	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	1	2	5
6	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	1	1

White Sox Make "News" at GM Meetings

2009-11-11T06:38:00Z

More photos » by M. Spencer Green - AP

Kenny Williams: The Newsmaker

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Not much happens at the GM meetings. But this year those meetings are taking place in Chicago -- an unnamed hotel near O'hare, actually -- which means the local Chicago rags can afford to send their writers to cover the relative non-event. So we've got a lot to link to for a week after the World Series ended:

There was a reason I refused to put Scott Podsednik in the See Ya Later group and called him a cock-a-roach (in my best Tony Montana voice) on Facebook, he's not going to go away that easily. Those talks that seemed to be dead last week, have, according to the ubiquitous sources, "heated up."
One player who will be gone, is Jermaine Dye. Some speculated that he might be brought back on the cheap to play DH, but JD, while not specifically ruling out the Sox, insists on ruining some as-yet-to-be-determined team's defense.

"There are a number of teams I've heard already that would love to have me,'' Dye said. "I know one thing, I will not be DHing. You can put that down. If a team wants to try me out at first base on an every day basis I'll do that. That's something I feel will be easy to learn. But as far as DHing that's not for me. Teams shouldn't call if that's their plan.''
Bruce Levine seems to think the Sox are going to hang on to Bobby Jenks, and gets the Chicago GMs on the record about instant replay.
Kenny Williams echoed my sentiment about Alexei Ramirez:

"I personally thought it was terribly unfair, the criticism (Ramirez) got," Williams said. "Of course, the lapses are somewhat frustrating, but I expect those as a young player. I expect those coming from young players. That's part of the development."
Williams also joined in raising concerns about the leaking of players names who've been placed on the waiver wire.
And Joe Crede still wants to play for half a season.

Mark Buehrle Wins Gold Glove

2009-11-10T20:29:54Z

Mark Buehrle Wins Gold Glove

But on Tuesday, Buehrle officially captured an award he had coveted since becoming a member of the South Siders' rotation in 2001. Buehrle took home an American League Rawlings Gold Glove, joining Jim Kaat as the only pitcher in team history to earn the honor recognizing exceptional defense.

Buehrle's Gold Glove is the first won by a White Sox player since third baseman Robin Ventura in 1998. Always considered one of the best fielding pitchers in the AL, Buehrle was blocked by previous winners Kenny Rogers (five times), Mike Mussina (three times) and Johan Santana during his past nine years.

SBN Baseball Blogger Awards: AL Rookie of the Year

2009-11-10T17:54:07Z

Larry already posted this one in the last thread's comments, but not everyone is brave enough to venture in there.

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Elvis Andrus	Texas Rangers	6	9	6	63
2	Andrew Bailey	Oakland Athletics	11	1	3	61
3	Jeff Niemann	Tampa Bay Rays	3	5	3	33
4	Rick Porcello	Detroit Tigers	2	7	2	33
5	Brett Anderson	Oakland Athletics	5	1	3	31
6	Gordon Beckham	Chicago White Sox	1	2	8	19
7	Nolan Reimold	Baltimore Orioles	1	-	1	6
8	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	3	6
9	Brad Bergesen	Baltimore Orioles	-	1	-	3
10	Ricky Romero	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3
11	Travis Snider	Toronto Blue Jays	-	1	-	3

SBN Baseball Blogger Awards: AL Manager of the Year

2009-11-09T15:51:25Z

Because we need a fresh thread. That last one was starting to smell pretty rank.

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Mike Scioscia	Los Angeles Angels	9	8	3	72
2	Ron Gardenhire	Minnesota Twins	9	5	1	61
3	Don Wakamatsu	Seattle Mariners	6	3	8	47
4	Joe Girardi	New York Yankees	2	4	2	24
5	Ron Washington	Texas Rangers	1	4	4	21
6	Terry Francona	Boston Red Sox	1	1	3	11
7	Jim Leyland	Detroit Tigers	-	2	4	10
8	Joe Maddon	Tampa Bay Rays	-	1	1	4
9	Ozzie Guillen	Chicago White Sox	-	-	1	1
10	Trey Hillman	Kansas City Royals	-	-	1	1

White Sox Show Their Hand With Teahen Trade

2009-11-07T06:35:43Z

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Browse more photos »

Two days ago, as the Yankees marched on to yet another purchased World Series title, the White Sox appeared like they could take any number of routes to fill out their '10 lineup. I had planned on writing an SSS Official Off-Season Plan as I have in the past -- quick synopsis: upgrade IF defense by negotiating with the devil. Buy Adrian Beltre, shift the left side of the infield one space right. Find a cheap scrapheap corner outfielder. I was thinking Xavier Nady (also a Boras client) and re-up with Jim Thome -- but Kenny Williams had other ideas, wasting no time in reshaping the '10 roster.

Jettisoned (for sure): Jermaine Dye, Josh Fields, Chris Getz; (maybe): Scott Podsednik (I'm never going to write off his return)

Returning: Mark Kotsay

Newcomer: Mark Teahen

We basically knew all those moves Thursday morning, but it still wasn't apparent how the Sox would use Teahen. My own thought was that it would mean an end to our years of having a lumbering, full-time DH on the roster. In that scenario, Teahen would have played 3B/OF and Pods probably would have been back as well, rotating with any number of players through the DH spot. But Kenny erased that notion by naming Teahen the White Sox 3rd baseman of the immediate future.

What does it all mean for the '10 roster?

The moves leave the Sox with two obvious holes at Designated Hitter and a corner outfield spot. DH is unlikely to be filled anytime soon, as the Sox don't have much to spend and the bottom has fallen out of the defensively-challenged hitter market in recent years. It's likely that the Sox will go bargain hunting as the calendar turns to February, with Williams not ruling out bringing back Jim Thome or even Dye.

"I don't think you can rule it out because it's a long offseason," said Williams, adding he might not fill the designated hitter role until the latter part of the winter. "We just got started. Everyone knows I think the world of this guy."

The remaining corner outfield spot is a bit trickier. The Sox stand with about $90M committed to their players making above the league minimum (arbitration figures estimated), and an operating budget that figures to come in under $100M. It's unlikely that they can bring in adequate talent at those two premium offensive positions on the open market for less than $10M. This means a trade, of course, is on the horizon; and Bobby Jenks seems like the most likely to leave.

Phil Rogers seems eager to remove Paul Konerko's $12M contract, though he never provides a team willing to take on that contract, or how the Sox will replace his production.

No, I suspect Jenks-for-an-outfielder will be the rumor of the off-season; and it's already started courtesy Joe Cowley with a Jenks and Jordan Danks for Carl Crawford postulation on 670 the score. We'll have plenty of time to discuss these rumors over the winter.

For now, let's take a look at what it means for the Sox as they stand currently:

Beckham moves to 2nd -- In my unpublished off-season plan, I wanted to move Beckham off third not because I didn't think he could play there, but because I thought it was the best way to upgrade both offense and defense at the same time. I don't particularly care which infield spot he gets moved to. Alexei Ramirez committed a number of errors and short, yes; and he was a bit of an adventure turning the double play. But he was solid, and overall a reliable glove in the field.

I learned after the 2000 season not to get upset at an adequate shortstop who draws the ire of radio call-in guests with some high profile errors. Every shortstop makes errors, and most of them are of the 'bad' variety. Alexei is no different than any host of major league shortstops. He was the definition of average defensively. He was merely frustrating because he showed plus range and the ability to make some spectacular plays, but negated it by making the occasional annoyingly lackadaisical error, which he seemed to correct as the season wore on. (He was probably one of the top 5 defensive SS in baseball in the second half). I'll take my chances that he's more the second-half Alexei than first-half.

So Beckham moves to second base, a position that would seem to be more natural for him, and his predicted destination since being drafted in '08. He should have no trouble making the transition, as we saw him make considerable progress at 3B over the course of the season. My only complaint is that if the Sox had this in mind, there was no reason not to be playing Beckham at 2B over the last month of the season when the Sox were clearly out of the AL central race.

As for Teahen at third, um, yeah, that's another story. He's bad defensively. Not quite Josh Fields bad, but close enough that he shouldn't be considered a first option, and isn't the type of player who pushes a franchise player like Beckham to another position.

Offensively, Teahen is living off his reputation from a breakout '06 season when he put up and ISO of .225. In the three years since, he's averaged an ISO of about .135. He has the glove of Mark Reynolds, and the bat of Pedro Feliz.

Watching Teahen bat against the White Sox in recent years, you might get the impression that he was a speedy baserunner, as I seem to recall two separate inside-the-park homeruns. And while he did use Kauffman's expansive outfield to pile up 23 triples in his first 4 seasons, he managed only 1 last season. Diving into the Bill James Handbook, Teahen is listed as having a negative impact on the bases last year due to his ability to run into key outs. James also has a measure called Manufactured Runs Created, a measure of the little things (bunts, steals, sac flies, etc.) impact on creating runs. In this category, Teahen ranked among the Royals top 3 at 16 MRC. But the Royals ranked last in the league, and Teahen appears to be marginally above average here. (A full data set was not provided, and I'm not going to draw any conclusions based on a year of data.)

Teahen's only under contract for a year, and, thanks to the $2M from the Royals, should only cost the Sox about $2.5M. So maybe he's just a stop-gap, future utility guy, and the Sox have supreme confidence in their 3B depth (Retherford, Viciedo, Morel).

So what did the Sox gain by adding Teahen? Not much in my view. They didn't give up anything of value. Chris Getz is the best player they gave up, and he might be able to post some league average production at his peak (if he can stay healthy).

Overall, it was the right idea -- getting a 3B to move Beckham to a more natural position -- but Teahen is the wrong player to take the Sox to the next level.

Now Official: Teahen and $1 Million to White Sox for Getz and Fields

2009-11-06T17:29:25Z

Now Official: Teahen and $1 Million to White Sox for Getz and Fields

KW explained to Getz that they needed to "shuffle things up.''

KW says Teahen is now the starting 3B and Beckham is starting second baseman.

Post your complaints here.

Also: KW says talks with Pods have broken down and now it's not likely they sign him.

And: KW on his payroll: "We’ll spend whatever we have available, but there’s not much.’’

This Month in White Sox Minor League Baseball

2009-11-06T01:28:16Z

Jordan Danks does it for the kids.

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This month:

Jordan Danks has been the outstanding performer so far for the White Sox winter ballas. Shaking off his poor, potentially injury induced, second half of 2009, he's gone .333/.450/.485 in 18 games. Watch him this Saturday at 7:15pm on MLB Network in the AFL Rising Stars Game.
The White Sox originally sent a bunch of junk to pitch in the AFL. Two junk removals have provided opportunities to a couple interesting guys. One, Sergio Santos, is simply that: interesting. A former first round pick of the Diamondbacks as a high school SS, he spent 7 seasons in the minors, never fulfilling his promise. After being invited to Spring Training this season by the White Sox and not impressing them with his hitting, either, he was converted to pitcher and, while very raw, showed some promise on the mound with a 9.4 K/9. Of course, that came with 6.4 BB/9 and a slew of wild pitches and hit by pitches. The story has been much the same in the AFL, with 6 BB and 12 K in 9.1 IP.
Also recently added from the instructional leagues was Kyle Bellamy, who is actually a prospect. A 2009 5th round selection, as a college closer, he's a fast track type and his appearance in the AFL confirms this impression. A tall, right-handed side-armer, some think he could be on the South Side next season and a good showing in the AFL would go a long way in raising his status in the organization.
As most of you know, Dayan Viciedo was shut down due to tendinitis in his right elbow after just four games. The injury is not considered at all serious and can arguably be chalked up to simple overuse in a player not used to a season stretching from February into November. He's an expected attendee at Camp Cora this January.
The injury to Viciedo opened up an opportunity for larry favorite Brent Morel. So far, .280/.296/.280.
C.J. Retherford: .255/.309/.392.
They do play baseball in places other than Arizona and the White Sox have a couple other notable participants. Jon Link is pitching for Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League where he's taken his usual high strikeout/high walk act: 15.1 IP, 11 H, 10 BB, 15 K. Clevelan Santeliz is playing for Navegantes del Magallanes in the VWL and is continuing his 2009 transformation into a high strikeout/low walk pitcher: 12.2 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 16 K. Look for him to get a serious look for the opening day roster.
High A affiliate Winston-Salem will finally be getting their new ballpark completed. After a year delay which forced them to play at the stadium they had sold to Wake Forest, the Dash's new home in downtown Winston-Salem is set to open on April 13. Hopefully this means the club will draw more than the putrid 901 fans per game they averaged last season.
And, for the first time in more than a decade, the White Sox will take on their AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, in a pre-season exhibition on April 1, 2010.

Here's Your Chance to Resolve Getz vs. Nix Once and For All

2009-11-05T20:42:43Z

Here's Your Chance to Resolve Getz vs. Nix Once and For All

The 2009 Fans Scouting Report - last chance, ballots close on Monday.