Offseason Notes: White Sox

Although it looks altered, I didn't do a damned thing to this photo

So, I did it for the Cubbies, and the White Sox also have their own problems. Here's 5 quick moves that make the White Sox much better in '09.

#1. Trade Josh Fields. He's a butcher at 3B, strikes out more than Sosa in his prime, and is more of the same old "home run or bust" mentality that gets us nowhere. His inability to draw walks magnified by his unacanny ability to get hurt means a full season of Fields kills whatever trade value he has right now. Deal him in a package for a vet, or deal him for some relief pitching. Honestly, I would rather have Juan Urine up there. Yeah, I said it. This goes double if the Sox re-sign Urine on the cheap.

#2. Re-sign Toby Hall and Bobby Jenks. This is a no-brainer. Hall filled in admirably for Pierzynski, and has shown full recovery on his shoulder. Also, we've been REALLY lucky AJ never misses time. Gotta hedge your bets. As for Bobby, he's going with more finesse over power these days, but he still has the heat - did you see the post-season radar gun? Triple digits!

#3. Find a way to deal Thome or Konerko to the Angels. This is probably the least likely thing to happen, but it's a necessary move to fix a major problem with this ballclub. Two slow sluggers past their prime? Yeah, not digging it. Supposedly, there's a chance the Sox could nab Chone Figgins as part of a Konerko deal, in which case, I'm all for it. High average speedsters with a glove (read: Pablo Ozuna pre-suck) are always welcome here.

#4. DON'T trade Javy Vazquez. OK, he's a turd in the clutch. We get it. He's also a workhorse during the season. He gets a lot of K's, and usually gets his job done. For a 5th starter next year (after Richard), you can't do much better. Besides, if we deal him, you had better believe we're eating his contract anyways. Javy is a big step over Broadway, so I'm OK with it.

#5. Give Swisher the keys to first base. He's a step down from Quentin and Dye in the field, and putting him in center gives me bad nightmares of Mackowiak. He's got a good glove for a 1B, and if Paulie or Thome goes, you had better believe that the guy who sticks around becomes DH. I would much rather Anderson hit .230 in CF than Swisher hit .250 there.

The Cubs To-Do List

In our efforts to remain a source of even and "fair" coverage (fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs fuck you Cubs), we have to cover the Cubs as much as any other team.

Since baseball season is over, and the Cubbie blue faithful need something to do in October (as usual), here are a few thoughts for next season:

#1. If it ain't broke (yet), throw more money at it. Dempster, Wood, and the gang are going to need new contracts. Until the Cubs are actually sold, it's safe to assume that the new owner won't have shit to say about footing the bill. Throw out some absurdly long and lucrative contracts and hope for the best, right? Wood never gets hurt...

#2. Brian Roberts. Do it or don't do it, but stop obsessing about it. The Orioles understand that their team is awful, and that Roberts is the last player of value they have to deal. For the Cubs, it would likely cost them Samardzija, Hill, and a boatload of other prospects. Is it worth doing? Probably. Cedeno, DeRosa and Theriot can only do so much without a leadoff man, although if the Cubs get Roberts, you can bet one of these guys goes bye bye.

#3. Go spend more money. In line with #1, if you're going to spend, spend BIG. Go after CC Sabathia and K-Rod. Both of these guys would dominate in the NL (see: Rich Harden), and Sabathia has already proven it - he was on pace for 15 complete games last season had he played a full season with the Brewers. Win or lose, someone else is footing the bill, right?

#4. Get over Fukudome. Say what you will, Fukudome has talent. Yes, he's now a public pariah, but the Cubs are on the hook for his rather massive contract (and yes, someone else will eventually pay for it). You can't send him to the minors, and you can't bench him. You can either trade him (does he have a no trade clause?), or let him patrol RF. And really, who else would you put there? Edmonds is likely gone, and Reed Johnson has to fill his spot in CF. Oh, and for those of you that think Fukudome plays CF while DeRosa plays RF? Dream on.

#5. Stop losing. Well, you gotta start SOMEwhere, right?

Roundup: White Sox

And really, how many times do I get to use this photo?

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I'm not going to talk much about the Cubs here. Why? Frankly, I don't want the world to think that we're only pro-Sox around here - when the opportunity presents itself, we generally DO cover the Cubs. Expect a Cubs roundup later.

For now, let's talk about a team with more playoff wins in the last two years after last night's Sox victory.

First of all, I'm still on target for my projection of "Sox in 5." I almost EXPECT to win today's matchup of Gavin Floyd versus Andy Sonnanstine (13-9 record with a 4.38 ERA). I'm not saying that just because Gavin has been lights-out as of late -Floyd has produced in the same clutch-itude as Danks, but can be completely awful at times with poor control.

I'm saying the Sox will win because:

#1. It's a home game. We love home games (54-28 at home, 3rd best in the AL). We get to do the whole "blackout" thing, we get to eat elotes (trust me, try it), and we get to sing the White Sox fight song. It just works.

#2. We've seen Sonnastine. This is a guy who went 0-7 his last seven starts of the season, and isn't new to White Sox hitters. We saw him on April 19th (3-hit shutout I would like to forget), Jun 1 (10H, 3ER in a no decision where we let him off the hook) and August 24th (9H, 4ER, no decision). I'm not saying I expect us to be on the ball, but Sonnanstine has been coming at batters more, getting more K's and cutting down on walks...and seeing more balls in play. We do remarkably better as a team once we've seen a guy, and we've definitely had some success in the hitting department.

#3. Sonnastine loves to give freebies. This is probably going to be the make or break thing for the White Sox, but Sonnanstine has a nasty habit of helping out free-swingers as he looks to get ahead or finish a hitter. The White Sox, however, have a few ridiculous free-swinging players (Uribe, Ramirez, Anderson, Cabrera) that refuse to walk and can really come up big if they get some early pitches over the plate. Sonnanstine's line on first pitch (opponents hitting .354) and on an 0-1 count (opponents hitting .305) will help these guys out more than any experience can.

So, that said, here's my optimistic projected outcome:

SOX WIN, 6-3.