Nothing in the way of critical news to report here, but just some things to catch up on:
1. According to a report from Bob Dutton of the KC Star, Mark Teahan did in arrive with $1 million, which makes me feel pretty smart with my little calculator, and my pocket protector, and my abacus, and my Poindexter playing the violin in one of those "Revenge of the Nerds" movies. Awesome. The more I think about this trade and its implications to our defensive positioning, the more I like it. I think that Gordon Beckham being at second is going to improve Alexei Ramirez as a shortstop. Double plays are going to develop more quickly coming from Bacon, and Alexei's going to have to properly position himself to roll up the tail end of those plays. The ball will be coming, quickly and accurately, to the bag. No more of the "40 feet from the bag in double play scenarios" positioning. Alexei won't be able to get away with that as much, in theory. We'll see if I'm right about this.
2. According to Tim Kurkjian, both the White Sox AND the Cubs could be in on the Chone Figgins sweepstakes. Personally, I feel like Tom Ricketts might be a bit financially tied up as far as his team is concerned, thanks to Jim Hendry's abhorrent use of the franchise's coffers over the last few years. At this point, I am pretty sure that he'd be a stretch for the Sox as well. I like Chone Figgins, but I don't like him at all for around $12M per year for four years... Oh, and the Orioles are also contenders for Figgins, apparently. Wake me up when Earl Weaver is managing the Orioles again.
Managers used to be managers. Now they're all... math professors.
3. Also, the Cubs will have to go a few ways this offseason, according to Kurkjian:
"The first point of business will be trading volatile outfielder Milton Bradley, but they likely won't be able to do that without picking up most of the two years, $20 million left on his contract. Then they have to sign, find or trade for a dominant personality for that clubhouse -- they haven't replaced the leadership they lost with the departures of Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood last offseason. And, with the way their offense fell off last year, they have to find a big bat for the middle of the order, someone even bigger than Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, and someone much, much better than Alfonso Soriano."
4. According to MLB Trade Rumors, the White Sox would be a good fit for a short-term deal with Vladimir Guerrero. I'm not sure how I'd feel about this. Just for shits and giggles, I ran a comparison of three hypothetical solutions for the White Sox at DH for next year: Vlad, Dye, and Thome. The results can be found here.
All three players are clearly on the downslope of their respective careers. This makes sense, because they're all pretty old. I still think think Dye makes the most sense. Thome walks a lot, but he also strikes out at a fair clip. Vlad doesn't strike out as much, but he also doesn't take as many walks. Dye seems like the middle ground to me.
Showing posts with label Jermaine Dye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jermaine Dye. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tag 'Em & Bag 'Em
Well, that didn't take too long. According to Mr. Cowley, Jermaine Dye's remaining contract has been bought out for $950,000 by the club. It was a financially prudent move on Kenny William's part to buy out JD's contract at this juncture, and we knew it was going to happen.
In other news, Mark Teahen is now officially a White Sox. As it turns out, money was the sticking point for the whole deal. Kansas City ended up sending him and unknown cash considerations to the White Sox in exchange for Fields and Getz. The contracts of Fields and Getz were worth $410,000 and $401,000, respectively. Teahen's earning about 9 times as much as either of those guys, so some compensation was necessary. But that's not the end of it.
So, all in all, you have the Sox saving roughly $11,050,000 by not extending Dye. They cut an additional $811,000 in trading away Fields and Getz. The Royals sent them x dollars. From that bulk of savings, take away Teahen's $3,575,000 contract and you lighten the team's salary by at least $8,286,000. If the Royals fronted the difference in salary in full (if this were a perfect world), the Sox would be saving $11,050,000. More than likely, Teahen's remaining contract was covered, so you're actually probably looking somewhere in the neighborhood of a million dollars that the Royals sent to Chicago. So all in all, the Sox saved themselves about $9 million in the last two days. God, I love Kenny sometimes.
Now... whose money is that?
-=-=-
Thank you, Jermaine Dye. You were a really great player for us for the last five years. Your stats during this period show it:
742 hits, 164 home runs, 461 runs batted in, a .278 batting average, an on-base percentage of .344, and fielded around 98% error-free. Most Valuable Player of the 2005 World Series.
You were a damn solid player for us, and a large reason why we won the World Series. So thank you. I hope that you find success wherever your career takes you from here.
Like Jim Thome, Jermaine was 100% class at all times. He never caused any trouble, or made a ruckus, or came off arrogant or vain or self-obsessed. The only times I remember seeing him start anything was 1) when Orlando Cabrera stole a base ahead of him in a hitting count and threw off his concentration, and he nearly choked out Cabrera in the dugout, which would've been 100% O.K. in my book and 2) when Toby Hall coated Dye's face with a shaving cream pie after the game, and Dye appeared ready to kill Hall. If you don't understand that, then I suggest you immediately go and put globs of shaving cream in your eyes. Then we'll talk.
Anyway, I'm going to miss the big man in right. I learned a lot by observing him out there.
If I have one consistent memory of Jermaine Dye, it would have to be watching him at the plate, his heel rising and falling like a piston, and the bat head moving back and forth above his head. But it is in a calm way. Jermaine, the stoic warrior. The ball comes from the pitcher's hand, and Dye cracks a screaming line drive up the middle.
On many of those occasions, my wife (girlfriend at the time) would be sitting beside me, watching the game. She never took an interest in baseball before we were together. Inevitably, after Jermaine had ripped a line drive past the pitcher, Missy would turn to me and say "I like those." She wasn't yet sure what to call a line drive. At that point, she was just learning to love the game, but she knew immediately how to identify a great hit when it came off the bat. It always seemed to come off of Jermaine's bat.
"I like those too, honey." And I did. I loved those.
Thank you, Jermaine. I'm gonna miss you. I don't care about this last year. You were clutch.
Teabaggin' & Hypothetical JD
Rumor mills have Sox swapping Getz and Fields for KC utility guru Teahen: more to follow?
According to multiple sources, the White Sox are in the process of acquiring Kansas City Royals jack of all trades Mark Teahen for second baseman Chris Getz and "third baseman" Josh Fields. The deal was announced as complete all throughout the day on Chicago's WSCR-670, but as of yet has not been officially confirmed. What's the holdup?
According to the Sun-Times White Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley: "There were still talks about the possibility of minor-league prospects being involved."
The notorious/exhalted/all-powerful Brian Kovar of STATS weighed in with his professional opinion. He felt the White Sox may have given up too much for Teahen. Could the Sox be getting back a prospect or two in return for giving up two of their own younger players? Don't get me wrong here, I never for one second felt that Getz and/or Fields were the building blocks of a championship contending team... but they certainly have the potential to be serviceable. Fields could make a decent/replacement level first baseman with good enough pop at the plate, and Getz showed that at times he could actually hold his own at the top of our lineup this year. The fielding needs work for both of them, but on the whole they weren't bad players. They weren't exactly good players, however, and that must have been enough in Kenny's mind to send them packing. That's life, I suppose. And that's certainly baseball.
According to most sources, Teahen is slated to start next year in right field. My "bullshit meter" is just blaring. Last year, Teahen hit 12 home runs. Dye- he of the incredible and all-encompassing second half slump- hit 27 of them last year. That's well over double the power output that Teahen provided for his club, and Jermaine had a historically bad campaign from July onward. Where in the presently anemic lineup do the Sox get those 15 home runs back? You certainly can't lean on Carlos Quentin (he might break). Kenny Williams is well aware that his ball club is a home run hitting team, in a home run hitting ballpark.
Here's what I see:
I think Kenny is going to go after Chone Figgins first and foremost, and be quickly outbid by someone else. Plan B?
How's this for a possible scenario: Sox management guilt trips the living hell out of Dye for his shoddy performance (the public has been since the first week of July), and ink him to a short-term "hometown" deal. It really makes sense: he wants to stay here, his family is rooted here, and we've clearly put up with off years before (cough Paulie cough). He's a solid presence on the team, he's a respected leader, and he was a keystone to our winning the Series in '05. Plus, he wanted to choke out Orlando Cabrera last year, which clearly shows sound judgment on Jermaine's part.
All this aside, Dye's second half performance certainly couldn't have earned him much in the way of leverage in the free agent market. Jermaine Dye is getting old, and commanding very little. His mobility in the field is decreasing, and his bat is (now, thanks to last year) suspect. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but this is exactly why I believe he is primed to be the White Sox designated hitter. They're going to let him test free agency, and when he can't land a deal even remotely close to what his option with the Sox would have been ($12M), he's going to come back. In a way, you can argue that the 2009 slump of Jermaine Dye could be a very good thing for the 2010 club.
Remember when Kenny dicked around with Buerhle when contract time came around a couple of years back? Yeah, me too. And that was a "pride of the franchise" type of guy Kenny was playing slap 'n tickle with.
Let's be honest: even if Jermaine sucks beyond belief next year, he should be capable of doubling up, power wise, on the "replacement level" of outfielder which Kenny Williams has set for his 2010 club (Mark Teahen and/or Mark Kotsay). I'd like to see Figgins at the top of our order, but I've steadily become more and more convinced that it's not going to happen... especially now that the Yankees just won it all. Nancy, fire up the pipes. Figgins is gone.
I think Dye's coming back.
Let's say this happens just as I'm saying. If they resign Dye, where does Teahen go? #4 outfielder? I don't think so. He could well be the new third baseman. Teahen played 107 games there last year, and has played the bulk of his career at third (363 at third, 261 in right). The sudden Getz absence opens things up a bit for the Sox: Alexei could shift over to second, where he will have a much harder time screwing up routine outs. He clearly had focus problems last year, which is not something you can afford from your shortstop. I also like the idea of Alexei's offensive numbers coming out of the 2B position. Bacon could then scoot over to short, which is his natural position.
Let's say Figgins falls through, AND someone else inks Dye... I think that then, and only then, Jim Thome gets called back to play. Teahen takes over in right/third, depending on possible moves.
So, in short, Teahen is insurance against losing an actual starting right fielder, and he could actually be our new third baseman. Here's wishful thinking: Teahen's defensive range factor numbers line up comparably at this stage in his career to Joe Crede's range factor numbers, circa 2004. This might be the last sentence I will ever type, for the thundergod Rowand may strike me down with a bolt of lightning from the heavens at any second.
...
I'm still here. Phew. Clearly, the god of XTREME OUTFIELDING has little time to meddle in the affairs of a peon such as myself. Thank you, oh merciful one. You are the Grindiest of Grindy. He was probably too busy skydiving on the back of a tiger and pounding enough Red Bull to kill six men twice over.
You selfish heathen. Don't you realize? That is Aaron Rowand's sacrifice for YOU: XTREME MARTYRDOM- HE HAS CAST HIMSELF INTO THE DEPTHS OF XTREME AWESOMENESS TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR DULL, MUNDANE EXISTENCE!
DOUBLE U DOUBLE U DOUBLE U DOT REMETEE DOT COM ON A LIGHTNING BOLT
LAZERS AND BMX FLIPS
DRAG RACING AND PYROTECHNICS
Anyway, to close my original point, Mark Teahen was also the #39 pick in the 2002 draft, so he obviously had the pedigree to stand out to the talent scouts. Maybe the Kansas City coaching staff could only get through to him to a point? Some quality time with Joey Cora should improve him... and even if he is a slight downgrade from Beckham at third, he'll still be an upgrade from Fields at third.
-=-=-
Terry Boers, whose baseball knowledge I greatly respect, is steadfastly maintaining that Tampa is a team who is in need of a closer. Namely, Bobby Jenks. Tampa is also a team that has Carl Crawford. I would honestly donate my testicles if it meant that the Sox could have a shot at acquiring Carl Crawford. Now THERE'S a top of the order guy for all you Scott Podsednik apologists to watch. See how he doesn't get picked off? See how he can actually track a ball when he's in the field? Revolutionary!
Speaking of Podsednik, Cowley says "There were initial talks with Scott Podsednik to re-sign with the club, but that might have been nothing more than a PR move by the club, allowing them to stall and find out the asking price for Figgins in just over two weeks." Talk to him all day, but I beg of you, do not sign him. Last year was a mirage, and I hope to God that Kenny wasn't fooled... we'll see who was. I bet the Nationals sign him.
-=-=-
Aside from the hypothetical, more reality: the Sox re-signed Mark Kotsay. 1 year, $1.5 million. For a backup outfielder and a backup for Paulie, I like it. I'd rather have Mark Kotsay as my #4 outfielder as opposed to DeWayne Wise or Brian Anderson. Although, I still pine for Anderson's glove. If he could just have learned to bat .260... sigh.
It's when you're pining for Brian Anderson that you know your post has gone too far. Good night.
According to multiple sources, the White Sox are in the process of acquiring Kansas City Royals jack of all trades Mark Teahen for second baseman Chris Getz and "third baseman" Josh Fields. The deal was announced as complete all throughout the day on Chicago's WSCR-670, but as of yet has not been officially confirmed. What's the holdup?
According to the Sun-Times White Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley: "There were still talks about the possibility of minor-league prospects being involved."
The notorious/exhalted/all-powerful Brian Kovar of STATS weighed in with his professional opinion. He felt the White Sox may have given up too much for Teahen. Could the Sox be getting back a prospect or two in return for giving up two of their own younger players? Don't get me wrong here, I never for one second felt that Getz and/or Fields were the building blocks of a championship contending team... but they certainly have the potential to be serviceable. Fields could make a decent/replacement level first baseman with good enough pop at the plate, and Getz showed that at times he could actually hold his own at the top of our lineup this year. The fielding needs work for both of them, but on the whole they weren't bad players. They weren't exactly good players, however, and that must have been enough in Kenny's mind to send them packing. That's life, I suppose. And that's certainly baseball.
According to most sources, Teahen is slated to start next year in right field. My "bullshit meter" is just blaring. Last year, Teahen hit 12 home runs. Dye- he of the incredible and all-encompassing second half slump- hit 27 of them last year. That's well over double the power output that Teahen provided for his club, and Jermaine had a historically bad campaign from July onward. Where in the presently anemic lineup do the Sox get those 15 home runs back? You certainly can't lean on Carlos Quentin (he might break). Kenny Williams is well aware that his ball club is a home run hitting team, in a home run hitting ballpark.
Here's what I see:
I think Kenny is going to go after Chone Figgins first and foremost, and be quickly outbid by someone else. Plan B?
How's this for a possible scenario: Sox management guilt trips the living hell out of Dye for his shoddy performance (the public has been since the first week of July), and ink him to a short-term "hometown" deal. It really makes sense: he wants to stay here, his family is rooted here, and we've clearly put up with off years before (cough Paulie cough). He's a solid presence on the team, he's a respected leader, and he was a keystone to our winning the Series in '05. Plus, he wanted to choke out Orlando Cabrera last year, which clearly shows sound judgment on Jermaine's part.
All this aside, Dye's second half performance certainly couldn't have earned him much in the way of leverage in the free agent market. Jermaine Dye is getting old, and commanding very little. His mobility in the field is decreasing, and his bat is (now, thanks to last year) suspect. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but this is exactly why I believe he is primed to be the White Sox designated hitter. They're going to let him test free agency, and when he can't land a deal even remotely close to what his option with the Sox would have been ($12M), he's going to come back. In a way, you can argue that the 2009 slump of Jermaine Dye could be a very good thing for the 2010 club.
Remember when Kenny dicked around with Buerhle when contract time came around a couple of years back? Yeah, me too. And that was a "pride of the franchise" type of guy Kenny was playing slap 'n tickle with.
Let's be honest: even if Jermaine sucks beyond belief next year, he should be capable of doubling up, power wise, on the "replacement level" of outfielder which Kenny Williams has set for his 2010 club (Mark Teahen and/or Mark Kotsay). I'd like to see Figgins at the top of our order, but I've steadily become more and more convinced that it's not going to happen... especially now that the Yankees just won it all. Nancy, fire up the pipes. Figgins is gone.
I think Dye's coming back.
Let's say this happens just as I'm saying. If they resign Dye, where does Teahen go? #4 outfielder? I don't think so. He could well be the new third baseman. Teahen played 107 games there last year, and has played the bulk of his career at third (363 at third, 261 in right). The sudden Getz absence opens things up a bit for the Sox: Alexei could shift over to second, where he will have a much harder time screwing up routine outs. He clearly had focus problems last year, which is not something you can afford from your shortstop. I also like the idea of Alexei's offensive numbers coming out of the 2B position. Bacon could then scoot over to short, which is his natural position.
Let's say Figgins falls through, AND someone else inks Dye... I think that then, and only then, Jim Thome gets called back to play. Teahen takes over in right/third, depending on possible moves.
So, in short, Teahen is insurance against losing an actual starting right fielder, and he could actually be our new third baseman. Here's wishful thinking: Teahen's defensive range factor numbers line up comparably at this stage in his career to Joe Crede's range factor numbers, circa 2004. This might be the last sentence I will ever type, for the thundergod Rowand may strike me down with a bolt of lightning from the heavens at any second.
...I'm still here. Phew. Clearly, the god of XTREME OUTFIELDING has little time to meddle in the affairs of a peon such as myself. Thank you, oh merciful one. You are the Grindiest of Grindy. He was probably too busy skydiving on the back of a tiger and pounding enough Red Bull to kill six men twice over.
You selfish heathen. Don't you realize? That is Aaron Rowand's sacrifice for YOU: XTREME MARTYRDOM- HE HAS CAST HIMSELF INTO THE DEPTHS OF XTREME AWESOMENESS TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR DULL, MUNDANE EXISTENCE!
DOUBLE U DOUBLE U DOUBLE U DOT REMETEE DOT COM ON A LIGHTNING BOLT
LAZERS AND BMX FLIPS
DRAG RACING AND PYROTECHNICS
Anyway, to close my original point, Mark Teahen was also the #39 pick in the 2002 draft, so he obviously had the pedigree to stand out to the talent scouts. Maybe the Kansas City coaching staff could only get through to him to a point? Some quality time with Joey Cora should improve him... and even if he is a slight downgrade from Beckham at third, he'll still be an upgrade from Fields at third.
-=-=-
Terry Boers, whose baseball knowledge I greatly respect, is steadfastly maintaining that Tampa is a team who is in need of a closer. Namely, Bobby Jenks. Tampa is also a team that has Carl Crawford. I would honestly donate my testicles if it meant that the Sox could have a shot at acquiring Carl Crawford. Now THERE'S a top of the order guy for all you Scott Podsednik apologists to watch. See how he doesn't get picked off? See how he can actually track a ball when he's in the field? Revolutionary!
Speaking of Podsednik, Cowley says "There were initial talks with Scott Podsednik to re-sign with the club, but that might have been nothing more than a PR move by the club, allowing them to stall and find out the asking price for Figgins in just over two weeks." Talk to him all day, but I beg of you, do not sign him. Last year was a mirage, and I hope to God that Kenny wasn't fooled... we'll see who was. I bet the Nationals sign him.
-=-=-
Aside from the hypothetical, more reality: the Sox re-signed Mark Kotsay. 1 year, $1.5 million. For a backup outfielder and a backup for Paulie, I like it. I'd rather have Mark Kotsay as my #4 outfielder as opposed to DeWayne Wise or Brian Anderson. Although, I still pine for Anderson's glove. If he could just have learned to bat .260... sigh.
It's when you're pining for Brian Anderson that you know your post has gone too far. Good night.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Late Night Excitement's in the Air!
Too bad it has nothing to do with White Sox baseball. For some unknown reason, I'm up following tonight's installment of "Crumbling Season Theatre"... it's now going into the bottom of the 13th inning, 3-3, and the Sox haven't scored since... the 2nd inning.So far, the Sox have thrown: Freddy Garcia, Matt Thornton, Tony Pena, Bobby Jenks, and Octavio Dotel. Pena gave up the tying run in the 8th. Asshole. I hope Kenny was looking good and deep into the crystal ball when he coughed up Brandon Allen for you, Mr. Pena. So far, you've pretty much made me feel like I'm suffering from all the expected symptoms following a severe overindulgence in buffalo wings. Drippy. Burnt. Not good.
WELL I'LL BE! As I write this, good readers, AJ Pierzynski has just doubled off of the wall in left center to bring Alexei Ramirez in for the game-winning run! I guess good things do come to those who wait! Let's make it official:
White Sox - 4
Athletics - 3
On the night, the positives included Freddy Garcia having another strong outing for himself (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER)... according to Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley, Garcia's posted a 3.33 ERA in his last 4 starts- 2 of which have been against Boston and New York. I agree with Cowley's assessment that it would be worthwhile for the Sox to pick up Freddy's option for next year. Hell, it can't be worse than Bartolo Colon or Esteban Loaiza, right? Let's just make sure that the clubhouse is well-stocked with towels, because nobody sweats more than Freddy Garcia. Nobody.
Okay, well, pretty much nobody.Scott Podsednik, determined to make me look like an asshole, had a 4-hit night for himself. Good, you dick. I'm glad that you're tearing the cover off of the ball right now. You go and get that platoon role locked up for yourself in '10! Just don't forget how to field while you're busy hitting so much! I kid, I kid.
Negatives: Alex Rios dropped a Scott Hairston pop fly for his 2nd error of the year in the top of the 13th. Know your role, Rios. The bumbling of routine fly balls is reserved for those whose last names end in the suffix "odsednik". Actually, that's not really fair. Bad outfield play is reserved for anyone who plays left field in Chicago. Except Sam Fuld, apparently. That dude eats brick walls like Napoleon ate the Ziggy Pig in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." Awesome.
Jermaine Dye went 0-for-6 at the dish tonight. Ouch. Ouch, as in "Ouch! I just gnawed off my own leg to get out of this beartrap!" JD is seemingly determined to play his way right off of this team- a large accomplishment considering every member has more or less played their own weight in buffalo chips over the past month. That's right. We're getting all Oregon Trail up in this bitch, and Jermaine Dye just came down with measles after fording the Snake River. I don't expect to see the Sox picking up the Dye option for next year. It's too bad to think that this is how Jermaine's going to end his Sox days. That's baseball, I suppose.-=-=-
Next Up:
White Sox @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Floyd v. Saunders. I'm not being sarcastic; I'm gonna make a point to catch that one just to watch the starters.
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