SB Nation User Blog: asinwreck

I love the Fake Kenny Williams. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but there's a guy here who...

asinwreck — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:09:05 -0000

I love the Fake Kenny Williams. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but there's a guy here who looks like a fatter Kenny Williams. Not sure who he is or who he works for, but he has the same haircut and same features. Could be his brother. Many of the writers even mistook him for Williams for the first day or so. Some of us saw him talking to people in the lobby last night and desperately wished that he was spreading false White Sox rumors. "Well, we're thinking about converting Beckham into a reliever seeing as how valuable they are these days." -- Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports

http://bases.nbcsports.com/2009/12/goodbye-to-the-2009-winter-meetings.html.php

Clint (Chicago): Gordon Beckham has exceeded expectations so far, I would assume. Is it more of (a)...

asinwreck — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:19:53 -0000

Clint (Chicago): Gordon Beckham has exceeded expectations so far, I would assume. Is it more of (a) being an exceptionally polished player coming out of school or (b) having a higher ceiling than originally thought at last year's draft?

Kevin Goldstein: How about C. Reaching that ceiling much earlier than expected? He's going to be great. I'm really convinced that 2-3 years from now when you go to the Cell it's going to be filled with fans in Beckham jerseys.

Clint (Chicago): I'm glad you write that since I just got a Beckham jersey. Follow-up: if the 2008 draft got a re-do, where would Beckham go?

Kevin Goldstein: Top 3. Maybe even 1.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=649

Mike Cameron giftwrapped

asinwreck — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:03:05 -0000

We know Kenny Williams doesn't have much money to spend.

We know Mike Cameron will miss the first month of 2008 due to a PED suspension.

We know San Diego doesn't want him back. We know Philadelphia doesn't want him. We know Texas and St. Louis were looking at him.

We know St. Louis has Colby Rasmus waiting to take over sometime this season.

We now know that Texas has picked up Josh Hamilton.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071221&content_id=2335816&vkey=hotstove2007&fe xt=.jsp

Mike Cameron has few options remaining. Though he's not an ideal leadoff hitter, the man takes his walks, hits homers, and plays a fine defensive center field. He could well sign for one or two years at a bargain rate.

Kenny Williams, Mike Cameron is giftwrapped and in the sale bin. Please pick him up this holiday season.

Who likes the Sox farm system? Billy Beane.

asinwreck — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:18:40 -0000

The White Sox have had a poor decade when it comes to developing hitters, but that does not faze Billy Beane. The A's just traded Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks for six prospects. Among them are two guys Kenny traded to Arizona over the past few months, Aaron Cunningham and Chris Carter.

Maybe Beane sees something in these two. If they both pan out, Kenny will have developed more hitting talent for Oakland than his own team. Then again, had Josh Byrnes kept Cunningham and Carter to go with Chris Young, we could say the same of Arizona.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3155417

Barry Bonds indicted for perjury

asinwreck — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:01:36 -0000

The grand jury investigating Bonds came back with charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
http://www.sfgate.com/flat/archive/2007/11/15/news/archive/2007/11/15/state/n141013S18.html

Not a great time for Mr. Bonds to become a free agent. Will any team sign him knowing the 2008 season will be filled with legal filings, courtroom theatrics, and a steady barrage of negative publicity with the words "criminal indictment" repeated over and over?

...on the other hand, maybe he'd be a cheap source of power and OBP. Until he gets sent to prison during the stretch drive.

I wonder if Magowan had an informed sense this was coming down when he announced the Giants weren't going to bring Bonds back?

Mike Cameron suspended 25 games for "tainted supplement"

asinwreck — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:24:28 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3088062

The suspension is for a second violation. Cameron took pains to deny it was for steroids, stating "I never took nothing like that before in my life. That would be 50 games, and that would affect me a whole lot more."

This could be good news for the Sox. Being out for the first month probably hurts his value in an off-season with a lot of free agent centerfielders. I wonder if he would accept a bargain one-year deal from the Sox? Given that his last contact from the Mets was a relative bargain, I wonder how coveted he is by other teams now that he's in his mid-thirties and out for all of April.

I can think of many worse moves that getting Cameron short-term.

Best off-season news so far

asinwreck — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:39:18 -0000

Mark Gonzales causally mentioned a development that might have significance.

Rafael Santana will oversee the Sox's new Dominican Republic facility in Boca Chica and work in player development under Dave Wilder, the team's senior director of player personnel, who will continue to oversee the Sox's Latin American operations.

I don't care about the job Santana did at Birmingham, but this news indicates the team might be more serious about developing Dominican prospects. Great. Now, can we see some changes in Venezuela?

Can the Sox get the #1 pick in the 2008 draft?

asinwreck — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:35:03 -0000

With just about a month left in the season, the only suspense left for the White Sox (other than seeing how many times Ozzie Guillen will melt down in public) is whether or not the team will lose enough games to get the #1 pick in next year's draft. The chances are realistic, if not likely.

Entering today's games, the White Sox have the second-worst record in the majors at 57-76, one half game behind Florida and Washington (each at 58-76). The leader is Tampa Bay (53-80), with a solid four-game lead on the White Sox.

Four games is a lot to make up in one month. Now, a team might get on a streak and make up a lot of ground, but that is not the norm. I have faith in these White Sox, though. With Andy Gonzalez and Darrin Erstad manning the corners, they provide exactly the kind of offense needed for the job. Jose Contreras has been a leader in the rotation (though the offense didn't cooperate in the one-game makeup with the Devil Rays), inspiring contributions from his fellow starters this month. The team has been on fire this month, and a sustained effort would close the gap on Tampa Bay.

This team has what it takes to make it to #1. Let's hope they get there.

Would Kenny do it?

asinwreck — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:58:47 -0000

A good game to play as we play out the string is speculating about what Kenny Williams will attempt in making the 2008 roster. One tendency we have remarked on before is his ability to pick up players at the low point of their value, as he did with Contreras, Dye, and Thornton. The rumored waiver claim for Tejada would fit that pattern, giving the Sox a marked upgrade at shortstop that would have been unlikely a year ago.

Shortstop is not the only position that needs an upgrade for next season. Even if Dye resigns and Owens manages to earn a starting spot, at least one more outfielder who can actually do something other than make outs will be required to turn the offense around. Erstad is not that man, but a former teammate of his might be. In recent weeks, Tony LaRussa's comments indicate that he has lost patience with Jim Edmonds, and today the Post-Dispatch reports that Edmonds would not veto a trade. Edmonds is increasingly fragile as he enters his late thirties and is in the middle of his worst season (83 OPS+ to date) since arriving in the majors. Yet he has been an above-average offensive contributor as recently as last season, and perhaps St. Louis's price for Edmonds might be a reasonable one for a deal. What the Cardinals might want is open to speculation, given that Walt Jocketty is rumored to be leaving at the end of the year. One of the pitchers might do it, or an outfielder like Brian Anderson...if the team wants salary relief.

Edmonds may not be the most desirable option for the White Sox, but picking him up would fit Williams's behavior, and at least he has shown the ability to hit in the past five years. Getting him would decrease the probability Erstad haunts our nightmares beyond this October, and that alone is reason enough to consider a trade.

An option for SS in 2008

asinwreck — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 02:35:09 -0000

In tonight's Braves-Astros game, Edgar Renteria was injured and had to leave the game. For the first time in seven years, Chipper Jones moved over from 3B to SS (and Willie Harris played 3B and immediately made a critical error setting up a grand slam). This got me thinking about the White Sox shortstop situation -- there is a good chance the White Sox will not retain Juan Uribe, Andy Gonzalez doesn't seem like anyone's idea of a regular shortstop, and Danny Richar profiles more as a second baseman.

On the other hand, the Sox have a potential glut at third base. Joe Crede is still under control for next season as he attempts to return from back surgery, and Josh Fields is now auditioning for the job. Instead of assuming that only one of them can make the lineup, or that Fields would have to move to the outfield given a full Crede recovery, what are the odds Crede shifts over to short? His range and glove are well above average at third, and while he wouldn't be a match for Uribe a couple years ago, neither is the Uribe of today. We could have an infield of:

1B Konerko
2B Richar/Gonzalez
SS Crede
3B Fields

I'd rather do that than, say, pick up Royce Clayton, Cristian Guzman, or one of the other mediocrities likely to be available. Then the main challenge would be to rebuild the horrible, horrible outfield situation.

Thoughts?