Black Sox Blog

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It felt like I got punched in the gut and it made for a crappy Christmas present.  My favorite player on my favorite team was traded.  I know this happens, but this trade still boggles my mind.  Yes, John Danks is a good prospect and at only 21, could develop into a front line starter, but so could have McCarthy. With a full year of relief under his belt, I thought Brandon was poised to break out in 2006, and he very well may, just not for the White Sox.

Danks didn’t have a great year as he split time between Double A and Triple A, but he’s playing way ahead of himself and he’s probably been rushed.  I’d hope he’d start the season at Charlotte.  Now we’ll get to see who the White Sox fifth starter turns out to be.  Sigh.

I’m pretty pissed off right now.  I’ll comment on this trade when i calm down.

The White Sox shored up their bullpen yesterday when they traded utility man Ross Gload to the Kansas City Royals for Andrew Sisco.  After a very solid rookie season in 2005, Sisco regressed a bit in 2006.  His strikeout rate was down and his ERA ballooned to 7.10 in 58 1/3 innings.

Sisco is a lefty and he’ll most likely be used as a left handed specialist out of the pen.  This is a solid pickup at a small price if Sisco can put together a season closer to what he did in 2005.

The White Sox also signed Toby Hall to a two year deal to back up A.J. Pierzynski.  The deal is for $3.5 million and I like this pickup.  While A.J. has been pretty durable, Hall makes for some nice insurance and it gives the White Sox an even better option when Pierzynski sits.  Hall never lived up to his hype when he broke into the big leagues early in 2000 and he’s a career .265 hitter in 2,107 at bats.

The White Sox shored up their bullpen by signing Mike MacDougal to three year, $6.45 million contract.  This is a bargain these days for a guys who’s closed and MacDougal really got the job done for the White Sox when they got him from the Royals last year.  He struck out nineteen and walked only six in 25 innings.  He was particularly deadly against right handed hitters, holding them to a .171 batting average.

The White Sox finally traded away one of their starters last night to make room for Brandon McCarthy in the rotation.  The odd man out was Freddy Garcia and the White Sox got two minor league pitchers for him.  I like this because it gives us two prospects who are close to the majors that can either fill in the gaps in the rotation in the next couple of years or they can provide nice trade bait at the trading deadline.

Gavin Floyd has really struggled the past couple of seasons as he made efforts to make it in the major leagues.  Control is his biggest problem.  In 108 2/3 major league innings, Floyd has walked 64 batters versus 75 strikeouts.  Floyd even struggled in the Arizona Fall League this year.  But at some point, he showed a ton of promise and was the fourth overall pick by the Phillies.

Gio Gonzalez was part of the White Sox organization until he was traded last year as part of the Jim Thome deal.  He had a better AFL season but he struggled a bit in Double A for the Phillies.  His strikeouts were there but his walk rate spiked and he gave up 24 homeruns in 154 2/3 innings.  He’ll probably start the year in Triple A this year.

This is a solid deal and it could turn into a really good one if Floyd finds his way.

The White Sox signed Pablo Ozuna to a one year, $800k contract and in the process, they’ll avoid arbitration with the utility infielder.  Ozuna was solid with the bat in limited time and .328 in 189 at bats.  He played both corner outfield spots during the season as well as second base and third base.  This is the kind of guy Ozzie Guillen likes having around.  He gives him some versatility and he’s a no punch speedy guy.  Not a bad signing.

I guess I’m not surprised because Podsednik is the kind of slap hitting, good on the base paths type of player that Ozzie Guillen likes.  Podsednik stole 40 bases last year but a .684 slugging percentage doesn’t cut it.  I guess for $2.9 million for one year though, I can live with it.

Oddly, other then the Tigers trading for Gary Sheffield, there have been no big moves in the AL Central.  The White Sox still have to deal a starter so while I doubt that they’ll make a big move on offense, I can see them trading one of their starters for a centerfielder.