Chicago White Sox - 2008 and beyond

[Dauis]

I decided I couldn't wait for the new version to come out, so I'm going to start a dynasty with my favorite team--the White Sox. I will be using Cubbyfan's 2008 rosters, with a cash max of $200 million. I will be "watching" each game from my "luxury suite", so all on-field decisions will be made by the AI.

Anything else as we go along, be sure to ask.

[Dauis]

1/1/2008
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Ugh. What a mess of an organization. This might take a while to turn things around, but I'm up for the challenge. I can't wait to turn my favorite team into a powerhouse.

I'm not going to bother with posting a roster/rotation/lineup right now, because frankly, a lot of things will probably change in the next few months. I can say that it won't be a full-fledged rebuilding process, as we have too many veterans to make that feasible, and our farm system is terrible. What it will most likely be is trading unusable parts for prospects and slowly build up our farm system while trying to stay somewhat competitive. I know many teams have tried this strategy and failed, but I'm hoping that I will be one of the few to succeed.

[Dauis]

1/4/2008
TRADE PROPOSAL
The Giants wanted to trade me 27-year old left fielder Fred Lewis for 29-year-old third baseman Joe Crede and 24-year-old minor league catcher Kris Welker. I took a lot of time to think about this, as it was a real decent offer. We will most likely be getting rid of Crede eventually, since Fields is ready to take over at third, but I think Swisher and Quentin can hold down the fort in left field without us having to acquire yet another outfielder this offseason.


1/5/2008
FREE AGENT RUMOR
The Washington Nationals are reportedly close to a 3 year, $14.67 million deal with Kyle Lohse.

TRADE
The Cleveland Indians sent 27-year old catcher Kelly Shoppach to the Florida Marlins for 40-year old left fielder Luis Gonzalez and $1.62 million.

In his 109-game career, Shoppach has hit .241 with 69 hits, 46 RBIs and 10 home runs.

Gonzalez has a lifetime .284 batting average and .368 on-base percentage in his 2455-game career with 2502 hits and 346 home runs.


1/6/2008
TRADE
The New York Yankees have sent 34-year old Johnny Damon and 24-year old minor league catcher James Lasala to the St. Louis Cardinals for 32-year old reliever Randy Flores and 23-year old minor league right fielder Luke Gorsett.

Damon's a career .288 hitter with 166 home runs.

Flores has a career 8-4 record, with 3 saves and a 4.72 ERA.

TRADE #2
The Giants got rid of Fred Lewis after all, sending him to the Braves for 29-year old reliever Peter Moylan and 23-year old minor league starting pitcher Adam Stanley.

[Dauis]

1/7/2008
WHITE SOX TRADE
We traded 3B Pablo Ozuna to the Royals today for a package of pitching prospects highlighted by Leo Nunez and Daniel Cortes. Nunez will probably be our number 4 starter while Floyd spends some time in Charlotte (assuming he clears waivers), and we'll free up $870,000 in budget room. Pablo wasn't going to make the team anyway, so getting anything, let alone a number 4 starter, is a plus. The fans also seemed to like the deal, especially the acquisition of Nunez.

That wasn't the only trade Kansas City made today...

TRADE
The Royals traded 28-year old left fielder David DeJesus to the Oakland Athletics for 27-year old minor league first baseman Jack Hannahan and 21-year old minor league second baseman Josh Horton.

In his 506-game career DeJesus has hit .282 with 543 hits, 31 home runs, 311 runs scored and 209 RBIs.

TRADE #2
The Cleveland Indians traded 25-year old shortstop Jhonny Peralta, 21-year old shortstop Luis Alvarez, and $1.87 million to the Cincinnati Reds for 25-year old third baseman Edwin Encarnacion.


1/9/2008
TRADE
The Arizona Diamondbacks sent 27-year old third baseman Chad Tracy to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 33-year old minor league left fielder George Lombard and 24-year old minor league starting pitcher Wayne Renfrow.

In his 518-game career Tracy has hit .288 with 62 home runs and 240 RBIs.


1/10/2008
TRADE
The Washington Nationals have traded 34-year old minor league second baseman Aaron Boone to the Colorado Rockies for 32-year old reliever Brian Fuentes and 24-year old minor league starting pitcher Drew Shetrone. A great deal for the Nationals.


1/12/2008
TRADE
The Houston Astros have finalized a deal with the Oakland Athletics for the services of 27-year old reliever Santiago Casilla. In exchange, the Athletics will receive 25-year old center fielder Michael Bourn.

TRADE #2
The Minnesota Twins have sent 26-year old minor league catcher Javier Sanchez to the Milwaukee Brewers for 29-year old reliever Derrick Turnbow. The Brewers sure didn't make the Twins give up a whole lot for a good reliever.


1/13/2008
FREE AGENT SIGNING
The San Diego Padres have signed closer Akinori Otsuka to a 2 year, $8.4 million deal.

[Dauis]

1/14/2008
WHITE SOX TRADE
We traded C Toby Hall to the Dodgers today for 18-year old minor league pitcher Chris Withrow. Withrow was slated to start the season on the Dodgers' rookie league team in the GCL, and he'll probably start in the rookie league for us as well. He's not an outstanding prospect, but he has a chance to develop, which is more than we could say for Toby. This was basically a trade just to get Toby's $1.9 million contract off the books.


1/15/2008
TRADE
The San Francisco Giants have sent 35-year old center fielder Dave Roberts to the Baltimore Orioles for 36-year old first baseman Kevin Millar and 21-year old minor league starting pitcher Ryan Ouellette. Yes it's a good salary dump, but couldn't the Giants have received a decent prospect instead of a 36-year old first baseman?


1/18/2008
TRADE
The Colorado Rockies sent 26-year old third baseman and 24-year old minor league starting pitcher Andrew Graham to the Milwaukee Brewers for 29-year old starting pitcher Chris Capuano and 20-year old minor league starting pitcher Charles Hill. It'll be a good deal for the Rockies if Capuano can be one of the few to figure out how to pitch in Colorado.

[Dauis]

1/25/2008
TRADE
The Seattle Mariners have traded 30-year old left fielder Brad Wilkerson to the New York Yankees for 39-year old starting pitcher Mike Mussina and 22-year old minor league center fielder Jonathan Poterson. Amazingly, I don't think it's that bad of a deal for the Yankees. I think it's about a wash. Mussina was at best the Yankees' number 3 or 4 starter. Wilkerson will play first against righties, and Mussina will be the number 2 starter in Seattle behind Felix Hernandez.

[Dauis]

1/28/2008
WHITE SOX TRADE
We made another trade with the Royals today, trading minor league starting pitcher Shaun Babula for minor league pitchers Kyle Davies and Danny Duffy. This is just another trade in my attempt to acquire players with any potential better than the player I trade away. If I acquire enough of them, hopefully a few will develop for us.


1/30/2008
TRADE
The New York Mets have acquired 30-year old starting pitcher Jake Westbrook and 23-year old minor league first baseman Chao Kuan Wu from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for 32-year old second baseman Luis Castillo. The Mets have an outstanding front 3 starters with Pedro/Johan/Westbrook.


2/1/2008
TRADE
The Los Angeles Angels have sent 29-year old left fielder Juan Rivera and 24-year old minor league catcher Jonathan Hodach to the Kansas City Royals for 26-year old reliever Jimmy Gobble and 24-year old minor league first baseman Irving Falu. It's been a busy offseason for the Royals, but I'm not really sure they've improved much if at all.

[johnnybourbon]

don't forget john maine.
man, the royals are unloading early!
good luck with the "good guys"

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by johnnybourbon

don't forget john maine.
man, the royals are unloading early!
good luck with the "good guys"

The Royals aren't really unloading though, in the sense that most people think of. When I think of unloading, I think of acquiring young prospects. The key guys the Royals are picking up are all at least 27 years old. Hannahan is 27 and Rivera is 29. If they keep this up, I don't see them ever getting out of this cycle, which is fine with me. A few guaranteed wins a year won't hurt.

[Dauis]

2/4/2008
WHITE SOX TRADE
After getting Westbrook, the Mets were desperately trying to get rid of Oliver Perez and his $2.5 million salary, as he didn't fit into their rotation anymore. They were willing to take just about anybody, so we sent them minor league pitcher D.J. Carrasco for Perez and minor league pitcher Jon Niese. Perez will be our number 4 starter while Danks gets some more seasoning in Charlotte.

[Dauis]

2/13/2008
TRADE
The New York Mets have sent 41-year old left fielder Moises Alou to the Cleveland Indians for 36-year old reliever Joe Borowski.

[Dauis]

SPRING TRAINING ROSTER
We are inviting a lot of pitchers to spring training, since we don't really have many position player prospects who will develop into anything. That said, here's our roster:

Starting Pitchers
Mark Buehrle
Jose Contreras
Daniel Cortes
John Danks
Kyle Davies
Danny Duffy
Jack Egbert
Gavin Floyd
Charlie Haeger
Jon Niese
Leo Nunez
Oliver Perez
Aaron Poreda
Javier Vazquez
Chris Withrow
Blake Wood

Middle Relievers
Octavio Dotel
Scott Linebrink
Boone Logan
Mike MacDougal
Nick Masset
Oneli Perez
Matt Thornton

Closers
Bobby Jenks
Andrew Sisco
Kaneoka Texeira

Infielders
C A.J. Pierzynski
1B Paul Konerko
2B Danny Richar
2B Alexei Ramirez
3B Josh Fields
3B Joe Crede
SS Orlando Cabrera

Outfielders
LF Nick Swisher
CF Jerry Owens
CF John Shelby
RF Jermaine Dye
RF Carlos Quentin
RF Jose Martinez

DH Jim Thome

[Dauis]

3/7/2008
Spring Training Game #1 – Chicago (A) (J. Vazquez) at Toronto (R. Halladay)
Chicago (A) 1
Toronto 6
W: R. Halladay (1-0) L: J. Vazquez (0-1) S: B. Tallet (1)
HR – CHA: P. Konerko (1) TOR: A. Hill (1)

Around the League
-Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner will miss up to 2 weeks with a tender elbow.
-Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco will be out a week with a bruised wrist.
-Red Sox shortstop Placido Polanco will miss 2-3 months with a herniated disc.

[Dauis]

3/8/2008
Spring Training Game #2 – Minnesota (0-1) (S. Baker) at Chicago (A) (0-1) (M. Buehrle)
Minnesota 9
Chicago (A) 3
W: S. Baker (1-0) L: M. Buehrle (0-1) S: C. Cali (1)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (1), J. Fields (1)

[Dauis]

3/9/2008
Spring Training Game #3 – Chicago (A) (0-2) (J. Contreras) at New York (A) (2-0) (P. Hughes)
Chicago (A) 3
New York (A) 8
W: L. Hawkins (1-0) L: A. Sisco (0-1)
HR – CHA: P. Konerko (2), J. Martinez (1) NYA: J. Giambi (1), H. Matsui (1), B. Gardner (1)

Around the League
-Not even a month after being traded, reliever Joe Borowski has signed a 2 year, $8.5 million extension with the Mets.

[johnnybourbon]

geez, even though its just spring training, it looks like the sox are living and dying by the long ball, just like real life. yuck.

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by johnnybourbon

geez, even though its just spring training, it looks like the sox are living and dying by the long ball, just like real life. yuck.

I know what you mean. Our bullpen is terrible, too. Our starters have given up 5 of the 25 runs our pitching staff has surrendered so far (after this next game). Thornton is trying to see how quickly he can get on my bad side, giving up 6 runs in 2/3 of an inning.

[Dauis]

3/10/2008
WHITE SOX TRADE
We traded minor league second baseman Mike Rouse to the Cleveland Indians for middle relief prospect Chuck Lofgren. Lofgren was added to the 40-man roster and invited to our camp, replacing Kyle Davies.

CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
-Pedro Martinez and the Mets have agreed to a 3-year, $40.95 million extension.
-C.C. Sabathia also reached an agreement on a contract extension, pledging to stay in Cleveland for 4 years and $70.52 million.

Spring Training Game #4 – Detroit (0-3) (K. Rogers) at Chicago (A) (0-3) (O. Perez)
Detroit 2
Chicago (A) 5
W: O. Perez (1-0) L: K. Rogers (0-1) S: B. Jenks (1)
HR – CHA: P. Konerko (3)

INJURY NEWS
-Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks will miss a week due to a bruised cheekbone.

[Dauis]

3/11/2008
CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
-Orlando Hernandez and the Mets have agreed to a 1 year, $2.15 million extension.
-Jack Wilson has signed a 3 year extension with the Pirates. Terms were not disclosed.

Spring Training Game #5 – Baltimore (3-1) (T. Patton) at Chicago (A) (1-3) (L. Nunez)
Baltimore 1
Chicago (A) 9
W: G. Floyd (1-0) L: R. Bierd (0-1)
HR – CHA: A. Pierzynski (1), C. Quentin (1)

INJURY NEWS
-Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez will miss 2 weeks with a strained MCL.
-Milwaukee shortstop J.J. Hardy will be out 2 weeks with a hyperextended knee.

[Dauis]

3/12/2008
CONTRACT EXTENSION
Ray Durham and the Giants have reached an agreement on a 2 year, $15 million extension.

TRADE
The Washington Nationals have sent 27-year old right fielder Austin Kearns to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 30-year old reliever Joe Beimel and 23-year old minor league starting pitcher Mario Alvarez.

Spring Training Game #6 – Chicago (A) [2-3] (J. Vazquez 0-1, 4.50 ERA) at Cleveland [4-1] (C. Sabathia 1-0, 2.25 ERA)
Chicago (A) 6
Cleveland 5
W: B. Logan (1-0) L: J. Julio (0-1) S: B. Jenks (2)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (2) CLE: M. Alou (1)