The Black Sox Faction

In many ways, I view the tough trade of Sox longtime starter John Garland to the California Angels as a nod to THIS YEAR, and not (well, totally) with a view towards the Sox's salary base in 2012 or whatever. And as hard as it is to lose a real Sox guy, I'm glad the emphesis is on this year.

First, the loss of Garland. I should be looking forward, but there is always a little time to mourn. It took garland forever to break out and become a great starting pitcher He was no Johann Santanna now, but he was solid. I used to make the the crack that with all of the obsessive attention the Trib people forced down our gullets about Wood and Prior (for the Iowa peoples team) that combined they haven't had his impact on the field (except for some game 10 years ago when Wood had 20 k's. Whatever.) I was wrong, but not by much- it's 114-86 -v- Garland's 92-81. However, he developed into a totally reliable starter who will the Sox will be very hard pressed to replace. A consistent, 200= innings starter, @ least 32 games started the past few years, and 18 wins in '05 and '06. On top of all that, a kool teamate.

The roatation? Remember the 'greatest rotation ever' a few years back? One can rely only on Burlehe and Vazquez, and hope for ANYTHING out of the bottom three. Danks showed some good stuff at times, but nothing mainly. Broadway? Haegar? Floyd? Yeesh, this rotation looks thinner than skin. It'll need help, and big time. The trade was very rough for this aspect.

But I welcome Orlando Cabrerra. I'll state the obvious= what the fuck is Juan Uribe getting a $5m contract if we are bringing in Cabrera? And @ 32yo are we getting Cabrera on the downslide of his career? How will the Sox sign him after his contract is up this year?

However, he has many upsides. He has won the Gold Glove, which can only help the infield "D" (although I was happy w/ Uribe defense). He had a great year last year @ the plate- .301, 192 hits, 86 RBI. He will be great in the 2d hole. I'd like his OBA to be better- .345 last year and only .321 all time. But he could be an important piece to the puzzle.

However, @ this time, we don't know what the rest of the pieces are. Crede or Fields @ third? LF Scott Podsednik was released yesterday, so who is in left? What about Jerry Owens? The rumours about Tori Hunter seem strong, so it seems Ozzies wish of a real speed and defense centered team is coming closer to fruitation. However one feels about getting Hunter or Aaron Rowand (neither mite make it to the team, y'all) or any other moves, it does seem that GM Kenny Williams has his sites on THIS YEAR. Not a bad thing, however one feels about the trade. I got such a bad feeling last year this time when Garcia and then Mccarthy were traded for procpects- a 90 win team playing for 2012. Hopefully it is THIS YEAR that Williams is siting.