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Merkin: "Beckham officially has a right oblique injury. Should be back Wednesday night."

Daniel Hudson via Sox Machine

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Daniel Hudson: He's the one for whom just about everyone has been waiting.  After starting the season in Kannapolis, Hudson had successful stints at each of the full season affiliates and now completes his stunning rise by joining the major league club.  His blended line in the minors: 147.1 IP, 105 H, 34 BB, 166 K. His GO/AO rate of 0.86 (which  declined at each successive level) is a worry considering the way flyballs tend to fly out of the park at the Cell.  His delivery appears a bit unorthodox, which may explain some of his success.  He relies on a fastball/slider combination.  For a fuller scouting report, I'll refer you to Sox Machine.

Jhonny Nunez: He spent a bit of time with the White Sox earlier this season, pitching in two games for a total of one inning.  His blended line between Birmingham and Charlotte was very good: 70.2 IP, 57 H, 26 BB, 79 K.  The 24 year old righty, like many relievers, uses a fastball and slider (which is a plus pitch).  He can mix in a changeup but it's not very good.  He has quick arm action and generally throws from a low 3/4 slot.

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Remember me?

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This post was written by larry, but apparently he broke the site. I'm leaving his post below so the tech guys can figure out what went wrong, and reposting it again so you can comment and such.

Or, in most cases, re-introducing.

Tyler Flowers: The White Sox' top prospect receives a deserving call-up to serve as the 3rd catcher.  One suspects, however, that he will see a bit more playing time than his predecessor ceremonial 3rd catchers have in the past.  Jim Thome's departure may mean he will also see significant time at DH, although the team still has a logjam of hitters vying for plate appearances.  Flowers is a hitter in the three true outcomes vein. His blended line between Birmingham and Charlotte was .297/.423/.516. I expect him to struggle initially with major league pitching but his addition certainly adds a bit of excitement to what will undoubtedly be a rather mundane run-in for the club.  This stint should allow him to get familiar with many of the pitchers he'll be handling regularly, presumably beginning sometime next season.

Chris Getz: Chris has shown himself this season to be a fragile little egg.  His absences have permitted Jayson Nix to solidify himself and you can probably expect a lefty-righty platoon next season at 2B.  That certainly works to hide Nix' major shortcoming - an utter inability to hit right-handed pitching - and also may help to keep Getz healthy. Getz' .267/.325/.367 has been about as advertised although his glove has disappointed me so far.

Dewayne Wise: He stinks at most aspects of major league baseball.  He does play good defense and he has some utility as a baserunner. However, he should not face live pitching. This year, he's batting .200/.240/.348.  In other words, essentially his career line. Here's hoping this will be the last we see of him.

Carlos Torres: He relies on hitters being undisciplined at the plate.  Unfortunately, most major leaguers are better than that.  His future is probably in the bullpen and that's where I'd expect him next season.  This month, however, he will pick up starts, particularly if Peavy does not return or return quickly.

Josh Fields: Well, unlike his boy BA, Fields didn't get the trade he requested. That's what happens when you are essentially an AAAA slugger without a defensive position.  While he's not arbitration eligible next season, he will be without options.  He also was not on the original list of September 1 call-ups but the Thome trade made another bat necessary. All of that adds up to us probably watching the end of Fields as a member of the organization.

Further call-ups will probably be arriving over the next week as the minor league season winds-down and I'll cover those as they happen. Considering the White Sox are in a cost-saving mode, however, not paying the approximately $66,000 major league salary each call-up will make over the rest of the season may serve to limit the total number of call-ups compared to prior years - not to mention the generally uninspiring nature of the remaining candidates. And, since I know this will come up, as I've said before, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to add Daniel Hudson to the 40 man roster and, therefore, compel the club to use an option on him in 2010 when there's no urgency to do so.  Of course, the White Sox rarely take my unsolicited advice.  At any rate, he'll certainly be making two final starts in AAA before any decision is made. [Oops]

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The damage... It's quite severe.

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When the Sox acquired Jake Peavy and Alex Rios, I made an impassioned plea for increased attendance down the stretch, as they appeared to be over-extended in the payroll department (both present and future). This was assuming the Sox would stay in the race in the mediocre AL Central where nobody was going to run away from them. They've had only 6 home games since then, and for the most part the fans have responded with mid-30k attendance numbers. Unfortunately, the Sox haven't responded in kind, compiling a 3-3 record against the likes of the Royals and Orioles at home before embarking on their current 1-7 road trip of death. It's been 13 days since I've witnessed a Sox victory. They've taken themselves out of the AL Central race before the fans even got a shot to show their support.

With the Sox sinking out of the race, facing a September of disappointing turnstile numbers, and little to no hope of the significant influx of cash a playoff appearance provides, Kenny Williams' hand was forced. Well maybe not forced, but certainly coerced. Jerry Reinsdorf operates the White Sox as a business. He likes to say that he didn't get in this business to lose money, which has always made him an easy target for ill-informed talk-radio callers. The Sox were probably over their skis even if they made the playoffs, and certainly are now after the last two weeks of uninspired baseball. Thus, Kenny Williams, who is always looking to buy even when he's selling, was in full dump mode looking to shed payroll and send a message to his underachieving club.

Taking a look at the two trades, the Sox didn't get too much in the way of salary relief as they appear to have included undisclosed amounts of cash in each exchange, and didn't receive any impact players in return. Justin Fuller is a 25 year old who hasn't been able to escape the clutches of A-ball, and Brandon Hynick is a command-and-control type who needs a little more of both to have hopes of finding his way into the back end of a major league rotation. Nevertheless, he's still better than Jeff Marquez.

The Contreras trade netted the better return, which seems odd until you think about the motivation for moving Thome. This wasn't a baseball move to make the Sox better. This was Kenny Williams moving Jim Thome to an team that has a very good shot at making a World Series run, the only thing missing from the big fella's Hall of Fame career.

At first, I was quite sad to hear about Thome's departure. It would seem to make the Brandon Allen trade that I didn't bash nearly enough -- I overcompensated in an attempt to appear objective in discussing one of my favorite prospects --  look silly and short-sighted. But I suspect Thome is leaving on very good graces and will be very likely to sign back on with the Sox next year for a significant pay cut. Or at least I hope so.

We'll have to wait until we hear from the man in charge himself to try and guess his future plans for the organization. But one thing that needs no explanation is Tyler Flowers impending call-up, which just got a heckuvalot more interesting.

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

See ya later, big guy.

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Jim Thome agreed to waive his no-trade clause and was traded to the Dodgers. Obviously, for a player who has never won a World Series, this presents him with the opportunity to essentially complete his Hall of Fame resume. However, it's a surprise move considering Thome has not played in the field since that ill-fated game in 2007. It would behoove the Dodgers to not test his back like that with a guy two years older. He will, however, reunite with friend Manny Ramirez, who had previously stated a desire to play with Thome again.  The White Sox send cash with Thome and receive Justin Fuller, a 25 year old A ball middle infielder of no repute whatsoever.

Jose Contreras needed to go someplace else and moving to the National League should help make him look like a real starting pitcher.  The White Sox send cash with Contreras and receive Brandon Hynick, a 24 year old right-handed starter in return. Cheat already had a crush on him but thinks his K/BB has gotten too skinny. He's a finesse righty with a fastball in the upper 80s and an okay curve but a very good splitter. His flyball tendencies aren't exactly a great fit for the Cell. I'm thinking of a pronoun starting with 'M'.

I'll leave it to the head man to provide us with a summation of the Gentleman Masher Era.

In other non-salary dump news, MRI was negative on Jake Peavy's elbow and it's been diagnosed as nothing more than a bruise, but still he's still sore. He'll throw tomorrow to see where he's at physically.

I said yesterday it's easier to walk off the mound in Norfolk than it is in Yankee Stadium.  And that's exactly what Jake Peavy did after 3.1 IP tonight.  According to reports, it was a recurrence of the tightness in his elbow resulting from the line drive that hit him in his last start.  Obviously, his status going forward won't be known for a couple days but it seems unlikely he will make his White Sox debut next week. [Update Sun. 10:27 am: Now Peavy is having x-rays on Monday. Sort of sounds like something that should have been done maybe a bit closer to when he was struck by the ball.]

And if you wanted just one more kick in the ribs while you're down, 2009 top draft pick Jared Mitchell is dealing with a leg injury which has caused him to miss three of Kannapolis' last four games and, yesterday, when he did play, he re-aggravated the injury.  His availability for the rest of the season is uncertain.  It's always great when speed guys get leg injuries.

More photos » by Chris Pizzello - AP

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It's no secret that I've been openly rooting for the White Sox to do nothing at the trade deadline. There's a simple explanation for that stance. The Sox are competing against not one, but two mediocre opponents in a mediocre division. I covered most of this in my ill-timed The Sox Mum At The Deadline piece. Seriously, I hit publish and literally seconds later I saw the first tweet about Peavy, and had it posted as an update 3 minutes after the original posting time.

A quick summary of my position before the trade: The Sox are a mediocre team which has ably filled holes to keep themselves competitive in a mediocre division. They haven't been able to put .500 out of their rear view mirror and have virtually no shot at the Wild Card. But that being said, they are still in the thick of the division fight, even though they've never hit on all cylinders this season. 

That last line is important, because they'll need to stay in that fight without Jake Peavy, who won't even begin a minor league rehab assignment until mid-August and has tentatively targeted the NY/Bos trip at the end of the month for his return to the majors. The Sox will utilize their off-days to rejigger the rotation and minimize their exposure to the 5th starters spot, which they will apparently need only 3 times in the month of August, according to Kenny Williams. 

And that's why you won't find me jumping on my internet soapbox to dismantle this trade. I may have openly stated my preference for a stand pat deadline, but more accurately I didn't want them to throw away their future for a less than 50/50 shot at the division title; no prospects for rentals might have been a more accurate motto.

Peavy is anything but a rental. He's signed through 2012 with an option for 2013. This move is more about next year, about 2010 and beyond, than it is about this year, when Peavy is likely to make no more than 7 starts.

About That Contract

We'll ignore 2009. The Sox have obviously decided they can take his contract on. They'll pay a pro-rated portion of his '09 salary. And since the only other trades can be made after passing through waivers, which is pretty rare, it's not likely to affect the Sox decision making for the rest of the season.

• 2010 -- $15M
• 2011 -- $16M
• 2012 -- $17M
• 2013 -- $22M option vs. $4M buyout

Peavy's next three years are at essentially market value. He gave the Padres a home team discount of maybe a $1+M a year, so it's not like the Sox are getting a huge bargain. But what he does give the Sox is 4 very good starting pitchers under control for the next two years, and 3 for the three. (See White Sox Payroll Spreadsheet) 

And even though that contract would seem to preclude the White Sox from making some moves in the off-season, the payroll spreadsheet shows them with only about $60M in salary obligations on the books next year. That figure will get bumped to something like $75M when you factor in the major arbitration eligibles (Jenks, Danks, and Quentin) but still leaves plenty of room for them to add pieces (a mercenary CFer, Matt Holliday?) to their offense. 

I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself here. But the fact that Peavy won't even be available until the end of the month should tell you where the focus of this deal lies. I wanted the Sox to focus on the future, and that's exactly what they did. I can't complain in the slightest.

* * * * *

There was a game Friday too. It was pretty fun to watch (after the first inning). That is my recap.

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More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

No Pie for you!

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The Tigers added Jarrod Washburn. The Twins added Orlando Cabrera. The Indians have apparently added a bevy of young talent in the Cliff Lee and (rumored) Victor Martinez deals. Where are the White Sox moves?

Be careful what you wish for. The White Sox were the first of the AL Central teams to make an early deadline deal this year, sending Brandon Allen (a top 100 prospect) to the Diamondbacks for Tony Pena (a middle reliever). Given the price that the Sox have paid this year, if middle relievers cost a Top 100 prospect, then you'd expect the Sox to pay something like a Top 50 prospect (Tyler Flowers) for a position player, and more if that player was actually any good.

Take an honest assessment of the White Sox roster. What are their biggest weaknesses?

In a cruel ironic twist, the Sox have capably filled their glaring holes this year to keep their ship afloat at a game above .500. Gordon Beckham has cemented 3rd base. Scott Podsednik, who's probably not a great bet to maintain his performance, has done more than any reasonable Sox fan could have hoped for. They've had about 4 different pitchers give them quality starts from the back-end of the rotation. Everytime there has been an "Oh, crap!" situation, someone has easily slid in to guard against any more Lillibridge/Betemit-like embarrassments.

Making that irony even more cruel, is the Sox glaring mediocrity. The Sox haven't had their entire club on the field and performing well at the same time. There has always been someone on the DL, underperforming, or just plain in need of replacement. KW has ably filled those holes in a giant game of Whack-A-Mole, but now the Sox are as healthy as they've been all year, and have trimmed most of the useless fat from their roster. It's time for the team to perform.

Sure they could have upgraded with a real center fielder like Alex Rios or found a more dependable back-end of the rotation arm like Jon Garland. But at what price?

I've been preaching taking the Stand Pat approach for a couple of months now. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and suddenly lament Kenny Williams' inability to make my Friday afternoon more exciting. The Sox can (and will) still compete for the AL Central title this year, regardless of their inactivity and the respective moves of their rivals.

[Update by The Cheat, 07/31/09 3:23 PM CDT ]: And maybe they just traded for Jake Peavy. Heyman tweets.

Larry: Word is Poreda, Russell, Richard and Dexter Carter