Optipessimism
06-08-2008, 09:30 AM
Going into this season I was about as pessimistic about our chances as a Sox fan could be. There was no way IMO that Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and Jose Contreras would all come up like aces and no. 2's. No way. This team was going to finish third behind Detroit and Cleveland if it could hold off Minny and an improved KC pitching staff.
Now a week into June, it appears I was way off the mark as were many Sox fans. Of course there will be a couple posters that will say they had faith from the get-go and will try to make others eat crow, but I have to say, anyone who honestly thought our SP would look like this was either truly psychic or crazy as hell.
I still have my reservations about this team though considering Jose has been a 1/2 season pitcher since we acquired him and neither one of Danks and Floyd have pitched anything close to 200 innings in their careers, but as of right now, I think it's time to give KW some serious props.
Looking at this team as it is constructed, here are my ratings on the following moves Kenny has made:
5-Star Moves (getting a whole lot for nothing or very little):
1. Picking up Bobby Jenks for nothing
2. Trading Low-A prospect Chris Carter for possible MVP candidate Carlos Quentin
3. Acquiring Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia who had only a few starts left before needing surgery
4. Dealing the proven veteran workhorse Brandon McCarthy, who has spent most of his Rangers time so far on the DL, for a current and likely future #2/#3 starter in John Danks, current reliever and possible future starter Nick Masset, and prospect Jacob Rasner
5. Signing Scott Linebrink, the best available set-up man out there, and only forfeiting a 2nd round draft pick in the process
6. Signing JD to a below market extension at the perfect time (that was ninja-like)
7. Extending Javier Vazquez. Well below market, well above league average production, and on top of that he's in his prime. He's the closest thing we have to a true ace, and he might actually be one.
8. Taking Gordon Beckham, one of the best available players in the first round of the draft, and then drafting Jordan Danks. I expect the Sox to make every effort to sign both of these guys. Whether or not these players pan out I think is irrelevant at this stage. It was just so refreshing to see the Sox take a couple of guys that they're going to have to go well over slot for.
4-Star Moves:
1. The AJ Pierzynski extension. Don't need to explain anything here. Good player, good value, great attitude, and a fan favorite.
2. The Buehrle extension. He's struggled at times this year, and with his stuff he always will when he can't pinpoint, but he's a fan favorite that would've really hurt to lose. His contract is below-market and in the worst case scenario it's not going to bog down the Sox like the crazy Zito and Schmidt contracts.
3. Signing Alexei Ramirez to a sweet deal. With his salary, if something happens and he goes down the tubes the team can cut him without skipping a beat. That's probably not going to happen because with his speed and his ability to play 2B, SS, and CF, he's at least market value if not below that as a bench player. As a regular his production so far as well exceeded his salary, and if he keeps it up, Alexei could be one of KW's greatest steals ever.
4. The Thornton extension. When he's off he's just another up and down reliever, but when he's on he's a great set-up man from the left side. With as cheap as his contract is, and with the price even mediocre to below-average relievers go for these days, Kenny did a fantastic job here.
3-Star Moves:
1. Signing Octavio Dotel. He's been great overall, but $5 million per year is still a lot of money. So far the acquisition has worked out great, but Octavio has choked in the past, and if he does his contract becomes an immediate albatross. It's too early IMO to say this is a great move or a bad move, so I think until we see how things you can't rate it as either. Unlike Linebrink, Dotel doesn't have that track record of being healthy and being nails year in and year out.
2. The Jose Contreras extension. Giving him the extension after '05 was a fan-pleasing move. He did enough IMO in '06 to win if we had some better balance in our lineup and a bullpen worth a ****. He sucked in '07 but that didn't matter because the whole team sucked in '07, and I'm actually glad he did suck, because had he been better those 6 or so games more we could have won would've done nothing but set us back further in the '08 draft. He's been terrific so far and, despite his age and the nagging injuries he seems to always have, he's a guy that will provide 200+ IP on a team that, when it's all said and done, will probably need it.
3. The Garland-for-Cabrera trade. I rate this 3 stars because with the way things look right now, we might not need either of these players that much. Alexei and Richar up the middle should be fine - they'll at least make for a sick defensive IF with some contact and pop - and Danks and Floyd, if they keep it up, will have replaced Garland. However, OC does add a veteran bat at SS that we may very well end up needing, while Garland is a veteran innings eater, and if we make the playoffs while Gavin and John are tired out from their first full MLB seasons, we may miss him a lot. This move is hard to gauge from a Sox perspective IMO.
4. Signing Toby Hall. We didn't need him in '07 anyway, and so far this year he's been great as a back-up.
Horrible deals:
1. Lumsden and Cortes for MacDougal. Ouch. At least it hasn't hurt the team on the field this year.
Unknown deals:
1. Richar for Cunningham
2. Signing Loaiza
3. Swisher for Gio, DLS, and Sweeney. It's way too early to tell with this one. Sweeney looks like he's going to be a nice MLB player if he can stay healthy. Gio has struggled some in the PCL, but he's still only 22 I believe and as long as he's healthy he should be at least a #3/#4 at the MLB level within the next couple of years. DLS had his surgery but still has an electric arm and as long as he can throw the ball he'll have the chance to be dynamite in an MLB pen if not as a starter. Swish has struggled mightily but he's a much, much better player than we have seen. Only time will tell on this one.
Other non-moves that have worked out very well:
1. Not trading Joe Crede for a piece of crap. Even though he's made a lot of bad throws down there at 3B, he's still made his typical great stops. His back is back and so is his bat. Prior to the season, cutting Joe and giving Fields a shot looked like a non-brainer for a club not expected to contend, but the team has become a legitimate contender, and Crede has worked out great.
2. Not giving up on Brian Anderson and sending him out for a bag of balls. In limited time he's shown a much better approach overall, and his attitude doesn't seem to be causing the coaches any trouble. He's a great defender in CF and still has a shot to realize his potential.
3. Not putting Jerry Owens on this team. Thank you Kenny.
4. Choosing Masset out of ST even though he didn't deserve it based on his performance.
5. Not dropping Uribe and eating his salary. Now that Alexei appears to have taken over the 2B job for the near future Uribe can become a very valuable a back up. Unlike Alex Cintron, Andy Gonzalez and the like of recent past, Uribe will only hurt you with the bat, not the bat AND the glove. Giving one of our MI the day off actually improves our defense and power at the plate. Not many teams can say that.
Overall, I can only see one move Kenny has made in regards to this year's team that can be regarded as horrible. Everything else has been good, great, or fantastic. Major kudos go to Kenny Williams.
Show Kenny the LOVE!
Now a week into June, it appears I was way off the mark as were many Sox fans. Of course there will be a couple posters that will say they had faith from the get-go and will try to make others eat crow, but I have to say, anyone who honestly thought our SP would look like this was either truly psychic or crazy as hell.
I still have my reservations about this team though considering Jose has been a 1/2 season pitcher since we acquired him and neither one of Danks and Floyd have pitched anything close to 200 innings in their careers, but as of right now, I think it's time to give KW some serious props.
Looking at this team as it is constructed, here are my ratings on the following moves Kenny has made:
5-Star Moves (getting a whole lot for nothing or very little):
1. Picking up Bobby Jenks for nothing
2. Trading Low-A prospect Chris Carter for possible MVP candidate Carlos Quentin
3. Acquiring Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia who had only a few starts left before needing surgery
4. Dealing the proven veteran workhorse Brandon McCarthy, who has spent most of his Rangers time so far on the DL, for a current and likely future #2/#3 starter in John Danks, current reliever and possible future starter Nick Masset, and prospect Jacob Rasner
5. Signing Scott Linebrink, the best available set-up man out there, and only forfeiting a 2nd round draft pick in the process
6. Signing JD to a below market extension at the perfect time (that was ninja-like)
7. Extending Javier Vazquez. Well below market, well above league average production, and on top of that he's in his prime. He's the closest thing we have to a true ace, and he might actually be one.
8. Taking Gordon Beckham, one of the best available players in the first round of the draft, and then drafting Jordan Danks. I expect the Sox to make every effort to sign both of these guys. Whether or not these players pan out I think is irrelevant at this stage. It was just so refreshing to see the Sox take a couple of guys that they're going to have to go well over slot for.
4-Star Moves:
1. The AJ Pierzynski extension. Don't need to explain anything here. Good player, good value, great attitude, and a fan favorite.
2. The Buehrle extension. He's struggled at times this year, and with his stuff he always will when he can't pinpoint, but he's a fan favorite that would've really hurt to lose. His contract is below-market and in the worst case scenario it's not going to bog down the Sox like the crazy Zito and Schmidt contracts.
3. Signing Alexei Ramirez to a sweet deal. With his salary, if something happens and he goes down the tubes the team can cut him without skipping a beat. That's probably not going to happen because with his speed and his ability to play 2B, SS, and CF, he's at least market value if not below that as a bench player. As a regular his production so far as well exceeded his salary, and if he keeps it up, Alexei could be one of KW's greatest steals ever.
4. The Thornton extension. When he's off he's just another up and down reliever, but when he's on he's a great set-up man from the left side. With as cheap as his contract is, and with the price even mediocre to below-average relievers go for these days, Kenny did a fantastic job here.
3-Star Moves:
1. Signing Octavio Dotel. He's been great overall, but $5 million per year is still a lot of money. So far the acquisition has worked out great, but Octavio has choked in the past, and if he does his contract becomes an immediate albatross. It's too early IMO to say this is a great move or a bad move, so I think until we see how things you can't rate it as either. Unlike Linebrink, Dotel doesn't have that track record of being healthy and being nails year in and year out.
2. The Jose Contreras extension. Giving him the extension after '05 was a fan-pleasing move. He did enough IMO in '06 to win if we had some better balance in our lineup and a bullpen worth a ****. He sucked in '07 but that didn't matter because the whole team sucked in '07, and I'm actually glad he did suck, because had he been better those 6 or so games more we could have won would've done nothing but set us back further in the '08 draft. He's been terrific so far and, despite his age and the nagging injuries he seems to always have, he's a guy that will provide 200+ IP on a team that, when it's all said and done, will probably need it.
3. The Garland-for-Cabrera trade. I rate this 3 stars because with the way things look right now, we might not need either of these players that much. Alexei and Richar up the middle should be fine - they'll at least make for a sick defensive IF with some contact and pop - and Danks and Floyd, if they keep it up, will have replaced Garland. However, OC does add a veteran bat at SS that we may very well end up needing, while Garland is a veteran innings eater, and if we make the playoffs while Gavin and John are tired out from their first full MLB seasons, we may miss him a lot. This move is hard to gauge from a Sox perspective IMO.
4. Signing Toby Hall. We didn't need him in '07 anyway, and so far this year he's been great as a back-up.
Horrible deals:
1. Lumsden and Cortes for MacDougal. Ouch. At least it hasn't hurt the team on the field this year.
Unknown deals:
1. Richar for Cunningham
2. Signing Loaiza
3. Swisher for Gio, DLS, and Sweeney. It's way too early to tell with this one. Sweeney looks like he's going to be a nice MLB player if he can stay healthy. Gio has struggled some in the PCL, but he's still only 22 I believe and as long as he's healthy he should be at least a #3/#4 at the MLB level within the next couple of years. DLS had his surgery but still has an electric arm and as long as he can throw the ball he'll have the chance to be dynamite in an MLB pen if not as a starter. Swish has struggled mightily but he's a much, much better player than we have seen. Only time will tell on this one.
Other non-moves that have worked out very well:
1. Not trading Joe Crede for a piece of crap. Even though he's made a lot of bad throws down there at 3B, he's still made his typical great stops. His back is back and so is his bat. Prior to the season, cutting Joe and giving Fields a shot looked like a non-brainer for a club not expected to contend, but the team has become a legitimate contender, and Crede has worked out great.
2. Not giving up on Brian Anderson and sending him out for a bag of balls. In limited time he's shown a much better approach overall, and his attitude doesn't seem to be causing the coaches any trouble. He's a great defender in CF and still has a shot to realize his potential.
3. Not putting Jerry Owens on this team. Thank you Kenny.
4. Choosing Masset out of ST even though he didn't deserve it based on his performance.
5. Not dropping Uribe and eating his salary. Now that Alexei appears to have taken over the 2B job for the near future Uribe can become a very valuable a back up. Unlike Alex Cintron, Andy Gonzalez and the like of recent past, Uribe will only hurt you with the bat, not the bat AND the glove. Giving one of our MI the day off actually improves our defense and power at the plate. Not many teams can say that.
Overall, I can only see one move Kenny has made in regards to this year's team that can be regarded as horrible. Everything else has been good, great, or fantastic. Major kudos go to Kenny Williams.
Show Kenny the LOVE!