ADIOS JAVY......

FOXSPORTS.COM is reporting that White Sox pitcher has been traded to the Atlanta Braves as part of a 5 player deal. Vazquez who the Sox traded for in 2005 after winning the world series finished with a career record of 38-36 and never really gave the Sox what they were looking for. However the Sox did sign Vazquez to a 3 yr/34 million dollar in March of 2007 which was strictly based of market value of a 8 yr vet. I always said that Vazquez isn't worth that much money although a work horse that gives you innings and is consistantly in the top 10 in strikeouts.

This is the first major move in what I hope is what Kenny Williams is aiming for this offseason....and that is BUILD FOR THE FUTURE!!!

I understand that in today's game...there is a sense of "Win Now And Do Whatever It Takes." Here's the thing though...the Sox are an aging bunch of old tired talent that rely too much on their past and their name....(cough........Ken Griffey Jr anyone??)

The Sox farm system according to everything I've read isn't exactly booming with propects and talented kids and this move may be the first of a few where Williams starts to build up his minors a little and looks towards 2-3 years down the road instead of trying to beat Min/Clev next year.

Looking at the Sox remaining starters...
1. Mark Buehrle - Heading into his 10th major league season and coming off a nice 15-12 mark with a sub-4 ERA.....he is now the ace again. I said the Sox should have signed Buehrle not to have a consistant left handed starter....not to have another career White Sox player....but for his effect on young Jon Danks. If last year showed us anything....it showed how Buehrle and Danks gelled together as not only teammates but as mentor and student.

2. John Danks - 12-9 3.39 era....unbelieveable....and looking forward to more. Put Buehrle at the 1, Danks at the 3......could be a lethal combo come 2009.

3. Gavin Floyd - Anyone missing Freddy Garcia?? AH....no. 17-8 with a 3.83 era last season.....awesome. Remember he had 2-3 games where he took no hitters into the 6-7th inning. Next year could be a big year for Danks and Floyd financially. If they both put up stellar years, could be a short lived career in Chicago.....Hopefully not.

4. Jose Contreras?? - Started 20 games, DL twice and of course that horrible achielles tendon injury. I don't think we'll ever see the old Jose Jose Jose that we saw in 05-06 ever again. This guy was unhittable at one point in those years.....now do we even know if he can ever pitch again?? Isn't he like 50 years old......?? 37 my ass.

5. Clayton Richard - I'll admit I wasn't big on this kid, but the later in the season it got and the more experience he got his belt....he turned out alright. I'd like to see Clayton as a #5 still, not ready for the #4 quite yet. But either way, if he can pitch like he did in New York in his last official start of 08.....Sox could get 10 wins out of this kid next year.

The Sox Needs:
1. Up the middle.......CF NEEDED...APPLY HERE!!!
- The Sox got rid of Swisher Sweets sending his ass to NYY (have fun with the media out there buddy!!!). Does this open the door for Jerry Owens?? First guess is YES....but then again, unproven and needs to be addressed.

2. Second base......Who The Fuck Is Jayson Nix??
- With Juan Uribe a free agent, and the Sox not even considering signing Joe Crede....you may think the hot corner is the #1 need in the infield. Josh Fields I think was in "competition" for Crede's job in spring training last year...I expect Fields to get the job. As far as SS....Alexi....it's all yours....so the real hole is 2B. Jayson Nix hit .125 in the bigs last year before being sent back down to the minors. The Sox have had success signing players from Colorado....Uribe was originally with the Rockies in 2004.

3. BULLPEN BULLPEN BULLPEN.....same thing every year. Good teams don't win unless they have a good bullpen. I hope the Sox keep Jenks and Linebrink together, but they need to fill the holes elsewhere. Wasserman is fun to watch.............until they hit him.

All in all, like the move......hopefully much more to come!!
-RoCk