If I Were GM: White Sox Edition

Hopefully I can give everyone a break from this heated Twins off-season talk. As the resident White Sox fan, I get to pretend to be Kenny Williams today. As you know, the White Sox are fresh off a division title and have a lot of their players locked up for several years. Their major weakness in 2008 was their strength in 2005: they couldn't manufacture runs in a traditional way. They relied way too much on the solo home run and not enough on baserunning and timely hitting. That will only get you so far. If they want to take that next step, they will need to balance their team more for 2009 and strengthen their pitching staff a little more. I'll break it down, position by position:

Catcher: Say what you want about him, but I'd take AJ Pierzynski over just about any catcher in the majors. He knows how to handle a pitching staff and call a game and his offensive skills and clutch hitting are a major help. Toby Hall's option has already been declined, so I'll just pick a backup off the free agent menu.....let's go with Brad Ausmus. I would also consider giving a young guy like Donny Lucy or Paul Phillips another chance in the majors.

1st Base: In Paul we Trust. I'd have no choice but to keep Konerko at first because his horrible season last year greatly hurt his trade value. I'll just have to hold out hope that his strong August and September could translate well to 2009.

2nd Base and Shortstop: This is where it gets more interesting, and these 2 positions are definitely tied together for the White Sox. Just like Kenny, I would let Orlando Cabrera take a hike, leaving the door open for Alexei Ramirez to take over at SS, his natural postion. Believe it or not, the Sox actually have 2 promising young prospects in their system, 2B Chris Getz, and SS Gordon Beckham. Getz is ready to play in the majors now, but Beckham was just drafted in 2008 but seems to be on the fast track. I would keep Juan Uribe as insurance in case Getz doesn't work out.

3rd Base: With Joe Crede's back completely shot, the Sox are going to have to go a different direction, and that direction could be back to the land of communism and fine cigars. This story just ran in the Chicago Sun-Times this morning. So yes, I would send Contreras and Ramirez on a recruiting trip and land Dayan Viciedo. If that doesn't work, I would take a run at Casey Blake, who has stayed healthy and put up Crede-like numbers for the past few seasons.

Outfield: Carlos Quentin was the steal of the trade season last year, and hopefully he'll keep climbing to superstar status. Jermaine Dye will also be back again in RF. That leaves the question of CF. The Sox can either hang on to Nick Swisher and give him another shot, they could go young, or they could try out the free agent and trade markets with Swisher. In their system, they have speedy Jerry Owens, so-so Brian Anderson, and surprising Dewayne Wise. They could be alright going with a combination of the 3 next season, or they could try to make another big move. I would love to see them go after a proven speedy guy that could bat leadoff consistently. There is a rumor going around that the Yankees are interested in trading Johnny Damon for Nick Swisher. I would take that deal in a heartbeat, and see if the pretty stupid Yankees management would throw in a pitching prospect as well.

DH: JI
JIM THOME
Also, if Frank Thomas decides it is time to retire, I would sign him for 1 day to let him retire as a member of the Sox. Thanks for the memories, Hurt.

Starting Pitching: For some reason, it seems like a good idea to stay the hell away from starting pitching free agents. They command a ton of money and are usually pretty horrible. Luckily for the Sox, they have a decent rotation with Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras (if he stays healthy), Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. I would try everything in my power to get rid of Javier Vazquez, who some teams are interested in for some reason, especially if I could help rebuild the shattered Sox farm system in return. That leads to a search for a 5th starter, which I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox take a chance on a youngster again, like Clayton Richard or top prospect, Aaron Poreda. I'd let them battle it out in spring training and maybe try to sign a veteran for cheap to make it a 3 way contest.

Relief Pitching: Bobby Jenks is still my closer. I don't know if the rest of the bullpen is even worth talking about. They were more or less terrible last year, and there isn't a whole lot you can do to fix it, like most teams in the majors realize. I would definitely hang on to Matt Thornton and put Clayton Richard out there if he loses the starting battle, and probably keep Linebrink and see what other youngsters impress in Arizona in March. Oh, and I would trade Octavio Dotel to the Twins. I don't care what I get in return, I would just really like to see him in a Twins uniform coming into an important close game.

So here's my starting lineup and rotation:
1. CF - Johnny Damon
2. SS - Alexei Ramirez
3. LF - Carlos Quentin
4. RF - Jermaine Dye
5. DH - Jim Thome
6. 1B - Paul Konerko
7. 3B - Dayan Viciedo/Casey Blake
8. C - A.J. Pierzynski
9. 2B - Chris Getz

SP1: Mark Buehrle
SP2: Jose Contreras
SP3: Gavin Floyd
SP4: John Danks
SP5: Aaron Poreda