Attendance is going to be horrible as they will not be competitive in time for the traditional boost once schools get out. KW traditionally likes make moves well in advance of the trade deadline and there will be a financial incentive to do so this year. I put the sell off to start no later than June 1. A reinvigorated Jenks will be the prized piece of the sale and KW may wait until the deadline to max out the price on him. He will look to move Linebrink early, as he fades as the year goes on. They may be able to get something for Jones if he keeps up this pace. Kotsay will end up the same way he did with Boston, with the Sox giving him away. Someone may want Vizquel but they'll get nothing in return for him.

The real big controversies will be whether to move Konerko and Pierzynski.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I don't think it is too early to try to get something for Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin and Roberto Hernandez

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Why is it a controversy to get rid of AJ? If you can get anything for him, you make the deal.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The time to do all this was last year. But they won't sell until they're practically mathematically eliminated, and if they stay even reasonably close, Kenny will make some half-assed trade for an over the hill veteran.

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Fire Phil Emery

The thing that hasn't been talked about is that it appears they have soured on Tyler Flowers who they were counting on to be the replacement for AJ. Now if you trade AJ before his 10/5 locks in, you will have Donnie Lucy and Ramon Castro working behind the plate which is not a good alternative.

Konerko will be dealt despite being a fan favorite.

I could see Jenks rumors coming up again as well.

After the 8 million people attend the World Series parade.

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where on earth did you come up with that hypothesis?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

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A selling thread on April 22nd, GD? Really?

It doesn't make sense to me that they dropped Donnie Lucy from the 40 man last year only to put him back on and he's up in the majors while Flowers is still in Charlotte.

Flowers needs to catch and hit every day. He won't do that with the big club at this point.


Anybody "Selling" any earlier than say the first day of summer 1st is crazier than moving your "ace" to the bullpen.

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Of course it's too early to 'sell off' but this weekend vs the Mariners will say a lot for this team. They are behind (so there should be a sense of urgency) and avoiding Cliff Lee (still rehabbing) and King Felix (pitched Wednesday night). So, anything less than 2/3 (and it really needs to be a sweep) will really show that this team what we thought.

As for negative connotations with trading AJ . . . I don't get it. Isn't the idea of the minor leagues having lower priced ways to replace your stars? Especially with the cash stricken Sox, shouldn't we be happy they would trade AJ, replace him with a lower cost option and have money for another area?

If this team falls out of the race you should be mad if they don't make moves dumping people.

Flowers may be viewed as a replacement for Konerko moreso than AJ.

FWIW he is hitting for power and getting on base in AAA with a 316/.447/.553. line and 11 RBI in 11 games. Viciedo is in the 1B mix as well but he might be a few years away.

I wouldn't rule out Konerko being sold to a contender, but I don't see anyone offering much for AJ...

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Plus, all during Spring Training I'm sure I heard "reports" from all the beat guys the Sox weren't thrilled with Flower's progress. He's had a good start in AAA though this year.

Linebrink still has another season on his contract. Giving his history of 2nd half slides, I'm not confident that a good first half will make him easy to trade with the 2 issues that I mentioned.

I haven't checked around the league, but what good teams need a closer (regarding Jenks)?

Kotsay will provide a bag of baseballs in return.

I just don't see the Sox having much to trade away.

Or maybe it was just Terry since at 2:30 "his guy" was referenced as saying the Sox didn't like his spring. Terry personally said he thought Flowers was the most disappointing Sox story of ST.

St Louis maybe, if Franklin starts to fall off. Colorado has some issues until Street returns, not sure what the timetable there is. Arizona has Qualls closing. Toronto might hang around and want to upgrade once Kevin Gregg blows up. Obvious answer would be Minnesota, but I don't know how likely a trade in the division is.

Alot of it depends if these teams are buyers or sellers. I only see Jenks' value diminishing at this point..

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I agree with this. What we have seen so far doesn't impress me that much this season, and last season he showed a tendancy to give up the long ball. And in 08 and 09 he was giving up one more hit per nine innings on average, which isn't a nice trend. I guess the best you could if you were holding him for closer to the deadline is to say that he didn't get enough save chances, and you had to pitch him in some non-pressure situations and that he doesn't perform to his peak in those scenarios.

I'd really be shopping AJ right now before the 10 and 5....

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

It's not just the Sox performance. I am really sold on these Twins. That is a championship caliber offense with their typical lock down middle relief that is making the starting pitching look better than it is. As I said in another thread, with the money pouring in from the new stadium, watch them get a top starter at the trade deadline and be a world series contender.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Instead of a starter they should worry about getting a closer. Rauch just blew his first save and there will be many more to follow. This guy was pitching WAY over his head and it was only a matter of time before he came back down to earth. I'm not sold.

The American League Central Division race is never ovaaaah until it is ovaaaaah....and now they have figured out a way to extend the battle with the PLAY IN GAME!

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

After today's sweep of the Mariners, I think the "doom and gloom" scenario needs to be put on hold.

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"Why do so many people need help? Life's not that complicated. You get up, go to work, eat three meals, take one good s***, and go back to bed. What's the f***ing mystery?" - George Carlin - Complaints & Grievances

With 3 Divisions, a team has to be flat out awful to be out of the race before the trading deadline.

The Sox are not flat out AWFUL.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

Not sure, but I am beginning to lose faith in Buerhle. I say trade him now before he has absolutely zero trade value.

Buerhle = 0-4 since his perfecto (injured?)
Peavy = Hard throwing with no control (adjustment process?)
Floyd = completely unpredictable (.500 at best?)
Danks = Stud
Garcia = Meh (gone before too long?)

This team has about 2-3 weeks left to turn things around or this season will end in another third place finish. If this is the case, Ozzie and Kenny must be put on notice.

JD will be re-signed by June. Will this help? No clue.

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RFDC thinks I'm retarded.

Buerhle has 2 wins this year. He has been slightly above a 500 pitcher for a while now.

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

About time for a drive by in this thread:

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One of the callers on Ranger's "Comcast Feedback Zone Postgame Show" yesterday may have said something about Mark Buehrle that White Sox fans everywhere may be starting to realize. Buehrle has pitched a lot of innings over his career and we may be starting to see the results of his arm and all the pitches he's thrown. Keep an eye on this in future Buehrle starts.

The future of the season hinges on this homestand. They really need to go 5-2 and enter the Twin series at 15-17.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Because they're earning a lot of money respectively, you can't get a 24 pack of Miller Lite for either Alex Rios or Jake Peavy, who starts tonight vs. the Royals likely in front of a lot of empty seats at U.S. Cellular Field. Even though the White Sox might not like the asking price for Anthony John Pierzynski right now, I have to think that A.J., Paul Konerko & Bobby Jenks might be among the 2005 World Champions that could be had at the trading deadline this July if the Sox don't turn things around soon. Because the Sox are also not drawing at the box office right now, forget about the talk Joe Cowley mentioned in the Sun-Times yesterday about the Sox & Padres supposedly talking about trading for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. It's not happening...