What do you want Kenny to do over the next couple of weeks?

The deal for Youk is working nicely, but you gotta figure KW will do something else to try and keep the Sox ahead in the Central.

Detroit is coming.

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

Nothing leaps to mind.

Maybe another veteran arm for the bullpen.

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That's what I was thinking. Im fine dancing with the girl we came with. This is a contending team as is. A minor move here or there wouldn't hurt but I don't want Kenny to do anything major.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I think Youk was the major deal for the offense. I'd like to see them add a Matt Capps or Broxton type to the pen as a setup guy.

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Obviously, everyone is looking for starting pitching. I trust Sale and Peavy. Quintana has been incredible. Floyd is a solid 4th or 5th on a winning team. I'm not expecting Danks back, so hopefully they can do something there, because Humber isn't the answer.

I'd take a veteran righty reliever that can go a couple innings.

Backup catcher. Backup middle infielder.

Flowers and Escobar are ok defensively, but if AJ or Alexei went down for a month or longer, they would be in serious trouble...especially AJ.

yeah your outfield is pretty much set cuz de aza has been a solid leadoff man...

Alejandro De Aza (2012): 82g 324ab 56r 92h 15h2b 4h3b 5hr 32rbi 30bb 67k 15sb 7cs .284avg .351obp .401slg .752ops

seriously who knew he'd be that decent? especially cuz when he came up he was just a backup pablo ozuna.... but still, he's your CF and short of getting a bonafide stud (would you roll the dice on bj upton? yikes. if he could ever hit .280+ for a season and be coerced into a few more walks there's a studly CF who is relatively cheap even tho he'll get big $$$ he won't get insane $$$)

then you look around the infield... you're pretty much set with the team you went to war with. short of trading ramirez or beckham, i can't see pulling the trigger... having adam dunn / konerko means your DH spot is spoken for, but with this team leading the division you can't really see proactive moves like trading alex rios for someone with more titillating upside... now that i think about it the sox are pretty handcuffed so talking about that venerable "veteran arm" out of the pen and/or a backend starter (ideally with top-3 starter stuff) is the way to go....

i really don't know. one guy i'd consider is vargas from seattle, that is, if they're looking to deal. he's not setting the world ablaze overall but he's capable of ~2-3 week stretches where he's got a sub-1 era/whip and 1k/IP and the way this division is going if you can milk 2-3 wins from a guy, those 2-3 wins could be paramount cuz the timeless cliche is "...once you get in the playoffs"

so yeah, short of something utterly brilliant where you cash out a rios at the top of his game or get a bonafide stud CF for de aza, i have no idea what's even possible, let alone going to happen. you figure it HAS to be pitching accordingly.

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I can't see messing with the offense, RV has a hard time keeping all the bats in there as it is. I want him to get a number one pitcher, maybe two of them, at little to no cost. I know, not gonna happen, but I can dream, right?

I think because there are so many rookies in the White Sox bullpen due in part to Jesse Crain's second stint on the DL this season, a veteran arm for the bullpen is probably first & foremost on GM Ken Williams' wish list prior to the July 31st MLB Trade Deadline. I'm not sure there's anyone down on the farm worth dealing to get that arm however.

SHARK, you can get a solid reliever for a good AA or a couple of decent A prospects. Its going to be a seller's market for sure, but there will be guys out there.

I am not worried about Detroit. They don't have the pitching or defense to go on a prolonged winning streak. The Sox biggest competition in the second half is themselves. If they don't beat themselves, they will win this division.

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Going into this season, would you ever have thought you would be saying those words at the All Star Break?

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Detroit hasn't been able to find their footing after so many "experts" picked them to win and run away with the AL Central in spring training, Frank. I know they've won 5 in a row going into the break, but it's been a real struggle for them so far.

Not worried about Detroit?

Let's get past the trade deadline and see what they do before we start saying that.

I still think Detroit will be heard from in this race before it is all said and done.

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

Detroit will be adding Garza and Barney to the team. Not that it strikes fear into anyone, but it will be an upgrade.

That's right, not worried about the Tigers. They are under .500 in 1 run games, and they are only like a +5 in run differential, and they were in the negative before that 5 game run they just went on.

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Detroit could very well fall flat on their face but to dismiss them out of hand as if they were a bunch of bums seems a little over-confident. It sure would make things easier for the Sox if they continue to struggle but they are 3.5 games out, that isnt a big mountain to climb to get back in first.

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I hope you are right.

But they have really underachieved this first half and yet still find themselves only 3.5 games back at the break. And they will probably be making a couple moves at the deadline.

Just not enough for me to say I am not worried about the Tigers. Too much baseball left to be played and too much talent there, and they have one of the best managers of all time.

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

That might be an upgrade. The Tigers don't have a true second baseman on their roster, BC, and have filled in the blank (get it?) with Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago & Danny Worth who have played there this season. Not exactly a murderers' row on that side of the Detroit infield.

As for Matt Garza, why do I get this feeling he's trading in one set of pinstripes for another? I think the Yankees are also in the market for a starting pitcher.

I don't mean to dismiss them like that, I just don't think they are more than an 84 win club or so. Their defense is terrible and outside of Valverde and Verlander, their pitching is mediocre at best. They remind of last year's Sox. Just good enough to hang around, but not good enough to make a serious run.

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I really hope KW only makes moves like the Youklis trade where the Sox send nothing. Teams will be willing to do that just for salary relief. No big moves.

I think the Sox need a bona fide, experienced pinch hitter. Look at their bench and you have great gloves but they are all young with zero experience coming off the bench in big situations. The good thing is that type of player should cost nothing in a trade. Take a guy like Reed Johnson, Baker or any number of subs throughout the league and get that person playoff ready with an AB late in every game. Orlando Hudson hasn't shown that ability yet.

I would be willing to go to war with the current bullpen if Crain gets healthy. Axlerod moves to the bullpen for long relief upon Humber's return. Humber goes to the bullpen in the playoffs. I'm not counting on John Danks for anything this year.

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

They may explore starting pitching if they believe John Danks is able to return this season. They may explore veteran relief pitching if they don't feel Jessie Crain can hold up (and even then may look to add one more guy).

Offensively, I don't see a whole lot they can/will do.

Yet, they are right in this hunt.

I think Dempster would be my #1 choice as far as a deadline pickup, more than likely asking prcie will be too high though. only reason it could possilb yhappen is dempsters value might be slightly lower because he is a true rent a player. Veteran bullpen arm would be second on wishlist, not trusting Crain for the rest of this year.

I don't see the Cubs trading Barney. With Castro, they make up one of the best double play combo's in the league. Barney may well win the gold glove this season and is a guy they may build with. As for Garza-they can ship him and his shaving creme pie's out of town any time. Garza and Dempster to the Yankees, or Detroit for great prospects. I doubt the Cubs will deal with the Sox though. They don't have great prospects to make a deal and why make a deal that strengthens the team across town that competes with you for entertainment dollars?

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Go Cubs!!!!

Could anyone really believe this? I'm guessing most of the guys who vote on this don't even know who the fuck he is.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I wouldn't count on a guy who is 116-119 for his career to give you much of a boost. Most teams can probably find a .500 pitcher in their systems.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Wow. Strong words. I disagree. They certainly have the pitching. They have the same guys who won last year, they havent been good so far, but they have the ability.

Their Run differential says they are better than Cleveland and they finished the first half 14-8 winning their last 5.


I think the Sox are still the favorite, but to not worry about Detroit is crazy

EDIT: The Tigers schedule to start off the 2nd half looks pretty daunting compared to the Sox. Sox could finish them off right here.

Just because Win-Loss record shouldnt be dismissed, doesnt mean it should be used like a perfect stat.

You go too far the other way with it, I think.


The guy pitching for the cubs right now is obviously better than a .500 pitcher.

If Dempster played for another NL team he would be on more Sox fan radars right now.

Just the way it works.

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

Yeah, one game better.

Seriously, I think we've seen enough of Ryan Dempster to know exactly who he is. And I think ignoring the fact that he's under .500 in a significant amount of starts is silly. Maybe he'll go somewhere and go 10-2 the rest of the way and help a team win a division. I wouldn't bet on that. And I certainly wouldn't give up the bounty of prospects the local press seems to believe he will command to get him.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Shouldn't he be on all Sox fans' radars now, since we only care about the Cubs?

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