Josh Fields Could Be Traded

Before the 2008 season began, there were plenty of White Sox fans who thought the team would be better off having Josh Fields as their third baseman and trading Joe Crede. Considering how close Crede was to being traded to the Giants and Dodgers last winter, it's pretty apparent that White Sox GM Kenny Williams was thinking the same way.

Then the season started and Crede was at third for the Sox while Josh Fields was manning the position down in Charlotte. Well, even though Crede's defense has suffered in 2008 (he's already committed a career-high 19 errors which is likely due to his back), he still made the All-Star team for the first time in his career...

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Let's Play GM: It's Time to Put Paulie On the DL

While the White Sox have won five in a row, and are back in first place in the AL Central, not everything is quite right just yet. The offense blew up for 13 runs yesterday afternoon, but there just still isn't any consistency to the lineup right now. Though, I don't know how much of a coincidence it is that ever since Ozzie finally changed the lineup around, the Sox are 5-0.

Remember, there were plenty of fans and media folk alike saying that the Sox had to make lineup changes, and that chatter helped lead to Ozzie's rant against the Cubs and the way the Sox are treated. Well, he finally listened, and things have turned out pretty well?

So with that in mind, I have some more advice for the White Sox in general. I was going to write about it on Friday, but didn't have time, though after I discussed it a bit with Silvio over the weekend it's still fresh in my mind.

Paul Konerko has been struggling big time over the last month. As a result, he was moved down from the clean-up spot to the sixth spot in the lineup (fifth over the weekend in San Fran). The reason for Paulie's horrible hitting can be mostly attributed to a pretty bad bone bruise he has on his right hand that probably makes hitting a baseball one of the most painful things on earth.

It hurts just watching Paul swing right now. How many times do I have to see him pop up to first base, and then walk to the dugout with his right arm hanging lifeless at his side. The pain from the bone bruise in his hand shooting all the way up his arm.

It doesn't look fun.

So that's why the Sox should place Konerko on the disabled list as soon as possible. I'm not sure two weeks would be long enough for the hand to heal, but I am sure it's not going to heal if he keeps playing with it everyday.

Plus, moving Paulie to the DL right now could help the Sox in other areas as well. The biggest reason the Sox have so much trouble scoring runs now isn't the fact they can't hit, as they've been hitting again, but it's the fact that they're probably the slowest baseball team ever assembled. They need speed.

So Kenny Williams, if you're reading, here's what I think you should do. At least consider it.

After placing Paul on the disabled list, call up Jerry Owens from Charlotte. I know his bat has cooled down considerably down there, but he has speed the team desperately needs. Jerry doesn't need to play everyday, and I don't want him to. Instead, you can platoon him in center with Brian Anderson, and automatically the Sox defense has improved tremendously.

Nick Swisher can then be moved to first base in the interim.

Then give Charlotte another call and tell them that you want to start playing Josh Fields at first base. Give him a few weeks over there to get a feel for the position. I honestly don't think it will be that hard of a transition for him, because if you can play third base, you can play first.

This will set the team up pretty well for this season and the future, in my opinion. If Fields adapts to first base, Paulie then becomes expendable. You can try to move him at the deadline for some pitching or second base help. If you can't move him at the deadline, let Josh stay at first down in Charlotte for the rest of the season. Then move Konerko in the offseason. The money you save on Paulie's contract can then be put to use re-signing Joe Crede. That extra cash you have that you may have used on Crede, can then be put towards signing a pitcher this off-season (Roy Halladay would be nice, but that's probably just a pipe dream).

Then next season you have Crede at third and Fields at first.

I'm not done yet, though. Right now in Charlotte, Lance Broadway has been outstanding. He's 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA, and his stock has never been hire. Trade him at the deadline.

I know a bunch of you are reading that and wondering why you would trade a young pitcher that could be a part of the rotation next season. It's a good question because you don't want to trade young pitching in this league.

But to that I ask you this: When was the last time a home-grown pitcher worked out for the White Sox? If you look at the entire White Sox pitching staff right now, how many of them were actually drafted by the White Sox? Three: Mark Buehrle, Ehren Wasserman, and Boone Logan.

Other than those three, every pitcher on the roster came from another organization.

The Sox just don't have good luck with pitching, so frankly, I'd rather trade Broadway now while his value is high instead of watching him not work out. You can probably use him as part of a deal to land a second baseman like Brian Roberts (not that name again!) from Baltimore.

Just think about it, Kenny.

Joe Crede Still Likes Chicago

While most of the talk surrounding Joe Crede, his back, and his impending free agency that dominated White Sox spring training seems to have died down a bit, it hasn't changed the fact that the White Sox still aren't sure what they'd like to do with their third baseman. Crede got off to a real hot start in April, and is hitting .270/.345/.500 to be one of the only consistently productive hitters in the Sox lineup (though all seven of his homers and 22 of his 25 RBI came in April).

HIs back has also stood up to the beating that comes with playing third base on a daily basis, so overall, it looks like the old Joe Crede is back. So what are the White Sox going to do...

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Would the Sox Trade Paulie?

While most of the trade talk in Chicago baseball revolves around the Cubs never ending pursuit of Baltimore's Brian Roberts, and the White Sox trying to get something out of San Francisco worthy enough of Joe Crede.

While I'm not sure what's holding up the Roberts deal, it's become pretty clear that the Crede deal hasn't gone through because the Giants just aren't offering the White Sox something they actually want back. More specifically, a starting pitcher.

With the way Barry Zito pitches last season, and his horrible start this spring, I'm sure the Giants wouldn't mind shedding that huge contract, but at the same time it's still too early to completely give up on him in San Francisco. Besides, the Sox don't want to take on that contract anyway.

They aren't going to give up Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum either, and Noah Lowry hasn't been impressive at all. That leaves Kevin Correia, but he really wouldn't be a marked improvement over what the team already has.

So it's looking like the Sox might be better served to wait on trading Crede. The problem with that is what would they do with Josh Fields? Kenny Williams has already said that Josh is playing third base this season, whether it's in Chicago or Charlotte. Well, Josh isn't going to get much out of another trip to the minors, so that move would be counter productive.

So what do they do? Fox's Ken Rosenthal has an idea.

If the Mets wanted to do something truly extravagant, they could make a run at White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, who remains quietly available, according to a major-league source.

Apparently the Mets are looking for some Carlos Delgado insurance, as Delgado struggled last season, and already has a hip problem this spring. To be honest though, I don't see the Mets willing to take on Konerko's $12 million contract just for insurance.

The idea to trade Konerko is somewhat interesting to me, though. More interesting than it has been in the past. Maybe it's just because I'll do anything to keep Joe Crede around as long as possible, or maybe because it actually might make sense for the team.

If the Sox were to trade Paulie, they'd have to do it now. In a few short months his "10 and 5" clause kicks in, and he'll have to approve of any trade the Sox try to make. Paulie is also a big enough bat to bring in a quality middle to upper rotation type of arm in return.

The Sox could then move Joe Crede to first base to help protect his back. Then, if the White Sox are out of the playoff hunt come deadline time, they can still move Crede and get more for him than they can now.

The problem is, who needs a first baseman right now?

The Yankees don't ever seem to mind adding bats to their lineup, and could use an upgrade at first base, but they've made it clear in the Johan Santana sweepstakes that they're not giving up their young arms. They might be able to get Melky Cabrera, which would solve the center field situation, but I'd rather have a pitcher for Paulie.

The Sox and Angels have never been able to work out a deal for Konerko, but maybe the Sox could look on the other side of Los Angeles for a partner. The Dodgers are looking for a little more thump in their lineup, and probably wouldn't mind Paulie next to Andruw Jones in the middle of their order.

Maybe the Sox could pry Chad Billingsley and a prospect or two out of them. I'd start by asking for Derek Lowe, though, and working my way down to Billingsley. Maybe they could even fool the Dodgers into giving up Billingsley and James Loney.

Of course, they could always fall back on the oft-rumored trade with the Angels, but if neither side has agreed on anything up until this point, there's no reason to think they would before the season starts.

Other than those teams, there really isn't anybody else out there that could use Paulie, at least not a team that could offer anything in return. So while the notion to trade Konerko before the season starts is a little appealing, I just don't see any scenario right now that would make sense.

Cactus Chronicles 3-7-08

The Cactus Chronicles will be a daily feature at Foul Balls from now until Opening Day 2008.

Rangers 6 White Sox 1

The Good

Ummm.....uhhhhh......well......not much. Bobby Jenks didn't give up a hit in an inning of work but he did walk two. Mike MacDougal managed to have a perfect inning, which is quite the rarity, and other than that not much went well for the Sox.

Brian Anderson threw a runner out at the plate, which kept the Sox from losing by more.

The Bad

Where to start? The Sox brought their big guns to the park on Thursday, using a starting lineup that will closely resemble the one we see on opening day. Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, and Juan Uribe all played, and went a combined 1-for-20.

Though the Sox only finished with three hits total, so it's not like anybody else did anything either.

Charlie Haeger gave up three runs in three innings, but he wasn't expecting to start, and was a replacement for Gavin Floyd who sat out with the flu. Boone Logan gave up another home run as well.

The Random

It doesn't appear that either Joe Crede or Josh Fields want the 3rd base job this season. So far this spring the two have combined to hit .154 (4-for-26)






Athletics 2 Cubs 1

The Good

Maybe Jason Marquis won't have to worry about being traded anymore, after working three strong shutout innings on Thursday. Hell, every Cubs pitcher performed well except for Jose Ceda who allowed both Oakland runs.

Kerry Wood, Bob Howry, Shingo Takatsu (Shingo!), Juan Mateo, and Jose Ascanio all combined for 4.2 innings of shutout relief.

On offense, not much went well for the Cubs, though Geovany Soto went 2-for-2 to raise his spring average to .500.

The Bad

The Cubs were only able to manage the one run and five hits against the A's.

The Random

Alex Cintron got another hit, and his performance this spring may make the Cubs more comfortable about using Ronny Cedeno in any trades they might want to make before the season starts. Say like one for Brian Roberts.