Color me underwhelmed by the package
the Detroit Tigers plan to ship to the Florida Marlins in return for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. They significantly upgraded a corner spot and their fifth starter by packaging Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and four guys they likely won't miss all that much.
Still, the sad thing is even without the throw-ins, the Tigers had more to offer the Marlins than anything the White Sox could package. Even though he has an awful mustache and a worse pickoff move, Miller is a better bet to succeed in the majors than any of the young pitchers the White Sox have to offer, and Maybin is a kind of player the Sox system hasn't seen since Chris Young.
The interesting thing to note, as the Sox scout for the eighth pick in the 2008 draft, is that Maybin and Miller were both first-round picks that cost Dave Dombrowski an above-slot bonus. They fell into his lap because of signability issues, he gladly paid the price, and now he's reaping the benefits even though Maybin and Miller haven't yet proven themselves at the big-league level.
Dombrowski is an excellent talent evaluator helped by an owner with deep, deep pockets (Mike Ilitch), and the result is that he's been able to acquire the best players available without getting hung up on an extra million here or there. Sometimes it sucks to pay a king's ransom for a player out of high school or college, but because the did, they now have one of the best young hitters in baseball who will be worth more than he's paid in 2007. That money basically comes right back into the franchise's pocket, and if the Tigers perform nearly as well as they look on paper, the investment will pay for itself many, many times over.
Maybe Maybin and/or Miller will become as valuable as Hanley Ramirez for a six-figure salary, but because the Tigers are fearless in the draft, surrendering those prospects for a Cabrera-type talent was a no-brainer. And because the Sox refuse to go balls-to-the-wall in the amateur scouting department, acquiring Cabrera was an impossibility.
Making matters even darker,
Ozzie Guillen actually broke the news to Cabrera.
Update: Check out
The Cheat's post on the same matter. Moving on....
**********************
The brain and the mouth of the White Sox organization were not in sync earlier today over the subject of the Scott Boras-represented Andruw Jones.
Shortly after
Guillen told the Chicago Tribune Jones was "in the mix," Kenny Williams negated the thought and
said Jones was not on his list, citing Jones' strikeout totals and not-spectacular on-base percentages as the reason.
That seems like a different way of saying, "I don't want to talk to Boras," since Torii Hunter was worse in both departments and center-field possibilities Aaron Rowand and Kosuke Fukudome are also solid bets to crack triple-digits in whiffs.
It's not a surprise, but Jones could easily prove to be the best bargain in this year's crop of free agents. Then again, Roberto Alomar lost 250 points off his OPS in one year and never regained them, so you never know.
**********************
Another name that popped up a couple times today: Chris Burke.
An
early-morning rumor had Houston GM talking to the Sox about second the second baseman/utilityman to the South Side for a reliever, although a source
downplayed the possibility later in the day.
As long as the reliever isn't Bobby Jenks, I don't see why the Sox wouldn't make the deal. Burke is quality insurance at second and center field, or could be flipped again. Anything other than a reliever, however, and I can't imagine the Sox have much to offer Houston. They're in similar boats.
**********************
Other notes:*Hey, the Sun-Times has a White Sox blog! Although with only one entry,
it's only a story right now. It's a long time overdue, considering the Trib writers have been cranking away on theirs since June, and
the Southtown cut their coverage of the Sox after the end of the season.
*Williams described new addition Carlos Quentin as "Chicago tough." It's interesting to compare that sentiment to the one in
this East Valley Tribune (Ariz.) article:
Quentin’s reputation as a player who is hard on himself might be
overblown, he said, although he does not deny an intensity such that he
considers “mental coaching” part of his overall conditioning program.
“I’ve taken steps in the past to alleviate any internal stress that the
game creates,” said Quentin, whose counseling sessions caught the
attention of scouts here who speculated it hurt his trade value.
Well, this certainly does nothing to dissuade me from my theory that
the Sox seek players who flagellate themselves.
*Nothing new on the Kosuke Fukudome front, but if the quote about Jones is truly more than a Boras-sparked smokescreen, I have to imagine Williams will be going after the Japanese outfielder with guns blazing.
Here's a thought -- Quentin can play a strong right field, and it appears that Fukudome could man center without much of a problem. That would theoretically make Paul Konerko more readily available in trade discussions, since Jermaine Dye could shift to first.
It just makes too much sense for the Sox not to follow through with it. If Fukudome ends up with the Cubs for financial reasons, consider me miffed.