White Sox in '09

So the baseball season is officially over, and I'm focusing on what the Sox need to do in the off-season, so they are better next year (I can say the same about the Blackhawks, Bears and Bulls for next year as well, because... let's face it...). I'm no Kenny Williams, and I think he is outstanding in what he does, but as a loyal White Sox fan, and purchaser of Sox tickets, that grants me the ability... the right, to make my suggestions. Anyway, I get to play GM on the videogames on Playstation, and I'm not bad at creating a team.

Who's gone in free agency (major players): Joe Crede, Ken Griffey, Toby Hall, Orlanda Cabrera. After two years of being disabled, Crede will find a new team. The Sox have several options to replace him. Griffey (as much as I love Griffey, and have wanted him on the Sox for years) will leave, hopefully for Seattle, where he can end his career, hopefully with a World Series. Toby needs to come back. Extremely valuable as a backup backstop. Cabrera can be let go. He was brought in to be a leader, and became a headache. And he didn't produce all that much, though I'll give him the benefit of leadoff, which was not his natural spot in the order. Sox have better options.

Positions that need to be filled: Centerfield, shortstop, thirdbase. The Sox have a great problem in centerfield: three players fighting to play in Brian Anderson, Nick Swisher and Jerry Owens. One of these three will be starting there soon. At shortstop there are options in-house as well. Thirdbase was handled very well by Juan Uribe, this season, which may be a possibility unless Josh Fields is brought up as he was two years ago.

Batting order needs: It is quite obvious that a lead-off hitter is needed. There are two possibilities in-house through Jerry Owens or Chris Getz (both Triple-A), and there could be possibilities to bring them up.

Pitching needs: For starters, it revolves around Jose Contreras. When healthy, he's dominant. The last two years have been shaky. The Sox won't be able to trade him, but he's not suitable for relief work, because it takes too long for him to warm up. Keep him in the rotation, and promote Clayton Richard to be the long relief and back-up, just in case Contreras goes down again. There is an obvious need for middle relief, and I think this is where the Sox need to focus on making a trade. The Sox need one or two middle relief before the 7-8-9 of Dotel, Linebrink and Jenks. Thornton was good, but MacDougal, Wasserman and Logan were bad. Perhaps bring up some young kids, because you have 4 (5 counting Richard) good relief pitchers. A trade would be best.

People to trade: Nick Swisher. Yes, he's a switch hitter, but had a horrendous offensive year. He's a natural firstbaseman, but Paul Konerko isn't going anywhere. He's abismal in centerfield, and we have better options (both offensively and defensively). His only bonus at the moment is that in close games, he is a defensive substitution at first, and can give Konerko a day off here and there. However, late this season when he was benched, he complained. It seems that his best quality is trade bait for a middle-reliever. Consider the Yankees or Angels who will need a firstbaseman. I would hate to see the Sox trade Konerko (no trade clause) to the Angels, and have Swisher starting at first.

Trade to make: Swisher and middle relievers for: middle relievers or experienced lead-off/left infield

So where does that leave us: Here's a couple possible line-ups and positions

1. Jerry Owens or DeWayne Wise -CF
2. Alexi Ramirez - SS
3. Carlos Quentin - LF
4. Jermain Dye - RF
5. Jim Thome - DH
6. Paul Konerko - 1B
7. AJ Pierzynski - C
8. Josh Fields - 3B
9. Chris Getz or Juan Uribe - 2B

Yes, this line up still relies on the long ball. How can it not? Look at 2 through 6, that's around an average of 120 home runs a year. But the top has average and good hitters, and add Getz at 9, and you have double speed. DeWayne could be lead-off as well, but he's not quite as fleet as Owens. Uribe moves back to being a super-sub off the bench to play any other the infield positions, which if rotated properly, he plays a couple times a week.

Anderson remains as an option off the bench, but also spells the outfield.

If a tested lead-off man is needed, trade for one who plays 3B, SS or 2B, fill where needed and move Ramirez where he fits.

Pitching rotation: Floyd, Beuhrle, Vazquez, Danks, Contreras (Richard)
Relief: Richard (long), Thornton, Dotel, Linebrink, Jenks, Empty (Broadway), Empty (Carrasco)

Overall, this team has the power and hitting, and most of the starting pitching to compete again. The relief team needs to find a few more pieces, and stay healthy. Biggest concern is bringing up these several younger kids (Owens, Getz, Fields, Broadway and Richard), but with the core of the offense and defense being veterans, this is the perfect time to bring them along. The American League Central is weak at the moment, no one team stands out. The White Sox can definitely compete for the division title again in 2009.

One class down...

Twelve to go. I just completed my first class on my way to a Master's Degree in Liberal Arts. The focus of this degree is Management and Leadership, but the Liberal Arts is what appeals to me. There were so many subjects I wanted to study in undergrad, and this graduate degree allows me to pretty much study in any subject. I need to have at least five classes in the Management sector, but that leaves the majority of classes to pick what I want to study. So it satisfied my academic curiosity, while also furthering my career. The first class I took was LIT 5000 - Masters of Modern Drama. I expected the class to be a normal literature class: read a bunch of novels, write a bunch of analytical papers. I picked it because my undergrad degree is English Lit. However, the class was about the theatre and plays. I have never studied plays, aside from Shakespeare and some minor plays in high school. This was unexpected, but still very insightful, and ended up being a fantastic class. And I got an 'A' for my work. On top of that, it stroked my creative side, in that it got me writing again. Our final was a twelve page continuation of a play we read in class, to which I chose to continue 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' I would recommend you read this, or watch the black and white movie (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton... it was great). I'm waiting for the comments back from the professor, but I loved the assignment.

Next class: Issues and Ethics in Technology. A more serious class, a philosophy class, of which I have never taken a philosophy class before. This will be interesting.

MLB All-Star Game is overrated

There is a problem with every all-star game in every major sport. Football? Might have the best idea of all the sports in that they hold their game after the entire season is over, thus providing the best players for the entire season to attend. The drawback is that some of the best players choose to be recovering from injury during this post-season accolade, and really, rarely does any player give 100% in such a game with the chance of injury for no reason.

Basketball has become a showcase of offense: who can provide the most dramatic alley-oop or posterizing dunk? A better statistic would be 'count the number of steps when Player A drives the lane.' There is no defense in the NBA All-Star game. MVP is given to the first player to score 40 points, and there are usually several of those. The dunk contest is a joke, there are no original dunks anymore, and the winner in 2007 or 08 (Dwight Howard and his 'superman' dunk), didn't even dunk the ball on his big 'dunk.' He threw it through the hoop from about two feet away. His hand didn't even touch the rim, not even close.

Baseball... well at least it counts, right? Winner gets home field advantage in the World Series, which is a great gimmick for the players and fans, or at least those in contention. In 2008, do you think the relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals really cared who won? The starters for each league are voted on by the fans, because this Mid-Summer classic is supposed to be for the fans. I'm a huge fan of baseball, and you know what? I didn't care, other than the American League won, which, if my favorite team makes the World Series, would mean we have home field advantage. However, I will not watch the All-Star game because it is littered with players I don't care to watch. The starters are voted for, a popularity contest which is always skewed toward certain teams in New York and Boston. Out of 9 starting positions in the American League, 5 were Yankees or Red Sox. The two teams had at least 10 people play. America sees enough of these two teams because ESPN plays all of their games, and few of other teams.

However, I digress. I'll save my East Coast views for another day, another rant. What makes these players All-Stars? Why does every team must have an All-Star? Why is there a token player, even if they are not deserving? My issue is how the players are selected. If this were to be a true game of the best players in the league, there would be no popularity contest for fans to vote, and certainly there would not be a player from every team. My solution? Take two players at every field position, the five best starting pitchers, the three best relief pitchers and the two best closers. There you have 16 positional players and 10 pitchers. For the positional players, you take the best offensive player and the best defensive player. For example, shortstop. The best offensive shortstop would be a congregate of batting average, RBI's and on-bas percentage. The best defensive would be the player with the best fielding percentage combined with the most chances. Possibly the most assists. Out of the two, the coach decides who will start, due to how they create the lineup. For pitching, the five starters could be selected by their number of wins, strikeouts, ERA, opponents' average, and strikeout-to-walk ratios. The relief and closing pitchers would be selected by ERA, opponents' average, inherited runners scored, holds and saves. At an American League park, two DH are selected, and it would be manager choice to select two in the National League since there are no Designated Hitters.

With that in mind, here are the All-Stars for 2008 (Offensive player first, Defensive player second, with their team and #1 rank among other position players).

American League
Catcher: Joe Mauer (MIN, R, H, 2B, Avg, BB, RBI), Jason Varitek (BOS, .995 - Second behind Mauer)
1st base: Justin Morneau (MIN, AB, H, RB, Avg), Casey Kotchman (LAA, .998 - Tied with Morneau)
2nd base: Ian Kinsler (TEX, Avg, H, R RBI, HR), Mark Ellis (OAK, .996)
3rd base: Alex Rodriguez (NYY, R, HR, Avg), Mike Lowell (BOS, 0.947)
Short: Michael Young (TEX, R, H, RBI, Avg), Orlando Cabrera (CHI, .985 - Was second behind Young)
Right: Jermain Dye (CHI, H, HR, Avg), Nick Markakis (BAL, .995)
Center: Josh Hamilton (TEX, 2B, HR, RBI, Avg), Torii Hunter (LAA, 1.000)
Left: Carlos Quentin (CHI, R, HR), Carl Crawford (TB, .995)
DH: Aubrey Huff (BAL, R, H, 2B, HR, RBI) Milton Bradley (TEX, HR, Avg)

Starting Pitchers: Justin Duchscherer (OAK, ERA), Cliff Lee (CLE, W), AJ Burnett (TOR, SO), Roy Halladay (TOR, K/BB), Joe Saunders (LAA)
Relivers: Fransisco Rodriguez (LAA), Jonathon Papelbon (BOS), Dan Wheeler (TB), Eddie Guardado (TEX), Scot Linebrink (CHI)

National League
Catcher: Brian McCann (ATL, 2B, HR, RBI, Avg), Geovany Soto (CHC, .995)
1st base: Lance Berkman (HOU, R, 2B, HR, SB), Mark Teixeira (ATL, .998)
2nd base: Chase Utley (PHI, H, HR, R, 2B, BB), Brandon Phillips (CIN, .992)
3rd base: David Wright (NYM, BB, HR, R, RBI), Troy Glaus (STL, .984)
Short: Hanley Ramirez (FLA, R, HR, RBI), Khalil Greene (SD, .983)
Right: Ryan Ludwick (STL, R, HR, RBI), Hunter Pence (HOU, 1.000)
Center: Nate McLouth (PIT, R, H, 2B), Chris Young (ARI, .992 - Was second behind McLouth)
Left: Matt Holiday (COL, Avg), Ryan Braun (MIL, 1.000)
DH: Albert Poujols (STL, Avg), Chipper Jones (ATL, Avg)

Starting Pitchers: Edinson Volquez (CIN, ERA), Brandon Webb (ARI, W), Tim Lincecom (SFG, SO), Cole Hammels (PHI), Dan Haren (ARI)
Relief pitchers: Billy Wagner(NYM), Kerry Wood (CHI), Kyle McClellen (STL), Taylor Bucholz (COL), Carlos Marmol (CHI)

So there are my All-Stars based on statistics. You will notice that there are a lot of famous names in there, to still provide the average fan with a viewing experience. At the same time, it provides those athletes who deserve to play, a chance to be part of the game of the best players available. You'll also notice that there are a lot fewer east coast (read New York and Boston) players, so the average viewer does not get upset about only seeing those players play. And of course, not every team is represented. Actually, only about half of the teams are represented. What does that say about the game? The teams that have more than one player, are usually those teams that are leading their divisions. The teams not represented do not have that key one or two players, that could get them to the upper echelons of baseball.

However, as long as money rules baseball, we will continue to see the same old names, no matter how they perform, and the same old teams, no matter that most of the country does not care about them. It's time for a change. Make the stars the real All-Stars.