Javier Vazquez Traded by White Sox to Braves in 5-Player Deal

Gonna have to make this a quick one, on my way out the door.

Just caught on ESPN.com that Peter Gammons is reporting the Chicago White Sox have traded starting pitcher Javier Vazquez to the Atlanta Braves in a 5-player deal. No official announcement has been made, but Vazquez has reportedly been told that the deal will happen. Vazquez is flying to Atlanta on Wednesday for a physical.

According to the story, Vazquez is being traded along with goatee-superstar Boone Logan to the Braves for Jo-Jo Reyes, Brett Lillibridge, and “another top prospect.” I hope that ESPN is not considering Lillibridge to be a “top prospect.” He hit .220 with 4 homeruns in AAA ball last year. Jo-Jo Reyes was 3-11 with an ERA over 5.00 last year.

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Let’s hope that one or two of these guys is like a Carlos Quentin — a young player who struggles in their first few seasons, but who flips the switch once he gets to the South Side. Ken Williams hit gold last off-season with Quentin and Alexei Ramirez (not to mention John Danks and Gavin Floyd) so I’m willing to be open-minded.

Plus, what are we really losing with Javier Vazquez leaving?

He has been serviceable, and sometimes very good, starting pitcher during his major league career. But he has never quite recaptured the magic that he had when he first came up with the Montreal Expos. And while Javier Vazuez pitched decently in 2007, and very well in spurts early in 2008, his own manager questioned his readiness to pitch in big games. And, unfortunately for the Whie Sox down the stretch in 2008, Ozzie’s fears about Javier’s big game cojones were borne out with a succession of poor starts.

I don’t have time to analyze this too much now. And I don’t really know what I’d say without delving more into the minor league careers and projections of Reyes, Lillibridge, and the mystery “top prospect.”

I know this: after the end of last season, I am not all that worried about losing Javier Vazquez, as we have some good young arms like Lance Broadway and others to fill in the back of the rotation between Beuhrle-Danks-Floyd. And hopefully Jose Contreras comes back towards midseason ready to give us a boost down the stretch. And Boone Logan? I will miss his facial hair, but not the untimely late inning homeruns that he always seemed to give up.

You can count me in the corner of the staunch Ken Williams supporters. Not every deal he makes is good, but he hits more than he misses. In a sport where success is getting a hit 30% of the time, I’ll take my chances trusting in the personnel decisions of Ken Williams.

Thanks for the time on the South Side Javier Vazquez. I am not crying that you are gone, and your big-game struggles were frustrating, but I do appreciate your efforts and the many good starts that you had.

Now let’s see what Reyes, Lillibridge, and the other guy bring to the table.

Tampa Bay Rays Beat Chicago White Sox in Game One – Longoria Hits Two HRs

Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series between the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays just ended. Unfortunately, at least for game 1, I was proven right with my prediction from earlier today as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 at Tropicana Field.

Hopefully the rest of my prediction comes through, because I thought that the White Sox would lose today and then take the next three to capture the series in four games.

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Chicago White Sox: Lose Opener to Minnesota Twins

by Sean Kane

Defense in the Metro Dome is tough, that is true. The outfield is freaking huge. It’s like trying to cover a football field, on crutches. If Ozzie knows this, and he must, after all these years in the Central, why then do you put old man Griff in center? While I watched Javy “step up” like Ozzie asked him to and get shelled in the 4^th, I cringed watching Griffey dive after Kubel’s triple. Dye basically had to hop him and then go another forty feet, reaching under the plastic tarp that doubles as a wall in center for the Twinkies just to stop the inside the park. I wondered why it is that in the face of shaky pitching and a fast field you would play the slowest center fielder we have?

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Chicago White Sox: Ozzie Guillen Challenges Javier Vazquez

by Sean Kane

”What you see is what you get, Javy is going to be Javy.” That’s what Ozzie told the press on Monday in conjunction with a challenge to the struggling pitcher. According to ESPN.com and the Chicago Sun-Times, Ozzie put Javier Vazquez on the spot saying, “I just want him to be aggressive, throw the ball over the plate and knock somebody on their [butt]. That’s a big three games for us. You have to be mean. Go out there and show them we show up to play, show up to kick your guys’ [butts]. And believe me, that will take care of itself.”

Putting Javy on the spot is the least he could do. Frankly, with the way he has been playing this year, Sox fans want to put him on the bench. He’s been as inconsistent as Broadway Brett. In his last start against the Yanks, he went 3 innings and gave up 6 hits, 7 runs. A week earlier he pitched 7 shutout innings against the Tigers. Clearly, Javy still has something left in the tank it’s just a matter of getting up for a game. With Javy’s comments on Saturday, though, you wonder how much he really cares.

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