Kenny said he hasn’t even heard the 3 team (Sox-Angels-Padres) Adrian Gonzales rumor but:

I asked Williams if he had talked to Jake Peavy during this offseason, trying to get a gauge on Peavy’s fire and preparedness for his first full season in Chicago. Williams told me that the two had spoken, with Williams needing to ask Peavy about a player from another team to whom he had interest.

“He’s already pumped up,” said Williams of Peavy.

When I asked Williams if that player he asked Peavy about was Gonzalez, he responded with a quick “No comment.”

Remember, a Sox fan talked with Peavy and Peavy said the Sox are trying to get Gonzales.

BTW, Kenny also said it’s too early to talk about extensions to Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski.

Kenny isn’t looking to trade Bobby:

“He’s my closer, and I haven’t had one trade discussion about him. That’s not to say I wouldn’t entertain anything, but I’m not going out there actively having talks. He’s one of the game’s better closers and people need closers, but so do we.”

Kenny pointed to the past cases of Brian Anderson and Damaso Marte, who took issue with the Sox but weren’t immediately shipped out of town:

“Listen, we speak our minds and we don’t stop the players from speaking their minds. We are all grown men here. Nothing that has been said to you guys, whether through Ozzie or me or Bobby, nothing that has been said hasn’t already been said behind closed doors. There’s really nothing shocking that has been said there. The only time I think about what has been said is when you guys bring it up.”

Kenny is patient but he has a plan:

One certainty is that Williams and his staff will enter Indianapolis with names in mind to acquire or sign. They never walk haphazardly into MLB’s annual get together.

“Yeah, it’s not difficult,” Williams said. “You’ve watched your team for about 200 games, including Spring Training. If you are at the stage where you are still assessing where you are, then I think you’ve missed the boat on some things.

“We’ve known quite some time what are targets are, and we go down the list and try to acquire them. You see what the possibilities are very quickly and very efficiently. If it works out, it works out. If not, you move on to the next guy.”

Those targets include free-agent outfielder Coco Crisp, whose agent confirmed the White Sox preliminary interest, and Scott Podsednik, their own free agent, who presently is looking for a multiyear deal the White Sox aren’t offering. The St. Petersburg Times recently named the South Siders as one of the teams interested in B.J. Upton, perhaps attainable in a trade, which could involve closer Bobby Jenks.

Even if Jenks stays put, the White Sox will want to upgrade their bullpen. They have been listed as one of eight teams interested in Takashi Saito, but also seem likely to add a left-hander to complement Matt Thornton. …

the Sox are a Dark Horse:

Yes, the White Sox are coming off a disappointing season.  Yes, they took on a Yankee-like amount of payroll at the 2009 trade deadline last season.  But make no mistake about it, they are in win-now mode.  After letting slugger Jermaine Dye walk this offseason, the Sox will be looking to add more punch to their team.  Combine that with the great early returns that Peavy showed (3-0, 18Ks, 1.35 ERA) and you just may have a match waiting to happen.  Gonzalez would provide current first baseman Paul Konerko with a much-needed move to the DH spot to help prolong his productive offensive career into his late 30s. …

– MLBTR’s Arbitration tracker. 23 got arbitration offers.

– SoxNet looks at the moves the Sox have already made in the offseason, and tries to project next-year’s roster.

– FutureSox looks on the highlights of the Sox minor league system in 2009 (Beckham, Flowers, Hudson). The article was posted on September 30.

– Another old link: BDD at the Mark Teahen to the Sox,  Chris Getz and Josh Fields to Kansas City trade. November 20.

– Scott Podsednik was the 5th best baserunner in baseball in 2009. Jim Thome was the 6th worst.

– How much of a pay cut do those in arbitration or under team control make compared to those eligible for free agency? Tango’s take here.

– The Flying Squirrels show off their logo.

Kenny says no need to rush things:

“We have internal answers for every position, so I’m not overly stressed on anything. Wherever you are at the end of the Winter Meetings or in January or even when Spring Training starts, it doesn’t mean that will be the shape of your team for the rest of the season. All it means is where you are now. We are constantly trying to improve our club. You don’t have to have things in place from Day 1. Sure, I would like to, but we try not to do anything stupid that limits our ability to make a later move that is of greater impact. Right now, we are positioned as one of the best pitching clubs around. It’s huge for us going into the season not to react too quickly. If you do something out of panic right now and it inhibits your ability to do something of greater impact later, then you haven’t served anybody’s good. Remember, 162 games is a long time.”

Things (trades/signings) will pick up after next week’s Winter Meetings:

“Everything up until then is really just a game being played. It’s not that I’m not listening right now. I’ve just had too many years and too much lost sleep over wasted conversations meant solely for positioning. You learn to stake a step back, and people will let you know when they are serious.”

And Kenny needs more info on the revenues coming in:

“Well, probably the biggest roadblocks for us are revenues. It kind of has us in a holding pattern until more information comes in. This depends on probably how our fans, advertisers and sponsors feel about our chances and what happens as result of that. As we sit here right now, we will stay in a holding pattern. That’s not atypical of where we’ve been before. We just had to be creative to make things work. In our being creative, it sometimes makes people very uncomfortable. But there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

whitesox.com:

Chicago White Sox players Freddy Garcia, Jayson Nix, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez and Matt Thornton are just some of the current White Sox players scheduled to attend SoxFest 2010, presented by Miller Lite, Pepsi and the Palmer House Hilton. Additional players from the current White Sox roster, as well as coaches and former White Sox greats attending SoxFest will be announced once their schedules are finalized. …

Merkin:

The White Sox have decided against offering salary arbitration to their free agents, outfielder Jermaine Dye, right-handed reliever Octavio Dotel, outfielder Scott Podsednik and backup catcher Ramon Castro, a decision needing to be made by 11 p.m. CT on Tuesday. …

Gonzales says Dye is expected to draw interest from Texas, Atlanta and San Francisco, and St. Louis if it won’t retain Matt Holliday.

Cowley says the Yankee$ requested Dye’s medical records.

Marc Hulet ranks the Top 10 Sox prospects. Tyler Flowers is on top of the list:

Flowers should be ready to take over the full-time catching chores right around the time that veteran incumbent A.J. Pierzynski’s contract runs out after 2010. The right-handed catching prospect has impressive power (.246 ISO in double-A) and he hasn’t hit below .279 in any season since 2006. Flowers began the year in double-A in ‘09 and hit .302/.445/.548 in 248 at-bats, before moving up to triple-A where he hit .286/.364/.438 in 105 at-bats.

According to the Associated Press, the New York Mets have re-signed utility infielder Alex Cora to a one-year, $2 million contract with $2 million vesting option for 2011 if Cora starts 80 games.

Cora is a "Veteran Presence"

This is a classic “Veteran Presence” vs. “Glue Guy” signing by the Mets.

My definition of a “Veteran Presence” is a washed up player, who tries to latch on with a team. They really have nothing to offer a team except being a good clubhouse guy.

Cliff Floyd last year with the San Diego Padres is a perfect example of a “Veteran Presence.”

My definition of a “Glue Guy” is a veteran guy, who still has something left and comes to a new team and brings them together both on the field and off. The greatest example of a “Glue Guy” would be Terry Pendleton of the Atlanta Braves in 1991.

The Mets decided to re-sign a “Veteran Presence” in Cora. Normally I don’t have a problem with a signing like Cora. Most teams in baseball have a player like Cora on their team.

However, paying a player like Cora $2 million is ludicrous.

Look at it from this perspective. The Chicago White Sox just signed Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel for a COMBINED $1.7 million.

Vizquel, despite being 43-years-old can still play defense with anyone. Jones still has the ability to hit a home run off the bench.

Cora has the ability to do neither. Cora’s OPS dipped from .719 in 2008 to .630, he can’t hit for power off the bench, and at 34-years-old (Cora will be 35 at the end of next season) Cora is a mediocre fielder at this point in his career.

Why Mets GM Omar Minya felt the need to sign Cora for $2 million at the beginning of the free agency period is beyond me. There were no other teams in on Cora.

Minaya could have waited until February to sign Cora and probably could have signed him to a deal anywhere between $500 thousand and $1 million.

Essentially what Minaya did was bid against himself.

A move like this shouldn’t be surprising to Mets fans because this is the same GM who gave a 48-year-old Julio Franco a two-year contract in 2006 when no other team was even willing to give him a one-year deal.

The more moves the Mets make, the more I am convinced they have no clue how to do business. Signing a “Veteran Presence” to a $2 million contract is just another example of that.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Heyman:

Kenny Williams, White Sox GM. The White Sox weren’t expected to do much, but they’ve already traded Chris Getz and Josh Fields for Mark Teahen, and signed Andruw Jones and Vizquel, two big-time former stars. Williams surprised folks by forging a deal with Boras for Jones, whom he has coveted for years (they tried many years ago to pry him away from the Braves). Boras, who’s had a sticky relationship with Williams, also tried to sell him on signing Crede rather than trading two young players for the talented unproven Teahen. But apparently détente has its limitations.

Chances are the Sox won’t offer arbitration to Jermaine Dye and Octavio Dotel says  Mark Gonzales:

The landscape is different for the White Sox at this time than it was last winter, when they offered salary arbitration to free agent Orlando Cabrera. They were confident he would decline because of the emergence of Alexei Ramirez and the fact that Cabrera could have been cut and lost the majority of his salary. … It’s extremely rare for a player to take a pay cut in salary arbitration. Dye earned $11.5 million in 2009 and Dotel $6 million. Even if either player accepted salary arbitration and they were later cut in spring training, those players would receive either 30 days’ pay or 45 days’ pay, depending on the date in spring training that they were released. The major league calendar is around 180 days. …

BTW, here’s MLBTR’s Arbitration primer.

PR:

SEATTLE, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ – Major League Baseball’s Mark Teahen, longtime third baseman for the Kansas City Royals and recently acquired by the Chicago White Sox, will receive the 2009 Hutch Award(®). The award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson, both on and off the field. …

MLB.com story.

Brunell:

The White Sox signed Andruw Jones to a one-year contract worth $500,000 last week. While the White Sox aren’t done making moves, don’t be surprised to see Jones put together over 300 at-bats. …

R.J. Anderson:

[Andruw Jones] managed a decent bounce back in 331 plate appearances. 17 homers were hit, a .323 OBP was had, and Jones nearly had a higher slugging percentage (.459) than his 2008 OPS (.505). As for 2010, the deal is a coup for Ken Williams. Jones flashed his highest ISO since 2006 and while playing in Arlington artificially enhanced those numbers, it’s still encouraging to see his HR/FB and ability to drive the ball seemingly regress towards normal. …

Mighty Casey has been on a bit of a holiday – for that I politely ask for your forgiveness – but after a vacation in the Florida Keys, I return ready to write about baseball.

Belated Congrats to Albert Pujols…

The National League writers, knowing the right answer when they saw it, unanimously selected Albert Pujols as the best player in the league for 2009, and it’s the right choice.  Pujols has more power than anyone, really.  He’s a selective hitter who rarely strikes out; he can still run the bases, and his fielding skills are as good as they get.  The last few years, I have been assembling the most productive players in baseball – basically adding up the number of runs created by ones offensive numbers (a basic Bill James’ Runs Created formula) and adding (or subtracting) the number of runs saved on defense and NOBODY is close to Pujols.

As a Marlins fan, I root for Hanley Ramirez, but as good as he is – and he’s VERY good – he’s really not in Pujols’ league yet.  [FoxSports, et al]

Hot Stove News…

Baseball writers are actually covering the Marlins…  So far, the team and Josh Johnson have yet to come to terms for a long-term deal (Marlins offering three years and potential vesting for a fourth, while Johnson wants four guaranteed years), but it looks like they’ll head to arbitration for this year and see what happens.  Johnson would become a free agent after 2011, and the Marlins – who likely would not be players in that bidding war – want to maximize whatever they can get out of Johnson (time, prospects, cash) before he heads out of town.

Here’s Buster Olney’s take…

Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s take...

Having witnessed his skills, I generally trust Larry Beinfest in these things and it’s easy to fall for Johnson who is the best pitcher on the staff.  He’s been a bit frail, though – and you want to see if he can keep going after his first really complete season.  Likely, Johnson will be expected to be an ace until, oh, the first sign that the Marlins aren’t going to win the division between now and July, 2011, at which point he will be dealt for the best available offer.  That’s what I think  is going to happen.

Let’s stick with the Marlins theme…  Former fish shortstop, Alex Gonzalez, signed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for 2010 ($2.75 million) and an option for 2011 ($2.5 million, or a buyout).  The deal could be worth $5.25 million – but only this coming season is guaranteed.  This is a sign that Marco Scutaro is out of town for next year.  Alex, when healthy, can still field his position – though not as well as he once did.  He can hit a little, but not much…  Some power, no control of the strike zone.  So, he’s really a league-average shortstop at best and not a sign that the Blue Jays think they can compete in 2010.  [ESPN]

And, Toronto signed their utility infielder, John McDonald, to a two-year deal worth $3.5 million.  McDonald is still a very dependable fielder in the middle of the infield and last year hit enough to keep his job (obviously).  [SI]

The Chicago White Sox, having lost Scott Podsednik and Dewayne Wise, signed Andruw Jones to a one year deal as a backup outfielder.  Personally, I’m not sure why they would do that – but what the heck…  Let’s look at what Jones did in 2009.

For a couple of months, Jones looked spry again.  He was 5 for 6 as a base stealer and lost a little weight which helped when he was playing the outfield.  He LOOKED smoother out there, but he’s lost more than a step.  As a hitter, he had a great April (.344 with some power and walks) but after that his best month was May (.245) and he was only over Mendoza one more time for the rest of the year (not counting his ten at bats in October).  So, aside from that one month, there was little sign that Jones can be a major league hitter.

And, while his season stats look nearly tolerable (17 – 43 – .214) because of the power numbers in just 281 at bats, he hit .214 in Texas – where everyone is a better hitter (in league average parks, that translates to (15 – 39 – .207).  So, why would you give $500K plus performance bonuses to a guy who obviously no longer has major league talent?  Because at $500K, he’s cheap – and he has a major league recognized name.  [ESPN]

Other News…

Bud Selig’s tenure as commissioner of MLB will likely end in 2012 when he contract is over.  Selig will be about 78 when that happens and when asked to stay longer, Selig reportedly declined.  [SI]

Hall of Fame Watch

The Hall of Fame ballot was released last week.  Here’s a pretty good list…  Of those on the ballot, here’s my picks:  Andre Dawson, Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin, Fred McGriff, Jack Morris, and Alan Trammell.

I go back and forth on Bert Blyleven.  He was a great pitcher for a lot of years – and on a lot of teams that weren’t necessarily very good (Twins of the 1970s and later in the 1980s, Cleveland and Texas for a while), but he was on other teams that did win (1979 Pirates, 1987 Twins).  He lost the better part of three years to injuries, otherwise he might have easily clipped 300 wins…  He was a workhorse otherwise – a lot of innings, and a lot of other stuff.  He’s not appreciably different than Don Sutton, really, and if Sutton is in, you’d think Bert would get in there.  At the same time, I just never think of him as one of the dominant pitchers of his era – and that’s why I wonder if he’s being left out.  Who was better than Bert in the 1970s and 1980s?  Carlton, Niekro, Jenkins, Ryan to name four, and a lot of guys were better for short stints – Reuschel, Tanana, Richard, Tudor, Saberhagen, Guidry, Catfish Hunter…  Once you start doing that, you think that Blyleven might not be good enough.

Joe Posnanski (SI) lists players he thinks are already on the path to the Hall of Fame.  I buy about seven on that list…

And, Mike Bauman (MLB) thinks that Union Boss Marvin Miller deserves to be there, too…

Happy Birthday! Vincent Edward (Bo) Jackson, one of the most unique athletes of our time, turns 47 today.  Wow.

Others on the list include some of the more interesting names in baseball history…  Alamazoo Jennings (1850), Tacks Latimer (1877) who was one of Rube Waddell’’s early catchers, Win Ballou (1897), Firpo Marberry (1898), Clyde Sukeforth (1901), Steve Hamilton (1935), Craig Swan (1950), Juan Berenguer (1954), Bob Tewksbury (1960), Matt Lawton (1971), Ray Durham (1971), Shane Victorino (1980), and Rich Harden (1981).

Bo Jackson turns 47 years old today.

Vincent Edward Jackson was one of the most exciting players to debut in major league baseball during the 1980’s.  A 2-sport athlete that built a strong following at the University of Auburn, Jackson was a star before he made his professional debut.

And although his career was cut short due to a football injury sustained while playing in the NFL, Bo Jackson offered us some incredible highlights while in the big leagues.  An All-star during the 1989 season, Bo was wildly popular for his ability to crush home runs(141 in 8 seasons), chase down everything in the outfield, and his breaking of bats.

Happy Birthday Bo!!!  And thanks for the memories that will last a lifetime!!!

While every one is pondering why Roy Halladay is needed on the Yankees (he isn’t), I want to focus on the first free agent deal that Brian Cashman will attempt to get done.

After Johnny Damon finally helped the New York Yankees back to the World Series, and winning their first title since 2001, he is a free agent again. And every time Damon has been a free agent, he has changed teams. He was the good corporate guy who said all the right things before, during and after the big parade down the Canyon of Heroes.

Damon would “love to be a Yankee again,” and he wants “to end my career in New York.”

But after making the defining play of this years World Series with his double steal, smart dash to third base, it appears Damon does want more of the Yankees…more of their money and more years in his contract.  

Before his breakout in the 2009 post season, it was widely thought that the Yankees and Damon would agree to a one year deal with incentives, similar to what Andy Pettitte signed with New York last off season. That type of situation would work well for bothe sides; the Yankees would retain the popular Damon with reasonable dollar figures and Damon would continue to play his usual 150+ games per season.

Damon would play mostly left field and occasionally DH to give his 36 year old legs a rest.

Now Damon (his wife, Michelle and agent Scott Boras) says that many teams are interested in his services, and he has told friends that he will not give the Yankees a discount to stay with the World Champs.

There is no other way to say this – Johnny Damon is a moron. Simply put, if he leaves the Yankees then he is a very stupid individual.

While a member of the Boston Red Sox, Damon was considered one of the “idiots” of their 2004 World Series title team.

That name aptly fits this older version of Damon, too.

After finally experiencing a World Championship in the best city to win a sports title of any kind, Damon wants more money. His agent has bandied about needing a four year deal for the 36 year old outfielder. But Boras’ free agent rants never get his client was he says they deserve.

In separate interviews Boras has said that Damon should get the same type of deal that Yankee catcher Jorge Posada (also 36 at the time) received prior to the 2008 season. Then Boras said that Damon “made Derek Jeter” by hitting behind him this season and his client compares favorably (saber and fantasy stst wisw) to the Yankee captain over the last three seasons. He stated that “whatever the Yankees plan on doing with Jeter long-term, Damon deserves similar consideration.”

Problem for Boras and Damon is that the decision on Johnny will come well before any work on Jeter’s new deal begins.

Also, Boras does not realize (or maybe he does and is just blowing his usual smoke), that the Yankees really needed Posada that off season, as they had nothing in their system at the catching position remotely close to the major leagues and the other choices available in free agency or via trades were terrible.  At that time Francisco Cervelli had finished his first full season in the minors at High A Tampa.

In fact, the Yankees were willing to give Posada a three-year deal, but had to go the extra year because Jorge was being courted by Omar Minaya and the New York Mets, and at that time, the best available catcher was their own backup Jose Molina or free agent Paul LoDuca. Also, Alex Rodriguez had already opted out of his Yankee deal at that time, and the Yankees were in desperate need of  right handed power, something the switch-hitting Posada provided.

Also, Posada plays a more demanding position (although not as well as his younger years) and was a mainstay Yankee from their dynasty years.

Not quite the same situation as with Damon is it Mr. Boras? But when have you ever been reasonable in your free agent demands?

And in regards to comparing Damon to Mr. Jeter, a five-time World Series winner, de facto leader of the Yankees over the last 10 years, this generation’s version of Joe DiMaggio and a sure fire first-ballot Hall of Famer… well I guess I just said all their needs to be said.

As the title of the piece says, Damon needs the Yankees more than the Yankees need him. Their are quite a few left fielders available via free agency (Jason Bay and Matt Holliday) and within the Yankees own system – they can promote Austin Jackson, and have a trio of Jackson, Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner man center and left field. Lefty power can then be supplied by Juan Miranda or re-signing Eric Hinske.

Or the rumored trade involving the Yankees and Detroit Tigers for center fielder Curtis Granderson would move Cabrera to left field and Granderson in center will supply the lefty power Damon provided last season. While I personally do not like Granderson for the Yankees, it is another option for Brian Cashman.

According to reports Damon has options, too. Remember that even Damon said several teams have shown interest. Those teams include the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox (very early reports). But lefty hitters are a dime a dozen. What most teams need is righty power such as Bay and Holliday. The Red Sox, Rangers, Rays and a dozen other teams fit this category.

And from what I remember, Damon hits left handed. So I do believe some teams are interested in a guy who put up a line of .284/.365/.489 this season with an OPS+ of 126. It is just that those teams are not good and would be in Damon’s worst interest to sign with them.

Damon needs to think about himself first, but not in the monetary sense, but in terms of legacy. It is what every person wonders – how will I be remembered in this game, business, job, family etc? And in major league baseball, legacy is determined by World Series Championships and the Hall of Fame.

According to baseball-reference.com, Damon has made a tick over $97 million in his baseball career. Assuming he hasn’t blown it all (and TMZ is more busy following Tiger Woods’ life), he is pretty well set, as are his children, his future grandchildren AND THEIR future grandchildren!

Unless you are Montgomery Brewster, a person can’t even begin to spend all that cash.

In other words Damon doesn’t need any more money.

What Damon does need is more career hits, runs, doubles,  HR’s and RBI’s. Evidenced by his never being in the Top 10 of any MVP vote, Damon has not been dominating in any aspect of his game during any part of his career.

Damon needs to accumulate stats to even get a whiff of the Hall of Fame. He has two World Series rings, but Damon needs to get 3,000 hits, needs to get to around 1,800 runs scored, needs 600 doubles, needs 300 homers and needs about 1,300 RBI’s.

Is Damon going to get to those numbers hitting second in the White Sox lineup? Will he get there hitting in spacious AT&T Park in San Francisco, hellish for a lefty hitter? No and no. The Red Sox might need a left fielder this year, but Damon can never go back there.

Damon bests interests  for HOF consideration (and a great legacy) in playing for the Yankees where he gets to hit in cozy Yankee Stadium, hitting behind a Hall of Famer in Jeter and in front of Mark Teixeira (potential HOFer) and Alex Rodriguez (lock HOFer). Hitting in that lineup, while in that park will get Damon more of the accumulated stats he needs to get serious Hall of Fame votes somewhere around 2020.

It would be great for Damon if they can work out that two year deal, and a TEAM OPTION for a third, which would keep Damon hungry for more.

Here is what Damon said during the parade, “I want to continue to be on a team that can win and to play in front of great fans – and we know that the Yankees fill both of those,” Damon said. “I think everyone knows my desire to come back. Still, every time I’ve been a free agent, I’ve ended up switching teams. It’s the nature of the beast. If people are interested, I’m going to listen.”

Go ahead and listen to them Johnny because when you take that bigger contract in San Francisco for more money and years, but fall short in career numbers for the Hall of  Fame, you only have yourself to blame. Imagine at age 70 Damon sitting on the front porch answering another reporter’s question about his thoughts on falling short of the Hall of Fame?

Don’t be an “idiot” this time around Johnny, but be a man and tell your agent, Mr. Boras, to get a deal done with the Yankees.

It will be in your legacy’s best interest.

MLBTR:

The White Sox, Cubs, Braves, and Mets make up half of the eight teams interested in signing right-hander Takashi Saito, according to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker.

Stats: B-R, FG.

UPDATE: SoxNet’s take here. Jim says “I wouldn’t count on the Sox emerging victorious, as they rarely win these multiple-team free-agent throwdowns.”

Mark Buehrle was quite surprised when he got an ‘American Chopper’ bike from his wife, Jamie:

Jamie’s surprise plan worked better than she could have imagined. She invited family, friends, neighbors and White Sox teammates for a barbeque at their house on that particular Thursday, but revealed the chopper’s arrival to provide a little extra incentive for as many people as possible to attend.

So Mark was the only one left in the dark. When Teutul drove up on the chopper, Mark’s first thought wasn’t, “I think I’m getting a custom-made OCC chopper, and this event is being taped for rebroadcast.” It was more along the lines of, “Who is invading my family’s privacy?” A look of bubbling anger is evident on Mark’s face when he first walked into the frame near the end of Thursday’s show.

“This is what happened,” Mark explained. “I can’t think of the guy’s name, but it was a guy who worked with the White Sox, one of the tradesmen at U.S. Cellular. He drove a bike, a louder bike, and had the same sort of gray hair as Paul Sr. So, I saw what I thought was him and thought, ‘What is he doing here on my off-day and how does he know where I live?’

“Then I saw the TV cameras and the booms with microphones on it and I thought, ‘He brought Comcast with him?’ Then, I was [upset]. I’m chilling with my family and friends and this guy brings Comcast?

“At that point, I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to go off on someone,’” said Buehrle, laughing at the whole situation in hindsight. “As I got closer, I could see there was more going on. I first thought it was something bad, and it turned out to be something really good.” …

Besides Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham, Omar Vizquel may help the Sox 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop, Eduardo Escobar, says Phil Rogers:

Escobar, like Vizquel a switch hitter from Venezuela, hasn’t received a lot of attention as a prospect because he has a .320 career on-base percentage with limited power, hitting .256 this season.  Vizquel batted .263 in high Class A when he was 20. His fielding skills were so advanced, however, the Mariners brought him to the big leagues at 22, and he has gone on to play a record 2,681 games at shortstop.  He’s a lifetime .273 hitter who once batted .333 and hit .295 in 2006, when he was 39. Some with the White Sox believe Escobar has that type of potential. “He struggled really badly the first two or three months this season and was terrific the last two months,” White Sox farm director Buddy Bell said. “That’s a great sign. But I don’t think we want to drop Omar Vizquel (comparisons) on him just yet.”

1974 Topps League Leaders Card Starring Jim Palmer & Tom Seaver

This card celebrates the incredible seasons that both Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver had during the 1973 major league baseball season.

Each player led their leagues in ERA.  Palmer led the American League with a low 2.39.  And not to be outdone, Tom Seaver led the National League and the majors with a mighty impressive 2.08.

Two of the best pitchers from the 1970’s on one baseball card.  And a perfect addition to my Jim Palmer player collection!!!  

Oh, and just to close the circle, each of these great pitchers won the Cy Young award in their respective leagues that year.  For Palmer, it was his first of three.  And for ‘Tom Terrific’, it was his second of three awards.