Tag: Jose Contreras

Cubs-Contreras rumors

ESPN’s Bruce Levine reports that the Chicago Cubs are interested in former White Sox starter Jose Contreras.

(Emphasis mine),

Listed at age 39, his real age is could be anywhere from 40-45, nonetheless the Cubs are looking at him as protection for Lilly, and also to push the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the iffy bottom of the rotation

Jose DID pitch well after coming to Colorado in late August (Levine reminds us that he had a 1.59 ERA in Sept/Oct) but his overall second half ERA was still 5.40 coupled with a 2-6 record.

White Sox: We Just Don’t Care Anymore

thome contrerasTrader Kenny Williams turned from a buyer to a seller when he dumped Jim Thome off to the Dodgers and Jose Contreras off to the Rockies.  These moves came when the team hit the skids, putting them out of the playoff picture.  It doesn’t seem all that long ago, we were breathing down the neck of the first place Tigers in the AL Central.  We picked up ace starting pitcher Jake Peavy, who just needed short rehab time in the minors before he’d be up, helping to lead the charge.  Then Williams went out and snatched talented outfielder Alex Rios from the Blue Jays, we were going for it, for sure!  But this recent roadtrip sealed our fate, losing six of seven to the Red Sox & Yankees, putting an end to any chance at postseason play.  It also spelled the end of the Jim Thome & Jose Contreras era on the Southside.  I’m sure there are many players on the current roster wondering if they might be next.

Jim Thome, a local boy, from Peoria, the fans took an instant liking to Jim, how could you not?  He’s a great guy!  Especially after getting rid of the moody, but talented designated hitter Frank Thomas, bringing on nice guy, Thome.  Jim’s Dad was a frequent visitor to the Cell, coming up to watch his son play, Peoria doesn’t get channel 26, so when the Sox were on that channel, making the trip was the only way for Mr. Thome to see his son play.  I still remember Mr. Thome celebrating with us on Elvis Night when Jim passed Reggie Jackson on the alltime home run list.  Mr. Thome exchanged high fives with us.  He even posed for some pictures, wearing Elvis big hair & Elvis glasses.  It doesn’t seem right that we should have to pay the Dodgers to take our hero, just to have him relegated to being a pinch hitter in LA.  All we got in return for the slugger was minor league infielder Justin Fuller and his career .242 minor league batting average.  It seems like an insult, to have to pay, and get a bum in return.

Former World Series hero, Jose Contreras, was also dumped out, like yesterday’s trash, to the Colorado Rockies.  Truth be told the Cuban hurler only had one year of success, which started the end of 05 and extended to the start of 06, other than that, he’s had some very rough outings.  One of the ugliest happened in Boston this current roadtrip, he mishandled a roller toward first, hit by David Ortiz, with two outs, the bases loaded, and Paul Konerko standing right behind him, ready to field the ball, the Red Sox went on to score six runs in an inning where they were going to be shutout, and went on to pound Contreras & Chicago.  At least Brandon Hynick, the pitcher the Sox got from the Rockies, has had some minor league success, going 16-5, with a 2.52 ERA in Class A+ ball in 2008.  Contreras is credited with helping Kenny Williams sign fellow Cubans Alexei Ramirez & Dayan Viciedo.

I was going to go out to the Cell the end of the year to watch our boys battle the Minnesota Twins for a three game set, but I don’t know if I’ll be there.  I don’t know how many of the current players will be there.  Kenny Williams has officially pulled the plug on the season, we were on life support, but now it is over!  Sad to say, but it’s time to pull my Chicago White Sox tee shirt, “They Just Don’t Care Anymore” out of the closet.

White Sox Drooping

white-sox The White Sox don’t look nearly as good as the ones pictured here. Not even one quarter of the way through the 2009 season and they’ve already been shutout six times. Their offense has been missing in action, with an all or nothing approach, for the most part it’s been station to station base running. There is very little team speed, when runners are on base, the chance for a doubleplay comes up more often than a timely longball. And if it’s conceivably possible, the starting pitching has been worse. The young starters have been disappointing, to say the least, while the old guys have been worse, the only guy who can be counted on has been Mark Buehrle.

You may be asking yourself, is there any hope? Is anything working? Well, so far the bullpen has been solid, anchored by closer Bobby Jenks, with his setup men, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, & Scott Linebrink. Jermaine Dye has shown outstanding defense in RF, with a potent bat. Brian Anderson, when he was healthy, demonstrated his defensive abilities in CF, while holding his own with the bat. A.J. Pierzynski needs to go out there and kick some ass, telling his pitchers that if their not going to attempt to hold runners on, he’s not even going to throw down on attempted steals.

So, what do the White Sox need to do? Bring up Gordon Beckham & Aaron Poreda, they couldn’t do any worse than Brent Lillibridge & Jose Contreras. Hitting is contagious, so are slumps, sometimes one hitter can turn a lineup around. Right now the White Sox lineup seems to have a few dark holes, Brent Lillibridge, Josh Fields, & Alexei Ramirez (who seems to have hit a sophomore jinx). Another good arm in the rotation can help turn a pitching staff around.

It might not be the time panic yet, but it’s getting close. Teams seem to build on their successes, as well as on their failures. I’ve been out to the Cell twice this year, total score was Bad Guys 20, Good Guys 0. Neither time did I see any sign of a pulse, I’ll be out there again, and I’ve got a trip with friends planned to Cincinnati to watch the Sox battle the Reds. I’d hate to make that trip for nothings.

LET’S GO WHITE SOX!

Good News for Desert Sox

viciedo It’s early, but it might be time. The 19 year old Cuban thirdbaseman Dayan Viciedo singled in his first at bat of the spring. The 5’11” 245 pound Viciedo signed a four year $10 million dollar deal over the winter with the White Sox. Although his contract is more than double that of fellow countryman SS Alexei Ramirez, he might be this year’s bargain basement baby. Dayan said, he felt relaxed, no pressure at all. With Joe Crede signing with the Minnesota Twins, thirdbase is wide open for Wilson Betemit, Josh Fields, & Dayan Viciedo, and Brent Morel & Jon Gilmore, waiting in the wings.

In fact the wide open positions have plenty of competition. For example secondbase will feature Chris Getz, Jayson Nix, Brent Lillibridge, or last year’s first round draft choice out of Georgia, Gordon Beckham.

And finally the rotation. Former AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon and Playoff & World Series hero Jose Contreras are ahead of schedule and look ready to start the season in the rotation when the team breaks camp, joining Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. If anyone falters, Jeff Marquez, who came over from the Yankees in the Nick Swisher trade, and Aaron Poreda the big lefthander out of the University of San Francisco are looking to prove what they can do.

Saw in yesterday’s White Sox/Rockies box score where Eric Young, Jr. played secondbase for Colorado. The kid, just like his old man, can fly, and will steal alot of bases in the big leagues, no matter what position he ends up playing.