Hot stove league heats up

Where to begin...

Winter meetings:
The Sox end the winter meetings by pulling off a huge deal - trading Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino. I'm not going to bother quoting a lot of stats for Lee or Pods. Suffice to say the Sox cup has runeth over with power, which made Lee (or Konerko) expendable. Lee had also worn out welcome on the southside. So Pods, 2003 NL Rookie of the year, takes over somewhere in the outfield. He had a sophmore slump last year, attributed to a change in hitting style, but still led the majors in stolen bases. He'll bat lead off, hopefully increase his OBP, steal a lot of bases and score some runs. At age 29, he's a paitent hitter, but will need to increase his BA and OPB in 2005- it could be vital to Sox success. His numbers in the minors make 2003 look like a fluke season. I'll guess we'll find out the hard way.

Vizcaino is a right-handed set up man. He has apparently recovered from a mysterous shoulder injury in 2003. He can pitch into the 90s with good control. He strikes out a lot more than he walks, so his ERA could be a product of the Brewers lack of offense. We'll see how he fits into an incresingly crowded bullpen.

Getting rid of Lee does free up some cash, presumely to obtain a quality starting pitcher. If that happens, if Dye is healthy, if Pods improves over 2004... you see where I'm going with this - that's a lot of "ifs."

I'm not going to sit back and rip this trade to pieces. To paraphrase the great Sammy Hagar, only time will tell if (this trade) stands the test of time. However, I think the Sox could've got more for Lee, like a #1 starting pitcher. Ben Sheets must be locked up tight, because his name never even came up... But even getting a starter like Sheets, the Sox still would've had a few mil left over to go after Planco. So, I don't get the Vizcaino part of the trade either...because, even with all these moves in the past week, the Sox still failed to address their two biggest gaps - a back-up/challenger for Harris/Crede with a high average and OPB (Polanco?), and, more importantly, a #1 starting pitcher...

RULE 5:
The Sox select two players in the Rule 5 minor league draft. Ryan Warpinski and Sean Smith. Neither generates much excitement on paper. Smith is an outfielder with some speed. Look for them down on the farm in 2005. Conversely, the Sox lose the undistinguished Jhonny Rivera (Great Falls) to Tampa.

The Sox also released Dan Wright, who was in the Sox 2004 starting rotation when the team came north. He promptly went 0-4 with an ERA above 8. As bad as that was, things got worse after he was sent to Charlotte in early May, where he lost the only two games he pitched, giving up 17 ER in just over 5 innings for a whopping 28.69 ERA. Not sure why he fell so hard so fast, and I can't find any info why he stopped pitching after July 28.

2005 tickets on sale January 14:
- for all games except the Cubs...

Spring training report dates announced:
But not posted...