Dark Days Ahead for the South Siders

Aaron Rowand was supposed to be back patrolling center field for the White Sox this coming summer. The Sox were supposed to be making big trades to improve a team that lost the division by 24 games and missed out on the wild card by 22 games.

The Deals So Far:

Sox GM Kenny Williams made a lot of big promises after the season and has yet to follow through.

Starting Pitcher Jon Garland was sent to the LA Angels for Shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
-This deal was terrible. The Sox sent away their number 2 and sometimes number 1 starter from this past season. Yeah, Garland only had one year left on his contract, but the team should have kept him around to see if he could help the team through at least the first half of the season and depending on their record they could trade him away, resign him or just let him hit the market after the season if they're in contention. They didn't need an over the hill shortstop.

Carlos Quentin from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league first baseman Chris Carter.

-Let's take a look a a deal that happened at the end of last week (Dec. 14) The Diamondbacks acquired pitchers Dan Haren and Connor Robertson from the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez and infielder Chris Carter.
Every player the D-backs gave up in this deal were minor leaguers. The Sox could have easily sent Chris Carter and a few other prospects for a pitcher with two more reasonably priced years on his contract.

Fukudome-
The 30 year old Japanese superstar signed a 4 year contract with the Chicago Cubs. Allegedly the Sox offered a similar contract to the outfielder but because of the exposure the Cubs get throughout the country Fukudome signed with the North Siders leaving the South Siders without a big free agent again.

The Situation-
While other teams in the AL Central are getting better *cough* Detroit! *cough* the Sox are getting spurned by potential acquisitions and rival teams are swooping in under the radar and making mega-deals. The Detroit Tigers acquired ace pitcher Dontrelle Willis and super stud third baseman Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins for six minor league prospects.

This deal puts the Tigers in immediate contention for not only the AL Central crown, but the World Series championship. With their already stacked lineup and pitching rotation the Tigers are looking to combat the New York Yankees in the "roster to win now" market. The trade also puts Detroit up there in salary. After the dust has settled Detroit will presumably be in the $160 million price range.

During the 2007 season only the Yanks paid more for their roster at $197.2 million. The Boston Red Sox were a distant $143.1 million.

This apparently random splurge of spending by the Tigers front office shows a level of commitment to winning that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has never shown. His longest tenured player was Frank Thomas, arguably the greatest White Sox player of all time, and now spokesperson for the "non-juiced" power hitters during this Steroid Era of baseball, hit his 500th career homerun in a Toronto Bluejays jersey, not a White Sox uniform.

Magglio Ordonez , Jermain Dye's predecessor in rightfield, currently patrolling right for the Tigers is another example of Reinsdorf not shelling out the cash for a player who may be a risk, but worth the chance. When the Sox parted ways with Ordonez it was due to a potential degenerative knee issue. The Tigers picked up Mags with an incentive-laden 5-year contract. In 2007 Ordonez made $13 million after bonuses and had an MVP caliber year (were it not for Alex Rodriguez, he might have won,) hitting a .363 batting average, with 28 homeruns and 139 runs batted in.

The White Sox seem to be destined for a Cubs-esque streak of losing. Being jilted by three big named free agents (Torii Hunter, Rowand and Fukudome) leaves the Sox in the same situation they were in at the end of the regular season. The team looks bound for another atrocious season.