White Sox manage to rebuild and contend at the same time
Tribe beat writer in the Plain Dealer LinkThe White Sox weren't supposed to be sitting on top of the AL Central in August.
Not only was GM Ken Williams predicted to sink to the bottom of the Chicago River under the weighty contracts of Alex Rios, Jake Peavy and Adam Dunn, but he was going to attempt one of the most dangerous things a general manager can do. Williams was going to try and rebuild and win at the same time.
It rarely works. GMs who do it usually dismantle the club at the first sign of trouble and start a major rebuilding project. It's a good way to buy a couple more years of employment from ownership.
This wouldn't even be a problem if Williams knew how to draft in past years. Took him until this year to figure it out, but I think the White Sox can easily rebuild through the draft and at the same time contend with the current guys they have.
They aren't going to win the World Series, but they will contend and maybe win the divisional title once or twice.
They won't be the favorites, but all you have to do is get to October and it's anybody's game. Probably a long shot, but never say never.Originally Posted by TheChicagoFan
That's true. What I meant by that was that they won't be favorites as you said. They'll contend though. The key to a team that's really going to win is prospects and drafting, so they're headed in the right way.
he is actually been fine with his drafts the past few years. They are rarely in last place so its hard to get a good slot, they take what they can get through the draft. He isnt a GM that soley cares just about the draft, its a different philosophy than guys like epstein. Doesnt make him right or wrong. He likes his international signings with alexie and viciedo, drafted beckham, sale, and reed. Sure lance broadway didnt pan out, but a lot of picks dont pan out. you see guys from the 30th round become the next best thing a lot of times. Also if it werent for the major injury to mitchell he probably would be up here and at worse a blue chip prospect.
It seems as thought the draft and "rebuilding" has become very trendy because of theo here in chicago, we shall see what he can do with limited non red sox funds and a team that he took over that is horrible, unlike the 90 win team plus open checkbook he had inherited in boston.
Also to say they wont win the World Series is a bit silly. this is baseball, the goal is simple, get in, get in early, get hot, have rotation setup and its anyones game.
It's not trendy because of Theo. I'm a fan of prospects because I enjoy what it takes to get to Major League baseball. That's exciting to me and I've come to understand the fact that prospects are how a team wins if they don't have Yankees money. You use prospects to either be on your team in the future or as pieces in trades to improve the current team. Either way, you need them.
I know that Williams has done better drafts the last couple years. Sale and Reed are signs of that because those are the last couple players in the Sox system to actually be top prospects. His draft this year was good. He got an outfielder with speed and with some power already developed. He drafted a first basemen with a pretty good bat which is what you need to be a first basemen in the Major Leagues. He drafted some good pitching in the late rounds. He did well this year and he's going in the right direction.
I'm not going to hate on Williams because he's done both good and bad things during his time with the White Sox. But one fact is that he wasn't a good drafter early in his tenure. He's gotten better with each year which is a good sign. A couple more good drafts in a row and I think he'll be very successful in "rebuilding" and making the farm system better in the next couple years.
Sox farm is going to be better. It won't ever be like the Royals or even the Cardinals, but the White Sox are a different team and can't expect it to be like that. I'm happy with what the Sox are doing right now. They had a good draft and they're in first place. I'm happy about that.
Drafting and building a team through the farm system is all well and good, but it's not a clear cut and fail-proof move. I'm personally not a fan of it because you never know how prospects are going to turn out once they hit the bigs. Having a solid scouting team and drafting well is a great base for a major league team, but to do so and not also play the field and complete your team with free agents is not only dumb, it's not feasible. You're playing a game of Russian roulette by loading your system with prospects and hoping to win a championship just with that, but that's a debate for a different day.
I prefer the Yankees' way of business. They have a decent farm system, but pay top talent to come and win. Obviously most teams don't have the resources that the Yankees do, but baseball is a business and the Yankees have proved that they exceed in that facet and have 27 times in under 100 years. Very impressive. Kenny Williams does very well with the resources he has. He doesn't have an unlimited payroll, but he makes smart moves and has wagered many gambles that have paid off and that end result is all that matters and 2005 is the ultimate testament to his overall success in the White Sox organization. He's made mistakes, just like any GM, but IMO he has done more with less far better than most others would. Just my $.02.
I agree to some extent that prospects are a gamble, but in the same way that a top prospect can fail, a 25th rounder can come out of nowhere and be a star. It's happened plenty in the history. It's a big gamble, but if you're good at it you're going to win. Hence me saying that drafting well is the key. If they're good drafters they will have tools to use in trades and to bring up in their own system.
I'm not saying to sell everyone on the Sox for prospects. I'm saying to draft well and the team will be fine. Kenny didn't draft well for awhile and got lucky in 2005 that basically everyone on the team had their best season. Otherwise he wasn't super successful. He's more successful now as some big moves have paid off and he's drafted well with Reed and Sale both on the team now. Along with good international work.
They are certainly are proving a lot of doubters wrong, that's for sure.
Jordan Jaye Sanders
The main reason they can rebuild and contend at the same time is because they play in the terrible AL Central. If they were in any other division they'd be in 3d or 4th place right now.
love the new sig TCF
I disagree, the AL Central does help, but you do have to remember the Tigers are a good team and still are in our division. And it's not like we haven't played the Rangers, Yankees, and Angels
Probably not in the West. They have good records against the Angels and Rangers this year and have a better record than the Angels and Athletics. They would still be a wild card team. Which is basically what they are now.
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