Are Sox serious about being 'all-in'?
A smokin' trade rumor arrived Sunday as the White Sox prepared for a 10-game homestand that's scheduled to begin tonight.
The Sox will play three games against the first-place Tigers, three against the first-place Red Sox and four against the Yankees.
Tough stuff, yet rarely has a team so persistently under .500 so deep into the season inspired as much confidence as the White Sox have.
Personally, I stubbornly cling to a prediction that the Sox will win the American League Central. Of course, that's due as much to the division's mediocrity as any Sox' superiority.
A couple Sunday developments indicated why so many people can't shake the notion that the Sox will qualify for the playoffs.
The first came in the Sox' 4-2 victory, when Cleveland made 3 errors and contributed 3 unearned runs.
The one thing the Sox have been able to do consistently is catch the ball.
Advantage White Sox, you would think.
The second development came when the pitching matchup was announced for Game 1 of the Tigers' series.
The Sox will throw Mark Buehrle against Detroit's Duane Below. Buehrle is a decorated 12-year veteran and Below has made one major-league appearance.
Sox' manager Ozzie Guillen also revealed that Philip Humber — he of an 8-6 record and 3.27 earned run average as a starter — will pitch out of the bullpen this week.
Advantage White Sox, you would think.
Pitching depth compared to the Tigers ... team defense compared to the Indians ... enough to win this unimpressive division?
Yes, it says here, which begs the question of why the Sox would consider a blockbuster trade like the one reported.
The deal would send starting pitcher Edwin Jackson or reliever Matt Thornton to St. Louis for center fielder Colby Rasmus.
This is odd on the surface for two reasons: One, giving up pitching is always risky; two, the Sox already have a glut of outfielders.
The Sox don't have room for prospect Dayan Viciedo but do for Colby Rasmus?
It's all about money, as just about everything in sports is during hard economic times.
The Sox would take on what's left of Rasmus' $443,000 salary for 2011 in exchange for what's left of Jackson's $8.75 million and Thornton's $3 million.
The assumption is that the Sox, as currently constructed, can't afford a significant move that would add to their $128 million payroll.
But save more than $11 million in the deal with the Cardinals and general manager Kenny Williams would have a nice chunk of change to make another deal.
The Sox could fit Rasmus into the outfield by trading Carlos Quentin's $5.05 contract for a costlier third baseman to provide offense and maybe a pitcher too.
This is all fantastic fantasy baseball as of now, like throwing out playing cards toward a hat just for the fun of it.
Only the managements of the Sox and Cardinals know whether a Rasmus-to-Chicago deal is even being discussed.
However, the Sox have to be interested in improving even though so many of us still believe they should win the Central regardless.
The object of being “all in” isn't to beat the Tigers and Indians in the division. It's to beat the Red Sox and Yankees in the playoffs.
The White Sox still are a couple moves from doing that.