Peavy Trade A High Risk, High Reward Move For White Sox

On May 21, the Chicago White Sox swung a trade with the San Diego Padres that would dramatically bolster the White Sox post-season chances. They had traded for ace pitcher Jake Peavy, a former Cy Young winner who is one of the best in baseball. An American  League Central title seemed within reach, and only one thing was required to complete the deal. Peavy, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, had to allow the deal to go through. To the surprise of the White Sox, Peavy utilized his right to remain in San Diego. Why would he stay on a losing team in San Diego rather than compete for a division title in Chicago? He had been a Padre his entire career, and picking up and moving his family to a new and unfamiliar city appeared to be a scary proposition. Because of Peavy’s decision, the White Sox were forced to move on. The Padres, meanwhile, were poised to continue talking to teams about Peavy.

Fast forward to June 9, when Peavy landed on the disabled list. He strained a tendon in his right ankle, which seemed to diminish the Padres chances of moving Peavy at the trade deadline. But as the deadline was about to come to a conclusion, the Padres pulled off a shocker. They once again had traded Peavy to the White Sox, only this time Peavy accepted the trade. Chicago sent four pitching prospects to San Diego in exchange. The Padres removed Peavy from the DL before trading him, and the White Sox now have a top-5 pitcher in the game of baseball.

But unlike Roy Halladay, who would have been guaranteed to dominate anywhere had he been traded to, Peavy comes with question marks. He also gives the White Sox an opportunity to greatly improve their rotation. Any way you slice it, the White Sox are taking a big risk. What’s more is that he is still injured, somewhat complicating the White Sox plans. The original prognostication on his return was 12 weeks, and it looks like that will hold true. He could make his White Sox debut in late August or early September. No matter the scenario, the White Sox expect him to be ready for the playoffs. Having Peavy around for the run towards the playoffs would be the ideal scenario, though.

Currently, the White Sox sit 1.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the division. 9 games out of the wild card race, the White Sox only chance of making the playoffs is to win the Central. That’s why having Peavy around for the final month of the season would be great. Not only would he help the team make the playoffs, he would also get to familiarize himself with his new surroundings and get a feel for how things work in Chicago and the American League. If he can’t find a way to return until the postseason, it will be a big hit to the White Sox.

Playing in San Diego his entire career, there were times when Peavy did not get the national recognition he deserved. Sure, he won the Cy Young award in 2007, but the Padres rarely make their way on to national television, and fans therefore don’t get the pleasure of watching Peavy pitch an entire game. In Chicago, he will be watched much more closely, and fans are going to like what they see.

Another downside of playing for the Padres was that Peavy didn’t get a great amount of run support from his teammates. His ERA this season was 3.97, about five points higher than his career average. Record-wise, Peavy went 6-6 before being placed on the DL, another area that can be attributed to playing for a poor team. In Chicago, Peavy will have the benefit of playing with an excellent offense — the White Sox exploded for 14 runs yesterday in a route over the New York Yankees.

Where Peavy will really pay off is in the rotation. Mark Buerhle, of recent perfect game fame, is the N0.1 pitcher, but that could change once Peavy gets healthy. A three-man rotation of Buerhle, Peavy and John Danks has the potential to be one of the best in baseball. In a playoff series, this rotation could give the White Sox an advantage over an opponent that doesn’t have a top-3 that is as strong. Moreover, the addition of Peavy makes the White Sox rotation look even stronger, as Gavin Floyd and Jose Contreras now bookend the rotation. And on top of all of that, Peavy c0uld be a staple of this rotation for a long time; he is signed through 2012, with a team option for 2013. Those are all of the positives, and there seem to be many of them. But Peavy doesn’t come to the South side of Chicago without any risks or concerns.

His health is still a major concern heading into the final two months of the season. If Peavy is unable to return, it would greatly decrease the White Sox chances to make a deep postseason run. With a team that is as talented as the White Sox are offensively, it would be a shame to see them lose because of their rotation. Ankle injuries are tricky though, and there’s no one seems to know for sure just how long it will take him to recover. Some ankle injuries can take a few weeks to recover, but Peavy’s is clearly much more serious. Even if he is able to return and pitch for the White Sox at some point before the playoffs, just how well he will be able to pitch is a big question mark. The positive spin on the injury is that it is to the right ankle and not the left. Had it been to the left, even more concerns would have popped up, since Peavy as a right-hander uses the left ankle to push off in his windup. Though the right ankle is still used in the windup, it’s not going to create as big a problem as the left ankle would. He’ll have to try and return as soon as possible, as the White Sox will need all the help they can get in this pennant race. There’s also consternation that because of Peavy’s unorthodox motion, his shoulder won’t be able to hold up much longer.

Under the worst-case scenario, the White Sox won’t get Peavy at any point this season, missing out on the chance to have him for the playoff run. But under the best-case, Peavy comes back and pitches, helping the White Sox win the Central.

GM Kenny Williams took a risk by making this trade, there’s no doubt about that. If the move pays off, however, Williams and the White Sox will reap the benefits.

There’s No Shame In Losing … But It’s How You Lose That Can Be Cause For Concern ……………

Now I’m not one to be overly critical when a team loses. However, I’m of the opinion that if you lose , you ought to be able to learn something from the loss . And that it ought to be something of a learning process for the future. For those of you who weren’t able to witness the perfect game pitched today by the Chicago White Sox’s , Mark Buehrle . Then you missed a gem of a performance .

Mark Buehrle is congratulated by teammates Josh Fields and catcher Ramon Castro after pitching a 'perfect game' against the Tampa Bay Rays at US Cellular Field in Chicago , Ill,. The White Sox would defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Scott Boehm .................

On the receivng end of this all were the Tampa Devil Rays . And unfortunately for the A L East team , they put up a goose egg on the scoreboard. Which in ofitself was another dubious distinction to be a part of. The end result was a 5-0 shellacking at the hands of the White Sox. Now I’m no fan of the Rays , but proudly living in the vicinity of the area. Where the fans here are about as knowledgeable about this team. As the members of Congress are about as insightful as to the effects , as to what pulled the country into a downward spiral of unimaginable proportions. It’ll be very interesting to hear the post-game analysis as to the reasons why the Rays lost this game.

Buehrle is congratulated by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on the concourse outside the team locker room after the game. picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ M. Spencer Green .......................

I’ve always maintained in order for any team to prevail in the AL East division. They’ve got to play the game at a consistently high level. As we know the triumvirate of teams within the division are merely fighting amongst themselves merely for supremacy within that very division. The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Devil Rays , themselves are merely now hoping to be part of the postseason. It’s a privilege to be a part of it all. But how one accounts for themselves in the playoffs even more.

As for the Rays , it’s now do or die, or nothing at all. You just can’t think because having won the division , the AL Pennant and then having made it to last season’s World Series. Then that will be enough for your peers to show you enough respect. To get that respect then one has to earn that respect. And that’s something that this team hasn’t really yet done. In all of their existence they’ve but one winning season. And that winning season was n last year , when all of the stars were aligned for the team. Much of the change we’ve all witnessed has to have been from the mindset brought to the franchise by their manager Joe Maddon. Though not viewed as a hard task master , he’s seen as a player’s coach. They’ve bought into Maddon’s system and it has brought a tremendous change to the franchise. And with it , has come the acclaim and recognition. And with it has also has come the recognition of the team’s players , such as Evan Longoria , B J Upton , Carl Crawford , James Shields and Ben Zobrist . But these are but a few of the players on this roster that’ve contributed greatly to the team’s success.

As to the events of today, it’d be remiss not to acknowledge the achievement of Mark Buehrle. There’ve been but seventeen other players to have achieved the distinction of throwing a perfect game . One should also remember that the player was also the recipient of pitching a a no-hitter as well in the course of his career. A rarity as such amongst today’s pitchers . So it’s a very great accomplishment for the player, his teammates and for the fans of baseball to have witnessed this altogether. To undescore it would be do the feat a great injustice. And as I’d alluded to earlier in this piece. If the Devil Rays cannot learn from this event then truly whatever lies ahead for them . Be it good , bad or indifferent. Let’s hope that they can actually learn from it all. And as young as this team and the refreshing attitude that they’ve brought to the game. Moreover, the way in which they’ve exhibited their prowess on the baseball diamond gives their fans hope that they go one step further than last year.

The Devil Rays (52-44) have a great deal to play for as the season progresses. They’re looking at usurping both the New York Yankees (57-37) and Boston Red Sox (55-39) , in order to make a successful defense of their AL East title. The wildcard berth no longer a misnoma for many. It’s still viewed as a viable way for an entry into the postseason. As to whether or not this’ll be the way the Rays make their entry into the postseason . It remains to be seen.

The realization is not lost on Buehrle after his achievement . The crowd reacted wildly after the player's astonishing performance. picture appears courtesy of getty images / Scott Boehm ............