Welcome Mark Teahen?

This is what I get for sleeping in this morning. Apparently, the White Sox shipped out Chris Getz and Josh Fields to the Royals for Mark Teahen.

I say "apparently" because the Royals are mum on the trade, although the White Sox have already announced it. It may be a premature welcome, but welcome, Mark!

In other news, the White Sox have re-signed Mark Kotsay. That was a no-brainer there! Welcome back, Mark! I think soon we'll have a team of players named Mark.

This certainly looks like it will be a busy offseason. Stay tuned!

Could Third Be Dayan Viciedo's?

Now that Joe Crede has signed an incentive laden contract with the Minnesota Twins, could this mean Josh Fields demotion? It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. While you are scrambling to connect the dots, let me explain.

Joe Crede will potentially be playing with a division rival. If his back holds up, he will be playing many games with a division rival. Frankly, I don't see that bad back playing too many games on that artificial surface, but the opportunity is there.

Josh Fields has been playing under Crede for the better part of two years. This would have given Crede an advantage to study the work ethics and fielding habits of Josh Fields on a level that no game tape could possibly provide. If Josh hasn't changed his fielding drastically, the Twins could exploit those habits whenever they played the Sox. Josh has been working extra hard this offseason and is said to be a completely different player.

On the other hand, Dayan Viciedo has not been seen by too many organizations yet. If he is half as good as the White Sox claim, Dayan should have no trouble fitting in on the major league level. Does that mean that Dayan will get the nod over Fields? No, but it is a factor to think about during Spring Training. I wouldn't be surprised if that has already been discussed internally with the White Sox. Dayan could have a greater impact on the Sox than Alexei Ramirez did in 2008.

Whatever happens, I wish Joe Crede the best of luck in Minnesota. That is all the luck when he's not playing the White Sox. Another piece of the World Series team is gone.

Does Anyone Have This Card?

The reason I ask, is that I don't have this card. It's a variation on the more common running card of Josh Fields. If anyone has this card and is willing to trade, please contact me with your demands. This was a card found only in Wal-Mart packs in 2007. I'm assuming that this was seeded into Series 1 packs, since the card number is 292.

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that I don't have it. I certainly bought enough packs of Topps from Wal-Mart last year. Especially Series 1 packs and blasters. When I got back into collecting full time last year, I went nuts buying packs at places like Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart before I found local shops. I still picked up packs at the retail stores after I discovered two shops in my area.

I certainly hope that some kind soul will reach out for a trade. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

A Case For Josh Fields

For a long time, I seemed to be the only fan that was supporting Josh Fields. Since his name has appeared in many trade rumors this off-season, more supporters have come out of the woodwork. It's about time.

Josh Fields has the tools to become a great player. The White Sox would be gambling away their future by giving up a player of this caliber for short term gains that are not guaranteed. Granted, nothing is guaranteed, but Josh has shown more than just promise in his stint with the White Sox in 2007.

In 100 games, he has improved defensively at third base, while trying to also learn left field. He hit 23 home runs and had 67 RBI. Not bad for a rookie who was learning a new position of the fly. The only real problems were the .244 average and the high strikeout ratio. If the strikeouts are lessened, the average should come up.

I'm also encouraged by the White Sox decision to keep him at third base. Whatever happens with Joe Crede, Josh will be ready to take over should Joe leave by trade or free agency. Over Christmas, I stumbled upon this video of highlights from Josh's 2007 season. It should open some people's eyes about Josh.

2007 Artifacts

I liked the design of the 2007 Artifacts. It was different from anything I'd ever seen before, at least to my recollection. At least that was my initial impression. I still like it, but it doesn't have the same "Wow" factor that it had when it first came out.

The dirt background is very eye catching and goes well against the antique looking photo seemingly laid on top. It reminded me of a pirate map or some ancient parchment. The intentionally off-centered photo is a little maddening at first, but once you take that in with the background, it turns out to be a nice touch.

I'm always a bit surprised when I see more than three White Sox cards in a set that has 100 or less cards. This shocked me by having six cards in the base set. Three veterans and three rookies. The usual suspects are there for the veterans (Konerko, Thome & Dye) and the rookies are alright, but not overly essential. We'll see where the rookies rate ten years from now.

• 5 - Jim Thome
• 6 - Paul Konerko
• 7 - Jermaine Dye
• 85 - Jerry Owens
• 86 - Josh Fields
• 97 - Ryan Sweeney

Not a bad mix of Sox players for a 100 card set. The cards will pop out at you in a binder. They're not as great as they were upon first arrival, but the cards still hold up well. Nice job Upper Deck. Not great, but good enough.

White Sox Prospects

The comments have been wonderful so far! The Wilbur Wood card in the wallet story was pretty cool. Some of the comments have inspired some postings that I wouldn't have thought of yet.

A comment today asked if their were any hot prospects in the organization. Well, there are to a degree. Nobody is a guaranteed lock, but there is a lot of potential. If they're moved too quickly or too slowly, the results can be disastrous. Take Brian Anderson as an example on both accounts.

Focus is high on knuckleballer Daniel Haigwood. Gio Gonzalez is supposed to be great when he's finally ready to pitch in the big leagues. Jack Egbert and Adam Russell have long shots to make the club this year on the pitching staff.

The ones that have been at the major league level for more than a few games include Ryan Sweeney, John Danks and Josh Fields. The latter two are almost guaranteed jobs on the Sox this year, unless they are used for trade bait.

Aaron Poreda and John Shelby Jr. both showed great abilities the last two months of the minor league season. They were named as co-winners of the Prospect of the Month award over at FutureSox.com. Poreda was the 25th overall pick in the 2007 draft. He may make the 2010 team as a starter or a power closer. Shelby is a 2006 pick and the son of former major leaguer John Shelby. He moved from second base to center field this year. Shelby may be the center field power hitter answer in a few years.

Anderson Gomes, a Brazilian native, is also a center fielder option for the future. He is a pitcher who blew out his arm and was converted into an outfielder. He has excellent range because he was a star sprinter in Brazil. His arm strength remains excellent for fielding work. He has been compared to Alfonso Soriano.

Juan Moreno had an excellent finish to 2007. In his last seven starts, he was 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA. Juan was named Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year. He's a quick worker like Buehrle and is considered a top competiter.

Casey Rogowski led the AAA team in homers and RBI. Jason Bourgeois has an outside chance to make the team in 2008. Fernando Hernandez might get a shot soon. Fautino De Los Santos seems like he may have the best shot to become something great. Then there's a 24 year old named Ray Liotta. He was on track to be something great, but I haven't heard much about him lately. On the Winston-Salem website he's listed as injured. And no, he's not the actor, but the actor is a distant cousin.