Thursday, August 26, 2010

Movin' on Manny

The White Sox reportedly are close to a deal to get Manny Ramirez after the former superstar cleared waivers. It could end up being an interesting move that improves the Sox' chance to reach the postseason, or it could be a high-profile mistake on par with the Ken Griffey, Jr., deal.

Some of that depends on what the Sox will have to give up. The farm system is starting to look pretty thin, the quick elevation of 2010 draft pick Chris Sale being evidence of that. The Sox already have shipped out Daniel Hudson, who has pitched very well for Arizona. I don't think I want to see them part with Dayan Viciedo, Stefan Gartrell, Tyler Flowers or Freddy Dolsi--how about Randy Williams?

Manny still is a great hitter, though hits homers less frequently than he used to and tends to land on the disabled list now and then. If he's healthy for a month or so, and hits even marginally better than Andruw Jones, this could be just what the Sox need to catch the Twins. The Manny-being-Manny crap doesn't scare me too much because there just isn't much time for anything too terrible to happen.

Still, it's wise not to expect too much. It would be better if we were talking about a deal for Adam Dunn, Johnny Damon or some other lefty hitter, but we'll take what we can get and hope a new bat occasionally brings another run per game.

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