The first day of the winter meetings in Indianapolis brought back a familiar name that might send chills down your spine.
Juan. Pierre.
This being the first winter meetings covered primarly by Twitter, rounding up the rumors isn't the easiest thing. But here's the chain of events:
- Pierre had supposedly drawn interest from the White Sox, Pirates and an unidentified third club.
- Scott Merkin reports that the Dodgers want starting pitching in return, which isn't going to happen.
- Joe Cowley says "don't laugh" at the rumor, but the Sox would want a lot of money from the Dodgers in any theoretical deal.
The thing with Pierre in past seasons is that the desire to see the parties united seemed to come from the media. Pierre, being fast and powerless, seemed to fit Ozzie Guillen's definition of a leadoff hitter, and Guillen knew him from his days as a coach on the Florida Marlins' staff.
He barely made sense when he was a free agent; with two years and $18 million left on his current deal, it's absurd. Considering the Sox don't want to go more than one year with Scott Podsednik, who might cost $3 million per year, there's no reason to make this deal. They're not exactly the same player, but they're close:
| PA | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | CS | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG | |
| Podsednik | 537 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 13 | 39 | 74 | .304 | .353 | .412 |
| Pierre | 425 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 27 | 27 | .308 | .365 | .392 |
Podsednik has more power, Pierre has been healthier. Podsednik has a stronger arm, Pierre isn't scared by walls. Despite belonging to different races, they're amazingly comparable, so I'm not seeing this happening.
If there's anything to this rumor, it seems along the lines of the Coco Crisp talk -- another way to tell Podsednik there are other fish in the sea.
*******************************
Chatter box:
*Guillen has Alex Rios playing center -- even if Andruw Jones proves something -- and Carlos Quentin with his pick of corners right now. Greg Walker loves the way Quentin looks right now, and Kenny Williams is encouraged by Rios' strong finish.
*Williams is also encouraged by Tyler Flowers, saying that he could be in the mix for the backup catcher spot because "Tyler Flowers is going to hit."
*Williams had no comment on Roy Halladay and Hideki Matsui. Guillen likes Matsui's bat, but questions his knees or glove as the Sox continue to stress DH flexbility.
*The White Sox have shown interest in J.J. Putz.
*Mark Gonzalez lists the White Sox's no-trade clauses but forgets Scott Linebrink.
*My local team, the Tri-City ValleyCats, is the short-season organization of the year according to Baseball America.
*I've posted another Christmas Card on Facebook.
