White Sox Sign Alexei Ramirez

Someone I have pulled for the White Sox to sign since I first read about him. I will wait for the dollar amounts to be too happy, but it's a good, creative move for someone very talented that no one was paying too much attention to.

his numbers seem exceptionally good in Cuba, i think that's what country it was, batting career .332 with 87 home runs and 391 rbi's

they say he hits, now, about 20 home runs a season, i'd take that

lets just see what he does in the U.S :) considering south of Florida should be the GREAT at baseball

Cuban is below Japan baseball, I know that for a fact. It's like a AA level.

How many games do they play per season in Cuba? 87 homers in 7 years doesnt seem like a lot, but dont they only play like 60 games a year?

Not even Low A - short season A. Cuban baseball is waaaaaaay different than MLB.

Apparently 26? A Cuban player who says he is 26 is actually more like 32. (See Livan Hernandez and Jose Contreras).

good call NYRoyal, i felt good about this thing up till now, damn, it really was a desprate move for Williams just to say he went out and did something about it, watch i bet you he comes in and he's OLDER than that, 35 36 hahaha

whatever, i fear another disappointing year

a plummet to the American League with the White Sox for about 3 or 4 years

but you know what, i'm still stickin with what i said, I ain't countin NO BODY out till it starts

IMO, this clears the Sox to put Ramirez at 2B, move Cabrera to Boston for Lugo and Crisp. Also give more room to trade Uribe and let Richar develop a bit more. Then wait for Lugo's contract to expire in a few years and have Ramirez at SS and Richar @ 2B then. I like this move pending on the $ KW put into it.

I know but I like it more knowing that the ChiSox have another option.

Does someone who came to this country floating on a door qualify as the "big fish" Williams was running his mouth off about?

gogopalehose, I don't think he was much of a secret if he worked out for the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Mets, Twins and A's and White Sox. Hopefully KW outbid everyone and it wasn't that those other teams didn't like him.

im with ya Jenks45Monster

freakin williams better have a great team in the next couple a years, cause i dont have a really good idea as to what he is doing

Yeah, ChicagoWhiteS0xFan,he thinks Floyd AND Danks will hold out as the #4 and 5 starters this year. Thats insane. If he signs Prior or someone with a good history I'll feel a little bit better about this off season.

Bruce Levine says $4.75 million for the 4 years (that's a total, not per). Great deal for the White Sox.

I hope they sign Prior.(if he's not demanding sick money) And package Fields and Danks maybe in a deal for Blanton. Just throwing out ideas....

astralpanda, what would be wrong with trading Crede for a starting pitcher, Uribe for a mid level prospect, and trade O Cab for for Lugo and Crisp? That would fill a ton of holes.

"Does someone who came to this country floating on a door qualify as the "big fish" Williams was running his mouth off about?"

is it possible that this move was simply a move (you know...the types of things every team does this time of year) and not the "big fish" you speak of?

also, nice use of the "floating on a door" joke. I saw it on Family Guy about 30 minutes ago.

Of course his agent says he's 26! Is anyone saying that because his agent says he's 26, then he's actually 26? His agent says he's 26 because that helps get him more money than if he's honest and says he's 30 or 32 (which is the same reason that Contreras and Hernandez and their agents lied about their age). Cuban defectors lie about their age because they can. For other countries, we can demand real birth certificats. Because Cubans are defecting from a government and country which is closed to us, there is no way to get gov't documents from them.

Livan Hernandez is not 32. He is almost certainly 40+.

Jose Contreras is not 36. He is obviously 40+.

Alexei Ramirez is not 26. He is likely 30+.

These are simple realities. Arguing otherwise amounts to willful ignorance (and likely simple homerism).

Crede would be able to land someone like Chris Capuano though. Even with as low as his value is right now.

NYRoyal...I agree. The general rule is "add on five years." There are some who probably subtracted only three years or so (Yuniesky Betancourt, Kendry Morales) and others who've likely subtracted even more than five years off their age (El Duque and Livan as extremes), but generally you're safe with adding on five years.

Jenks:

If we could get Capuano straight up for Crede I wouldn't be terribly pissed. But if they ask for more, I wouldn't do it.

I've gotta stop posting, I feel like a spam artist.

Jenks45Monster
yea seriously, that Floyd guy blows!!!!
"O HE HAD 1 COMPLETE GAME, HE'S GOOD IN MY BOOK" is what kenny thought when he traded for that guy.

Danks on the other hand he shows potential, he didn't do to shabby

Williams settled for less, him saying "O, yea, we're gonna be a contender and all" was to cover up him not reeling in big names like, Hunter and Miguel Cabrera and even ROWAND! He's now (underground not telling press and sox fans) re building with this young talent he brought in, Quentin and supposably this Ramirez guy, who i wouldn't be surprised to see him be older than what he says

but whatever, i'm fine with that, have a few vets on the team and then bring up young players, lemme see

Young Prospects:
Josh Fields
Danny Richar
Alexei Ramirez
Carlos Quentin

Young Vet:
Joe Crede
Mark Buehrle
BIG BOBBY JENKS YEA!!
some of the bullpen
Paul Konerko is fairly young (31)
Javier Vazquez, he'll be fine for another 4 or 5 more years

VETERANS NEED TO GIT RID OF

Jermaine Dye
A.J Pierzynski
as much as I dont want to get rid of A.J..... we have to

TUBBY Hall
Jose Contreras
JUAN URIBE

Orland Cabrera is fine to stay, i dont think for 4 years
but maybe 2 or 3

DO SOMETHING WILLIAMS

hahahaha nope

"Yeah, ChicagoWhiteS0xFan,he thinks Floyd AND Danks will hold out as the #4 and 5 starters this year. Thats insane. If he signs Prior or someone with a good history I'll feel a little bit better about this off season. "

LOL How does Prior have a GOOD history?

Considering You Got Floyd and Gio Gonzalez back for a broken down Freddy Garcia, I don't see how you can be pissed.

So put it this way, considering you get something(even a pitcher as bad as floyd) for Freddy Garcia should be something you are celebrating.

Oh yeah, and by the way, Aaron Rowand is playing for SF this year, you have Gio Gonzalez Back, You have Gav in Floyd, Tad Iguchi is playing for SD, AND THE PHILLIES ARE STILL PAYING JIM THOMES SALARY!!!!

So stop whining about Gavin Floyd.

Dammit!

I actually really like this signing, and called it too (Contreras connection). He's the guy I wanted the Twins to fill their CF void with, above Cameron/Lofton.

I went to the whole WBC and this guy was very, very impressive to me. I think Sox fans will be happy with this, unfortunately.

And yes, Kenny needs to be fired. Either that or get off whatever drug he's taking that makes him think the year is still 2005.

"His birthdate has been listed as being either April 25 or Sept. 22, 1981, depending on different international tournament records. Torres reported the Sept. 22 birthdate in a call to Baseball America."

I swear I saw a publication (Beckett Baseball Card Monthly? It was some off the wall place that listed the WBC rosters with handedness, height, weight, and birthdate) listing his birthdate as April 25, 1979. That's not fudging it as bad as, say, Orlando Hernandez, but he's still two or three years older than he claims.

I feel electronically violated.

ARod, while I completely agree on Williams/Guillen (they're idiots), I have to totally disagree on Ramirez. I really think he'll contribute THIS year. He's that good to me.

Also, fun note for you guys on Guillen. One night at the winter meetings, the buzz going around in the area where everyone was was "Ozzie's looking for a fight tonight."

I was tempted to start something with him just because it would be fun. But I was kind of worried he'd have a knife on him.

I would love to have a go at Guillen. I just hate him so much. I don't care if he would kick my ass. I just would like to attempt to fight this guy.

He probably would carry a knife on him.

Are you ****ing kidding me? He NEVER thought he would get Cabrera and never said he did. The Angels blew EVERYONE out of the water by giving Hunter such a terrible and ridiculous contract. He IS going to re-sign Cabrera unless Ramirez proves that he can be a similar quality shortstop, which I doubt, or a better opportunity comes by. He paid Linebrink the going rate for relievers of his quality-it is a gamble- but he can't control that his team was so disgraceful, especially the bullpen. I suppose you think Hunter is a steal at $90 million for an aging outfielder who has definitely lost a step or two in the field. He can't just make a bullpen out of bits and pieces like Billy Beane and Kevin Towers because his ballpark will not let him to do so; The A's and Padres parks are the best pitching parks in the league. People won't give him value for his players so he has to embrace the value that they have to the ballclub now. Who the f*** would replace him anyway? Some loser who would cripple the organization by giving an aging outfielder $90 million or giving the Marlins something we don't have for Cabrera? Get real, there was never a possibility for him, KW said so himself.

And why do you say Guillen carries a knife? Are we getting just a little racist here?

Um, racist? No, I said a knife because the guy's f'ing crazy. I think most people would agree with me on that. Heck, that seemed clear even among his peers at the winter meetings.

Where the hell do you get "racist" from that statement?

I'm not saying Buehrle is bad. Or that Dye is bad. I'm saying that KW desperately needs to rebuild. The Sox aren't going anywhere, and they have no farm system. So it would make sense to get whatever you can get for those guys, and NOT sign vets. That's what I'm saying. I used to think that KW was a fabulous GM but he has really made some bad decisions in the last couple years. Oh, and how about the Linebrink signing? That money? And giving up essentially 2 picks for him?

That might be the best comparison on the Soriano/Ramirez thing. Ya, there's not anyone that jumps out to me, but Soriano might be the best comp, with the caveats you mention.

He IS crazy though. Heck, he really did look like he just wanted to fight someone at the winter meetings. It was actually semi-frightening to see the guy. Like I said, even his peers seemed to fully understand that he's nuts.

For the record, Ramirez had a .899 OPS in his career in Cuba.

I think Williams has made some nice, small moves lately. He never made that big splash because everyone else went overboard, like with the Hunter and Cabrera deals. My racist comment was more toward Jenks Monster because of his hate comments, that usually indicates some sort of fear, IE racism. But anyway, he's gotten Richar for a B-prospect. look at his minor league numbers, they will likely translate to 15-20 homers, 15 steals and very good defense(trust me on that) in U.S. Cell. He got Quentin for an A baller, again look at those minor league numbers, his labrum should be healed and he could be a monster. Getting rid of Garland not only filled a hole with an all-star vet, but also covered Linebrink's salary for the year with the added money from LA. And now he gets this talent for very little money.

On a side note, I don't think Owens will provide terrible value. I think he could be very Juan Pierre like OPS and steals wise, except his acceleration is so great that he doesn't get caught much despite his sloppy technique, and his 60-70 steals and plus defense in center field could provide solid WARP.

djskilbr didn't say he hated Guillen so much, he would like to have a go at him. This towards a guy who was a big part of the only White Sox World Series ring we have to speak of in the last 90 years.

I agree that Cora would be a fine manager but there is not as clear of a replacement for WIlliams, I guess Rick Hahn(sp) but I know nothing about him. I think that any part of success the White Sox have in upcoming years will be due to Williams, whether he is still here or not. He drafted Fields and traded for Quentin and Richar, who could be HUGE parts of the team in the near and distant future. He is the reason the White Sox still have Konerko, and Buehrle- because he has created an environment in which they would both take less than what they were offered or would have been offered by other teams. He is the reason the White Sox won it all in 05 and spiked the revenue and strengthened the fan base immensely. He drafted Anderson, who surprised everyone by becoming a bust, nothing Williams could help. I think Sweeney will be the lefthanded AlexisRios(compare his and Sweeney's minor league stats, and look how Rios' power and hitting has progressed), but that's just me.

Yes he did draft Josh Fields but teams like the Reds have 5 position play Josh Fields' and 5 pitching Josh Fields'. They are simply draft jailbirds. The guys I know off of the top of my head from the Reds system are Votto, Cueto, Homer Bailey, formerly Hamilton, I mean their farm is STACKED. It's just not in this organization to get the right guys. I think it is in too many trades/bad scouting. Because we had Chris Young as part of the deal for Javy. Though I like Richar we traded another good prospect in Aaron Cunningham to get him. Not to mention Chris Carter for an injury prone Quentin.

I see what you mean, but remember that the Sox went from a legit, 90+ win contender overnight to a laughing stock. No one could have predicted that absolute meltdown of the bullpen(he had acquired Aardsma, Sisco and Masset to get younger) and the offense just blew it, the injuries to Crede(who fu**ed over the Sox in the worst way) and Dye's hammy that led to an avysmal first half. But, there is hope. Buehrle and Vazquez are very good pitchers both. Danks has awesome stuff and poise, and Floyd shouldn't be a bad fifth starter. He really took strides last year, I watched him progress every outing. Gonzalez is a top 25-ish pitching prospect and this de los Santos kid I have been reading about is a future ace, supposedly. Fields and Quentin will be bigger than you think. It wouldn't surprised me if Fields hit over 40 next season. And like I said, Sweeney could well be the next Rios but that's just what I see. Most of the young players the White Sox are counting on are graduated from prospects so it looks pretty bad.

Hunter is over paid by about 15-20 mil. I agree that Fields will be big. But i don't know about Quentin, being injury prone and all. I really don't know at all. Same with Sweeney. I like him and he should be given a chance IMO but I think the Sox will give up hope on him like they did with Anderson. No way he becomes a Rios IMO. And yeah, I would have liked M Cab but not for what the Tigers gave up for him. Then we really have no farm whatsoever.

Wow you really don't know baseball do you? Do you know what kind of an ace this guy was and still could be? go and laugh your ass off, and put it on youtube. It would give me a huge laugh to see that. This signing would be a low-risk and extremely high-reward signing if he can back without injury problems. I'm not talking about history as in injuries. I'm talking about history as in what kind of stuff he had. Your a clown bro.

I say high risk because he will cost a lot probably...

My fault I forgot to mention a 1 year deal would be low risk high reward. Anything more that would be just stupid.

Who would honestly give up their 2-4 starter for Crede who's coming off of major back surgery and who's calue is at an all time low and Uribe with that bad contract and laziness.

I think Crede will go back to 2006 Crede, apparently Crede's rehab is going perfect and Crede feels great. I just wish he did it last offseason. Uribe, whatever we can get I would be happy with.

"Considering You Got Floyd and Gio Gonzalez back for a broken down Freddy Garcia, I don't see how you can be pissed."

what are you TALKING ABOUT!!!!
WOW!!
Floyd hurt us more then he did help, would you rather have a pitcher that can't do nothing to help nor hurt or have a pitcher that just HURTS
wow, way to think things threw on that one tmichalski

I feel like I stepped on someone's shiny new toy.

Janks45Monster, Hamilton came from the Tampa Bay farm system, not the Reds.

Pierzynski, I couldn't disagree with you more. If the Sox start the season with Contreres, Danks and Floyd as the back end of the rotation, they are doomed. Although, I don't think Contreres will be as awful as he was last year, his best days are behind him. And Danks and Floyd are both projected, by Bill James, to have ERA's over 5.70.

Williams talks a big game. I am a die hard Cubs fan. We have our own problems over here. However, the White Sox fans are only a couple years removed from World Champs. Look at the state of your club. Last year, the head of the minors was let go. Ozzie keeps shouting his mouth off. Kenny (or organizational people) keeps saying you will get certain players. I think the word is out on both, but Ozzie the most. Hey, once again, my team's front office is not blemish free. I just feel the White Sox are not delivering close to what their fans deserve, being champs not too long ago. Yes, it hurts saying that!