Nick Swisher traded to Yankees for assorted parts (Wilson Betemit, Yankee Pitching Prospect #1, Yankee Pitching Prospect #2).I had difficulty speaking in complete sentences after this fleecing. So, bullet points.
1) Swisher stunk, but he's only 27-28, and he's under contract for around $22M for the next three seasons. Contrary to everything Jerry Reinsdorf will say, the White Sox are a big payroll team (5th last year at $120M), so dumping $22M isn't going to necessarily get you down to a very low number anyway.
2) Even if you think he's going to continue to decline, look who the Sox already have on the team. Who's going to have a better next 3 seasons, between Swisher, Thome, Konerko, and Dye? I'm not counting Quentin because he's further behind on the salary cycle.
Thome finished his age 37 season, and has a $13M option for 2009, or the Sox could buy him out for $3M. Needless to say, he won't be around long and his option for one season is half the value of Swisher's 3 seasons left. Ugh.
Konerko finished his age 32 season, owed $12M until 2010.
Dye finished his age 34 season, owed $11.5M in 2009, $12M option for 2010 ($1M buyout).
Heck, the only guy who would be around in 3 years might be Swisher. I just cried a little.
3) Wilson Betemit = Juan Uribe with less defense.
4) There are reports that Swisher's clubhouse intensity guy act was wearing thin on people (not enough room with Ozzie's ego in the dugout). Fine. That doesn't mean you give up on getting any value for him. I just laid down in my closet and curled up in a ball.
5) So Gio Gonzales, Ryan Sweeney, and Fautino de los Santos (our best pitching and OF prospects that we traded for Swisher) have now turned into one bad year of Swisher, Wilson Betemit, two pitching prospects for the Yankees that were not in their top 10 and were never going to see the majors. That is an impressive talent downgrade.
Nobody knows where this team is going. What makes sense at this point is go straight salary dump (Sox probably have to keep the albatross Konerko contract), but they don't even have young guys to replace the old guys. 2008 might end up hurting the team for the rest of the decade because it'll probably fool people into thinking that this team has some direction. Making emotional decisions instead of professional ones is going to stop the Sox from finding one. Sorry that your boys didn't pan out, Kenny, but the way to fix that is getting back value again, not pissing it all away in some emotionally cathartic toilet flush.
Also, the Bears got mauled today. I'm going to read a book.
