Javier Vazquez is now a member of the Braves, which is ironic, because he's scared of words.

"The negativity is never good," Vazquez said at his news conference in Atlanta. "I’ve always been a big believer in being positive, especially in professional leagues. You’ve got a lot of negative things going on, so you always try to be positive.

"I’m a positive guy, try to be positive all the time. I’m glad to be here in Atlanta."

"The only thing I’m going to say is it’s good to get away from the negativity and start fresh," Vazquez said. "I like the city, like the stadium. I’m a flyball pitcher, so this park, I think suits better with the type of pitcher I am. I’m looking forward to pitching here."

'Negativity,' of course, is code for Ozzie Guillen, who challenged Vazquez to step up his game prior to the series in the penultimate series in the Thunderdome. He could aslo be referring to the Chicago media, who were far harder on him for far longer than the 3 starts in which Ozzie asked Vazquez to step up.

But, c'mon. We all know it's Guillen. It makes a better story.

I was just about to post my third FanShot while cleaning out my feed reader, which is more than enough to sustain a link dump... so, here it goes.

• The Mets are "not ready" to deal Fernando Martinez.

  [Mets GM Omar] Minaya always has refused to label any prospect "untouchable," but he kept Mike Pelfrey off the table last year at this time and he seems ready to do the same with Martinez. With the Mets connected to numerous reports involving White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye and closer Bobby Jenks, it was not surprising to see Baseball Prospectus suggest that Minaya was discussing a "blockbuster" deal that could bring both to Flushing for a package centered on Martinez. But a person familiar with the situation said yesterday there was "nothing there."

• Tango pens his annual case for Tim Raines for the HOF.
• Shawn Hoffman pinch hits at Baseball Analysts with a piece called Baseball's Bear Market? Why 'Caution' is the Keyword This Winter

• Gonzo has lots of little nuggets from the as yet-to-be-posted-online conference call with Kenny Williams. Some scary thoughts: Lillibridge described as Ozuna with more upside, while Poreda "will probably gravitate toward the bullpen."

  [Update by The Cheat, 12/04/08 3:06 PM CST]: The call is online. it's a half-hour long, so I haven't been able to sift through it yet.

• The Brent Morel and Jordan Danks led Winston-Salem team will no longer be called the Warthogs. They're the Dash, reflecting the Sox new commitment to speed. Seriously, their nickname is the Dash now, but they were named after a hyphen. It has nothing to do with speed.
• Keith Law adds a few MPH to Santos Rodriguez' fastball compared to what we had previously heard from Gonzo. In the Gonzo link above, KW stated that Santos would be converted to a starter this year.
• MLBTR takes a stab at identifying some possible non-tenders, arbitration-eligible players still under team control who may not be offered contracts and thus become free-agents. Most recently, the Sox picked up Toby Hall after being non-tendered. Interesting and/or scary names include Daniel Cabrera and Willy Taveras. The non-teneder deadline is December 12th.

I'm sure I'll add more, but this is a start

It now appears as if most outlets are in agreement on the return from the Javier Vazquez trade.

Braves get: Javier Vazquez, Boone Logan, Late Inning Headaches
White Sox get: Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, Brent Lillibridge, Santos Rodriguez, $23M lighter

It's late, and I got preoccupied planning for a downtime that didn't exsist, so I'll just point you to Jim's completely fictional blog for some specifics on the players the Sox are receiving. I'd like to spend some more time talking about the bigger picture.

What are the White Sox Doing?

The simple answer is dumping payroll, getting younger. But closer inspection--hell, it doesn't even take close inspection--reveals another force is at work, a winter cleaning of Ozzie Guillen's doghouse.

In two trades the Sox have purged themselves of three players in whom Guillen no longer had confidence. Nick Swisher played his way out of town with a pouting act and a .197 second-half batting average. Vazquez chartered his flight with a 13.22 ERA in his final 4 starts as a member of the White Sox, taking Boone Logan and his 38 baserunners in his final 10 IP along with him as a carry-on.

Unlike the Swisher trade, this deal netted the Sox some prospects with some real upside. Tyler Flowers is shooting up prospect lists after his 12 homer performance in the AFL, where KW is said to have "drooled over" him. He's a big body who won't stick behind the plate long term, but would be a huge get if he can provide adequately-below-average defense for a few years. Jon Gilmore is a young, toolsy third baseman with power potential who struggled in his brief foray into A-ball, but hit well in rookie ball. (Red flag: has just 19 walks in 522 minor league at-bats) Santos Rodriguez is unknown who struck out a bunch of rookie leaguers while pitching from the pen as a league-repeater.

While those 3 figure to spend all of the '09 season in the minor leagues, Brent Lillibridge should find himself competing for a spot on the Sox roster. Not that I have any idea how he fits, or even why he deserves such a right. To say I'm not a fan of Lillibridge's is an understatement. I didn't like what I saw from him in the '07 futures game (admittedly, the only time I've seen him), and he's done nothing at the plate to change my mind in the 18 months since then.

Moreover, I don't really understand where he fits in the Sox plans. They've added Wilson Betemit and Jayson Nix to their in-house candidates, Josh Fields and Chris Getz at 3B and 2B, respectively, and figure to officially add Dayan Viciedo soon. Though, I've already expressed my doubts about his ability to compete for a job this spring. I don't think Lillibridge is here to take Alexei's shortstop gig away from him. I suppose he might be competing for a utility role--he apparently has a good glove--with Betemit figured to keep third base warm for Viciedo. Lillibridge was once thought by some to be a candidate to replace the outgoing Andruw Jones in Atlanta's center field, but he couldn't find his way onto the '08 roster, and after posting a .294 AAA OBP and a consistent 3:1 K/BB ratio above A-ball, I'd say it's a safe bet that he shouldn't find his way onto the Sox '09 roster either.

If there's any single reason to be put off by this deal, aside from acquiring what looks like another future 1B/DH type, or failing to acquire a young starter in return, or Lillibridge in general, or that the Sox don't figure to have get any benefit out of the deal in '09, it's that John Schuerholz and his scouting staff tend to come out on top in these type of deals. (Note: I know he's no longer technically the GM, but it's still his staff and he's the F'n team president.) Last year he stole Jair Jurrgens from Detroit. And the year before that it was Rafael Soriano for Horacio Ramirez. The last deal that's truly comparable to this one, however, is the Hudson trade. Dan Meyer never turned into anything and Juan Cruz, despite his strikeout rate and type-A status, has not delivered on his former promise. Reportedly the Sox were allowed to pick 4 from a list of 5 prospects. No doubt the Braves felt safe losing any of the players listed.

What does the rotation look like now?

As of this moment the Sox have 3 starters, Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd. The immortal Jeff Marquez, Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda will fight for the remaining two spots, though one of Richard/Poreda will likely end up in the pen as a LOOGY with potential. Lance Broadway and Jack Egbert are next in line for a starting spot, which, along with Marquez and his terrible AAA K-rate, is probably why the Sox are looking for a young starter in return in the rumored Jermaine Dye trades. Jose Contreras may return sometime late in '09, but it's best to simply think of him as lost for the season and be pleasantly surprised if he exceeds expectations.

No really, what are the White Sox doing?

I can't say for sure. The winter meetings are still a week away, and the Sox have already cut their projected '09 payroll down to the $96M range. Perhaps the economy has hit them hard. Perhaps they are embarking on the rebuilding that should have started in May of '07. Perhaps they're clearing payroll to make a run at a mystery free agent, even though they'd swear otherwise. Perhaps they're clearing room to lock up their arbitration eligible (Jenks) or soon-to-be eligible players (Q!, Danks and Floyd) and buy out a couple years of free agency, a return to the cost-certainty-era Sox. There's only one thing I can say for certain, this will not be the White Sox last move of the off-season. I'm almost expecting Dye to be dealt at the Winter Meetings, netting a young starter in return, and picking up a free-agent outfielder on the cheap as the market craters late in January. Whatever happens figures to be exciting, surprising, and should give us plenty of discussion fodder for the rest of the off-season.

Open this page in a separate window or tab, and Do Not Refresh (as SSS is set to go dark in the next half hour). The Cover It Live box should remain active and allow discussion in the downtime. Comments are closed, to be opened when we return from darkness.

[Note by The Cheat, 12/02/08 10:59 PM CST]: It appears as though I may have overreacted to my email, as the outage was only supposed to last for minutes during the timeframe listed. Oops. Comment reopened. I'll have a trade recap up before I hit the sack.