Why Trading Carlos Quentin Wouldn't Raise the White Flag for the White Sox

It's hard to imagine a team trading their second best run producer in a year he was selected to the All-Star team and not saying that they are giving up on making a post-season run. But that's exactly what the White Sox would be doing if they were to unload Carlos Quentin before the weekend is over.
It's no secret that the Sox have been offensively challenged this year despite having the highest payroll in franchise history. They rank in the middle of the American League in most offensive categories and their prized free agent signing, Adam Dunn, hasn't touched the Mendoza Line since May 19th. Then when why would the Sox even think about trading the guy that is second on the team in home runs, and rbi's and leads the team in extra base hits? Because they need to get better, both this year and beyond.

Carlos Quentin, when healthy, can carry a ball club. And as nice as it would be to see him carry the Sox past Cleveland and Detroit, I don't trust that he will stay healthy to do it. The Braves and Phillies, if we're to believe rumors and reports, have been looking long and hard at Quentin and would love to have him in the middle of their lineups, with Atlanta the more likely suitor since Philly is more enamored with Houston's Hunter Pence.

Both teams have strong minor league systems and GM Kenny Williams will certainly want a top level pitching prospect in return for the right fielder. The Sox are in danger of losing a starting pitcher or two in the off-season and will need to stock the cupboard with quality young arms for 'The Pitching Whisperer' Don Cooper to take under his wing. I mean, who's the last 'can't miss' Braves pitching prospect that went the way of Aaron Poreda? The reason they stay so good for so long is because they know how to scout and develop young pitchers.

But how does trading Quentin help the Sox this year? It opens up right field for Dayan Viciedo to come up from AAA and prove he is major league ready. Sure, he won't be able to produce the numbers Quentin can right away, but it brings another young player into the clubhouse that will be full of excitement and a bat that the ball jumps off of like no one else on the roster.

This is a move that Kenny Williams needs to make, whether the Sox keep gaining on Detroit and Cleveland or not. Quentin hasn't been the offensive force he was in the first month and a half of the season, his defense is next to bad and there will always be questions about his health. By dealing him before the July 31st deadline, the Sox will (probably) get a starting pitcher for the next 3-5 years and will hand over right field to their future slugger.

If they truly want to play according to their 'All In' slogan, then moving Carlos Quentin is the deal that has to be made.

~Poljak

It's like the old saying goes... "That's why they play the games"

I really hate old sayings.

I also really hate the way the Sox make me feel.

And I know I should know better by now, but I just can't stop myself from hoping and thinking that every White Sox win is going to be the one that triggers something in their heads and gets them playing the kind of baseball they are capable of playing. On paper, this is a team that should win the AL Central with relative ease and be a serious contender for the World Series. They have quality starting pitching, one of the better bullpens in baseball and enough offensive fire power from top to bottom that should scare opposing pitchers.

So here I am, all excited that the Sox just took two in a row from the Indians, putting them 2 games under .500 and four and a half out of first with a 3-game homestand against the first-place Tigers on deck, and I can't stop my feet from twitching with excitement at the mere thought of being a game and a half out of first on Thursday morning. I believe this homestand will be a winning homestand and the Sox will go on a run from now until September that will lock up the division for the first time since 2008. In fact, if I listen close enough I believe I can hear Journey in the background (and I smile.)

But in the back of my head is my logical, non-fan side yelling at me, calling me an idiot for believing that this year will be different from last. He's telling me that Adam Dunn is going to stay useless for the rest of the year and Alex Rios is going to look as confused at the plate and in the field as Forrest Gump in a strip club. I also can't seem to shake the thought that Jake Peavy is going to pull his best Atlee Hammaker imitation minutes after Edwin Jackson is traded and that the Twins will somehow find a way to win the division with a collection of guys that aren't even household names in their own homes (and then they'll get swept by the Yankees, and I'll smile).

I know I'm not alone here. There are thousands of Sox fans out there that feel just like me. We're hesitant to do what the marketing campaign says, to go 'All In'. The Sox haven't given us a reason to believe that a two-handed winning streak is possible (that's more than 5 games for the slower readers), not when their longest winning streak of 2011 is 4 games. They haven't been able to stay above .500 for more than a day since the season started and the uneasiness of Ozzie and Kenny's relationship has everyone wondering if this really is Guillen's last year on the southside.

Despite all the questions surrounding the team; despite the fact that they have so woefully underperformed through the first 100 games of the season; I still believe the best team on paper will emerge from the muck that is the AL Central and enter baseball's postseason a division winner and legitimate contender for the World Series.

And I'll smile.

~Poljak

If you're going to say it, then be an adult and stand behind it

I am flat out sick of any athlete, be it professional or not, who spouts off during an interview or while sitting at a computer only to come back with a half-hearted apology the next day. Anyone with a brain knows you don't really mean it when you say your comments were taken out of context or that you were just caught up in the heat of the moment and truly regret any harm your words may have caused. Every time an athlete comes out and issues an apology they sound like they just received an A in Crash Davis 'Apology Cliches 101' class.

The latest tough talker turned apathetic apologizer is James Harrison. You know, the guy that is considered one of the dirtiest players in the NFL... the same guy that was fined $100,000 last season for illegal hits... the badass that posed for his Men's Journal interview shirtless while holding 2 of his own guns across his chest... Yeah, this poster boy for toughness and kick assness (I like to make up words) said exactly what Professor Davis taught him:

"It was a careless use of a slang word and I apologize to all who were offended by the remark." And let's not forget about, "...but the handful of words that were used and heavily publicized yesterday were pulled out of a long conversation and the context was lost."

I'm not going to go into whether he was right or wrong for what he said or if he should have apologized for his words. Honestly, I don't care. What he said has no direct impact on me (other than prompting me to write this blog). I wasn't hurt or incensed by what he said; my bank account didn't suffer from it and my friends and family aren't going to look at me differently either. What I would like to see, and I know I'm dreaming here, is for an athlete to actually stand behind what he or she says and not issue the obligatory apology statement that is about as sincere as Cartman when he's being nice. 

If you honestly feel so strongly about something that you are willing to say it to someone with a recorder in their hand, then there is no reason for you to take it back. Be an adult and own up to your comments. Don't backtrack once your words become a national story and you're being slammed for sounding like an idiot.  Being tough is more than physical strength. It involves having the stones to make a statement and not back down from it. Calling out teammates and coaches to the media is the cowards way of venting your frustration. As adults and as professional athletes you should be man or woman enough to go up to that person and let them know exactly how you feel and not have to say you are sorry the next day.

Honestly, how do you look yourself in the mirror and call yourself an adult when you can't even stand behind your own words?

~Poljak