Loyalty At It's Finest

Okay, okay, okay. By now I'm sure most readers have heard of the trade between the Cubs and the White Sox. The particulars are Neal Cotts (*sarcasm alert* one of my FAVORITE pitchers) for David Aardsma and minor leaguer, Carlos Vasquez. Here are Jeeves' ChiSox Blog words on the numbers the two new Sox put up last season...

Neal Cotts is heading north, and in return we get bug-eyed David Aardsma and minor league reliever Carlos Vasquez. Vasquez, a 23 year-old lefty, had decent numbers in high-A ball and AA ball. In 85 innings he had a 2.75 ERA with 91 K's. In 45 appearances for the Cubs, Aardsma (who you may remember for replacing Hank Aaron as the player listed first alphabetically in basbeball history) had a 4.08 ERA. In 53 innings of work he had 49 K's and 28 BB's. He may not look like much, but his second half was markedly better, which bodes well. Post-ASB, he had a 3.12 ERA in 35.2 innings and had 35 K's along with 14 BB's.

A two-for-one trade usually means the solo tradee was the more valued of the participants, but as all Sox fans know, we have Don Cooper the magician to help smooth the ruff edges on any prospect in need of minor adjustments. If his mechanics are right, Aardsma throws in the mid '90s and would give the White Sox a back-ended bullpen featuring four flamethrowers. Last year Coop turned flame-out Matt Thornton into en fuego lefty in the matter of one spring training, so the hope for any pitching acquisition is at an even keel, 50/50 before he ever throws a pitch in a Sox uniform.

As for Carlos Vasquez, maybe the simple matter of an s replacing a z will mean money to the Sox. Yes, I refer to his homophonic brother, Javier. And don't give me the Vanilla Ice "...It's not the same thing..." crap about how to pronounce his name either. They sound exactly the same. And other than the sound of the name, I know nothing about 'Quez the Younger except what Jeeves has posted. But the current make up of the Sox pitching staff says he'll be in Birminghm or Charlotte come opening day rather than 35th & Shields. A worthy prospect or trade bait, perhaps?

As for Cotts and the Cubs, it's was nice of the White Sox to trade Neal up North so he'll not have to move out of wherever it is he lives during the season. And plying his trade in Wrigleyville, the bachelor will now have better access to all the gay clubs he wishes to attend. (That was in no way any slander toward the gay community. They might not even want Neal as one of their own.) By the way, being from Belleville, IL, a suburb of St. Louis, do you think the Kenny Williams had a sly smile on his face knowing he traded a boyhood Cardinals fan to its hated rival?

"Thanks for all your help, Neal. Now feel the pain of 2006 when you go home in the off-season wearing that Cubs uniform."

Hows that for loyalty?