The White Sox were finally able to pull off a deal to get Jake Peavy to Chicago.  The trade sent Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell to San Diego for the former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy.  On the surface this deal seems like a great move for the Sox but it may not work out too well in the end.  Currently Peavy sits on the DL and could return by late August according to various reports.  If the Sox don’t lose too much ground before then they can really do some damage with what would be the best rotation in the AL Central.

Based on some initial reactions from fans, it seems the approval of the trade is 50/50.  There are concerns that Peavy will not be able to dominate AL hitters like he did in the NL while pitching in a pitchers friendly park.  Second, it’s rumored that he may be a long way off from returning from the DL.  There also appear to be concerns over his durability, which is surprising considering he has on average started over 30 games his last 6 seasons with a low of 27.  Generally, he is in a healthy condition.

Overall, the Sox made a pretty good deal here considering who they gave up to bring a Cy Young winner to the team.  If he ends up not pitching at all this year or not pitching well due to the injury, the White Sox can look forward to having him healthy next season and benefiting from a big time rotation.

Time will tell if this deal was beneficial for the White Sox.  There was some potential with Clayton Richard, but Jake Peavy is a Cy Young winner with great talent at only 28 years old.  If he can’t help the team this year, the future will determine whether or not this deal was worth making or not.  His numbers may not be the same now that he will be pitching in the AL, but he still ads an element that the Sox needed in their rotation and on their team as a whole.

White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle just wrote himself into the history books by throwing the 18th perfect game in baseball history.  I was only able to catch the last 3 innings of his work but could easily tell he had some of the best stuff any pitcher has brought to the mound.  He was in complete control and dominating hitters like it was nothing.

This has big implications for Mark.  Currently, he is sitting on 132 career wins at age 30.  He will unlikely reach the coveted 300 wins that the Hall of Fame tends to look for.  However, with a world series ring, a no hitter, and  a perfect game under his belt, he is as good a candidate as anyone if he can keep winning.

Also, he should be taking Dewayne Wise out for dinner tonight after Wise robbed Gabe Kapler of a home run to keep the perfect game.  Maybe he should buy him some hitting lessons as well.  It was a great catch indeed, but I thought hawk needed to settle down after calling it the greatest catch he had ever seen.  Luckily, he did and eventually called it the greatest catch under the circumstances.  I can’t disagree with Hawk on that one.

Today was a fine display of pitching dominance.  Congrats to Buehrle.

The All-Star break is finally here.  Meanwhile, both Chicago baseball teams are struggling to play good consistent ball and take control of their respective divisions.  The Cubs and Sox have both clearly underperformed this season, but they are both in position to make a run in the second half of the season.

I just don’t see it happening for either team though.  If the Cubs can get their offense rolling, they should be able to capture the division because it is so weak.  However, I fear that their offensive struggles will continue for the remainder of the season.  Analysts keep saying that it will turn around, but I think that is just blind hope.  The struggles could very easily continue.  As far as the Sox are concerned, they just need to play more consistent baseball, starting with their starting rotation.  Floyd and Danks have been under performing a bit, and Contreras is shaky at best.  Contreras has had some good starts recently, but over the course of the remaining season he will continue to struggle.

Mid-Season Awards

MVP: Jermaine Dye.

Jermaine Dye is hitting .302, with 20 homers and 55 RBIs.  How he didn’t make the All-Star roster just goes to show how ridiculous the voting is, especially when Josh Hamilton got in with his .243 average, 6 home runs and 24 RBIs.  Dye has been on a roll all season long, and is one of few bright spots that the Sox offense has this season.

Cy Young: Ted Lilly

As Matt Williams wrote at Blog Chicago Sports, Mark Buehrle has the edge in the win loss stat (9-3 vs 9-6), but Lilly has the numbers in most other categories.  Ted Lilly has the advantage in strikeouts, walks, ERA, WHIP, and BAA.  Lilly is holding batters to a .242 average compared to Buehrle’s .260.  Also, each pitcher has started 18 games, with Lilly earning 14 quality starts and Buehrle only 11.  Arguments will be made for Buehrle, but looking at the numbers, you can’t argue against Lilly.

Rookie of the Year: Randy Wells

This one is a no brainer.  Wells has simply been great for the Cubs this year, posting a 2.72 ERA, a 4-4 record, and a WHIP of 1.12.  The win-loss record is deceiving though.  In Wells’ first two starts he did not allow a run and did not factor into the decision due to a lack of Cub hitting.  In his next two starts, he allowed a combined 5 runs (all earned) in a combined 14 innings.  Early on he just wasn’t getting the run support from the Cubs offense.  If the offense was able to get him some support, he could easily have a 6-2 record or even better.

Most Improved Player: Paul Konerko

After a disappointing season last year, Konerko has turned it around and is again a serious offensive threat.  He is batting .302, with 16 long balls and 60 RBIs.  He is only 3 RBIs away from passing his 2008 total of 62.

Coach of the Year: None

Lou Piniella does not have a shot at this award, especially after leaving Soriano in the lead off spot well after his struggles were beyond embarassing.  Ozzie Guillen also does not deserve consideration simply because when his team is struggling he feels it is more important to be criticizing other ball parks and teams.  That’s definitely great managing.