Pena for Allen

Time to evaluate the most recent trade.

At first, I was rather upset to see this deal happen. Brandon Allen has been doing well for the White Sox in the minors, and I saw him as being a contributor as soon as next year. I honestly liked the thought of Konerko staying at 1B for the most part, meaning that Fields and Allen would share time at DH. The Allen move might mean that Thome or Dye will be brought back to DH next year, or it could be a sign that Quentin or Flowers will be in a DH/1B role for the Sox soon. Anyway, with Viciedo failing at 3B and Flowers lacking at C, we still have some slugging 1B/DH depth.

Tony Pena is a good pitcher, but in my eyes Brandon Allen was worth more. Of course, Pena is a proven major league talent, cheap and under control for the next several years, and the Sox might see something in him that Cooper can fix. It is quite possible that Pena provides more value for Chicago than Allen does for Arizona.

I'm now viewing this the way I view most of Kenny Williams's trades: it looks like it could be a good deal, so I'll just have to wait and see how he knew better than I.

Arizona likes to trade for White Sox 1B prospects. Last year they acquired Chris Carter in the Carlos Quentin trade. Carter is now in the Oakland system due to the Dan Haren trade.

I'm not sure what Pena's purpose is at this point. I see two possibilities. 1) He is the heir apparent to Octavio Dotel, whether he leaves this offseason or at the trade deadline. Or 2) Scott Linebrink is reduced to lower-leverage situations, Dotel is promoted to the 8th inning with Thornton, and Pena fits in alongside/over Linebrink and Carrasco.

I have to assume that Gobble will be the corresponding roster move. With Poreda performing well, we don't really need the third lefty in the 'pen. A possible use for Gobble: the Cubs might be looking for a lefty reliever so that Sean Marshall can start, now that Ryan Dempster is injured. Not sure what we'd get in a swap, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Gobble go the way of Cotts, to the North side.

Speaking of lefties, I'm wondering whether Randy Williams will get his chance. He impressed during spring training, but I haven't heard anything about him since. I checked at one point, and he was on Charlotte's roster, meaning we kept him after spring training. I'll look into it later, but I wonder how he's playing.

That's all for now.

My MLB All-Star Roster

While I'm at it, let's set up an all-MLB All-Star team.

Starters
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
2B Chase Utley, PHI
1B Albert Pujols, STL
LF Raul Ibanez, PHI
C Joe Mauer, MIN
3B Brandon Inge, DET
RF Justin Upton, ARI
CF Adam Jones, BAL
P Zack Greinke, KC

Bench
C/1B Victor Martinez, CLE
C Brian McCann, ATL
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
2B Adam Kennedy, OAK
2B Ian Kinsler, TEX
SS Jason Bartlett, TB
3B Evan Longoria, TB
IF/OF Ben Zobrist, TB
OF Ryan Braun, MIL
OF Carl Crawford, TB
OF Matt Kemp, LAD

Bullpen
SP Tim Lincecum, SF
SP Roy Halladay, TOR
SP Dan Haren, ARI
SP Justin Verlander, DET
SP Josh Johnson, FLA
SP Javier Vazquez, ATL
SP Felix Hernandez, SEA
RP Jonathan Broxton, LAD
RP Frank Francisco, TEX
RP Joe Nathan, MIN
RP Scott Downs, TOR
RP Heath Bell, SD

My NL All-Star Roster

Starters
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA
2B Chase Utley, PHI
1B Albert Pujols, STL
LF Raul Ibanez, PHI
RF Justin Upton, ARI
3B David Wright, NYM
CF Matt Kemp, LAD
C Brian McCann, ATL
P Tim Lincecum, SF

Bench
C Yadier Molina, STL
C John Baker, FLA
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD
1B Prince Fielder, MIL
2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT
2B Brandon Phillips, CIN
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WAS
OF Ryan Braun, MIL
OF Andre Ethier, LAD
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF Mike Cameron, MIL

Bullpen
SP Dan Haren, ARI
SP Josh Johnson, FLA
SP Javier Vazquez, ATL
SP Ubaldo Jimenez, COL
SP Joel Pineiro, STL
SP Chad Billingsley, LAD
SP Ted Lilly, CHC
RP Jonathan Broxton, LAD
RP Heath Bell, SD
RP Rafael Soriano, ATL
RP Mike Gonzalez, ATL
RP Ryan Franklin, STL

My AL All-Star Roster

Starters
LF Carl Crawford, TB
2B Adam Kennedy, OAK
C Joe Mauer, MIN
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS
RF Jason Bay, BOS
3B Brandon Inge, DET
CF Adam Jones, BAL
SS Jason Bartlett, TB
P Zack Greinke, KC

Bench
DH/OF Adam Lind, TOR
C/1B Victor Martinez, CLE
C Mike Napoli, LAA
1B Justin Morneau, MIN
2B Ian Kinsler, TEX
SS Marco Scutaro, TOR
3B Evan Longoria, TB
3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY
IF/OF Ben Zobrist, TB
OF Shin-Soo Choo, CLE
OF Torii Hunter, LAA
OF Matt Holliday, OAK

Bullpen
SP Roy Halladay, TOR
SP Justin Verlander, DET
SP Felix Hernandez, SEA
SP Cliff Lee, CLE
SP A. J. Burnett, NYY
SP Mark Buerhle, CHW
SP Josh Beckett, BOS
RP Frank Francisco, TEX
RP Joe Nathan, MIN
RP Mariano Rivera, NYY
RP Scott Downs, TOR
RP Joakim Soria, KC

National League later..

Is this a playoff team?

No one's exactly sure what's going to happen when Quentin gets back, but one would assume Podsednik becomes more or less the everyday center fielder. One should also expect that all three outfielders will need their off days. Podsednik has been healthy so far, but with his history, I'm thinking Ozzie will still sit him sometimes once Quentin is back. So...

CF Podsednik
SS Ramirez
RF Dye
DH Thome
1B Konerko
LF Quentin
C Pierzynski
3B Beckham
2B Getz

That might be our most regular lineup, depending of course on how strong Quentin is. If Quentin is 2008 MVP TCQ, then he'll find his way up the order.

An all-right-handed lineup we might see from time to time:

2B Nix
SS Ramirez
RF Dye
DH Konerko
LF Quentin
3B Beckham
C Castro
1B Fields
CF Anderson

And if we have to rest both Quentin and Dye:

LF Podsednik
SS Ramirez
1B Konerko
DH Thome
3B Beckham
C Pierzynski
RF Nix
2B Getz
CF Anderson

The exact order is hard to predict, so I set up a Lefty/Righty alternation.

Those lineups don't scare me as much as some would*, but is this a playoff lineup?

*4/18
2B Lillibridge
3B Fields
LF Quentin
RF Dye
DH Konerko
1B Betemit
SS Ramirez
CF Anderson
C Miller
4/25
2B Lillibridge
3B Fields
LF Quentin
DH Dye
1B Konerko
C Miller
RF Anderson
SS Ramirez
CF Owens
or any lineup with Lillibridge, Betemit playing 3rd, and Miller

My main worry has been, who will bat leadoff if Podsednik is out for a couple weeks, since this offense seems to work only if the leadoff hitter hits. Getz is capable of stepping in decently, and now Nix looked comfortable in that role for a day. That might not say much, but it does mean we have some options.

If Quentin struggles when he comes up, does he share time with Brian Anderson? Podsednik-Anderson-Dye is a much stronger defensive outfield than Quentin-Podsednik-Dye.

Getz, Beckham, and Nix have all been hitting pretty well lately, and Anderson and Fields have also been pretty good. Will this mish-mash be strong enough down the stretch? I'm thinking it just might.