White Sox Mum at Trade Deadline, Still a Factor in AL Central

The Tigers added Jarrod Washburn. rift gold The Twins added Orlando Cabrera. The Indians have apparently added a bevy of young talent in the Cliff Lee and (rumored) Victor Martinez deals. Where are the White Sox moves?

Be careful what you wish for. The White Sox were the first of the AL Central teams to make an early deadline deal this year, sending Brandon Allen (a top 100 prospect) to the Diamondbacks for Tony Pena (a middle reliever). Rift Gold Given the price that the Sox have paid this year, if middle relievers cost a Top 100 prospect, then you'd expect the Sox to pay something like a Top 50 prospect (Tyler Flowers) for a position player, and more if that player was actually any good.

Take an honest assessment of the White Sox roster. What are their biggest weaknesses?

In a cruel ironic twist, the Sox have capably filled their glaring holes this year to keep their ship afloat at a game above .500. Gordon Beckham has cemented 3rd base. Scott Podsednik, who's probably not a great bet to maintain his performance, has done more than any reasonable Sox fan could have hoped for. RIFT Platinum They've had about 4 different pitchers give them quality starts from the back-end of the rotation. Everytime there has been an "Oh, crap!" situation, someone has easily slid in to guard against any more Lillibridge/Betemit-like embarrassments.

Making that irony even more cruel, is the Sox glaring mediocrity. The Sox haven't had their entire club on the field and performing well at the same time. There has always been someone on the DL, underperforming, or just plain in need of replacement. rift gold KW has ably filled those holes in a giant game of Whack-A-Mole, but now the Sox are as healthy as they've been all year, and have trimmed most of the useless fat from their roster. It's time for the team to perform.

Sure they could have upgraded with a real center fielder like Alex Rios or found a more dependable back-end of the rotation arm like Jon Garland. But at what price?

I've been preaching taking the Stand Pat approach for a couple of months now. RIFT Platinum I'm not going to be a hypocrite and suddenly lament Kenny Williams' inability to make my Friday afternoon more exciting. The Sox can (and will) still compete for the AL Central title this year, regardless of their inactivity and the respective moves of their rivals.