By Phil Rogers
The White Sox are giving up right-handed pitchers John Ely and Jon Link to get Juan Pierre from the Dodgers, according to a report by Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.
These are not "throw-in'' type guys, especially Ely, a graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School who was 14-2 at Double-A Birmingham last season.
If this is true, give Dodgers GM Ned Colletti credit for getting a real return on Pierre, who often seemed like an overpaid fourth outfielder in the first three seasons of his five-year, $45 million deal with Los Angeles.
The White Sox are giving up right-handed pitchers John Ely and Jon Link to get Juan Pierre from the Dodgers, according to a report by Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.
These are not "throw-in'' type guys, especially Ely, a graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School who was 14-2 at Double-A Birmingham last season.
If this is true, give Dodgers GM Ned Colletti credit for getting a real return on Pierre, who often seemed like an overpaid fourth outfielder in the first three seasons of his five-year, $45 million deal with Los Angeles.
It could not immediately be confirmed with the White Sox that Ely and
Link are the two minor-leaguers going to the Dodgers in the deal. It
wouldn't be a shock if they are, as neither were considered to be high
on GM Ken Williams' radar.
But it would be a shame for the White Sox to lose Ely without ever seeing if he could make the success he's had in high school, at Ohio University and then in the minor leagues translate to the big leagues. He's a very good pitcher, but lacks the high-profile tools that would make him a top prospect.
But it would be a shame for the White Sox to lose Ely without ever seeing if he could make the success he's had in high school, at Ohio University and then in the minor leagues translate to the big leagues. He's a very good pitcher, but lacks the high-profile tools that would make him a top prospect.








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if every editor wrote like you believe me the world would be a better place! this was an excellent read expecting more!
if every editor wrote like you believe me the world would be a better place! this was an excellent read expecting more!
if every editor wrote like you believe me the world would be a better place! this was an excellent read expecting more!
This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
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This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
What's happend? I have to keep Refreshing the page to even be able to view the post can someone fix this issue please?
This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
What's happend? I have to keep Refreshing the page to even be able to view the post can someone fix this issue please?
What's happend? I have to keep Refreshing the page to even be able to view the post can someone fix this issue please?
This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
This page wasnt working earlier i tried accesing it but it timed out 4-5 times now i can access it. Why Does this happen? Am i the only one having this issue?
John Ely went to Miami University, not Ohio Oniversity. BIG difference!
I just wish that I had permission to make any trades.
Phil Rogers has done nothing but criticize KW since he first became Sox GM. Obviously a jealous Cubs fan hiding behing that bi-line! Every trade is a bad one and yet we don't see any of the traded players in an all star game or making any kind of name for themselves. Meanwhile Sox hava a World Series and a couple of division crowns to show for Williams' efforts. Get ready to eat crow Phil because division championship # 3 is coming in 2010.
Phil Rogers has done nothing but criticize KW since he first became Sox GM. Obviously a jealous Cubs fan hiding behing that bi-line! Every trade is a bad one and yet we don't see any of the traded players in an all star game or making any kind of name for themselves. Meanwhile Sox hava a World Series and a couple of division crowns to show for Williams' efforts. Get ready to eat crow Phil because division championship # 3 is coming in 2010.
That's why you Silly Cub fans are clueless because how have those players done? Stay with your team and get a clue.
"The White Sox are giving up right-handed pitchers John Ely and Jon Link to get Juan Pierre from the Dodgers, according to a report by Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports."
"It could not immediately be confirmed with the White Sox that Ely and Link are the two minor-leaguers going to the Dodgers in the deal."
Why would you write something criticizing the Sox GM's moves when they haven't been confirmed? Wow. I thought the forums were bad, but this is bush league. Please change the title to "Chicago Breaking Sports Rumors," please. That would be more honest. Don't we, as readers, deserve that?
Really? You can't get Ely's college right?
He went to Miami University.
Giving up Ely is a gamble, but Pierre is a proven commodity, and you have to give up something to get what you want. What's disturbing is how few prospects, especially pitchers, the Sox actually hold on to and develop until they reach the majors. Even if they are a rare one who makes it, they become trade bait, like Clayton Richards. In contrast, some small market teams, like the Twins and Marlins, seem to have a constant parade of excellent talent they develop entirely themselves.
The Sox need another bat, preferably a left-handed bat with power. It doesn't have to plug in at DH. Carlos Quentin could well be the DH. The Andruw Jones of three years ago would make a great corner outfielder, but he's old, coming off steroids and washed up. Who's still out there on the free agent list, or who can we get in trade for Bobby Jenks?
@Yanks in 09 and 10: it's not White Sox fans who are stupid, it's the Sox front office that doesn't have a clue. Probably half the posters here could make more intelligent moves than Kenny Williams. Williams couldn't rely on his farm system if his life depended on it. He is all smoke and mirrors, thinking he's a suave wheeler dealer. In the end, you get what you pay for.
I agree with Rogers here. Giving up Ely is a lot to give up for an aging player who relies on speed. When Pierre signed with the Dodgers, it was nearly unanimous amongst analysts that the deal was bad because Pierre's legs would start to break down on him around the 4th and 5th year of the deal. Time will soon tell if they were right.
Do Sox fans not understand organizational depth? Yes, they have a solid rotation with Peavy, Buehrle, Danks, Floyd and Hudson... but Peavy has had serious health issues the past few years, missing significant time, while Hudson has done nothing to prove he can maintain the tremendous success he had during his first year of pro ball. As good as Hudson was last year, the jury is still out on him.
Who pitches if Peavy gets hurt and/or Hudson reverts to his college form, Carlos Torres?
They've already dealt Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, Dexter Carter and Clay Richard ... and now they're trading Ely and Link. The cupboard is darn near empty here with arms.
Keep this in mind as well -
-The team has traded away their top two pitching prospects in each of the past two seasons (Gonzalez and De Los Santos to Oakland in 2008 for Nick Swisher ... Poreda and Richard to SD for Peavy last season) ... and now they've already dealt their #2 pitching prospect (Ely) this year.
-The team has drafted two first-round busts in the past 5 years. The failure of Broadway and McCulloch to develop already put the team behind the 8-ball when it came to pitching depth.
As for Cubs fan disliking Pierre - Team MVP? Come on. Watch the game as opposed to just looking up the final numbers. The guy had a .286 on-base percentage in the first two months of the season when the Cubs fell out of the race. He put up nice numbers by the end of the year, but most of them were put up when the division was out of reach.
Phil
Ely went to Miami of Ohio, not Ohio University, but then again they're probably the same thing....
I'm not sure how much this hurts the white sox. Ely was looking to be a solid prospect, but if he was projecting out to be a starter, the white sox are set 1-4 for at least the next 2-3 years. There is another 2-3 guys ahead of Ely for the 5th starter position. So it was either he ends up in the bullpen or waits til 2015 to be a starter. Let him go to the Dodgers and we can get him back in 7-8 years when hes a free agent and fully developed.
I like getting juan pierre since he was a better option than coco crisp. Giving up john ely who was 14-2 at class aa birmington with a good strike out to balls 125 to 50 ratio is too much. However, the sox seem to have enough pitching and ely probably wouldn't be coming up for a couple of years, so i guess it was a good deal. They still need a lefthanded power hitter and if they can use konerko and /or quentin to get one we would be in great shape.
Ely may be great..
then again he can blow his arm out this summer in the minors, or he could win 20 games, who knows? But the Sox have plenty of pitching at the moment but NEED a lead off hitter... BADLY... Pierre needs to get on base, he just stinks at driving runs in, but really most lead off hitters don't drive alot of runs in...
But if he can bunt, sacrifice, be a contact hitter then all is well.
As for someone using Gio Gonzalez as an example when he wins more than 10 games in a season in the bigs I'll be a bit concerned but until then the Swish trade was what it was, a bad trade.. for both parties, but like the one commentor, right now the A's are getting a better deal out of it.
But look at Royce Ring, Jeremy Reed, Lance Broadway, and other ex sox who stink on ice.. so it is like any other teams' trades, some are bad, some are good. I mean The Sox gave up Chris young for Vasquez, but Vasquez netted Flowers... and Chris Young came back to earth last season so I do not hear anyone bringing his name up in the list of regrets... So Prospects are just that.. PROSPECTS
Please keep posting Cubs fans. You guys prove time and time again how ignorantly skewed your perspective on baseball truly is. Just because the Cubs went 66-96 in the only season he played for you guys, doesn't mean he was horrible. He played all 162 games and led the team in at bats. He finished first in hits, second in runs scored, second in doubles, fifth in RBIs as a lead off hitter, and stole 58 bases. If it wasn't for the season Aramis had Pierre would of been your MVP. The team stunk because of poor pitching and an injured Derrek Lee, but of course lets blame it on a guy who didn't live up to your overinflated expectations. Cubs fans get so excited every time they acquire a new player. They think this is going to be the guy that helps us break the curse. The team tanks for reasons that don't even relate to that player, and its time to run him out of town and put our hopes in a new savior.
Please keep posting Cubs fans. You guys prove time and time again how ignorantly skewed your perspective on baseball truly is. Just because the Cubs went 66-96 in the only season he played for you guys, doesn't mean he was horrible. He played all 162 games and led the team in at bats. He finished first in hits, second in runs scored, second in doubles, fifth in RBIs as a lead off hitter, and stole 58 bases. If it wasn't for the season Aramis had Pierre would of been your MVP. The team stunk because of poor pitching and an injured Derrek Lee, but of course lets blame it on a guy who didn't live up to your overinflated expectations. Cubs fans get so excited every time they acquire a new player. They think this is going to be the guy that helps us break the curse. The team tanks for reasons that don't even relate to that player, and its time to run him out of town and put our hopes in a new savior.
I like Juan Pierre as a hard working player and stand up guy, but I don't think he's really that great anymore. The Cubs were happy to let him go and the Dodgers were ready to get rid of him almost immediately after signing him. I'm not sure he's worth counting on as your everyday starter in the field. He shows up to play... he just doesn't play all that well. With Pierre and Rios out there and no more Dye, I'm not sure that outfield is really that intimidating. But hey, I could be wrong, we'll see, good luck Sox.
QUOTE: Rumor is Kenny has a big move coming to get us more power. He just needs to make one more move and has 3 more months to make it.
I wonder if the big move is either Beltre, Adrian Gonzalez, or Jim Thome...
Brian U,
When you don't proofread your comment that's actually criticizing someone else's poor comment formatting, you look like an idiot and your contenT loses value. Just sayin'.
The planet has a face? I don't know. Seems to me the Sox are desperate to find anyone who can be average or better to lead off. They do not seem to be lacking in pitching prospects, at least, not as much as most other clubs are. So, maybe it's a good trade. I will never understand the Rios thing. Maybe they thought, "Wow... what if we teach him how to stand at the plate? If he can hit nearly .200 with a stance like that, he's gotta be pretty good." So someone make him stand right already. It drives me crazy. If a little leaguer stood like that, every parent in the place would roll their eyes and start thinking, "Okay, after this guy strikes out..." Come to think of it, that's what most people in the stands did last year.
Rogers constantly talks with two faces.
He slams the organization for its lack of talent, yet cries when they trade away players for proven veterans.
Seriously . . . Kenny Williams has made about the most trades of any GM over the past decade. What prospects have they traded away they have been blue-chip players?
Fogg? A fifth starter? Rauch, a decent bullpen guy? Even the Chris Young deal doesn't look as bad, since he's morphed into Corey Patterson.
As far as I'm concerned, the Sox can trade away most of their prospects, because, for whatever reason, they don't pan out. And you know that.
Paul,
when you capitalize every word you look like an idiot and your contend loses value.
The Trade Isn't Even Finalized And Rogers Is Already Criticizing It. Jon Link Is The Epitome Of A "Throw-in" Type Of Guy. Neither Pitcher Will Ever Be An Impact Major Leaguer. And What The Heck Is Wrong With Getting a Leadoff Man Who Can Steal Bases, Hit For Average, Lay Down A Bunt, And Actually Knows How To Run The Bases? Not To Mention Being A Well Respected Professional On And Off The Field.
"John McCain on December 15, 2009 12:40 PM
Pierre was absolutely horrible on the North Side. Good character guy, but just not an every day player."
Pierre's numbers with the Cubs: .292, 58 SBs and 204 hits (to lead the NL). Yeah that really sucks for a leadoff hitter. Soriano's .240 with 10 SBs and 3 months on the DL is much better for leadoff.
This is a good pick off for the Sox. Steve Stone said it on the Score earlier: Pierre will give you the stolen bases like Pods, but not the baserunning mistakes. Stone also called him the best bunter in the bigs. Is he a stud? No. But he's better than Pods or Coco Crisp (or putting Beckham at leadoff).
Rumor is Kenny has a big move coming to get us more power. He just needs to make one more move and has 3 more months to make it.
Two years ago, Rogers also said the Sox would regret trading Gio Gonzalez to Oakland. Think he gave up about 8 runs to the Sox last time they faced him.
D'oh! My fellow H-F grad looks to be headed west...I loved the fact that he was in the Sox system but looked to be a long shot to get brought up any time soon. Got to see him in Birmingham last year and he has some good stuff. I like a team player like Pierre but I hope that Kenny didnt give away an up and coming local product. Time will tell...
Pierre was absolutely horrible on the North Side. Good character guy, but just not an every day player.
the fact that phil rogers is against it makes me very happy as a sox fan. Phil is the dumbest person on the face of the planet.
if we are giving up John Ely for juan. thats too much.
but lets move on to trading the slowly paul konerko. for miguel cabrera or adrain gonzales. then watch out baseball cause here comes the sox.
As a Cubs fan, I have to say ARE YOU CRAZY! Do NOT trade for Pierre!! Especially with those prospects!