Garland Out, Cabrera In

Now it gets interesting. The first of perhaps many moves?

ChicagoSports.com:

Cabrera, an excellent shortstop who also is signed only through next season, is due $9 million; Garland is due $12 million. Normally the money goes to the team taking on salary, but Garland's trade value was so high that Williams was able to get cash even though he is shedding the bigger commitment. That almost never happens.

Williams compares the deal with the trade that sent Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino before the 2005 season. The difference between Lee's $8 million salary and the combined $1.85 million due Podsednik and Vizcaino allowed Williams to make some more moves, most notably signing A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando Hernandez.

It's clear Williams wants to sign one of two free-agent center fielders—Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand—and the extra flexibility will help. But the plan to add players through free agency runs deeper, and Williams is confident he can turn Garland into Cabrera and another player or two.

"The message I have been giving everyone we have targeted is we are 100 percent committed to winning a championship in 2008," Williams said Monday. "Yes, I always have my eye on the future, but I'll tell you this: Last year did not sit well with any of us. I'll be damned if we go through that again."

Let the Speculation Begin

21.5 games out of the Wild Card lead with seven games left to play, there isn't much of interest left to follow in the White Sox season this year. Let the offseason speculation begin...

Chicago Tribune:

...But with Cleveland on the verge of clinching the division for the first time since 2001, emphasis has shifted to how the Sox and Twins will regroup, whether it's Minnesota surviving the potential loss of All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter or how Sox general manager Ken Williams will revamp his roster after a disastrous 2007.

Williams hasn't been shy about making bold changes, such as reshaping the lineup that produced a 2005 World Series championship. A retooled bullpen was 2007's major alteration, but it collapsed two months into the season.

Manager Ozzie Guillen expects Williams to make more daring moves, but he doesn't expect first baseman Paul Konerko to be involved.

"I don't think Konerko is going to be one of the guys [traded]," Guillen said. "We don't know, but I don't see that coming. I see [pitcher Jon] Garland saying, 'I'm going to get traded.' I don't think that's the right comment because we don't know that.

"One thing about Kenny, he will let you know what you need to know. If we put any one of our five starters on the market, someone will take it. You have to be careful of that and say, 'Well, why do these people want to take it and we cannot keep it?'

"I'm not just talking about Garland. I understand why he thinks about it because it seems like every year he's been [rumored to be] traded. But we're not going to play dirty with guys who were important for us. We're not going to lie to people."

Garland on Trading Block, Floyd's Future Uncertain?

The Chicago Sun-Times is looking into the future and speculating that more changes in the White Sox pitching staff might be in the cards:

Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez seem to be bookends heading into 2008, while Jose Contreras and his two-year, $20 million contract seem to be the book no one wants -- nor can lift. Jon Garland has set the stage to be moved in the offseason, while rookie John Danks has the inside track to being the No. 5 starter.

But if Garland is moved, that leaves a hole. The hope was that Floyd would have shown enough to allow the Sox to trade Garland and not blink. Now they are hoping that youngsters such as Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert continue their fast tracks and no longer are counting on Floyd.

Garland, if you're wondering, is 8-10 with a 4.90 ERA this season and 90-78 with a 4.49 ERA.

One Down, Two to Go

The White Sox passed part one of their gut check tonight with a solid 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

From MLB.com's game wrap:

Tuesday's complete White Sox performance also reinforced one point that has been abundantly clear for most of the past two seasons. The American League Central title still goes through Chicago, although neither team appears ready to yield the division crown after one lopsided victory.

Neither side will admit that the White Sox (58-34) have moved inside the heads of the Tigers (62-31), despite a 6-1 record against Detroit in 2006, a 4-0 ledger at Comerica Park and a 12-2 mark over the last 14 played in Detroit.

"I don't think it's a psychological edge," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. "I think they've pitched better than we have and hit better than we have. Six times."

What the Sox got tonight, and what they'll need for the rest of the season was solid pitching. Garland continues to show signs that he just had a rough start and that last year wasn't an aberration. Now it is up to the rest of the rotation to shake off any rough outings and pick up the pace.

More from Scott Merkin, MLB.com:

Garland (9-3) won his fifth straight decision. He has not lost since June 8 at home against the Tigers. With 12 earned runs allowed in his last 38 1/3 innings -- a 2.82 earned run average over his last six starts -- Garland currently stands as the most consistent starter on the White Sox staff. The right-hander did nothing to hurt that status Tuesday, allowing one earned run on six hits over seven innings, striking out five and walking one.

Vazquez takes the ball tomorrow.

MLB.com: Entering his 18th start of the season Wednesday night, Javier Vazquez (9-4, 5.07) sits two wins short of 100 for his career and three losses short of 100. The right-hander is 2-0 with a 7.33 ERA in his last four starts and 1-3 with a 5.47 ERA lifetime against Detroit.