Jake Peavy On The South Side: Who, Me Worry?

(Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

I'm worried about Jake Peavy.

No, this is not another "rag on Kenny" article. Kenny Williams is, in my humble opinion, one of the better GMs in the American League. A baseball fan cannot ask for more from his team than to give the players a chance to win.

This is a memo to White Sox fans and management. An open letter, if you will. Here are some points and some problems to ponder as Sox fans wait for September—and "The Savior"—with bated breath.

I'm worried about Clayton Richard, a 25-year old lefty with a good change-up, a sick slider, and a solid fastball. In his last two starts, he pitched a combined 16 innings and gave up only two home runs and four walks against Tampa Bay and Detroit. In time, he could become a very solid started for the Padres.

I'm worried about Aaron Poreda, the 6-foot-5 hard-throwing lefty. Although getting an inexplicably small amount of playing time, he performed well in a late-inning setup role, showing high velocity on his fastballs and confidence in his pitches.

Now returns home to the west coast where he will be helped by the black hole that is the Petco outfield in San Diego.

I'm worried about Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf. The story goes that Reinsdorf had to be coaxed into the deal by Williams and White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn.

Peavy's contract forces the small-market, big-city White Sox to pony up $48 million over the final three years of his contract, plus a $22 million club option in 2013. The move certainly restricts Chicago's movements this offseason, as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could all possibly walk after this season.

This is a gamble in the sense that the "South Siders" must figure out what to do with the four to six starts that Peavy will miss. Carlos Torres performed well enough in his season debut to deserve another crack at the starting lineup: at least until The Savior comes back to the mound.

This is a gamble that Williams takes without flinching, which to Sox fans is both admirable and painful to watch.

"How can he make that move so easily? He must be insane," they exclaim.

Insane enough to bring the Sox their first World Series title in eight decades.

And finally, I admit, I'm worried about Jake Peavy. At this point, his right ankle has to have atrophied a bit. It requires substantial work to get him back into game shape, although White Sox fans should be thankful it has nothing to do with a tendon or a shoulder.

I worry about Peavy's effectiveness come September, when he will be back on the mound again.

Will the Sox be able to keep up with the Twins and the Tigers? Detroit has shored up its pitching staff with Jarrod Washburn, and the Twins have filled a hole in their infield with Orlando Cabrera. The Sox offense has come alive against the New York Yankees in the first three games of the series, winning in a walk-off and two blow-outs.

One thought that crossed my mind as I watched Gordon Beckham slam a run in on national television was how different of a position the White Sox are in now than they were in May, when Williams first tried to stoke the fires of trade talks with the Padres. Peavy sat at home, thought about it, and watched the Sox get absolutely annihilated by the Minnesota Twins at home.

Not exactly good timing for a 20+ run loss.

But the White Sox have a healthy Carlos Quentin, a star-in-the-making in Beckham, and a core of established veterans sure to lend a helping hand to a very, very green Chris Getz and Jayson Nix. The White Sox offense has come around as I expected it to. The pitching has been consistent.

Yet, still I worry. I worry about a lot of things when it comes to the Jake Peavy deal.

But one thing I do not waste my time worrying about is when Peavy is finally on the mound for Chicago. To quote Williams, "[Peavy] has some of the best stuff in baseball." Peavy is a consistent threat for 10 strikeouts a game; he will strengthen a scary one-through-four pitching rotation as the pennant race heats up.

Kenny Williams says he made the trade to win. He says he wants to play with the big boys. He has said time and time again that he wanted to bring two championships to the south side.

Two championships? Whoa.

Who, me worry? Nah.

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