Levine: White Sox Non-Move Could Be A Plus
By Bruce Levine--
(CBS) -- Not having made a move for another player or pitcher is usually looked at as a negative when the non-wavier trading deadline comes and goes. In the case of the Chicago White Sox, this could be a good thing.
"They say sometimes the best move you make is none at all," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said about the trading deadline aftermath.
Girardi was talking about his club as it visited Chicago for a three-game series, but the theme of his conversation rings true for the White Sox as well. Chicago has won seven of its last eight games to get back into the conversation for a wild-card berth.
"You really like what you have been doing," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "When you look at it, you almost feel like by the way we have played, we already have traded for some guys."
The White Sox finished second to the New York Mets in the Yoenis Cespedes trade sweepstakes. The players asked for -- young prospects like Frank Montes and Tim Anderson -- were too steep of a price to pay for a two-month rental. That short-term team control is the duration of the Cespedes contract before he becomes a free agent. The White Sox decided to take a pass on the one-shot aspect of that approach.
"You know us well and how we operate," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "If we feel something makes sense, we are going to actively pursue it. I do think we may have passed on some opportunities that may have been short-sighted, that may have compromised us for an extended period. Our focus has been not to just jump up and win once. We want to try to be in this mix on an annual basis."
Hahn and executive vice president Kenny Williams are aggressive by the nature. They also take their direction from team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who wants to try and win every season. The failure of the team's offense the first three months had put the White Sox in the mode of selling before this recent winning surge. Still, any addition without direct players from the 25-man roster going back to another team would create people being benched for the new players.
"If we continue to play like we have, we will be just fine," Hahn said about standing pat at the deadline. "The schedule now gives us the opportunity to show we belong in the postseason. Over the last month we have shown we belong in the mix. Now we have to continue that."
The benching of Adam LaRoche would have been the end result of getting Cespedes from Detroit or Justin Upton from San Diego. Although LaRoche has failed to hit through 100 games (a .210 batting average), he's a leader and favorite among his teammates. These possible distractions can cause more harm than good in some clubhouses.
"I am proud of the fact we certainly left no stone unturned," Hahn emphasized. "Over the last several weeks we were in on many of the major multi-year fits that changed hands, and the several that did not. We were involved on some of the shorter-termed guys. There is still the potential to do that in August."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
