MLB chicago White Sox

The champagne is barely dry in the Yankees clubhouse, but the business of 2010 is already well under way. Three trades are in the books, a number of players have already filed for free agency and Bobby Abreu has a new deal with the Angels.

In that vein, three clubs made decisions on contract options Friday as they held on to star players for next year. The Phillies and Diamondbacks both picked up the options they held on ace pitchers Cliff Lee and Brandon Webb, respectively, while the White Sox bought out right fielder Jermaine Dye.

Chicago's World Series MVP in 2005, Dye, who will turn 36 in January, was due to make $12 million in 2010. He'll instead receive $950,000 from the White Sox and hit the open market.

The rumors started early on Thursday morning that the Kansas City Royals had agreed to trade Mark Teahen to the Chicago White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Neither team would confirm the deal throughout the day, but 24 hours later it has become official.

Teahen and cash will be heading to Chicago for Getz and Fields. While it can't be known for sure, odds are the amount of cash the White Sox will receive from the Royals for the arbitration eligible Teahen is what kept the trade from being completed for 24 hours.

The Chicago White Sox have no chance of getting to the playoffs this season as the AL Central is only a two-horse race between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. They do have a chance to play a deciding role in who will win the division, though, since they have a few games remaining against the Tigers.

One of those games came Saturday night as Ozzie's team blew a 5-0 lead and gave up 12 straight runs to the Tigers, who were able to pick up the come-from-behind win and maintain their two-game lead on the Twins. While the loss itself didn't bother manager Ozzie Guillen all that much, the fact that his players were watching college football in the clubhouse immediately after the game sent the Sox manager on a tirade.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Brad Lidge problem is back again.

Lidge on Wednesday blew a save for the 11th time -- most in the NL in 11 years -- as the Phillies lost 7-6 to the Marlins.

He entered for the bottom of the ninth, after Ross Gload's leadoff double, got two outs. But Hanley Ramirez walked, Jorge Cantu singled and Brett Carroll singled to hand Lidge the loss.

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As a whole, the baseball season in Chicago has been a disappointment. The Cubs were expected to contend for a World Series title only to be thrown off track by injuries and Milton Bradley, while on the other side of town the White Sox have failed to exceed expectations. As is usually the case when this happens to large-market teams, wholesale changes are made.

The White Sox parted ways with Jim Thome and 2005 World Series hero Jose Contreras, and it's likely other players such as Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks and Paul Konerko could be following them out of town this winter. Still, that doesn't mean everybody in the White Sox organization is leaving.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the White Sox may be out of the playoff race, but Jake Peavy still gave them something to get excited about. Peavy made his much-anticipated White Sox debut, pitching five effective innings to beat the Royals.

Peavy gave up three runs and his command was shaky, but he consistently threw his fastball in the low 90s. He threw 73 pitches, only 20 in his last two innings.

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When White Sox general manager Kenny Williams pulled off a late shocker minutes before the MLB trade deadline back on July 31 to land injured starter Jake Peavy, he had two motives in mind. One was that adding Peavy, who is signed through 2012 with a club option for 2013, to his team's rotation leaves the White Sox set to contend in the AL Central for years to come. The other was that should Peavy be able to return from his ankle injury quick enough, he might be able to help the White Sox reach the playoffs this season.

Well, seeing as how it's the middle of September and the White Sox are 5 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, it's probably too late for Peavy to make a playoff push. Still, the team isn't giving up and White Sox fans can get a sneak peak at the team's future this Saturday in Chicago when Peavy makes his White Sox debut.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The White Sox, Rays and Marlins aren't irrelevant yet.

All three teams faced near must-win games Wednesday, and all came through -- late.

Chicago, which would have fallen eight games out in the AL Central and 4 1/2 behind second-place Minnesota, rallied against Twins closer Joe Nathan with four runs in the ninth for a 4-2 victory.

"Hopefully we start playing better and have a little more fun, at least have a little more fun," [Sox manager Ozzie] Guillen said. "You think we're out [of post-season contention]. People think we're out, just go out there and enjoy it. Hopefully things turn around."

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As you may have read yesterday, Jim Thome was awarded to the Los Angeles Dodgers like so much sassy Sapphire, reuniting him with former Indians teammate Manny Ramirez. In the Dugout universe (which is the real universe, because we are somehow still convincing people that these are legitimate transcripts) this is big news, and in yesterday's episode the two realistically-portrayed superstars took off across the country on a bicycle built for two to rebuild the 1997 Cleveland Indians in 2009 Los Angeles and reclaim the World Series ring that was rightfully theirs.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Part 2 is after the jump.

A month after they shocked the baseball world by adding Jake Peavy at the non-waiver trade deadline, the White Sox dismantled part of their 2009 club, sending Jim Thome to the Dodgers and pitcher Jose Contreras to Colorado.

FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher has the details on the Thome deal and more.

As for Contreras, he represents rotation insurance for the Rockies, who have been without stalwart Aaron Cook since he injured his right shoulder on Aug. 21.