What is Kenny Williams doing?

I have no idea. I don't know what the direction of this offseason is, or if there is one at all. Although Kenny has expressed interest in getting younger, faster, and cheaper, I'm not sure what he is looking for. By getting cheaper, does he mean getting better? Subtracting Jermaine Dye, and inserting a somewhat legitimate defensive outfielder in his place would make the team both cheaper and better. Unfortunately, ditching Nick Swisher for thirty cents on the dollar eradicated any hope of an internal replacement -- unless Kenny feels Brian Anderson is a fit in CF while Jerry Owens mans LF (with Carlos Quentin shifting to RF. If that's the case, God help us. Owens is, at best, a replacement level ballplayer, and in a corner position he is fodder. With Swisher gone, I don't see Dye on the move.

Rather, I believe Javier Vazquez will be the odd man out, unfortunately. His return will be better than Swisher's, to be sure, but not so much better that it will justify trading him. While his peripherals overrate his ability, his more mainstream statistics seem to undervalue his contributions. Although durability is overrated in certain instances (see: Jon Garland), Vazquez provides both durability and upside for above average performance at a decent price. With attendance down a decent amount in 2008, and a general uncertainty about the state of the economy, I don't expect the payroll to rise; if anything, it will drop. Whatever the return for Vazquez will probably go a long way in plugging any holes on the major league roster, so there's no reason to anticipate any highly touted minor leaguers in the deal.

As for the rotation, it looks anything but stable at this point. Chris DeLuca has been insisting all offseason that Vazquez will be gone, so there's been reasonable speculation that he's pitched his last game on the Southside. With only Mark Buehrle, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd penciled in at this point, two spots need to be filled (assuming the loss of Javier). Clayton Richard may have earned one spot with his pitching in the postseason, and the other will more than likely be given to a veteran with a decent track record and a tiny contract. Expecting Aaron Poreda up on the 25 man before June is unreasonable, and no one else in the minors can fill the void.

The winter meetings are fast approaching, as of now, the depth chart appears to be:
C: AJ Pierzynski, Cole Armstrong
1B: Paul Konerko
2B: Chris Getz, Jayson Nix
SS: Alexei Ramirez
3B: Wilson Betemit, Josh Fields
LF: Quentin
CF: Owens, Anderson, DeWayne Wise
RF: Dye

SP: Danks
SP: Buehrle
SP: Floyd
SP: Vazquez
SP: Richard

RP: Bobby Jenks
RP: Matt Thornton
RP: Scott Linebrink
RP: Octavio Dotel
RP: Adam Russell
RP: DJ Carrasco
RP: Aaron Poreda
RP: Joe Torres
RP: Derek Rodriguez

At this point, lots of spots either need to be filled or solidified. While I'd no doubt prefer to see a legit CF/3B, this team, as built, has 86-88 win potential. Unfortunately, that potential comes with the caveat of a rather limited ceiling. Not many guys will take giant leaps forward, and if anything, guys will regress from last season. This team would look so much better with Swisher...