what do you think about this -
What about Trader Kenny making a small splash in free agency this offseason that could create a tidal wave in the Central Division in either 2009 or 2010 in the form of Mark Mulder and Mark Prior?
I know I know, but hear me out. Would Mulder, a Southsider, take a 1 or 2 year deal for $1-2 million - maybe a few more with certain performance bonuses - to come home?
Would Prior entertain the idea of coming back to Chicago in a similar scenario?
Here's what i'm thinking - you bring in two guys for that small amount of money (it's been done in the past) It's low risk, high reward for both parties. The Sox maybe lose a couple million if they remain hurt, but imagine(!) - a healthy Mulder and/or Prior for a stretch run in '09 or perhaps all of 2010 for just a few million dollars?
like i said - low risk, high reward. you sign 'em up with no intention of them playing (at least) the first half of '09...and build your rotation accordingly (which means finding a legit No. 4 starter). You'll get Jose Contreras back to bolster the 'pen/back end of the rotation late next year anyway..with two potential top-of-the-rotation guys just waiting to get healthy...
And if there are two parts of the Sox organization that I trust more than the others - it's Herm Schneider and the medical staff and Don Cooper.
I say Kenny should at least put the offers out there, and see if they bite.
Rick Armstrong 
Mike Knapp 
Eh...if Ryan Dempster can win 18 then anything can happen. Thinking about another year with Javy and Contreras makes me itchy. Moulder and Pryor are(?) were better pitchers at one point in their career. YOu have to like how you look 1-3, and if Mulder or Pryor help you out at the bottom going 14-14, 13-11, with an earnie under 5 I'd be happy.
Let's face it, in recent years when expectations are low in Chicago, our teams have this uncanny ability to perform better than they have any business performing. The Sox as a team were supposed to be more of the same from '07 this past season, but (thank the baseball gods) this season we saw a team, imperfect as a live-and-die-by-the-home run a major league team can be, manage to over-achieve. Expectations were pretty low going into '05 too and we know how that worked out. Or look at our beloved Bears. They're much better than I would have ever expected (I think anyways...at least if I exclude most 4th quarters). Either way, my bar was rather low with Orton, and I still can't believe what I'm seeing. And of course, we can say the opposite effect can come into play with premature, high expectations like the, ahem, '08 World Champion Cubs, and the, ahem, '07 World Champion Bulls (OK, maybe that's overboard, but there were serious conversations of Eastern Conference Champs before the season started). So, I am all for lowering the bar for a couple of pitchers no one really expects will succeed. I can't argue with the warm fuzzies I get over the way Don Cooper turns another teams garbage into Trader Kenny's brilliance. And who can forget the great sports flick "Dodgeball" dripping with sporting philosophy...As Vince Vaughn eloquently put it as the Average Joes team motto, "Aim Low!" Who knows, maybe we can ship Javy-V back home to relax and not worry about his reputation. I guess it makes a difference if the players believe positively in the face of doubters too.
Pass on both, especially Mulder.
It seems like pitchers are able to come back from elbow problems. Come down with a bum shoulder, and you're toast. Prior and Mulder have both labored with shoulder problems for multiple seasons now.
My guess is both of them are cooked.