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01/20/2003 Archived Entry: "Today's MLB News: Sox Sign Gordon"
Today's MLB News by Eric Gartman
Sox Sign Gordon-The White Sox completed an overhaul of their bullpen Monday, signing Tom "Flash" Gordon to a one-year contract.
The Chicago White Sox are a team on the move. After acquiring Bartolo Colon to solidify their rotation, the Sox moved to shore up their bullpen. Gaining Colon cost them two relievers, Antonio Osuna and Rocky Biddle, and now the Sox have moved to make up for those losses. Osuna and Biddle served as set-up men last year, a role which Gordon is now expected to take over. The ninth inning will belong to the newly acquired Billy Koch. How are the Sox able to do all this? Quite simply, they are one on baseball's wealthier teams, and until recently did not have a high payroll. Colon's 8 million a year is still a relative bargain, allowing them to sign Gordon, whose salary has not yet been disclosed. Frank Thomas will also not make as much as he did last year, leaving the Sox with money to spend.
The Sox are the only real wealthy team in the economically-challenged AL Central. Kansas City remains one of baseball's premier have-nots. Detroit has not increased its revenue as much as was projected from the new stadium. Minnesota remains a potent challenger, but they have to deal with a small payroll, and it remains to be seen whether they can keep their current roster intact. Cleveland, the former master of the AL Central, is under new ownership which is less willing to spend money. Their TV revenues are much smaller than Chicago's. All this leaves the White Sox in a good position to dominate the Central in the next few years to come. They are already showing signs of taking on that role.
