Dick Allen

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 08:38 AM) Could be a really good bullpen piece. And Kate Upton might show up at my door half naked.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 08:27 AM) I feel like if Brad Penny factors into the White Sox season in any way, then something went horribly wrong. I totally agree. His ERA since 2007 is 5.30. He has given up 11 hits in 7.2 innings this spring. There is nothing there to suggest this is a major league pitcher. They say he is working on a cutter this spring. Just google what a guy I am not supposed to mention was all excited about last year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 03:15 PM) Patrick Mooney ‏@CSNMooney 23m23 minutes ago Maddon gets why Boras stuck up for Bryant: "Scorpions bite. That’s what they’re supposed to do. Whatever your nature, that’s what you do." Every agent would do the same thing. I don't blame Boras, but he has known all along what is going to happen and why. If he were on the other side, he would do the same thing.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 01:39 PM) Crain got scratched from the minor league game because of soreness, but they aren't worried. Crain thought he would be major league ready in a month about a year ago. This is going to be a pretty long process. I wouldn't count on Jesse Crain being effective in 2015. If he is, great, but be surprised.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 12:49 PM) I am not positive, but I believe the disabled list opens up before the start of the season, so a player can be played on the DL as of before opening day. I looked it up and you can retro it 10 days, but, assuming Sale comes back from this injury and pitches in spring training games, he can't be retro'd because he is playing. So either they would have to put him on the DL in late March and have him get ready in minor league games or just have him on the opening day roster. The first option makes some sense.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 12:43 PM) Except then it requires another roster move if he isn't. How does the DL work at the beginning of the year? I know you can only retro it a certain amount of days. I am guessing it has to be at least a week, so if the season starts April 6th, and they expect Sale to pitch on the 12th, he probably has to be on the roster and not the DL.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 12:21 PM) Sports are really starting to piss me off. Tanking for years is acceptable, yes as a fan I want my team to suck for a number of years. When a team wins a championship, I gain nothing in the grand scheme of things, nothing. Mylife is no better or worse because of the 2005 White Sox. Yes it was fun but then that is it. It is over. Each day and each game is its own entity of enjoyment to me. It benefits me in my life for that time I am watching/attending it and that is it. There is no reason why Bryant should start the season in the minors. Any work he needs he can get in the MLB. If the cubs believe they are a better team without him fine but they are not. They think they will be a better team with him than without him in 7 seasons, and for that extra year, it costs them 2 weeks or less than a DL stint with him in Iowa. It's not that they want to send him down. It makes no sense not to send him down. Same with Rodon. If Rodon had a 0.00 ERA this spring with 2 k's per inning, the Sox would be foolish not to let him spend a couple of weeks in Charlotte. Face it, when their contracts are up, they will be bleeding whichever team they sign with for the very last cent. Might as well save yourself a few bucks while you can. I do agree with you though generally regarding sports. Most of us take them way too seriously. Your life didn't change because the White Sox won the WS. Neither did mine. I still had to pay bills and taxes. Some things have happened in my life to gain some perspective. My dog got cancer and died. A close friend and huge White Sox fan,had an accident and died. I worked for a company that went bankrupt. I was lucky and got something without missing a paycheck, but others, through no fault of their own took a long time to find jobs, and many of those would be considered underemployed now. Watching the White Sox lose isn't "embarrassing" anymore. I'd rather they win, and still get excited when they do and have a good team. But for the most part, life is the same whether the teams I like win a championship or lose most of the time. I think I have used this before, but my wife gets a little ticked around July of every year when I have spent too much time on baseball. She used the line it's just a bunch of uneducated men in silly costumes running around in dirt trying to hit a ball with a stick. She's right.

I'm guessing Kottaras and Soto probably have outs in their minor league deals if they don't make the team.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 10:30 AM) Albers really needs to get into better shape. I don't think that is going to happen.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 10:17 AM) Right now, hard to say, but I think he'd be on par overall (just better at some things, worse at others). This 30 PA in Arizona are really only a small part of the evaluation for me, and the stats are not even a major part of that, as I detailed in the article. That too. Though he still really only has a short time in AAA, which is a concern. There are more than a few players that didn't spend much time in AAA. If he were 21, that may be a concern, but being a little older and a little more mature, I don't think that is much of a factor. The only time Frank Thomas or Robin Ventura spent in AAA were rehab assignments.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 10:08 AM) I guess for me, I don't think the fact that he has had streaks of usefulness really equates to upside. Lots of guys (most, even) are streaky, so it isn't accurate ton assume that periods of good performance dictate untapped potential on their own. I think you need a reason, traditionally or sabermetrically, to believe in upside. For example: guy just changed his swing, guy had a breakthrough with a new coaching staff, guy is healthy for the first time, guy learned a new pitch, guy got stronger and lost weight, guy hasn't had a chance to adjust to big-league pitching, guy has been unlucky with BABIP, guy has been unlucky with HR/FB rate, guy has shown an improved approach at the plate, guy moved to a more comfortable position, etc. With Gordon, though, there really haven't been any problems. There aren't any caveats or excuses. He's had an incredibly long leash and has been relatively fortunate with health. The only thing that's really warranted tinkering is his batting stance a bit. He's just had a good, long, healthy look with very few obstacles in his way, and when you average it out, he just hasn't been able to get it done. I struggle to come up with an aspect of his game or situation that indicates there is some upside left. And that's why I think Saladino is just as good for the bench role -- at least he checks the box of "we haven't seen him try at the ML level" and maybe even some of "lost time to injury." He's got some upside just because we don;t know how far he can go. It's the same reason I hold out hope for Avi Garcia in 2015 but wanted Dayan Viciedo cut at all costs. Those guys are very similar in terms of their flaws and upside (at least offensively), but I've watched Viciedo fail to adjust for 2000 plate appearances, whereas Garcia still has a shot to show me he can learn. They have always said Beckham is extremely hard on himself. Even Scioscia mentioned it. Mentally he has killed himself. That's the issue. When he got it going last year, he swing was short and quick and he was nailing the ball even when he was making outs. Then a couple of bad games and the swing got long, and he had no chance. If he can clear his head, and really who knows if he can, the guy has talent. We have seen it. Then things go bad and snowball. That's just as much "upside" as any player that has been mentioned the Sox should have signed besides him. The players in the 24th or 25th roster spot making $2 million in 2015 have tons of warts. You just have to hope something clicks. The Sox know at the very least, he's a good team guy, he can spell guys with the glove on the infield where they are very vulernable defensively, and if he hits, that's gravy.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:42 AM) If Brad Penny is on the White Sox, that's EXACTLY why we've been complaining that we acquired Beckham instead of someone better than Brad Penny. ? They don't play the same position. I was all for them grabbing another pitcher, but you aren't getting much for $2 million.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:36 AM) Penny has a better chance of moving to a long relief role after the start, so it doesn't make much sense going with Johnson, especially after his season last year. He needs to go to Charlotte and earn his way back. The only real option besides Penny is a bullpen day--2 innings for Albers, Guerra, Webb, and Jennings, or hope for rain. If Brad Penny is on the White Sox, everyone needs to quit complaining about Danks, Beckham and Flowers. He will be by far, the least valuable player on the roster.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:30 AM) I don't know why you keep beating this drum when it doesn't matter. It's akin to blaming Bush for crap Obama does. At some point you gotta let it go. Yes, the class sucked (although even scouts were wrong about Henry and Shaw, but 4 star, 90+ graded recruits). Yes, it didn't help Groce. But we're three years down the line now. Groce had a couple of good players from the prior staff and that's about what you'd expect when a coach gets fired. Rarely is anyone fired with tons of talent on the roster. Is it a factor here? Sure, but not a big one. The bigger one is Groce's offensive coaching sucks. And as much excitement as he's brought in recruiting, frankly his recruiting hasn't done s***. Nunn is a bust unless he works on his right hand dribbling (and he was basically a Weber recruit, although not 100%. Groce just had to close the deal). Hill, a Weber commit IIRC, is easily the best player on the roster, and has the most potential. Everyone else Groce has signed and/or brought in has sucked. Rice was his savior last year, but maybe the biggest problem this year. They were better without him. He didn't fit with the other guys on the team. I'd love to throw Groce a bone and call this a bit of bad luck. The suspensions of Paul and Rice didn't help. The injuries to Abrams and Rice didn't help. Losing Snider at the last possible second after getting a verbal didn't help. Signing Tate and having to play 4-5 (or 3-5 with Egwu) for extended stretches clearly wasn't the plan, but that's what he gets for signing him. We're trending the wrong direction. I never bought last year that this season was going to be miraculously different. I laughed at those that said this was a tourney team for sure. And next year they're in the same position - bubble team. Although next year without Egwu and Rice there's a strong possibility of not getting to .500 in conference. It could be worse. I agree. It's Illinois. If Bruce Weber left Groce nothing but walk ons, he should be able to do better than a first round blowout loss in the NIT in year 3.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:45 AM) It may be his only game with the Sox. It doesn't appear to be anyone else right now. I'd take my chances with Johnson for one start. Penny hasn't been any good since Gordon Beckham was in college.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:18 AM) How is not accurate? Paulino was a guy with a big arm who hadn't managed to stay healthy enough to use it. The Sox thought he was finally healthy and that they could give him a shot to finally break out. Beckham is a dude with 2500 plate appearances of healthy, everyday play who just cannot hit to save his life. I suppose he technically has upside in the same way that every player in baseball technically has upside in the event that they have a miraculous moment of clarity and suddenly learn things that they never learned before. But that's so, so different than a pitcher who has the stuff but hasn't had a shot to stick on the mound yet. 2009 Beckham was great. 2010 he hit well the second half. 2011 he was bad, but he has had his moments. He was on fire last year before he totally fell apart, then regained a bit of performance with the Angels. He has hit for power . Wasn't that awful in 2013 returning from a broken wrist which zapped his power. There is upside. He can hit for power, he is good defensively, and has hit well for decent stretches in the past. To me, that is upside.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:44 AM) I'm now fully in on Micah as the 2B. Got into a discussion with James Fegan (from The Catabird Seat blog), as he feels Micah isn't there yet. So here's a sort of response to his piece, where I make the case for Micah as the Opening Day 2B. Agree? Disagree? Not sure yet? Grammatical errors? At this point, I agree with you. There is still a couple of weeks to go, but you have to figure it's his job to lose. It seemed he was the guy the Sox wanted there from day 1, and he hasn't done anything to say he doesn't deserve it. The question is, if he is your Opening Day 2B, how long a rope you give him when he struggles during the regular season? That is probably determined by when those struggles occur.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:56 AM) I love that the initial thread went 36 pages and turned into an argument about projections and now this one's on 12. That has to make Beckham the most debated 24th man in Sox history. That lends credence to the claim that if he had spent his career with, say, the Braves and the Sox had signed him, the reaction would be far more muted. But I think the particular context around Beckham is also important because it lends symbolism. LittleHurt said it well: After such a dynamic offseason, Beckham's signing just seemed lazy and lacking in creativity. Perhaps he's here because it is better to let in-house guys like Sanchez and Saladino get minor league seasoning, but I have a hard time believing either one for league minimum plus a Paulino-type sixth starter wouldn't serve the 2015 White Sox better. There's an alternate universe where Paulino was useful last year - he had upside and that's why I liked the signing at the time. The same could be said for a 2015 proxy like Brandon Beachy (another loaded name around here, and yes I know the money is not quite the same). Beckham really doesn't have that potential. Paulino had upside, but Beckham has none. That just isn't accurate. The fact is the White Sox have brought loads of bench players from other teams in the past 10 years and they have been awful, even if Soxtalk favorites. Cintron and Mackowiak right away. I know, they sucked, but the argument will be they had upside. Who cares about upside if it isn't coming out. Gordon Beckham has as much upside as any of these dopes brought in over the past years: Cintron Mackowiak Erstad Richar Toby Hall Kotsay Nix Lillibridge Castro Teahen Milledge O-Dog Hudson Fukudome Olmed Tyler Greene Casper Wells Tekotte Of all the guys they brought in, the one guy that worked out OK was Omar Vizquel. Yet none of them get the mention Beckham does if he goes 0-2 in a game the first couple weeks of spring training.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 08:28 AM) I think Sale makes his season debut a month from today. He'll need the extra time. Samardzija appears to be heading toward the opening day start. 4-6 at KC Samardzija 4-7 4-8 at KC Quintana 4-9 at KC Noesi 4-10 vs Min Danks 4-11 vs Min Penny 4-12 vs Min Samardzija 4-13 4-14 at Cle Quintana 4-15 at Cle Noesi 4-16 4-17 at Det Danks 4-18 at Det Sale 4-19 at Det Samardzija 4-20 vs Cle Quintana 4-21 vs Cle Noesi 4-22 vs Cle Danks Brad Penny? Yuck.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 06:13 AM) This Kris Bryant service time drama is starting to become a thing, shots fired by Boras. Boras exploits every loophole he can. This time he gets burned by one. File a greivance. It won't work.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 04:34 PM) The Mariners signed him to play OF so "people in baseball think he can defend adequately." Weeks could play 2B, LF and DH and when used correctly his bat has a track record to be good enough to make up for his lack of defensive prowess. How much of a step down could he be from Micah Johnson who is sorely lacking the reps. You used a one year sample size of Andruw Jones as the player you would want on the bench so I was using your parameters. Weeks splits against lefties in 2014 aren't far off from his career splits. Bonifacio can give you better than what Beckham or Gillaspie could give at 3B vs. lefties which renders Beckham entirely useless. Both Beckham and Weeks have been around long enough for to have significant sample sizes. Both players have an established track record against lefties. Beckham sucks just as much as he does against RHP (almost exactly the same!), Weeks is well above league average. DA post #1: Rips Rickie Weeks DA post #2: Says the team needs a bench player with the output of a 2010 Andruw Jones DA is then informed that a 2014 Rickie Weeks was better than a 2010 Andruw Jones in a similar sample. DA post #3: Changes the subject to sample sizes. Quit making s*** up. The White Sox need a guy who can play the OF. I know you claim Rickie Weeks can, but he is 32 and NEVER has. Also comsider he has been asked to learn to play in the outfield before and refused. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/bre...291.html?ipad=y Sounds like a team player you would want on your bench. And there is no guarantee Weeks is going to match his 2014 offensively in 2015 other than you say so. His BABIP was .355 last year, .268 and .285 the years prior.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 04:19 PM) This is true and while he's always struck out a lot, I often wonder what happened to his patience. He always seemed like he'd be a guy with a worthwhile OBP coming up. I think the better pitching attacks him realizing he has a tough time with fastballs. I don't think it is a lack of patience, I think they are comimg after him and he can't do much about it for the most part. I doubt when he was successful in the minors, the pitchers had the same plan.

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 03:13 PM) I'd love Howland, Bobby Hurley, or Bryce Drew. We'll see who's interested, though. I'd only want Aguirre as an assistant, and I guess Corbin deserves consideration based on his NBA coaching. It'd be nice to get a young, hungry guy instead of another terrible retread. The real change that has been needed to be made has been letting ponsetto go and hiring a real AD. Not gonna happen, though. I have this strange feeling that they'll actually hit on this coach this time. I mean, they have to after 2 straight atrocious hires, right?? Right?! :/ Howland really makes little sense. He will be 58 years old. They need a young guy with a ton of energy. Haugh had an article today. The guy I like is the guy who learned under Petino, presses the entire game, and lost a job last year because he didn't have a degree. Steve Masiello. I think he now has a degree. I think he is 37. Playing that style, young enough to relate to the HS guys, I think DePaul might have a chance. Hurley and Drew could be good as well. I know it's age discrimination, but I think DePaul has to think young.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 02:27 PM) Gordon Beckham against RHP: .245/.304/.375/.680 Gordon Beckham against LHP: .244/.314/.373/.687 Why don't you use his line from last year like you did Rickie Weeks? Besides a .687 OPS is better than what Conor is going to give you vs. LHP.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 17, 2015 -> 02:25 PM) 2010 Andruw Jones in 328 PAs: .230/.341/.486, 121 wRC+, 120 OPS+ 2014 Rickie Weeks in 286 PAs:.274/.357/.452, 127 wRC+, 124 OPS+ Andruw Jones could play the OF. Rickie Weeks cannot. I thought about Rickie Weeks, but you can't have guys that can't play defense on the bench when you are pretty weak defensively in several spots. Weeks can play 2b, and not very well.