Dick Allen

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 10:08 AM) Good lord... So as Geddy Lee has bellowed "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Very discouraging non football people will be making this decision. The McCaskeys need to sell the team, or maybe just look at their history and realize they don't know what they are doing when it comes to football, and make sure they hire someone who does. Why is something so simple, so difficult for them to understand?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 10:25 PM) The were stories of him not sliding properly and getting caught stealing because he wanted to protect the vial in his pocket. His stolen base pct. with Montreal was something like 86%. There is a lot of mis-information out there about Raines. He wasn't as good as Rickey. No one really was, but he wasn't all that far behind. .294/.385/.425 in a career which also included over 800 steals. He affected games just being on base, even when he didn't steal. thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 02:42 AM) Ten years ago, no way. Now....20-25, pretty close. Although in today's environment, I think 27.5 or even 30+ is the magic number to be considered a "home run hitter." I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone has ever hit 27.5 HR in a season. Thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 02:06 PM) His make-up and decision making are major concerns, but purely from the standpoint of NFL QB ability, a lot of talent evaluators believe he is the strongest pro-style QB to come out since Luck. Ryan Leaf was highly thought of as well. Winston needs to grow up. I wouldn't take him with the Bears pick, maybe later in the first. Character issues with QBs do come back to haunt IMO more than a LB or DE. So far, the guy doesn't think rules apply to him. How is that going to change when his bank account is bloated? Maybe he grows up, maybe he gets worse. If it were Emery still in charge trying to save his job, maybe he takes a shot. A new guy making the call, he better be really sure or that could be a train wreck that can't be overcome.

He put up close to a .900 OPS one season with 90 SB. He was a good player with the White Sox, but he was awesome with the Expos. I think his last 7 or 8 seasons of just being a really good offensive player probably takes the focus off how dominating he was during his prime. thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 6, 2015 -> 02:49 PM) Chuck Garfien ‏@ChuckGarfien 3m3 minutes ago Derrick Rose on his sore hip: "I should be able to play tomorrow. I'm not worried about it." I think he should re-consider. Sitting at a graduation in 15 years with a sore hip would be a drag.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 6, 2015 -> 12:25 PM) ? Thanks, hi8is. He fixed it for you. Instead of thanks, hi8is, it went to Thanks. thanks, hi8is. Thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 6, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) Not sure I understand what you are getting at. Leury's BABIP isn't much higher than his average, so it wasn't particularly relevant to bring up. Nieto's was super-high and worth noting. Black, as noted in the article, is going for a AAA job. All three are shooting for something, just different things. What am I missing here? It seems you are downplaying the younger guys successes and hyping Black's. The numbers probably don't mean anything to anyone, but I don't understand why Black's numbers should carry any more meaning. The Domincan Winter League isn't exactly the major leagues. I would think higher babips should be expected, maybe not what Nieto put up, but without watching the games, to assume he was lucky rather than dominant I think is a rather big assumption.

What I don't understand about the article is Nieto's success is pooh poohed by a high babip. Leury's sucess is pooh poohed by his performance as a part time player in over his head, and 27 year old Dan Black who has more professional plate appearances than either has a performance that may mean something. IMO, it should be the opposite. thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 03:10 PM) Considering Bonifacio hits lefties WAY better than Viciedo does, EB .291/.341/.380 DV .291/.331/.507

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 01:23 PM) You have no way of knowing how much money the Sox are sitting on or how much they are able to spend. Teams do not open their books other than the Packers. Again Jerry's money is not the Sox money. He is not the sole owner. A business owner plugging in his personal assets to help float a business is a good way for a business and its owner to both go bankrupt. One thing we do know is the White Sox company line about every dime that comes in, goes out, is totally false, and that's fine. I think the publicity of turning profits when your team isn't making the playoffs would entice the White Sox fanbase even less than they are enticed now, and it would be Tampa sad.

QUOTE (lvjeremylv @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 12:55 PM) We only know what they tell us. Like 3 weeks ago when Hahn said the Sox were tapped out and not going to make any more big deals, then 2 seconds later we were hearing that they'd spent $42M on Melky Cabrera. Let's just agree that the Sox have somewhere between $0 and $30M more that they could spend for 2015's payroll. It all depends on what they feel they should do. I think if they REALLY want to contend and make some SERIOUS noise, there's a guy out there that they could pull the trigger on (it's a big trigger that will require a lot of strength to pull, yes, but they have a finger for it) that would completely change the outlook and expectations of the season to come and the next 3-5 after it. It's not the first time. They were busted and disgusted and then added Peavy and Rios to the payroll. When they signed Dunn, Paulie and AJ were considered gone, but they brought them back. They "found" $4 million sitting around for 1 month of Manny Ramirez. They have money, but maybe one reason they have money is because they don't spend it like my wife. Right now, I think the payroll is fine. The one problem with bumping it up to $150 million is expectations would be you would have to keep it there for a while or at the very minimum, it becomes the new target area if you dropped it. I do think fans have to contribute. Some of the "crowds" when the Sox were contending in 2012 were ridiculously low. If a fan base won't show it will support a team that is winning, I can't blame an ownership group not wanting to risk losing a ton of money.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 12:54 PM) I don't think it really effected his game much. Again, it really didn't hamper what he did well, hit and hit for power. His strength on defense really wasn't his range. It may have shortened his career. But prior to the injury he was very good and not a HOF player. I don't think the injury changed that other than a couple of years in length. How many years is the question. He was done playing 3B at 34 years old. He was playing in pain, and hitting with a bad ankle has to have an effect. If he had 5 more years of his 1990's production, he is probably a HOFer. Whether the injury caused him to have 1 less or 5 less, we will never know, but the year after he retired, he didn't want to get out of bed his ankle bothered him so much.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 12:42 PM) I have also read over and over again during the years that the ownership takes no money out of the franchise, and instead re-invests those funds. So it is sitting somewhere making more money.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 12:35 PM) Finance 101 alert: Net worth is not equal to "money". JR's weath is largely made up of illiquid assets, not cash. If you have a million dollar house, it doesn't mean you have a million dollars to spend. The same applies here. Depending on how much his actual stake is in the White Sox and Bulls, (he said his White Sox stake was a lot larger than most think), I think he has a lot of cash. Those teams have been highly profitable. The Bulls print money. The White Sox have made money every year except one the past 13 years, and an article I read said the Forbes report about being $3 million in the red in 2013 included Abreu's $10 million signing bonus. Several years ago, Barry Rozner had an article quoting a Bulls investor as being embarrassed by how much money they were making when the team really sucked and I believe set a record for losses in a 3 or 4 year stretch. It is amazing how many people think JR is strapped for cash as he is gassing up his jet to fly to AZ. But the fact is the White Sox are owned by a group that has plenty of net worth between them. They could handle taking a bit hit, but that doesn't mean it is the smart thing to do.

QUOTE (lvjeremylv @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 12:22 PM) Hmmm. Ugh. Will the real Emilio Bonifacio please stand up? Last year vs. LHP, he batted .365, had a .411 OBP, and had an OPS of .959. Yay! *just for fun, checks 3 year span, from 2012-2014* 2013 it was .231, .295, and .568. 2012 it was .210, .256, and .503. 2012-2014 combined he's .271, .324, and .683. Can someone who has seen him play a decent amount shed some light on this? Was 2014 a fluke? Because it seems to be a big outlier when looking at his past performances. There are going to be a lot of swings because of the lack of lefties. If he is just average against LHP, it will be an upgrade. While he is overrated here, I don't think anyone really thinks a .959 OPS against LHP is realistic in 2015. From what I have seen from him, he's either really hot or really cold, at least the last few years. thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 09:25 AM) Viciedo makes a lot of sense to the Astros in my opinion? Anyone agree? I think just the opposite. The Astros are the most sabermetric team in baseball. Viciedo is a sabermetric bum.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 09:20 AM) defensively or offensively???? Both. If Bonifacio is playing every day, he doesn't hit RH much at all. The one advantage he has over Beckham is his legs. His versatility is what makes him more valuable. Emilio as an every day 2B would be below average IMO, although he has had a big year before.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 09:17 AM) good point. i too think the sox should start with Sanchez at 2nd and let him to continue to develop. have Emilio at the super sub and starter if needed. now what to do with DV If Bonifacio was signed to be the regular 2B, he would be a downgrade from Gordon Beckham.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 08:26 AM) I don't know how good of a CF he is, but he played there quite a bit last year. It's nice to know he can fill in if/when Eaton needs time off, rather than Leury Garcia or Jordan Danks. It'll keep Cabrera consistent in LF and the 2-spot in the lineup. Leury now probably goes to AAA where he really belonged in 2014. I still have hope for him as a versatile bench piece. He can't hit, but he doesn't have to hit much with all the other things he brings to the table.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 08:21 AM) Holy s***. They definitely read the board, I mean come on? Nice signing. $4 million is probably too much but hey it's not my money. No offense to anyone here, but if Rick Hahn is getting personnel ideas from Soxtalk, JR needs to find a new GM. Thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 5, 2015 -> 08:22 AM) Well if the Sox suck next year, nobody here better blame Rick Hahn, because he is doing everything Soxtalk has demanded. I think Bonifacio gets overrated because of a couple hot streaks (mostly fantasy baseball fans), but he's still better than a lot of the bench pieces the Sox have recently had. One thing I did notice about him was at least one year with the Marlins and his start with the Cubs, is he gets ridiculously hot for about a week, then his numbers dropped. He did have a really good year a few years ago as a regular. I don't know much about his defensive prowess, but if he is at least average, it should help the team.

Hopefully he fares better than other Soxtalk must have acquistions, Cintron and Mackowiak. But he is versatile. I don't think he's worth $4 million, but what the heck. 2015 should be fun. Thanks, Dick.

I don't think the White Sox will retire 13. Thanks, Dick.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jan 3, 2015 -> 02:23 PM) I think Robin's biggest problem in how his career is perceived is that he was on the same team as the greatest (clean) hitter of that generation. When your numbers are constantly appearing right next to Frank's in the boxscore, it's hard to appreciate how good he really was. In the full seasons he played with Frank, Frank's peak years, 1991-1998, throw out 1997 because of injury, Robin averaged less tahn 1 WAR less per season than Frank. You are right, people really don't realize how good he was.