Dick Allen

Hasn't AP thrown some religion at people in the past?

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 07:56 PM) His FIP is 4.86. That's one of the worst in the league. OH BUT THATS SABERMETRICS. His ERA is 4.99. I screwed up his contract stats but who cares, he's been f***ing awful. Anyways, go Sox. The guys they need to produce to win in '15 are producing so that's nice. The problem with your stats is you are only including the qualified, which eliminates a lot of bad pitchers. Not a lot of pitchers get 162 innings. So basically when you call someone one of the worst, you are not including guys who are much worse. It is like not counting Adam Dunn as a bad hitter in 2011 because technically he didn't qualify.

If these guys were back ups, no one would give a s*** if they were sent away forever.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 05:09 PM) John Danks tonight's prediction: 5.2ip, 5ER, 6H, 1HR, 3BB, 3K. He's been (literally) one of the 3 worst starters in baseball this year. Most pitchers that are this bad don't get to keep getting to start games. But hardly any have 50 some million left on their deal either. Stupid injuries. He literally has not. Try agsin.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 01:33 AM) Yes it was horrendous. Reinsdorf always liked Kauffman Stadium and patterned it after that. No amenities at all. I wish the Sox had waited a couple years and gotten something like Camden. The story is the architects offered JR a place like Camden and he said no. He wanted a symmetrical stadium. That said, with the renovations, USCF is a great place to watch a game. It doesn't look as sterile and cold like it did, and the sight lines are as good as any.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 04:27 PM) I don't understand the whole "X school will get me to the NBA" thing, it doesn't make any sense. You could play for eastwest southern alabama state a&m. If you have NBA talent, they'll find you, and they'll draft you. If you want to talk about it helping their development a little bit? Maybe a LITTLE bit. But one year of a player "developing" at a school isn't going to change much when people are calling the player a possible lottery pick before he even plays a game in college. Do you know why Kentucky and Kansas "put" guys into the NBA? It's because NBA-level talent go to that school. Yes but you oractice every day against higher quality players. Plus you get exposure at these schools you don't get at the others which leads to bigger shoe contracts and other endorsements. It obviously is a big deal to these guys. They normally all go to the same few schools.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) No owner is going to build his own new stadium. And the state is not ever going to finance a new stadium again. So the Cell will remain forever with upgrades possible. And, yes, think of all that money they'll continue to make on parking for years to come. They'll never, ever risk losing that money. If the Sox ever threaten to move again I think the state would let them move. I think you are right. I also think it wouldn't be long before another team moved to Chicago in the AL. As badly as they have played the last couple of years, as much as attendance has dropped, they are still middle of the pack in revenue. The American League doesn't want to abandon this market. If the Sox moved tomorrow, is there anyone who doesn't thinkthe A's wouldn't mind taking their place in Chicago? In fact, back when Bill Veeck saved the Sox, the rumor was Finley would have moved the A's back then.

Unless the White Sox get sold to someone who is willing to basically finance their own stadium, I doubt the state of IL is going to be in a position to foot the bill on another and give a team making millions another sweetheart lease anytime soon. So while we can dream where to build a new one, the chances of it happening in the next 25 years is probably really slim.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 01:31 PM) I think a team really has to trust its OWN scouting in these particular cases, and the fact that current judgements are often based on minimal inputs. We've seen mis-scouting of Lexi, Puig and Abreu, among others. It's understandable. There was some speculation with Abreu that there was a lot of purposeful misinformation out there. It does make sense. If you don't have much on a guy, you probably are more influenced by what you hear, might as well throw some BS out there and see if anyone buys it.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 11:19 AM) Paul Konerko would have jogged to first base. And put one on the board his next AB. I don't know if this has been mentioned, but the back of the billboard at USCF facing the Dan Ryan,that has for years said 2005 World Champions and then they had Big Hurt banner out it, now has a Paulie banner.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 08:38 AM) On a hypothetical basis, the PEDs prevent injuries to pitchers, especially TJ. The UCL gets stretched or sprained when the flexor muscles no longer give enough support. The PEDs will allow this group of muscles a longer period of support thus decreasing the opportunity for injury. Pitchers used the PEDs not so much for increased power but for increased endurance and shorter recovery time. Maybe this is aprt of the reason for the increase in TJ surgeries? I doubt it is a significant factor as I still think it's more the over throwing. However it's something to consider. I read an article back in the steroid era that was about pitchers using steroids, and that is exactly what they said they took them for. Increased endurance and a shorter recovery time. In fact the insiders said percentage-wise, there were just as many pitchers juicing as hitters, if not more, but except for Roger Clemens and maybe a couple of others, there was nowhere near the backlash.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 12, 2014 -> 08:14 AM) I was thinking about this the other night when I was seeing how well the Orioles have done. I thought, "hmm, I wonder if Ubaldo worked out after all." Nope: Hector Noesi: 4.69 (0.7 fWAR) Ubaldo Jimenez: 4.96 (0.3 fWAR) Should be a tight race to the finish line, though. Would be, but no one took the bet. I think Ubaldo is in the bullpen.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 03:02 PM) Why is Michael Taylor playing over Sierra? Both of them suck.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 10:57 AM) What on god's earth are you talking about? I'm not talking about murder...I'm saying what if some woman just accuses a guy of domestic violence and then the court finds it was entirely frivolous nonsense? Like for instance the woman who accused Kaepernick of raping her? So he gets suspended for 4 games (under this proposal) and then when we all find out it was complete nonsense, we say, oh, sorry about that Kaep? I'm pretty sure if the NFL has suspended you, considering what they swept under the rug this time, they have some pretty damning evidence you have done something wrong. Was Kapernick ever charged with anything? The NFL does have a security team that supposedly investigates these matters. I would leave the decision up to them. If, in their opinion, there is enough to reasonably suspect the act was committed, go ahead and suspend him. There are always going to be BS charges. There are also always going to be aquittals for people who were quilty. Sometimes you can see through them, sometimes you can't. But for a he said/she said, I do agree I think they should have more than just the alleged victim's account. I am sure everyone is aware there are always going to be money grabs, just like most know big names may get charged on shaky at best evidence for political reasons. The goal to me is to get the players that should be punished, punished, and let their punishment be a deterent for others. I was watching something yesterday, and they were talking to an ex player who said many of these NFL guys got to the NFL by using anger, and they can't just shut it down once they get there. He specifically mentioned fatherless players, and then it was pointed out Rice's father was gunned down when he was 1 year old.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 10:43 AM) And what if there is an acquittal? NBC freakin fired OJ just because he was accused of murder. He gets acquitted and they don't hire him back with some back pay. Total BS. There is no video of OJ killing anyone, he was acquitted at trial, yet all of the lynch mob still thinks he's a murderer. Talk about a guy who got a bad deal.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 10:04 AM) Martinez is substantially older at this point than Dunn was and has a storied injury history that includes two real bad knees from catching so long. I agree that his skillset probably ages better, but that's why it's still working five year past where Dunn began to turn into a role player -- age will still catch up and there's more of it at play than ever. I think you've got an argument that Martinez at 31 is less risky than Dunn at 31, but I can't see one that says Martinez at 37 is less risky than Dunn at 31. Martinez will turn 36 in December. You sign him for 3 years, you pay him through his age 38 season. You do HAVE to take risks. I think Martinez is a good calculated gamble. He is what you need. A switch hitter, a middle of the order bat, who makes more contact than anyone else on your team. As I have mentioned before, I think some team will probably offer him the moon, but maybe not. I would guess NL teams aren't going to be interested. Maybe the Yankees. Boston has Ortiz. Detroit has to be interested, but who know where they will be at with their payroll, and with all the injuries, it may be time Cabrera moves to DH. Maybe KC to take Butler's place. Maybe Oakland, but at least most of the big spenders will be sitting his bidding out.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) You haven't been reading these threads carefully enough. I'm not the proponent of Josh Hamilton. I'll stand by hoped-for James Shields or Matt Kemp moves, though. How can they bring those guys in with their current attendance?

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:45 AM) You just have to fight with me!!!! Seriously you're smart enough to tell the difference between Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn as hitters. Also, admit it: you'd be excited if we went into ST with a team that was worth a s*** for once. Overall there has been little reason for excitement every season since 2011 which obviously was a bomb. The best things we were looking forward to were things like Sale as a starter, Abreu's debut, s***ty players finally being gone, etc. but over the last 3 ST there was never any reason to consider the Sox a contender for anything. It will be nice when the time finally comes where we don't have to say "if these 20 things work out", the Sox should be really good.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:37 AM) I still see no reason why Houston would trade Castro despite the down year. I also still don't know why so many people are trying to move Gillaspie to LF. Also, signing Victor Martinez at this point is an incredibly risky move. Regardless of giving up the draft pick, you are talking about bringing in a 36 year old who is having a career year on a multi-year deal likely worth $15 mill per year. I mean, it's been so long, I'm trying to remember the last time the Sox brought in a 30+ year old DH on a multi-year deal...I don't remember how that one panned out. Oh well, I'm sure everything would be fine. The time before that, it wound up OK. There were signs Dunn was on the downslope. He struggled the second half of 2009 and had never played in the AL or been pretty much a full time DH. There were a bunch of red flags. VMart is far less risky and a totally different hitter even if he is a little older. He isn't a swing and a miss type of guy. I think these guys age better. Harold Baines put up big numbers between ages 36 and 40.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:33 AM) TUC, respectfully, I just don't think Castro and Headley quite move the meter to push us into contention. (And trading Flowers and Gillaspie to get Castro and then replacing him with Chase make our team payroll go up $10-15 million but AT BEST put us around the .500 mark, and that's being EXTREMELY optimistic IMO). They're solid veteran players, but it just feels like a "place-holding" move, waiting for 2016. Same thing with a declining Andre Ethier. I would like to see a risk taken, whether it's on Shields, or Josh Hamilton, or Matt Kemp. Or even dumping John Danks, although we all know how likely that is to actually happen, being White Sox fans. Sure, Keppinger and Downs were pushed out the door, but those are different situations and nothing like the money involved with Danks. Josh Hamilton? LMAO.

JR said back of the rotation starter, so that pretty much eliminates guys like Latos and Shields.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:24 AM) Unless the Sox have identified a flaw in his hitting mechanics....not that they're to be trusted too much with hitters, but perhaps there's reason to have a lot more faith in Steverson than Walker or Manto, so there's that. You really need to get off the hitting coaches. The reason the Sox offense is better this year is a few new players. If they don't add Abreu and Eaton, Steverson is the new idiot. Viciedo really isn't better. Beckham really isn't better. Ramirez has been what he was previously with so called morons as hitting coaches. Gillaspie really isn't a for sure thing. De Aza wasn't better. Flowers has had his moments, but really, does anyone really think he is significantly changed?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:20 AM) We had Santiago, Reed and Peavy to trade last year. This year, what? Maybe Alexei Ramirez? Dayan Viciedo? John Danks? C'mon. Conor Gillaspie and Tyler Flowers? Other than Abreu/Sale/Quintana/Eaton/Ramirez and Avisail Garcia, what do we really have? A LOT of question marks. A lack of talent, other than Rodon. We're not going to get anything significant back without dealing Anderson/Montas/Danish/Hawkins...and 2 of those last 3 guys would have to be bundled together, at the very least. Rodon and Adams aren't going anywhere, so I'm not even counting them. Fathom mentioned during the game thread that Avisail Garcia would be a good candidate to shop around...we'll see if that actually materializes or not. The Sox made it known that Garcia was off limits last offseason. I don't see how that would change now, especially considering his value probably hasn't changed much.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:16 AM) So you would say the Rays are doing well right now...by including last season's results? That's PART of the truth, sure...but you could just as easily argue they'd be fighting for the playoffs now with Shields AND PRICE AND Wade Davis. Not to mention their attendance has been abysmal...even more abysmal than usual for them. At any rate, I made a bet with Dick Allen that Beckham would hit under .240 and he wouldn't ever mention Don Cooper again...not sure if he's going to honor that one. So a second one. I'd be more than happy to wager whatever you want that the Royals are going to make the playoffs at least this season. The Royals making the playoffs for the first time in 29 years without a single player with more than 20 homers or 100 RBI's is pretty strong evidence of the difference he's made to that team. It actually was .215 but then you changed your mind. But I really don't have to mention Don Cooper. You don't read very well and think I don't like him and blame him for pitcher's sucking. All I have ever wondered was why when hitters don't hit, the hitting coach is obviously horrible, yet when pitchers suck, it has nothing to do with the pitching coach. What are you supposed to give up if Beckham hits .240?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 11, 2014 -> 09:07 AM) I am going to predict a lot of upset fans after this winter. They might be upset, but there is going to be a lot of activity. Hahn has already said he isn't quite sure how he will spend the extra money, whether it is adding a couple big contracts or spreading it around to half a dozen, and certainly some guys are going to be changed anyway. Dunn's comments earlier this week seemed to indicate that while Hahn gave a public perception that yeah, they are rebuilding but are trying to win, privately the team knew this was a year of transition. I think, at least at this point, they are in trying to win mode in 2015. How the winter transpires may change that, but there will be plenty of change, which always makes the offseason interesting, whether you like the changes or not.