Dick Allen

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 6, 2014 -> 09:17 PM) Wilkins has been a slow-adapter the first month or two at each level, we should have expected the same from him here, which is why it was actually important to get him up in early August when he should have been. OK. So if you call him up in August and he is a slow adapter for the first 2 months, it will mean he struggles for the rest of the season. What would that prove to anyone? Would you really go into the offseason thinking his struggles are behind him? It actually took him about 400 AB in AAA to stop being bad. So why didn't you push to have him called up in June? What a great reason to call someone up earlier, because you expect them to suck for a while.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 11:29 PM) Mauer has been hot garbage since moving out of the dome. Unless he finds the Fountain of Youth, he is nothing now. I wouldn't say that. In the 3 seasons he has been healthy, he has hit at least .319 with a .400 OBP and an .860 OPS. Very few homers though, and obviously he is banged up again and playing 1B, and had a drop off from those numbers this year.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:30 PM) No I wouldn't. Neither would most mangers. But if one wants to, let them. But to be in that position, L Garcia would have had to make an out. maybe he actually gets a hit. Then you are walking the bases loaded by walking Abreu. Ventura made the affirmative decision to both give away an out AND take the bat out of Abreu's hands. That's an indefensible move. It hardly takes a genius to think one move ahead. That Ventura can't grasp the basics is why he has no business managing. Not to mention managing the Sox to the worst finish in 42 years, another disaster this year etc. Why wouldn't you if it is such a better situation? I do like how you waited to whine until after you saw the result. And all things being equal, even if he didn't bunt and the runner was on first, unless Abreu were to get an extra base hit, with Garcia's walk it meant nothing. BTW, Francona pitched to Abreu with 1st base open 3 times last week, and Abreu had 3 hits. And if Abreu is the Sox only hope of scoring, blaming the manager for the poor record is beyond laughable.how were the Sox able to win 85 games with Ventura at the helm in 2012? You seem to always ignore that season .

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:24 PM) For starters, there haven't been many Jose Abreu's. Something Hahn is go.ng to have to address is getting someone behind Abreu that will make teams think twice about intentionally walking him. We have been told line up protection is a myth. But the point is, if you looked at it mathematically, I would bet there is far greater chance of Eaton scoring from 2nd with 1 out with Garcia coming up, than scoring with him at 1st with Abreu up and 1 out, or the complaining is moot because Abreu would just be walked by any manager with a clue even with a runner on first.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:19 PM) Teams almost never walk the batter if it's someone on first base with 1 out. Why would that be if it is so much better for them? The timing of the complaints was interesting again. Waiting until after the inning is over. But Soxtslk got what they wanted, the Charlotte Knights playing major league baseball. It is hard to win when you score 1 run.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 09:12 PM) Ventura simply cannot think 2 moves ahead - that's been obvious for 3 seasons. He gives away an out AND takes the bat out of the best hitter's hands. He's a third grader. If it is so much better to not bunt and have the runner at 1st, wouldn't a genius manager like yourself, just walk Abreu anyway ?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 06:14 PM) Technically, the only time he's been over .850 OPS since 2009 is this year. From 2008-2013 he put up an .820 OPS. If you'd said an >.800 OPS is reasonable for him, I'd say I hope you're right. At .850, while getting older, I'm saying you're letting his incredible 2014 campaign blind you to the type of player he really is. Excluding the year he was injured, his OPS in his peak seasons, from age 24-30, stayed mostly around .860 and got to .880 once. You can't tell me thats the profile of a guy you expect to put up .850 ish OPS numbers from 37-39, without even mentioning the odds of hi actually getting hurt. Well .844 isn't bad and .850 is right there. Last year he was coming off an injury and was over .900 the second half. He makes a ton of contact and has been pretty consistent. Considering he has been putting up .850 OPS like numbers since 2004, and doesn't appear to be slowing down with the bat, it is more than a reasonable assumption. If we all use your logic, he wouldn't be putting up the numbers he has been putting up. As long as he can hit fastballs, he will be a great hitter. Unless he gets injured, I doubt that drops significantly the next couple of seasons. He is perfect for the White Sox. A switch hitting presence who puts the ball in play and hits with authority. If it only costs money, it is well worth the gamble. Again, I think someone will probably go crazy and he will wind up somewhere else, but there are some things that could indicate that maybe he his price tag will be right.

I think Victor is going to get a lot of money, but for 2 or 3 years, he is probably worth the gamble. He probabky won't be what he has been this year, but an .850 OPS should be a reasonable expectation. The only time he hasn't been there or over the last several years was last year when he started horribly but really turned it on after missing 2012. His market may be limited as I don't think many teams would want him playing in the field much. I still think someone blows him away with money and/or years, but paying him is probably better than sending players back for a similar player. It is possible that like Abreu, the stars may be aligned just right for it to happen.

QUOTE (Buster Posey @ Sep 5, 2014 -> 05:39 PM) A friend asked me earlier this week if I thought Joe Mauer belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think he does, but I wanted to see what the rest of you think. Mauer's lifetime numbers aren't especially impressive aside from his batting average and OBP, but if one looks at his 162-game averages, the case for his HOF induction becomes much stronger. That he's won multiple Silver Slugger Awards and Gold Gloves--as well as an MVP--also helps his argument. Thoughts? If he is done as a catcher and hits like he has been hitting this year the rest of his career, no way. He looked surefire a couple of years ago.

Happy Birthday Hawk.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 08:40 PM) We can pull up that game thread and I am in there defending De Aza. Are you saying the Sox runners should just go on a whim because McEwing wrongly sent De Aza on a goofy ricochet? No, but I find it odd that McEwing would be on a guy for not picking him up and making a mistake when he erred equally. I think he has made several poor decisions this year. I can understand when you had last year's offense, but this year, they have been better. It is nice when a guy who should have been out by 20 feet is safe,and he will be applauded for his aggressiveness, but there have been a lot of too easy outs at the plate this year IMO. And that play with De Aza last week was dumb. Alejandro doesn't need help in that department. After the De Aza play, I don't think his waving a guy around second with the ball in the RF corner inspires confidence with the runner.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 08:33 PM) I am not sure you have a point here. My point is picking up the 3rd base coach doesn't mean you will be doing the correct thing. De Aza was thrown out, and of course he was the dumb ass. But the replay showed him looking at McEwing and McEwing waving him along. He made the first out at 3rd last week.

I actually enjoy Joe Buck. I have never understood the hate. I also think Aikman is good too. He might say " I'm not so sure" too much, but I always think his analysis is solid and fair.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 08:07 PM) I saw this as well and he seemed to check a couple times. Probably a sign that RV or McEwing let him hear it after he messed up this weekend. DeAza picked up McEwing and got burned.

QUOTE (winninguglyin83 @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 06:49 PM) Is Michael Taylor really a option for next season? I would say he is an option, but realistically, the chance is beyond slim.

It would have been fun to see him, but I don't think these September games have any effect on his career, other than putting a few more dollars in his bank account. Maybe if he opted for a more team friendly deal, he comes up, but the Sox might as well play hardball while they can, because unless he gets a new agent and/or the White Sox get new ownership, if he is anywhere near as good as we all hope, he is a White Sox for at most 6 seasons. Boras will never sign off on a Sale or Q like extension. Never. The Sox are going to get 3 cheap seasons from him and then the arb dance. I think next season the tell in whether the Sox really are confident they are contenders is where Rodon starts the season. If they really think they are legit, and he is fine in spring training, he should be on the team. If he is sent to Charlotte, unless he is really struggling in AZ, IMO, they aren't so confident in their chances . Might as well try to nickel and dime him while you can.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 03:12 PM) I like it. Give him 48 hours to get some rest. I'm pretty sure his hamstring is still bothering him. I went to the game Sunday, and he was still favoring it a tiny bit running towards first. Taylor and Semien also in the line up. I like it a lot. It is also against Minnesota, a team not in the race, so the integrity of the line up can't be questioned.

QUOTE (peavy44 @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 03:20 PM) You this dont make no sense here. It makes more sense than your reply.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 12:02 PM) It is just like anything else. You have to be conditioned for it. You aren't throwing complete games if you are conditioned to throw 100 pitches. Yes, but it boggles my mind why teams don't do this more often. The White Sox seemingly have moved the bar to 115-120. It would be interesting reading a gamethread where there was no gun or a pitch count wasn't available and no one would count pitches, how different the comments would be on managerial handling of the starter if he went far enough into the game, that it made a difference. Before they started showing pitch counts on broadcasts and in the park, it was a number that was so disinteresting, Baseball-Reference doesn't even have the numbers well into the 1980s.

With Tony LaRussa as his manager, the godfather of specialized relief pitcher usage, Tom Seaver threw 10 complete games in 1984 as a 39 year old, which didn't include pitching 1 inning of a previously suspended game and going 8 1/3 in the regular game right after the same evening. He also threw 6 complete games as a 40 year old under LaRussa. The old school pitchers where able to do this. The younger guys, not so much.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 10:36 AM) There's a big reason you didn't add in that is quite easily quantified why people are going fewer innings now. The average fastball velocity has climbed by more than 1 mph in just the last 5 years, league wide. If people are throwing 150 pitches, most of them won't be able to sustain that kind of velocity even if they don't get hurt. I did say pitchers were throwing harder these days. If you throw 90 MPH, you are a soft tosser, but power guys used to throw a lot more than 110 pitches back in the day. As I stated, those guys didn't also throw sliders or cutters. Or if they did throw a slider, it wasn't meant to be the wipeout pitch most want it to be today. The increase is a cumulative thing. There are more guys on the staff who throw hard and you have 7 or 8 relievers who probably average 93 or 94.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 10:11 AM) Not like Nolan Ryan, though. I think he might be a robot. I mean seriously, Nolan Ryan pitched in the MLB during mid-60's and also pitched in the MLB during the mid-90's. And he threw HARD. I think it's a pretty common consensus that pitchers of old simply did not throw as hard as the guys do today, partially due to strength and conditioning but just as much (if not more) to do with the fact that they simply held more back because they (1) knew they were expected to go the whole game and (2) they weren't expected to strike everyone out. Ryan was an exception to all of that. He pitched longer than almost anyone, more frequently than almost anyone, threw harder than anyone, and struck more guys out than anyone. He is made of carbon steel and can be repaired in a machine shop, so he cannot be used as an example of what can be expected from other pitchers. Yes, but 150 pitches thrown used to be not a big deal. Probably just about every starter up until the 5 and dive mentality hit, had done it several times. Who would have ever thought pitch counts on scoreboards would become a must have addition to a ballpark? Now it's called abuse. I don't think humans are made weaker, but collectively, you have more guys throwing 90+ these days, and certain pitches do put more strain on pitchers. Sliders weren't originally meant to do what pitchers want them to do today. The top power guys didn't throw sliders or cutters. TB won't even let their minor leaguers throw cutters IIRC. And speed guns everywhere I am sure makes some pitchers overthrow. I was also reading that many kids are becoming more sport specific these days, and some think that may help cause the rash of injuries. Back many years ago, kids played baseball during the summer, football during the fall and basketball or hockey during the winter, developing different muscles.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 2, 2014 -> 09:30 AM) Nolan Ryan is an outlier There were a lot of outliers before pitch counts came into vogue.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Sep 1, 2014 -> 03:03 PM) Who, besides Randy Johnson in recent decades. Nolan Ryan in his 40s was throwing a ton of pitches in games. Supposedly earlier in his career, he went over 200 a few times. Pitch counts didn't used to be a big deal. Now when guys get to 100, everyone starts freaking out. That can be changed. One thing that is a lot different today, is guys are throwing harder. 90 is mediocre. Almost everyone throws 90. The other thing is, your harder throwers are also throwing a lot of sliders. Most power guys, used to throw curveballs. Guys are also trying to get a lot more out of sliders than they used to as well.

Roy Marble, Iowa's all time leading scorer and father of Devyn, diagnosed with cancer. He has had several issues with the law since his heyday, but this is sad. 3 tumors in his head and it has supposedly spread to other parts of his body. I think he is in his mid 40s.