Dick Allen

If Beckham is the Sox biggest bust, they apparently are a lot better at drafting then anyone realizes. He's 3rd or 4th overall in career WAR for 2008 1st round picks.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 10:37 AM) This thread was actually goin good....Sigh. If Wiggins is involved and they (The Wolves) think he's gonna be a star, what can you do? If the reports of the trade offer is true they're putting forth one helluva effort, much like they did with Melo, and I can't fault them for not getting it done, There's nothing you can do. And if the #1 pick in the draft wasn't available, it's pretty much a no brainer the Bulls offer should be taken, assuming everything is accurate. But we all knew Melo was going to stay in NY. We all know Love is going to Cleveland, we all know the Bulls will get another 2nd place ribbon, yet we all still think there's a chance like me when I buy a powerball ticket. Minnesota is going to get a nice return for a guy that was going to flee anyway. If it was me, as much as I want him to be a Bull, I cannot pass on Wiggins. I really like McBuckets and I think Mirotic has a chance to be exceptional, but IMO Wiggins is the best player. Stars are the hardest thing to acquire especially when you have to sell Minneapolis in the winter and a franchise with no playoff appearances. Wiggins is the best bet to be a star.

Rosenbloom did have a funny line, he said the Bulls are rumored to be in trade talks for Kevin Love and always will be until he's traded to the Cavs or the Warriors. We all know it, yet we still let it suck us in at least a little bit.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:48 AM) It has nothing to do with his OPS or his production the last two months (or lack thereof). Comparing OPS in a vacuum doesn't help much either, because we all know Alexei Ramirez is worth 10X what Adam is despite a lower OPS. It's all about 2015. Replaced immediately...maybe that's too strong, but why would it matter if he was, assuming they could get $2-4 million of salary relief at least? Is there anyone who would care one way or the other if Dunn is gone? I would venture to say that more fans would come out to the ballpark to see youngsters who have the drive/fire/determination to prove themselves than someone playing out the string. The White Sox are basically stuck between 4-8 games below .500 and nothing dramatic is going to change that, so what's the harm in finding out if Wilkins is capable of putting up an 800+ OPS against RHP? If he does that, it means the White Sox could use their RH players (Garcia, Viciedo, Semien, etc.) next year in combination with Wilkins and save spending $10-15 million on a veteran DH. Why is it imperative Sox fans should watch mediocre players, and waste Chris Sale and Jose Abreu production for the sole purpose of saving JR some more money? There are overwhelming odds that if you don't care for Adam Dunn's production, Andy Wilkins isn't going to be very popular either.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:53 AM) We very easily could have had Bonilla and Bonds together instead of the Pirates (along with Thomas, Ventura, McDowell, Alvarez, Sosa, Bere, Thigpen, Hibbard, Radinsky, Fernandez and Lance Johnson). Talk about a loaded team. Oh, well. Life goes on. If you had Bonds and Bonilla, chances are you wouldn't have had Thomas, or McDowell or Ventura or Fernandez, and yo uprobably wouldn't have had Lance Johnson as he was acquired for Jose DeLeon who was acquired for Bonilla. Bonilla was a rule 5 pick up by the Hawkeroo.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:10 AM) At the very least, he should be rewarded for his recent hot streak. It's good for the Sox minor leaguers to see that almost anyone can get an opportunity (for now) if they produce tangible results. Whether he's a platoon placeholder or flames out in 2014, who knows? But anything's better than 2 more months of Dunn. And I'm not sure anyone thought Conor Gillaspie would still be holding down 3B four months into the 2014 season. Sometimes, players surprise. Not usually. But it's not beyond the realm of possibility, either. In the end, we're already playing "most irrelevant game in MLB today" with the Twins, who cares? We're going to be replacing 2B, LF, C, DH and possibly SS in next year's line-up, so let's roll the dice. For a guy with an .804 OPS (3rd on the team) Adam Dunn sure does get a lot of grief as a player who apparently people would rather see anyone else. It's funny. I was accused of being pessimistic in the very thread a DH with an .804 OPS needs to be replaced immediately because he is just too painful to watch. Wilkins has had an unreal week. But it is just a week.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 10:24 PM) They want out of his contract. So yeah its an assumption. He was rumored to the Bulls with Love when those rumors popped up during the season. Does it work cap-wise?

I think the compensation pick the next season should be determined by the percentage of slot you ultimately offer. If they offer him 40% slot and he doesn't sign, your compensation isn't the second pick in the draft, but a 3rd rounder. You offer 90% slot, you get the 2nd pick. Something like that. If it's true Houston upped their offer to $5 million with 5 minutes left until the deadline, and were shocked at no response, that's just crazy. Ultimately what they initially agreed to and the 40% slot financially is the price of a slightly better than replacement level player for one season. While it's a lot of money to me and most people, in baseball it's basically nothing.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 07:31 AM) And just like dick, you put words in others mouths. Nowhere has anyone said it was a" happy story" . I will say this yet again as I did yesterday so here goes one more time. With what Sox fans have endured the last 3 1/2 seasons with Dunn , it's about giving a Wilkins a shot and nothing more. Nobody has said Wilkins IS the future and nobody has ignored the fact Wilkins is not a top prospect. I agree its likely he does not develope into much but again, when you consider the position the Sox are in , what have they got to lose by bringing Wilkins up and see what he can do? Wilkins is 25/26 years old so he is old to be considered a spect but he is in the age group that fits with Hahn's plan so there's nothing to lose by giving him some at bats. Let him give Jose a break from playing first here and there. Up until this 7 game hot streak, Adam Dunn's current production on the major league level was actually better than Wilkins' production in AAA. Call me names all you want. I've been more optimistic about a lot of players than many on this board. It's not, however, about being optimistic or pessimistic. It's about being realistic.

7 games ago Wilkins with his "sweet swing" was an almost 26 year old hitting .251 with a below .300 OBP in AAA. While this streak he has been on is incredible, he has been pretty mediocre outside of these last 7 games.

QUOTE (TRU @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) So? They all still took less money than what they could have gotten. It doesn't matter if the endorsements made up for that. Yes, but they only are taking money out of their heirs' pockets. I'm sure they already have more money than they will ever spend.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 02:49 PM) I was in, and now I'm out. Wake me when Love's in Cleveland. I'm not getting sucked into this s*** again. That's what it appears. It seems the Bulls have gone from being used by free agents to now being used by other teams.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11247946...love-trade-push Just change it from trade to signing, and change Cleveland Cavaliers to New York Knicks, Love to Anthony, and I have seen this article before.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:39 PM) What helps Minnesota is getting the most they can for Kevin Love. If they like the offer, then they take it. If they don't, well, they don't. They want to get the most they can, so they make sure this "offer" gets out there, and sit back and wait to see if the Cavs or some other team is willing to top it. Just saying, "we'll take it" isn't maximizing their return unless they have exhausted all their other options. If this offer is real and Minnesota is satisfied, and sure this is the max, they would have accepted it. They want to see if they can get more. Do you really think if on the day before training camp opens and Love is still a T-Wolf, Flip tells Gar he will take the deal, Gar would say too late?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:31 PM) At some point, all franchises need to put an end to the rumors, etc, and prepare for the season. Yeah, but it's still 3 months until the season starts. Again, if there were other targets, other options for these teams, I would think it would be important to get it done quickly. But there is not. If any of the teams after Love don't get him, their only acquistions between now and when the season starts will be minor anyways. Maybe they have said, put your best offer on the table, we are making our decision in the next couple of days, but Cowley said the Bulls made a deadline. If all of this is true, we all know that deadline isn't real.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:22 PM) This whole 30 days thing is moot. Deals get done before they can be made official all the time. LeBron's "decision" four years ago happened before he was even officially traded to Miami. They can come to terms five minutes from now on a contract that's executable 29 days from now. I understand that, but exactly how does cutting the auction short help Minnesota? I understand if they really like this Bulls deal and think it would be off the table. But even Gar/Pax aren't that dumb. When LeBron agreed, decisions had to be made, there were back up plans. It's not like the Bulls can easily send this package for another star. It's pretty much Love or bust for a few teams.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:16 PM) Perhaps, but even you would admit Beckham makes zero sense on this team next year right? If he hits like he has the last month, yes. His swing looks really long to me right now. He was really short earlier when he was hitting. I still don't think Semien, Sanchez or Micah are sure bets though.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 01:12 PM) Honestly, I don't think it is. Bulls will need to fill out the team with vets if this takes place. They will be a lot more limited in 2 months, or minnesota will need to send more back to fill out the roster with more than 10 day contracts. This trade cannot even become official for a month if it is as advertised. So how you fill out your 12-15 guys IMO is pretty irrelevant. I could understand the Bulls putting a deadline on it, I just can't see them enforcing it. It's not like there are a bunch of these types of guys available. And if the Bulls think Love to Cleveland is inevitable, they might as well play along to help Minnesota extract everything they can from them.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:59 PM) Sun-Times Basketball ‏@suntimes_hoops 6m Per source: Forman put a deadline on TWolves response so that there isn’t this back-and-forth playing the Cavs and Bulls against each other. Forman be like "get outta my miiind" Maybe he did, but to think if Minnesota came back a month or 2 from now and said they would make the deal, and Gar says it's no longer on the table, is laughable.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:36 PM) I agree it probably drags out but they could agree now since any deal is likely on Love resigning. If he does so now the agreement will leak. I can see that, but this is the NBA, there really isn't going to be much negotiating with Love's next contract. He is going to make max or extremely close, so there really isn't much left to decide. If he's willing to go to Cleveland, I can't imagine him not willing to sign for the same money with the Bulls or Golden State or Denver or whoever else is mentioned after him at this time.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:27 PM) Yeah, but agreements can be in place and deals finalized in a month. Yes, so if true, this will probably drag on for at least that long. Why accept the offer now? It's not like the Bulls have other places to go to pick up a star. Why not wait and maybe some other team sweetens their offer. I doubt the Bulls are going to pull it before any games are played. Just another slow news day in the NBA, so time to get the Bulls fans excited before the dissappointment. This is playing out just like Melo. Possible, then no chance. Then, well maybe. Next is actually the Bulls are frontrunners, and finally, Love to Cleveland.

McBuckets can't be traded for a month.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:13 PM) Sun-Times Basketball ‏@suntimes_hoops 2m According to a Timberwolves source, the Bulls made a "significant offer'' for Kevin Love this morning and it's being "heavily considered.'' According to the source, Timberwolves reached out to Bulls last night to let them know Cavs offer was best on the table ... So Cowley said yesterday it's all BS, now he says it's true? Some things never change. This still seems like the Bulls are being used to come in 2nd place again.

Beckham is bound to rebound at least a little bit. If someone picks him up for nothing and the Sox take on some money, they will get a bargain.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 12:03 PM) And Pedro Hernandez was part of the trade that sent Liriano over to the Sox, for whatever that's worth. Speaking of Quentin, he's been absolutely brutal this year. You wonder if maybe, finally, years and years of being injured has finally caught up to him. He is playing hurt. When he was in town he could barely make it down the first base line. But I wonder if he will ever even play 100 games in a season again. It's too bad. If he could have remained healthy, he would have been a beast. What surprises me is as far as I can tell, none of his injuries which has caused him to miss time are the result of HBP.