Dick Allen

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 10:18 AM) Outside of Abreu, I don't think any of those guys were expected to have the Baez/Bryant/Schwarber power tool. More like 30-HR range at peak. Hawkins has that power.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jul 25, 2014 -> 10:08 AM) Although the chances of this actually happening are incredibly tiny, it is nuts to think the Cubs could have 3 40+ HR guys in the middle of their lineup in Bryant, Schwarber and Baez. That's not even counting Rizzo. Baez looks like the most likely to bust. He seems an all-or-nothing type -- either he's an 8-time all star or he doesn't even stick in the majors. I've read a couple people on here think Baez could bust. He's 1 year older than Courtney Hawkins and really starting to pick it up in AAA. If he was a White Sox prospect, I doubt there would be bust talk, but rather Jose Abreu protection. I hope he busts, but I think it's really unlikely. I think he's a sure-fire major leaguer whose floor as long as he doesn't get hurt, is an average hitter.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 09:07 PM) Eaton is fun to watch. I think the only concern is health--if he only plays 120 games a year, somebody else has to pick up those games. Time will tell if he's more durable than that. That is the only question.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 09:02 PM) Gordon Beckham has things figured out finally and should get a contract extension. SoxTalk two months ago. Find one post that stated anything about a contract extension.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:58 PM) Was Ross Gload a contributor? I'm sure his path was even more circuitous. Gload played in the major leagues as a 24 year old.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:52 PM) Ha, Frank just tweeted a picture that AJ, Rowand and Dye showed up in Cooperstown for him. Awesome. Not AJ. Everyone hates AJ.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:52 PM) Fuld just gave Beckham a double there by getting turned around and taking a bad route. So that makes up for some of his "hard outs" recently. LMAO. I know you're a Beckham hater, but this is ridiculous. Beckham smoked the ball and Fuld had no chance.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:50 PM) Can't believe they gave Plouffe a hit last inning. Stupid That was obviously a hit.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:45 PM) Noesi's out there just pitching. Not trying to be too cute or fine or anything. It works here. Hopefully the rest of the staff will look and realize they aren't exactly facing the Tigers offense the rest of this series.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:45 PM) Categorically discounting every minor league prospect because they're older than Dayan Viciedo (or comparing their development arcs) makes even less sense. Soon to be 26 year olds in the minor leagues who have never sniffed the majors, face long odds of being comtributors.

I think De Aza heard footsteps.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:03 PM) But that definition, we should just release 60% of our AAA and AA rosters. The Purge 3. You make no sense. Most of your minor league system will never play an inning in the major leagues.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 08:07 PM) Dunn knocks Hughes out of the game. Wilkins couldn't have done that. I' m kidding. Or am I?

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 07:18 PM) Plenty of people (including me) would have said 'if he can simply keep hitting how he has for the past month and a half, he could be brought up when Dunn leaves.' Well he's obviously done way better than that. Even if he "cools off" back to his June level of hitting .300 with power he's worth the call up. I think he may be a more valuable baseball player than Viciedo right now and in 2015 and on. Being left-handed matters. A lot. He is older than Viciedo.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 07:44 PM) Then what is Kendrys Morales? I need to understand. Chick with a nice body with the but her face. If you play your cards correctly, you don't have to see the face.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 06:57 PM) The Padres are more interesting because they have no GM and yet seemingly are making trades everyday. Plus the Cubs fans have their Iowa team to flip back and forth to for a diversion. We have The Great Andy Wilkins Debate. Somehow, I'm sure the Cubs/Pads game will win the ratings battle. At least Robin Ventura has made it quite convenient by placing our three best hitters 1-3...so we can now tune out for the 4-9 hitters. Finally, Matt Guerrier was just DFA'ed by the Twins. Might as well bring him back to Chicago so his career can come full circle. Yeah no GM is far more interesting than Jose Abreu.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 06:47 PM) Welcome to Mr. Irrelevant...err, most irrelevant MLB game on the docket for today, except for draft choice position next June. Nice try Twins...you gave Kendrys Morales his spring training at the MLB level and then probably shipped him out at pennies on the dollar to the M's. Building that new ballpark was the worst thing that ever happened to them from a competitive standpoint. It has turned into Safeco Central. Far more irrelevant than the SD\Cubs tilt.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 05:15 PM) No. He was leading the team in home runs before this week. He was on pace for 25 or so for the season. He had an excellent June (.877 OPS), an unbelievable July (1.456 OPS) and one of the best weeks for any player anywhere in recent memory. He's batting .447 in July. He's batting .368 since June 1. It's bizarre how hard you're trying to diminish that performance as just one lucky week. 7 games ago he was hitting .251 with a less than .300 OBP. I don't recall anyone saying the Sox just had to see what he can do at the major league level.

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?