Dick Allen

Bring back Donnie Veal.

Hawk just said its a good thing he didn't get it up.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 06:10 PM) Well yeah, it wasn't good enough to begin with, that's a consequence of this being a rebuilding year. That bullpen was designed to set us up to potentially compete next year. Give time to some young guys who have promise but no experience, run a couple tryouts to find a diamond or two in the rough who we can control for several years, and pitch the couple assets we have at the back of the bullpen to potentially build their trade value or get them experience in the closer's role. Unfortunately, the last part of that, the guys who should be the strength, have been injured, but we have succeeded on the "getting experience for several guys" and "finding a diamond or two in the rough" part already. Matt Lindstrom wasn't a strength. He was names the closer by default. The Giants won the WS losing their closer early in 2012 and the Yankees overcame Mariano Rivera getting hurt to win 95 games that same year. Jones and Lindstrom aren't even in the same league as those guys. And with the volatility of relievers what good does finding a diamond in the rough do you going forward? Would it surprise anyone if Putnam and Petricka become gas cans next season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 03:30 PM) So 10 years since a team lost both and was successful? There also was the 2013 Red Sox. It is Matt Lindstrom and Nate Jones. If losing those guys makes you the worst in baseball, it wasn't nearly good enough to begin with.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 03:10 PM) Losing both your closer, and your primary set up man is a big blow to any team. Again, what other teams have done that this year, and not had any problems? Just off the top of my head: Oakland lost their closer for poor performance, yet they are comfortably in first place. The 2005 White Sox lost their closer to a DFA, then lost his replacement who was a set up guy to a back injury, and they were in first place every day that season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 02:58 PM) How many bullpens lost their primary closer and primary set up guys for multiple months this year? You are actually saying losing Matt Lindstrom was a big blow? I like Nate Jones, but if you don't have anyone who can replace the 2014 version of Matt Lindstrom, you have issues. There are no excuses. The bullpen has sucked.

I think the Bulls work out a trade for Love tomorrow night and everyone wins. Melo can say he was seriously considering the Bulls when he's at his Knicks press conference, getting him off the hook for saying it's not about the money, when it was about the money, and we will get to hear Lebron say he was really, really interested in joining DRose. The Bulls still get their guy and the other guys can claim they would have seriously considered playing for less in order to win with the Bulls. It will also save all of us Bulls fans from the usual just missed we seem to have been now programmed to expect with Gar/Pax.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 02:09 PM) Yes, I think if you take the 8th and 9th inning guys out of a bullpen completely, that's pretty much the difference between dead last and somewhere in the middle of the pack. This bullpen is completely up in the air because it lost those guys, that pushed everyone else into roles they weren't comfortable with, and we're watching the results right now. With how those guys would have been used, they probably would have picked up 1/3 of the bullpen innings or more if they were here for the full season. The bullpen was bad when Lindstrom was healthy. To say an average bullpen is one Nate Jones injury away from being the worst is a little far-fetched, IMO. The ninth inning is a different story, but if the current bullpen is loaded with guys that can only pitch the 6th inning, or only pitch the 7th inning, an overhaul is needed badly. Belisario and Lindstrom both got the closer role mostly based on previous experience. And besides, you would have to be very lucky to go an entire year without injuries to your pitching staff.

If you are trading Alexei, you could definitely use a SS. Whether or not the Sox have a guy who can stick at SS at the major league level currently in their system is extremely questionable at this time.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 12:54 PM) Part of it is also injuries. Yes, but Lindstrom wasn't exactly adored around here. Nate Jones has had his moments, but is he the difference from being ranked last to at least middle of the pack? How is this fixed? Is it just luck? No one complained when Hahn signed Belisario and Downs. Cleto, Francisco, all that garbage were thought to below risk/high reward moves, and applauded. Putnam and Petricka have been way better than anyone could have thought. Moving forward, do you spend big money on the bullpen? Last time it was this awful, Linebrink and Dotel were brought in. Or do you develop your own and hope you are lucky? The facts are, we often say the Sox are pretty good at developing pitchers. A lot of people praised Hahn's moves, including the bullpen moves, and we often hear about the magic of Don Cooper. Yet, last in baseball. If relievers are really a dime a dozen, is it just going to be dumb luck when they have a good bullpen, and just bad luck when it's awful? You can't get away with a mediocre bullpen anymore. Some will say the Sox really weren't trying to compete this year, but Hahn did spend money on his bullpen, and there is no way he was thinking they would be as bad as they have been, and no way he is fine with it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) I mean, yeah if they get Melo that's fine as a back-up. But I don't want any more guys on the team that are good defense/good rebounder types. I want offensive players. Otherwise they're just setting up for failure again. We need guys to shoot. That's how you beat Miami. See, the Spurs. Payne's a really good shooter for his size. Hit 42% from 3 pt. range last season.

I saw McDermott working out with others at my gym. Granted there was nobody guarding him, but in the little drill I saw, he hit about 90% of his 3s.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 11:31 AM) They could go into their future picks too, including that Charlotte pick next year. Isn't the Charlotte pick this year?

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 25, 2014 -> 10:12 AM) If Rose plays for Team USA it shouldn't take him very long to get acclimated in Chicago. I agree. The rust should be gone, but I do think it's fair for people to always think he will come up lame at some point.

According to fangraphs, the White Sox have the worst bullpen in baseball. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=...0&sort=15,a

Anorexei can't get off the RBI drought.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 07:38 PM) And an OPS of 639 on the season. Which is still 119 points behind that noted slugger Gordon Beckham. Yet in another thread, you try to make Davidson's .649 OPS in AAA seem not so bad.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 07:25 PM) Who was taken at 113? Ty Morrison. I just took the first 3 rounds and supplemental picks.

As bad as some say Beckham has been, there are only 2 players taken after him in the first 112 picks of that draft with a higher career WAR, Lawrie and Kimbrel, and only one picked before him, Posey.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 10:57 AM) I think one of the reasons he would opt out is there's some talk Heat would trade him, if he opts out they can't. They obviously can't trade a FA and if he re-signs there's a window they can't trade him (begging of next year I think?) It will be interesting to see what Wade and Bosh do though. I was reading an article which basically stated Bosh on the open market isn't getting anywhere near what he is owed, and Wade even less. LeBron opting out first really will make those 2 look like the bad guys if he doesn't return. It's a genius move.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 10:54 AM) John Paxson? Gar Forman? That's BS. Granted they haven't gotten it done, and if they can't this year, it's time the Reinsdorf's reconsider their positions, but that's like saying the Sox really didn't want Tanaka last off season, so they really don't want to win., Getting it done and not caring are 2 very different things. I doubt you would tell John Paxson to his face he didn't care about winning if you had an opportunity. A couple disadvantages they have is Chicago in the winter and they really can't offer any more money than other teams. But if they can't convince them, it is time to bring in someone who might.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 24, 2014 -> 10:25 AM) No one knows what the offers really are right now. I think that speculation is just silly. I think the only thing we know is that Boras is asking for more than what the Sox are offering. Technically Rodon is asking for more. If Boras talks to the White Sox on his behalf, going back to play baseball at NC State is off the table. Obviously these rules have been bent often, but the White Sox are one of the teams that turned someone in for that. Aiken agreed to terms a while back but just signed his contract. This is no big deal. You always had to figure it would go to the deadline, and he will sign for slightly more than slot and Boras will look like he extracted the final dollars from the Sox.

Whatever happened to the greatest draft ever? Teams are trying to dump draft picks just like any other draft.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 04:07 PM) I like the Drabek idea a lot. I'm tired of reclamation projects but Drabek's stuff combined with Cooper's eye is intriguing. Drabek does have sick movement. He has had 2 TJ surgeries.

My brother ran into Melo today in Paris. I guess Nike was throwing Melo a party in the same building my brother and sister in law are staying. My sister in law told him they were from Chicago, Melo said "uh oh". So Pippen might not be recruiting, but just part of this Nike party.