Dick Allen

I still wonder what Buddy holds over everyone to remain employed in baseball. When he managed, with every organization he managed, the team was better the year before and the year after he managed them than they were when he managed them. And his comments about some of the stiffs currently in the White Sox system lead me to believe he must be a volunteer they just don't have the heart to tell him to go take a walk.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:38 PM) Good, let them do something silly and Rodon falls to us. I think if it were up to Loria, Rodon would be their pick.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:27 PM) Can someone get me the EXACT percentage of Aiken to the Cubs please? 0% would be exact unless he dies before the draft, which keeps it at 0%.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) Kiley McDaniel ‏@kileymcd 19s The Carlos Rodon bonus demand hammer has dropped. I'm told its $6 million plus. Aiken heavy favorite to go 1-1 now. The 1-1 slot value is over $7.9 million.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) Let's just pick Sale again Have him work on throwing right handed.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) Ridiculous post. Yeah I don't understand it. Most players picked in the first round turn out far from stars, and some of the guys picked later, turn into them. This isn't the NBA or NFL.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 01:23 PM) Idk. I can see it: Astros take Rodon, who the Marlins wanted. Marlins then take Jackson, who is 2nd on their board. Then all it takes is either of the rumors that Sox love Kolek OR Nola to be true. But the odds of all that happening have to be less than 1 in 5.

Appel could have gone #1 in 2012, but refused to sign. The Pirates drafted him, he didn't sign and wound up going #1 in 2013 and signed for significantly under slot. He did make about $350k extra in what was alledgedly offered to him to be #1 in 2012 vs. 2013, but that seems like a best case scenerio and a steep price to pay for even the extra year it probably costs him before he gets to arbitration.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 01:00 PM) Is this still not understood? They will spend the money even if they don't get the BPA. That would be the point. I think he means on the BPA instead of spending less on the top pick so you can spend more on later picks. I'm with him 100% on that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:57 AM) Baseball Hall ‏@BaseballHall 12m No player selected with the overall No. 1 pick since the start of the #MLBDraft in 1965 has earned #HOF election. Not for long.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:41 AM) I've never been such a crack head about a draft - so it'll be interesting to watch the whole damned thing Can't wait. I will watch it tonight, but really MLB network doesn't keep things all that interesting to me. They will probably have Harold Reynolds on again, who I like during the major league games, but he knows less about these prospects than 90% of this board.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 11:36 AM) So I have not seen any of John's last 3 starts, is his fastball looking better or is he just keeping his slow stuff down and hitting his spots? He's keeping the ball down. I wasn't looking at the pitch speed the last couple on TV but his last start at USCF which Belli gave up 3 in the 9th, he was hitting 90-91 reguarly the first 5 or 6 innings.

2 predictions that are locks: Whoever the Sox select first, it will be the player they have been targeting all along, and they will be in disbelief that the player they select with their second choice slipped to them. And the one thing I will be skipping tonight when watching the draft is Bud announcing the Dodgers and Angels picks. His pronounciation of Los Angeleese is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:41 AM) I believe they ask his opinions as he has been around the game of baseball for 50 years, but I don't think he's a big influence. If anything, Steve Stone's brain would be the one to pick, as we are considering several different pitchers. This is what I don't understand. Stone is just as anti-saber as Hawk. He mentions wins when judging pitchers seasons. Yet it is totally ignored. I do agree he knows a bit about pitching, and when they had the TJ segment the other day, his part where he showed how the younger HS guys throw breaking balls incorrectly causing eventual problems was top notch. But Stone is just as anti-HS pitcher as Hawk.

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:17 AM) I view Hawk more as the senile grandfather of the organization. Is a dignified figure in theory, but in reality is kind of a embarrassment. Hawk is far more dialed in than you think. They still seek his opinions on players, and he talks to scouts all the time.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jun 5, 2014 -> 10:30 AM) I believe Keith Law has a new mock up this morning with the Sox taking Nola. Not an insider though, so can't verify. Didn't he say just a couple of days ago Kolek to the Sox was the biggest lock of the draft?

In 2004, the Sox had 6 picks in the first 69 selections and 7 picks in the first 89 selections. They signed them all, and so far the group has a cumulative 13.7 career WAR. 14.7 of that WAR is Gio Gonzalez for other teams. So that produced negative WAR for the Sox. It was poor drafting and /or development.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) The White Sox were dead last in all of baseball from 2007 to 2011 in draft spending. They spent $18 million over that time. To drive home how low that was, the Marlins were #29 and spent $21 million or about 15% more. But how does that absolve KW from misallocating funds. He had $4 million for 1 month of Manny after the draft. When he was busted and disgusted, he was able to get Peavy and Rios during the season and after the draft. They claimed at the time this was money they "found". Was it money earmarked for draft picks they decidided against? We won't know that unless they come out and say it, but obviously there were funds available to go overslot if they chose. They didn't choose. When Borchard was there they spent big. Maybe that left a bad taste, but $4 million for one month of Manny was pretty sad.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:41 PM) That was just his initial assessment. No one really knew for sure where it would end up. Just go look at what the guesses were...they were all over the place. I understand that, but it does indicate even further Paddy isn't the reason Abrue is a White Sox.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) Jose Abreu was not a "diamond in the rough." We was the best, most developed, most mature, and most celebrated hitter on the island of Cuba. No one had to "find" him. And JR was the money man. If they stuck with KW's original 4 year $40 million, Abreu would be elsewhere.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) I would take a chance on Joe Borchard every time. Incredible talent. That's fair, but he was at the time, the most expensive draft choice in major league history. And remained so for several years. The White Sox paid slot in other years. The reason their system sucked as bad as it sucked was talent evaluation, not bonuses allocated.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:25 PM) Well isn't Paddy basically Kenny's assistant? Since he named JR and Hahn and himself, I would imagine if the reason Jose Abreu is a White Sox is Paddy, KW might have at least mentioned him once. I suppose he could be not being straight, so your choice is a Ben Badler tweet or KW quotes. I'm going with the quotes.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 02:14 PM) His draft record is tied to him pushing the limits of the payroll every year and not having anything left over to spend on amateur talent and having to draft players that he could get at a discount. Borchard, Joe

KW might want to check with Laumann and Hahn. They both pretty much said the Sox were taking a pitcher.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 09:40 PM) Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler 2m Another home run for Jose Abreu. Not like this guy was a secret. Marco Paddy and the White Sox just flat out beat other teams on him. There are a few guys on this board who continue to say that Marco Paddy didn't bring in Abreu though...... Because he didn't http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...-white-sox.html