Dick Allen

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 14, 2014 -> 01:29 PM) Kolek is a beast but I've read stuff lately (maybe DA posted it) about how doctors are saying that the adolescent ligament is simply not designed to handle consistently throwing in the upper 90's. The fact that this guy is the hardest thrower of the draft era means he's at a singular risk of injury. Idk, I'd take him if he falls probably, but I'd be terrified. If it's him left at 3 and the Sox choose a hitter, I'll understand. If they choose Nola or something, I'll be disappointed. He scares me, and the only reason is because he throws too hard. It seems crazy. If he is the one left standing when the Sox pick, it will make me wish you could trade picks and move down several slots and maybe add other prospects. You could then take Hoffman, a guy they loved, and he's already had the surgery, and get a couple of decent minor league prospects. Maybe like the chat says, the Sox are the perfect organization for him. That doesn't mean the damage hasn't already been done, and it's not like White Sox pitchers are immune to injury.

QUOTE (Bruce_Blixton @ May 14, 2014 -> 01:29 PM) 40 years ago... There was a time the White Sox actually doled out some cash in the draft. It wasn't big money, but in 1982 KW got the highest bonus of any player. He also got the exact same bonus Junior Griffey received as the #1 overall player taken in 1987. Jack McDowell got $5k more than him in the same draft. And Joe Borchard was given the biggest bonus ever at the point he was drafted in 2002. It lasted as a record for several years.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 14, 2014 -> 01:23 PM) I did not know that. That must be weird to have to take the bus anywhere you need to go. Trains are better than buses, and if the weather is OK, a bike is better than a bus. If I take the bus to work, even with bus tracker which will tell me when the bus will be at my stop, it takes about 20 minutes from the time I step on the bus to the time I sit at my desk. It's about 12 minutes from the time I walk out my door until the time I sit at my desk if I take a bike. If I take a bus to work, I will walk home. I don't own a car anymore. I use car sharing. Zipcar. The other thing is, when you are used to it, you walk a lot. Walking a mile or 2, I think nothing of it. When I was younger and lived in the suburbs, I would drive to go half a mile.

QUOTE (Bruce_Blixton @ May 14, 2014 -> 01:13 PM) Past performance does not predict future results. All of those previous picks were mid-round picks where the talent level tends to level out amongst the available prospects, this situation is completely different since we have the 3rd overall pick. If Aiken is there at #3 then we should be completely ecstatic, I don't think the Kershaw comps are that far off with him. There were 3 or 4 top 10.

It is a little strange a DUI can get you suspended for a game or a half of a game, but do a bong in your dorm room, you may have to sit out a season.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 14, 2014 -> 12:32 PM) Could have sworn if a player is DFA, they have to pass through waivers unless they have options Not necessarily. It's possible Hahn has tried to trade him and sees no possibility so they may have put him on release waivers today, but technically DFA gets them off the roster and buys a team time (10 days) to do something with him, like a trade.

The White Sox have selected 10 HS pitchers in their history in the first round and supplemental first round. The best of all of them was Gio Gonzalez a #38 pick, although he is one of the 7 out of 10 who never won a game in a White Sox uniform. The other 2 are Steve Trout with 37 wins and Chris Knapp with 15, and Joel Davis with 8.

DFA doesn't mean placed on waivers. Although he could have been.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 14, 2014 -> 12:10 PM) Yesterday was his season debut. 25% chance he gets hurt before Friday. It is actually not until the 30th, so yeah, seeing TCQ is probably a long shot.

I wish someone would pay me $8 million not to do something.

Keppinger's AB always reminded me of Farmio's line when Buehrle pitched except for a hitter. "He pitches like he has his car double-parked on 35th Street."

Some team may take the contract if the Sox throw in a good chunk of change because if they think he can play, they would have him fairly cheap for 2 years.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 14, 2014 -> 11:52 AM) https://twitter.com/JKeppinger/status/466620010157596672 It was nice enough of him to tweet that. I don't understand why people have to rip on him in response. The internet gives a lot of people a lot of courage.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 14, 2014 -> 11:40 AM) I know not all of those guys would get DFA'd, I'm just saying those are candidates. I agree about De Aza because he provides depth and Sox have nothing in the OF in the minors besides maybe Mitchell or Thompson. Jordan Danks and Blake Tekotte are your minor league OF depth for the Sox this year. And that's not saying much. Losing Garcia for the year and Eaton for a little while really thins out the OF. It just really sucks that it will be another year at least before the Sox really know what they really have in Garcia. It kind of puts a damper on offseason activity.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 14, 2014 -> 10:56 AM) Keppinger got that on the strength of a .325/.367/.439 (128 wRC+) walk year. If Beckham does that, he won't be looking for a job. Ironically he got that 3 year $12 million contract one year after being non tendered.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 14, 2014 -> 11:23 AM) I don't think that's true. Pitchers aren't working their arms that much besides throwing their regimen usually includes running for 45 minutes after starts and squats/lunges and an emphasis on the core. What I found more interesting, something that I can't comment towards intelligibly, was their ideas surrounding the height of the mound. Supposedly if the MLB raised the mound 2-3 inches it would be a lot easier to get the tilt on the offspeed pitches. Hawk has been mentioning raising the mound and getting bigger seams on the balls for years as a way to reduce pitching injuries. They wouldn't need the max effort every pitch for max movement or to get guys out.

I think they will try to trade him for a piece of crap prospect while eating most of the contract. Maybe TB would want him back. Do they have any 25 year old A ball pitchers with 8.00 ERA's and more walks than innings pitched? You figure they already paid him $1 million this year, so he's got about $7 miilion left. If he gets the minimum this year and next, it comes out to a little more than $6 million the Sox ultimately eat. Not huge.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 14, 2014 -> 11:11 AM) Then might I suggest never drafting a high school pitcher because they will likely get hurt. It's fine drafting them. But unless you are really, really confident they are the second coming of Dwight Gooden, picking them that high is beyond a risk. 2 guys drafted high that had success where Gavin Floyd who was drafted in 2001 but became a regular rotation member in 2008, and Grienke who was drafted in 2002 and he wasn't a real effective starting pitcher until 2008. And I don't think many of have a future Gavin Floyd in 7 years on the wishlist for the #3 pick. One of the articles I linked said HS pitchers selected in the top 30 had a 69% bust rate from 2004-2008: The high-end high school pitcher always has been a risky bet. The 26 high school pitchers taken among the first 30 picks in the draft from 2004-08 had a failure rate of 69 percent, including about a one in four chance of never seeing the big leagues at all. And now the bet has grown even riskier as the threat of injury grows. And in the other one I linked, Andrews listed some things causing this increase, and you could put a check next to every one when you analyze Kolek. Basically, taking a HS pitcher with the 3rd pick in the draft, is an Adam Dunn AB where he cannot draw a walk since a walk wouldn't be acceptable for a pick this high. It's either going 450 feet, or he's walking back to the dugout in a chorus of boos.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 14, 2014 -> 10:08 AM) Ok, well if not, then the millions of dollars in salary should be. I know I'd personally believe it was an issue. Beckham will be good enough to where the dollars are fine in 2015.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 14, 2014 -> 10:00 AM) If he doesn't play well enough to get tendered a contract this year, he will have a problem finding a job at the $5m+/yr he'd make if he went through arb again. And I'm guessing he'd like to avoid transplanting his family. I don't think the White Sox have many, if any, players or coaches who live in Chicago full-time. I don't think that is an issue.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 14, 2014 -> 09:41 AM) The pressure comes from the fact that he make 10x more money than the others and can easily be non-tendered. He will have no problem finding a job.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ May 14, 2014 -> 09:41 AM) No, people with Beckham hate realize he's a bust and want someone else there, it has nothing to do with Semien. BS. Semien was actually called a "professional hitter" by a Beckham hating mouth breather. People were disregarding he leads the league in striking out, pointing out his taking pitches helps the rest of the offense. Well his 4 strikeouts last night, helped the team pound out 4 hits. His flaws ignored. Just get rid of Beckham. Well, Semien isn't as good as Beckham.

Why would he feel pressure from these guys? You project Semien's numbers over the same amount of plate appearances Adam Dunn made during his historically bad 2011 campaign, and they are pretty similar, except you gain a few more hits, lose a few more walks. People with Beckham hate have that hatred blind them into thinking Semien is better. At least at this time, he is not.

If you want to go Friday against SD and The Carlos Quentin, here's a deal, and it's fireworks night, which means either, A. watch the surprisingly nice show, or B. Quick getaway. Get Lower Box tickets for $25 ($40 value) or snag seats in Outfield Reserved for only $12 ($22 value). Bleachers and Upper Box tickets are available for just $10/per ticket on this exciting day ($15-$20 value). Your special offer code is ACADEMY.

I have both driven and taken the Red Line to the games for years, even back when the Red Line stop for 35th wasn't in the middle of the Dan Ryan but over on State when the Robert Taylor Homes were still around. I admit it was a little nervewracking walking back to that stop after an extra inning game with little crowd, but it was fine. The CTA seems to be getting it's act together fixing up stations and it's tracks. For me, that is now the way to go, but if the price of parking is an issue, go to a bar or restaurant near the park before the game and park on the street for free. Ask them for a temporary parking pass. They will give you one.