Dick Allen

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 11:50 AM) I agree with that article's sentiment. Regardless of whether that's a large amount of money, if Tanaka just got what he did, it's probably worth the risk for Scherzer. I disagree with it. For one thing, they are only counting major league regular season pitches, except for Tanaka. Why wouldn't the pitches he threw in college or HS and the minor leagues count? Pitchers are time bombs that will explode. IMO, the guys who have shown they can throw a lot of pitches and not get injured is more of a positive than strike against. All these guys get physicals when they sign. If 20,000 pitches showed a ton of wear and tear, the team would walk away. And when you get older, other parts of your body usually become a little more injury prone, which in itself can cause you to miss time, not to mention setting yourself up with a more serious injury by compensating for the other not so serious one. And that is not even counting what father time naturally does to one's skills. IMO, Scherzer's advanced age is more of a red flag than his total pitches is a go sign.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 06:51 PM) Shaka is going to Marquette. That would really surprise me. Why would he not go to Illinois but go to Marquette? That's just silly. Unless he was just scared.

If the Dodgers or Yankees aren't involved, prices seem to decrease.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 09:34 AM) Because Mike Rizzo is an asshole. I think Rizzo was the White Sox scout who recommended Frank Thomas.

Also remember there are a limited number of teams that will shell out that kind of contract. With Greinke and Kershaw, would the Dodgers go there? Would the Yankees go there? Will the Red Sox? The Rangers? I doubt the Angels. Maybe the Cubs, but if Theo wouldn't go there with Tanaka, I doubt he goes there with a guy who would turn 31 during the season. Obviously, it depends on how this season goes and teams needs, but I liken this to the Abreu situation which got the Sox a guy who if some other teams were involved, would have cost a lot more, I think Scherzer is making a mistake. Even if he isn't, I don't know how you walk away from a guaranteed $144 million.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 02:18 PM) A great question is how much do you think Scherzer would have gotten if he were on the FA market. Obviously a team would have overpaid for him, but to what extent, I have no idea. The thing is, for him to get what he turned down, he is going to have to be lights out again. Seems to me you are risking well over $100 million for maybe $20-30 million if everything went right. He would be the oldest pitcher to get one of those contracts if he gets one after this season. Who knows, maybe he hates it in Detroit.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 02:01 PM) If he's healthy at the end of this season he'll clear that easily and you know it. He's had one great year and 2 really good ones. I don't know why you risk $24 million a year for 6 years at 29 years old for a great year. 6 years $144 million. How much more do you need? The risk far outweighs the reward IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 01:56 PM) Especially when you consider Scherzer just turned down 6/144. Scherzer is an idiot.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 12:26 PM) Yes, I read that too, but it still is not true. Yes, it was 28, which is still a lot of 2 runs or less at USCF. 15 times they scored 3. I wonder where they got 50. Maybe they added them with the road numbers where they scored 2 or fewer 25 times and another 15 times scored 3. 53 times in 2013 they scored 2 or fewer runs, and 83 times they scored 3 or fewer. That is pretty brutal.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 09:31 AM) Maybe that changed then? I thought it was always that way, but maybe they stopped doing it that way. It would be worth asking. It is how it's always been. If you don't purchase playoff tickets, you don't lose your seniority. The only way you lose it is to purchase them and then get a refund for unused tickets instead of a credit to your account.

The reason Mitchell is still around is because he was a first round pick. They spend money on him, they want to see it all the way through. We all know there is a better chance a "Give Adam Dunn a 4 year extension" thread is posted in the middle of May, and the consensus is everyone agrees with the thread starter, than Mitchell becoming a productive major league player.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:23 AM) If the Cubs prospects were the Sox prospects, then the Sox would have had 3 straight 90 loss teams and another one possible, and I think the discussion here would be more medieval and angry Why would people be angry? Many here have thought losing for draft picks is the proper strategy? If Baez and Bryant were White Sox prospects, and if the Sox have won the bidding war with the Cubs for Soler, I think most here would more pleased with the prospect of future White Sox seasons than they are right now.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:14 AM) And I said, take Abreu out, which you ignored to continue the argument. Yes, but you said that after the fact. You included him him your original White Sox core. I hope the Cubs suck forever. The fact is, if their pieces were White Sox pieces, you would be talking them up more than you are talking up Matt Davidson right now. Some of these guys on both teams are going to not amount to much. Right now, the Cubs have more room for error just because they have more highly thought of prospects in quantity if not quality.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:15 AM) Who did, and what were they willing to give up? In order to judge if someone would have given up something better, you have to know that. Otherwise it is just an exercise at making stuff for arguments sake. Yet your argument that no one did and nothing else could have been offered is based on what? The early word was everone on the White Sox roster except Sale, Quintana and Abreu were available, and Reed was right up there with them, as practically unavailable, so apparently there were inquiries.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:09 AM) I'm not the one saying they could have gotten something better What I am saying is ultimately, if Davidson busts or just is below average, a different deal may have been better, which makes the statement that even if he is below average, the deal was good not really true even if Reed is just another guy.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:07 AM) I don't think anyone has expectations for a big year this year. There are a lot of young players and new players in this line up. I think most of us, me included, are expecting significantly more runs. The problem is, when you really look at it, as bad as it was last year, it really isn't a given. Hopefully, a couple guys get hot and it spreads, like the 1977 Hitmen.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:06 AM) Who would have given something better? Who was the prospect? You don't think anyone wanted Addison Reed ?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:00 AM) Your core isn't your prospects. Why is that so difficult? Your prospects are definitely part of your core. If you don't think Baez and Bryant aren't part of the Cubs core, but think Abreu is part of the White Sox core, like you did post, you aren't being consistent.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) So, to summarize: If Davidson is good, we are happy. If Davidson is not good, we are not happy, because someone(we don't know who) would have given up something better for Reed. Yes, because I was responding to the post that said even if he was below average, it was a good trade.

I am still really concerned about the White Sox offense this year. Considering the changes were Garcia for Rios, Eaton for De Aza and Abreu for Konerko, De Aza and Rios were 2 of the more productive hitters last season. The Sox are going to need a lot of guys to improve and Abreu is going to have a lot of pressure to put up big numbers. The schedule is tough early, when Abreu may need some adjustment time, especially if it's cold. I read the Sox scored 2 or less runs in over 50 home games last year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 09:38 AM) Um, we turned a 3rd round draft pick (Addison Reed) into the teams probable future starting 3B for the next 6ish years, at a cost that will probably be around $14 million TOTAL. That is why you don't forfeit draft picks without a damned good reason to do so. This deal is exactly the value play that everyone is talking about. Yet you laugh at anyone calling the Cubs top prospects "a core". Do you know BP ranks 7 Cubs prospects ahead of Davidson? If Davidson is the regular 3rd baseman for 6 years, and performs, it's a good trade. If he is Brent Morel or Josh Fields, 2 guys who at one time were ranked just as high, or in Fields' case, even higher, and Reed is productive, it wasn't a good trade, because you most probably could have received something else for Reed, if indeed, he had to go.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 09:19 AM) Sergio Santos for Molina was the waste of an asset. Edwin Jackson for Zach Stewart was the waste of an asset, largely. Davidson just has to hit 18-24 homers per season and play slightly above league average defense. How many times have we been over this "closer" issue? Jones, Belisario, Lindstrom, Webb and maybe even Cleto all have the ability stuff-wise to close....as the White Sox have proven since Joe Crede/Uribe left, it's MUCH harder to find a 3B OR to find a leadoff hitter than it is to find short relievers/set-up guys. At some point, you need a reliable, 80-85-90% closer, but it's not the biggest issue facing the club right now. And Reed's never going to be anything special....just that low 80% type of save guy, like Santos was as well. I get a kick out of everyone kicking Reed saying he won't be anything special, but once you start mentioning forfeiting the second round pick, guys like Reed, because he was a 3rd rounder IIRC, suddenly get mentioned as guys you don't want to lose the opportunity to acquire by signing someone their former team feels is worth at least $14 million for a season. The bottom line is if Davidson sucks, the deal wasn't worth it. It is up to him. There is some team out there that would have given up a useful piece for Reed. The White Sox felt Davidson was that piece. If he is a below average 3rd baseman, they aren't going to be happy about it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 08:31 AM) Matt Davidson could absolutely play in Chicago right now, but Gillaspie has experience and a lot of times guys who play their first full season in the majors come back the next year and perform better. It's worth seeing if Gillaspie improves. However, that's only the surface and the only aspect to which Ventura and Hahn will admit. See, the real reason is that if the Sox wait until June - for Davidson to "work on his fundamentals on defense" (because he couldn't do that at the big league level, obviously) - is that they'll be able to save a year of service time for him. However, if they were to admit that exact thing publicly, the player's union would be on their ass so fast and so hard that they'd probably be forced to give up that year of service time regardless of how long they had him in the minors as they'd be suggesting that he's the best player but they want him to hang around a little longer. And here's the skinny on that trade: Addison Reed is a reliever, one that got touched up quite often over the past two years. He has good stuff, but he's a fairly average closer type, which is to say he'd be a fantastic set up man, but he's still just a reliever. He also only has 4 years of service left before he reaches free agency. Meanwhile, the White Sox will control Matt Davidson - a position player - for 6 full years. If he is even a below average regular at 3B over that time frame, he will have been worth the deal. If he is average or above average, the Sox win that deal in a landslide. So if he is a RH Conor Gillaspie and Reed has a productive career, the deal was worth it? Seems to me it would have been a waste of an asset. As long as the guy is good, years of "control" are nice, but if he isn't so good, who cares? Most of this board is very upset over the years of control the Sox have over Adam Dunn.

From Yahoo Sports: Scout's take – "Teams don't want to draft another Greg Oden. Embiid will be No. 1 if there is no back issue. There is only one player in the draft that's a potential franchise player, and that's Embiid. It's a deep draft. When I say franchise player, there are only eight or 10 of those in the league. Embiid has the potential to be one." Jerry West said this draft was overrated, and it appears this scout agrees.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 23, 2014 -> 06:25 PM) Right. Because Jose Abreu is 27 and they're paying him $10m/yr, which is very much not 32+ and $15-25m like I just said. Yes, but you still said even if he couldn't play, blowing $60 million wasn't a big deal.if Hamilton lives up to half his contract, if you are consistent, it won't be that big of a deal,and worth the gamble signing him.