Dick Allen

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 11:49 AM) Although I can't rule out that's how they spent last spring training based on their performance...would you agree that if the team comes out and looks just as fundamentally rotten as last year, that result should be taken as a major, huge failure and a direct indictment of the coaching staff? No. Of course I would think if you want to blame Ventura for De Aza getting thrown out on the bases 11 times and picked off 6 times, you should blame Cooper for Dylan Axelrod getting lit up. I don't blame either. Tyler Flowers not being able to make contact wasn't Manto's fault. The errors both physically and mentally weren't the guys sitting in the dugout's fault. It was on the guys in the field, at the plate, on the mound and on the bases. These aren't 8 year olds. They are grown men. For everyone who blames the manager in this situation, I really hope someday they get to manage a bunch of incompetent people in whatever line of work they are in, that no matter what you try won't make them better, and then have their failure blamed on them. I bet most would see that an entire different way.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 11:23 AM) So you'd agree they did a poor job last year and realized they needed to change preparation tactics? Not neccessarily. Ventura said they actually worked harder on fundamentals in spring training 2013 than they did during spring training 2012, and the result was much worse. I posted this because if they do suck again, it should be noted it wasn't because they were laying around drinking beers all spring.

He certainly can't be up for best actor for his portrayal of a major league baseball player.

From CSN. If the Sox suck this year, please don't blame spring training again. The White Sox have pushed their players harder than in past years in order to get them focused during workouts. Ventura said he and his coaches have taken a strict approach to practices and players have responded. General manager Rick Hahn is pleased with how the pre-exhibition games portion of spring training has been run.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 10:17 AM) Can you imagine if we had dumped Chris Sale for a major league veteran just because Chris was "an unproven prospect"? By the time Sale was eligible to be traded, he was a lot more than an unproven prospect.

QUOTE (MEANS @ Feb 27, 2014 -> 07:39 AM) God I hate the 83 uni's. We wore that style for like 5 years and we seem to promote the crap out of it. They are so many great uniforms in the Sox history and they keep jamming this one down our throats.... I have never been a big fan of the 82 unis either, however, as long as they don't wear them in excess, I enjoy an occassional different look from the black and white. I also like pullovers. They are far more comfortable IMO. I don't know why they went with belts with these uniforms, they didn't use them back then.

If the Cardinals couldn't reel him in, and gave up on him, I think it is going to be difficult to do so, but regardless, you never have too much pitching. Maybe Elmore clears and gets outrighted. He wouldn't be a big loss, but it is interesting having a guy who can play everywhere (even if not very well) in the organization. I wonder why the Sox didn't claim him last year.

Lillian isn't going to be happy.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 11:41 AM) Peavy was also locked into an extra year of his contract to, which in this day an age, also has a price. I'm sure if Baltimore wanted to extend Feldman at what Peavy is getting paid for 2014, they would not have had a problem. Track record is a huge part of determining future performance.

QUOTE (staxx @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 10:10 AM) I think a lot depends on how much they believe in Semien and how little they believe in Beckham If they believed in Beckham as little as some around here do, and thought Semien was ready to play every day at the major league level, Gordon wouldn't have been tendered a $4.8 million contract.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 08:52 AM) I realize spring training has just started, but has there been any word about Nieto? I've heard that Flowers has the upper hand over Phegley right now, but who could be the "back up"? If the Sox are scouting the Yankees' catchers, that tells me that they're not sold on any of the guys they currently have. Question is, are any of the Yankees' catchers that much better? Of course they aren't sold. They saw the games last year. Nieto hasn't played above A ball. If he is anywhere near ready, the Nationals really blew it by exposing him to the Rule 5 and not trading him. I am sure nothing has happened this spring to change for better or for worse the opinion the Sox have about their current catching situation. They are aware they need an upgrade.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 08:49 AM) If Keppinger is enough to get Murphy you do it. I don't think it will take Beckham to get him as the Yankees really don't have a spot for Murphy. Plus if Beckham were to be traded, I think Semien takes over 2B immediately. I really don't know why the Sox would want to rush Semien.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 26, 2014 -> 08:30 AM) I think with the Yankees the odds are that we'd have to wait for a mid-season deal (unless they already know that Jeter or someone like that is hurt). They have enough mediocre IF's right now that they ought to be able to wait for one of them to get hurt. Something will shake out with their catchers by the time the season starts assuming no one gets hurt. They have to unload at least one of them.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 25, 2014 -> 12:27 PM) Atlanta has holes, just like every other team, but the biggest is that they don't have a pass rusher. They have no one. Which was a big problem with the Bears. A good pass rush makes a mediocre at best secondary more than serviceable.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 25, 2014 -> 12:11 PM) I see a lot of fans overacting to the combine. Not a lot of scouts and general mangers. Does anyone know how guys who have had their stock skyrocket because of their combine performance have actually performed as NFL players? I wonder if they performed more like the player most would have thought they would be, or the star they became in Indy. I'm sure NFL teams know the answer (it's probably a mixed bag), and I'm with you, I think fans overreact to 40 times in no football gear a lot more than the scouts and GMs. But you can't take all these results and ignore them. There obviously is a reason this even exists. Sometimes "motor" doesn't make up for a lack of speed or quickness or strength or brain.

Buck can irk pretty easily, but this is awesome: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...20963--mlb.html

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 07:09 PM) Who exactly said he IS going to be great? I think you are making stuff up and twisting people's words again. I don't make up anything, and don't twist words. The fact is Paulino is 31, hasn't thrown a pitch in a major league game since Paul Konerko had an 1.100 OPS and anyone thinking he will make career highs in starts and innings and be better than he ever has been before, isn't using reality coming up with those thoughts.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 06:40 PM) If he doesn't, he cost a million dollars more than the kid who would have been in the rotation. If Santana regresses, he would cost about 100 times what the kid who replaces him will cost. Again I understand that, but some of the same people who claim Paulino is going to be great and do things he has never done are the same people who said a couple of pitchers his age and even younger were doomed to get injured and regress due to age. I don't understand how he defies age.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 04:06 PM) Paulino is a lottery ticket. He won't be around for the next run. The idea is to try to hit it rich with him. If he does well, and we aren't having a good season, he goes to get us more top notch depth in the minors. If he doesn't, he cost a million dollars more than the rookie who would have been on the roster instead. In no way, shape, or form is what Paulino does anywhere relevant to a full dollar, long term contracted, starting pitcher on the free agent market. This is a page out of the Theo and Billy handbook. It is a no risk signing. It is nothing like throwing a multi-year, eight figure per season, contract at someone. Any comparisons like that are false equivalencies and non sequitors. I understand the concept, what I don't understand is if you think a guy like Jimenez is only going to regress because he is over 30, how you can possibly believe a guy a year older than him who has pitched 37 innings the last 2 seasons, is suddenly going to be better and healthier than he ever has been.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 03:26 PM) Assuming health though, you'd expect better than 5 innings a start. 150 innings over 32 starts is less than 5 innings a start It would really be doubtful he makes 32 starts.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 24, 2014 -> 03:14 PM) Johnson threw 169 innings last year between the minors and the big leagues. Unless he gets hurt, the team should absolutely aim to throw hi for 175+ to condition his arm so that he's ready to go 200+ innings next year on a competitive team. Better hitters, more stressful pitching, probably means shorter outings. While he may be capable of pitching a lot of innings physically, it doesn't mean it is going to happen.

Why is signing over 30 year old pitchers a bad idea, yet so many expect an over 30 pitcher who has pitched a combined 37 innings the last 2 years to suddenly set a career high in IP?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 23, 2014 -> 01:04 PM) From my understanding they're currently safe if they don't spend any additional money beyond 10-days. They can sign people to 10-day contracts but not for the full season. They could have more room if Gibson and Noah don't earn bonuses in their contracts, but both guys seem on their way to doing so. KC said eventually they will be able to sign someone for the remainder of the season. He didn't, however, say when that would be.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 23, 2014 -> 08:58 AM) Stone gives sabermetric stats their due when he can. He doesn't dismiss them, make up his own unquantifiable statistic and then go on MLB Network to argue with a sabermetric friendly analyst about it. Really? I have never heard him site one. I have heard him rip them on outlets other than White Sox telecasts as well, and when he is talking about starting pitchers, he does emphasize wins.

For all the grief given to Hawk about advanced metrics, Stone has a pretty similar view. I cannot recall he being dissed by it.