Dick Allen

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 02:14 PM) I think that's smart. Avoid the unified chorus of boos day 1; can't have a sold out park with everybody over the age of 8 booing in unison and setting the tone for the year. Our FO is really smart and sometimes I'm amazed at some of our instances of forethought. If the White Sox are afraid to play Dunn because he will get booed, Marty and TUC are right, they should just release him. He is going to be booed on opening day whether he plays or not.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) Deliberate? Like the butcher who backed into a meat grinder and got a little behind in his work?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 12:46 PM) I don't think it's far-fetched to assume that major shifts in workout, routine, and conditioning would have a detrimental impact to the health of a pitcher's arm. He made it through 2012 and 2013 and now is on the same routine. I think it would be very far-fetched to say if he had been a starter in 2010-2011 he wouldn't have been injured if he goes down at this point. If you want to say his relieving contributed to his discomfort in 2012, that could make some sense, but most pitchers do go through a lot of pain and dead arm periods throughout every season, even if they have been starters their entire lives. Sale is always going to be an injury concern. It probably is the only reason he is even a White Sox. But you never know when. It could be 10 years from now, it could be tomorrow. Even guys with classic deliveries go down.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 12:18 PM) He then struggled with arm soreness and tiredness through his entire 2012 campaign and, when he first complained about arm soreness in early May, the management immediately, publicly said he was going to take over the closer's role permanently and stay there. He then repeatedly that season dealt with "tired arm" issues and velocity drops and I'm just continuing to hope there's no long-term damage. Are you saying that in your opinion he definitely wouldn't have had these issues had he not relieved? I think it would be far fetched to think any injury from here on out had to do with his being in the bullpen in 2010-2011.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 12:08 PM) And in my opinion, the White Sox came within inches of completely ruining Chris Sale entirely by putting him in the bullpen. The only reason they didn't was that he refused to go back to the pen. His first 79 appearances in a White Sox uniform were from the bullpen. There is no basis for your argument.

They run out the entire team during intros on Opening Day. I really doubt Paulie gets a token start, but as mentioned, it wouldn't be a big deal if he did.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 10:31 AM) The Cardinals interest has me scratching my head a little. They just signed Peralta, traded Freese so that they could get Wong in the lineup, and now they are looking at this guy? I think he ends up in the AL East with the Yanks or Jays with the Phillies being a sleeper. I just wonder if this guy is any good. His OPS in the Cuban League dropped off about 100 points from around 800 to 700, and he led the league in errors. He has generated interest from a lot of teams, but I doubt he signs for much. He has Betancourt Jr. at best written all over him.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 10:31 AM) We are likely facing a righty though. Then Paulie will be riding pine assuming everyone is healthy.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 09:12 AM) I think he played a couple games in LF last year, too. He wasn't brutal if I remember correctly. But, it seems silly to state that he's going to get time in the outfield because there's a logjam at 1st when there's a logjam in the outfield, too. Unless Viciedo or De Aza is traded, those guys should be patrolling that corner over Dunn. Dunn should be DHing and playing the very occasional 1st base...primarily against righties. But it doesn't add to the logjam. It just creates another possibility. It isn't like Dunn is going to be out there an extended time. If he's going well, it's another place to put him. I also think the roster will be different by opening day.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 09:51 PM) Abreu will start. Konerko unfortunately will too because White Sox. Yeah, it would be so White Sox to have Konerko and his .900 + OPS start against LHP, relegating Dunn to the bench against the lefties he doesn't hit. The horror.

Dunn has played the OF for the White Sox in 2011 and 2012.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 21, 2014 -> 08:03 AM) And, as you can probably expect, I totally, fundamentally disagree with this concept. I think its the exact opposite of how you should break a starting pitcher into the big leagues, I think it hurts more guys than it helps, and I think it's only a special player who can do that without serious problems. The White Sox most successful homegrown starters broke in as bullpen arms. Buehrle and Sale. Facing major league hitters, able to pick their spots is an advantage. Rienzo isn't in their class. He most likely is a bullpen arm, and most likely not an 8th or 9th inning guy. In the minors, let him start until he wears out. At the major league level, I think it's a little different. You have to be realistic. If Rienzo was a stud prospect, sure start him. He's not a stud prospect.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 03:03 PM) Turner is trash but anything is better than Granger. Going to be fun when he's bought out and goes to Miami. Just wait until Gar/Pax pick him up for next season.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 02:10 PM) Is this the one you're thinking of? Justin Maxwell from the Astros. http://m.mlb.com/video/v22185601/ That was it. Pretty impressive for a game.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 01:41 PM) I think it was Garfein that tweeted that Garcia hit the front of the fundamentals deck last year in BP. I don't think that's ever been done in a game as the only two guys we've had that kind of power have been left handed (Thome, Dunn). Frank certainly would have hit it a couple times had it been there during his prime. That takes big time power. Garcia, Abreu and Viciedo have that kind of power but like you said, Garcia just doesn't get the ball in the air enough and Tank seems to hit either ropes that just get over the fence or insanely high fly ball homeruns. I was at a game either last season or the season before where someone, I think on the Royals, hit one into the last section of the club level down the LF line. Supposedly in BP, Barry Bonds hit one down the RF line in the upper deck that went into the last exit. Even roided up, that is quite a poke.

Supposedly in BP Garcia hits the ball as far as Dunn. His problem is during games he hits groundballs at the same rate as slap hitters, and doesn't get on base via anything but a hit very often. If he can get the ball in the air, he could be a huge power guy, but that is easier said than done.

They put a huge amount of toppings on their slices. I wonder if the ballpark version will be a little skimpier.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 11:44 AM) Timo Perez is wearing a White Sox World Series ring. I don't understand your point. That, because he won a World Series, his $300 million contract is suddenly justified? That's absolutely ridiculous logic. You are the worst. I *NEVER* said people are done at 30. I implied that players in the early to mid 30s tend to be more injury prone. Are you going to disagree with that? I'm not going to bother responding to anything else before you respond to that. If you disagree that players in the early to mid 30s are more injury prone, then you are doing nothing but trolling at this point, which is a suspendable offense. That is a personal attack. You should be suspended. I would like a moderator to explain why it is not a personal attack if you are not.

They lay it on thick. While I am not a big fan of Beggar's product, although I do eat it when it is in the office,I do salute the White Sox for making a Chicago pizza company the official pizza instead of some frozen brand. It is definitely an upgrade.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 11:27 AM) So you somehow think that players who are in their early to mid 30s tend to stay healthy? They were a bit snakebitten, but to expect a team that old to stay completely healthy all year is ridiculous. I don't know why players are supposedly done when they hit 30. I think Carlton Fisk was 33 or 34 when he came to the White Sox. Mike Trout is going to get paid into his 30s with his next contract. If he were a White Sox, I guess you would want them to trade him instead of being stuck with an "albotross". A $50 million contract isn't an albatross to the White Sox. They still made moves when they had Adam Dunn signed to one. Konerko came back. AJ came back. They spent $68 million for Abreu and he will be past 30 when it expires. They were going to spend almost double that for Tanaka. Buy their line they are right at their breaking point. But remember when you do, you are ignoring their actions the past several years.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 11:07 AM) Last year, the Yankees received significant playing time from Chris Stewart, Lyle Overybay, Eduardo Nunez, Jayson Nix, Vernon Wells, Ichiro Suzuki, Travis Hafner, David Adams, and Austin Romine. Overbay's OPS was .688 and Hafner's .679, which were the best out of that group. Tell me some more about how Alex Rodriguez's contract didn't affect them. Now, considering it doesn't count against their payroll this year, while shedding a few other contracts, they were able to bring in a few new players while staying under the luxury tax. They won't be under it next year. The Yankees had a ton of injuries last year. They had nothing to trade for fill ins.Any team that has that many injuries are going to be playing some weaker players. When 75% of your regular infield is on the DL, guys like Jayson Nix get playing time. To me an albatross contract is one which then limits what you can do. The Yankees have no problem with payroll. They did not want to go over the tax last year, but if their guys were healthy and they had a legit shot, I think it would have been a different story.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 09:24 AM) The Rockies could easily be heading that way with CarGo and Tulo too. With guys like that, it's hard to deny the talent that's there, and you have to pay them, but when the rest of your team is suffering as a result, you should almost work with a team to try and get said player moved. Look at what Dombrowski did with an absolutely terrible contract in Fielder. I don't understand your position. You say ARods contract is an albatross, yet the Yankees spent half a billion this offseason on free agents. You say Fielder had an awful contract, yet Dombrowski was able to move it. If you are making a point that taking on these contracts will keep you from doing anything else, (and Santana or Jimenez aren't exactly at ARod or Prince's price level) I think you are using some really bad examples. If anything, they go totally against your point.

I don't know how steroids can make someone a HOFer vs. not even worthy of a spot on an A ball roster. Obviously Piazza had far more ability than was thought. Perhaps he wouldn't have been a major leaguer, I know Canseco said he himself would have been a fringe at best player, but teams missed the boat on Piazza. Even without steroids his ability was way better than where he was drafted,and he probably wouldn't have been drafted if there wasn't a relationship with Lasorda.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 19, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) How about the 2013 World Series Champs? Ellsbury and Pedroia were both available to the White Sox during the draft. The Sox selected Lance Broadway instead of Ellsbury and paid more money to Broadway than Boston paid Ellsbury. The Sox also selected guys like Wes Whisler and Donny Lucy and paid them bigger bonuses than Boston paid Pedroia. It wasn't overspending. It was better scouting and development.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Feb 19, 2014 -> 12:26 PM) I have to 100% disagree with this. I think the overall consensus was that the Abreu signing was very good. Had he signed somewhere else for the same contract, there would have been much frustration that the Sox couldn't make that same deal. But it is a 99 loss team. Viciedo or Black or countless others could easily be the 1B equivalent of guys like Paulino and Surkamp. And Abreu has zero MLB experience. If he doesn't work out, if the $48 million is a huge problem for the White Sox future moving forward, a $68 million flop is catastrophic. To me if the Sox make a move that upgrades their roster, it makes me happy. I am really concerned about the international signing period. The Yankees are supposed to break the bank this summer, go way over their limit and take the penalties that go with it. I read where they basically have already agreed to contracts with 4 or 5 of the top guys. Hopefully that is just rumor, but if true, that is punch to the gut of the White Sox.