Dick Allen

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 02:50 PM) You're phrasing that in a way that attempts to minimalize the impact, but that's still pretty significant. I know it is, but it has to be someone who plays a lot for it to be much of a difference if the other parts of their games are similar.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 02:33 PM) There is a HUGE difference between a .305 OBP and a .340 OBP. Yep. Getting on base one more time per 30 plate appearances.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 07:36 AM) The Iglesias-Kinsler tandem will be a yearly struggle to combine for a .650 OPS I didn't realize Kinsler's home/away splits were so drastic. Almost a 200 point difference lifetime. He is a career .242/.312/.710 guy away from Texas. That is basically what Gordon Beckham has done in his career.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Nov 21, 2013 -> 06:09 AM) Detroit will be sending $30MM to Texas, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. With that cash, Texas will effectively be paying Fielder $138MM over seven years. From the Tigers' side of things, they'll have a total savings of $76MM. Since Prince made $23 million per season in Detroit, the Tigers will ultimately pay $76 million for 2 years of his service. They do technically "save" on their ultimate commitment, but even though Prince performed pretty well, was he worth it?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 07:50 PM) Yeah that's for 2014. The Rangers will have to pay Fielder 24 million for the next 6 years after that. Cecil started falling apart right around 30. If you consider genes, Prince may only have a year or 2 as an elite hitter.

Prince will bank a little more money without state income tax.

Wasn't Kinsler a high school teammate of Brian Anderson?

Damn. I was really looking forward to Prince growing old with the Tigers,

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Then trade him. He had value. Apparently not much. He made it through the NL on waivers.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 03:54 PM) The Elmore move seems... odd. There is really only one area of position players the Sox org has some signifncant talent depth, you've got one too many infielders on the MLB team already, plus Leury Garcia, Marcus Semien and Carlos Sanchez. And guys like Anderson and Johnson in the lower minors. But we are claiming Elmore? Just as word that we were after Johnson for pitching depth indicates something, I keep thinking this also indicates something, like we are also likely to trade an infielder or two. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe, but if Konerko comes back, they probably need someone who can play the infield and the outfield. This could be sprimg training competition for Leury Garcia.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 04:18 PM) Some images were released today. Except for the brick, it lloks a lot like Wrigley on the outside, and USCF on the inside.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 04:03 PM) Sucked ass to a tune of a 9.46 K/9, 2.51 BB/9, 3.76 K/BB, 0.84 HR/9, 3.08 FIP, 3.39 xFIP, a ridiculously unlucky .442 BABIP, all culminating in a 0.9 WAR in only 32 IP, which is tremendous. BUT OH WAIT, HE HAD A LOSING RECORD AND HE IS 5 FOOT 10 (despite being listed at 6 foot, as if any of that matters anyway). HE HAS NO VALUE. Stop being so terribly ignorant. No one said he would get a 2 year deal, no one said he'd be anything more than a 5th starter and trade fodder in the summer IF he remained healthy. He is a pretty low risk-medium reward guy at this point. Dylan Axelrod was pretty similar in 2011. He put up a 0.4 WAR in 18 innings. It is really too bad when you get knocked around and give up 1.8 baserunners an inning. People think you suck, but the reality is you just aren't very lucky. So what if he is giving up a ton of hits and line drives.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 03:26 PM) Braun was a geat hitter in college, and I never heard that he was using back then. Plus, he's done enough mea culpas to gag on. If he shaves his head, I'll take him. It was his old roommate or ex friend or teammate who said last summer he was juicing in college. There is a very real chance that unless someone here saw Braun play in high school or maybe it would have to be earlier than that, no one has seen him play clean. He didn't really get gigantic like Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Canseco, but there would be a lot of risk acquiring him, especially considering he may be less popular than Albert Belle. If he were a free agent, no way he gets anywhere near $100 million right now. If, for some reason, the steroids had no positive effect on his performance, you get a bargain. If you are just hoping you get $100 million worth of production out of the $100 million he is owed, i don't think it is worth it with all the baggage.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:58 PM) Ryan Braun is SO much better than Melky Cabrera EVER was. And please don't ever base an argument on Jose Canseco's insanity laced opinions. I think the "answer" to PEDs is that they probably affect different guys very differently. I understand your thought that Braun is too big a risk given his contract and think it is reasonable. I fall on the other side because guys that have peaks as high as Braun's tend to age much better and (my opinion) have got to have a high level of natural talent in order to turn out those numbers, roids or not. Melky was a 4.4 WAR in 113 games on the juice. Comes out to about 6.5 for a full year. He serves his suspension and was a -0.9 last year. Canseco is crazy, but he knows a lot about steroids.but if Jose Canseco doesn't think Jose Canseco would have been a major leaguer withoutp the juice, it should at least make you puse. Sammy Sosa before juice was nowhere near the offensive force he was when he was on them. McGwire had some rough years before he found the magic juice.Again, one of Braun's old friends said he was juicing at Miami, considering you said when suggested the Sox add $10 million payroll, that the suggestion was a reason why the suggester wouldn't have a billion dollar company, how does it make any sense to add a $100 million obligation before you really have a chance to see what you would get?

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:47 PM) Saw him plenty here in CO. He's done, imo. Baker is a much better idea for me. That was my impression as well. I don't know anything about his recent injuries, but he is 35 or 36, are those just going to go away? I just can't get the image of the Sox destroying him in 2012 out of my mind. He was pitching BP.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:44 PM) You may be right, but I think the bolded is way too strong of a statement. The fact is, we don't have much evidence at all of how much PEDs affect performance. And the fact remains that has produced at a HOF rate for the past 3-4 seasons. I certainly think it's reasonable to expect that he might drop off sharply, but I don't think that's any more likely than him having a fairly natural career path from here on out. Melky Cabrera could be a good example. Jose Canseco actually said he wouldn't have been a major leaguer without steroids. I don't think that is something you risk $100 million trying to find out.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 12:24 PM) Oswalt didn't have struggles statistically. His only real bad numbers have been IP, because of injuries. I don't expect him to kill it on the mound, but for how cheap he would likely sign, he could be a great candidate to trade by June if he stays healthy for the first few months. I'd be willing to bet he'd sign a 1 yr/$5M deal, maybe 2 yrs/$8M. The 1.794 Whip wasn't exactly not bad.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:31 PM) This is NOT like what Marty and I were talking about, because this is not a player who will only contribute for 1-2 years and it would be adding a SUBSTANTIAL upgrade rather than a marginal one, so much so that the team's competitive window could actually get a lot closer. While Braun is expensive, he is NOT a market-rate asset -- his level of production offers substantial surplus value. I would support this move because I believe that Braun would remain a star-level producer for at least 4 seasons, and that his decline seasons may see him overpaid but still useful. If you believe otherwise, then I understand why you wouldn't want to add the contract. I don't know how anyone could say he will remain a star level producer. For one thing, he is going to have to carry this weight around for the rest of his career, and another, he supposedly has been using PEDs since college, so chances are we have never seen what he can do clean.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:25 PM) Actually, SS2K5 and I have exchanged several posts about just that, I assume it'll drop off -- but it would have to fall a LONG way to make the contract bad. The free agent market pays $5-6m per WAR on average. Braun will make between $16-19m per year for the rest of the contract, so he's being paid like a 3-4 WAR player from here on out. His last two full seasons came in at between 7-8 WAR. So even if he got 25-30% worse and lost like 2 WAR, he'd still be worth something like $10m more than his contract each year in comparison to what else we could get with that money. So, from a purely baseball perspective, you can assume he drops of a ton and it would stil be a boon. The point you made remains, however, that he's a total slime bag. So which outcome you root for depends on what you value more. He is also getting older. Chances of production droppimg without any help, and from what has been publshed, Braun apparently has been cheating since college, there really is no way to know how far he will tail off if playing clean.

QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) To the people who hate on him for cheating....Rienzo and Quintana have both failed drug tests when they were in the minors and people are still supporting them...so there's that Yes but not only did he cheat, he threw an innocent person under the bus. The guy actually got death threats all based on Braun's lies. Besides, if you didn't like the Ozzie circus or the ARod circus, you aren't going to like the upcoming Braun circus. If the Brewers want to get rid of him, it speaks volumes. This is not something that is just going to go away in a month. Is that really something you want to gamble $100 million on if you are the White Sox? He isn't going to instantly make the phones ring in the ticket office unless they are season ticket accounts that are disgusted the team acquired such a chooch.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 02:05 PM) I imagine that the only way Milwaukee would actually move him would be to NOT have to pick up much or any of his contract. But that's the thing, it's a BIG contract but it isn't necessarily a BAD contract. His production has been so high that he has been more than worth the money. Whether the contract is good or bad depends on how you think he'll age. But right now, pending an implosion, it's not an unreasonable price. What is his contract going to look like when he is 35-38? He is signed for 8 more years. 7 if you buy him out. He will make $10 million next year, and if see the responses when Marty mentioned maybe adding that exact figure to the payroll he was told numerous times that is not how you run a business. He wouldn't get nearly what he is guaranteed if he were a free agent right now.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFan05 @ Nov 19, 2013 -> 10:28 PM) Well, compared to other Ozzie years, no. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CH...8-batting.shtml http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CH...6-batting.shtml I believe the percentage of runs scored via the home run in 2005 was exactly the same or slightly higher than 2004. The 2005 offense relied heavily on the long ball.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Nov 20, 2013 -> 03:06 AM) Yeah, and he never won any of his 6 starts either. In fact, he lost all of them. That is solid?

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Nov 19, 2013 -> 03:57 PM) How can you say Konerko has more longevity? Dunn is 4 years younger. We don't know yet. Konerko stopped producing at 35. The book on Dunn has yet to be written. Hell, in 20 years, Dunn might be viewed as the best clean power hitter of his generation. He pales in comparison to Jim Thome.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 19, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) Beside the point. Konerko after his 34 year old season put himself in position to get paid and get paid well. We will not be able to say that about Dunn next offseason. Basically Konerko got a bunch of injuries and crashed during his 36 year old season. Dunn has a had huge a dip following his 30 year old season. And depending on if Paulie plays anymore, he has only made $15 million more than Dunn after 2014.