Dick Allen

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 09:25 AM) And now I feel like an idiot for misspelling. Still, here's the definition ab·er·ra·tion/ˌæbəˈreɪʃən/ Show Spelled [ab-uh-rey-shuhn] Show IPA noun 1. the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course. 2. the act of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type. 3. deviation from truth or moral rectitude. 4. mental irregularity or disorder, especially of a minor or temporary nature; lapse from a sound mental state. 5. Astronomy . apparent displacement of a heavenly body, owing to the motion of the earth in its orbit. Now, here are Adam Dunn's OPS's from year to year .948 .854 .819 .956 .927 .855 .940 .898 .928 .892 .569 .800 .762 You tell me Dick, do any of those look like they depart or deviate from the norm? Each of the past 2 seasons, he has been 2011 awful or close to it for 3 months out of 6. So he has been just as awful the last 2 seasons as he was in 2011 half the time. So even the past 2 seasons, his complete aberration has been just as typical of a performance as the "good" Adam Dunn. In fact his last 2 seasons look like an aberration if you look at the first 10 or 11. I hope he is the June, July, August of 2013 Adam Dunn next year, but chances are, for at least half of next season, just like in 2012 and 2013, he will perform just like the performance you call a complete aberration.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 08:50 AM) Every player goes through stretches where they look like dogs***. It was a complete abberation. Obviously facts won't stand in your way. The last 3 months of 2012, combined, he hit below .200 with an OBP below .300, and had to be held out of the final game so he wouldn't establish a record for striking out in a season. Last year in April, May and September his highest average was .165, and highest OBP was .250. That is half a season. While players do fluctuate, he is abnormally bad for extremely long periods of time. He was extremely good the other 3 months of 2013, so he obviously has or at least had something left. To think anyone being reasonable would be shocked if Adam Dunn was that bad again is a reach.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 08:10 AM) To be fair...you shouldn't cite guys whose switch came in the shape of a needle. I think you are absolutely correct. But one thing that really makes me wonder PED-wise, except for Clemens, pitchers have totally gotten a pass as users, and I am sure their percentage of cheaters is just as high as hitters. Andy Petite admitted he cheated, but he isn't vilified like a hitter of his status doing the same thing. So while juiced up hitters where allegedly padding their stats juicing, they were doing it against guys who also were using the same stuff. Pitchers having abnormal jumps in performance aren't nearly as scrutinized as hitters.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 07:59 AM) No, he has proven that 2011 was a complete abberation. Arguing that is like arguing that the color black is really purple. I wouldn't say complete aberration. He still goes through rather long stretches where he looks like he is back to that. He obviously has made himself useful again, and hopefully the real nice stretch he sandwiched between a couple of extended 2011-like stretches he had this year, is what he can be next season.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Oct 11, 2013 -> 12:46 AM) IMO, complaining about not kicking the FG in the first is a little ridiculous. You're facing an 0-5 team. You have the ball at the 2 and it's your first drive of the game. With the confidence Trestman has in the offense, why not go for it? If you score, it's instant demoralization for the Giants. If you don't score, you still have the Giants pinned deep in their own zone. Even if you screw it up to the point that you turn the ball over, the absolute worst case scenario is some horrible turnover that goes 98+ yards the other way, and the chances of that are very slim. I was totally on board with going for it. Especially considering when they gave the ball back, they got a pick 6.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 03:26 PM) Are these suggestions that Sizemore's knees are shot, based upon anything that has been reported, or is this just speculation? Look, if you guys are correct, and he can't play because he is permanently impaired, then of course it would make no sense. I'm sure that he will be well examined by any team that considers signing him. What I had read is that he was taking his time to be sure that he was completely healthy. I have not seen any reports saying that he will not be able to run well, much less, play center. Who else is out there who could be a stop gap center fielder? I mean someone who can provide solid defense. The best in house guy is probably Jordan Danks. I would hope that longer term, Thompson, or Hawkins will be able to fill that need. One thing I read was he was going to have to move to a corner if he could come back. I don't know if is based on facts or speculation. Surgeries on both knees and a back problem would seem to slow him down a bit. There just is nothing really out there about him other than Rosenthal saying he planned to play next season a couple of months ago.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 12:25 PM) The AVERAGE is based off tickets in the upper corner as well as the dugout seats behind home plate. you know, ones that cost $400 already. Also, like i said before, these teams have the stubhub prices in front of them. They are charging secondary prices at the primary market level. Based of 2011, players got 60 percent of the gate for 24 games. The number of minimum games needed assuming every series was a sweep. 100% The other 12 still go to mlb to distribute. How much a team gets is unknown. But what is known is that some owners, like Jerry, purposely wrote into stadium leases that playoff STADIUM money was not part of any rent agreement. Now why would jerry do that if he was expecting a windfall of money in a playoff run from ticket sales? For all we know, the excess money gained from non-sweeps is distributed among all 30 teams. As for the indians again, they have been known to gouge their fans. phantom playoff tix in 2011 were 92% higher than regular season tix. Also of note: My game 163 tix in 2008 (lower box down the line) cost MORE than my ALDS tix in Lower Reserved Outfield. EDIT: Yes, the Sox are the ones who "sell" my playoff tix, but look on the back. I sure don't see no damm dunkin donuts ad on them. I see bud selig's signature. It's part of Jerry's agreement because his rent goes up with higher attendance for games that weren't scheduled, not because he's not getting paid. It makes no sense for a team to charge it's fans who barely come to games anyway $400 on average for 43,000 people if it all is divided up among the teams. They marked up their average ticket price 697% from the regular season. No sense at all. The Indians were hoping to recoup some of the funds they paid out when the fans didn't show up this year. There was another article that said the Indians would be better off giving away free division series tickets to fans willing to commit to season tickets next season.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 10:31 AM) ALL ticket money goes to mlb to distribute. They use 12 DS games, 4 CS games and 2 WS games to dish out to players and teams. The rest goes to mlb. Hockey is the sport where playoff ticket money is dished out via revenue sharing. But those clubs do not send the money to Toronto. You are not correct. Think about it, aif it didn't make a big impact on their own revenue, why would the Indians charge over $400 a ticket on average? So MLB can make more money? There wouldn't be such a difference between what teams were charging if it was going to all be divvyed up. Some of it goes to the league, some of it for the playoff shares players get, but the team keeps a decent percentage. There was an article a couple of years ago how the DBacks heighted their payroll based on a hopeful long playoff run to cover the increase. The playoff run didn't happen. When you buy playoff tickets you buy the from the White Sox and not MLB. If playoff ticket money is refunded for unplayed games, the White Sox refund you, not MLB. If it was all going to MLB, they wouldn't need the middleman.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) Yes, however the point is that a player can be away from the game and come back, providing he is healthy. I think it helps if you are younger, and Sizemore has been a physical wreck for over 4 years. What really are the odds he would be healthy enough to become a big contributor on a team at this point? I'd sign him to a minor league make good, no risk contract for sure, but to actually count on him for production is not realistic.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 08:51 AM) Then he should not have been playing. If it's so bad that it drops his average 80 points, he's too hurt to play. I apologize, I'd lost quite a bit of interest towards the end for obvious reasons. However, hearing the sheer number of players that were playing hurt really does make me question Ventura's accountability and ability to make a stand and say "You can't play." I understand that guys don't want to sit, but you are hurting the team playing hurt whether in contention or not. Guys play hurt all the time. He did sit out several games. It was no secret. They mentioned it several times. He was obviously limping along a lot. Professionals play, and don't worry about what it will look like on baseballreference.com. The team didn't have better options.I don't know why that is some managerial accountability problem.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 08:19 AM) After reading all of your comments, and thinking more about what Hahn should do, I think this "retool" should be a two year project. I would trade Alexei and de Aza, for prospects, if there is any market for them. I would retain all of the young pitching, including Santiago. Abreu is still my unquestionable #1 target. Gamble on a cheap, one year deal for Sizemore, who will be looking to re-establish his value: Here is my lineup: SS Semien 2B Beckham RF Garcia CF Sizemore 1B Abreu DH Dunn LF Viciedo 3B Gillaspie/platooned with a rh hitter C Phegley/Flowers competition That gets them to 2015, when they can evaluate the development of the young core of Semien, Garcia, Abreu, Viciedo, Gillaspie and whoever catches. Then, with plenty of payroll flexibility still left, they can decide if they have any other holes to fill besides Sizemore and Dunn, whose contracts would be finished. They would have a better idea of how to evaluate the pitching staff, after a year of the young starters, Santiago, Johnson, as well as a better idea of well Danks has recovered. It also gives them one more year to gauge the potential of some of the very young talent like Hawkins, T. Anderson, Micah Johnson and whoever is selected #3 in this years draft. With continued payroll flexibility, and a few youngsters emerging as solid players, the Sox should be able to fill the remaining holes and put a very competitive team on the field in 2015. I know you really have a thing for Grady Sizemore, and at one time he was a great player, but it would be a Festivus miracle if he is ever good enough to bat clean up in a line up anymore. He has missed 2 seasons and its been 4 years since he has hit .230 or had an OBP of .300.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 08:38 AM) Beckham wasn't hurt towards the end of the year, and in August and September he hit .227/.304/.335/.639. With Semien knocking on the door and guys like Carlos Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and Micah Johnson closing in, you have to ask whether or not it's worth it to spend $5+ million on Beckham next year. Beckham was hurt the last 2 months. He was playing with a bad quad.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 05:37 AM) His comments are 100% correct despite what some Sox fans tend to think. I think if the Sox actually won 10 in a row like he said, and the Cubs continued being the Cubs, he would be wrong, but I do think it would take something really extreme. Not just winning once or twice. But there definitely was a change in Cubs' fans attitudes once the Sox did win. There is no denying that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2013 -> 06:46 AM) Theo could never hire a guy with a strong personality than him. Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Ozzie wouldn't last long with Theo and Hoyer. Remember Oney not having any respect for Sox front office guys that didn't play professionally like he did?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 03:37 PM) From what I had read, Girardi wasn't really Theo's top choice. This was more Ricketts & Crane Kenney having wanted Girardi in the past and looking for the biggest name. If Theo is losing the baseball decision battle to Ricketts and Crane, the Cubs are going to be bad for a very long time.

Am I the only one who thought Theo and Co. were so pompous believing Girardi would leave the Yankees and disrupt his family's lives to jump at a chance to manage the loser Cubs? I think it was a thank you for the extra cash they made him for being interested that he didn't sign with the Yankees 5 seconds after they made the offer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 12:33 PM) Really, if you look at the stats, this isn't true. They put him in LF in 2012 and he was just a small tick below "average" out there. Both UZR and Defensive Runs Saved agree on this, UZR he was at -3 with 0 being average, DRS he was actually above average in 2012. The problem is he was significantly worse in both metrics in 2013. In 2012, he covered enough ground and was reliable enough of a fielder that when you factor in his arm, he was just fine in 2012. The problem is he suffered from the same 2013 disease as the rest of the team and got worse. If only they hit him a few more fungos in spring training. He would have been hellish.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 11:30 AM) fair enough. but the larger point is that the ticket revenue, no matter who sets it, flows to the head office in NYC. The indians do not get the AL Wild Card game money. They will get a slice of the total compensation pie. Only a percentage of it does. The teams get to keep a decent percentage themselves.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Oct 9, 2013 -> 09:06 AM) Priced determined by MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. Also, not all teams have 50,000 seats like la or Atlanta. Those teams charge less due to larger capacities. Pittsburgh had $20 standing room tix for the wild card and NLDS games. WS ticket prices are determined by MLB, not Divison Series prices. Why in the world would Bud demand Indians fans pay an average of over $400 per game?

Loney in 2012 was worse offensively than Konerko in 2013. The team that pays Loney based on 2013, a .778 OPS he hasn't had since 2007, is going to be about as happy about it as Rick Hahn is he signed Keppinger.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 02:17 PM) If the Sox had Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez circa 2001 along with Avisail Garcia and a relatively deep bench (so they're rotating the DH), who are you going to play in CF? This is the scenario we are talking about. You can look up in this thread and see where I said "I'd rather he play RF." Maggs actually played CF as a youngster about as much as Garcia did. With CLee and Maggs on the corners, obviously Garcia would be in CF but it wouldn't be ideal and it wouldn't be for long. I will say he probably is a better CF than Carl Everett in 2003 and Ken Griffey Jr. in 2008. If the Sox are so stacked with offense in 2014 where Garcia is forced to play CF, I will think that is great, but again, as with the original post, he would be playing out of position.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 02:23 PM) Seriously? This would surprise me a lot. Can you actually add numbers to quantify this? Let me ask you since you seem to pin everything on coaching, if the problem Garcia is having is taking crazy routes to balls, how do you coach him to make him better? If an infielder is booting balls or throwing wildly to first base, practice and perhaps some sort of mechanical change can correct that. If a guy takes crazy routes to batted balls, you can keep hitting him batted balls, but those routes are instinctive. There are major league infielders that have a tough time with pop ups. If he just started playing the OF, it would be one thing, but he has been out there for years. Unless he has a vision problem, you can hope the weird routes become a little more direct, but chances are, it will always be an issue.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) Joe Crede was a below replacement level 3B defensively in nearly the same amount of games play when he first joined the White Sox. SHOULD HAVE MOVED HIM TO 1B. I think there is a huge difference between an infielder and outfielder. If Garcia's problem was his throws were really inaccurate or he kicked base hits right at him, that could improve significantly. You cannot improve instinct, at least you can't a whole lot. Crede had great instincts, Garcia takes a lot of curious routes to balls hit his direction. I don't think that is going to get a heck of a lot better.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 01:55 PM) Why does he need to be judged on whether or not he'll be a gold glove CF? If he's "adequate" or "solid" he could never come close to winning a gold glove but if he's also putting up offensive numbers that remind us of Ordonez we'd be talking about one of the most valuable players in the league if he was in CF. He would be valuable in CF but not in RF? As I said, the only reason Garcia would play CF is team need, not because that is his best position. I think the Sox would be lucky and happy if he graded out to average in CF. The guy is a RF, just like the original poster posted.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 01:40 PM) You're right in some sense. We are talking about players who are competent. You said this yourself about Garcia in CF. Could you tell right away that Ventura was going to make it? How about Chris Snopek? Or Greg Norton? I never said Garcia was competent in CF. People see he can run and throw, and hope or assume he can play CF because of that. The fact is, if he does play CF for the White Sox, odds are totally stacked against it being a long term thing. First off, while he has nice tools, he isn't great defensively now, and he is more than likely going to get bigger, and there aren't many 250 pound long term CF in the history of the sport. I don't think it will require any more to see that Garcia isn't going to be a Gold Glove CF, just like we knew right away that Viciedo wasn't going to be a Gold Glove LF. If the Sox put Garcia in CF, it will be because of a team need, not because he is a long term solution in CF.