Dick Allen

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 09:24 AM) On bolded: no. On the rest: I know it is an extreme exception, but... Kirby Puckett says hello. Just saying, body type tells you SOMETHING, but it is not a definite thing. What it comes down to is, you need to see him play there to really get a read. Metrics are useless at his amount of play. When Kirby Puckett came into the league, he was a good CF. Garcia is not. Kirby also basically moved to RF when he was 33. Chances are, if Garcia does play CF, he won't be a plus defensively, and he won't be there for long. If you are 240 as a 22 year old, you probably will be 250-260 as a 30 year old. There aren't many 250 lb. CFs. As for my 31 AB comment, it is true. Most professional players require 0 major league ABs to determine they aren't going to be very good.

This sealed bid thing, if true, is puzzling to me. Unless they only think one team is going to offer a boatload of money, why not open him up for auction?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 09:54 AM) Are you sure you aren't related to Puig? Also, because Juan Uribe hit the home run, we should probably give Juan Uribe the credit for hitting the home run. We shouldn't say "if Yasiel Puig doesn't hit a double, Juan Uribe doesn't hit a home run, thus it's because of Yasiel Puig that Juan Uribe hit the home run." When the Sox picked up Manny and a couple of guys homered with Manny on deck, a few people on here gave no steroid Manny all of the credit. BTW, it's nice to see the Uribe love. When he was a White Sox, he was a punching bag around here.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 8, 2013 -> 08:35 AM) He's played 207.2 innings out there. That's a sample size of 23 games. Fangraphs suggests that it takes 3 years worth of data for fielding metrics to become statistically significant, which is roughly the equivalent of 450 games. Currently, we have 5.1% of the suggested amount of relevant information. To compare this to something more tangible, this is like watching 31 at bats of a minor league hitter and declaring "HE CAN'T HIT." (of course, knowing this group, that sounds about right) There are plenty of players 31 ABs can determine what they are. Garcia could probably get by in CF, but chances are with his body type, it's not a postion you will see him playing or really want to see him playing several years from now.

Rangers 6/$42 million

They aren't going after Granderson if he is $15 million a year. If he's significantly cheaper it makes sense. I actually know one of Curtis" best friends from UIC. I know he would love to play for the White Sox.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 5, 2013 -> 12:37 AM) When I was reading this article, I thought about Jerry Manuel right away, and how we needed the opposite of Manuel at that time...and picked Ozzie. But it also reminded me of a lot of the same things that have been said about Ventura as well. Keep in mind, the Reds made the playoffs 3 of the past 4 years. The White Sox have only made the playoffs 4 times in the past 20 years. Besides the fact that this year's team SEEMED to be lacking in talent, competitiveness/comeback-ability and cohesiveness (well, you can say that about any team that loses nearly 100 games), what are the arguments for retaining Ventura, and by that, I mean "longer term," for at least the next 2-3 seasons? Do you worry that he's too passive? All those accusations about being not committed enough/uncertain...do you still feel 100% confident he's the right man for the rebuilding/retooling job ahead? http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2013100...040071?gcheck=1 The next man the Reds hire won’t be much like Dusty. He won’t list Jimi Hendrix’ All Along The Watchtower as his favorite song. And he will come with an edge that Baker never had, nor wanted to have. Of all the managers and coaches I’ve covered here since 1988, none wanted to avoid conflict as much as Baker. It’s too bad that conflict comes with the job. Baker’s inability to motivate his players down the stretch partly owed to that trait. He wanted to be a friend and mentor, not a leader. That played well when Scott Rolen was here. It failed this year. Somebody needed to kick some aspirations in the home clubhouse. It never happened. Ballplayers want to be led. Most of us do. We want to be inspired, pushed, challenged, driven. Choose your descriptive. Dusty’s style might have allowed his players to play free and easy. It also encouraged a certain complacency. No one who witnessed this team’s last week of games could come away thinking it needed to win. Wanted to win? Of course. Needed it? Not really. Baker lost points with ownership when he allowed Brandon Phillips to interrupt his daily pre-game media briefing, to berate an Enquirer reporter. He lost points by not saying to Joey Votto, “Hey, man, this is a team game. Runs help us win, not getting on base.’’ He lost points by not always being a team player himself. Baker is nothing if not stubborn. Suggestions made by those in charge were rarely heeded, be it lineup issues or the role of Aroldis Chapman. Mostly, Baker is out because his personality stopped working with the players he managed. That happens a lot in baseball. It’s a reason even good managers get fired, usually more than once. Baker is a good manager. First off, Dusty has been managing how many years? This is the first time I have ever seen that written as a problem, if it was, why would the Reds not only hire him, but give him an extension? Where has the same things been said about Ventura other than by people on message boards who come to that conclusion by the 2 or 3 shots of him shown in the dugout per game? I think this move was all about money. I think Reds ownership is thinking that point A to point B crap Krause used when he fired Collins. The article I read about cost of playoff tickets these days seems to me is going to put a lot of pressure on managers to avoid quick playoff departures. From what I read, a couple of these team could basically cover their entire payroll with a run to the WS just on playoff ticket sales alone.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 4, 2013 -> 04:51 PM) Yup. The Sox had the top ranked farm system in baseball when Kenny ran it. I like having him involved in this. It was ranked number one but in reality, it wasn't number one. But the ranking is actually one huge reason he became the GM, and not Dan Evans. Schueler actually recommended Evans. KW wasn't personally responsible for the development and acquisition of all of those players. Perhaps he is a good scout, maybe he is not. Every good scout misses, every good scout has some hits.It doesn't discourage me that he is personally taking a look at Abreu. If anything, Sox fans should be excited KW is involved. It means they are seriously interested.

Ron Darling sounds a lot like Farmio.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Oct 4, 2013 -> 12:39 PM) The problem with this "process" is that ARod is the only one with the crazy money needed to hire a legal dream team and potentially gum up the works enough to remain on the playing field and collect his money. The crazy money was made LARGELY THROUGH CHEATING. Therefore, Bud needs to go KMLandis rogue and ban him for life, outright, with no process or appeal. Period. Done. He's retiring in 14 months - he can take the heat. He DOES have these dictatorial powers as commissioner from what I understand. Ryan Braun could easily afford ARod's legal bills. So could the majority of major leaguers. That's a non issue. And while Bud may be able to take the heat, banning ARod without appeal is impossible as well, as ARod is part of a union with a collectively bargained contract. ARod might be a jerk, he may have been cheating for years, but it does seem his punishment is far more severe than everyone else's. As the old saying goes, listen to ARod's take, listen to MLB's take, the truth is somewhere in the middle. There, more likely than not, is some embarrassment on both sides if the entire truth ever gets out.

Mackowiak actually hit pretty well for the White Sox, especially a bench player. Defensively he was awful.

Cleveland losing was big in another way. They were charging the most for Division Series tickets. The average price for a Indians Division series ticket was going to be $461. Seems insane, but 43k at the game would have net them $20 million in just ticket sales per game.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 05:22 PM) Stone is the pompous ass? If Hawk was sitting in one room and Stone the other, if you as Joe White Sox fan walked up to both of them separately, there is a 99.9% chance you will have a more pleasant friendly conversation with Hawk.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) Marty, if it turns out to be as bad as you believe, then they will go on an extended rebuilding period and Sale will be traded along with many others. If it's not as bad as you believe, the team spends some money in the next couple offseasons and they are competitive and perhaps even win a Wild Card or Division championship, then everything was worth it and they are still in a position to compete in 2016. You are adament about not spending on guys like McCann and Ellsbury and Granderson, but really those kinds of deals can turn out great for the team - Jermaine Dye was signed at the age of 31 and had 5 pretty great years for the Sox, Thome was brought in at 35 and had 4 good years for the Sox too, so why can't the Sox sign two guys who will turn 30 next year and expect them to be productive for an extended period of time? And if they fail, if in Marty's world, his idea makes sense, why can't they eat half their contracts and trade them for prospects? In a world where BJ Upton has value at $30 million, I can't imagine any of those three having less at half of what they would cost. Isn't trading for Upton or Reyes and then trading them basically a sign and trade? So what is the difference between actually signing the free agent vs. trading for him and eating money to move him along? Bernstein's plan works for the NBA but not baseball. Marty tries to make it work for baseball, but it adds a step and makes no sense. If the Sox have money to burn and need prospects, isn't signing free agents then eating money and trading them directly the answer?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 02:02 PM) How many free agents are there where you are going to be able to buy their 24-29 years for $30M? Any prospect worth paying another team $30 million to acquire is probably going to cost a decent amount during his arb years. You are eliminating all the cheap years. Why do I have the feeling if the majority of posters thought the Marty/Bernstein idea was a good one, you would say it was dumb?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 01:02 PM) So you are taking a chance either way. I'd rather they took a chance using money in 2014 & 2015 on a player who might be around to contribute in 2016 and beyond then spend money in 2014 and 2015 on a player who will contribute those years, but isn't likely to contribute much after that. Just personal preference I guess. Why can't the Sox sign guys more likely to perform and then trade them for prospects? Like what they did with Peavy? Sign a guy, if you have a shot, great, if not, then you can move him along. The notion of sending a team or multiple teams $30 million each for a meddling prospect is insane.

Mat Gamel is available for nothing. He was once the Brewers top prospect and probably could have been had for Alexei and $33 million. Now you can have him for the price of a minor league contract. Get him signed Mr. Hahn.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) Reyes is a much better player than Ramirez. Even if he is, you want to move him along and pay half his salary. Better be careful Marty. You are being exposed.

When Stone said during the last game of the year he was hoping to be without Hawk for a weekend next July or August because Hawk would be in Cooperstown, they must have known this news. I hope he gets it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:33 AM) Alexei Ramirez is due $20 million over the next two years and put up a 3.1 WAR last year. You are suggesting that the White Sox trade him for 2.5 WAR Jose Reyes and $66 million more guaranteed dollars, you eat $33 million of that, and then you trade Jose Reyes. Think about the logistics of that and how wrong and backwards that is. I have to believe he knows how little any of this makes sense, but he gets a kick out of arguing and thinking he's driving people crazy.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:33 AM) Absolutely. Dick Allen you can offer a team a damn near 3 WAR a year SS for $8M a year that will have value. Again what type of prospect considering you are giving up your own 3 WAR SS and $33 million?

QUOTE (Hatchetman @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:25 AM) What does history say about 99 loss teams? what do they do on average the following year? what's a reasonable expectation? Any of them ever make the playoffs? I don't know how to answer those, but I have some hunches as to what the answers might be. I do know when the Sox last lost 96 or 97 games, they won 90 the next year with the Southside Hitmen. This team seems to be in a better financial position to land some talent. Obviously they are going to need some breaks and some guys to really step up.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 10:21 AM) You don't think there would be a good market for Reyes at 33M?? A 2.5+ WAR SS and a team could get him at 8M per? So you want the Sox to basically trade Ramirez and $33 million for a prospect. I am ROTFL as I type this. What kind of prospect? It is clear you are trolling. You mentioned last time how your way was better than the Sox going out and signing Abreu, then later said you didn't know the first thing about Abreu.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2013 -> 08:58 AM) This is not correct. A hit leads more directly to a run, but if that guy doesn't get anything to hit, but swings away because he is trying to get a hit and ends up rolling over a slider, what does that do? The mantra should be "swing at good pitches, don't swing at bad pitches." There are certain situations where you will try and place a ball a certain way - hitting behind a runner, hitting a flyball - but you need to swing at good pitches. If you put hitters in the mindset that "I'd rather you get a hit with a runner on 2nd as opposed to taking a walk," then your hitters are more apt to swing at bad pitches trying to get hits. I get and understand what he means - you ALWAYS prefer a base hit over a walk - but it's just a terrible way of phrasing it. People wished that Thomas did that and they want Joey Votto to do more of that, but those guys have such an incredible grasp of the strike zone that they generally will only swing at pitches they can hit hard. Those guys both probably have taken pitches they could have hit hard too, but with those types of guys, you shouldn't mess with them. With Dunn coming off his 2011 season, you could mess with him. And to be fair to Manto, he didn't say expand your zone to the point you will swing at anything. It's kind of like hitting 3 and 0. Some guys can, some guys think it's a must swing. His point was driving in the runner without getting a hit sometimes is more beneficial than drawing a walk.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 1, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) The price of a WAR is what $6-$7M ? Upton was roughly a 2 war player with Tampa. $30M is a bargain. Now you are back to trolling again.